Fitzhugh Fella

Are you NickG in disguise?

You always talk sense trousers, such a shame your whole reputation has been screwed by the fact your fave paper remains the Daily M***

NickG - no offence but you really are the king of spin and you need to calm down a tad. He is a good proven Championship player - nothing more nothing less, I think he will be an asset but he aint no obvious world beater (otherwise Leicester would no doubt have bought him) and Stuart Pearce didn't think he was worthy of a kick in the recent U21s tournament. Let's keep our feet on the ground and hope he will prosper from being at a club on a permanent contract. It will be interesting to see how he develops for sure and I welcome his arrival. There's a good chance he will improve into a Prem player, but your post is a bit OTT.

As the prof insinuates, I think a lot of it boils down to those who trust their club to do the right thing and those that don't. The argument of spending more money in the transfer market is as old as the hills. I remember we all thought Ted Bates way to cautious and then all being amazed at the arrival of Osgood (albeit under L Mac's tenure). As long as NC is still serious with his 5 year plan then I guess we should trust him. IS NA a good judge of a player? His track record would indicate so. But both should perhaps get a bit of a move on now football has reassembled.

This

Had to laugh at this - think you have read NickG pretty well, Prof

This is a bit of a surprise as I actually thought he would go to a bigger club than us. I certainly do not place Brighton in that category. I have got to say I was impressed by him from what I saw last season and would have liked to have signed him but perhaps NA has seen something that has put him off.

The trouble is a lot of people made up their minds about the rights and wrongs of this dispute from the media most of whom are regularly "wined and dined" by Willie walsh and get free tickets. I would like to bury the myth that BA crew are obscenely pverpaid. New contract crew (there are notmany old contract ones left) basic salary is around £15,000. On top of that there are allowances etc which takes pay into the lowe 20-23000. You try living in London or near London on that. One day the truth will come out about this dispute and a lot of people will be eating their words. BA were being run by a bunch of thugs who employed thuggish tactics to intimidate the strikers. Over 17 got sacked and over 70 disciplined. I myself was arrested once at Heathrow Police Station, and then harassed by Thames Valley Police. My home was targeted by the Daily Mail on three occasions. I have had death threats, and mountains of abusive anonymous mail. I could go on and on - it was certainly not a ridiculous strike. We were not striking for money but basically for the right to stand up for ourselves. I am not political these days at all but this country and the large majority of the lower earning classes are being systematically ripped off and if they sit back and say oh well we are lucky to have a job, that philosophy will be their undoing. Phil you are dead right re BA. The reason is that those who have managed BA over the last 10 years couldn't give a flying fig about the punter - it is all about greed and profit and that was one of things the crew were up in arms over as we (or they) do pride themselves on customer service, even after what they have been through.

Don't you know, people really should not criticise their football clubs!

I remember after his first game when I said on here that I was not impressed I got slated by many who said they thought he had been impressive. If I could be arsed I would dig out the thread. People see what they want to see, especially if they are Saints fans and yet those same people are tonight saying "glad we never signed him". He is a good Div 1 player and he has gone to a Div 1 side. Good Luck to him he may yet improve but he is not Championship standard yet Adkins had been "targeting" him for a long time according to the Saints website when he signed which just goes to show Adkins doesn't always get it right. I will watch his progress with Charlton with interest, he is young enough to come again.

Thanks you three , my faith in the forum is rekindled!

The answer to the question is No. I lost my industrial tribunal on a split vote (highly unusual apparently) and therefore after 35 years am now unemployed. The verdict took 3 months to be given which I have been told is most unusual if not "suspicious". But that is all behind me now and life goes on, I still have my health, a supportive family and I would do it all over again because I believed that what I was did was right. The deal we managed to get is a good one, an honourable one and shows what can be achieved if you stand up to a bully.

Nor me

I don't think anyone is getting hysterical - merely observing that clubs who are being touted as promotion candidates have started spending money on players we have been rumoured to be interested in. There is surely sense in making signings in time for pre-season training, so the players have more time to gel. The fact we haven't is provoking debate which has been pretty sensible until you sarcastically dived in with your hysteria jibe and your rather ridiculous presumption that "we will make signings". Or perhaps you know something we don't.

Mike, it would be sensible to buy before the clubs became aware that we were suddenly richer by about £10m.

Maybe the "will" to spend is not what is was? If we are serious about going up it is going to take more than just a few bob.

Thomas Brolin

Don't think you will ever find a better "low key, low expectations" arrival than Jimmy Case (£40,000 from Brighton). We have never come near to replacing him mores the pity.

Depends by which criteria you measure it by. For me it would be average gate - therefore Leeds and WHU "outdo" us, Leicester probably equal, possibly Forest too while we beat Boro and Coventry. Not scientific I know but this way we are WAY above the blue few.

I stand corrected I do love a mixed metaphor mind.

The trouble is NickG a lot of our competitors don't cut their cloth according to what they sow. Whereas NC is the opposite - therefore we will lose out to the likes of West Ham etc who are clearly going on a sh+t or bust initiative. Its very frustrating thatr following the circus that was Pompey FC that other clubs are allowed to keep accumulating debt. Clubs that are run among proper lines are therefore penalised.

Its a shame you buy the Mail - otherwise I would say you were one of the saner people on here!

Don't put yourself out too much.

Do you remember the days clubs would sign a "name" just to boost season ticket sales? When we signed Osgood the next home gate was about 10,000 up and a percentage of his fee immediately covered. Those were the days!

Well, there must be a reason why we have only won one opening game in the last quarter of a century - if it is not because new players aren't given enough time to gel what else could it be? I do think our friendlies games are a bit too low key and we hardly have more than one pre season game at home. Obviously last season had something to do with the fact that Pardew knew he was a dead man walking and had lost interest, but even in settled years we started poorly.