Thetownend.com

At long last i have started to read others agreeing with me "sell players for millions and replace with freebies".  Power has literally sold every player worth watching and replaced with utter dross.  Cooper is rightly being criticised but its about time Power got the same.  Branco is our captain...he is average at best, we are so poor it is depressing and yet you hear Power talking about the need for bigger home attendances, is this man deluded?  He talks about having the lowest wage bill in league 1, thats great, certainly not the lowest season ticket price at £430.  We are heading one way, just wondering how much more Power will make before he calls it a day.
If we are not careful we will be league 2 with home attendances around the 4,000 mark.

 

 :suicide:

so you are happy for Power to line his pockets then fuck off, Manc Red?

We've sold 3 players, for good money having had good service out of them, absolutely the right thing to have done.

We've been in Div 4 before with gates of fewer than 4,000....it can happen we're Swindon Town. I'll still be there, as I was before.

Congratulations on the fact people agree with you

We had our highest position for years last year. The money made from player sales will give us our own training ground and keep things ticking over financially. The replacement players have been a bit disappointing but still too early to say on that, we've only just made it into October. Perhaps show a little patience while the team sorts itself out?

Again? Really?

By "line his pockets" do you mean take back part of the millions of his own money he invested to keep us afloat? We don't even know if he has taken any serious amount of money back.

By "then fuck off" I guess I must have missed that news

Look, don't disagree with him because that means we're in a clique and the forum's ganging up on him. Amazing thread though.

Amazing thread?? You are probably a happier clapper that will accept watching any old dross.  Baffles me, we have fans who would be happy watching us slide down the league without a fight. As for the ganging up statement, behave.

Who, realistically, would you rather was running our club at the moment? Jed? Andrew Black is coming back any time soon I'm afraid.

So then, basically, if somebody does not agree with you then they are happy we are struggling?

Fuck me is this meltdown weekend?

I am sure Power would be delighted if people want to pop a few million in to the club, then you can all share the millions he is apparently trousering!

Please come back from Never never land and get real.

I've been a season tkt holder in good times and the really bad times in the early eighties.

This football club has always been a selling club, even when 18-20 thousand people came through the turnstiles.

I have been lucky to witness a League Cup win and the magic of MaCari, Ardiles Hoddle etc but unless we are bang rolled by someone with more money than sense we will always be a small time club based in SN1 who from time to time experience some magic.

Real Football fans follow their home town club. Unfortunately SKY has put too much money into the game and made it vile, corrupt and easy to jump on the band wagon and follow the big time Charlie's in the a Premier League.

If you don't like what Lee Power is doing, join the Prawn Sandwich brigade and get fleeced by the Premier League.

Rant over

nobody really knows the current financial state, I'd assume with most that the statement of breakeven is true, and that monies taken out by power do not exceed monies in.

hopefully the club will be transparent when the time comes.

the footballing side has been put together largely on the cheap, and that is risky. but isn't that the reality of breakeven?

long term the thing that made me wonder what the future holds is seeing a club like Tranmere in the conference. if it can happen to them it can happen to pretty much anyone in the bottom leagues..

not yet the time to worry about such things.

Great post Batch, respect that.  I guess I am massively frustrated right now. The league is so poor and we are struggling. I too have been a supporter and duly accept the rough with the smooth, seen more than enough shit in my time.  Just alarming at the moment, lads who are fervent followers of Swindon Town have had enough and have recently stopped going.
If more ale the same action we really could be in the shit.  I don't expect miracles and to the smart prick saying about having millions to invest, obviously I don't but at the same time I am very sceptical about Power and think we are going one way. Love to be wrong but can see us in league 2 next year.

Considering the fact you created this thread to gleefully rejoice in the fact people agree with you, I get the impression you're one of those minority of fans who enjoy having something to moan about. Relegation will provide you the chance to say "I told you so" to the rest of us who have the presence of mind to recall events following Black's departure and Jed's arrival and how truly fucked we were compared to this current blip.

Is this some sort of anti-drinking proverb? It's quite wise.

It's all very well moaning about the regime but what's your alternative?

Sonic youth, I can assure you I do not want our team to get relegated. You don't know me personally so try and avoid making assumptions. I will be there Tuesday desperate to beat Oxford as I will Saturday with Peterborough.  I cannot help it if and any others are massively concerned.

Thought the money for the development centre/training ground was coming from the Farmer  out Wantage way,that left the club some money.

Nope. LP stated that on a phone in. Does no one listen to them?

Firstly, I am skeptical about Power because I've heard some of the stuff about how the money he's* put in has actually been loaned to him from Sherwood & Barry, hence their interest in the club.

But 'it's darkest before the dawn' and all that crap:

1. Club in debt with a huge wage bill bleeding money
2. Club clears debt from money invested by Power (apparently)
3. Club becomes break even via a restructuring of the monthly outgoings v cashflow
4. Club sells good players for profit. Power takes money back that 'he' originally invested
5. Club invests any remaining funds structuring behind the scenes with a training ground [ WE ARE HERE NOW ]
6. Club still attracts good players due to newfound status in the FL as a developing club
7. Club sells good players for profit.
8. Club reinvests this money into players/ground/behind-the-scenes/anything
9. Repeat 6-8.

This isn't a bad plan. it's just we're in the stage where we're not seeing any immediate return which is worrying some. We massively overachieved last season so our expectations are higher, but I don't believe Power would let us get relegated as this could hinder attracting good players and good PL loan players from his mates.

We will be back up there. Just give this system time. Look at Swansea. That's the model we're following.

* And no, not he as in Miles Storey.

Club continues to employ lame duck manager

Decent post that Jay. Out of interest what have you heard about LP being loaned the money by TS & GB?

Just about how LP isn't actually worth near £3m. So when he's claimed to have put £3m into the club, there has been mention that he's got that money from somewhere. While TS & GB have shown a lot of interest in the club since Lee took over, so IMO it has some plausibility.

I could make up all sorts of stuff that'd sound plausible......

