The Bigger Question:

[John Buchanan]

IF we go down, what does the future hold for our beloved club?
I can't see Vinnie investing anything to get us back up.
I can't see him changing his ways and devolving power to people who know what to do.
Will he simply let us wither on the vine; is some form of revenge worth the cost to him (if there is actually a cost, this is all very murky to me)?
Would he consider selling at any price to put it all behind him?
In a moment of inspiration and benevolence would he hand the club over to the community, gaining at least a few brownie points back home (I know but I ask).
I really fear for the future of the club and I have no idea what we, as fans, as the heart of the club, can do about it. And that, I think is the saddest part of the story. Whatever happened to the game of footy that we all love?

[Ninja]

I've been thinking on this all afternoon as it goes.
I think it's bad if I'm honest.
He won't want to walk away because he's sunk tens of millions into the club. He wouldn't find a buyer that would give him what he would ask.
I can't seem him investing too much, or changing his ways either.

The best hope is the latter, that he gets rid of at least one of Dalman and Choo, brings at least one or two football people in, and we start a rebuild, hopefully with some degree of investment.

The investment amount is also a big concern though as he's losing money. We wouldn't be raiding clubs for their best players, that's for sure...

I'm trying to remain somewhat positive, but it obviously gets harder and harder as each week passes.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

IF we go down, what does the future hold for our beloved club?
I can't see Vinnie investing anything to get us back up.
I can't see him changing his ways and devolving power to people who know what to do.
Will he simply let us wither on the vine; is some form of revenge worth the cost to him (if there is actually a cost, this is all very murky to me)?
Would he consider selling at any price to put it all behind him?
In a moment of inspiration and benevolence would he hand the club over to the community, gaining at least a few brownie points back home (I know but I ask).
I really fear for the future of the club and I have no idea what we, as fans, as the heart of the club, can do about it. And that, I think is the saddest part of the story. Whatever happened to the game of footy that we all love?

Absolutely. I said something not too dissimilar a few weeks ago. If we stay up this season, what is our future? As things stand we're going down whether it's this season, next or the year after. The likelihood is that the more we stave off relegation, the worse we'll be when it finally happens.

[Delbert]

Talk of formations, selections and tactics seems like rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic at the moment. None of this matters until CCFC is run like a proper football club again.

Think of clubs like Brentford and Brighton where owners recruit people with exceptional football intelligence into positions of power and the effect runs right through the club. If you turned up at Cardiff you’d find the Chief Executive flogging cars in London, the Chairman exiled in Monaco and the owner several time zones away in Malaysia.

VT says he’s holding onto ownership as he thinks he can recoup some of his money by turning the club around. That’s delusional I’m afraid, the only certainty is under his ownership he’ll squander even more of his wealth as the club continues to tank. Dark times indeed.

[Organ Morgan.]

Bloody hell!

There has to be euthanasia forums to be found on the internet where the membership isn't nearly as despondent as this one has become.

[PontBlue]

He can't invest due to the embargo, we can only pick up players on a free or loan without a fee.

[Whisperer]

He can't invest due to the embargo, we can only pick up players on a free or loan without a fee.

Of his own making.

[John Buchanan]

Bloody hell!

There has to be euthanasia forums to be found on the internet where the membership isn't nearly as despondent as this one has become.

I know Organ, many if us have been trying to maintain some positivity and of course there is still hope. But the bigger question needs to be addressed. Playing violins on the foredeck may seem a comforting approach but it will never have any impact on the outcome.

[blue lewj]

We will sink like a stone.

What you need to ask is if this owner and board will start making good decisions in League 1? I don't think so.

Whether by design or just not being good enough Tan is a bad owner. All of his clubs are going down the swanny.
We'll be the same. League 1 level with equally bad ownership and board.

[John Buchanan]

We will sink like a stone.

What you need to ask is if this owner and board will start making good decisions in League 1? I don't think so.

