It seems as though this season, disgruntlement is at an all time high. I've noticed the same themes across numerous threads where I could have responded with the same point, so I thought I'd start a new one.

As with every other football club these days we have become as much, if not more so, a business.

What I don't agree with is the criticism and ire aimed at Parish beyond that of poor decision making, which he is entitled to, and we are entitled to complain and give our opinions about. He did come in (not alone) to save us when extinction loomed near and he has delivered massive improvement to the club in terms of footballing and business status. We have become a stable top flight side, which is far more than just a stable football club, and that exceeds all we wanted and needed for a period in time.

The issue with this however is that it impacts what is, at it's core, the entire point of the existence of CPFC for us as fans - to strive for success and entertain in a sport that many people love. It's a pretty consistent existence too and will play a huge part in many of our lives.

I feel as though from a business perspective, Parish has had much and sustained success in his time here. There may even be further successes to come such as improvement to the stadium and output from the academy. The reality of this however is that in order to maintain the business, risk is reduced and conservative decision making has seen conservative footballing decisions.

Roy was brought back for the stability we needed and his ability to cope with very limited resources. In alignment with Parish, I don't condone any vicious criticism of him, he does what he does and is employed for that reason. This has though seen our football become very unentertaining, bereft of ambition and whilst maintaining our status it leaves the fans feeling somewhat short-changed and yearning for more, new or different.

This has been the first season since we returned to the top flight that I have deliberately and willingly swerved a few games, something I would not previously do as a season ticket holder. My hope is that whilst this may be a stale season, we will stay up, Parish will have to appoint a new manager and this will coincide with some investment in the players.

The signings of Henderson and Franca, adding to the likes of Johnstone, Guehi, Doucoure, Eze and Olise are hopefully a nod to a brighter future where we may actually be competing for something beyond PL survival and may even include academy products. I have a feeling if this is ever going to be realised though, it will be an asthmatic snail carrying two bags of shopping-esque process.

Maintaining our status as a club is of course the priority however it is not one that I feel should render any footballing ambition or desires completely unachievable. I don't subscribe to the theory that it is either one extreme or another. I won't detail my own thoughts and suggestions but delivering attacking football, with some intent and ambition, is surely achievable without risking complete capitulation on and off the pitch. Interested to hear any other thoughts as always though.

COYP

Now Zaha's got a bit of green grass ahead of him here... and finds Ambrose... not a bad effort!!!!

Thanks for starting the thread. I've made similar comments that have been lost in other match/player threads.

As much as I hate it, we have to be a sustainable business first and foremost. And I get and accept that will lead to a level of conservatism with decisions and spend.

And to a point, I do understand the Roy appointment, as part of a servant to a bigger plan.

I have also skipped a few games this season, for the first time ever. (Last night a perfect example, hard to motivate yourself to buy a ticket and stand in the rain to watch that).

My only real proper gripe is the strategy and playing squad.

Discussed on the Everton thread - but we have no real style generally, or apparent plan in games. We also don't seam to have any ability to change tactics in a game (e.g. just go long).

Then from the playing squad, I've got about a million issues but to try and group them:

We have very little strength in depth, and have glaring holes (LB/RB). And not by misfortune, holes that have been visible for years.

A coherent development plan for the younger guys. Franca, Ebiowei, JRS, all exciting players. All have/will get next to no game time this season. Back of a fag packet idea, bring back Andros on 25k (to play a bit part role...cups, last 10 mins to give stars a rest etc), and send all 3 out on loan to gain some experience. We'd start next seasons with 3 vastly more experienced kids. Instead they will tread water.

Contract management. If you believe reports we signed Hendo because of a SJ release clause. Effectively making us have to spend most of our transfer budget on keeper. They would have known this was coming a mile off and had options to mitigate.

Bad contract extensions. Tomkins, Jairo, Luka, Fregerson, Wickham. The list goes on. For a club tight on money, we sure do willingly give out extensions to players that add no value to the club.

