Mike Garlick

[DCWat]

Lots of Burnley fans were wanting that unicorn. An owner who was morally sound but also willing to invest a load of money (and we're talking upwards of £100m) with no reward.

Plenty, including some posters on this thread, were suggesting that Garlick's position was untenable and he had to go for the good of the club and are then surprised when the next owner doesn't turn out to be that unicorn.

There's no denying that Garlick made a good return but it's not like it was a guaranteed return when buying the shares. Investing in a football club is a hugely risky thing. 9 times out of 10 it doesn't pay off when it does pay off then the returns match the risk. For it to pay off you have to have been doing something right.

Of course we’d all love to have the ideal owner - one with deep pockets from honourable earnings. What I think most fans wanted was for there to be some sensible investment in the squad.

Having reserves in place was of course prudent but our recruitment strategy over recent years has seen the squad deteriorate. The balance between reserves and the squad just didn’t appear to be right.

It’s been defended by too many, for too long. We are now reaping what we failed to sow for window after window.

The issues between Galick and Dyche we’re the catalyst and I lay blame at the feet of both men.

Dyche’s lack of flexibility and willingness to work the transfer market by selling assets and rebuilding has left us with an ageing squad with a plummeting value.

Garlick as the man at the helm has allowed this to happen - if Dyche wasn’t towing the line it was up to him to address the situation.

It’s an achievement to have stayed in the division so long but it’s so bloody frustrating that it’s going to end like this. Not because we couldn’t compete but because infighting, poor strategy and lack of leadership and strategy have hindered our levels on the pitch.

I hope to God that there is a plan in place for relegation (I don’t hold out much hope) because if not we could be spending a long, long time back in the doldrums.

[Woodleyclaret]

Directors are a necessary evil in football clubs
You can debate Garlicks tenure and its effect on Burnley FC for ever.The fact remains that failure to invest in players due to various reasons from Garlick has caused our demise.The monies earned North of £500m minimum in the previous 5yrs have been used up on a variety of improvements.
Unfortunately, these did not include player upgrade in any significant way till Alan Pace became chairman.

[Quickenthetempo]

Some fans want to give all the credit to Dyche for the success and all the blame for failure on Garlick.
Even 16 months after he left.

These people think throwing money at the team would have improved us? When Dyche's record with players over 10m is shocking, it's hard to agree.

I'm not saying Garlick was perfect but he reigned over our most successful modern era and left the club in great financial strength for the new owners.

Have we ever had owners take over when the club wasn't in debt or struggling?

[KRBFC]

Lots of Burnley fans were wanting that unicorn. An owner who was morally sound but also willing to invest a load of money (and we're talking upwards of £100m) with no reward.

Plenty, including some posters on this thread, were suggesting that Garlick's position was untenable and he had to go for the good of the club and are then surprised when the next owner doesn't turn out to be that unicorn.

That's simply not true though, people wanted us to spend some of the cash we were generating because we saw exactly what has happened now, an old weak squad further down the line. Nobody was advocating us taking out loans and going crazy, with hindsight we'd have been in a better financial position had we of taken out a £100M loan and spunked it on transfers (and likely a better position on the pitch).

We as fans didn't expect Abramovich or billionaire Sheiks, All I wanted was decent owners with the money to buy their own shares, we've ended up with owners who don't have the wealth required AND most importantly, the club is now hugely worse off financially because of it. We've all seen big clubs go down with debts from the PL and sneered and bragged how we have no debt, now look at us.

The club have essentially paid over £100M for new owners, not new players, new owners. The worst part is, we still need to find that money. Now people can be petty and say ''it's not the clubs debt, it's ALK's'' but where do you think the money is coming from to pay back? what ALK assets are secured against the MSD debt? the clubs training ground.

I understand their idea was to probably pay off the yearly £6m interest to MSD and then the full loan when they sell the club, but is Burnley in the Championship even worth £60m?

Pace said they weren't even planning on investing during the January window prior to the Wood sale, damning about our financial position.

Now the question is, what on earth do we do moving forward? 10 players out of contract, debts hanging over our heads, do we sell players to pay debts? (which will almost certainly mean we aren't fighting at the top table in the league below) or do we sell players and then go **** or bust and replace them we adequate quality to try and regain promotion?

