Worcester Owl

Now then @BP1960, I hope you're not planning to streak across the pitch on the opening day. Even in August Boundary Park can be chilly. Seriously though, why not pop down to the ground midweek and have a chat to the staff and see if they'll do anything for you? Probably better than resorting to email/text/phone call.

That's a very fair point and having spent much of my working life under the FCA and its predecessors I agree, regulation often does leave a lot to be desired. As the Roman poet Juvenal said, "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" (and he didn't even have the offside rule to worry about!). It is immensely difficult to save a club from the bad intentions/stewardship of a dodgy owner, but the effort has to be made. The FCA can ultimately put a firm or individual out of business, and nobody wants to see that happen to football clubs. I wonder whether a bond of, say, 6 months' operating costs should be required of any new owner, to be held by a regulator as a safety net so that, in the event of an owner being barred from running the club, the bond would give a breathing space in which the club could continue to exist while a sale process was undertaken. I do accept there are no easy answers.

There is a world of difference between being “not the best guardians” and the kind of behaviour we’ve seen at clubs like Bury, Oldham, Southend etc. It’s hardly surprising that the impetus for an independent regulator has gathered pace in recent years. There will always be alternative ownership options for clubs in crisis and what the “relevant authorities” should be prepared to do is to suspend the licence of owners where there is clear evidence of maladministration and oversee a change of ownership. The alternative is to sit back, do nothing, and see clubs eventually die. If owners have to pass an initial “fit and proper” test - as flawed as that has been shown to be - why would you not logically want to see fitness and propriety assessed on a continuing basis?

I agree with every word of this. Doesn’t matter where owners come from, what matters is how they run the club and treat people.

What a nightmare. Not much point having a fit & proper owners test - as pathetically inadequate as that is - if the authorities then sit back and allow owners to run clubs into the ground. The NL and FA are useless. I hope things work out for you and that Southend live to fight another day.

Don’t forget, when Frank came in there was talk of bringing in a consortium one day!

Professor, or Logan Roy? The former maybe as an Oldham boy?

Now that is serious. I'd suggest first time, a written warning, second time, a seven day suspension!

More speculation without evidence. My post was a response to @diggleblue saying that DU thinks he is a Messiah. Neither he nor you have provided evidence to back up this allegation. I went on to point out that, if that is how DU sees himself, then it was pretty odd that he would start out in the National League (not least given his connections in the game). Whether or not DU was a shoo-in for the Latics job given his friendship with the Royles is irrelevant. He is here now and, like every manager, will stand or fall on his results. Puerile speculation about his state of mind, or how he got the job, gets us nowhere. As plenty of others have said, we need to get behind the team. Optimism is called for - not negativity, nor overconfidence.

Said by whom? Where is your evidence that he thinks he is a Messiah (sic)? If he thinks that, bloody strange that he’s chosen to start his managerial career in NL don’t you think? I’m surprised nobody has had a go at DU for failing to sign Kane yet. Slow and indecisive transfer dealing in my book

Absolutely nothing wrong with DU’s comment there, I agree. Some people really need to get a grip and calm down. How many weeks away from the start of the season again?

I don’t like Smith, as talented as he is, but the guy who really does my head in is Labuschagne. The drivel he comes out with when fielding to Lyon is pathetic.

The England team’s record at international tournaments at youth levels is excellent and has been for some time.

Must admit I’m out of touch with the catering arrangements - if Lees have a contract where do Molson Coors fit in? Are they just supplying the Legends Lounge? I like your dig at Lees - speaking as a Middletonian I never liked their beers To be fair that was back in the 70s, I’d hope their beers have improved since. There are so many craft breweries/micros in and around Manchester these days I just thought it would be nice to see some of those beers at the ground instead of the Molson Coors overpriced garbage.

Fair point, not sure. We could always order less from a micro and serve it alongside Molson Craps . When does the ground share with Roughyeds start? Won’t be as much of a problem then. And Spurs seem to manage, though I suppose their bigger crowds and microbrewery inside the ground help.

Depressing that, isn’t it. I’m not going to criticise the club given that the Rothwells and co have done so many great things already, but it’s a shame that instead of that multinational ogre with their bland and mediocre offerings we couldn’t have given a contract to, say, one or more local microbreweries. Reminds me of those AB InBev lorries and their revolting slogan “making beer great”. They really don’t.

No more beer fridge for you then!

I’m with BP on this one. I think “competitive football” is a bit vague and I don’t see any harm in trying to pin the club down to specific competitions. I don’t see “humility” as relevant here to be honest.

An alternative to “hit the ground running” might be “leave harbour full steam ahead”? Just thinking of

Nothing lame or cheesy about George!!

Excellent! Who is the mystery figure at the end of the video?!

Such a world away from the Chuckle Brothers and Knacker of the Yard.

I guess this is the post Monty is referring to To be fair to Lags, it’s still early days for Vaughan at Hull, but he’s made a pretty good start! And to say he wouldn’t make it above NLN was over the top, surely.

We need to bring back downvotes. Anyone who finds cricket boring, especially as practised under McCullum and Stokes, needs to give their head a wobble. Bring on the Ashes.

Ask Ron?