New Loan Signings

               KING KEV CALLS IT RIGHT



Nico played things exactly right at Haig Avenue on Saturday, as he delayed playing his 'Trump' card until there was no time for Southport to adequately respond.
Not that Kev's managerial magnificence stopped there, as this week we're witnessing him shrewdly taking steps not to jeopardise the team spirit and togetherness that
was so evident in the wake of Saturday's impressive away victory.

Kev has wisely concluded not to disrupt things by suddenly introducing a new face before tomorrow's home match against Tranmere. This is self evident good sense 
from our Manager, as there'll then be a full week before the next fixture, allowing a new signing(s) to integrate properly, work with his new teammates in training and build up an understanding before the Eastleigh game tomorrow week.

What will have given Kev a chuckle is some misguided calls for Ruairi Keating to START tomorrow's match.  So recently weakened by sickness, enduring the long journey to Southport and back, we have to commend Ruairi for getting through 10 minutes of activity on Saturday. However,Kev will have the lad's welfare in mind, and won't chuck him on from the start. Older more experienced heads will be needed particularly in the earlier stages when we're working out how Tranmere intend to play on the night. Williams or Harrod will 'suss' this sooner, understand which players Tranmere might push up from the back at certain stages, and what part our forwards should play in countering that.

Once Kev has assessed Tranmere's approach and set up, if he should introduce Ruairi to the action at some stage, he'll be able to brief the lad properly as to what's needed from him, who to close down, as well as where to seek the best opening to get a goal.

It will be good to see Ruairi Keating on the field at some stage tomorrow, but we shouldn't expect that to be from the start. You have to treat these youngsters with kid gloves, as most of our fans at home....and abroad.....realise. 

Glad he's got a famous Uncle as we got a mention and a showing of his goal on Spotlight!

A big weekend of Scouting activity coming up, when a number of potential targets will no doubt be watched. We can't spend the same money twice, so splash it straight away on a dud, and you've waved that cash goodbye. While it didn't used to matter, and it was simply a matter of going to Thea, saying you'd got it hopelessly wrong and therefore she needed to keep spending in the hope you'd eventually get it right....those days seem to have gone.

'Eager to invest in the club' now has a different definition. The old definition of 'keep pouring the cash in, and just eventually right off the combined losses', is an investment game that even Thea decided not to play any more. It's a game that G.I made clear it wouldn't be playing by the old rules. TUST reported to it's members what Chris Rich had told them back in January: 'He stressed that GI have a business model and if they can’t make it work from a financial perspective then they will move on'

Some spending on players maybe, but investing in a sustainable infrastructure, of which a modern stadium with other money making facilities would play a key part, is where you're much more likely to see cash being directed, assuming political obstacles don't emerge to jeopordise those plans.


The pre share issue spelled out in black and white, or should I say in pounds and pence, just how 'eager to invest' in 'Community Ownership', the local population were. Osborne & Co will stump up a fortune by comparison, and deserve a decent return for themselves, if in so doing they create a modern set up for TUFC, with a sustainable business model, enabling us to not only pay the wages, but to prosper long into the future.

Thought the above conversation from elsewhere summed the present up fairly nicely. I'll not blame them for MacDonald, although we had been told that a second tranche of money was coming in January for him and I don't think it was ever officially stated that the old owners got an advance on that pre the £1 sale to the "not the best bedfellows" they were backed into the corner with.

Even Osbourne's only fan, GI Joe, is desperately struggling to muster faux support these days while they're knifing his King Kev in the back. But unlike GI, he won't take month long breaks in talking the talk and it's good to see the effort still being made. Let's hope the inevitable siege mentality is enough to stumble across the line, as Kev seems to be getting more support from an ex player in the press these days than his own board has been prepared to give him this calendar year. Poor bugger.

I think you need to be careful that you are not comparing apples and pears, the pre share issue was well intentioned but a bit of a disaster as none of the conditions as set out by Jon previously were in place. For example, I did not invest my shillings worth in this but would have if those conditions had been met.

Whether GI will invest more money in the club remains to be seen but you are right in that profitability or the ability for the club to wash its own face is key for their continued long term involvement. I think the fear for some fans is the risk of a short term property deal would prove too tempting for them and leave the club in limbo thereafter, especially if the development costs don't stack up which wouldn't be the first time for this outfit. Of course, as owners of TUFC, it does give them a degree of leverage when it comes to planning permissions and making land deals with the local authority and if there is a feasible deal on the table then I think most would support this but how it would work out in the long term remains a concern.....

rjdgull 

Indeed rjd, I was doing no more than drawing conclusions as to the 'success' or otherwise (actually I prefer your term - 'disaster')  of the pre-share issue against it's officially stated aims, as set out in TUST's December newsletter: 'We are launching a Community Share Pre-Issue offer which is a secure way for supporters and members of the wider community to show their support for a community owned club'.



rjdgull 

Undoubtedly so rjd. Although we will recall the clear assurances of the outgoing Board, to which we can also add Peter Masters watertight negotiations, and then on top of that the Council to provide all the checks and balances to make sure it's a complete belt and braces job. A triple lock, giving us proper guarantees that should in no way be compared to the worthless assuarances that less fortunate club's have allowed themselves to be fobbed off with. Those Community representatives, otherwise known as the Council, have one overriding job, to make certain that a 'tempting short term property deal' is not an option and cannnot be achieved in isolation.

However, I'm realistic to know that even with that achieved the 'fears' will still need to be stoked. I think it was just before the U.S Election, with suggestions that if Trump won he might make friends with the Russians, and he was also saying that NATO no longer served a purpose. There was a reminder that the armaments industry is a business worth something like a thousand billion dollars a year (some astronomical sum anyway). An amazingly powerful lobby. And it underlined the absolute necessity for us to have enemies, either real ones or imagined. To be able to continue to justify the huge amounts of tax taken from citizens to spend on arms, constant portrayal of an enemy and regular reminders of them, is an absolute necessity.

In the same way, we realise how vital a scary G.I are in maintaining TUST's continued subscription income. If I was convinced that Fan Ownership was in the best interests of the club, I'd be happy to play my part by contributing  a selection of anti G.I comments on a regular basis.....and nothing, but nothing, would lessen my often expressed 'fears' regarding their evil intentions for the club. So you can bet your bottom dollar that those fears will be carefully preserved, or certainly not let go of until adequate replacements are being voiced 

Thats about par for the course dont remember that coming up in the 5 year plan be lucky if they ever spend anything