The assumption that our owners know nothing about football

[flowwolf]

I'm just getting fed up of people criticising the owners, it really does make no sense, I realise now your post was fairly neutral, but when I first read it I thought it was a criticism of them being new to football management.

I brought Mandy up because in comparison he had lots of experience of owning a football club and made a right mess of it, so I would rather have inexperienced owners like we have, rather than experienced owners like MM, Bates, Ridsdale, all 3 massive blights on the beautiful game.

Apologies for the misunderstanding, but my point still remains, unless people can actually show something they have done wrong, and not something you disagree with, then shut-up and support the owners, and the club and NP and the players on the pitch.

Ear Ear !

[stourbridgefox]

Something which concerns me is the feeling that our owners are beyond criticism.

Never before has our club been so dependent upon the inclination of a few people. In the past, if any of the board wanted to leave or was forced out, there would always be someone willing to fill the breach. We were more dependent on Mandaric than on the traditional boards we had been managed by in the past, but there was a feeling that if he went, he hadn't put so much in that someone else wouldn't be able to take over.

It just seems that we are utterly at the mercy of the Raksriaksorns. We have so much debt that can only be services by their continued involvement that I for one am hugely sensitive to how they must be feeling about the club. This is a huge disincentive to openly criticising them. How would they react to chants of 'Top Out?' Most English board members and even Mandaric were pretty much toughened to this but I suspect the Raksriaksorns would be less inclined to be tolerate it.

So even though I genuinely support them and hope they get it right...I resent the fact that a decision taken 1000s of miles away could bring about the end of a football club which has represented the city and people of Leicester for 127 years.

[Captain...]

I was delighted when the Raksriaksorns purchased the club but I do think their inexperience of running a football club has been apparent at times. I think they have made mistakes.

Things they may have gotten wrong;

Getting rid of Pearson after his team had finished 5th the previous season.

What the fvck are you on? Do I have to spell this out to you?

a) Nobody got rid of Pearson,

b) Hull made an inquiry as to NP's availability.

c) Mandaric and Hoos, let them speak to him

d) NP felt unloved and agreed to go to Hull

e) MANDARIC'S friend and special guest at the Cardiff play-off semi final, Sousa was appointed manager 7/7/2010

.

.

.

.

z) 12/08/2010 the Thai owners take over Leicester City (Mandaric is still chairman at this point and pulling the strings while they find their feet).

Making a big thing of Leicester in Thailand BEFORE we are promoted to the Premier League.

Why or how could promoting the team be a bad thing?

Being ever present at matches early on then disappearing this season when promotion became unlikely.

They were never "ever present" and you do know they live in THAILAND!!! It's a long way away.

Sponsoring the club shirt and the ground rather than getting other income streams into the club

You mean pumping money into the club? They have paid for that sponsorship deal and will use that as a way of funnelling funds into the club when the FFP regulations come in.

Things they have got wrong;

Allowing Sven/ Neville to let spending spiral out of control last Summer.

Allowing Sven/ Neville to let wages spiral out of control last Summer.

Running up debts of £50 million while in the Championship

Was spending out of control? 3.5 million for Mills, excessive yes, free transfer for Nugent, Danns, Ball, Paintsil, 1million for Schmeichel, 750K for SSL, same for Peltier, 2.5 million for Beckford, Konchesky was also probably not signed for much, but I can't find a confirmed fee. apart from Mills all seem like a fair price, or even a good deal, we may have spent a lot, but we bought a lot of players.

As for wages, someone posted on here recently that the club wages took up 90% of turnover, well within FFP guidelines and this included Abe, Fernandes and Johnson who are now off our books, as are Ball, Oakley and Berner, and a few more to follow in the Summer.

Debts are only a problem if we get into debt to anybody other than AFI, we need money to get the players and the manager to get us and keep us in the prem.

They took a calculated gamble with their money to get us into the prem at the first attempt, it didn't pay off, but that is always the risk when taking a gamble like that, they knew that, they could afford it, they have access to alot of money.

I still support the owners

It really doesn't sound like it, especially if you are now trying to accuse them of getting rid of Pearson.

[flowwolf]

Yes but apart from that where do we go from here?

[Captain...]

Something which concerns me is the feeling that our owners are beyond criticism.

Never before has our club been so dependent upon the inclination of a few people. In the past, if any of the board wanted to leave or was forced out, there would always be someone willing to fill the breach. We were more dependent on Mandaric than on the traditional boards we had been managed by in the past, but there was a feeling that if he went, he hadn't put so much in that someone else wouldn't be able to take over.