If it all goes tits up, what do ALK lose? the rumoured £15m they scraped together for shares? the whole financial model was an absolute win win for them. Where did the money come from to pay fans for shares? we now have hundreds of fans on club credit which is a minus to our income.

[jedi_master]

There’s a lot of people at fault for the potential issues we now face, in my opinion.

1: Mike Garlick - Unwilling to invest in the squad to even a reasonable level. Relegation is never something that you can be ‘guaranteed’ to avoid, but you’d think if we had been allowed to spend a paltry (in terms stacked against our revenue) £30/40m the summer we signed Dale Stephens, that we wouldn’t be in this position. As a final act, he appears to have sold us to a group that I have absolutely no trust in with massive question marks against their ownership.

2: The players - Horrific performances from a great many of them this season. A lot of moaning from some on here but they appear to escape the wrath of some fans scot-free compared to our manager. Some have got too old, that’s not their fault - but some have phoned it in (by and large) all season long. A few obvious exceptions to this, but I think the majority of the team has been very poor and in a few games have looked highly lacking in attitude.

3: Sean Dyche - I love the man and I stick by him upon relegation, but he is obviously not faultless here. His reluctance to turn over the squad (refusal to consider flogging Tarky for £35m - believe that was the offer?) at key moments has cost us financially and leaves us where we are now squad wise, when looked at in tandem with Garlick’s inability to invest.

It’s been a really crap last two years in every way. Football, life, global issues - I think that exacerbates the issues for me. It would have been great to have had a club picking us up with everything going on, as it is they have just compounded the misery for me (first world problems and all that, I fully accept).

We can only await the accounts with baited breath just to see how bad it all really is. It’s all redeemable though, we just need to be patient and accept a massive movement of players. Flogging McNeil, Cornet and Pope should allow us to pay off the MSD loan (priority number one, if you’re of sensible mind) and I would then turn over the squad with astute free transfers (absolutely tons of good out of contract players this summer) and spend the parachute money on good younger players and a few loans. We will nuke the wage bill this summer with so many big hitters leaving, which allows some freedom.

It’s just a real shame that we have to get rid of that loan, as opposed to what the strategy could have been (I.e, sell those players mentioned and then buy the very best of the best in that league to try and guarantee an immediate return).

[FeedTheArf]

If it all goes tits up, what do ALK lose? the rumoured £15m they scraped together for shares? the whole financial model was an absolute win win for them. Where did the money come from to pay fans for shares? we now have hundreds of fans on club credit which is a minus to our income.

And this is what really sticks in the throat with ALK. By no means do I begrudge fans for making some money on their shares (let’s face it, nobody ever expected to make money on them), but it is how it was financed. Once again ALK using the club funds, either through cash or club credit, to strengthen their own hand.

[Loyal Supporter]

Yeah, I’m not a fan of what Garlick did in the end. Think he ran the club well and actually delivered in finding owners who seem to care about the club, but he completely neglected the transfer windows leading up to the sale in order to secure himself a few million more. Understandable but doesn’t strike me as a true Burnley fan.

In my experience, owners can't afford to like their business as it invariably leads to poor decision making.

[FeedTheArf]

There’s a lot of people at fault for the potential issues we now face, in my opinion.

1: Mike Garlick - Unwilling to invest in the squad to even a reasonable level. Relegation is never something that you can be ‘guaranteed’ to avoid, but you’d think if we had been allowed to spend a paltry (in terms stacked against our revenue) £30/40m the summer we signed Dale Stephens, that we wouldn’t be in this position. As a final act, he appears to have sold us to a group that I have absolutely no trust in with massive question marks against their ownership.

2: The players - Horrific performances from a great many of them this season. A lot of moaning from some on here but they appear to escape the wrath of some fans scot-free compared to our manager. Some have got too old, that’s not their fault - but some have phoned it in (by and large) all season long. A few obvious exceptions to this, but I think the majority of the team has been very poor and in a few games have looked highly lacking in attitude.

3: Sean Dyche - I love the man and I stick by him upon relegation, but he is obviously not faultless here. His reluctance to turn over the squad (refusal to consider flogging Tarky for £35m - believe that was the offer?) at key moments has cost us financially and leaves us where we are now squad wise, when looked at in tandem with Garlick’s inability to invest.

