Bristolatic

Just a wild stab in the dark, but I bet he knows sod all about English football. He's been in Kuwait for the last 12 or so years apart from 9 months back at Monaco. I wonder if Marco thought he'd been in Morocco and not Monaco? Ain't it great how Sky get the news out before the fishal?

I was in the away end, drove there myself. Do I get the job?

Not a very inspiring list, is it? And there's a Pereira further down.

I was right behind it in the Chaddy and you just knew what was going to happen once it bounced and Bollands was too far out of his goal.

That brought back a memory or three. Wasn't that game played on a waterlogged mud heap and a West Ham clearance from the edge of their own box sailed (wind assisted) over Johnny Bollands' head and into the net?

And one of those has (thankfully) gone to manage at the dizzy heights of the National League North with the mighty Blyth Spartans.

I thought we had a very talented kid with that performance. How come he couldn't turn it on again after that? Strange.

Dreadful news. Awful to lose your life at only 49 years of age. Sincere condolences to his friends, family and all at Leyton Orient.

If his cameo at Crawley was anything to go by, I'd have had him here like a shot. I guess he went off the boil after that? Anyway, can he speak French?

And we might have a long wait if the Chuckle Brothers are hanging on for a huge influx of ST dosh.

We could stand him in the middle of Chapel Road and get the rest of the squad to do ten laps round him. That'll leave 'em knackered.

He may even fancy the Stalybridge job more

I've looked long and hard at this "Vision and Plan" and the thought was that it's over 12 months too late. Had AL produced something like this a hell of a sight earlier, it could, but not guaranteed, have saved a lot of angst and division among the fan base. It's well written, perhaps by Adam Morallee or someone in his profession and, whilst it is a concise document, it does carry some worrying signs. So here's my two pennorth. Fast paced and tactically and technically good quality football - in that case we need more technically gifted players than we currently have. I certainly wouldn't put the likes of O'Grady and Branger in that bracket League 1 status should be achieved relatively quickly - the word "relatively" shouldn't come anywhere in that statement. We can't flounder in a League 2 that was so poor last season. Even the top 6 or 7 teams weren't that brilliant A commitment to try to achieve League 1 status within 3 years, hopefully sooner - with a settled and balanced team and management, we'd already be there. Looking at three years does not suggest ambition Championship football is best considered as realistic within a 5 year plan - if he's aiming at League 1 in 3 years, hitting the Championship within another two is pushing it a bit. Get promoted into League 1 immediately, and it is a little more realistic, but still a hell of a challenge The club's financial situation - so many times have wages been paid late, HMRC on our backs, bills not being paid I don't see a quick fix no matter how much he's pumping in. If the income stream, ie STs, fans through the turnstiles, programme sales, food and drink sales etc, stays the same or, even worsens, he is always behind the 8 ball and won't catch up to stabilise Currently subsidising the club from his own personal resources until a more stable position is reached - is he writing off what he puts in or will he want it back? Because that presents two very different scenarios. Commitment and enthusiasm of fans - he has already gone a long way to destroying that by various actions that need no further emphasising here. STs are down, gates are down and long standing battle-hardened supporters have turned their backs on the club. Now that will take some rebuilding Begun assembling a Board of Directors - it's about bloody time, but what the hell is Barry Owen doing there again? Hasn't he done enough harm? On the Board, off the Board, on the Board. What's that all about? ML as Sporting Director - this can only be jobs for the boys because his (and AL's) recruitment thus far has been pretty underwhelming. I have a funny feeling that they really do believe that "their players" are far too good to be playing at this level. They're wrong. Here's a novel idea; how about trying to appoint someone with more than a passing/fleeting knowledge of football. That might help Recognises that the budget is restricted - that's not the 100% quote ratified, is it? Ownership of stadium, land and buildings - he didn't know they were owned separately? Yeah, right. Is he aware that a fan led group are aiming to do something about this? He's not mentioned it if he is The value of the squad has declined significantly - anything to do with the AL/ML recruits? No? OK 12 Declining commercial income and fan base - well done for bringing in Pat Cluskey to address the former, but the declining fan base is partly down to the deteriorating level of football and the way the club has been run for God knows how many years with little, if any, evidence thus far that it will improve Radical reorganisation of the football club - it's certainly been radical. It's almost impossible to count who has been ejected through the revolving door, whether it be playing staff, management/coaching staff, office staff, ground staff. So many have gone and we only found out from other fans and Twitter/Facebook. Is the tea lady still here? Working to appoint a Chief Executive - at last. It's taken far too long The quality and value of the playing squad has already improved compared to previous years - see #11 above where he contradicts this. Last season was one of the weakest squads I can remember, so thank God we had the loanees or we would have been in trouble Open to recruitment of players from across the globe - that's a worry if they're anything like Sefil, Menig or Kyeremeh. Are there no players available in the UK? The rest of it pretty much reiterates what has gone before, so what does this statement mean to me? It tells me that AL has at last realised that he has to do something to try to get the fans back onside. He could not continue without a Board of Directors and losing managers and fans hand over fist for much longer. It tells me that he is making an attempt at trying to do his best for the club, but it doesn't really say anything that we didn't already know. I hope it works, I really do, because I don't want to see this club I have loved for so long go any further down the slippery slope than it already is. I think some of AL's ambitions are pie in the sky and not as simple as he's trying to make out. What he needs to do, and do quickly, is get a manager/head coach in asap; one who will be his own man and not be dictated to. He's already got one new signing (Iacovitti) that he's not been involved with. He's lost players (Clarke, Baxter) that he may have wanted to keep. That rings alarm bells straight away because it smacks of "me and likkle bruv will get the players, you just get them to play". If they're not good enough and the new bloke finds it impossible to get a tune out of them, he'll be out the door as well and we start all over again. As I said at the beginning, it's a well written piece and full of good intentions, but it's not too difficult to pick holes in it. Good luck, AL, I hope your vision becomes a reality.

