I'm not knocking Michael Jolley but.....

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

I don't think there will be much to take will there? No Wembley, negligible player sales income, no cup runs, dwindling attendances. I wonder if it's more a case of not having to prop up a loss and see loans increase?

If we're paying as low wages as people are suggesting then there might still be some left. We still sold 3,000 ST which is more than a lot of teams in this league get altogether for games. Having said that, we have signed an abundance of shite so it's perhaps volume that is pushing costs up.

In many ways, Jolley cannot lose between now and the end of the season. If he keeps us up, he will be an instant hero. If he doesn't, then the blame will fall where it deserves to - on his predecessor, the players and the board who have presided over this sorry season. What concerns me beyond May is whether he will get the backing he needs to conduct the clearout that is needed and build a competitive squad for next season.

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

I don't think there will be much to take will there? No Wembley, negligible player sales income, no cup runs, dwindling attendances. I wonder if it's more a case of not having to prop up a loss and see loans increase?

I think you may be right Rodders. However, to go from the position of having 3000 season ticket holders, and another 2000 paying on the day, and selling a player for £1m to having to have a clear out of talent and hoovering up journeymen by the busload smacks gross financial incompetence. If Slade's brief was to cut the wage bill he went about it in a strange way and the board must have sanctioned Bignot's spree in Jan 2017 (or if they didn't where the intercourse is the financial control).

Quoted from ginnywings

Can't watch that video. The sick bucket is in the shed.

Rather watch that than the post match stuff at Burton  I only hope FGR are ready (if it goes that far - I'm afraid it might as Chesterfield play Barnet on the last day)

Quoted from KingstonMariner

I think you may be right Rodders. However, to go from the position of having 3000 season ticket holders, and another 2000 paying on the day, and selling a player for £1m to having to have a clear out of talent and hoovering up journeymen by the busload smacks gross financial incompetence. If Slade's brief was to cut the wage bill he went about it in a strange way and the board must have sanctioned Bignot's spree in Jan 2017 (or if they didn't where the intercourse is the financial control).

I wouldn't disagree at all but welcome to the wonderful world of GTFC I guess. Maybe this explains the board antipathy to Operation Promotion though. If the fans raise £110k and gift it to the club that makes it very hard for a director to take a chunk of money out to reduce their loans.

It's clear we had too many players draining the budget, and if you decide it needs cutting, the only players other sides will be interested in are the better ones on the books. I think the board took the view that we would probably be safe, so out those players go and we limp along to he end of the season. The limp has developed into a crawl and it's too late to undo the damage. All this has been compounded by falling gates and less money coming through the turnstiles. They have between them created the perfect storm. Masses of average players have taken us exactly where it took us last time. I'm also wondering if there is an exit strategy going on here.

Quoted from mariner91

It'll be interesting to see how much money is taken out by directors this season...

You soon got 2 red crosses for that - wonder who that might be!

It's difficult to say how good manager he was in Sweden.

AFC did perform terrible when he arrived, but I think almost everyone in Sweden agreed that it was mostly down to choosing the wrong manager at the start of the season. AFC was famous for playing an attacking, passing oriented football. Then they hired the opposite type of manager (Pelle Olsson) when they got promoted to Allsvenskan.

So it's difficult to say: how much better did AFC perform just because they had such a bad manager fit, and how much better did they perform because Jolley did good things?

Despite being a team in the bottom of the table, they did have some quality players that no other team in the bottom of the league had. Mohamed Buya Turay and Omar Eddahri could easily belong to any other club in Sweden. Their back up striker, Chidi Omeje, was not starting because the other attackers were so good. Now he's signed up to be a star at Gif Sundsvall, who's still in the top division.

On the other hand, the defence and midfield was of way more mixed quality. No one expected them to stay up, but they had a run were it looked like it could be possible. He won the "tactics match" versus some of the top teams managers. AFC often dropped points in one goal defeats where they could've gotten more out of the games, It was a weird situation: AFC is kind of like the swedish MK Dons. Not 100%, because they didn't take any big clubs history and destroyed it, but they were as disliked because they moved to a new city and barely had any structure outside the football pitch.