It’s been a really crap last two years in every way. Football, life, global issues - I think that exacerbates the issues for me. It would have been great to have had a club picking us up with everything going on, as it is they have just compounded the misery for me (first world problems and all that, I fully accept).

We can only await the accounts with baited breath just to see how bad it all really is. It’s all redeemable though, we just need to be patient and accept a massive movement of players. Flogging McNeil, Cornet and Pope should allow us to pay off the MSD loan (priority number one, if you’re of sensible mind) and I would then turn over the squad with astute free transfers (absolutely tons of good out of contract players this summer) and spend the parachute money on good younger players and a few loans. We will nuke the wage bill this summer with so many big hitters leaving, which allows some freedom.

It’s just a real shame that we have to get rid of that loan, as opposed to what the strategy could have been (I.e, sell those players mentioned and then buy the very best of the best in that league to try and guarantee an immediate return).

Brilliant summary. I agree with all of that, I just hope they take the opportunity to shake things up with the OOC players and Dyche doesn’t just re-sign them out of familiarity or loyalty. Some have been great servants to the club but it’s time to move on.

[Hapag Lloyd]

….left the club in great financial strength for the new owners.

He really didn’t

[JohnMcGreal]

my take has long been he couldn't find someone to do that so had to go with someone who he thought the manager would work with from the options that were on the table at that time - I think he understood the urgency of having to go, if he didn't leave the manager would.

Was it seriously a straight choice between losing Dyche or selling the club and plunging it into significant debt in the process?

Because if it was he made the wrong choice. The manager should have gone. No question. Nobody is bigger than the club, not even Dyche.

[RammyClaret61]

Got to love Burnley fans. Complaining about a guy who makes money on shares he bought.

A lot of those fans who themselves have just made about 800% profit buy doing the same. Money that I presume is coming out of some part of the club.

[Jakubclaret]

Was it seriously a straight choice between losing Dyche or selling the club and plunging it into significant debt in the process?

Because if it was he made the wrong choice. The manager should have gone. No question. Nobody is bigger than the club, not even Dyche.

You are forgetting that dyche at that point had so much power & influence within the club amongst the fanbase due to what he had achieved even to the point of naming a pub after him, (still does to a degree). completely different to the status now currently. Dyche then was far more important the chairman couldn’t go against or upset too much.

[Willieonthewing]

If Garlick is getting the blame for selling the club to bad owners... Who sold the club to Garlick? Should they be blamed for selling the club to a bad owner?

My memory isn't as good as some, but wasn't there outrage when Kilby sold the ground?

All owners make decisions some fans don't like, I cannot think of one at Burnley who got it all right.

History will probably show that Dyche stayed too long, but I cannot think of a time when sacking him would have been the popular decision.

My big gripe was the lack of investment the year we got into Europe, but who's fault was that? Was there a reluctance from the board to spend? Or were the right players not found? Did Dyche not want the players that were found? Did players still not want to come to burnley?

[Iloveyoubrady]

Do you actually believe that he delivered in finding owners who seem to care about the club?

Yes of course, a capital investment firm are going to care about something they just bought for £200 million. It would be really bad for them if we are worth less as a club when they come to sell. Pace has so far made many improvements and is constantly improving small things. While they aren’t going to splash out £100 million, they seem far more keen to be active in the market by signing younger players with more potential whilst living within our means. Think they may be good for us getting out of the championship, although we’ll wait and see.

Think the worrying thing at the club is more the signings we have made for years, in which it seems to be the board signing players the manager didn’t want, or had down as a back up. Obvious one in garlicks time was Vydra, who I don’t think dyche wanted at all, and so that £10 million has been turned to nothing. Recently there has been Cornet, who dyche did say they have been tracking for years, so probable that he did want him, although he doesn’t know how to use him. And then Weghorst, who I don’t believe Dyche wanted. Excellent player, but I firmly believe Dyche wanted somebody else.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Yes of course, a capital investment firm are going to care about something they just bought for £200 million. It would be really bad for them if we are worth less as a club when they come to sell. Pace has so far made many improvements and is constantly improving small things. While they aren’t going to splash out £100 million, they seem far more keen to be active in the market by signing younger players with more potential whilst living within our means. Think they may be good for us getting out of the championship, although we’ll wait and see.

