Penny Pinching.........

But Bigdog, teams in this league will have wealthy owners throwing money at it left right and centre. By that reckoning in the Conference we'd have been promoted first season down there and we'd have never encountered Wrexham in that league. Also Newcastle would challenge for the Premier League title and Bournemouth would be a League 1 club. There is a lot less correlation between size of gate and success than should be the case, but sadly that is how things are.

I know what you are saying but can't think of many sugar daddies in League Two. And if you look down from the Premier League to League Two, apart from a few exceptions the standing of clubs do correlate to the size of clubs. Was just thinking how much of a natural order the leagues look compared to twenty years ago when the Championship was full of Grimsbys, Cambridges, Oxfords, Swindons and Walsalls.

Instead of giving up and calling mid-table a success, what's up with hoping we could be a Burton with the right manager. I just find it all a bit unambitious. I expect it with who we've got in charge and also with the manager we've got but it shouldn't be that way. As fans we should always set reasonable high standards at the start of each season. I don't think under the circumstances that 8th or better isn't unreasonable. If the club ever celebrated finishing twelfth in League Two I'd be pretty disgusted, even though I'd snap your hand off at present with the squad we've put together and how we've started..

Good example Burton. I am not aware that they are wealthy or have big crowds, but they are in The Championship. Success does not necessarily require shed loads of dosh, but it does require a good team.

Burton spend 6 seasons in league 2 before getting promoted, finishing 13th, 19th, 17th, 4th, 6th, and 1st.

Not exactly an overnight success, but they do seem, from a distance, to be better run than Town. New stadium in 2005 as well.

I think we all know that money does not guarantee success, it just shortens the odds. It is still possible for clubs to make it to the top without massive funding but looking at the Championship now you can see a big difference between the haves and have nots. You need good management and luck to overcome the cash handicap.

In L2 the situation is not as bad. We have not yet reached the stage of filling teams with mediocre foreigners. Our mediocre players are still British by and large. As far as Town is concerned I wouldn't fault the manager's recruitment so far and it is great to see a youth set up taking shape as well. But neither of those will work if we are back in the conference for the sake of a few quid.

Nobody is talking about a massive takeover or influx of cash. What we have to recognise though is that confidence amongst the supporters and I suspect in the dressing room is still very fragile. The euphoria of promotion is rapidly giving way to the reality of league football. The demands of L2 are different for players and for managers. Bemoaning poor referees and bad luck is no consolation when relegation is staring you in the face. We've been there, done that.

The manager was right about needing a bigger squad now the loan system has changed but the danger is that the quality of the squad can be diluted. We end up with the same sort of journeymen of the Woods era slogging for survival when we need sparks to push us up the other end of the table.

That's what I mean by the major shareholder getting some more investment. Two or three quality players added to this squad could make all the difference. Two or three of the ordinary freebie type players could make for a hard battle come March next year. In football as in life you most often get what you are prepared to pay for.

If I remember rightly, the Scunts Uncle Steve Wharton cash injected £500k when they were mediocre in League 2 and that catapulted them to the Championship. We the fans raised £100k and that got us Bogle and a togetherness that couldn't be matched by anyone in our league at the time.

The benign loans came when Fenty had an itchy trigger finger, we were also paying back the taxman and the playing budget brought in players like .......(I won't say his name Biccy's  ) some of the worst players ever to wear the famous black and white stripes.

I don't believe the board are driven, if they put money into the club it comes across as it's something they have to do because this and that. If they changed their tune to, I'm putting this money in to give us a push for promotion then it changes how people feel about the club. The problem is that I feel we have a negative and reactive board, not a positive and proactive board.

Quoted from Marinerz93

I don't believe the board are driven, if they put money into the club it comes across as it's something they have to do because this and that. If they changed their tune to, I'm putting this money in to give us a push for promotion then it changes how people feel about the club. The problem is that I feel we have a negative and reactive board, not a positive and proactive board.

You are probably right. I can understand the logic of the budget and the demands of ground maintenance, ongoing costs etc. with the need to strengthen the squad for L2. But much of football is about perception and as you say people may be beginning to think the board has regressed into the shell it was in pre-relegation. That was understandable in a way in those days having had to pay off the bunch of wasters Newell left but we went from one extreme to the other, from risk all to risk bu99er all. I'm wondering if we are still in that mindset. The board needs to think forwards not backwards, planned spending on the squad now would reap dividends if we could hit the play-offs.

From what I've seen so far (only 4 games I know) this league doesn't seem anything special.
I feel that us having low expectations and maybe penny pinching a bit and settling for mid table could be an opportunity lost.
Maybe it might be worth pulling out the stops and going for it

Grim Rob.............  You are such a jobsworth with your replies it makes me laugh.  I am negative for stating the obvious.  You think Wycombe are a wealthy club because they have a newer ground than Grimsby..........  Do you realise that Wycombe's ground is basically situated in an Industrial Estate, how the hell does that generate money/ funds / etc etc........  Yet again, you will no doubt be so in the pocket of the club that no logical thinking is allowed, and the slightest criticism of the club is not allowed.  I was supporting this club and always will when you were  probably in short pants or not even on the planet.  I like other fans can see shortcomings and negativity by the hierarchy of the club which has on more than one occasion dragged this club into the gutter.

With the current squad we will be in trouble this year and crowds will slowly dip.  This is all due to a lack of foresight.  Last post from me on this sight I really cannot be bothered with a forum where people cannot express their opinions freely and openly, other than to be questioned by the moderator, or indeed removed by other external sources.  Believe what you like Grim (Reaper) Rob, this club is in a mess once again..........  keep wearing your rose coloured spectacles, that maybe you got a 5% discount off from the club shop...........

Have I missed something, where has all this debate about our budget being uncompetitive come from, or is it just purely speculation based on us losing a couple of games and the mascot saga?

I'm sure I remember Hurst saying that he had talked to various L2 manager about the size of budget and had then met with the board to discuss what was needed.