Fitzhugh Fella

Paul I don't think Fialka had much to do with things but he allowed himself to be presented as the face of Pinnacle without realising the implications. Certainly his name was not one of the 6 names that were originally presented to Mark Fry as being part of Pinnacle.

All crimes are history doesn't mean they shouldn't be investigated and the culprits brought to justice. And no offence but just so you get your facts right - Crouch paid the 500 thou + on behalf of Pinnacle who were then putting up all sorts of sob stories as to why they couldn't pay. I got that from the horses's mouth and he was none too pleased.

Absolutely 100% spot on.

19C you say we are a poor club with a wealthy owner. I know where you are coming from but in fact we are not a poor club. Poor clubs have debts and don't own their own (Premiership) ground. Every penny we take throught the turnstiles etc etc can go towards funding the club - that is not a bad place to be in even without ML's euros.

I hate to say this but they got as far as they did on the back of someones name who we all idolised and trusted 100%. Were Matt not involved they would not have got anywhere near exclusivity.

Initially I was very pro Pinnacle, mainly because of what I was being fed back from friends of MLT (in who I trusted implicitly) but once Lynam started posting on here with all the inconsistencies and then that chap in North London was unveiled I smelt a rat and if you recall released details of Pinnacle's original introductory e mail to Fry on here. That same day I recieved phone calls from Lynam, Crouch and MLT with the former threatening to call the police and the latter accusing me of wrecking the deal. Not a very nice weekend. I remain angry then that they were still going along with the charade even though most of us on here were waking up and smelling the coffee. Those five weeks wasted will be crucial to our welfare this season and you only have to look at the state we are currently in to realise those wasted weeks will take months to overcome.

We have to be patient. Christ, poor old Pardew is even probably making the tea at Staplewood at present - no assistants can't be helping his task. I fully expect us to still be -10 points come September. He inherited an absolute dogs dinner and we have no right to expect otherwise. However I remain irked that the main reason we are where we are is because Fry gave a bunch of chancers 5 week exclusivity and too many influential people threw their weight behind Pinnacle without properly checking their authenticity. In a few years it hopefully will not matter but sometimes good intentions no matter how well meaning can be harmful.

Pinnacle's empty posturing lost us 5+ vital weeks - can you imagine how much further ahead of the game we would be had Pardew and Markus Liebherr had been in charge since May? Pinnacle and those that backed them have got off lightly.

Bradford railway station post match about 6pm Saturday evening - me and a mate trying for a train because the driver and two others in our car were banged up. It was like a scene out of Clockwork Orange as the station was deserted and it was snowing. All of a sudden 20 Leeds fans appeared on the station and it took about 2 seconds for them to realise they had 2 of the enemy trapped. What happened next wasn't nice!!!!

Gawd - its just a football club isn't it. I'd hoped the politics and spin was in the past and best left to the government. People in this country are fed up of PR and spin - honesty is the best way.

How can anyone argue with this reasoning? Major surgery is required both physical and mental.

I still can't get the Edwin Hawkins singers tune "Oh Happy Day" out of my head. Was it really in the charts 40 years ago this month - seems like yesterday.

Well, at least I know what makes NickH tick now - the Daily Mail? :(O Now where are my leather sandals?

There is a difference, is there not, between overspending and overspending wisely?

Yes it was Art, AO I can live with Hone and Dulieu I couldn't.

I always had Steve Baker down as our worst ever player but to give him his due he did his best and never shirked a tackle. I still haven't worked out (or have I) why we signed Pulis but have a strong feeling there is more to it than meets the eye. I can't also work out why we signed Tommy Forecast on 6 and a half year contract.

Best go back to the Morning Star then I guess - is it still printed?

Tommy Lawton signed for Notts C when they were a Div 3 side, just after the war - caused a big stir at the time.

Can I just ask what's wrong with reading the Guardian?

LoL - nice one.

The door is double bolted and I am armed with a pitchfork - don't worry, but if you don't hear from me for a few days can you call the police (that's if they are not already on their way!)

Sorry Hypo I forgot you don't do irony. Now who was it that signed Pulis?

I think John was being a little tongue in cheek, Gingeletiss but of course you are right - we fans have lost our right to have a say in the club but old habits die hard. Ultimately we only have our support to withdraw but will that bother a billionaire. Much depends on ML's character and integrity. We are in his hands lock stock and barrel.

John - I am not bothered that the club don't go too public with a strategy. If we announced we were to splash cash that would only inflate the price and to say we will spend nothing would signal a lack of genuine intent to potential players. I am pretty sure Pardew will have investigated the "depth of the well and how quickly it could be drawn" however. A lot will depend on how long ML remains interested or committed. I would love to know his thoughts after seeing his new purchase in all it's glory last Saturday. Hopefully his visit will have kindled some affection, desire and ambition.

It will be interesting to watch how the two new owners of Saints and County go about achieving success. With the appointment of Eriksson on an unconfirmed £40,000 a week it appears the Middle Eastern consortium, Munto Finance are going to throw shed loads of cash in attempting to propel NC into the CCC while it appears we are going down the slower or steadier "Bosman" route, picking up free transfers and building slowly by laying deeper foundations. Who will reach the CCC first, I wonder? Comparing the two styles will be fascinating. Willl ML start "flashing the cash" if early results are not good or is he prepared to consolidate a few seasons? Will Notts County manage to attract decent players into League Two? Oh and one more thing, while talking about new owners and their differing styles - this is from the front page of the Sports secion in today's Guardian (22.07.09). PREMIER LEAGUE STILL NOT HAPPY WITH AL-FAHIM'S PORTSMOUTH TAKEOVER "The Premier League will block Sulaiman Al-Fahim's supposed takeover of Portsmouth despite his installation as the club's chairman yesterday, subject to more investigations". The fat lady may have cleared her throat but the first note has yet to be sung! Hypo will be getting nervous