Think the worrying thing at the club is more the signings we have made for years, in which it seems to be the board signing players the manager didn’t want, or had down as a back up. Obvious one in garlicks time was Vydra, who I don’t think dyche wanted at all, and so that £10 million has been turned to nothing. Recently there has been Cornet, who dyche did say they have been tracking for years, so probable that he did want him, although he doesn’t know how to use him. And then Weghorst, who I don’t believe Dyche wanted. Excellent player, but I firmly believe Dyche wanted somebody else.

I think the longer Pace is in charge the more clear it has become he is worryingly inexperienced and as a result we are seeing the rewards of this now.

The last 18 months of recruitment have been just as bad as what Garlick did previously. Potentially even worse, due to the money we have wasted on players we didn’t need or that don’t fit into our style. Add in the amount of debt and a massive contract for a manager that has been on the decline for over a year.

I am yet to see what the club has benefitted from the new ownership to be honest.

[Iloveyoubrady]

I think the longer Pace is in charge the more clear it has become he is worryingly inexperienced and as a result we are seeing the rewards of this now.

The last 18 months of recruitment have been just as bad as what Garlick did previously. Potentially even worse, due to the money we have wasted on players we didn’t need or that don’t fit into our style. Add in the amount of debt and a massive contract for a manager that has been on the decline for over a year.

I am yet to see what the club has benefitted from the new ownership to be honest.

Maybe inexperienced but he’s shown promise and that he cares. It’s obviously more difficult to get things done in football than he thought, but it will come.

Regarding signings, that’s nonsense. We signed Dale Stephens the summer before last. This year, we brought in Collins and roberts, who are more like what Garlick did before he began boosting the cash reserves, and Cornet. Then we got Weghorst in January. How aren’t those better than the old boards signings? Yes, maybe we haven’t used them as well as we could, but that’s more down to management.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Maybe inexperienced but he’s shown promise and that he cares. It’s obviously more difficult to get things done in football than he thought, but it will come.

Regarding signings, that’s nonsense. We signed Dale Stephens the summer before last. This year, we brought in Collins and roberts, who are more like what Garlick did before he began boosting the cash reserves, and Cornet. Then we got Weghorst in January. How aren’t those better than the old boards signings? Yes, maybe we haven’t used them as well as we could, but that’s more down to management.

We spent close to 50m on them players and if I’m honest they are hardly better than the players they have replaced hence our shocking position. If you are not signing players that fit our system why bother signing them? Again it just highlights Paces inexperience.

We are now lumbered with expensive players on high wages that if we are being honest we will struggle to shift in the summer.

[Shaggy]

Thought Mike Garlic done a good job overall. Yes wasnt perfect and did reign back the spending whilst proverbially fattening the goose, but to blame our current state purely on Garlic? Not for me.

The playing squad being old and flogged is down to Dyche. His type of player he targets are the experienced workhorse type ( who like big money ) and he doesn’t sell to fund younger replacements.

I’d like to think Dyche’s ego would see him walk in the summer after taking us down but I can’t see it. We look likely to be lumbered with him for the foreseeable. I don’t trust Dyche to rebuild going off 10 years worth of transfer business. He will want to renew contracts to his old boys.

[THEWELLERNUT70]

Three words

Cheap Car Salesman

[RVclaret]

We spent close to 50m on them players and if I’m honest they are hardly better than the players they have replaced hence our shocking position. If you are not signing players that fit our system why bother signing them? Again it just highlights Paces inexperience.

We are now lumbered with expensive players on high wages that if we are being honest we will struggle to shift in the summer.

It’s a fair point. Cornet was our star signing and while he clearly does have quality, it seems quite odd that the manager can’t fit him into his framework.

We’d have been better off spending the entire £25m in the summer on a star central midfielder and loaning a winger.

[THEWELLERNUT70]

And I got pelters on here a few years back when I said he was fattening the goose with the lack of spending on the squad.

[Newcastleclaret93]

It’s a fair point. Cornet was our star signing and while he clearly does have quality, it seems quite odd that the manager can’t fit him into his framework.

We’d have been better off spending the entire £25m in the summer on a star central midfielder and loaning a winger.

