Second warning.

[Essex Wolf]

Taylor's view (http://www.expressandstar.com/articles/sport/wolves/article_90151.php)

This not long after Ross's comments.

Like the man or not he makes sense here to me.

[ma77smith]

wimabigclubayit

[Bill McCai]

"It's all right scaling the club down to help balance the books, but Wolves have got to be careful not to cut their cloth too much. If they do then you run the risk of not getting back to where you want to be, ever."
And Taylor says Wolves must bite the bullet and lower expectations after spending only one season in the last 22 in English football's top flight"


Nice one Graham!

[Oldgold Wolfcub]

Which basically means that he is saying that Jack Hayward and his merry band of incompetents are small time thinkers who know nothing about how to run a successful football club. So who really are the turnips?

[Essex Wolf]

BM, again I find myself agreeing re the Daley comment but lets not forget Taylor started the ball rolling with the youth set up and has been a successful CCC manager.

It's only his view on things but so soon after the Ross comment it makes me wonder what the clubs intentions are???

[Bill McCai]

To reduce the cost and age of the squad as we have been consistently out performed by teams who have spent a fraction of what we have – ie they might be realising that throwing money hasn’t been the success they thought it might?

What do you think their intentions are?

[fenella]

The sad thing is, that had Taylor not been allowed to blow millions in the transfer market, and instead was instructed to develop a young team with the view of getting promoted in 2 or 3 seasons, he would probably have done a fantastic job and got us up without spending much.

[nimrod]

I like this comment of his:

"Even now in the Championship Wolves get close to filling their ground most weeks, which is of great credit to them"

Credit to who? I hope he means the supporters and not the club as a whole. It didn't quite work for Taylor on the pitch but he did get a lot right off the pitch - if he was sat on our board in some capacity anyone think we'd have more to look forward to?

Personally BM I don't think the club has thought strategically and then decided to act. When we got relegated there was plenty of evidence then to show that throwing money around didn't work, so we went out and bought Seol/Olo when most supporters recognised if anything we needed a better defence. Same last season when pursuing Idiakez (age 32/33) buying Franko and continuing to invest in an expensive manager. As Mox said halfway through last season, if we don't go up we'll have to go through a major cost cutting exercise. Anyone who thinks we're going through a major strategic rethink for "football" reasons is being optimistic to an absurd extreme - and the point Taylor is making is that for a football club, "football" success is achieved on the pitch, not in the board room or on a balance sheet.

[Deutsch Wolf]

It didn't quite work for Taylor on the pitch but he did get a lot right off the pitch - if he was sat on our board in some capacity anyone think we'd have more to look forward to?

I'm a bit dubious about that, to be honest. When he was sat on Villa's board, the biggest impact he had was undermining Gregory and ending up taking over himself for a disastrous second spell.

[nimrod]

I'm a bit dubious about that, to be honest. When he was sat on Villa's board, the biggest impact he had was undermining Gregory and ending up taking over himself for a disastrous second spell.

Fair point though I think Gregory managed to undermine himself enough on his own. I'd agree it's difficult for a manager having a major football name on the board. The press will always be stirring it up. At the same time I really think the Board needs a football man there and maybe for instance we'd have made a decision to go with more younger players earlier if someone like Taylor had been there. Other than from a financial perspective have we got anyone there who's looking long term?

[Deutsch Wolf]

This is the same Graham Taylor that brought in Oyvind Leonhardsen and Ronny Johnsen when Villa manager, and also gave new contracts to Steve Staunton and Dion Dublin. He did good work in setting up our academy 12-13 years ago, but I wouldn't say he's a manager who's particularly great at bringing youth players through.

[Munich_Wolf]

To be fair not many have refered to us being a big club but more of a sleeping giant.

Personally I think we're more of a hibernating giant and it's a long hard winter, and Jez is in the process of moving the club to Siberia.................

[dolmanrj]

Its nice to see that he tries to compare us with Man Utd and Arsenal, he comes out with alot of rubbish these days

[Malicious Steve]

"People say Wolves are a big club, but they've only got a 28,500 capacity stadium. That's not a big club. Wolves were a big club, but they're not a big club at the moment."