Powers model is to turn a profit on players and to stop running the club at a loss. He is doing that - results don't really factor into it. I'm making an assumption and reading between the lines but right now Powers priority is balance sheets rather than league tables.


Its what other people do on here. No one really knows anything about anything with regards to the inner running of this club.

 :nod:

My memory might be fading but I thought I read somewhere that the money was loaned by his wife's company.....I don't think Power has ever claimed to be worth that much has he?

I don't agree with the suggestion that power would be happy with being in league 2. Simply because he could sell a successful L1 player for more money than he could sell a successful L2 player.

Asides from that, it's clear that selling players at a profit is his model and i have no problem with that. None at all. I actually quite like it and think it could bring us some success. I think it's probably the best option available without a mega-rich sugar-daddy.

Swings and Roundabouts as I guess we'd have spend less on wages in L2 but like you said also get less in transfer fees. I too, wouldn't say Power would be happy with it but I don't think he'd bust a gut to keep us up or get us back up. If it happens, it happens. He won't like it but I don't think he'd be bothered enough to be devestated.

Ultimately, as his model doesn't put the club in any sort of financial peril - it is the way to go at the moment. However our opinions differ on the potential for it to bring on pitch success. I don't think it will, I don't think we will ever build a team and we will need to rebuild too frequently to progress.

This. It amuses me because I was technically "ITK" for a while (someone very close to me was employed by the club and knew pretty much everything that was going on) but most of the time he didn't know half as much as random people on the internet did. It's funny that they wouldn't tell an employee, but they would tell half the cabbies in Swindon !

I'm not saying there aren't secrets that creep out, but a pinch of salt is required. As is my way I'll have to bring some psychology in and point out the phenomena of confirmation bias: once you've decided he might be a bit of a dickhead, rumours he's a dickhead become more believable, they mount up, and you ignore the rumours that say he isn't. And that's not even including facts.

Nigel Eady's money is paying for the new training ground.

Power got fucked off by Basset Town when he tried to muscle in on their new development - he wanted their brand new main pitch for training 3-4 times a week, and didn't like it when they said no.

He's decided to pick up an option on the former Wollen Sports Ground instead, but neither he nor the club are paying for it.

Given our recent past, I'm fucking amazed that so many here are quick to defend him with the old "come up with an alternative" line, or "it could be worse, Jed could be in control".

Grow the fuck up and ask the questions that need asking - if you genuinely want to make sure the club is protected from an asset stripper. If you haven't got the bollocks to ask the questions yourself, don't just fucking slate those who have.

Anyone who's genuine will happily open up the books and welcome questions. Those who have something to hide or conceal, will not.

How about a proper fans forum. One that's open to all and with proper questions that aren't known in advance, or rigged by Powers BBC patsy, Sean Hodgets?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elRxbGJuCw8&sns=em

The players are not dross. If you'd said at the end of last season we'd have a front-line of Thomas, Ajose and Obika to choose from, managed to keep Kasim, Louis Thompson and Turnbull (who most of us thought would be playing for championship clubs), signed Robert, Traore and Ojaama on permanent deals, and added in Stewart, Williams and Vigouroux from Liverpool, I'd have said we had the basis of a very good side.

Remember Bournemouth a few years back? Languishing at the bottom of the table under Paul Groves, with a squad that should have been very good on paper. Looked utter dross to a man when they came to the CG that season. Ended up finishing in the autos after getting in a decent manager. Southampton had a similar turnaround under Nigel Adkins, and Norwich under Paul Lambert, after the previous manager had contrived to lose 7-1 to Colchester with what turned out to be a championship winning squad.

Sometimes good players look like dross when playing the wrong system/ lacking confidence/ being poorly trained/ managed. I posted a link to a German article not long ago, about how the English obsess too much over players when things are going wrong. You could put Vincent Kompany into our back-line right now and we'd still leak goals in defence.

Do you think Burton and Walsall, at the top of the table, really have the best players in the division? Or are they simply better-organised, better-motivated, and playing with more confidence than everyone else at the moment?

If, however, it really is Power who's insisting we stick to the passing game, having focused all our resources on attackers, then I agree he IS culpable for our poor form and performances. For the passing game to work you need to be able to flood midfield, where our talent was concentrated last season. Now it's concentrated in attack.

You can't play two midfielders, as we did at Blackpool after Robert's injury, and four attackers, and still try to dominate possession. Until someone realises that, and sets us up as a counter-attacking side, which is what the playing squad is best suited to, then we probably are fucked for the foreseeable future.

Delta Incline..at fucking last another realist who is not just a happy clapping brain dead mug happy to watch power the complete piss.

Why are so many of fans so gullible????  The bloke would sell the pitch if he could.  Yet still fucking idiots defend him and have a go at loyal fans who are worried at his antics.

The players aren't dross? They are pal hence why we are getting beat by league 1 shite like Blackpool. 

Before anybody goes calling other people gullible or idiots or whatever, then I suggest those making these claims present some fucking evidence. Are we just to take somebodies word for it? Of course fucking not! So back up what you are saying with something tangible.

PANIC everybody. PANIC. Because somebody has some bad feelz.

Flasheart, quick question for you.  If you were at your place of work and say a new owner turned up, for this example we will call him Mr Power.  Mr Power turns up, sells the main assets of the business and pockets money from a bumper pay day. He then decides to replace the staff that helped yield these results with new recruits who were not deemed good enough for poorer performing businesses.  Now Mr Flasheart, concentrate for a minute, my question to you: would it ever cross your mind where has all the profit gone???  Or would you think no this is great, the business is performing poorly but this Mr Power, he is looking after the business not his own bank balance.

Given previous experience of bad chairmen and 'general managers' I think it's always best to err on the side of caution, but I think you're reading between lines that don't even exist.

This has been done ad nauseum, it has been discussed and explained over and over. You are just the same as others that have made claims without backing them up.

If you want people to take your ramblings more seriously then back them up with something. It's particularly foolish to go calling other people stupid when you can't even defend your own position with something meaningful.

And where have you heard this from?