The wrong type of gambles. Franca may turn good, but for a club our size its a lot of money on a kid, that wont make a significant impact soon, if ever. I 100% back the notion to take some gambles, Ebiowei and Plange very little outlay, feel about the right level. £1-5m gambles. Ross Barkley, would have been an appropriate gamble.

This all boils down to the return of the Roy really, doesn't it? The decision to extend the short term contract - itself a no-brainer given the players' demands to be alleviated of PV - surprised me, not so much on the part of the club as on the part of Roy. I always suspected it was as much to do with giving Paddy a chance to show he could take on the big job as with the publicly stated desire to work with an excitingly talented squad. I don't belive Roy is exclusively about about playing a low block, although it would hard to name a coach more effective with it. I think you could point to the end of last season or the end of his first season as evidence that he prefers his sides to take a more commanding role when they are capable of it. Around November 2020 - if I've got my dates right - he tried again but although midfield could dominate possesion, our attackers were unable to score without the help of surprise on the counter. That's they key in my view for some time to our playing more exciting football. PV flattered to deceive in this respect thanks largely to the Gallagher loan. Injuries to Olise and Eze have put us back to square one in this respect but Roy - to judge by the uncharacteristic grouchiness in press conferences - is finding it very frustrating. "The next level" to quote an expression he excoriated not so long ago isn't the top half or Europe - for which we certsinly haven't the squad depth - but maintaining our Premier League status with the confident stylish football pf saide that is sure they belong there. Personally I think we shall see that fi the injury blight subsides. I think complaints that younger players have little chance of progressing under Roy are belied by the past. Both the players who have broken through from the Academy did so under Roy - Wan Bissaka to a considerable extent apparently as a result of Roy's direct intervention. JRS all but established himself earlier this season and probably will before it's over. I expect France to do likeiwse. Roy is very protective of the young - perhaps to a fault; we had similar fan frustration in Eze's first season but he ended it with an England vall-up. But he does help young players succeed. I honestly don't believe this season was intended by anyone to be as negative as events have made it. We should be grateful that Roy's coaching talents have mitigated disappointments to an extent and hope and believe things are about to get much better. The summer transfer window is likely to see bigger spending funded by painful but rewarding sales.

Edited by Charles (08 Jan 2024 5.25pm)

My hope TL, and it is only that, is that what we are witnessing is a 'holding' season. I'm not talking about Rob, just a season where we hold our position, and the owners their wallets, see it through, then make a number of decisions simultaneously.

With Roy in place, perhaps the board can gather their thoughts and more before hopefully, perhaps wishfully, the arrival of a new manager will coincide with some investment in playing staff, as we saw with PV.

We may yet get relegated, or equally qualify for Europe, but a 10-17th place finished feels near guaranteed. I'm not sure why Steve was talking about Europe without even replacing Zaha for a start, but you hope that some aspiration beyond our groundhog day existence remains.

Now Zaha's got a bit of green grass ahead of him here... and finds Ambrose... not a bad effort!!!!

I think you're probably right, but without knowing the full picture it leaves us with a high degree of uncertainty, especially with regular rumours around the other owners. It sometimes feels like Parish is the only one fully invested in the club. He might make some bad decisions but I've never doubted that he wants what is best for the club.

The Premier League landscape has changed in the eleven years we have been in it, and will continue to change. Usually to the benefit of the big clubs.

So from a business perspective the requirements to keep the football club in the top flight change too.

We needed to invest in the Academy to make the club competitive in attracting the best young talent. The new stand needs to be built to bring in additional revenue.

Without a Tony Bloom type to underwrite the cost of the above, it has to come out of the business. That in turn impacts spending power on the football side.

I think we all underestimate just how difficult a balancing act it is. And with two administrations under our belt from previous owners it's not a surprise that sustainability is a high priority for Steve Parish.

As I've posted before, this season feels like it's been wasted. Big talk about pushing for a top ten spot that never looked likely with the squad we have and even less so with the injuries we have had. If you build up people's expectations then things feel so much worse when they aren't being delivered.

I'm at the point where I actually now look forward to this season being over, with a re-set and new manager in place, in the Premier League, next season.

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