Joey Barton

[The Proper Chap]

As an example TPC you have moaned about Collins virtually all season, when he has for the most part been superb and one of our best players (probably 3rd behind Joel and Jay).

He has not been superb for the most part, he's been average for the most part, he's another player along with Williams that many on here have rated very highly based on very little.

 

[The Proper Chap]

I'll give you one thing PC, you're very good at inventing things.

Such as what ?

I haven't invented anything on here but nice try Old Boy.

 

[gilbertshoot]

Says it all. As I approach the 50th anniversary of my first game nothing has changed. Notts County away 01/05/71 final day of that season in which we finished 9th - 50 years on and we are still ninth in the 4th bloody division- what was the point of it all?

I've only had 41 years but we're still still in the same league. Still, I wouldn't swap the occasional giant killing Cup runs and promotions for those money grasping ESL tools who tried to leave last week!

 

[Exehausted]

I meant to press reply to P.C's comment. When we went down in 2003 WE were a basket case club. We had struggled for years and we had staggered from one crisis to another. Ironically it was the financial abuse meted out by Russell and Lewis that let the Trust in to take over. The club wasn't just on life support, it had had the financial last rites read to it. Ian Huxham told me (sorry to name drop but I think it's important to back up my argument) that a top Accountant had told him that the only thing he could realistically do was to make the club insolvent and start again way down the pyramid as AFC Exeter City. His reasoning was that it was the amount owed to other clubs that couldn't be brought into the CVA, that meant we would still be saddled with a huge debt. Thankfully Ian and the others (Barry Sansom, Dave Treharne etc., hopefully Dr. Dave can back up this statement) didn't take that advice and ploughed on. We were still in a critical condition, hence the Red or Dead campaign in 2004 and survival was far from certain. Then of course the Man Utd games happened and we were back on a relatively even keel, although needing help in 2014 from the Players Union proved things were still far from perfect. Since then, thanks mainly to the success of our Academy, we have replaced two sides of our ground and made huge improvements to the Cliff Hill training ground, with a lot more to come. I for one am very grateful we didn't have to start again from scratch. Yes we might have shot through the Divisions back to the Football League but we might not have. Some have done it, some haven't. I am bitterly disappointed with this season because I really believed, particularly at the half way stage, that we would get automatic promotion. That said, because we are in a very stable position off the pitch I believe we will be able to mount another strong attempt at Promotion next season. I'm sure you think my attitude is laughable, so laugh away.

 

[gui]

I meant to press reply to P.C's comment. When we went down in 2003 WE were a basket case club. We had struggled for years and we had staggered from one crisis to another. Ironically it was the financial abuse meted out by Russell and Lewis that let the Trust in to take over. The club wasn't just on life support, it had had the financial last rites read to it. Ian Huxham told me (sorry to name drop but I think it's important to back up my argument) that a top Accountant had told him that the only thing he could realistically do was to make the club insolvent and start again way down the pyramid as AFC Exeter City. His reasoning was that it was the amount owed to other clubs that couldn't be brought into the CVA, that meant we would still be saddled with a huge debt. Thankfully Ian and the others (Barry Sansom, Dave Treharne etc., hopefully Dr. Dave can back up this statement) didn't take that advice and ploughed on. We were still in a critical condition, hence the Red or Dead campaign in 2004 and survival was far from certain. Then of course the Man Utd games happened and we were back on a relatively even keel, although needing help in 2014 from the Players Union proved things were still far from perfect. Since then, thanks mainly to the success of our Academy, we have replaced two sides of our ground and made huge improvements to the Cliff Hill training ground, with a lot more to come. I for one am very grateful we didn't have to start again from scratch. Yes we might have shot through the Divisions back to the Football League but we might not have. Some have done it, some haven't. I am bitterly disappointed with this season because I really believed, particularly at the half way stage, that we would get automatic promotion. That said, because we are in a very stable position off the pitch I believe we will be able to mount another strong attempt at Promotion next season. I'm sure you think my attitude is laughable, so laugh away.

If I won’t have contacted the fraud squad in May 2003 whilst working at the club and written a 40 pages police statement about the wrongdoings happening inside our football club which consequently led to the arrests of Lewis and Russell then I don’t even know if our club would still be around and alive today . Many people had suspicions about everything at the time but nobody could do anything without any proof whatsoever. I believe I was the catalyst of the Trust getting the football club few days after the club was raided and the chairmen arrested after I exposed them . Something had to be done there and then . My actions to save the club costed me dear at the time ( loss of earnings and loss of reputation having finger pointed at me for being whistleblower) but I did what I had to do in good faith and with pride . 18 years later and I’m very proud to see the trust running the club efficiently and with panache. I am proud to support my team Exeter city . At least now our club is healthy financially which is great . But we just need to be more ambitious now on the football pitch and review our targets to get into league 1.

 

[Sexton Blake]

That approach would mean you would no longer have a football league club, many supporters who put a lot of money into the club have ambition for the club.

To just be left with those who couldn't care less about results, performances and progression wouldn't sustain anything.

Not sure why you struggle to comprehend this, it's glaringly obvious.

PC I think that comment is way OTT I do not believe there is any football supporter regardless of league or Club who would fit into the category of not caring about results and performance.

For me it is a balancing act sensible and prudent management of the business and its finances while recognising you cannot stand still as if you did you would inevitably start to go backwards. No business will progress unless its management and by definition owners are prepared to take carefully calculated risks. Ourselves as supporters and with our model ownership are limited in how we persuade the management to take the action we would like to see taken and those individuals managing and running the Club are and have been for some time totally risk adverse.

It is this attitude and approach which needs and has to be seen to change before it starts to have an impact on the number of fans who will be turning up to watch at SJP in the coming months after the end of lockdown restrictions.

 

[Sexton Blake]

All the stuff in between.

I now live a couple of miles from where I was born.
It doesn't mean I haven't been anywhere in the interim.

“What’s the point of it all” words straight out Basil Fawlty’s mouth lol.

 

[Sexton Blake]

Says it all. As I approach the 50th anniversary of my first game nothing has changed. Notts County away 01/05/71 final day of that season in which we finished 9th - 50 years on and we are still ninth in the 4th bloody division- what was the point of it all?

“What was the point of it all” words straight from Basil Fawlty’s mouth with a minor variation lol.

 

[dontpassback]

When we doing the kid for a quid scheme,one old boy on the big bank said it was child cruelty,getting the kids hooked and then making them suffer years of torment following city,there weren’t too many of us who disagreed ,
!

 

[gilbertshoot]

When we doing the kid for a quid scheme,one old boy on the big bank said it was child cruelty,getting the kids hooked and then making them suffer years of torment following city,there weren’t too many of us who disagreed ,
!

Yeah but they're our team, our City and we love 'em through thick and thin but mainly thin. We're still here, one of only 92 and we'll be there next season battling away.