Indeed there are certain posters getting away with posts on here at the moment! that Chang would get crucified for!

This shit needs gifs:


(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/jamiethon/panic_zpsuyiafctt.gif) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jamiethon/media/panic_zpsuyiafctt.gif.html)

But based on my earlier post you have assumed that I am 'a clever prick' and I am not aware that you know me so assumptions seem to work both ways - although coincidentally you are right I am clever prick!

Incidentally the majority of these players we have sold for massive profits which Power has pocketed whilst laughing uncontrollably and stroking a big white cat were only here because of the contacts that Power has so it seems something o a vicious circle to be honest.

It may stink but it sure as hell doesn't reek as much as when Mikey D was at the helm or Jed was roaring his way through the system, Power may be a lot of things but I have to admit I don't wake most mornings and log on expecting Administration or worse to have happened over night?

Just a few fans who are close to one or two people at the club & have done some research on the new owners when they took over. I personally haven't seen any proof. But there is at least some chance it's got legs. Also, I believe the people I've heard it from. And no, I'm not going to say who it is.

That irony wasn't lost on me either, KT.

Having called everyone who doesn't agree with your poorly-argued rant a "happy-clapping brain-dead mug", I hope you're not going to get upset if you get a bit of abuse back. You seem like one of those people who see the world in very simple black and white tones - with/against you, for/against Power, great/shit team - and I wouldn't be surprised if you were creaming yourself a month ago at the quality we'd brought in.

Now this bit is going to be a bit hard for you to take in, but read it slowly: life is a bit more complicated than that. Here are one or two points you may want to consider, or re-consider since you've ignored them when someone's made them so far:

1 You've not shown you know enough about Power or the club to have convinced us to share your conclusion that he is definitely a crook.

2 Lots of people don't subscribe to your view that the team is "dross", and that the reason we are playing poorly is squarely down to the chairman. Plenty of the players have done well before/elsewhere. Might the coaching be in need of a tweak?

3 This is a forum where people exchange views: we've now heard yours repeatedly, with very little in the way of facts to back it up. Shouting at us won't work. Don't get upset if we don't hail you as the messiah.

DV is making far too much sense recently

Will they? Its a business if he doesn't have to reveal the full financial returns then I suspect he won't - would you provide full details of your business into the public domain if you didn't have to?

I am not sure what you are trying to say with the grow the fuck up comments, yes answers may be needed but ranting on an internet forum behind a 'name' hardly seems the most likely way to get responses unless you are thinking Sangita is going to come come on here and answer. Rather than berating the club for not spoon feeding the press stories, possibly the press should be asking these questions and then publishing that the club won't answer, they sure as hell don't need to pussy foot around avoiding this but they have been strangely quiet since they were no longer fed stories each day - possibly says less about the club and more about the quality of our local media.  ::)

Good post well put..

 :D
You happy-clapping brain-dead mug!  :D

I have added the sections you conveniently overlooked in bold....

I don't have a business qualification, but if one buys a business, creates value in that business with investment, then sells that additional value - that's not my definition of asset stripping!

I'll answer this one....

As a manager, I have gone into some teams that have said to have been performing well. In the teams, there have been some 'superstars'. I was actually quite pleased to let them move on, as it enabled me to bring some fresh blood in that I could mould. Bringing in the new people, who weren't as adept at doing the job as those they replaced, enabled me foster a better teamworking environment. It enabled me to develop those who were in the shadow of the 'superstars'. The team went on to perform better. But, unfortunately, nothing lasts of ever and it was soon time for those people I'd developed to move on.

The bit that I think a lot of you are missing, is something Power said very early on and repeated after the play off loss: The moves that he made when he took over, were short term moves. He brought in quick fix players to make the model work. The players for the latest rebuild were more part of a longer term project. ie Players that needed work and more time to develop.

I think the level of our success last year was a pleasant surprise. The response to this was that both he (and Cooper) said that if we had moved into the Championship, we would have been able to keep most of the players. However, we didn't and they wanted to move on, so we cashed in.

There is an argument that Cooper should have been dismissed for the poor performance in the play offs. There is also an argument that Williams is culpable too. Power is the owner. The man who controls the purse strings. Its a shame he isn't Abramovich, but, I don't think the club is doing too badly at the moment with him at the helm.

I think some on here have got to grow up and be a bit more realistic. There are 22 other teams out there who are all trying to win the league or promotion. It aint always that easy. Mid to lower end League 1 is our level. We'll have some crap seasons when we may get relegated and some good ones where we get near the top of the table. But, history shows a pattern. Power's model is unlikely to change that too much I think. As for the training ground etc, I don't know enough about that to comment.

For an asset stripper Power is rather poor, why does he keep investing in players! He spends money on players both with fees and the likes of Thomas a decent wage I imagine! What a mug.

Your also making out that Power walked into a club with fantastic player assets. Is this true? Or was money like the above invested and then sold for a return? Could care less if it's not his money he is buying players with, if it's Sherwood and Barry good on them. Both very high profile people in the football world. I don't doubt for one minute the model as we have little choice without someone willing to invest millions. To be sustainable you have to use loans, invest wisely in players with potential for a return and success obviously helps the above model bring in better players. You have absolutely no evidence to bring to the table, it is right to show caution but not come out will shitty claims and acting like a little girl. If results had gone difference you wouldn't have even created this thread.

Can't find much to argue with there, so I'll have to focus on this bit.

So which one isn't trying?

Is it Crewe?

The truth of whether Power is a saint or sinner will only ever be known for sure when he leaves.

Too many people link poor on field performances with dodgy boardroom shenanigans. Sure, Power can be criticized for bringing in players and expecting Cooper to mould them into a team - I'm sure Cooper would prefer to be judged on players he had been responsible for.

We've been shafted by a series of long term injuries and what I think is the root of the problem - Cooper doesn't feel valued and lacks the motivational skills to rally a team bereft of confidence.

The team which, coincidentally OR NOT, is closest to our own model!!!

