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Thread: "Notts County refuse to comment on rumoured PUMA dispute"

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigFatPie View Post
    Is our failure on the pitch to blame for all this being out in the open? Would we be in the same situation financially if we had been promoted?
    Both great questions. I suspect our failure on the pitch is the biggest factor for the profusion of negative stories being aimed at the club like punches right now by both media and fans. If we'd stayed up by the skin of our teeth I think the local media would be more kind and we'd generally have a more positive vibe, not to mention a better financial outlook for the next 12 months. The emotions and facts of us losing our league status are clearly the driving force to answer both questions but let's not forget that the financial challenges right now are very, very real unless we're taken over almost immediately, unless AH has a secret money stash and/or a friendly backer
    Last edited by SwalePie; 25-06-2019 at 01:42 PM.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    May 2019
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    74
    I'm not angry about relegation, I'm angry because relegation was a consequence of my club being trashed by a clownish man-baby (and perhaps some hangers-on, but who knows, it's all a big secret) who is now jeopardising the future of my club by dragging out the takeover because of his greed and desperation.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    7,419
    Quote Originally Posted by Livid View Post
    I'm not angry about relegation, I'm angry because relegation was a consequence of my club being trashed by a clownish man-baby (and perhaps some hangers-on, but who knows, it's all a big secret) who is now jeopardising the future of my club by dragging out the takeover because of his greed and desperation.
    Exactly this.

    Hardy went about running the club like he couldn't fail, like promotion to L1 was a certainty, like everything he touched would turn to gold. Nolan? The next England manager. Callum Saunders and Elliot Hodge? The class of 2019, and stars of the future. Promotion? Nailed on.

    In reality, he was running up bills he couldn't afford to pay, and signing a bunch of wasters on massive contracts, risking the future of our club. His lack of self-awareness and arrogance got us here, and where is he now? Who the hell knows.

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
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    7,554
    I'm guessing we're playing in skins this season then?

  5. #15
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    Sep 2003
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    13,020
    Quote Originally Posted by BigFatPie View Post
    Would we be in the same situation financially if we had been promoted?
    To me, this is the most bizarre aspect of all. Did Alan Hardy seriously think that if we got promoted, all of this apparently unsustainable financial outlay would have been solved by the extra income from being in a higher league?

    Yes, sponsorship and other rewards are higher in League One, but it's hardly the land of milk and honey, and whatever extra money you rake in, the odds are you will have to spend just as much again (at least!) to retain that higher status.

    As I've said many times on here, football clubs don't need investors, they need rich benefactors. If you "invest" in a football club in the true sense of the word, expecting that somewhere down the line you'll break even or make a profit, then you're scarily naïve.

    It's beginning to look like Alan Hardy bought the whole of last season on credit, with no real plan as to how he would pay the balance.
    Last edited by jackal2; 25-06-2019 at 06:19 PM.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
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    7,758
    Quote Originally Posted by slack_pie View Post
    Exactly this.

    Hardy went about running the club like he couldn't fail, like promotion to L1 was a certainty, like everything he touched would turn to gold. Nolan? The next England manager. Callum Saunders and Elliot Hodge? The class of 2019, and stars of the future. Promotion? Nailed on.

    In reality, he was running up bills he couldn't afford to pay, and signing a bunch of wasters on massive contracts, risking the future of our club. His lack of self-awareness and arrogance got us here, and where is he now? Who the hell knows.
    Yes, it's as if he is one of these "snowflake" kids who has been told if he believes he can do it then he will do it.

    But I suspect both he and RT before him suffered from similar circumstances:

    1) They only had the funds for a certain number of years
    2) They believed that they'd get money back from the success they brought to the club from selling on
    3) They had over-ambitious "5 year plans" to the Championship
    4) They thought success in one line of business would transfer to another line of business
    5) They both had early success and thought it was going to be easy
    6) They both became irrational and desperate when things started to go wrong

    In AH's case he clearly thought that Paragon Interiors would earn enough to fund his NCFC play toy, but then stopped looking at what Paragon were doing, plus through his social media antics I would guess that prospective customers went elsewhere as well as there being a downturn in the market.

