NLS: Braintree v Torquay United 3pm 17th February 2024

Does that mean he misses Away on Tuesday or home this coming Saturday? Could be a clever move.

Not really, been clear for some time that the side are not playing for the manager……

Beware property developers bearing gifts.

Probably both and maybe one more too.

The commentators were confused at seeing a yellow and a red, but it was a yellow for Braintree's assistant manger and a straight red for Lapslie. Each case is judged on its merits. This is a bizarre one as neither violent conduct which gets three games nor a "professional foul" which gets one game. Two if we are lucky, probably three.

Utterly stupid to handicap ourselves like this, but as expected Johnson defends him rather than call it out as unacceptable. He cannot really call it out, because he leads by example on this stupidity. We badly need a manager who instils some discipline and a winning culture not an excuses culture.

I suppose Lapslie's absence will be high on his excuses list - blaming the ref not the indiscipline he has instilled in the club.

With the self-inflicted absence of the over-used Hall and stupidly-banned Lapslie, I suspect he will be tempted to overuse Dawson to give the midfield some bite. Let's hope that does not lead to a third self-inflicted absence.

I strongly disagree.

A sizeable minority has always been very aware of their objectives regardless of form on the pitch.

Probably a majority put this out of their minds when we were top of the National League.

Gary Johnson could do no wrong and when he declared that we had good owners, a lot of people believed him.

Now he has the opposite effect. He spouts so much nonsense that his defence of the owners actually makes people trust them less!

Why are they keeping him in a job when he has clearly lost the plot? What are they up to? Are they killing the club deliberately?

I don't actually think they are but can understand why many think this is the case. If they had the freehold, wrecking the club might be an objective but I cannot see what they would gain from it without the freehold

The only way for Osborne and Edwards to regain any credibility and for people to consider taking stadium proposals seriously is to turn things around on the pitch.

The only way to do that is to bring in a competent manager immediately.

I don't think they will do it but I certainly think they should.

If they did, then getting in to the top seven would be an achievable objective. Not easy, but doable.

Pete, if you realised this eighteen months ago, you are six years behind me not eighteen months ahead.

Where on earth have I said that the owners care about best interests of the football club? I have consistently said, ever since Gaming International were first mooted as buyers, that they are property developers and exist to make money from property not to care what happens to football clubs.

That is why I was so keen for Dave Phillips to take up the offer from the FSA and TUST of launching a community share issue to stop the club falling into their hands.

That is why I was so angry at his board for allowing this to happen.

Grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

I tried to change that and failed, so moved on. I take some comfort from the fact that the council owns the freehold but am aware that we need to stay on our toes.

If the club had the freehold, winding up the football club might benefit the owners. Without the freehold, it would not. A dog in a manger approach would gain them nothing.

The club refused to answer my questions on what will they do when it become clear there will be no stadium and what is the exit strategy. We will build a stadium they said.

I doubt they will, but getting the enabling development that goes with a proposed stadium is the only good exit.

To get that, they need to make a reasonable amount of people believe that they might build a stadium.

My point is that if the club is doing well on the field, some believe them.

In the current situation, nobody believes them.

That is why Osborne will want a turn around. Not because he cares about the football club, but to keep hold of his enabling development plan.