We ALL wanted promotion Rich, yes, even Blackwell. All the fans EXPECTED to move on from last season's performance, most were pragmatic and did not necessarily see that as automatic promotion or nothing else due to the strength of the league this season.
In other words, us 'only' getting to the playoffs this season could actually be consistent with having a much better season than last. I know you will have difficulty grasping this concept but there you go. Now we come to the management's (bates and Blackwell's) expectations. Bates has been pragmatic all along, some might even say responsible (gasp!). He hasn't expected instant promotion. He expected, like most of us clueless wonders, that getting back into the prem might take a few years. He knows what the financial situation is right now, and will be next summer. He had a 3 year plan for improvement and promotion. He has planned for a realistic promotion attempt next season, when we will not be paying people like Okon still, and we therefore have a decent amount of cash available to spend and compete with teams who drop out of the prem, especially bearing in mind we will have Watford and Sheff Utd back down next season. So, Bates expected a better showing by the team, not necessarily promotion and Blackwell to stop using the state of the team 2 years ago as an excuse. He has also explained why he never sacked Blackwell after the playoff defeat, so instead of me relaying that to you, why don't you just read his comments, because actually they pretty much mirror what the rest of us clueless idiots were saying all along - that Blackwell to date had done a good job, had done what had been asked of him (by Bates) in terms of targets, that the playoff final was a shocking result and performance but that Blackwell deserved the chance to move the team on. He was sacked because he had started getting rattled and used the current financial situation as an excuse. It so happens that most fans thought it was time to go, and Bates probably thought as much too, primarily because it seems the players weren't playing for him. On the whole his tactics/formations/team selections have been what most of us would have wanted this season. My only change would be Foxe in for Butler pretty much. So if he is picking the side and the formation that most of us wanted, why was he doing such a bad job? Anyway, moot point, he has gone and the point here was that he and Bates had a 3 year plan for promotion and that means next season, not this. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Richard Walker Sent: 05 October 2006 20:08 To: Nigel Holcroft Cc: [email protected] Subject: RE: [LU] Did Bates say it or not ? Spot on Nige. I think Mark was just having one of his frequent funny turns in which he tends to spout shit. Bates wanted promotion this year - there's no doubts about that. There were people on this list who said he couldn't sack KB having just given him a 3 year contract (Paul C). Wrong ! Bates got it wrong , admitted it by sacking KB. I just wish people on this list would admit as well. --- Nigel Holcroft <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > As I remember it...The one thing Bates said, > emphatically about promotion > and the manager's performance; for this season was > that, the time for > excuses was past and that he did not want to hear > any more talk about having > only 2 players and how we nearly went out of > business etc... > > As soon as we started losing again this season, what > did Blackwell trot > out?... Yup the same old excuses...with a few new > ones added... No surprise > to find the chairman less than thrilled then, eh? > > > > > _______________________________________________ > the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and > the list administrators accept no liability for the > personal views and opinions of contributors. > Leedslist mailing list > [email protected] > http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist > oh alright then :-) > ___________________________________________________________ Inbox full of spam? Get leading spam protection and 1GB storage with All New Yahoo! Mail. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist oh alright then :-) _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist oh alright then :-)