The mans obviously an idiot - course we're a big club!!

[kennyB]

We were a big club when the ground held 60,000 or so but that was a long time ago. I know for safety reasons grounds had to be all seater but 28,000 is a very modest crowd.

[Deutsch Wolf]

I know for safety reasons grounds had to be all seater but 28,000 is a very modest crowd.

By whose standards? There are several current Premiership clubs who don't average anywhere near that.

[kennyB]

And there are the majority who do plus some in the CCC and probably even some in Divison 1. And 28,000 or so is the capacity, how many times did Wolves get over 25,000 last season?

[QB Wolf]

By whose standards?

By Arsenal, Man Utds and Chelseas, who are truly big clubs, it depresses me to say it but we are a long way from being a big club. I think we really have missed the boat...

[Deutsch Wolf]

I don't understand why you think we should be anywhere near Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea et al, or why we've "missed the boat". We haven't won the league or FA Cup for nearly 50 years and have no European honours, we haven't won a domestic honour at all for 26 years.

Why should we expect to get crowds in excess of 25,000? For the past 17 years, we've almost always been a mid-table Championship (or equivalent) side.

[ma77smith]

By Arsenal, Man Utds and Chelseas, who are truly big clubs, it depresses me to say it but we are a long way from being a big club. I think we really have missed the boat...

Agreed, averaged 6th in the CCC average attendace rankings, one season at top flight in the last 20 years ... not a big club, fact !

[WATERLOO WOLF]

All these warnings are starting to get me rattled and I for one am getting really concerned that we're taking the cutting back exercise too far.

I have a real fear that for the next few years, WWFC will become one of those shadowy clubs that will forever hover around the lower placings in the Division, contributing nothing and leaving thier fans in a permanent state of apathy and indifference.
Are we to become another QPR ? A football club who can be relied upon to be unable to mount a serious challenge in League or Cup ?

[QB Wolf]

I don't understand why you think we should be anywhere near Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea et al, or why we've "missed the boat". We haven't won the league or FA Cup for nearly 50 years and have no European honours, we haven't won a domestic honour at all for 26 years.

Why should we expect to get crowds in excess of 25,000? For the past 17 years, we've almost always been a mid-table Championship (or equivalent) side.

You asked by who's standard 25,000 was a moderate crowd so I told you by Man Utd et al.

I didn't say we should be anywhere near Manure et al however up until relatively recently I thought competing with the big boys or at least being on a par with clubs like Newcastle was certainly within our grasp.

I can remember Newcastle and Chelsea being in our division not that long ago, and we've missed the boat because we've been out of the place where the real money is for so long, that even if we got up the financial gap is just too big. If we'd gone up in 94-5 everything could well be very different (but we didn't).

You are right 25,000 is about right for mid table second division football (or equivalent), what could we get in the top flight 35 to 40 but still a long way behind the big boys.

So after all that I think we're agreeing.

It's sad because until recently I would have argued until I was blue in the face that wimabigclub but I can't do that anymore.

[Essex Wolf]

WW, as to whether these cuts backs have been taken too far only time will tell and a great deal depends over these coming weeks as to who GH brings in. With so many players leaving the club they certainly are cutting back on a massive scale and a failure to replace some will have disastrous effects IMHO. Whilst it makes sense to reduce running costs too much tightening of the budget could well see even more fans deserting the club thinking/believing the future is bleak for a long way ahead and if so who could blame them?

I've read and heard the comment about the club being different as such next season and my fear is it could be different because we are heading for Div1.If the board get this plan of theirs wrong and things don't work out well then I very much doubt trying again after that will see things improve, they just don't seem to have an idea.

[I.D.]

All these warnings are starting to get me rattled and I for one am getting really concerned that we're taking the cutting back exercise too far.

I know what you mean. Pretty soon we will be able to count the number of internationally capped players in our first team squad on one hand, we've only got a couple of players taking part in the World Cup as it is.;)