by vvm » Tue Aug 01, 2023 1:17 pm
Nice write up, appreciate the hard work that goes into it.
Official communication from the club could certainly be improved, feels like we're regressing to what it was like a few years ago when we barely got anything. Have the regular updates from Ben, the CEO, slowed down or has the wait for football to come back just been dragging on that it feels like longer?
I would like to see more in terms of player and manager interviews but if this is all being saved for when regular football resumes then fair enough.
Onto the point of ownership, is Sarbjot even still interested? I know he briefly turned his attention towards Wigan but when that never took off, has he turned back to us again? Surely he's given up by now.
It's an interesting theory to suggest Bond Group and Sarbjot have corroborated to jack up the value of the club but I can't see it personally. He has successfully bought a minor share in the club worth six figures and so evidently has access to some funds. I think it is just as simple as... [Edit: I think it potentially libellous to state that, even if many of us think the same!] ...and therefore can't prove the source of his funds to pass the fit and proper test.
I do think there could be some weight to the theory that the pair hatched the plan together that led to Sarbjot investing the six figure sum to pay wages and keep the club afloat. I think they thought if he was shown to be the hero by swooping in to pay wages, whilst simultaneously making it appear that Bond Group were going broke, then perhaps the EFL might be persuaded to rush things through.
Initially I thought you went in a bit hard on the friendlies but I am now questioning why we picked the teams we did early on. It was a bit funny beating Burscough 10-1 but reflecting on that, what was the point in playing them in the first place? We can't have learnt anything from that.
I do see some merits in playing teams a few leagues lower to get started but all of the first 4 being National league north or below just feels like we're not really testing ourselves. Blackpool and Wigan sound much better in terms of tests but I feel we might have gone too far the other way and picked teams way above the level we should expect. In my opinion we should have at least played a national league team somewhere in there.
To end on a more positive note, I agree with you when you say you have big expectations for the season. I think it will all come down to squad depth and injuries really. There's a few decent away fixtures to get our teeth into at least.