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Will need to keep my original guess.
But with sales passing 18k,I would think we will see 19.5k-20k. Really depends what sales are like on Monday, be it ticket office visitors, or pay on the day.
I don’t think there can be any complaints about what the Whelan family have done for this club. This feels like a natural time to sell.
If Sharpe had total financial control of the Whelan family empire, sure, I could see him taking us forward. As it is, it appears any major financial outlay needs to go by Whelan. IMO, you cannot run a football club with any sort of long-term vision if each decision is second guessed by people no longer involved on a day-to-day basis.
For that reason it’s prudent to make the switch to new ownership in our own time, in a controlled manner. There’s no pressing need to sell so we can wait for the right buyer. Neither do I subscribe to the doomsday scenarios that if things don’t go to plan we would be left without a club. Without wishing to sound complacent, those things simply do not happen in this day and age. There are three basketcase ownership examples in the north west, Bolton, Blackburn and Blackpool. One is a division higher than us, the other hot on out heals in League 2, and the final one just beat us at home midweek. I wouldn’t want to be in any of their ownership positions, but even Blackpool, who are being asset stripped within an inch of their lives, are still kicking around.
Sharpe has done an interview with The Times today. In it he points out the club have been approached numerous times by domestic and overseas potential buyers.
Blackpool have caused us trouble in each of the games this season. And while I’d never say we ‘should’ win a game, we should always expect a certain level of performance. Deliver that and the result should follow (most of the time).
I don’t feel we’ve delivered those performances at home for some time. The clean sheets masked the uninspired attacking displays. Our last promotion winning side took no prisoners when they hit top form, and even if we went a goal down, could respond with three or four. This side struggles to break down teams at both ends of the table. It took Caldwell a while to settle on his best team, but it still feels as if Cook made up his mind early on, and we haven’t experimented even a little.
The manager rotates James and Elder. So again, there’s no logic in not rotating players that are both out of form, and tired.
There’s no doubt in my mind this lack of rotation has cost us points since Christmas. And it will see us pull up short in the run in if not addressed.
Sports science is all well and good. But would they suggest playing the same 11 on a Tuesday after travelling back from Southend?
Sports science should also take a step back versus matchday performances. Massey has played well on occasion, but there’s been little logic to him playing so often, particularly at home.
Be a brave person to put any great sums on us getting back into that top three.
What? We win our game in hand and we’re top by two points.
Some rubbish is spouted on here.
We’ve had a wake up call that’s all.
For all you Darksiders to note: we are now safe from relegation[/quote]
So in short, I do think we’ll struggle to get back in the top three.[/quote]Jees! This time last week we were dead certs amongst most on here that we were going to walk the league – as champions might i add. Two back to back defeats & it seems we’ll be lucky if we get into the play-offs according to you lot.[/quote]
Our form and performances have been worrying since Christmas.
There’s been a mentality around the club, and from certain fans, that promotion is a formality. As if we can go through the gears and sweep everyone aside.
There’s been a consistent decline in the level of performance in recent months. Clean sheets kept teams at bay, but games have become scrappy, tight knit affairs. Northampton away was one of those game where we got out of jail, it must have been clear to Cook the team needed freshening up. A month on and it’s still the same eleven turning out. Mistakes have crept in, we’ve conceded five in our last two games, and failed to score at home in four of our last five home league games.
This isn’t a reaction over the last two results. It’s been obvious to anyone watching us closely. The cup performances and Gillingham (first half) have been the exceptions. If our home form continues as it is, and we don’t go on another record breaking away run, we are unlikely to finish in the top two. This is an exceptional season that could require 95pts+ to get an automatic place.
I thought the home jitters had been put to bed. The first half performance against Gillingham was probably one of our best halves of the season probably because we were taking it to them and playing with pace. Gills were dead on form too.
Second half wasn’t so great when the new signings were introduced and don’t think they would have made any difference if they had started last night either.The new signings should already be partially integrated into the team. As it is our first 11 is knackered, out of form, and we have barely seen any of the new lads kick a ball. So what do we do, run ’em into the ground until the end of the season, because we don’t have confidence in the new signings? Cook’s mindset is even more worrying when you consider the extra dimension Coloclough add’s to our team, yet so often he’s been sat in the stand, while Massey has done his disappearing act.
Last night it made no sense to put Morsy in that situation. He was off his game to start with, and needed a rest. Would have been ideal to give Fulton a run. Likewise, Grigg’s our only strike option for City, so why not start Vaughan, with Cole as option from the bench? Then we have Jacobs and Massey, two out of form, knackered wingers, while Walker and Coloclough are sat twiddling their thumbs.
Be a brave person to put any great sums on us getting back into that top three.
What? We win our game in hand and we’re top by two points.
Some rubbish is spouted on here.
We’ve had a wake up call that’s all.