The Thomas signing surely proves that Power's intentions can't be all bad. 28 years old, most expensive wages at the club. No resale value if we were to sign him. If Power was only it for the money GL5 Red, then why would he ever bring in someone like that?

Pedant! :-)

I bet Ajose didn't come cheap either.

"Don't make assumptions" "you're probably a happy clapper".

That'll do me.

Riddel .... :)

Power has been reasonably honest in his dealings so far, and it should be law for any STFC fan not to trust the owner/chairman, but there's nothing about this season that can't be explained by the fact that it was always going to be difficult.  Throw in factors like numerous injuries, players getting sulky or homesick and it's hardly a surprise that it's turned to shit.

We managed to get relegated out of this league, with model owners, a massive wage bill and some decent players, just a few years ago.

Not me, but was the influence behind that statement :) I was more of a lurker on that site from memory, or I may have been Edinburgh Red actually.

Has this hypothetical company in question been mismanaged for God knows how many years? Did the company have debts to pay when Mr. Power took over? Did Mr. Power then pay off those debts with his own money?
So, is this company in debt to Mr. Power? If it is.....are they going to begrude him taking out a percentage of any profit he makes with said company?

I've always made sense!

as long as it's transparent and proportional

I am outraged by the way Mr Power is treating this hypothetical company.

to be fair, it's not clear how much money is still owed to who is it?

Are we back in the real world or still dealing with the hypothetical company ;)

3, 2, 1 you're back in the room

I do find myself every time I listen to lee powers thinking he ain't that bad. I've certainly found myself questioning his motives. However when I hear his answers rather than the rumours. It all stacks up that he his doing a reasonable job. Training ground sounds positive, he makes it quite clear he owns the club and thus has the right to do it his way, he buys the players, cooper manages the team, William's coaches. Seems straight forward to me. Yes it does seem he profits from it but why shouldn't he if he got nothing out of it he would not be here and swindon would not benefit from his experience as a player, an agent and his contacts that he has in the game. He admits the play is too slow and that is something they are going to work on. Injuries are massive for us and would be for any team. I think when the players are back things will calm down. He mentioned one thing that is important and should strike a cord with all fans. It's our club too and if attendance do fall so will our budget. The team needs us more than ever. Lets not stay away and lets have that town end belting out the songs. It will make a huge difference.

Good post.

Lee Power on TalkSport now.

http://talksport.com/radioplayer/live/

Their website seems to have crashed just as he started talking about Sherwood...

For someone who apparently has loads to hide and is up to no good he seems very happy to speak to the media.

Even more so in this era of a club media ban! Or have we moved on from that yet..

He's always good in front of the mic.

If he's up to no good he hides it well. That said, if he was up to no good he's hardly going to spew it out.

We'll know a lot more over the passage of time and post his reign. If he's transparent on things then maybe sooner.

Basically, you can't tell good and bad from how they are in front of a mic.

A media ban never existed....

Morshed is gone, media back to normal.

Can you elaborate on that a little further please, what does he have to hide and why is he up to no good - or do you think he is really Jed in disguise?

Nobody knows what goes on behind the scenes at any football club.

We'll only ever know about Power once he's gone.

Saint or sinner? Take your pick.

I read that 'apparently' aimed at people who are sceptical of his motives, not that he thinks something dodgy is going on

It was rather tongue in cheek to those saying he is a shyster, I have no idea - I have seen no evidence to suggest any misdemeanors either way...

I'm surprised he hasn't used the money saved by coopers departure to get a new merc.

It'll cost him sacking Cooper - compo and all that

What the hell has it got to do with last of the summer wine?

Has anyone got a link to his interview on talk sport that was on earlier?

On Radio 5 Live in a minute...

Bloody hell where is this wall to wall coverage coming from?

I heard it, at least he didn't say fuck.  I was having a bath listening to my faithful transistor, but could have sworn he said he likes the idea of someone connected to the club....(I paraphrase here) who believes in kamikaze football.

Martin Ling....same accent as Power, maybe not so daft.

Get a grip!! Swindon don't generate that kind of cash and I think it's cheap of you to imply it?!

Think you're getting confused with Jed

Power said that he bought the players, and the manager manages, presumably making do with what he's got. If that's the case, Power bought or loaned some really inexperienced or weak defenders which has let the rest of the team down. 

Its a joke, calm down.

Or maybe he bought in some good defenders that will perform well under different management? We'll just have to wait and see.

Well thats an image I cannot get out of my head now....

Williams is still coaching them as he has been for the past 2 seasons, so I wouldn't expect miracles of our defence any time soon.

Except it seems that Williams has not been taking training lately.....

I would assume that Williams is the technical coach and focuses heavily on ball work and the like.  The tactics such as style of play and defensive positioning would likely have been Cooper's responsibility.

So what the fuck has he been doing, Power doesn't strike me as the kind of fella to pay someone for doing nothing!

Buggered if I know.

What, not even the mythical general manager, Steve Anderson?

(yeah, OK, he may be brilliant behind the scenes.)

Tracksuit or suit tonight then?

Just wear whatever you feel most comfortable in, mate. The dress code's quite relaxed these days.

Go in a onesie Tans.

Im not going 8)

Shit fan

He has stated that he is going to sit in the Directors Box so I suspect suit.... he is not a scouser you know!

He's a southern Scouser, Lewisham..

Did anyone ask Power where he saw the club in the next 10 years?

Premier league bruv

Which one?

I’ve found some of the things Power has said recently truly baffling and a quite contradicting

I was listening to BBC Wilts on Monday morning and heard a couple of clips which I presume were from his most recent phone in.

He confirmed that he was responsible for the formation, style of play & player recruitment, Williams coaches the team in the week & Coopers pick the team, does the team talks and makes the subs.

Since then he has blamed Cooper for our style of play, which was the main reason for Coopers sacking? How can it be Coopers fault if Power sets our style of play and Williams coaches the team?

