Are we in a Crisis?

[Ernest]

Too many people for too long have not been questioning Potless and his poodles actions and now it's all coming home to roost.
Dick Tights refusal to go is causing utmost damage to the club.

 

[Normandy seagull]

Too many people for too long have not been questioning Potless and his poodles actions and now it's all coming home to roost.
Dick Tights refusal to go is causing utmost damage to the club.

To be fair I don't think he knows that some people want him out. I have never heard any Knight out chants- just stupid 'Dick Knight's our saviour' chants. He may well have been our saviour ten years ago and we must not forget that but times have changed

 

[Beach Hut]

To be fair I don't think he knows that some people want him out. I have never heard any Knight out chants- just stupid 'Dick Knight's our saviour' chants. He may well have been our saviour ten years ago and we must not forget that but times have changed

Can't see any investor coming in until Falmer is nailed I am afraid.

 

[jakes right boot]

Can't see any investor coming in until Falmer is nailed I am afraid.

That is the big catch 22.

 

[Normandy seagull]

Can't see any investor coming in until Falmer is nailed I am afraid.

I fear that may be the case too

 

[Ernest]

I fear that may be the case too

And then the club might be as good as dead

 

[Normandy seagull]

There are never any bungs around when you need them

 

[Withdean Wanderer]

Can't see any investor coming in until Falmer is nailed I am afraid.

I suspect you are right.

Would be nice to know just how much money there is available, and just how wealthy Mr Knight is

 

[Race]

I have a photo of a young Ernest with Shirley - shall I post it ?

Oh yes, please do!

 

[Beach Hut]

Oh yes, please do!

Seriously tempting but I will spare the young blonde this moment

 

[Race]

Seriously tempting but I will spare the young blonde this moment

Spoil sport

 

[paddy]

Not quite a crisis yet. I trust Wilkins and Dick Knight to stave of relegation. If there is a chance we are going to go down, the board will spend money in January. We will not get Falmer if we're in League 2.

 

[jakes right boot]

Not quite a crisis yet. I trust Wilkins and Dick Knight to stave of relegation. If there is a chance we are going to go down, the board will spend money in January. We will not get Falmer if we're in League 2.

The division we are in has no bearing on the planning permission or the courts.

 

[London Irish]

All roads lead back to Falmer and the stadium whether you like that 'excuse' or not.

Point is when DK wrote out a business plan back in 1999 on our return to Withdean he acted on the assumption that we would probably be playing there about 4-5 years down the line and probably accounted for the fact that cash would have to be spent on one public inquiry.

What he probably didn't account for was the attritional divide and rule tactics of LDC. As the wait has gone on longer the money has got scarcer and scarcer some of which os probably sitting in account on the off chance that a loss at the High Court may result in the club paying out costs to LDC.

What happens off the pitch will affect the playing side of the club. Until 2002 the lower leagues were awash with ondigital money and that stopped abruptly during a season and almost put a couple of clubs out of business overnight. Whilst we were not reliant as much upon it, the dissappearance of it would have certainly affected the clubs finances.

To add to that was the costs of the second public inquiry and the consequent high court actions by LDC. Cullip and Currie were sold to make up the shortfalls and once you start selling players to cover costs the brain should surely tell you there isn't much left swilling around any transfer kitty. And if that kitty is empty you can be guarenteed that the wage structure is going to be pretty tight too. Consequently good players in their prime are no longer affordable, meaning acquisitions are usually the untried young, injury prone and old heads who have seen better days. On top of that the long battle with LDC means that the promise of playing your future in a nice shiny state of the art stadium is minimal. It becomes far more difficult to sell the club to players who only see the portacabin changing rooms and ad hoc stands when they come to play against us at Withdean.

As the team Adams built has come to the end of its life it has become difficult to replace the various parts of it; the leadership of Cullip and Oatway; the striking skills of Zamora; and the general never say die team ethic. Coppell really only patched things up, found a striker who initially seemed to be an ideal replacement for Zamora and added a few astute loans. McGhee got one last promotion out of them but was forced to sell the best players in the side to keep the club afloat and it was a failure to replace these that have led us back to where we are.

Until Falmer is sorted we are restricted by Withdean and the antics of the LDC which are tying much needed cash we need up. Less cash lessens the ability to attract decent experienced managers and coaches who in turn are not able to attract the players they want. Both Adams and Coppell spoke about a limit where they could take the club operating under its current restrictions and jumped ship when they felt they had reached them. McGhee tried to stay longer but the whole situation just undermined and eroded both his actions and the team.

We got lucky for a few years surfed the wave of success and now we as supporters are going to have to take the rough times coming up until Falmer is ready to go.

A great post - many thanks

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

A great post - many thanks

I would go along with that, However does the board need to look at the fact that if the club is in League 2 the need for a new ground is a lot less, Look atr Darlington

 

[empire]

top post above,but we do know that investers are waiting in the wings,but knight wont allow it

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

top post above,but we do know that investers are waiting in the wings,but knight wont allow it

I do wonder how much Knight holds back from people.

 

[empire]

rumour abound for the last 3 years,but it isnt a rumour is it

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

rumour abound for the last 3 years,but it isnt a rumour is it

Thats the thing isnt it, Rumour this, Rumour that - I would say something needs to be done soon.

 

[3gulls]

The season is all but written off, sqaud not strong enough for promotion, crowds dwindling, life long supporters staying away. Away supporters staying away. Yes it has got round that Withdean is a shitehole and not worth paying £22 to watch your team. Many wanting Knight out and a new investor in. Some sceptical about Wilkins appointment. All does not look rosey in the garden. I have never seen such a flat atmosphere for a new manager. Usually it spurs the team on but there was nothing. We still need that experienced striker which does not seem forthcoming. Why oh why did we not take a gamble on Trevor Benjamin or even Marcus Stewart? There have been some woeful decisons and things started to fall apart when we lost Steve Coppell. alright he did not save us from relegation but we were playing decent football and he set Magoo up for promotion the next year. He also attracted some good players to Withdean such as ingamarson and sidwell etc. This excuse is getting rather boring now from the top brass at the Albion. Action is needed now otherwise league two football beckons.

What he said!