For the rest of my life I will never ever understand why Pace and Dyche didn’t sign a CM across the last three windows, every single fan knew it was our blinding weakness. It is ultimately what has relegated us. Especially the last window where we somehow finished it making profit.

Scary times ahead

[GodIsADeeJay81]

For the rest of my life I will never ever understand why Pace and Dyche didn’t sign a CM across the last three windows, every single fan knew it was our blinding weakness. It is ultimately what has relegated us. Especially the last window where we somehow finished it making profit.

Scary times ahead

Wood not being able to score, followed by WW appearing to have the same issue and Cornet also going missing is what's going to relegate us.

[RVclaret]

Here are the question marks for me for each of the main protagonists:

Garlick - why wasn’t he giving Dyche a known budget? How many key targets did we miss out on by being cheap with our bids, as he didn’t want to spend much, due to the desire to raise cash in the bank for the forecasted sale of the club? The window we just finished 10th (increased revenue for league position) then spent 1m on Stephens, why? Vydra - who’s signing was this? Dyche has never fancied him, yet we paid nearly 10m for him?

Dyche - as others said above, has his list of targets been too narrow? Was he targeting old pros with no resale value, hence Garlick didn’t want to approve? Spent 10m on Gibson, believed to be a club record at the time, yet we all know what happened there… How many targets turned us down because of our perceived style of play eg Ryan Christie in the summer? Signed Cornet yet doesn’t know how to use him.

Pace - clearly tried to impact things by making ‘bigger’ signings. Cornet, Orsic and Weghorst have all been at Champions League or Europa league level in the past season. Why hasn’t central midfield been a priority? Is that Pace and co or Dyche? Roberts for 2m was sound enough so I’ve no complaints there but does he suit a defensive Dyche system? Is he going to be prepared for a big rebuild in the summer and ready for the Championship? Why did he dish out a new 4 year deal for a manager with 1 win all season with a team in relegation zone? He’s put himself in a corner with how much he’s backed Dyche in the media since he arrived to a point it feels like Dyche is bigger than the club (judging by comments on here at times it seems that way too).

[RVclaret]

Wood not being able to score, followed by WW appearing to have the same issue and Cornet also going missing is what's going to relegate us.

Our forwards are often feeding on scraps. Long ball nonsense because the midfield is incapable of retaining possession at the speed required in this league. They rarely can receive the ball in tight spaces and play out. We’ve had 50 less touches in the opponents box than any other side in the league!

[Newcastleclaret93]

Wood not being able to score, followed by WW appearing to have the same issue and Cornet also going missing is what's going to relegate us.

I’m sorry but this is just absolute nonsense.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

Our forwards are often feeding on scraps. Long ball nonsense because the midfield is incapable of retaining possession at the speed required in this league. They rarely can receive the ball in tight spaces and play out. We’ve had 50 less touches in the opponents box than any other side in the league!

Wood has taken that form to Newcastle where he isn't feeding on scraps.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

I’m sorry but this is just absolute nonsense.

Not really.
We've always been able to dig ourselves out of a mess despite not providing massive amount of chances for our strikers.
Wood went missing, he still is at Newcastle.
WW has just one.
Cornet scored a glut and then disappeared due to injury and ANC

We aren't historically known as scorers of large amounts of goals.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

I forgot to add, Pace etc have tried to sign midfielders across the last few windows, it's just the signings haven't been completed

[RVclaret]

I forgot to add, Pace etc have tried to sign midfielders across the last few windows, it's just the signings haven't been completed

I can barely think of one centre mid that we were genuinely linked with. Even Ramsey, who we had no chance with, plays as a 10.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Not really.
We've always been able to dig ourselves out of a mess despite not providing massive amount of chances for our strikers.
Wood went missing, he still is at Newcastle.
WW has just one.
Cornet scored a glut and then disappeared due to injury and ANC

We aren't historically known as scorers of large amounts of goals.

So even though we have scored more goals so far than we did at the same point in our 7th finish season?
Make it make sense.

We are in this position because we have a midfield that offers nothing going forward and nothing defensively. It’s clear as day.

Your point about Pace going for midfielders means absolutely nothing as he didn’t sign any.