Last night he said Williams hasn’t been coaching the team at all this season? Nicky Ajose was recently praising Williams and confirmed he told the rest of the team you don’t normally get coaching like his at our sort of level.  I’m sure if Williams hadn’t been involved at all this season, Ajose wouldn’t of made such comments to the press.
And if he’s a coach who hasn’t been coaching what on earth have we been paying him to do?

In his pre-match interview last night Power let it slip that he often visits the changing room at HT and gives his point of view to the team, something which he had previously denied.

It seems to me that Power has had alot more involvement with first team affairs than we were previously led to believe. Cooper it would appear had very little influence on what went on at the club either behind the scenes or on the pitch and was always going to be the fall guy for Power’s downfalls.

If Power & Williams are responsible for our style of play & recruitment, it doesn’t matter who comes in they will once have very little influence on proceedings.

Power either needs to bring someone in and let them manage the team on a day to day basis and let his chosen man to live & die by his own methods or he may as well just appoint himself and be in the firing line rather than have a puppet like Cooper.

Remember the phone-in was before Cooper was sacked so one theory would be Power was trying to keep the peace and hold things together while behind the scenes he knew the problems.

It's different now Cooper has departed and things can begin to come out in the open. Be interesting to hear Cooper's take on everything but he might opt to go down the Kmac route and just get on with his career which would probably be best.

Williams hasn't been seen at the training ground for months.  Not sure what he's been doing but it would seem there were certainly indifferences between him and Cooper.

It's clear Power has a bigger say on the field and player selection wise than is being let on. Anyone expecting a big name to come in will be bitterly disappointed. We will get a Yes man and someone that will work with Power ideologies. 

Presumably because Power feels that Cooper wasn't implementing the style of play he asked for? I agree with your main thrust though, Power has contradicted himself a lot recently and much of this feels like Cooper being made to pay the price for failings in Power's approach.

I'd certainly hope so, for his own sake as well as ours. Does no-one any favours to have a protracted public spat.

I suspect that he will hold his counsel, the Bayern job may be coming up shortly and as the new Guardiola I assume that he will be favourite for that!

Another snippet . . .

Re the one and only appearance of Agombar.

Heard that Daddy Ago owed a certain club owner a fairly high amount of spondooliks. To grease the wheels so said amount would get paid Daddy wanted Baby Ago to have a professional appearance to add to his impressive CV.

Be careful what you say against Mr P................you may fear the wrath of Steveg!!!!

Would make sense if we hadn't been paying him to be here for a period of time (unless daddy was paying?)

Makes you wonder if that entire 'play the reserves' game at PNE wasn't just a huge cloak so the Ago appearance wouldn't seem quite so bizarre.

Has there been a spike in aluminium foil sales at your local supermarket Audrey?

Power was always going to get the benefit of the doubt as long as results held up, but it was pretty clear that should that not be the case then things would be seen differently.  That we're below Blackpool is a bit scary.  What's to be done, will a few wins stave off orange hat time, or is apathy with the club now too ingrained?

Power's been throwing games for money and Cooper didn't want to be part of it any more.

 ;D

You've gotta love the internet. It's full of people that know how to run a football club despite never having actually spent a single day running a football club. Ultracrepidarianism at its best.

Not necessarily directed at the TEF, more of a general observation.

Fuck off, I'm good a Football manager so I know it all.

After we conceded the 2nd goal last night what were the Town End singing at Power?

I couldn't work it out....

"Power    sort it out"

So two relatively new posters commenting on the Power situation, come on then which of you is Mark Cooper?  :D

And more embarrassingly, "Paolo Di Canio"

Clearly rubbish.

No team could look so convincingly shit by design.

Both chants spread into the DRS as well, although thankfully the Di Canio one quickly died on it's arse as people realised (or were told) the stupidity of what they were chanting for

I boo-urnsed at the end. I'm sorry TEF, frustration crept out.

Power did confirm on one of the radio interviews that he had already received an application from an expert at Championship Manager!

Where are you getting these from, I assume its due to your new role as a media darling - missed your work yesterday but assume it was a little like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzSQ3xgoh-w

Whilst I think Power is a C***, not even I could hate him as much as Cooper probably does.  ;D

Championship Manager is very out of date, we should at least be looking to appoint someone with recent managerial experience such as a Football Manager player.

 :sherlock:

If Power brings in a manager who turns our season around I'm going to ban all you naysayers

Just somebody I know who has an 'in' at the club. Whether it's bollocks or not I don't know. Just relaying it.

Les Ferdinand - not the in BTW just a name that came up

For the sake of our club I hope the new manager does turn it around but I don't think my opinion will change on Power.

Our past history of shady owners has made me somewhat sceptical, chuck in Powers history and how things appear to be panning out the same way as they did at Cambridge and my trust for him has all but gone.

I know it's easy to knock him when the chips are down but I think he will always divide opinion.
You will get Town fans who back him till the end and others who have lost trust in him and his lack of PR skills mean that opinion will likely not change.

Doesn't mean fans are happy clappers or naysayers, deluded or whatever else you see spouted on here. Football is all about opinions and this forum would be really dull without them.

All the majority really want is a smidgen of on-field success.

Power is a bit high profile for an owner/Director of Football/Caretaker Manager

Do you go training often then?

So, in order to get money back he is owed - he signs and pays said player for a year? That makes him more out of pocket I'd have thought?
Unless said Dad was paying said Sons wages - but then couldn't he have just paid off his debt with that money instead?

Doesn't make sense to me.

Dunno. Maybe the debt occurred after he was signed - the Hereford 'purchase'?

Think Daddy Ago had no intention of repaying unless Boy got a game.

Why he was signed in the first place  God only knows but was obviously a favour of some sort.

Two years!!  Was certainly a way of taking money out of the club legally!

Fucking hell, there is some shite in here!

Chang has spoken.

Do you understand the concept of irony?

He's actually right though. Even a broken watch is right twice a day.

Reality check friends.

The PL is a closed shop unless you have an exceptionally generous Andrew Black type prepared to "spunk millions" on a gamble to get there and not bottle it beforehand. I doubt Power has those millions to "spunk away" on a gamble.

