unionhotel

Anyone remember going to Bradford for the FA Cup in 76? We were plagued by Leeds supporters, their ground was wired for sound so that they could out-sing us and going out of Bradford our coach was pelted with bricks, with most of the windows smashed! Tried to get a replacement coach but no luck and ended up driving back to Southampton, middle of winter with no windows. We were tough in them days!!!

Jesus!!! I've just been hit by a dummy someone's spat out. Grow up!!:smt022. I've read just about every message on this thread and like some was a little bit disappointed at first but now I'm really very happy with the appointment. Good luck Alan and welcome.

Now, there's a thought. Bring her on anytime we go behind to flash her boobs. Not a very mature thought, I know, but it beats speculating over our next manager!

Great posts, lots of sense but I want to see us reigning majestically over this league. I want us to go for the throat in every game and develop a "can do" attitude more than anything else. I sincerely believe that a manager (hopefully WGS) is already lined up and there is time available to do what's needed. The armada's not here yet. As we say on the IoM, 'traa de looar' - Time enough!

Washsaint, Totally agree with your post. Apart from the "fab five" who are always at the top of the prem most of the other teams are beatable and any championship side would be a match for them. For the most parts, I enjoyed the football in the championship and apart from the lost prestige of us not being a top flight club, the loss of media coverage etc. the excitement was still there. Too much emphasis is put on the likes of ManU and Liverpool. Get rid I say!

The meltdown IMO would come as a result of a major club going under, the banks and underwriters would see the same thing could happen to any other large club and start calling in debts. Clubs, these days, have no tangible assets. They are houses of cards built on sand.

Whilst everyone’s feeling euphoric over our survival and the apparent availability to endless funds perhaps now is the time to stand back and take a real hard look at the way football has gone over the last few years. No other business in the world could survive (or would contemplate) running its’ finances in such a perilous state in which the key to survival rests on building up a mountain of debt. We’ve survived this time. How many clubs are there in Britain, and indeed the world, that are quite simply living beyond their means? Liverpool, Arsenal and Man.Utd are hocked up to the eyeballs. Chelsea and Man.City are rich peoples’ toys. None of them could survive without the generosity afforded by corporate greed or dubious funding from mega rich tycoons. Quite simply, footballers’ wages and outrageous transfer fees by the bigger clubs are driving up prices and taking the game away from the true fans. Sky sports money has driven the orgiastic greed displayed by some Premiership clubs who now see it as a right to charge extortionate prices for ordinary fans to support their teams. Players being paid £200,000 a week is obscene. How can these players get away with it? No-one can tell me that they’re 200 times better than a player in the 3rd division on £1000.00 a week {Still a good wage!!} so who’s allowing this to happen? Football League governing bodies? Directors of Football clubs? Banks? It doesn’t really matter. A cap has to be set and set soon before we see a meltdown of football. The cracks are beginning to show with Benitez’s statement regarding Barry this week. Perhaps each club should be limited to spending the money it generates at the gate on players’ wages, merchandising to generate company profit, TV money to be distributed proportionately amongst all the clubs to clear debts and transfer money (capped of course) to improve Stadia. Of course it’s not going to work. Hopefully it’ll start a good debate. COYR Discuss

I don't want to put a dampener on all this euphoria guys but ffs we're (in old money) a 3rd division club starting our renaissance on minus points. Leeds have been trying to sort something out for years now and it's just not happened! Perhaps a touch of realism is needed however bright the future might be. It's a long hard road out of this crap.