[Hipper]

You are forgetting that Dyche at that point had so much power & influence within the club amongst the fanbase due to what he had achieved even to the point of naming a pub after him, (still does to a degree). completely different to the status now currently. Dyche then was far more important the chairman couldn’t go against or upset too much.

the search was for at least four years the urgency was in 2020

it came when the manager demanded new contracts for players and more players but wasn't prepared to sell the ones other clubs wanted to buy, to pay for it, There was also the issue that a number of major signings had been devalued by the manager not using them, questions remain as to who actually signed them. The club chose to manage it's way through Covid as it had through the better years by trying to budget for operational breakeven - you do not have to agree with it to understand that was the option chosen.

What are these questions regarding signings? I was always under the impression that Jakubclaret's statement was correct.

[TheFamilyCat]

Are we blaming Mike Garlick for Jiminez getting sent off and Wolves subsequently losing their collective marbles last night?

[randomclaret2]

I forgot to add, Pace etc have tried to sign midfielders across the last few windows, it's just the signings haven't been completed

[RVclaret]

Are we blaming Mike Garlick for Jiminez getting sent off and Wolves subsequently losing their collective marbles last night?

Wtf has that got to do with it. Football is played over a season. Not one match. Leeds also stuffed us at their place and we were absolutely awful.

[paulatky]

It is a prevention measure - so it is there to ensure insolvency cannot happen - it is him (and John B) effectively acting as guarantors on the MSD loan, possibly even the clubs money that was used to buy shares - it doesn't mean he takes over the club again - I have taken it that he becomes a partner in VSL and Pace still stays as the frontman - if he does get called on we may not even hear about it.

It’s impossible to ensure insolvency won’t happen - that depends on the future financial situation which stretches beyond what is still owed to MG & JB

[JohnMcGreal]

You are forgetting that dyche at that point had so much power & influence within the club amongst the fanbase due to what he had achieved even to the point of naming a pub after him, (still does to a degree). completely different to the status now currently. Dyche then was far more important the chairman couldn’t go against or upset too much.

Yep. Fully aware of how much power and influence Dyche had/has at the club. But if it was at a level where selling the club and risking the financial security of it was deemed preferable to him walking, then I'd suggest that's an incredibly unhealthy level of power and influence for any manager to have at a club.

[ksrclaret]

We’ve seen it loads on here though that some fans believe Dyche to be bigger than the club. I’ve read many comments along the lines of “this club would be in league 2 in 3 years if Dyche left”.

When it became obvious Dyche and Garlick couldn’t be in the same club, nevermind the same room, it’s pretty perverse that the employee forces out the owner. We’re in a right mess.

[Newcastleclaret93]

We’ve seen it loads on here though that some fans believe Dyche to be bigger than the club. I’ve read many comments along the lines of “this club would be in league 2 in 3 years if Dyche left”.

When it became obvious Dyche and Garlick couldn’t be in the same club, nevermind the same room, it’s pretty perverse that the employee forces out the owner. We’re in a right mess.

You have nailed it in one post.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

So even though we have scored more goals so far than we did at the same point in our 7th finish season?
Make it make sense.

We are in this position because we have a midfield that offers nothing going forward and nothing defensively. It’s clear as day.

Your point about Pace going for midfielders means absolutely nothing as he didn’t sign any.

Doesn't matter how many we score if we aren't winning and able to keep clean sheets.
We aren't/weren't defending from the front like we used to do.

We don't create many chances, we don't convert many either and our shooting accuracy is 30-35% each season we are in the PL.
360-385 shots a season.
Our highest goal tally in a season was 45, the lowest in the 30's.

Our strikers have been the main problem, because we are providing the same number of chances this season, but the conversion rate is lower.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Doesn't matter how many we score if we aren't winning and able to keep clean sheets.
We aren't/weren't defending from the front like we used to do.

We don't create many chances, we don't convert many either and our shooting accuracy is 30-35% each season we are in the PL.
360-385 shots a season.
Our highest goal tally in a season was 45, the lowest in the 30's.

Our strikers have been the main problem, because we are providing the same number of chances this season, but the conversion rate is lower.

But it’s not?

At this point last season our strikers had less goals than this season?

[Jakubclaret]

We’ve seen it loads on here though that some fans believe Dyche to be bigger than the club. I’ve read many comments along the lines of “this club would be in league 2 in 3 years if Dyche left”.