So the next gamble is on the Championship. Which would be an exit plan. To sustain an outside chance of getting there an owner will need to "spunk away millions less" until it works or they lose their bottle, money or enthusiasm.

What Power is gambling on, and i cannot blame him in his stringent fiscal mantra of sustainability, which limits exposure to his capitol being "spunked away, is on young players who have potential to recoup the investment and some to keep the fiscal sustainabilty going every season.

You could argue that every smaller club like Swindon does the same, indeed they do, though i'd venture to suggest not to the degree we currently are.

Then the process starts again with new owners if it doesn't. Fellow TEF followers i give you groundhog day every season until see paragraph two.

The Paolo chant was grumbled at in the TE too. Yes, stupid in that he will never come back unless both he and Power compromise their principles dramatically, and no, not stupid in the sense that Paolo would never have stood for such god-awful, gutless, incompetent, work-shy individual and team performances on the pitch.

Nice to see a reasoned argument to the PDC chant.

So did I and Josh delighted in following suit.  Poor parenting. :)

Go on then, what's the latest?

Fuck sake. No to PDC. I can't throw another strop.

Where is Paolo hiding these days out of interest??
In one of his many mansions around the globe no doubt??

I can't even begin to fathom why anyone would want that arsehole back. Granted, we had a good season with him but I would have got us promoted with that budget in League 2. The man's completely moronic and a bully. Speak to anyone inside the club - office staff, the media boys etc - when he was here, see if they'd have him back....

because if you isolate out all that you say and just concentrate on the 90 minutes on the pitch it was a fucking brilliant time to be a town fan. the best I can remember since hoddle/Ossie.

and that is how some fans think. you must remember that from when the trust tried to explain the knife edge the club was on when diamandis was in charge - 'busybodies' was a term that was supported by a fair few.

Correct , most informed fans knew what was going on and how close we came to oblivion with the uncontrolled spending but many many more casual supporters only see what happened on the pitch we won the League and arguable were 3 months away from repeating the feat before Black got cold feet and the rest is history.

Can I just clarify I don't want Paolo back - I was just wondering if anyone knew where he is or what he's up too these days out of interest

Are you suggesting that Black had spent so much money on STFC that he could no longer afford socks?

Uh. My duff Casio LCD watch isn't  :(

Perhaps Paolo would welcome the opportunity to prove he can be successful without sacks of mullah

Perhaps he'll be a completely reformed character, but I doubt it...

 :clap:

Anyone who thinks he'd even consider coming back is utterly delusional

In light of our current situation would you want risk such an experiment?

Bring him home.

Paolo with no money versus a n other with no money is a no brainer.

Not a cat in hells chance but this is about who people would like to see -  not who will

Paolo openly criticised his players for tic-a-tac footballing, hated the youth set up and acted like a complete and utter prick behind closed door so.... I don't think it will fit with LPs vision at all and so people need to drop any thought of it

(http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag351/rickrose1204/Mobile%20Uploads/112125376_football_400028c_zpsyaslenfw.jpg) (http://s1372.photobucket.com/user/rickrose1204/media/Mobile%20Uploads/112125376_football_400028c_zpsyaslenfw.jpg.html)

Could do with some of the passion, though

He will have got a new coat by now anyway. Results were crap the last time he did that!

Even if we put aside the myriad of issues with appointing Paolo well chronicled above, do you really think his salary demands would fit with Powers budget

Well that was a waste of a page.

Nothing about Paolo fits this model. He'd have fallen out with Power before getting off the plane FFS!

If passion is the only qualification required for the job then we could appoint more or less anyone.

Although PDC obviously isn't coming back (although I'd have him in a flash) I wish people would stop assuming that recently retired players/big names automatically command a big salary - see Hasselbaink & Sheringham. Whatever us fans think, within the game's inner circles this will still be seen as a pretty decent gig.

Like Cooper, you mean?

So because he talked in a calm and composed manner he wasn't passionate?

I wouldn't trust PDC with a quid of my own money having learn't what we now know

About as passionate as me granny's knickers

Not reading all 13 pages. Have we all come to an agreement that Power is a bit of a cunt yet?

Like most on here

He is a self-confessed player of the pink oboe

https://www.facebook.com/BBCWiltshire/videos/502408649928597/

What a fucking weapon.

....because he won football matches.
You wouldn't have got us promoted and I'm not really sure I care what the office boys though of him, not really relevant to the team.

Obvious he will never come back here but think his time will always be understated here due to various things that have nothing to do with the fact he put together a good, committed squad, won football matches and was taking us to the Championship.

Haha what a retard

Williams has been taking training for months.

I don't know... I did once manage a team to the final of the East Sussex Sunday County Cup final on a budget of £5 subs per player per week....

Just listening to Kasims interview,  sounds like Williams had been far less involved and the players hadn't been enjoying it under Cooper and didn't understand what he was asking of them.  I reckon there was a bit of mutiny involved.

Not heard Kasim interviewed before.  He really grated on me for some reason

Lovely... we do seem to attract them don't we...

Sounds like we might have benefitted from the chairman being around on a bit more of a regular basis. Place seems to have been a wreck for months. As a football man, he should have seen that, but appears to have let things carry on to rot.

Hang on, so now instead of slagging power off for being too involved you are now slagging him off for not being involved enough.

Perhaps I'm the only one but I'm inclined to see Power as more of a fallible human being than some sort of malicious dictatorial overlord. I would go as far as to say it would be hard for anybody to run a club without a certain amount of ego and feelings of self importance, and those are bound to manifest themselves in both positive and negative ways as the season pans out.  

Also, I know "why always Swindon" is ingrained deeply into many hearts (including mine usually) but it baffles me that people think we are the only club around where the owner / chairman has a say in transfers and style of play, etc.  

It's because some people say so on the internet.