Whether by design or just not being good enough Tan is a bad owner. All of his clubs are going down the swanny.
We'll be the same. League 1 level with equally bad ownership and board.

"All of his clubs are going down the swanny."

So perhaps the real question is why does he continue. Why do it?
Is it all about the SE Asian prevalence of saving face? If there are to be any attempts to influence his mindset, they have to take place on his home patch. Who do we know in KL? Who is the social media guru on here?

[bluemoon]

back in blue in div 2... giving what we wanted

[blue lewj]

"All of his clubs are going down the swanny."

So perhaps the real question is why does he continue. Why do it?
Is it all about the SE Asian prevalence of saving face? If there are to be any attempts to influence his mindset, they have to take place on his home patch. Who do we know in KL? Who is the social media guru on here?

Only he and the ones closest to him know.

Would you pump £3m a month (until very recently) into a club to run it on life support?
The footballing success clearly isn't his motivator. It is anybody's guess what is.

People thinking we're going to drop a level and the board are suddenly going to wake up and start running the club well are wide of the mark I feel.
The fundamental mistakes this club makes repeatedly will see us in trouble whatever league we're in. They fail to learn from those mistakes though.

People say the club is about status and a way to show off in his home country. I think it is anything but that for Tan. It makes him look very stupid and certainly not a business heavyweight.

[John Buchanan]

back in blue in div 2... giving what we wanted

Agreed. But what next? That is the question. We can all type and complain and feel sorry for ourselves as we decline, or we try and do something about it.

[blue lewj]

Agreed. But what next? That is the question. We can all type and complain and feel sorry for ourselves as we decline, or we try and do something about it.

I suggested a protest in the ground along the lines of Man United's Green and Yellow scarves.

It wasn't the right time was the general feedback. Maybe after relegation or when we're in League 2 might be time.

[Dorcus]

Talk of formations, selections and tactics seems like rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic at the moment. None of this matters until CCFC is run like a proper football club again.

Think of clubs like Brentford and Brighton where owners recruit people with exceptional football intelligence into positions of power and the effect runs right through the club. If you turned up at Cardiff you’d find the Chief Executive flogging cars in London, the Chairman exiled in Monaco and the owner several time zones away in Malaysia.

VT says he’s holding onto ownership as he thinks he can recoup some of his money by turning the club around. That’s delusional I’m afraid, the only certainty is under his ownership he’ll squander even more of his wealth as the club continues to tank. Dark times indeed.

Spot on! We may be heading for really dark days. My only hope is that sinking into League 1 will be a bridge too far for Tan and that he will decide to call it a day and sell up at a bargain basement price. Without him gone we're finished.

[blue lewj]

Spot on! We may be heading for really dark days. My only hope is that sinking into League 1 will be a bridge too far for Tan and that he will decide to call it a day and sell up at a bargain basement price. Without him gone we're finished.

The problem there is that we now have debt owing to Dalman's firm.

You can't turn debt to equity or walk away from debt that isn't your own. So the club is basically what it costs plus Dalman's debt too. There are many more attractive prospects in the football world than us at present and that is all down to how we've been run.

The owner and board are slowly killing the club. They don't have the knowledge to just run the club properly never mind arresting this current slide. People talk of your Portsmouth and Oldham's of this world. I fear we could very well be next. The only decisions we have got right seem to be more through luck than judgment.

[The Lone Gunman]

back in blue in div 2... giving what we wanted

Who wanted League One? Anyone?

[Dorcus]

The problem there is that we now have debt owing to Dalman's firm.

You can't turn debt to equity or walk away from debt that isn't your own. So the club is basically what it costs plus Dalman's debt too. There are many more attractive prospects in the football world than us at present and that is all down to how we've been run.

The owner and board are slowly killing the club. They don't have the knowledge to just run the club properly never mind arresting this current slide. People talk of your Portsmouth and Oldham's of this world. I fear we could very well be next. The only decisions we have got right seem to be more through luck than judgment.