No we are normally dependent on satisfying the demands of financial institutions, who have no attachment to the club other than financial, in the forms of loans, and other creditors.

Who would you rather we owed money to? A bank or a Stadium constructor or our owners?

It just seems that we are utterly at the mercy of the Raksriaksorns. We have so much debt that can only be services by their continued involvement that I for one am hugely sensitive to how they must be feeling about the club. This is a huge disincentive to openly criticising them. How would they react to chants of 'Top Out?' Most English board members and even Mandaric were pretty much toughened to this but I suspect the Raksriaksorns would be less inclined to be tolerate it.

Were does the language come, from "at their mercy", they are not bond villians, we are not pawns in their plan to take over the world.

So even though I genuinely support them and hope they get it right...I resent the fact that a decision taken 1000s of miles away could bring about the end of a football club which has represented the city and people of Leicester for 127 years.

Again "bring an end to the club" this kind of over dramatic claptrap is just nonsense, they are not going to bring an end to the club, at the very very very worst we could go into administration, but apart from them losing out on a hell of a lot money if that happened, not to mention time, it would also be very embarassing for them as King Power as they have heavily linked their brand to the club.

[Raw Dykes]

What the fvck are you on? Do I have to spell this out to you?

a) Nobody got rid of Pearson,

b) Hull made an inquiry as to NP's availability.

c) Mandaric and Hoos, let them speak to him

d) NP felt unloved and agreed to go to Hull

e) MANDARIC'S friend and special guest at the Cardiff play-off semi final, Sousa was appointed manager 7/7/2010

It really doesn't sound like it, especially if you are now trying to accuse them of getting rid of Pearson.

Do you think MM would have been so ready to let Pearson go, had he not been in talks/planning to sell the club? Maybe it's not the owners fault directly, or maybe it is, but we could forgive them for being a bit naive. Either way, I don't think NP would have left if MM had kept hold of the club for another season.

[Captain...]

Do you think MM would have been so ready to let Pearson go, had he not been in talks/planning to sell the club? Maybe it's not the owners fault directly, or maybe it is, but we could forgive them for being a bit naive. Either way, I don't think NP would have left if MM had kept hold of the club for another season.

How do you reach that conclusion? NP left because of Mandaric and Hoos undermining him, he was glad to be away from them, maybe Mandy wanted a bigger name in charge to help sell the club and saw the appoach from Hull as an opportunity to replace NP with someone higher profile, or maybe he wanted the compensation money knowing he had a free replacement lined up in Sousa and he could have one last tax free pay-off before he left.

Granted with the potential new owners sniffing around it may have had something to do with NP leaving, but to start criticising the owners for NP going is just looking for imaginary sticks to beat them with, and that is what is starting to piss me off about this sudden turn on the owners.

I think the OP is right, and that if they were from Leicester and doing exactly the same thing, making the exact same decisions they would be given more slack, but because they are from Thailand they are not getting the benefit of the doubt. Not through racism but general distrust that has come about from seeing other foreign owners ruin clubs like Pompey or Blackburn, or all the dodgy dealings around Man City's former Thai owners, but this again is completely baseless.

[svensson]

I was delighted when the Raksriaksorns purchased the club but I do think their inexperience of running a football club has been apparent at times. I think they have made mistakes.

Things they may have gotten wrong;

Getting rid of Pearson after his team had finished 5th the previous season.

Making a big thing of Leicester in Thailand BEFORE we are promoted to the Premier League.

Being ever present at matches early on then disappearing this season when promotion became unlikely.

Sponsoring the club shirt and the ground rather than getting other income streams into the club

Things they have got wrong;

Allowing Sven/ Neville to let spending spiral out of control last Summer.

Allowing Sven/ Neville to let wages spiral out of control last Summer.

Running up debts of £50 million while in the Championship

I still support the owners but I do worry that some of these mistakes will prove costly in the long run. So long as they are prepared to bankroll the club 'until' we get into the Premier League then the debt is not a problem. The owners deciding they do not want to continue funding the club could be fatal. Our very survival as a club is entirely in their hands so I hope they are as good as their word.

Another problem the club has is players on expensive contracts. This has caused disharmony within the dressing room and is probably a big reason why we have failed to perform so often this season. Anyone else notice how shortly after we our Summer signing spree, many of our existing players signed new contracts even though their's were not due to expire? I suspect this was Sven fire fighting by offering lucrative contracts to the 'old guard' to keep some kind of order in the dressing room.

