The good,bad and maybe ugly

[Super_horns]

What are the positives and negative issues at your club atm...

Since the new owners (Watford)

Pros:

1. New stand so finally we have a 4 sided ground
2. Stability off the pitch financial wise.
3. Seeing some top quality (by our standards!)

Cons

1. Press quite happy to stick the knife in.
2. Turnover of managers (just brings bad headlines and a bit of uncertainty for a while)
3. Increase in expectations sometimes leads to fan disagreements and a bit of complacency.

 

[thespus]

Pros:

1) We're in the very early stages of reaping the rewards from Wenger's ability to keep us afloat while building the new stadium and improving the "brand". Consecutive cup wins and strong league showings have immeasurable mentality benefits within the squad.
2) Improved results against big sides this past season along with the "crisis" Liverpool are in, the declining and aging squad of Man City, and the precarious position of Manchester United.
3) Hector Bellerin and Francis Coquelin

Cons:

1) Jose Mourinho
2) John Terry
3) Santi Cazorla's figure in skintight kits

 

[Stevencc]

Good: Back into the Champions League
Bad: The inevitable departure of De Gea
Ugly: Phil Jones

 

[The Paranoid Pineapple]

1) Jose Mourinho
2) John Terry

Hey David Cameron, think you've got a bit mixed up again

 

[The Paranoid Pineapple]

Ugly: Phil Jones

:jones:

Poor Phil. Is this not the single most beautiful thing you've ever seen?

Poetry in motion.

And then there's majestic moments like this:

Love big Phil.

 

[BlueBee]

Pros. We're the best club in the land.

We have the best manager.

The best player.

The best owner.

Cons. We have a convicted racist captain.

 

[Stevencc]

Pros. We're the best club in the land.

We have the best manager.

The best player.

The best owner.

Cons. We have a convicted racist captain.

And Costa wants to go back to Atleti because he hates England...or something.

 

[BlueBee]

Ye can we not talk about that. The thought of him leaving after just one season is enough to make me almost suicidal.

 

[JaseTheVillain]

Good:

Sherwood

Bad:

Randy
Shit squad
No money

 

[GodsGift]

Good: Survival
Bad: Mike Ashley
Ugly: Mike Ashley

 

[Pliny Harris]

3) Santi Cazorla's figure in skintight kits

Stupid sexy Cazorla.

 

[Toffee_Joe]

Good: Young talented squad

Bad: No money
In need of new stadium or renovation

 

[AFCB_Mark]

The Good:
A manager who was a supporter of the club as a child and came through the youth system as a player, very few clubs have a manager with that kind of connection. The fact that without the desperate last ditch appointment of Howe 6-7 years ago, we'd have gone into the Non-League and god knows where, only strengthens the bond. He just so happens to be bloody good at the job as well. At some point he will surely take on a bigger job, but hopefully we'll keep a couple more years out of him yet.

The last 4 years of ownership by a group of 3 Russian businessmen who have owned a handful of club across Europe, has allowed us to increase budgets above anything we've seen before, thus mostly retaining our best players for the first time ever, and being able to scout and bring in talent rather than just accepting any freebies we could get as we always used to. The club's infrastructure has also been hugely strengthened and that is something that will benefit the club long term, such as the youth system which is re-built from nothing.

Those two factors bring us to where we are today, incredibly in the top tier, for one season at least.

Our squad is the best the club has ever had, and it's now impossible to have those summer conversations reminiscing about your club's all time greatest players. Because most of them will be back on the pitch for us all to see in August!

The bad:
The historical story of the club, lurching from one short term owner to the next and from one financial crisis to the next, left the current regime with a myriad of problems. Whilst many of them have been over-come, the stadium situation is decades long string of fuck ups.

Long story short we're left today with a stadium barely fit for purpose, that we don't own currently despite various negotiations with the landlord who do not want to sell, and in a town with precious little alternative land to relocate.

The lack of capacity means that despite us dreaming for decades of this kind of opportunity to grow the fanbase and really engage the conurbation in the club - we cannot fit everyone in who wants to attend. Ticket criteria means that anyone who isn't already a long standing fan is physically unable to get a ticket. So we risk missing out on new support that we could convert into future regulars.

The club's success and growth has distanced the connection with supporters. We're no longer really needed and are now just a consumer. And many of the club's decades long employees who used to do it for the love and often weren't properly paid, have been replaced by a new generation of actual professionals. Who are very good at their jobs I'm sure, but it's a bit sad all the same.

And the bottom line of any ownership that inflates budgets above the club's natural level - you worry about the club over-reaching or going too far with it and suffering in the future. Howe has his head screwed on and generally seems sensible spending his budget, but what about his replacement in a couple of years?

The ugly:
Have you seen Matt Ritchie's haircut? Ridiculous.

 

[Whitechapel]

Stupid sexy Cazorla.

Looks like he's wearing, nothing at all.