Is there actually a hate for power at the moment? I'm struggling to see what he's done wrong? That we know of. Everything else is just rumour. He speaks really well, built a fantastic team last season, can find a good player, has re-invested a bit (not as much as people seem to want), currently struggling with a huge chunk of the team missing. I'm as pissed off as the next but accept it because of the unique injury scenario. It's shit but sometimes shit happens. Cooper has said before almost every injury has been through tackles and impacts, unpreventable. Suck it up, get players back. Be comfortable

I agree. It baffles me too. Surely all owners/chairmen have a say in how the team plays - they employ a manager in the first place because the manager gets teams playing the way the owner/manager wants his team to play. And the manager has much less involvement nowadays than before when it comes to player recruitment.

 

Don't think people do think that. There are plenty of other examples, Leeds springs to mind, or more positively Brentford. But there is an ingrained resistance to "the interfering chairman" in the mindset of British football and fans are no different

I don't think Ells literally meant people think that, but rather a comment on how some act.

Some keep on banging on about Power picking the team. This has been denied, and never proven. But hey ho, it's a stick to bash him with so why not use it?

He certainly picked Agombar :)

In fairness, it's unlikely to be able to be "proven" in any meaningful sense. I heard it asserted today as a "known" fact for the 3rd time this week from 3 different reasonably well connected people. Which doesn't mean it's true, of course, but it's certainly a very strong rumour in circles close to the club as well as among fans.

Even that's not certain but if it is true, it does not mean to say it happens regularly, if at all.

It was a 'strong rumour' that Standing chose the team for the PO final (and interferes a lot generally). That went a bit quite once it was discovered that Standing is Cooper's agent.

These things could be true but until we have something of substance, why treat them as though they are true?

Meh, fuck it. If people wish to jump to assumptions then that's their prerogative. I'll just sit back and smirk to myself if/when they are shown to be wrong.

It came from above Cooper, doesn't leave anywhere else to look really.
--

Jesus,for one life is boring if we only deal in hard facts.

Ah yeah, I remember now. This still doesn't mean it happens all the time.

But to be frank, I don't care who picks the team anyway. Power could appoint his mum as manager and tell her what to do for all I care, the only thing I'm concerned with is whether or not it works.

Yes, if it works great.

It may limit us getting the best man for the job of staying up though. If it doesn't, great.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/jamiethon/the%20point_zpstbsnc4d0.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jamiethon/media/the%20point_zpstbsnc4d0.jpg.html)

No, not really.

You are saying you don't care how the setup works if we get the right person
I am saying we may not get the right person because of the way the setup works.

I'm getting back to tanking. That's 'Tanking', with a 'T'.

Wow, somebody got something right for once.

He's been out of the picture for quite a while now though. Funny how he was involved a lot for most of last season and we did well.

Completely agree.

This point of view was used when Jed took over. Plenty of us on here could smell the bullshit without any direct proof at the time.

Surely after being shafted more than once in the past, it's hardly surprising people are a bit dubious.

You're thinking in black and white. Not acting as though something is true is not the same as acting as though it is not true.

So it's best not to question until after the shit's hit the fan?

We could be 5 time consecutive Prem, FA Cup, League Cup and European Cup winners and you'd still be skeptical.

I wish we'd never signed Charlie Austin

But we're not.

Giving any owner of any club carte blanche until after it's become apparent you've been shafted makes no sense.

There are no checks possible as to what the financial state is and will only been known in retrospect.

All I'm saying is it may pay to be vigilant, although I agree, there is fuck all we can do about it anyway.

Did I say that? No I didn't!

I have never criticised people for asking questions to find out if something is true. I have criticised people for acting as though something is true without first finding out whether or not it is actually true.

Can you see the difference?

No, that's not what he said at all. I think you're right to be a bit suspicious given both our past history and Power's. But that doesn't mean you just assume he's up to no good/the club's about to go under etc. You can maintain an open mind and a watching brief at the same time.

We're not Northampton either.

If your default setting is to be cautious and critical then where's your joy?

But the point is that there is no mechanism to find out what is true and what is spin until after the event - when it's too late.

I realise it has always been thus. It is just my nature to be suspicious.

But Northampton fans didn't know they were being shafted at the time - only now when it may be too late.

My joy, small though it is at the moment, comes from the 90 minutes.

There are 3 possible positions on any unproven claim:

A) It is true
B) It is not true
C) It might be true

Which would you take?

We're not talking about the existence of God!

Do you not think it healthy to be even slightly suspicious of any owner when recent experiences have proved that was the correct stance.

If I remember correctly, you took the same outlook when Jed took over.

I didn't think we were.

Ah well.

If you're happy to adopt a wait and see stance, fair enough.

Time will tell if you're right and I'm just a grumpy old cunt.

One thing's for sure, though. None of us pontificating on here are going to make a jot of difference to the outcome,

Yes, yes I did.

I don't know how to say this without appearing rude, but you seem to be struggling with basic logic. I might just leave this here.

Not like you to leave it alone FH.  :)

I'm forty something now.

Fucking hell, are you really? You come over as a feisty late thirties...

It's like being bitten by a dog.

You may be wary of the next dog even though it might just want its tummy tickled.

Most argumentative cunt on here. Like the TEF's Robbie Savage.

No I'm not.

Whoosh alert!!!!!!!!

I was trying to woosh you, were you wooshing me?

The word on the street has it that Lee Power likes having his tummy tickled. Although I'm sure that it's just a rumour manufactured by Tans. Or was it Chang?

Anyway, training this week will consist of team fellatio, led by Kasim with a view to him being future Chief Wanker.

No, I was alerting the fact that you were trying to whoosh me  :D

Ah. We can both consider ourselves un-whooshed.

It's a draw then, which incidentally, STFC would kill for at the moment!!!

Maybe we can woosh Coventry?

It's the type of game we'll probably end up winning!! Turnbull is back & I'm sure I read on here that Obika & Robert are maybe's so that would certainly flesh the squad out a bit!!

So am I  ::)

Look on the bright side, it's better than being fifty something.

Wait until you hit fifty. Then life REALLY begins. Ask Reg, he went past that yonks ago.

HA HA HA. Excellent!

Is it? At least we made it there...

