They're talking about us

[Fox Fan]

I really can't imagine that the majority of our players don't have relegation release clauses in.

At least 14 Premier League clubs surely bed them into every contract as a given since, as some of those articles say, every club is a few bad decisions away from facing relegation.

I wouldn't be surprised if even the top clubs do - Man City have the slim danger of actually being punished for financial doping.

 

[big_mac4824]

Just read the Fosse way rants I must say it was cathartic, this bit sums it up for me.

"However, despite the above, the real villain of the piece is the former (elite-level) manager. As documented above, all the blame cannot be levelled at Brendan. The 'best-run club in the Premier League' suddenly has a lot of issues, but those issues should have meant a disappointing fall from Europe chasing to finishing somewhere around 14th. Clear from relegation but a massive drop-off.

Where it went wrong is this. He told us the squad needed refreshing but FFP did what the big clubs invented it to do. The wage bill had sucked up the budget and Top wasn't allowed to invest further. This left us with a team a long way short of the quality we had in his first three seasons.

Rodgers could see this as he repeatedly made it clear they "weren't at the level", but when picking the team and tactics he simply pretended they were still a top 6 team. In those early days of the season, it felt like wilful neglect, potentially purposely setting them up to fail (and not making subs) to prove a point.

Ultimately, I don't think it was that - he just didn't have the skillset or tactical flexibility to manage a squad that was 'beneath him'."

I think this sums up BR pretty well.

As we now face the inevitable you can sense the vultures are circling and the scene is one of wounded on the battlefield that have been demolished by a better tactician and motivated opposition. BR will undoubtedly find another top job and the media lovies will laud him as an elite manager, when the reality is he destroys everything at every club he has been to.

I will never forget one of his interviews where he stated the blue print was to disrupt the market by acquiring young quality players and moving them on for a higher price, yet he whined and stropped and requested that the squad be kept in place but wanted more funds for more players when it was obvious our squad was far too big.

We have become fat and decadent and will rightly receive what we deserve, as for Rudkin well surely his days are numbered?

 

[Blue Maniac]

I wouldn't be surprised if even the top clubs do - Man City have the slim danger of actually being punished for financial doping.

Yeah, of course they do

 

[Fox Fan]

Yeah, of course they do

I work in a small business that has some contracts with national government bodies. Every year I'm required write and submit plans on how the business would operate if the work dried up for a period, if the work expanded significantly or if one of the business leaders wasn't able to work.

I find it amazing that organisations 10-20x bigger don't have to make and submit similar plans to the FA / EPL. Obviously if they did, the best way you're going to be able to sustain in the event of being relegated is to have relegation clauses in contracts.

 

[taupe]

it felt like wilful neglect, potentially purposely setting them up to fail (and not making subs) to prove a point.

This bolded bit is right on the money for me. Sure, he maybe lacked the ability to do things differently (I personally doubt it. I mean, at Celtic he didn't have the players either - and we saw he could set us up differently on rare occasions) but bottom line for me was his obsession to 'plan A harder' - he was wedded to it.

So when the club said 'no money' he felt betrayed, packed a sad and sunk us. He was never a team player. He could have done his job and cut his cloth, but no. He preferred to make a statement.

 

[taupe]

I find it amazing that organisations 10-20x bigger don't have to make and submit similar plans to the FA / EPL.

Futher, it'd be part of an internal process too. CEOs etc would want to see those 'what if' scenario plans for longer term planning. There would be some degree of contingency planning I feel.

If not then we really do have a board room level problem.

 

[Fox Fan]

This bolded bit is right on the money for me. Sure, he maybe lacked the ability to do things differently (I personally doubt it. I mean, at Celtic he didn't have the players either - and we saw he could set us up differently on rare occasions) but bottom line for me was his obsession to 'plan A harder' - he was wedded to it.

So when the club said 'no money' he felt betrayed, packed a sad and sunk us. He was never a team player. He could have done his job and cut his cloth, but no. He preferred to make a statement.

Unfortunately the incentive to do poorly this season and get sacked was probably greater than the incentive to have a mid-table finish that would have yielded BR a season of pay, but moved his career nowhere.

Instead he consistently pushed his narrative of having a tiny squad of incapable players and that keeping them in the Premier League would be the biggest achievement of his career, all whilst overseeing the most rapid decline in performance and standards since Peter Taylor.

Today Brendan is sitting on a very healthy pay off, and realistically, would be in with a good shout of managing teams hoping to break into the top six - even Spurs doesn't feel like it stretches the imagination much.


---

I feel like there could so easily be a book written about this season.

 

[camberwell fox]

Let’s also jot forget the PROVEN players he had at his disposal.

The nucleus of this squad is certainly mid table and should have aspirations for places 6-10.

It isn’t like he has had a pile of shit to work with is it?

 

[FryattFox]

I really can't imagine that the majority of our players don't have relegation release clauses in.

At least 14 Premier League clubs surely bed them into every contract as a given since, as some of those articles say, every club is a few bad decisions away from facing relegation.

I've only just seen this, but having worked with a number of Premier League clubs, I know that relegation release clauses are not consistently included in contracts. They may be in the majority, but they're often removed as part of contract negotiations.

 

[Joe_Fox]

Every year I'm required write and submit plans on how the business would operate if the work dried up for a period, if the work expanded significantly or if one of the business leaders wasn't able to work.

I presume point number one on your submitted plan is something along the lines of "Fox Fan will stop posting bollocks on talkingballs.co.uk and instead concentrate on the success of <name of the company you work for>"?

 

[Fox Fan]

I presume point number one on your submitted plan is something along the lines of "Fox Fan will stop posting bollocks on talkingballs.co.uk and instead concentrate on the success of <name of the company you work for>"?

After 20+ years of posting here, seems unlikely I'm going to be putting that in the plan.

 

[popillius]

They'll almost certainly have relegation clauses. All or nearly all of them. Despite the view on The Street.

 

[fox58]

Voted the worst away day by visiting fans

Premier League stadiums: Every away day ranked from worst to best - Liverpool 8th

www.givemesport.com

 

[Fox Fan]

Voted the worst away day by visiting fans

Premier League stadiums: Every away day ranked from worst to best - Liverpool 8th

www.givemesport.com

Obvious nonsense. How can it be worse than West Ham where you need binoculars, Palace with the restricted view for half of the away fans, Leeds where you're beyond the pitch, etc etc.

It might be fairly boring, but I don't think it's the worst.

 

[taupe]

The article classes a half hour walk as a "hike". Better take provisions next time you go to Anfield.

Edit: Context I guess. Real estate agents would call that a short walk.

 

[jb5000]

Voted the worst away day by visiting fans

Premier League stadiums: Every away day ranked from worst to best - Liverpool 8th

www.givemesport.com

It can't be that bad, their teams are getting three points

 

[homer]

They’re lucky, they only have to go there once a season - we have to put up with it every other week

 

[H T B]

All the threads now seem to be a conduit for the whinging gits thread .

Oh and try getting a drink as an away supporter at Molineux

Whinge, whinge, drip, drip

 

[Brown Nose]

Our stadium is shite to visit. It's not well positioned meaning you congregate inside and then have to endure the appalling service and prices we offer.

 

[taupe]

All the threads now seem to be a conduit for the whinging gits thread .

True. Isn't that we do here? If I'm wrong then please correct me. I'm just going with the flow. I'm actually a supremely optimistic and jovial chap.