Gavin Gunning released by Forest Green and Reuben Reid transfer listed with a year left on his contract. Tommy Wright and Paul Murray leave Carlisle.

And will probably continue to be until the Chuckle Brothers and Detective Redfleece bugger off.

At least it wasn't Barry feckin Owen. Mind you, who is there left to have received it?

I would hope so, but it still leaves the club short handed in certain areas.

Within those notes are two comments that I find worrying. 1. AL - "that in the next 6 months there will be a new managerial structure in place" - that's by October, for God's sake. Does he know the season starts in August? Does this mean that there is no rush to have a complete management team in place any time soon? Or have I misread the meaning? 2. ML - "will be meeting early next week to discuss contracts (done w/c 06.05.2019)" - so how did it go with Benteke, Maouche, Nepomuceno and De la Paz? Nothing on the Official since it was announced on 8th May. It's now the 17th. Communications? And did Branger and Missilou accept the option being taken or have they gone as well? Or have I misunderstood that as well? Does it also mean that Mo is handling the contracts? Given what the comment by AL (#1 above) suggests, are he and likkle bruv handling new signings? In addition to all that, how the hell is Detective Redfleece a Director, an ex-Director and a Director again? Hasn't he done enough damage to the club's reputation? Credit to the Trust (waits to be shot at) for getting this far with the Lemmys, but AL is certainly living up to his "slowly, slowly" mantra. Let's see how the accounts stack up when they're allowed to be viewed. In full? Maybe.

They're not lies, they're a fear that it might happen.

If it was a straight fight between Brown, Nolan, Clark and Coyle, I think I'd take Brown. Clark should never be anywhere near managing a football club again. Coyle has managed 8 clubs unsuccessfully (apart from Bolton/Burnley) in 14 years and has been out of work for just over a year. They'll both be desperate to get back into the game, but we don't want someone who is just desperate. They'll be too easily manipulated by Little and Large. Nolan, despite not doing too badly at Notts County isn't that experienced whereas Brown is, so he'd get my vote. Having said all that, I guess we all just wait for someone unknown French wallah to rock up a week or two before the season starts with a squad of complete unknowns drafted in from various French colonies with a firm belief by AL/ML that they are Premier League class.

Brilliant. Although I'm not sure he was even capable of doing that. Did someone do it for him?

Granted this is his managerial experience from Wikipedia, but it doesn't make great reading to me. 1992Tobermore United 1992–1994 Carrick Rangers 1994–2000 Coleraine 1999–2001 Moyola Park 2001–2005 Ballymena United 2005–2006 Larne 2006–2007 Northern Ireland U17 2007–2010 Tranmere Rovers (youth coach) 2010–2011 Kilmarnock (assistant manager) 2011–2013 Kilmarnock 2013–2014 Greenock Morton 2015 BEC Tero Sasana (Thailand) 2015–2018 Derry City

Only if Marco intends aiming that high

Kuqi?

Yes. Ashton United and I don't think he did very well. I think @Lee Sinnott has seen him and was very underwhelmed.