The 5 Year Plan

[Mazrim]

Citeh don't come into it really. we were on course for qualifying the season before last and there wasn't much citeh could do about it., just needed to keep playing as we were. And then we we bought Heskey...... that was the chance and we blew it spectacularly. Was downhill fast from then on.

I have to agree. It was the time to have speculated on Bent or somebody just as good. It was the difference.
Losing Laursen as the motivator was also a major factor as Barry was unwilling or unable to lead the team on the pitch when we needed it.

[Risso]

Buying Heskey was the final nail in the coffin as far as having confidence in O'Neill went for me.  After the disaster of Harewood, that was one shit transfer too far, at a time when as Mazrim says, we needed goals in the team.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

Buying Heskey was the final nail in the coffin as far as having confidence in O'Neill went for me.  After the disaster of Harewood, that was one shit transfer too far, at a time when as Mazrim says, we needed goals in the team.

Compounded by that fact that Arsenal bought Arshavin at the same time, who had an immediate impact.

[Merv]

Whether there was officially a five-year plan or not, the first four years were going pretty well - then it spectacularly blew up. As others have said, you can have as much of a long-term strategy as you like but there are always likely to be extra factors you can't legislate for: Man City's sudden emergence, for example, which saw us lose a key player to them in successive summers.

Now, in terms of league position, we're back where we started in May 2006. Albeit with a stronger squad - if we make the right choices I don't see why we can't go right back to challenging for top six again next season.

[Risso]

It's true that you can't control what other teams do, but you should still plan to make the best of the resources you do have.

[Mazrim]

We had a foot on Arsenal's throat, but it was Heather Mills' foot and they just unstrapped it without too much trouble. Then, as we were standing there aghast at the rudeness of it all, David Moyes came up and pulled our pants down.

All for the love of a Tumbling Bear that should never have been disturbed from it's Wigan slumber.
Fuck you, Martin "Grizzly Adams" O'Neill.

[Concrete John]

Buying Heskey was the final nail in the coffin as far as having confidence in O'Neill went for me.  After the disaster of Harewood, that was one shit transfer too far, at a time when as Mazrim says, we needed goals in the team.

Compounded by that fact that Arsenal bought Arshavin at the same time, who had an immediate impact.

As I recall it, Arsenal actually signed Arshavin in February

As to the 5 year plan, I'd say we were OK up to a point, but where we, and if all honesty MON, failed was the use of the funds in that summer 2009 window.  What we did was buy a few players who had little or no impact as opposed to one or two who would have a bigger say.  Effectively a smaller squad (no difference as he didn't use it) but with one more player on the Milner/Ash/Downing level and I think we could have gotten 4th. 

Now I think it all starts again as we're in need of better financial balance and a greater emphasis on youth and scouting to make up for that.  So maybe it's a case of enjoying the ride and seeing where we are in 2015?     

[Greg N'Ash]

After this season with 4 different people in charge, I'd hesitate to draw up a 5 month plan in place if i was RL

[pauliewalnuts]

Buying Heskey was the final nail in the coffin as far as having confidence in O'Neill went for me.  After the disaster of Harewood, that was one shit transfer too far, at a time when as Mazrim says, we needed goals in the team.

Looking at the two transfers in isolation, I could at least see why he might want Heskey - as a back up to Carew, maybe - there was at least some logic to it.

I couldn't even begin to see what made him snatch Marlon Harewood from the clutches of Wigan, though.

[Greg N'Ash]

thing with Ivanhoe, he wasn't just not very good when he arrived, but he seemed to disrupt the whole style of play of the rest of the team. MON's Asprilla.....

[montague]

thing with Ivanhoe, he wasn't just not very good when he arrived, but he seemed to disrupt the whole style of play of the rest of the team. MON's Asprilla.....

Except Asprilla was a blinding player

[Concrete John]

Our problem with Harewood was not moving him on soon enough.  His first season lead to some decent showings off the bench and that helped us to 6th, but that was all he had.  Similar to Zat Knight he should have been used as a stepping stone and then sold.

[Greg N'Ash]

we couldn't move Harewood on. MON had put him on such high wages that anyone who might have wanted him was put off. See our current squad for more examples of MON's salary fuckwittery

[pauliewalnuts]

Our problem with Harewood was not moving him on soon enough.  His first season lead to some decent showings off the bench and that helped us to 6th, but that was all he had.  Similar to Zat Knight he should have been used as a stepping stone and then sold.

Hmm, well, I'd rather we'd steered clear of him totally. For a club hoping to break the CL and needing firepower up front, Marlon was never in a million years going to be much use.

re the error in not moving him on, isn't the board's wish to do that with a host of other rubbish, expensive players the very thing that is getting them stick from some quarters at the moment?

[Concrete John]

we couldn't move Harewood on. MON had put him on such high wages that anyone who might have wanted him was put off. See our current squad for more examples of MON's salary fuckwittery

Wasn't Marlon on something like £27,500 a week?  Hardly OTT by modern standards.