JimmyC74

Maybe so. Maybe they have also identified a new manager and agreed a contract in principle and maybe planning is advanced for the summer.....perhaps not.

If it is true that Top / Susan Whelan & Co haven't spoken with RVN in weeks regarding the Summer planning / haven't begun its due diligence to identify a replacement and sounded them out on taking the job, is it not yet a further example of the KP leadership going missing in action / proving they haven't got what it takes.. With 2 relegations in 3 years, the PSR clusterfeck, poor player culture, antagonising fans on various issues like the digital season tickets there is no way we can carry on as business as usual.

I stand corrected.

Looks deliberate by the Club.

The FY2023/24 financials weren’t published late - auditors and Susan Whelan signed off 19 Dec - its just they failed to share with the EPL by 31 Dec deadline.

Will the penny drop with Top and he is forced to implement real change at the club or rely on a change of manager to deflect blame being directed at the Board. I suspect the latter, but even then who do they attract with the authorities falling over themselves to hammer us.

If there was a chance of switching out RVN for a more progressive manager, such as Rohl, Still, Muslić type then I still would. A few wins when the pressure if off against 12 point Southampton, a bottom three Ipswich, a poor Spuds and West Ham side isn't much to celebrate - and we will finish the season at least 10 points from safety. I understand financially it saves us a few quid to stick with RVN but, it's a big ask to turn this Club around and I haven't seen enough from him which suggests he has what it takes. If we were keeping him he needs a strong DofF and better, more experienced backroom staff to help organise the team (in particular the defence).

Yessssssss! Golaccio!

You always hope that regardless of the silence coming from KP Towers , Top (&co) have been working in the background to prepare for next season. Time and again this has proven to not be the case. Hopefully the penny has finally dropped and we can move forward / implement changes once the season ends - but suspect we are in for much of the same.

Sadly, I could see this transfer happening.

We should be looking for more than the odd positive pattern of play. Danger is we give RVN the summer window, let him bring in his own players and first 10 games and if we aren’t in the playoff positions, we bin him and we start again from a worse position. He doesn’t convince me he can organise us into a promotion winning team. I would still be looking to change in the Summer - but not Dyche 🙏

wasn't it £4m a year

Eur 26m release clause for Bilal apparently.

Agree with your assessment about the overconfidence of Top and Rudders (re squad depth, quality, prospects for this season), trouble is they look likely to remain the decision makers for another rebuild and if RVN stays, what is likely to change?

The Soyuncu cupboard.

Danger with this current Recruitment Team / DofF is we spaff the 12m on players with less of a ceiling on more wages than the young lad. Obviously we need to raise funds, but I would rather prioritise sales we know are going Mads, Faes and likes of Skippy, Coady, Vestergaard, Ayew, Daka before emerging talents like Evans, Monga.

My issue with retaining RVN is - accepting that he hasn't had his own backroom staff from Day 1 + didn't get supported in January - he hasn't been able to positively impact the performance of the team, its organisation / defensive structure, he has rigidly stuck with underperforming players rather than giving youngsters an opportunity. So I just don't see that he has learnt lessons or is implementing (even small) improvements which gives me encouragement for an upturn in results. Listening to the WYS podcast today Rob Tanner hinted that RVN may stick around, maybe because of finances and PSR impacts of getting rid of 2x managers in a financial period, maybe because Top and Rudders think we need stability. I think the decision to stick would be very risky, given the extended run of poor results, a large percentage of fans aren't having him and I think that gets worse if he fails to hit the ground running next season and the managerial options then maybe even worse.

The football structure does need addressing and yes, RVN wasn’t backed in the January window but, 17 defeats. Seventeen! He has been unable to have any positive impact on the team’s performance, the organisation, mentality etc etc……he needs to go. I haven’t seen anything which suggests he can turn us around.

The manager will be the most important piece of recruitment but then a striker (one who can hold up the ball, link play and score goals would be 👌 ).

Musilic's record at Cercle Brugge was decent - 43% win rate and built them up from fighting relegation to Conference League qualification. Also I read he has a record for taking a chance on youth players (important for us moving forwards given likely PSR constraints) and he is a tactical manager (which would be a nice change). Possibly a risk but, when you compare him to Martin, Dyche, Rohl he seems a reasonable shout to me.

I am expecting that the outcome of the "learning from relegation" comments from Top will be sacking RVN (the correct decision) and hoping they strike gold with the new Manager, rather than any meaningful change in the structure of the Club and Rudders continuing in post.

It will be interesting if this talk of a new investor / co-owner / owner comes to pass as you would think they will want to see some change in how the club is run.

Even more alarming if Top is the key decision maker when he is not attending all games, is removed from the day to day operation and is relying on Rudders as his football expert

Dyche doesn’t play the football that Top supposedly wants so ,whilst KP remain the owner or even majority shareholder, I think they pass on the ginger mourinho. problem is by that logic you would imagine they are gagging for Martin.

Exactly. Put him on gardening leave, pay his wages until he finds another Club if need be, recognise any pay off in a future financial period. We cannot afford the usual dither and delay and waiting until deep in the close season to make a decision.