When it became obvious Dyche and Garlick couldn’t be in the same club, nevermind the same room, it’s pretty perverse that the employee forces out the owner. We’re in a right mess.

& don’t think for 1 minute the same couldn’t happen with pace because I’ll tell you something now there’s no way they can afford to pay dyche off if the relationship sours.

[JimmyRobbo]

The OP is correct but where we have been under MG is better than where we would have been without him.

I'd much rather we were still owned by Burnley people but I understand why we needed external investment to move on. Be careful what you wish for.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

But it’s not?

At this point last season our strikers had less goals than this season?

It's more about who they score against and the results they bring in.
If we lose games 3-2 you could argue they're scoring more goals than last season, but its not worth anything because we aren't winning.
We aren't nicking the 1-0 wins anymore, we aren't converting losses into draws and draws into wins as Dyche used to say.
We are defensively suspect, but our strikers aren't worrying the opposition like they used to do.
An in-form Wood and Barnes used to occupy opposing defenders and midfielders, this season we haven't had that.

[RVclaret]

& don’t think for 1 minute the same couldn’t happen with pace because I’ll tell you something now there’s no way they can afford to pay dyche off if the relationship sours.

You’d have to pray there’s some sort of relegation clause in his new shiny contract.

[Newcastleclaret93]

It's more about who they score against and the results they bring in.
If we lose games 3-2 you could argue they're scoring more goals than last season, but its not worth anything because we aren't winning.
We aren't nicking the 1-0 wins anymore, we aren't converting losses into draws and draws into wins as Dyche used to say.
We are defensively suspect, but our strikers aren't worrying the opposition like they used to do.
An in-form Wood and Barnes used to occupy opposing defenders and midfielders, this season we haven't had that.

Yes but you are saying that the reason we are down there is because our strikers arnt scoring when clearly they are. It’s the rest of the pitch.

Our midfield is currently the worst in the league by some distance and probably worse than at least 5-6 clubs in the league below

[TheFamilyCat]

Wtf has that got to do with it. Football is played over a season. Not one match. Leeds also stuffed us at their place and we were absolutely awful.

It can't have escaped your attention that this subject has been done to death over the last year or so.

I guess it was pure coincidence that another thread was started shortly after the Leeds game finished.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

Yes but you are saying that the reason we are down there is because our strikers arnt scoring when clearly they are. It’s the rest of the pitch.

Our midfield is currently the worst in the league by some distance and probably worse than at least 5-6 clubs in the league below

They aren't scoring at the right times.
They aren't scoring against the teams around us.

I know you have a pathological hatred of our midfield, or one of them at least, but they're providing the chances for the forwards who've not taken them.
Brownhill in particular has the highest defensive stats for our CM's, so he's at least been doing his job, not that you want to hear that.

Defensively yes the midfield has been suspect, but as I've repeatedly stated, we aren't defending from the front.

[jrgbfc]

We’ve seen it loads on here though that some fans believe Dyche to be bigger than the club. I’ve read many comments along the lines of “this club would be in league 2 in 3 years if Dyche left”.

When it became obvious Dyche and Garlick couldn’t be in the same club, nevermind the same room, it’s pretty perverse that the employee forces out the owner. We’re in a right mess.

At times Dyche gives off the impression that he believes it himself.

[KRBFC]

We can only await the accounts with baited breath just to see how bad it all really is. It’s all redeemable though, we just need to be patient and accept a massive movement of players. Flogging McNeil, Cornet and Pope should allow us to pay off the MSD loan (priority number one, if you’re of sensible mind) and I would then turn over the squad with astute free transfers (absolutely tons of good out of contract players this summer) and spend the parachute money on good younger players and a few loans. We will nuke the wage bill this summer with so many big hitters leaving, which allows some freedom.

It’s just a real shame that we have to get rid of that loan, as opposed to what the strategy could have been (I.e, sell those players mentioned and then buy the very best of the best in that league to try and guarantee an immediate return).

Selling our best players to pay off ALK debts, what a grim disgraceful possible outcome but we don't seem to have a choice. Not to mention, we still have £60m to find to pay Garlick his instalments. Where's that coming from?