That's a good interview with LP on bbc wilts. I'll put my marker down and wont comment again on if he's good or bad, as I think he is a good chairman. You may quote this if it goes wrong. I don't think that will happen. So Carry on conjecturing without me.

Until Newcastle stop getting new Managers we can all sit safe in the knowledge that nobody has any scruples or marbles in football management.  Even if Power was picking the Managers pants, we'd still get people interested.

On Power having an ego - he's an ex top flight footballer who owns a football club - it would be much odder if he was down to earth.

Stop being sensible Rob. Surely you have a lot of unsubstantiated rumours and bollocks to interject?

We need beers, it's been a while...

:Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick: i love you alan

Yeah....50 is soo last millenium.

Ooo er!

'Swindon chairman Lee Power could have received some intriguing advice from the person sitting next to him during Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Millwall, which was followed by the sacking of manager Mark Cooper.

To Power’s left in the directors’ box was former south London gangster Eddie Richardson, who recently claimed the Krays were ‘small-timers’ who weren’t in his league.

Cooper might consider losing his job at League One club Swindon preferable to having his teeth pulled out with pliers, rumoured to be a favoured method of torture by the Richardson mob. Eddie, 79, has served

I had heard he was going to be our new manager, could put some bit and motivation into the team.

It's what we kneed(caps)

Where did that come from Audrey?!


Nice chaps

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Richardson_Gang



BIB - might be a reason for lack of movement in the team

Surprisingly on Sam's twitter page!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3285132/Riddle-Clive-Oliver-s-County-FA-exit-Jose-Mourinho-persists-dodgy-ground.html

Being over seventy has the advantage that I have seen many more occasions when we were as shit as we are now or worse, but have somehow come back for some good times.

Let's hope you have long enough left to see it.    :D

More 'press' courtesy of The Secret Footballer...

http://www.thesecretfootballer.com/articles/the-secret-journalist/28949/journos-friday-thoughts-james-mcclean-dwight-gayle-swindon-town/

Good point! 

Funny how the national press coverage has never been higher during this "press ban."

Except that the coverage is all of the press ban, not the actual stuff we might like to know about, as the article itself points out. Not that they'd be covering that anyway, with or without a press ban. The nationals don't give a shit about 3rd and 4th division football

.

Anyone got a Sun+ account... http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/6709849/Power-trip.html

Also 'funny' that following the 'press ban' none of the press appear to have taken any opportunity to start looking around for stories to actually reveal what is going on at the club, it would appear that if the story is not handed on a plate they cannot be bothered/don't have the quality (delete as appropriate).

They should have no worries about upsetting the club now, but apart from a few whining articles like a spurned lover its essentially been silent.

I don't have a Sun+ account, however i'm still logged in as I have a Sun dream team so managed to read the whole article:

LEE POWER will not be keeping the Swindon hotseat warm after picking up his first point as boss.

As a tax exile, the Robins owner knows lingering in the country longer than 90 days could get very expensive.

The ex-Norwich striker, 43, oversaw the last-gasp two-goal fightback from the directors’ box, while highly rated coach Luke Williams did touchline duties.

Swindon hope to have a new manager appointed soon from a shortlist of five.

But, whoever the new Town manager is, he had better become best pals with Williams sharpish — because he is untouchable.

Previous boss Mark Cooper, who took Town to the Wembley play-offs in May, paid the price after rumoured clashes with Williams.

Ben Gladwin starts Swindon's comeback
Ben Gladwin starts Swindon's comeback  Howard Roe/AHPIX.com

Asked what would happen to anyone who did not rate the ex-Brighton coach, chairman Power bluntly answered: “He gets sacked.”

And despite living in Switzerland, Power will not be fading into the background when the new gaffer comes in.

The multi-millionaire, who took over in December 2013 after making a fortune publishing football programmes, will carry on choosing players to bring in.

He said: “I have played football all my life. It’s my money buying the players so I am buying them.

“I have put my money where my mouth is, I introduce them to the manager who picks the team, does the substitutions, deals with the media and the lads.

“As a coach, Luke implements how we play. If I wasn’t the chairman I would be called a director of football. Every top club in the world does it.”

Power was happy with his own work after injury-ravaged Town salvaged a point against a lively Coventry side.

Yes, the dreary obsession with passing backwards was still there and there was a dreadful spell in the first half when keeper Lawrence Vigouroux seemed to have more touches than the entire midfield.

Nicky Ajose  slots home Swindon's second
Nicky Ajose slots home Swindon's second  The Digital South Ltd

But the second half was better and the Robins saved the best until last as Ben Gladwin drove into the box to smash home Town’s first with five minutes left.

The midfielder was sold to QPR in the summer but is back on loan after failing to break into the Hoops’ side. Power said: “It’s the best bit of business in the world.

“We sold him for a few million and then get him back on loan. You can see his quality.”

Asked about his management style, Power added: “I can growl with the best of them. I am a South London boy but they don’t need growling at at this moment, they need encouraging.

“At half-time, we asked everyone to pass the ball and go out and be brave. We play high-risk football. Being the owner and chairman can help because when you have someone who owns the club saying don’t be scared, it relaxes the lads.”

Striker Nicky Ajose, whose injury-time penalty salvaged a point, agreed with his boss.

Ajose said: “He was calm and said it’s not going to change overnight but to keep going.”

43? Really?

But he is right. It's his money (maybe be with a bit of Barry's), it's his club and he can do what he damn well pleases.

This was also next to the article

(http://i.imgur.com/K106jXi.jpg) (http://imgur.com/K106jXi)

I'm really hoping that's Thompson's "get in, we scored" face and not a "fuck, that's the other leg gone.." one

There's another phone in tonight. 6PM.

He fucking hates engaging with the media and fans doesn't he - avoiding questions!

the sly little bastard, stop being so willing to talk and make us optimistic

What an absolute bastard! I'll never go to another game ever and now I support someone else and stuff

Doesn't count, you've got to say you've been supporting the club for 80 years first.

And have a tat room

I've got a scarf from Wembley and only started going regularly in 2002. That'll teach 'em.