The truth?

[Nexus_6_Replicant]

Sorry, I'm not biting. Let the other fans express an opinion. I'm fairly certain that a small number of posters on here are employees of the club and are on here to defend the status quo no matter what happens.

Or that's a very convenient paranoiac way of side-stepping something you find a difficult question. What is this modern trend too, for inferring that counter-opinions or requests for validation of opinions are somehow a restraint of "express(ing) an opinion"? Spot the hypocrisy.

[supercrewe]

Just to see how this club keeps all the fans in the dark. Smurthwaite said last night on RS that his playing budget this next season will be 1.7m pounds and he will need to put 350,000 pounds of his own money in. And he added they still need to sign a striker.

Why can't CAFC be as honest? When was the last time any director or any Chairman put their own money in? Norman R 30 odd years ago? The Directors seem as though their position on the board is an honorary non intervention one whereby they can turn up in the best seats for nothing when all other supporters have to pay their hard earned money out.

If that's BS, then its up to them to tell us why that is.

What IS our playing budget?

How much are the Directors putting in and when?

What is the plan for this season if we carry on as we did the last two?

Mike, Norman Smurthwaite is the

[supercrewe]

Smurthwaite is at least trying to help Vale on the pitch, problem comes when he has to decide what to do with the debt he is saddling the club with.

How much debt has he saddled us with?[/quote]

I am unsure VFP whether he has saddled you with any debt, probably the opposite he has serviced some of the outstanding debt and for now the finances are better ?

The question is when and how does he intend to recoup his investment ?

[Timmy58]

I feel bound to say CreweC, that the "highest earners" does not necessarily equate to the best players. More a case of the best agents maybe.

[CreweC]

Timmy I do agree but with tootle, grant and colclough (who looks to be off) they were our best players. Turton doesn't have a patch on tootle. Tootle can also fill in at LB if needed.

Grant had some mistakes in him but i'm less confident in our midfield now than I was with grant in it (too passive)

Colclough has the ability to win you games by himself. With youth on his side too he could be big bucks in a couple of seasons.

All players could have been sold for big money or kept on another season before being sold.

Instead some feel it's a good thing they've gone as we've reduced the budget again.

Trouble is if we replace someone who's on £1000 p/w with someone on £600 p/w who's worse. Then next season cut your newest highest earners on £800 p/w with a not as good £400 p/w player. Then eventually all players will be on £200 p/w which would only attract rubbish players.

I'm all for bargains but if you can't even attract youngsters or retain current members then surely it's inevit

[MikeSB]

Mike is your veiled answer such, because Batey Boy has summed up the Port Vale v Crewe business model perfectly ?

Or has he caught you out, by requesting that you give a straight answer with no reference to the academy?[/quote]
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Haha! Caught me out? Not a chance!

He didn't actually sum up the vale vs Crewe business model perfectly at all imo.

Does any CAFC know what our playing budget is?

By asking someone NOT to mention the academy is not my idea of asking someone an opinion without strings and I'm not going to do that. Its flaming obvious that the 'academy' is central to EVERYTHING' that goes on at this club and so ANY question on playing budgets, players wages, how they compare with others our size and any new signings CANNOT be answered without reference to the academy budget.

Its all well and good saying how great it all used to be and self funding etc. But that was then and not now. Does anyone read what the new

[Nexus_6_Replicant]

Its a recurring theme on here that anyone with a different opinion to the club is personally attacked and why I can take it or leave it and why mostly I prefer to leave it and do things more useful with my time tbh.

Probably better off if you do that then if you're going to resort to such childish claims - there's been no personal attacks on you whatsoever. Where are they?

I don't think there are any posters on here overjoyed at the current state of CAFC's performance Mike. It doesn't follow though that everyone shares your (in my opinion, antiquated and evidence-free) view on coaching or your view on other aspects of the club, and why should it? Your opinions are vociferously made, and made on a repetitive basis to boot, so quite why you expect to go unquestioned is a mystery.

[MikeSB]

I'm wasting my time because most of you have never played football. You cannot see that a business model is failing that was OK at one time. You cannot see that a training facility has to be there to provide a back up to the first team and not become an end in itself as it has. You cannot see that vast amounts of transfer fees were not reinvested in the first team. You also cannot see the model is now outdated and changed to our detriment.

Its me challenging you lot, not the other way around. Nobody has yet answered a crucial question I keep putting here. How many kids in our academy would go elsewhere whatever the level of the academy? ie the working parents scenario etc? So why pay 750, 000 pounds that almost nobody in the lower leagues think its a good idea except three or four? Even the bigger clubs? WTF difference does it make it you have one coach to 5 kids or one to ten kids? IF they are talented they will know more about natural ability than all of these coaches put tog

[MikeSB]

You keep asking for evidence?

OK, please advise me how many of our local lads have gone to PL academies because some here think the level is so so important?

Second question. How much money did we spend on a youth policy in lets say the first ten years of Dario's reign?

Final question. How much money is CAFC spending on the playing budget as a total proportion spent by the club in total?

Most of you may think the above questions are unimportant or irrelevant but IF I was a Director or shareholder, I would demand an answer.

[itwasin]

Dont worry to much MSB the Majority do support your views out there,the minority on here are in a clique anyway.The same people who Support the Academy by Pumping money into it are the same people maybe who support the EU for Pumping more money into Greece to just prove the system is still working?