AFC wanted to keep Jolley and he had some good ideas. It never felt like he was going to get another job in Allsvenskan 2018, because right now, there is a huge new wave of young football managers that are getting their chance in Sweden. It is a completely new generation that has "abandoned" the "old" style of thinking, and are way more progressive, educated, and influenced by other countries. In just over five years, the league has gone from pretty much everyone playing a direct football in a 4-4-2-ish, to a more fluid football with bigger coaching staffs, more analysis, players with better technical skills, formation shifts... I think Graham Potter has played a massive role in that.

Quoted from Bigdog

If we had to get rid of our best players in January, it only goes to show that there isn't enough investment or forward thinking in the boardroom. First instinct always is to cut costs rather than explore how to increase income or investment to accommodate the cost of talent we need to move forward. It is a fact that GTFC can only have successful seasons in non league when the cloth is cut to JF's pocket or methodology, and even then it's down to having one of the largest incomes based on fan contribution. Half the clubs in League One operate on gates of less than 5k, never mind all but a handful in League Two. The club is bankrupt of cash and bankrupt of ideas to effect a radical change. Part of me still thinks that JF doesn't want to get out as much as he protests. Hopefully over time MJ will completely refresh the playing side. To build on this exciting appointment, I hope the board don't sit on their laurels and press ahead as promised to address the shortcomings of the club on the non playing side..

I think JF is hedging his bets.

Cut costs (especially the playing staff) in order to get ready to bail out (ie he is trying very hard not to have to lend us any more money and take some back where possible) and hope against hope that football fortune pops along and saves his bacon, so he can continue to lord it over us.

Not a bad strategy from his point of view, but a disaster for GTFC.

Quoted from DougieJones

It's difficult to say how good manager he was in Sweden.

AFC did perform terrible when he arrived, but I think almost everyone in Sweden agreed that it was mostly down to choosing the wrong manager at the start of the season. AFC was famous for playing an attacking, passing oriented football. Then they hired the opposite type of manager (Pelle Olsson) when they got promoted to Allsvenskan.

So it's difficult to say: how much better did AFC perform just because they had such a bad manager fit, and how much better did they perform because Jolley did good things?

Despite being a team in the bottom of the table, they did have some quality players that no other team in the bottom of the league had. Mohamed Buya Turay and Omar Eddahri could easily belong to any other club in Sweden. Their back up striker, Chidi Omeje, was not starting because the other attackers were so good. Now he's signed up to be a star at Gif Sundsvall, who's still in the top division.

On the other hand, the defence and midfield was of way more mixed quality. No one expected them to stay up, but they had a run were it looked like it could be possible. He won the "tactics match" versus some of the top teams managers. AFC often dropped points in one goal defeats where they could've gotten more out of the games, It was a weird situation: AFC is kind of like the swedish MK Dons. Not 100%, because they didn't take any big clubs history and destroyed it, but they were as disliked because they moved to a new city and barely had any structure outside the football pitch.

AFC wanted to keep Jolley and he had some good ideas. It never felt like he was going to get another job in Allsvenskan 2018, because right now, there is a huge new wave of young football managers that are getting their chance in Sweden. It is a completely new generation that has "abandoned" the "old" style of thinking, and are way more progressive, educated, and influenced by other countries. In just over five years, the league has gone from pretty much everyone playing a direct football in a 4-4-2-ish, to a more fluid football with bigger coaching staffs, more analysis, players with better technical skills, formation shifts... I think Graham Potter has played a massive role in that.

Thanks for this, very insightful. I think the thing for me is that he took over a side rock bottom and gave it a real go at keeping them up. This to me shows he has determination,character and believes in his own abilities.

Marcus Bignot was "up an coming" but from day 1 he wanted it to be all about him in the couple of clips I have seen of Michael and how pre appointment he's used social media sensibly he clearly has more intelligence and no doubt is business background has taught him to under promise and over deliver.

Regardless of which league we play in next term GTFC is a club that needs a breath of fresh air but it needs to be evolution rather than revolution as stability has been missing since Paul Hurst left. If Michael can get players and then ultimately fans feeling good about GTFC the rest might just look after itself to a degree.