Phartdew, Carver, Jokingear and McMuffin

[toptoon]

Zippity referred to the above in the post "Awkward"

The trouble with those four and Bruce is that not one of them is an intelligent person.

Every single one of them has been very lucky indeed to have achieved the heights they have got to. There is not one of them with the ability to be a successful Premiership manager. Not the skills, the tactical ability, the personality, or the intelligence to do the job.

To sum up, each and every one of them is a total washout, and the common denominator is that Ashley has believed in all of them.

That speaks volumes.

I do think Ashley has believed in every one of them but the question is: to do what? Not to have a successful team but to keep the club just above relegation. There’s no other explanation for giving so much money to some of them to spend and then none to Rafa.
I think Ashley knew that Rafa with money would have started a snowball rolling down a hill that he would have no control of. So, clip his wings by starving him of funds to improve the squad and he’s still good enough to maintain a poor squad in the PL.

Awful times at this once great club.

[ex_pat_magpie]

I do think Ashley has believed in every one of them but the question is: to do what? Not to have a successful team but to keep the club just above relegation. There’s no other explanation for giving so much money to some of them to spend and then none to Rafa.
I think Ashley knew that Rafa with money would have started a snowball rolling down a hill that he would have no control of. So, clip his wings by starving him of funds to improve the squad and he’s still good enough to maintain a poor squad in the PL.

Awful times at this once great club.

A bit of a parallel with his retail outlets. Source what they can, which is produced as cheaply as possible, put it in the shop window, and sell on for as much as they can get for the commodity.