Regarding investors, it seems that they are not exactly queueing round the block to get a slice of the action, which I find strange, given our 10 seasons in the PL. Could it be that Parish refusing to relinquish overall control is a factor?

1. Brentford and Brighton have sole owners, Matthew Bentham and Tony Bloom. Funding the clubs they support. And Bentham used to work for Bloom so they share that in common too. Yes, they have performed brilliantly over the last few years. Pound for pound they have outperformed just about everyone else in the EPL. They are the exceptions, not the rule. You continue to blame one person, Parish, in a situation whereby he is one of a group of four. Were you moaning when he attracted the initial investment from Harris and Blitzer ? Did you see the Textor investment as a bad thing ? Kenwright at Everton attracted a ultra wealthy investor ( now owner ) - has that guaranteed them success ?
Parish can't demand that the others put in any more money.

2. I've already accepted that the club has no money, and agree that the squad needs strengthening, so what's your point ?

3. Yes, the scouting at Brentford and Brighton is far more effective than ours and the majority of clubs in the EPL on a value basis.

4. I cite being a London club as being a factor in high wages and then you quote figures from Southampton and Brighton ! Yes, Parish signed the likes of Benteke and Sakho. Then agreed a huge wage for Zaha. How many people at the time thought they were errors in judgement ? With hindsight, I wonder if he would have sanctioned those deals for those two Liverpool signings ? - quite possibly not. And now you are laying the blame for Wickham's injuries on the Chairman - seriously ?

5. I said that part of the motivation behind the Academy was to compete for the best local talent, not solely focus on it. And there are no guarantees of success nor should there be a reliance on it for supplying players for the first team. And I don't think there is - the stats you quote speak for themselves. But you can't do nothing. A bit like me, you like to make Brighton comparisons - take a look at their Academy facilities.

6. Look, you clearly do have a problem with the development. Take a simple risk assessment to decide whether it's a go/no go. You say it would make sense ''to ensure that we have a quality and consistent mid table EPL squad in place ''. Have a look at our placings for the last 10 years. In some of those seasons we have looked over our shoulder at certain points, but we have been largely clear from relegation worries. Frozen at this precise moment, during a bad run of results, you're getting cold feet. So what do you want to do ? Put the project on hold and then bring it back to life if we win a few games in a row ? It doesn't work like that.

7. Do you really believe everything you read in the Press ?

8. Yep, underinvested in, agreed. See previous comments about our ownership structure and finances. Again you choose to blame one person. It's becoming clear that unless you have investors that are willing to speculate by pumping multi millions into clubs, it's becoming increasingly difficult to compete. And even that doesn't always work out. You show me Brentford and Brighton, I'll show you Everton and West Ham.

We have to agree, to disagree on this occasion, Parish is not a quality Chairmen imho and needs to move on or the club will be relegated. He set up the investors and he has to live with it and it's consequences. My fear remain looking at the fixtures over the next few weeks, that we could well be relegated this year (hope not!) and then all this will become academic. As for the press comments there is never any smoke without fire, sometimes they get right, other times they do not. Thanks for the interesting discussion.

Den and Neillo, you should be ashamed of yourselves. This won't do at all.

What are you thinking? Having a sensible, well argued disagreement and then wishing each other well?

Where are the insults? Where are the brickbats? Where's the unending determination to ignore each other's valid points and the concentration on repeating your points over and over again? Neither of you even claim to have been supporting Palace for longer than the other one. All very disappointing.

This is the HOL you know, not some Gentlemen's Club.

F**K OFF ANDY !

Is that better ?