Re: Frank Barlow appointed

His reputation has taken a hell of a battering especially with a section of the supporters. There is no doubt that viewing it all with the benefit of hindsight, that there have been serious mistakes made over the last five years in selecting managers, Chief Executives, and wage and player recruitment. I doubt that his competance has changed much. You don't go from being a good competent owner to a bad and incompetent one just like that.

I'd rather suggest that he went from lucky (Warnock /Dooley), to unlucky (Robinson/Birch & a long list). You can only be as good as the people around you, and they have been the failures. McCabe is culpable for choosing them or allowing them to make the choices, but this has been at a time when I think he lost focus and interest a bit through the Tevez/WC2018 issues and of course he's had all kind of challenges in his property portfolio, which is how he makes his money after all. I can't blame him for that. I can't fault him for stumping up the cash to cover the losses that the mistakes have led to, and for (effectively) writing off £27m of loans so the club can be debt free.

Nor for all the fuss can I blame him for choosing Wilson, Barlow, Steer, Batho and the new MD Dave McCarthy as the new guys in control. If he believes he can trust them, and they don't come with £350k salaries, then good for him. They can't be much worse than what we've had...