Yes that makes it even more depressing.

Maybe Tan should write a book..."How to destroy a football club for dummies". He'd make a fortune.

[blue lewj]

Yes that makes it even more depressing.

Maybe Tan should write a book..."How to destroy a football club for dummies". He'd make a fortune.

It is quite simple.

You go into any business with no knowledge. You install people who have no knowledge throughout.
You then have a bash at running the club and continue to do so despite all of the results of these decisions suggesting you don't know what you're doing. You then continue and blame everybody else but yourself and keep changing just one person in the whole process and expecting that to fix something. While doing all this you trample over tradition and change things to have branding with your own personal twist and have the worst communication when compared to competitors.

Add to the fact players were shown goals scored from their own half like the only thing between them scoring long range goals or not was they didn't know they had to try. It is barmy.

The club have to take some credit for Warnock but a broken clock is right twice a day. I stand by my belief that Warnock worked because he is the closest thing to a director of football and manager rolled into one and a master manipulator. He had the fans eating out of the palm of his hand and I'm sure he did the same with the board and Tan too.

[blue lewj]

I forgot to add that you spend progressively less and less on playing talent as you go.

[blue lewj]

For those who think it will improve in League 1 can you give your reasons why?

For me we'll just be making crap decisions but with a smaller budget.

[Tuerto]

For those who think it will improve in League 1 can you give your reasons why?

For me we'll just be making crap decisions but with a smaller budget.

If we do go down, then this is a worry. Believe it or not, i do try and find positives, it's just that i can't at the moment, and i am concerned that the club could struggle if we were relegated. We have to many players who are not up to the challenge of championship football, too many who are on the slide.

[blue lewj]

If we do go down, then this is a worry. Believe it or not, i do try and find positives, it's just that i can't at the moment, and i am concerned that the club could struggle if we were relegated. We have to many players who are not up to the challenge of championship football, too many who are on the slide.

Even the playing side is far from a mystery.

If you take a squad that you spent a fair bit on and replace them with freebies, loans and kids who aren't ready then you're only going one way. Players are free because, in the main, clubs can't get any money for them. If you fill your squad with these types then you're basically building a squad of rejects.

The most concerning thing of all is the club don't seem to think they're doing anything wrong outside of the manager who gets changed regularly with at most a large gamble most times.
If they can't get to the stage of acknowledging they're doing things badly then they're not going to change any time soon.

It's alright though, some think we will drop to League 1 and Tan will start making shrewd and clever decisions almost overnight.

[A Quiet Monkfish]

IF we go down, what does the future hold for our beloved club?
I can't see Vinnie investing anything to get us back up.
I can't see him changing his ways and devolving power to people who know what to do.
Will he simply let us wither on the vine; is some form of revenge worth the cost to him (if there is actually a cost, this is all very murky to me)?
Would he consider selling at any price to put it all behind him?
In a moment of inspiration and benevolence would he hand the club over to the community, gaining at least a few brownie points back home (I know but I ask).
I really fear for the future of the club and I have no idea what we, as fans, as the heart of the club, can do about it. And that, I think is the saddest part of the story. Whatever happened to the game of footy that we all love?

Failure is easier to bear when you're 5000 miles away. An owner who woke up every morning to the trials and tribulations of his club all over the various media outlets [inc. ici] would feel obligated to stir things up, change the way the club was run, make positive noises. We have none of that. Just a couple of slick businessmen up in the smoke concentrating on more important things. For all his financial commitment to the club I'm now sensing an alienation between him and us - one that should end as soon as possible, but whilst Tan looks on from afar, detached from it all, I'm getting the impression he thinks relegation will bring a thrilling promotion challenge next season with this squad of 'championship players' in league 1.

[Hilts]

Paying the 1st installment of the Sala fee late resulting in a partial embargo covering all of next season was the latest in this boards series of feck ups.

Things can turn around quickly but thanks to that embargo they could get worse before they get better.