    The reality is that other clubs have had more success and sustainability with less financial input than that incurred by RT and AH.

    Poor business decisions, poor management, poor recruitment and in AH's case a too big desire to boost his ego by wanting to be seen with what he saw as major players in the football industry.

    Let no-one ever say again "he's made money therefore he must be a good football chairman". It does not necessarily transfer into other businesses and certainly not football.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    May 2019
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    74
    Ray Trew had some plan for Lincoln Ladies, not sure he was that committed to the men's team

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
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    1,333
    Quote Originally Posted by jackal2 View Post
    To me, this is the most bizarre aspect of all. Did Alan Hardy seriously think that if we got promoted, all of this apparently unsustainable financial outlay would have been solved by the extra income from being in a higher league?

    Yes, sponsorship and other rewards are higher in League One, but it's hardly the land of milk and honey, and whatever extra money you rake in, the odds are you will have to spend just as much again (at least!) to retain that higher status.

    As I've said many times on here, football clubs don't need investors, they need rich benefactors. If you "invest" in a football club in the true sense of the word, expecting that somewhere down the line you'll break even or make a profit, then you're scarily naïve.

    It's beginning to look like Alan Hardy bought the whole of last season on credit, with no real plan as to how he would pay the balance.
    Looking back i remember when Hardy and fletcher used to do their little pre-match videos,they were woefully naive and overly optimistic/deluded,the one that really sticks in my mind is the FA cup replay at swansea, Hardy had worked out the financials and was looking at 1.25million + a win would bring in(the first time all season he went quiet and looked desperate)Fletcher continued to talk big and i'm sure he was convincing big al we were going through and the money was in the bag.

    We had played well in the first game and were unlucky not to win but most fans knew that it was different story going away midweek for the return, Fletcher and others were bigging us up and the way they were talking it was as if we were already a championship quality side and could easily push aside swansea and go on a great run, that was where for me it all started to unravel, alarm bells should have been ringing as we were taught a footballing lesson and it was proved that we were a long long way from being where they thought we were, no lessons were learned, the arrogance and delusion came back and from that point on it all started to go downhill.

    Its interesting too that the same arrogance was there when we went to barnsley in the fa cup the next season, Hardy wanted and needed the cup run and threw his teddies out of the pram when we were again tonked, i personally think that performance was what sealed kewells fate.

    Hardy overstretched himself and the club due to lack of football knowledge and a deluded mindset that comes from being surrounded by yes men and usually getting his own way.

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
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    34,381
    Quote Originally Posted by bridpie78 View Post
    Looking back i remember when Hardy and fletcher used to do their little pre-match videos,they were woefully naive and overly optimistic/deluded,the one that really sticks in my mind is the FA cup replay at swansea, Hardy had worked out the financials and was looking at 1.25million + a win would bring in(the first time all season he went quiet and looked desperate)Fletcher continued to talk big and i'm sure he was convincing big al we were going through and the money was in the bag.
    And I'm equally sure that you are talking bollox. We had exceeded expectations by getting a televised replay against Swansea, but pretending that Fletcher had convinced Hardy that an away win at a Premiership club was a forgone conclusion is just getting silly. Join in the Hardy bashing by all means because he deserves it, but try and keep it vaguely realistic.

    You are also wrong on the most "woefully naive and overly optimistic/deluded pre-match message". That has to be the one (can't remember the game) where we were told "you are in for a treat" prediction based on Big Al watching an indoor training session!

  10. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by bridpie78 View Post
    Its interesting too that the same arrogance was there when we went to barnsley in the fa cup the next season, Hardy wanted and needed the cup run and threw his teddies out of the pram when we were again tonked, i personally think that performance was what sealed kewells fate.
    I was there that day, in the upper tier half way line - with my friend who is a from Barnsley. That day, so early in the season I knew we were doomed. Yes Barnsley were top-ish of L1, but we were shocking. A total Sunday league performance, run ragged in every department, 2nd best all over the pitch, fitness and ability to sprint nowhere to be seen. I've also read a lot on here about Kion Etete and how good he was. That day confirmed for me that he would be more Naughty boy than Messiah. He came on for 20 minutes at the end, and didn't touch the ball.

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