Paul Faulkner: Is He Delivering?

[not3bad]

Does anyone remember those first couple of summers when we were berating O'Neill for CHOOSING not to spend all the millions upon millions that Lerner was apparently making available?

I remember that being touted as 'doing things the right way', i.e. not forking out great sums on marquee signings.  Then again, when Houllier was brought in that was also touted as 'doing things the right way'.  And it's now being said of our current transfer policy, such as it is.

What was our transfer policy with Houllier?

[Banganappa]

  Your little dig about accountants and bean counters didn't bother me although it was clearly designed to be insulting.
[/quote] What the fuck are you talking about?

[hilts_coolerking]

What was our transfer policy with Houllier?

Exactly my point.

[hilts_coolerking]

It's a strange definition of disaster when a club can finish in the top half despite the many things that were out of our control in the Houllier season.

I think it's fair to say that the club's trajectory since O'Neill left has been downward and steep.  To say the board / owner have done an adequate job in that period - let alone a good job - would be a pretty bold statement.  Sure, we've had a bit of bad luck but some of the major decision-making has been terrible and that pretty much set the course for how things have gone.

[dave.woodhall]

It's a strange definition of disaster when a club can finish in the top half despite the many things that were out of our control in the Houllier season.

I think it's fair to say that the club's trajectory since O'Neill left has been downward and steep.  To say the board / owner have done an adequate job in that period - let alone a good job - would be a pretty bold statement.  Sure, we've had a bit of bad luck but some of the major decision-making has been terrible and that pretty much set the course for how things have gone.

The club has, indeed, gone backwards but to say that the season in question was a disaster just isn't true.

[Risso]

It's a strange definition of disaster when a club can finish in the top half despite the many things that were out of our control in the Houllier season. 

You know full well that the Houllier season was one bad news story after another.  Two final wins that moved us up about six places didn't disguise that.  We hadn't been in the top half since October, and were in a relegation battle as even Houllier openly admitted.

[hilts_coolerking]

The club has, indeed, gone backwards but to say that the season in question was a disaster just isn't true.

Agreed.  Last season was a disaster; the season before that now seems like a birthday present in comparison.  It was bitterly disappointing at the time though.

[dave.woodhall]

It's a strange definition of disaster when a club can finish in the top half despite the many things that were out of our control in the Houllier season. 

You know full well that the Houllier season was one bad news story after another.  Two final wins that moved us up about six places didn't disguise that.  We hadn't been in the top half since October, and were in a relegation battle as even Houllier openly admitted.

Please don't tell me what I think. It doesn't matter how well or badly we'd been doing in October, or at any other point of the season, the one unarguable fact is that we finished ninth, a whole three places lower than the previous year, despite the many problems the club had faced during that period. I wouldn't call that a disaster.

[andrew08]

I also think time will show that the season just gone wasn't a disaster either. We've cleared a whole lot of deadwood, retained our PL status and let Lambert prove himself for a season.

The only person who can feel hard done by is TSM, although financially compensated, he's been professionally ruined and treated like a patsy.

[Dave Clark Five]

I also think time will show that the season just gone wasn't a disaster either. We've cleared a whole lot of deadwood, retained our PL status and let Lambert prove himself for a season.

The only person who can feel hard done by is TSM, although financially compensated, he's been professionally ruined and treated like a patsy.

We have also given extended runs to young players which should enable decisions on their future to be made quicker than would normally have been the case.

[OCD]

Let's hope last season is still viewed as a disaster because if it isn't, it would mean that the coming season would have been worse. Given how poor the quality of football was and the long list of club records that were broken last season, that would take some doing.

[Risso]

I also think time will show that the season just gone wasn't a disaster either. We've cleared a whole lot of deadwood, retained our PL status and let Lambert prove himself for a season.

The only person who can feel hard done by is TSM, although financially compensated, he's been professionally ruined and treated like a patsy.

Yes, I have to admit in darker moments to wondering whether the appointment of McLeish was some sort of fiendishly brilliant plan to get some poor plonker to take the rap while the wage bill was cut etc.

[Monty]

I also think time will show that the season just gone wasn't a disaster either. We've cleared a whole lot of deadwood, retained our PL status and let Lambert prove himself for a season.

The only person who can feel hard done by is TSM, although financially compensated, he's been professionally ruined and treated like a patsy.

We have also given extended runs to young players which should enable decisions on their future to be made quicker than would normally have been the case.

Yes, but they were played in incredibly restrictive systems and told they weren't good enough every week and that as soon as the underperforming, trouble-causing, arrogant seniors returned to even half-fitness, they'd be out.

[Dave Clark Five]

I also think time will show that the season just gone wasn't a disaster either. We've cleared a whole lot of deadwood, retained our PL status and let Lambert prove himself for a season.

The only person who can feel hard done by is TSM, although financially compensated, he's been professionally ruined and treated like a patsy.

We have also given extended runs to young players which should enable decisions on their future to be made quicker than would normally have been the case.

Yes, but they were played in incredibly restrictive systems and told they weren't good enough every week and that as soon as the underperforming, trouble-causing, arrogant seniors returned to even half-fitness, they'd be out.

I very much doubt that they were told that at all. It is probably another mountain out of a molehill concerning something McLeish said that has been misconstrued.
However, the fact remains that many young players got longer runs than normal and we have the benefit of that experience.

[Drummond]

So,

is Faulkner doing a lot better at the moment? :-)

I think he is.