Uilleam

I think you mean the Horror Channel

Plus ca change, plus ca meme fuckin' chose.... Ferguson Out!!!

You assume that he picked the team, and not some stoner in the Bay Area

He does not want to make a drama out of a crisis, clearly.

I've met a few of them; I'll bet that you have, too.....

Fails the eyesight test.

Talked a good fight, I think. Casino habitue, where he met and got pally with the Fat Bastards' Fat Bastard, Ashley.

We could argue the toss, the pros and cons, the benefits and disbenefits, the possibilities and probabilities, the certainties and risks, the positives and the negatives, our likings and aversions, and have these debates up every hill in San Francisco, and down again -on foot, on cable car, or in Bullitt's bloody Mustang- and the only things surer than guns are iron are 1. we would never reach a consensus 2. we would have no influence, whatsoever, over the disposal and acquisition of shares. The sales seem to be proceeding, with some expedition, and unless a. the saviours or the carpetbaggers -your call- cannot get agreements from current owners to purchase 51% of shares, or b. due diligence uncovers something so significant as to require that 'all bets are off', are likely to conclude in early Summer. Of course, I have discounted illegal activity from La Curva Fedele, or whomever - crimes such as blackmail, kidnap, or assassination. Buckle up, brothers. Lets hope we enjoy the ride.

Has he not been on training grounds more recently that all the rest? (Except M Charrai, naturellement.)

The Club is underperforming on and off the park. It posts scrotum tightening losses every year, and the team, which has just turned in two of the worst Rangers' performances I have ever seen - at Ibrox, and on the spin- is struggling, bereft of confidence, without leadership, with a pronounced sick note culture, and out of domestic competitions. The road to Hell, my late mother would say, is paved with good intentions. If you seek an explanation, look no further than who is in charge. There are two principal issues - 1. Fans (qua fans) in the boardroom 2. The myth that skills are always transferable. We may speculate about divisions among the board members and major shareholders, and lack of leadership, which would not have helped, to say the least. So, we are where we are, and the options are very limited. You have bought the ticket, now take the ride.

Nor, perhaps, the Household Cavalry. Everyone, anyone, of course, goes without saying, but, em....horses for courses....

It would be unlike a wily old dog, such as Captain Nathan Brittles, to reveal all of his cards this early in the campaign.

These people have a track record of running sports businesses. They may take an interest, a controlling interest, or the whole damned shooting match. One thing is clear, the support will have little or no say. What is also clear, clear for some time, is that that change is needed, and I see only one division of cavalry coming over the hill.

Ungentlemanly, and conduct unbecoming. On a par with giving the old Harvey Smith to the press and photographers. I wonder who criticised Ferguson and McGregor for that?

Doomed, then. Or, perhaps you have a scenario for the next act, sketched out, and just waiting for the green light. I'd love to read your treatment. I posted this earlier. You should have read it. It's interesting, particularly in relation to 'fans in the boardroom'. Speaking on the Sports Geek Replay podcast earlier this month, Marathe explained how teams in his stable no longer operate as 'lemonade stands' and are run to maximise return on investment. He said: "The fundamental thing that's changed with professional sports teams on and off the pitch is professional sports teams are no longer run as lemonade stands. They are no longer just about the football team, or the baseball team, or the soccer team, or whatever it is, it's now run as a business, right, as a big Fortune 50, Fortune 500 type of business. "That means you need to get as much value as you can and minimising risk as much as you can, both on the field of the players and also in the business." "At that time, we hired most of our C-level executives who are here today, as well as most of our EVPs or VPs. And what we did is we just, it was just, we just flipped, flipped a fundamental hiring practice kind of upside down for the beginning, since the beginning of time in the sports industry, people hired other sports people, maybe had a little bit of business experience. But the primary trait was, hey, you worked in that sport or this sport and like success or failure didn't matter, but you just had sports experience. "We took the other approach as we were hiring. We said, hold on, let's go get really good sound business people. And by the way, if they happen to have sports experience, then great, but not a prerequisite. In the end, we ended up hiring, as we grew from, I think, 70 people to 300 people, we ended up hiring a lot of talented, talented individuals of all colours and genders as well, because we were, we tried to do it as much of a meritocracy as we could. And that's what enabled us to transition and actually be able to do all these other things that we still do today." 

There was no alternative, for them. The took the leap, and fled to Bolivia. Their problem was that they continued to rob and steal. Thus, the Third Act became the Final Act, and ended badly. What the story needs is a reboot of that Third Act, with new scriptwriters, who will not be interested in ringing the curtain down, and will ensure that the lead characters do not repeat the mistakes of the past. There is no alternative, it seems clear. Will this happen? I don't know, but I do know that the audience has no control over this..... Doncha just love suspense? Actually, what the club needs now, short term, in fact, immediately, is not Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but some True Grit.

Impossible task. Even to nominate a 'least bad' player defeats me. It's equally difficult to suggest the worst performer. Send them all a dildo. Yellow, if possible.

We might well need trebles all round.

Probably the wrong third....

Do you spend a large part of your life muttering, "Well, who would have thought that would have happened?"

A vegetarian? Ffs!! When the players, clearly, have to be fed on raw meat, that's all we need.

I don't see why not, particularly if the Yanqi have been, at least, consulted. The reason that a temporary answer (not, note, solution) is required is because there was no plan B - that is, presumably, beyond selling up. Most concerning, in any event, is what happens when/if the deal bites the dust? A 'temporary' coaching team in situ, none of whom has had a successful management career, and none of whom have worked together in a coaching capacity, does not inspire confidence. 'Fans' in the Boardroom, ffs!!

I'll see your Haliday and Novo, and raise you Scott Nisbett, and Ian Durrant.

Ferguson, Dodds, McCann, and McGregor. Lee McCulloch would give the Parks a Full House.

Train wreck interesting