trousers

Just pondering, as one does... Did Cortese's pros outweigh his cons? I can't help feeling that over the last few weeks we were crying out for someone who could've given Gibson a good run for his money in the 'bastard' stakes... He's surely got to have been a better helmsman than what we've got now? (Yes, low bar I know, but...) Pull my thoughts to bits in...3...2...1.... Go!

Yep, based on what we know (which, admittedly, is based on 2nd hand reports) he should be the first to go. Not least for allowing the situation with our compliance department to evolve in the way it's been reported... There's your root cause folks...

Yep... Alas, the size and stature of our club makes us the ideal fall guy for the authorities... Not too big, not too small....

As far as I'm aware, we've confessed to what we did, not why we did it....? Whether the FA will take any mitigation into account ("I didn't know the law existed, m'lud") who knows but, my clutching at straws aside, you're probably right about it being an open-and-shut case.

Yep, for me, the most astonishing / unbelievable thing that could come out of this whole episode is that it turns out that we're the only club that's done this. There's plenty of anecdotal evidence that suggests it's widespread. Indeed, Parsons alluded to this in his statement yesterday.l when he talked about setting up a "working group" to deal with the matter. And, yep, I'm convinced Middlesbrough had advanced intel that we'd be up there, hence the ease at which we were 'caught in the act' (not an excuse though, of course)

I floated that hypothesis yesterday, and was duly shot down in flames by the FTP (Forum Thought Police) As I said then, if my boss suddenly starting passing on inside information on our competitors, I'd be naturally curious as to how and where he was getting his intel from...

Busy preparing for a different leadership contest I'd have thought...

Yep, very much looking forward to the hypocritical pots-and-kettle posts / chants from our thick-as-mince friends down the road!

If you could guarantee me another Markus is out there to oversee such a rebuild, then that could well end up being the best long term path... Or... It might all blow over and we get promoted to the PL next season.... Who knows...?!

Look, I agree with you... You're probably right... Congratulations, take a bow... And, yes, I am partaking in "mental gymnastics"... I'm not going to apologise for doing so.... I like hypothesising, no matter what bonkers thoughts that might generate... It's a discussion forum... I think stuff... I write it down... I have a beer (well, not at 8:26 in the morning!)... I move on... It's no big deal... Just people thinking stuff.... Maybe the most "mental gymnastics " comes from those who feel the need to criticise everything people write... It's just "thinking out loud"... I end up disagreeing with much of what I write on here too... Hey ho!

Playing devil's advocate here... How do we know for certain what was presented at the tribunal, given we haven't seen the official report of who did or said what yet? All we have so far is 2nd hand reports from the media who weren't in the room, don't we? In other words, shouldn't we wait for the official report before coming to conclusions?

Alas, I think this is where we are, however.... Having said categorically yesterday that I think Tonda's position is untenable, I woke up this morning wondering if there was ANY scenario upon which Tonda could stay... I then read Guan's post and thought: "hmm, ok, maybe there is such a scenario where he doesn't get the boot".... I do get the train of thought that says: "who better to get us out of this mess than the man who has most to prove and rectify?".... and then I start thinking: "what IF (big if) the FA don't ban him? Wouldn't that indicate that he didn't break the rules willfully and that he therefore deserves a chance to put things right?" All that said, my gut feeling is that he still has to go.... And I suspect the FA will ban him anyway, so this is probably a moot discussion ... But... there is also a small part of me that gets the argument to stick with him... (As you would expect from me, being fence-sitter-in-chief!) So, is there any logic or merit in the club waiting for the FA's verdict or should they preempt that and get rid 'now', even if they think there a chance the FA might find him "not guilty" (of willfully breaking the rules)...?