So I don't think it is racist to have concerns about how they have run the club or to say they have made mistakes. In my opinion they clearly have made mistakes. Therefore it is pretty natural for fans to start questioning their judgement and motives. Why do an incredibly rich family from Thailand buy an English football club in the second division? It is a good question.

On a more positive note, the lower profile they seem to be taking seems to be evidence that they are learning their new business. And re-appointing Pearson seems to be a more grounded football decision rather than the fantasy football decisions they seem to have made in the past.

I am generally positive and optimistic about City. I don't criticise easily. I just hope they owners are as good as their word and see through the job they have started...and continue to learn from their costly mistakes!

My word, what a load of garbage "Making a big thing of Leicester in Thailand BEFORE we are promoted to the Premier League" why is that a mistake? Surely worldwide exposure is what we crave regardless of what league we are in. We are one step ahead of the game in terms of exposure in our current predicament.

How do you know about disharmoney in the dressing room due to wages?

"the lower profile they seem to be taking seems to be evidence that they are learning their new business" - haha what are you on about?? it could also mean that they are enjoying big game hunting in Africa or running their multi million pound empire in Thailand.

I dont even know why I am responding to your post as its just waffle.

P.S Top is actually a Leicester fan, he fell in love with the club a number of years ago, check out the facts.

[Dan]

Top post and a very fair point.

What exactly have the owners done to prove they're clueless?

[OzFox]

It's all over this forum. They run a multi-million pound business. They're more successful in life than anyone on here. Probably more intelligent than 99.5% of the posters. They are football fans just as much as we are, and they also own a football club. Can we stop with the assumption that they are incapable of understanding football purely because they are foreign. It's basically racism and as such it's quite shameful and embarrassing to see so much of it.

I sat close to them at Forest last year. It was very refreshing to see how much they were getting into the game. Some of their entourage were taking pictures etc. Total contrast to the directors and staff who sat there stony faced for the most part, or reading the programme.

[SystonFox]

It's all over this forum. They run a multi-million pound business. They're more successful in life than anyone on here. Probably more intelligent than 99.5% of the posters. They are football fans just as much as we are, and they also own a football club. Can we stop with the assumption that they are incapable of understanding football purely because they are foreign. It's basically racism and as such it's quite shameful and embarrassing to see so much of it.

I like the above quote! They are winning at life and are definitely better at it than us

[The Year Of The Fox]

I like the above quote! They are winning at life and are definitely better at it than us

Why? Because they've got more money than us? it doesnt mean they're better at life

Just because I'm not rolling in money, I enjoy my job, live with a fit missus, my family live rown the road and I get to watch my beloved Leicester every other week! I'm winning!

As for the owners, the truth is that noone knows for certain. Anyone claiming to is talking bollocks. Yes they've supported us so far, and no they've not committed any cardinal sins yet. But it takes a brave man to say that these owners are here for the long run whilst its blatantly obvious that they are still hoping (possibly depending) on us sneaking a top 6 finish and a playoff win.

[Captain...]

Why? Because they've got more money than us? it doesnt mean they're better at life

Just because I'm not rolling in money, I enjoy my job, live with a fit missus, my family live rown the road and I get to watch my beloved Leicester every other week! I'm winning!

No because they own your beloved Leicester City, and can attract players like Schmeichel, Nugent and Ben Marshall to the club.

As for the owners, the truth is that noone knows for certain. Anyone claiming to is talking bollocks. Yes they've supported us so far, and no they've not committed any cardinal sins yet. But it takes a brave man to say that these owners are here for the long run whilst its blatantly obvious that they are still hoping (possibly depending) on us sneaking a top 6 finish and a playoff win.

They are not depending on anything, if it was premiership or bust this season, do you not think we would have got more loans in, especially when our squad got seriously depleted by injury.

I have never seen another owner's commitment to the club questioned like this, maybe it is because of MM, someone we knew was just a fly by night owner and never really loved the club, maybe it is still a hang over from going into administration, and maybe it is because they are not from round here. Personally I cannot understand this cynicism, I welcome our new thai overlords.

[The Year Of The Fox]

No because they own your beloved Leicester City, and can attract players like Schmeichel, Nugent and Ben Marshall to the club.

They are not depending on anything, if it was premiership or bust this season, do you not think we would have got more loans in, especially when our squad got seriously depleted by injury.

