Thetownend.com

We seem to have selected all the right colours but just cannot get the fuckers in the right order!!!

I reckon there's one last surprise and I'm hoping it's a good one. Having now written my £50 `Calderwood' bet off I'm going for the long shot and suggesting that the delay is down to F&W trying to negotiate bringing Hockaday in as assistant to Money...

Of course this could all be bollocks and Money could end up at Hartepool

Today is my last day of worrying about it I'm going out to get drunk tonight and if I happen to bump into a new manager on the pitch tomorrow it might help me recover from the hangover

I had that game.

It wasn't even remotely like the TV show!

I know...

And your specialist subject is?

Erm... Yellow?

It seems to me Calderwood was nailed on, however forest held out for more compensation. Money was the back up plan with Hockaday third choice.

On the radio Ed Hadwin said that the club have had a hitch in proceedings.

Same Ole Swindon!

That's hilarious in the I want to cry sort of way.

Just come back from the ground - definately a hitch of sorts... unsure whether it's second thoughts on our part or the manager in waiting has changed there mind but it seems increasingly unlikely anyone will be announced this week

Now, where did I chuck that Calderwood betting slip?!

We are forever in debt to Fitton and co for saving the club but all the euphoria is starting to ebb away. I am pretty sure they will get it right and I know things are not going to change over night blah blah blah but Malpas was a big mistake and this whole debacle is not really doing them any favours either, I am getting pretty sick with having to tell people (who used to go regularly back in the late 80's and 90's) that this board have got money and will turn the club around when they say to me "bring back Seton Wills" and "this lot are worst then previous lot it's a joke". I also know a few who are current season ticket holders who are now saying "I just can't be bothered with it anymore" and are not going to renew next year. It is such a shame as AF and Co had a real chance off of the back of the takeover to win the lapsed supporters over but unfortunately a football club is judged by what is served up on the pitch and the last 12 months has been pretty dire.
I will back who ever comes in 100% but I just can't help but think that AF and Co have shot themselves in the foot again by this whole dragged out managerial circus.

Isn't this all just a bit of a mess now?

It is when you consider the amount of experienced managers who are out of work at the moment, we just dont need all this distraction at the moment because a loss Saturday will probably put us in the bottom 4 , I just hope the new guy whoever it is will be able to do some wealing and dealing in Jan as the current crop have not got the quality or the fight to get out of this mire.

Any clown that thinks they should bring back Seton Wills as Fitton and that are no good I hope don't bother renewing and don't ever come back  We are very luck to be in a financially stable position and debt free with the old fucking crooks we may not be here now.  Yes the manager thing is dragging on a bit but lets get this in perspective if we still get the right man then we can push up the league with good management on and off the field.

It is, but I think I would rather have a short term mess trying to find the right management team to stabilise us over the next 5 years than a quick fix that puts us back in financial difficulties during the next 5 years.

F&W have a clear strategy of youth development and they need to be certain they bring in a management team that supports that whilst bringing results on the pitch - we don't have money
lke Chelsea or Man City that can buy success so, like it or not, STFC has to be run as a profit making business and securing the right manager is key to this.

I'm as frustrated as the next person over how long this has gone on BUT I have no doubt that here are very good reasons for the delay, none of which are done with the intention of pissing the fans off

Spot on post Lambourn.  At this moment in time I feel like one of those ST holders who can't be arsed to renew next year.  I'm not usually like that but for some reason the optimism from the takeover has really come to a premature end with me.  I'm sure I'll get my "mo'jo'" back but I'm kinda glad I'm missing the next 2 home games due to family commitments.

But are they all happy to work within the confines of our business model?  I'd imagine that Newcastle thought they were onto a winner when Allardyce was appointed but it got them nowhere, as were Blackburn when they appointed Ince - having a big name guarantees nothing if they can't operate the way club expects them to

I'm not blaming the board as such. Just think it's all making us look a bit silly now. Will we get any form of update today do you reckon? Also the media being idiots really don't help the cause.

Unfortunately these people dont troll the forums and the tinternet all day so can only go on what the adver or RS are telling them or more importantly what they see on a match day by the way these are not the ones saying bring back SSW. As for people who look from a far and used to go regularly they only go on the scoreline and whats read out on sky soccer saturday and it does not make good reading at the moment.
It is no point saying these people are not welcome because they are the same people that AF and Co are trying to get back.

He's not wrong Edna!!

I think it is highly unlikely that any announcement will be made today but we will get a statement detailing (as much as possible) the reasons behind the delay.  

I can imagine that F&W are working tirelessly behind the scenes trying to get things in place but time may be against them I fear.

On a side not Triseros, as a fork-ist that you are.  With our ground share with Bath likely to be announced next month, you seen the state of Reading's pitch recently.  Flippin awful, even with that plastic binding material they use, must be a sobering thought for our pitch menders.

Lambourn you make a good point - people who don't use forums do have a differing view point on the situation and shouldn't lambasted for it

Not saying a big name just an experienced one like Ward,Holloway, etc who would not require any compo and would have been available immediately.

Not particularly looking forward to it but it is still in the melting pot - Bath have gone very quiet on the subject since the economic downturn - we're waiting on them to come back to us and they don't have long to do it

I don't think we look silly.

It seems a shambles to us internet morons as we're on here 24/7 speculating and pontificating and expect things to happen in a flash.

To the outside world who are fed news by SSN and the BBC it just looks like we're taking our time and making sure we're getting the right person.

So, have we got a new manager yet? No. Do we look stupid to an Oxford fan that doesn't come on here reading all the speculation that we've fucked this club around, fucked up compensation here, left it too late there but reads the BBC to see that our shortlist is down to two? No.

The best course of action is for all the fucking I saw so-and-so etc to stop, let Fitton & Co get on with what they are doing and show a little patience.

PS - I was in London yesterday and on the train back to Bath Alan Pardew got off at Swindon; make of that what you will.

But they have been considered and felt they would not work to our business model - same issue as a big name really.

Basically any manaager we employ has to work to our strategy otherwise we have no club in 5 years time - this is not a bottomless pot of money ownership - we have to operate as a profit making business

To be completely honest to spend 5 weeks during the season is taking far to long.  We need a decisive move, blitzkrieg styley, not more consideration.

Fucking call up Holloway and offer him the job.  Not that for a minute I believe that will happen.

So are you saying the wages that the likes of Ward would want are too much ? but Cheltenham and Carlisle could afford him, or that these guys would want a big budget to spend on players ?

No, It's not about salary's - it's about how they want to manage a team.  Some managers want a guarantee of a big transfer budget, others are happy with free transfers and some see youth development as the way forward - if a 'Wow factor' name came into the frame but expected a big transfer budget then I'm afraid it goes against the business strategy of youth development and ends up in the 'No thank you' bin.

In simplistic terms it's no different to employing anyone else in a normal job - if you advertise for someone to make Christmas cards and you only deal in recyclable paper but the person you were interviewing was only prepared to make Christmas cards out of tin foil - would you employ him? probably not because it doesn't fit with your business model