For all you Darksiders to note: we are now safe from relegation[/quote]We’ve been mediocre at home since well before Christmas. Away form masked poor results, but now our heads have gone, the legs are gone, and we’re seeing a distinct lack of mental strength. There where signs against the top six sides, now that inability to break teams down can be seen against the relegation strugglers.
Shrewsbury aren’t going to drop away. If anything they are getting stronger. They’ll pull a 5pts lead on us, and we’ll need maximum points against the very sides we’re struggling against just to stay on pace.
Blackburn on the other hand leak goals, but have an attacking threat we can’t match. On our day we can stick seven past a team, but most days we’re struggling to get the one. Blackburn always have the firepower to get a couple of goals per game.
So in short, I do think we’ll struggle to get back in the top three. Cook himself needs to change his approach, his team selections, squad rotation, his tactics, to give us any chance of automatic promotion.
Morsy now only misses one League game instead of two if he’d got booked after the City game. The City game is actually an irrelevance so he may as well miss that one.
Maybe that was the plan?The City game wasn’t an irrelevance to Morsy, hence why he was so reluctant to hustle and impose himself tonight (and reportedly on Saturday). We sent out a team with players looking to avoid cards, injury…..or where plain knackered to start with.
Cook’s also made it clear players won’t be dropped for poor form.
We had quality options to make half a dozen changes and not weaken us. They’d have been fresh, hungry and fighting for a place against City and beyond. It’s all well and good Cook saying it’s easy to look back with hindsight. But after Saturday, to a person, they were saying freshen it up. It feels like the last two defeats are down to poor management decisions.
Now, with the chasing pack capitalising, games are mounting up. Cook will no longer be able to point to us being top of the table to excuse an underwhelming performance. We’ll be the one doing the chasing, and it could be from third spot.
I thought everyone was saying what a magnificent transfer window we’d had.
A bad few days and it’s everyone on suicide watch!
Yes – tonppight was abysmal, but we’ll get over it.We had a great January.
Bizarrely, Cook hasn’t utilised his squad so the players look out on their feet. Now we’re heading into March and Cook has to take a look at his team again. He could have supplemented the regular first eleven these last few weeks, ie Fulton for Morsy, Walker and Colclough for Jacobs and Massey. And tonight, Vaughan starting, with Cole as an option on the bench.
As it is, we know very little about the new signings, so it would be risky to make wholesale changes. Cook’s policy doesn’t make any sense to me, he must have seen this coming after the dip in home form at Christmas, and the fixture backlog thanks to the FA Cup.
We’ve looked a better, more balanced team every time Colclough has played. And he hasn’t had a run in the side to get into top form.
Massey can be effective away from home when the opposition push on. But at home I don’t know what he offers. If your a pacey winger at least take on the full-back.
On the other wing Jacobs is long overdue a rest. Been anonymous since Christmas.
How can you make any sort of informed judgement when so little is known. We’re in the hands of the people who’ve run the club for 20+ years and some other experienced hands. The long-term outcome may not be as we would wish, but that goes for any change in ownership.
Ten days before the game I don’t think there’s many more than 2K tickets available in the home ends. It’ll be close to whatever the capacity is on the night.
He’s entered six tournaments in the last 6 years. With combined stakes of approx. £500k he’s made around £7.2m. Doesn’t seem to be much beyond an occasional hobby.
https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-players/243573-stanley-choi/results/overall
It’s good to have healthy scepticism. That said, plenty of conclusions being jumped too. Do we know if he’s a football fan, does it even matter? On the commercial side I’d suggest Latics are in need of a fresh set of eyes and new direction. Those in place may already have promising plans, but all too often you need a little investment to get things started. That applies to plenty of things when you look around the club and stadium these days. It could do with a little sprucing up and sensible investment to make the most of the facilities we are fortunate to have.
Given our financial outlook many would have anticipated we’d sell Powell for half the £10m reported in some quarters. The fact we didn’t gives me some confidence there’s going to be an injection of cash. I’m not looking, or even think it’s realistic, to spend our way through the leagues, but it would be nice to have the security to hold onto our better players, and demand top prices when the time does come to sell.
People say “why Latics” and point to our support. But for any small-to-mid sized club, TV income dictates financial wealth (outside a benefactor). And ‘if’ we ever did get back to the Premier League, you can guarantee an 18k-20k average, on par with a number of current teams. If your looking for investment opportunities in English football, Latics is pretty good bang for your buck. £20m will get you a squad capable of challenging for promotion to the Championship, a Premier League standard stadium and training facilities. Maybe they even threw in the building and land next to the North stand?
You could add a zero to that £20m, for club’s substantially bigger than us, with said facilities and assets. And will we ever really know the impact of winning the FA Cup and our years in the Premier League? In markets like Asia they’ve only been aware of English football in the Sky era.
Finally, I do have some confidence in Sharpe, Jackson and Cooke to do right by us. We’ve reportedly been subject to takeover interest numerous times, including an Irish consortium a year or two back. They where turned down as they couldn’t give the guarantees the club demanded.