I have never seen another owner's commitment to the club questioned like this, maybe it is because of MM, someone we knew was just a fly by night owner and never really loved the club, maybe it is still a hang over from going into administration, and maybe it is because they are not from round here. Personally I cannot understand this cynicism, I welcome our new thai overlords.

I welcome them too. I'm just thinking of the saying about if somethings too good to be true then it probably is!

[seenitall]

I'm just getting fed up of people criticising the owners, it really does make no sense, I realise now your post was fairly neutral, but when I first read it I thought it was a criticism of them being new to football management.

I brought Mandy up because in comparison he had lots of experience of owning a football club and made a right mess of it, so I would rather have inexperienced owners like we have, rather than experienced owners like MM, Bates, Ridsdale, all 3 massive blights on the beautiful game.

Apologies for the misunderstanding, but my point still remains, unless people can actually show something they have done wrong, and not something you disagree with, then shut-up and support the owners, and the club and NP and the players on the pitch.

How come? How can Mandaric be an idiot for what he did at the club and Pearson be a hero - were they not part of the same set up? Did they not both achieve promotion from League 1, something which qualifies NP to lead us forward for years but consigns MM to derision?

You can't make your mind up can you - MM also managed to sell the club, quite probably for a profit and is now pushing for promotion with Sheff W, something he achieved at Portsmouth too, building a Premier club out of a smaller club than us.

The only thing that puzzles me is why some, often mediocre players and managers and even Chairmen/owners are lauded by Leicester fans, and any player, manager or even owner that has had an inkling of success somewhere else is immediately treated with suspicion and must be hounded out of the club - and we wonder why we are mid table Div 2 dross????

[stourbridgefox]

It seems to me that many Foxestalk posters are aggressive, misanthropic, friendless losers who cannot stand any viewpoint which is not exactly the same as theirs. If certain people addressed these character flaws then they might not have to spend so long ranting on internet message boards...they may have lives!

Captain Shrapnel - I was going to itemise your points and point out how you were wrong or had misunderstood...as is your wont. But I can't be bothered. All I can suggest is you read my post again...CAREFULLY...and you will find I make some valid points. Just because the points make you uncomfortable doesn't mean they may not be true.

I will reiterate one point. We are totally at the mercy of the Raksriaksorns. If they lose interest and decide to recoup their losses by winding up the club then they are totally at liberty to do that...whether you can accept this fact or not. We all just to have to hope they are genuine because if they are not we could be in real trouble.

To all reasonable Foxestalk posters...disregard the first paragraph!

[jamesmilner]

i have 100% respect for the thais .we need them , their attitude and way they conduct themselves is something we should be proud of . when they first contacted manderic , it was to buy the club with a top manager in place . manderic blew out pearson , this with pearson playing in the playoffs ,knowing he was out , knowing sousa was in . as the new manager watched as a guest of manderic (sousa) , we were out of the playoffs . sousa was then blown out ,then sven blown out and a return of pearson . i think they are learning the hard way and in honesty business is business and football is football . totally different . im not a racist for thinking thailand is not a hotspot for football . taking in their start here and thailands 139th place in the national football table , i think they'd say themselves ,they are still learning football logistics dont you ?

[Earl Shilton Lee]

P.S Top is actually a Leicester fan, he fell in love with the club a number of years ago, check out the facts.

Of course he isn't. Top saying he became a Leicester fan after we won the League Cup in 1997 does not make it a 'fact'. It's something he said to make him popular with the fans and many have swallowed it. They are polo players from Thailand who owned a box at Stamford Bridge prior to buying the club. There is no link to Leicester City at all, however much you wish to romanticise their ownership of the club. Not that it matters. I'm far more concerned with their ability to run a football club. And more specifically with their ability to run my football club in a sustainable manner. Well, they have so far shown evidence only of the opposite.

They have spent millions on players in the hope that it would win us instant promotion. Hopefully they learn the correct lessons from their failure to deliver so far. Because if they keep spending money the way they have so far there won't be a Leicester City Football Club left in five years time. I have no loyalty to these (or any other) owners just as they have no loyalty to this club. The only loyalty they have (in the context of LCFC) is to their money. Why do people think they've tagged such high interest rates to their loans to the club? Additionally, I find the suggestion that to distrust this lot reeks of 'borderline racism'. Nonsense. I can only speak for myself with any real certainty but I am as sure as I possibly can be that the opposition to the owners which does exist is not motivated by racism. In fact of all the Leicester City message boards I browse the most fervent supporters of the owners are over on Bentley's Roof, which also appears to accommodate the highest concentration of bigots.

