PeteG

I disagree, it was a great success unfortunately he only delayed the inevitable as the club had been in serious decline for many years. I'll ask you this, was Eddie Howe successful last season?

So when Shez took over from Robinson and kept us up wasn't a success? Give over, we were absolutely nailed on to go down under Robinson that season.

Depends what you consider failure? Did Dino fail? Did Bunn fail? Did Kewell fail? Did Johnson fail? Did Shez fail? Did Dowie fail? Could go on and on but make no mistake about it, any manager given the league we are in the budget given, not have a real crack at winning the title or getting promoted would be a fail.

No I explained this a few weeks ago, not that I have to explain, I don't bother during the close season. I was as positive as anyone when we won 5-1 the other week. I hope i'm proved wrong about Unsworth, i really do, i'm just not convinced i will be. The last time I was as negative about a manager was during Warnocks time with us.

Pretty obvious really, a club looks like Southend do when it's on the brink of going out of business, winding up orders, points deductions etc. And still they have another 42 days!

Yes, i am, I've been watching us home and away since 1978, watched us at over 100 grounds so don't talk shite.

The reason i suspect the club would spin finishing 7th as a success is because they moved the goalposts last season, from getting in the play-offs when Unsworth was appointed to keeping us up. Shez would easily have kept us up (I'm not saying he was the long term answer) but was sacked early in the season with Unsworth attending games beforehand. Unsworth was always going to be the manager once the takeover was completed, i'm not even sure why they didn't just appoint him straight away. It's now a question of whether Unsworth can deliver to which the jury is very much out and if not, how far are they prepared to go in order to back him. It does feel at the moment they are prepared to follow him over a cliff and no doubt had a word with the likes of Matt Dean to use his platform to ramp up the support for him because it does seem rather odd and a bit over the top how vocal they have become in their support for Unsworth in the last 2 weeks.

Tbh, I think anyone of us on here could have this squad in and around the play-offs and do I expect Unsworth to get us into the play-offs as a minimum (should they keep him that long). Whether finishing 7th is seen as a success, I don't know but i'd expect the club to spin it as a success even if we lost in the play-offs in order to keep him for another season at least. My opinion is, we should have a proper challenge for the title and if we fell short and ultimately got beat in the play-offs i'd accept that. I don't really buy into the argument he must be given time regardless and it's not the end of the world if we don't go up yet. The longer you stay down in this league, the harder it gets. The teams that come down next year and every year after will have an advantage over us in terms of solidarity payments and then there are always sides on the up throwing money at it (think Forest Green, Fleetwood, Salford, Harrogate etc.) It won't be that long before Macclesfield and Bury will be back at this level so the task will get harder with every passing year. We need to make the most of what we have now, the crowds won't stay at 7,000 plus if we stagnate, we saw that, staying in league 1 for over 20 years. I've said it numerous times but for me if we are not top 5 come October he should be shown the door although i'd happily see him gone tonight.

Not saying the £5 million was definitely for that, i'm just guessing in all honesty but there is a debenture for £5.1 million against the club owed to Grocco. Surely, some if not most of this, is the budget to get us back to the EFL or until we are self sustainable? That must be the long term plan, i'm just worried that Unsworth blows it and we are stuck down here once that money has gone.

Steady on, emphasis on the borrowed. It's currently a debt on the club.

Didn't the club borrow £5.1 million from the Rothwell's company? I'd have thought this is what was felt required to get us back into the EFL and then look to repay that loan. Could be way off the mark but would make sense. The problem is, if we squander that £5 million and are stuck in this league. Will more be made available or is that your lot? Makes getting a manager in who can actually get us out of this league even more imperative.

This is how a club looks when it's on the brink of going out of business!!

My bet is that communication was a ticking box exercise, i'd be very surprised if his mates do anything about it.

Wasn't that after the Brentford game?

Really? I think the Director i'm talking about always conducted himself in a professional manner and had very little to do with the running of the club. I'm disappointed that you actually believe it wasn't in any way disrespectful but hey ho.

He was invading someone's personal space whilst trying to enjoy his evening with employees and associates.

I'm merely making a comparison. The Director was in the Directors box with employees and business associates, Frank was in the away end and people weren't aggressive to him either, just shouting Frank, get him gone. If you can't see the hypocrisy I can't help you.

Do you even know which Director i'm talking about?

Also think it's a bit ironic them calling for respect, when a member of the pod was shoving himself in the face of a Director at Brentford a couple of years ago with a phone in his hand, trying to record something, whilst the Director was in the Directors box with some of his employees and business associates.

Whilst I agree Matt is perfectly entitled to say what he wants on his own podcast, I seriously think he should be giving some thought to resigning from his position on the Foundation. There has been numerous instances over the years where Directors of the Trust have been pulled up for social media posts etc. It's why all Directors sign up to the social media policy. Imo you can't have a Director calling fans he's supposed to represent dickheads and wankers because they happen to want a manager who currently is underachieving sacking. Everyone is entitled to a different opinion and to call it out if they want, just not so in that manner if you want to be a Trust Director. Be interesting to see what the other Directors do but since most of them are his lapdogs I think we all know the answer to that. He should spare them the blushes and resign.

I've listened to Unsworth's interview with the club again and tbf to him, he's right in what he is saying about it almost being the perfect away performance for the first 45 mins, if Norwood takes the chance. He rightly praises the players if they have carried out his game plan, which did look pretty disciplined in getting a back 4 and 5 across the middle behind the ball everytime Chesterfield had it. If he felt it was the best way to get a result, then that's fair enough and it did nearly work, however, my 2 issues with it are: 1. He is more than likely to set up in a similar fashion at most other away games when we really should be taking the game to the opposition with the attacking players we've recruited. 2. It's his lack of a plan B. Ok, so you are sitting in, hoping to hit them on the counter but once you go 1-0 down, surely you have to show some intent to change it and get on the front foot in an attempt to get something from the game. He didn't do that, nor do I think he knows how to do it, the fact is we got very lucky to grab the draw at the end and was nothing to do with the manager changing his tactics.

I was referring to the Barrow away game which was literally the 2nd last pre season game. He played Shelton, Sheron and Lundstram. Ward was on the bench. I wouldn't guarantee they are both starters when fit under Unsworth.

What makes you think the 2 midfielders he signed are his first choice? He played Shelton & Sheron together in the 2nd last pre-season friendly. I know most people believe that signing them would make them his first choice but Willoughby thought that too.

Doesn't help when our own media team have put out loads of videos in the past celebrating the fans going on the pitch with headlines like "limbs!" I remember them doing it for Scunthorpe a couple of seasons ago when Luamba scored the winner and certainly the Clarke was has been promoted numerous times. It's encouraging the idiots to do it. Also, the club decided to rescind bans on fans who had encroached on to the pitch so in many respects the club reaps what it sows. They will have to deal with fines and potential points deductions now.

I'd wager that the club might have to hand out bans to fans that been banned for the same encroachment that they decided to rescind for some unknown reason.