Silly season continues....

You mean a laughing stock!!!

Yeah, I remember all those massive names Sven brought to our club with his reputation.

Everyone he went for just said yes which is why we didn't need to panic buy Beckford.

All those great players he signed that sadly went on to much bigger and better things when they left. Johnson, Fernandes, Mills, Michael Ball, Peltier, Bamba.

His reputation just brought the quality flooding in and all those players are now first team regulars at top European clubs.

I also miss those days and wish Pearson would stop signing these better players on sustainable wages.

Things were so much better under Sven (sigh).

Wonderfully selective memories, guys, almost Orwellian in its willed erasure of history.

Allow me to live with my technicolour memories of when we seemed en route to something new and special. It helps blot out the black-and-white, business-as-usual mediocrity of our present prospects.

I hate to point this out Mersey, but since leaving us Fernandes has gone on to play for Udinese, Sporting Lisbon and is now at Freiburg in the Bundesliga. I think we can quite safely say he has gone on to bigger and better things.

Mills is at a club which will almost certainly finish higher than us next season, although their fans admittedly don't seem overly impressed with him.

Peltier is captain at Leeds, Sol Bamba will be playing in this little thing called the Europa League next season with one of the biggest clubs in Turkey, Kyle Naughton has become an established top flight player and our (soon to be ex) keeper look like he'll be joining him in the Premier League.

By contrast, Dany N'Guessan is at Millwall, Yann Kermorgant and Michael Morrison are at Charlton, Ryan McGivern is at Hibs and hangers-on such as Vardy and Waghorn are destined for a life in the lower leagues. Cleverley, admittedly, was a high point.

But all in all, I don't think on this particular argument our dear leader fares too well...

"Wonderfully selective memories, guys, almost Orwellian in its willed erasure of history.

Allow me to live with my technicolour memories of when we seemed en route to something new and special. It helps blot out the black-and-white, business-as-usual mediocrity of our present prospects."


And why didn't we get there? Because it was all an illusion! Worse, it's an illusion that wasted a perfectly good opportunity to spend money seriously on a progressive team, instead of trying to cobble one toegether now with FFP snapping at our heels. We got swept up in the optimism and these players of high reputation that came in, but it didn't work because too many were chosen poorly. We failed to create a team and we're paying for that now.

We never even reached the playoffs once under Sven. The "good times", as they were, never translated to anything productive. It was fun to live the dream for a while but that's all it was. Welcome back to reality.

Sorry TIM but I think you need to look those players up again.

Fernandes failed at every club and returned to his local Swiss team to try and resurrect his flailing career.

Mills was dropped and nowhere near the first team.

Bamba is a sub often at that Europa league team. Wigan are in the Europa league too.

Peltier is at leeds, who finished below us. Not quite sure how that's bigger and better but keep going.

Failing at clubs doesn't constitute bigger and better things for me. A dead fish in a big pond seems to do it for you.

Personally I don't believe what any player goes on to do after their time with us is at all relevant, but you brought up the point Mersey so I merely thought I'd point out that none of Pearson's signings have ever gone on to achieve anything of note, whereas at least some of Sven's captures have attracted the attention of bigger clubs.

At the end of the day though the important fact is that neither Sven nor Pearson's signings have been good enough - had they been we'd be sitting in the Premier League by now.

Wonderfully selective memories, guys, almost Orwellian in its willed erasure of history.

" Allow me to live with my technicolour memories of when we seemed en route to something new and special. It helps blot out the black-and-white, business-as-usual mediocrity of our present prospects."

You've hit the nail on the head as to why many fans seem so bitter and can't accept where we are.

Post Svengali era for many fans seems so hard and something they aren't able to give up on easily, of course it's easy to blame the false prophet NP for all our supposed woes!

I agree TIM. My point was in response to the post that suggested Sven brought in big names.

He wasn't given enough time I agree, but I take issue with those who suggest his players were great. The only evidence we therefore have is what they've gone on to do.

That was my point. Pearson's signings have reached the play-offs twice, and a promotion from league one. We have that evidence because he has been given the time so I don't need to worry what they've gone on to do.

However, I'm sure we all agree we want his signings this summer to be "good enough" for promotion.

Thank goodness, it worked: the board is alive again.