[The Year Of The Fox]

No because they own your beloved Leicester City, and can attract players like Schmeichel, Nugent and Ben Marshall to the club.

They are not depending on anything, if it was premiership or bust this season, do you not think we would have got more loans in, especially when our squad got seriously depleted by injury.

I have never seen another owner's commitment to the club questioned like this, maybe it is because of MM, someone we knew was just a fly by night owner and never really loved the club, maybe it is still a hang over from going into administration, and maybe it is because they are not from round here. Personally I cannot understand this cynicism, I welcome our new thai overlords.

I welcome them too. I'm just thinking of the saying about if somethings too good to be true then it probably is!

[stourbridgefox]

I hope and pray the owners are genuine and will eventually get it right, and I have nightmares about them getting it wrong or losing interest.

Only time will tell which part of my psyche is accurate.

[Captain...]

It seems to me that many Foxestalk posters are aggressive, misanthropic, friendless losers who cannot stand any viewpoint which is not exactly the same as theirs. If certain people addressed these character flaws then they might not have to spend so long ranting on internet message boards...they may have lives!

Captain Shrapnel - I was going to itemise your points and point out how you were wrong or had misunderstood...as is your wont. But I can't be bothered. All I can suggest is you read my post again...CAREFULLY...and you will find I make some valid points. Just because the points make you uncomfortable doesn't mean they may not be true.

I will reiterate one point. We are totally at the mercy of the Raksriaksorns. If they lose interest and decide to recoup their losses by winding up the club then they are totally at liberty to do that...whether you can accept this fact or not. We all just to have to hope they are genuine because if they are not we could be in real trouble.

To all reasonable Foxestalk posters...disregard the first paragraph!

Fine insult me, you realise by doing so it makes you just the same as me, join the dark side Luke, I had had a little to drink last night and I may not have been in the most rational and balanced mood, apart from the first line in the response to you, I don't think the rest was overly aggressive, but just answer me this one part, the bit that really pissed me off.

Why are you (and others) blaming the current owners for NP leaving us for Hull? When that happened well before they took over, and even when they did take over Mandy was still running the show.

The rest of my points still stand, we may have spent a lot last summer, but, Mills aside, I don't think we overpaid for anyone.

Wages may be high, but they are still inline with turnover and not pushing us further into debt.

Finally we will be at the "mercy" of whoever owns the club, but then that just means you will distrust anyone who owns the club. Why?

[Captain...]

How come? How can Mandaric be an idiot for what he did at the club and Pearson be a hero - were they not part of the same set up? Did they not both achieve promotion from League 1, something which qualifies NP to lead us forward for years but consigns MM to derision?

You can't make your mind up can you - MM also managed to sell the club, quite probably for a profit and is now pushing for promotion with Sheff W, something he achieved at Portsmouth too, building a Premier club out of a smaller club than us.

The only thing that puzzles me is why some, often mediocre players and managers and even Chairmen/owners are lauded by Leicester fans, and any player, manager or even owner that has had an inkling of success somewhere else is immediately treated with suspicion and must be hounded out of the club - and we wonder why we are mid table Div 2 dross????

You want to know the difference between Mandy and NP? How about Mandy was in charge when we got RELEGATED TO THE LOWEST POSITION IN OUR ENTIRE HISTORY!!!

Sorry for shouting but I don't think that point can be overstated, he also oversaw a ridiculous number of managers coming and going, turned the club into a joke, and has a chequered past littered with numerous accusations of dodgy dealings and tax shenanigans. He was also the one in charge when Pearson was allowed to leave, not the current owners.

Not solely to blame, Hoos and the rest need to take a largs part of the blame, as do the players and Holloway, Megson, Allen, Worthington and Kelly (our 2007 managers)

[stourbridgefox]

Captain Shrapnel - if you are choosing to believe the first paragraph of that post applies to you, then fine...I'm not going to argue! But I hope you are feeling better this morning.

On Nigel Pearson leaving for Hull, the truth is, no-one outside of the inner circle of the club actually knows the answer. I didn't blame the new owners for this but it cannot be ruled out that they were complicit. Therefore it is something they may have gotten wrong.

Last Summer I was as exciting as anybody else by the spending spree. I was expecting a very different season to the one we have just had. In hindsight, the big influx of players and the wild disparities in wages was probably always going to make this season difficult.

I have also spent two decades longing for rich owners of Leicester City. I have witnessed the ineptitude and lack of ambition of local businessmen running the club. I have seen promising prospects going on to fulfil their potential at other clubs. I AM NOT AGAINST THE THAI OWNERS!

