[bluepooch]

I was led to believe we had one of the biggest budgets in the league (cant remember where it came from ) but in any case its fair to assume ,with us having one of the biggest crowds.Yet MA after 5 defeats in a row complains of a 'shoestring' budget, yet previously says he has had brilliant backing from the owner .Very confusing !.So what or who do we believe ?.If it is a shoestring budget then I don't understand Dave Allen's thinking ,does he want us to get promoted and increase the value of the club ? ,which again I'm led to believe was his intention ,or does he enjoy enjoy seeing us languish in this division.Or does he basically not give a toss and is leaving it to his trusted right hand man who we all know, except DA himself ,makes one crap decision after another.

[Dancingwilldoit]

On Thursday night on Radio Sheffield I think it was Andy Giddings said MA had said in an interview his first instruction was to reduce the budget by £1.2 mill. That's probably why Hird Evatt and Talbot were not renewed. Maybe Talbot came back for less but anyhow our budget last season must have been astronomical. MA knew what the deal was and its no good now to whinge about the budget but to be honest I haven't heard or read about him moaning anywhere.
If you read what St Charles says on the other thread I think he is 100% bang on. DA couldn't give a toss about CFC, all he is interested in is himself.

[SaltergateBorn]

Of course he doesn`t, Dancing. That`s why he`s a successful businessman. As Dev pointed out on the other thread, a lot of successful businessman are sociopaths; it`s part of what it takes, sometimes. I remember reading an article by a psychiatrist a couple of years ago to the effect that he (or she; I can`t remember) had psychoanalysed most of the CEOs of our FTSE 100 companies and come to the conclusion that many of them showed psychopathic tendencies. Having worked in the City for a time myself some years ago, that came as no surprise to me at all.

I`ve just read St Charles` post on the other thread. It was very insightful, I thought. I already knew that DA isn`t exactly Mr Popularity over Hillsborough way, but I didn`t know the background in detail. It all makes sense now. God knows what the endgame will be in the relationship between DA and CFC, but it may just be that it won`t be vastly different from what happened at SWFC. I hope not, but it may be.

So that really answers your final question, Blue. As a businessman, the only thing DA really gives a toss about is his bottom-line - which is precisely that; HIS bottom-line. As SCO referred to, most club owners go into football not understanding that it is a completely different scenario to running a business (although you would think that DA`s previous involvement at SWFC would have given him an inkling). The sad fact is that most football clubs are rich (business)men`s playthings these days. Even big beasts like Man Utd and Chelsea are no different. As anybody who`s watched Antiques Roadshow knows, the value of a toy depends to a great extent on how it`s been looked after. If DA`s intention is to take CFC along to Flog It in a few years` time and get a decent price at auction, then he needs to take better care of it than he has done this last couple of years; a bit of restoration work is currently needed. Hopefully, he will keep that in mind.

As far as budgets are concerned, I suspect MA`s 'shoestring' comment was made in the context of comparing the current figure with what our previous managers have had to work with - not with other clubs in this league. Any manager of a club that`s lost 5 on the bounce is working in a very hot kitchen and I`m sure that he`s feeling the heat right now. He wouldn`t be human if he wasn`t. I didn`t see that comment as 'whingeing' necessarily, Dancing, but more trying to counter-balance some of the ridiculous expectation levels that have been flying around after those first 3 games.

I may be wrong - it has been known - but that`s how I see it.