So speaks someone who perhaps doesn't delve too deeply into the financing and ownership of pretty much every other club in the league (not just our division).
That has, for me, always been the crux. Because Tisdale isn't a shouty type this is mistaken for a lack of PASSSSHHUNNN!!!!!111!!! which is what some supporters crave.
So what's your take on what has been causing the year on year paralyses?
I'm addressing your point where you suggest our tight finances, based on our operating model, are replicated across the division using theirs. It isn't.
I wasn't aware of Umbro's ownership other than Nike had sold it. I blame Sir Michael Caine for that fascinating mishap.
It's difficult to gauge, but my starting point would be losing the largely non-league signed spine of our side in 2011 - Jones, Taylor, Edwards, Harley (plus Cureton's goals from that season) and having to try to sign players of equivalent quality requiring far higher wages. Always very difficult to do, and so it proved. This caused a bit of a downward spiral as we waited for a new generation of home-grown (and/or cheap!) talent to come through. All while dealing with lower attendances as our performance level dropped off.
You and I are closing - but not quite! Of class 2011, Edwards, Taylor and Harley were indeed good. As for Jones, I was one of very few on Exeweb who rated him - the goal which proved to be his undoing was due to Tully's appalling sliced kick at Brentford. As for Jamie Cureton, I met Jamie at Swindon's Designer Outlet. He explained to me that he left City because he wasn't offered a new contract.
Our recovery has been a long time coming - certain off-field decisions certainly didn't help but I think the crux was we did pretty well to stay up in 13/14 and enormously well, given our troubles off the field pre-season, to have been in playoff contention for most of 14/15. I accept that once Grimes was snapped up our spending level could be increased somewhat allied to a change in expectations.