But...I have seen the spending spree fail to deliver the goods and I have witnessed how quickly rich, foreign owners at other clubs have gone from being saviours to asset strippers.

I have faith the Thai owners are different...but not blind faith.

[svensson]

Of course he isn't. Top saying he became a Leicester fan after we won the League Cup in 1997 does not make it a 'fact'. It's something he said to make him popular with the fans and many have swallowed it. They are polo players from Thailand who owned a box at Stamford Bridge prior to buying the club. There is no link to Leicester City at all, however much you wish to romanticise their ownership of the club. Not that it matters. I'm far more concerned with their ability to run a football club. And more specifically with their ability to run my football club in a sustainable manner. Well, they have so far shown evidence only of the opposite.

They have spent millions on players in the hope that it would win us instant promotion. Hopefully they learn the correct lessons from their failure to deliver so far. Because if they keep spending money the way they have so far there won't be a Leicester City Football Club left in five years time. I have no loyalty to these (or any other) owners just as they have no loyalty to this club. The only loyalty they have (in the context of LCFC) is to their money. Why do people think they've tagged such high interest rates to their loans to the club? Additionally, I find the suggestion that to distrust this lot reeks of 'borderline racism'. Nonsense. I can only speak for myself with any real certainty but I am as sure as I possibly can be that the opposition to the owners which does exist is not motivated by racism. In fact of all the Leicester City message boards I browse the most fervent supporters of the owners are over on Bentley's Roof, which also appears to accommodate the highest concentration of bigots.

I think you are a little pesemistic, why can't he be a fan?

Captain Shrapnel - if you are choosing to believe the first paragraph of that post applies to you, then fine...I'm not going to argue! But I hope you are feeling better this morning.

On Nigel Pearson leaving for Hull, the truth is, no-one outside of the inner circle of the club actually knows the answer. I didn't blame the new owners for this but it cannot be ruled out that they were complicit. Therefore it is something they may have gotten wrong.

Last Summer I was as exciting as anybody else by the spending spree. I was expecting a very different season to the one we have just had. In hindsight, the big influx of players and the wild disparities in wages was probably always going to make this season difficult.

I have also spent two decades longing for rich owners of Leicester City. I have witnessed the ineptitude and lack of ambition of local businessmen running the club. I have seen promising prospects going on to fulfil their potential at other clubs. I AM NOT AGAINST THE THAI OWNERS!

But...I have seen the spending spree fail to deliver the goods and I have witnessed how quickly rich, foreign owners at other clubs have gone from being saviours to asset strippers.

I have faith the Thai owners are different...but not blind faith.

Please can you enlighten us to the "asset strippers" with the exception of Portsmouth? I think this must be where your neagativity and fear stems from, why not look at what has happend at Chelsea and Man City?

If we were to sell our better players, we would also make a profit on the majority of them, Peltier, SSL,Nugent, Danns, Schmeichel, Konchesky would comand at least £8/10 million in transfer fees.

I am also intruiged to know why you are so pre occupied with players salaries, in every team across the land players are paid differently, do you honestly think Rooney is paid the same as the Johnny Evans???? They seem to be doing alright with the wage discrepancies.

P.S I have a lot of friends.

[stourbridgefox]

Please can you enlighten us to the "asset strippers" with the exception of Portsmouth? I think this must be where your neagativity and fear stems from, why not look at what has happend at Chelsea and Man City?

Why are you reading what I am saying as negative and fearful? There are scenarios which could result in a negative outcome for the club and I am fearful of this. I am hopeful the outcome will be positive but I am not blanking out the possibility that it could all go belly up. I think I am taking a balanced view and we will only know which end result we shall see when it happens. I hope it's the former and once they sort their act out at the club, I will be getting a season ticket for next season. So no lack of support there.

There are also plenty of other examples of clubs getting into difficulties or going under due to bad management. There are examples which pre-date the Premier League. It is not a paranoid delusion that it could happen to the club, it is a fear based on reality. It happened to Leicester eight years ago!

While once again not being party to all the facts, I suspect that players arriving on much more money than those already at the club probably caused disharmony within the squad. At the beginning of this season, the likes of Gallagher and Wellens both signed new contracts. September/October is a strange time for new contracts to be signed so it occurred to me that Sven may have been trying to balance out wages due to problems it was causing. There were rumours at the time that Sven was losing the dressing room. The squad also seemed split between Sven and Pearson players. It is not a total leap in the dark.

ps. Good for you!