Message #340927

[Vintage Cobbler]

I think it is accurate to comment that since the departure of Wilder the performances served up at Sixfields under 3 different managers with the odd exception have been consistently dull. But it is even worse on our travels. Our away record is atrocious.  It comes to something when 2 former players, Martin Smith at Oldham and Chris Freestone at Doncaster, both say that a number of players are going through the motions i.e. not trying.  As ex-professional footballers they did not say these things lightly.  This is a disgraceful state of affairs and something has to be wrong for such a state of affairs to exist.  The players responsible need to be moved on, easier said than done I appreciate.  

I am sure that JFH will be here for a while yet if only for financial reasons and the fact that KT will be very reluctant to admit that he has made a third poor managerial appointment in his 2 years at the club.  Nothing I have seen from JFH gives me any confidence but he isn't going anywhere and who in their right mind would want to come here other than the usual been everywhere else group of managers from the lower leagues.

It is easy to point the finger at the manager whoever he may be. That goes with the territory.  But the manager alone is not solely responsible.  The Chairman and owners must bear their share of responsibility.  On the playing side it was obvious that Rico needed replacing 2 seasons ago but there has been an abject failure to do so.  When a player age 33 suffers not one but 2 achilles injuries you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know the player's time is up.  So the club gives him a new contract.  Madness.  My hope when Graham Carr returned to the club as an "associate director" was that with his fine eye for a good player and his extensive contacts in the game a better quality of player would come to the club.  It remains unclear what if anything is Carr's role.  

Lack of clarity is becoming a hallmark of Kelvin Thomas's period of ownership.  The lack of any progress on the redevelopment is alarming and dispiriting. There may be reasons but it may be that Thomas, having made his money from the sale of shares in NTFC Ventures, has lost interest, is reluctant to commit to the redevelopment and is stalling.  The actual owners, 5USport, are silent. Not a word has been heard from them on their plans since the take-over 6 months ago.  It has all been controlled by Thomas.  If this isn't sending out alarm bells then I don't know what will.