Kelly is still under contract next season. We need the Pigott replacement to contribute goals but to be honest we aren't even creating chances at the moment so we need some attacking midfield blokes who can do that.

Depth up top costs. We gambled with Kelly, paid a club record fee and its failed miserably. Cope and JJ built a squad that was resilient and hard to break down. Over the majority of the season this has worked and be key reason why we’ve have been as high as we have been. Coaching staff deserve credit for drilling team to be solid which was objective. Sadly to go up next level you need your strikers to all chip in. We’ve tried different formations, started them all or played the two (Omar and Stevens) who worked well. The coaching team I think have tried BUT the quality just isn’t there and it’s a shame the lack of goals is what has cost us (if we don’t go up)

Grimsby have to go for it next week; Salford and Chesterfield results yesterday seem to be making for a very nervy The Fishy forum. That will be a real test for JJ and his tactics - from the outset (we know that changing them around mid-match tends to have no influence at all).

Just read REPDs blog which is good as always but thing I don’t agree with and seen a lot of other fans say is that we play a ‘defence at all costs’ style of play and tactics…..how can that be the case when we play with at least 2 up top every game?

Think this season is probably our last chance for promotion for the foreseeable future. Others will be increasing budget while we will have our non-league budget whilst fans will be paying championship ticket prices ..

Hash - it would help and if that is part of the strategy and plan the boards come up with then great but we don't know that approving 50%+1 means achieving 50%+1. That still leaves a loss which our people with accountancy knowledge suggest is about 1 million a year and selling Foyo for that 1 million and playing at Old Trafford in the cup are not really a believable plan. Let us see what they come up with.

OI i guess if we pay off bond debt then the interest payments (c. £400k?) could be redirected to operational expenditure and so would have an impact on our losses

Just think, in a few days we could have Buckley replacing himself, fall out of the playoffs and, five months in, still no clear grip on the tiller from the new DTB. What a time to be alive.

Morning all. SW19 on yesterday's latest clusterfuck now up - [Link]

Match Of The Day commentator

Keefy - I'll give this lot a while, they do seem to at least admit the can exists which is a big step forward. However if there isn't a clear strategy and a plan to implement eliminating losses by the end of 2025 I'd be moving towards the selling out camp.

And yes I know cutting the budget unilaterally will be bad for us but cannot all EFL chairman get together and admit they are over-paying players and agents. Is the small chance of being the next Wrexham too much of a temptation to run their businesses prudently?

The only way to cut losses is to cut the player budget. We, and every L2 club are overpaying their players for what they commercially bring to the club. This is repeated through all football.

Jacqui Oatley at sgm tomorrow, who is she?

OI Exactly right no one will put money in just to pay off debts. So in your words Administration seems to be the only way forward!! I see there is SGM tomorrow night. Hopefully the grand plan will br revealed. Kicking the can down the road cannot go on for ever.

Mark L - selling down to 50%+1 has no obvious major effect on our losses. Would somebody owning a maximum of 15% be willing to put their hand in their pocket to support ongoing losses? If you want someone rich to make up the losses then they will want control, i.e. the end of fan ownership. Whether you think that is now the way to go or not, getting there with our current governance almost certainly involves administration. Persuading 75% of members to vote to sell out when many of the established names will fight it to the last looks vanishingly unlikely.

I know people say this every week but the empty seats thing is so weird. I bought resale tickets a week or so ago and at that point almost no availability and no pairs together. Get to the game and large gaps in every stand.

Thought it was a game of two halves; us narrowly better than Vale in 1st but Vale well on top in 2nd. Stats back me up

Kite - exactly 🤪 hence my moral 😂

Never play for a draw as you almost never get it.

...and likewise for SwinDon... is what I meant

Just to add: The OS write-up of the Morecambe game says a crowd of 6751 (whereas that website says 7651) and likewise 6304 (vs 6340). The stats in our matchday programme are as per the OS write-ups. Which is correct, I have no idea.

Never say never Silk, but I don’t think JJ has faith in a back four. Plus Reeves is back in so I assume we go 352 again. I’d chuck Kelly in tbh.

Agreed on record crowd. As for average, it depends on whether the attendances for Morecambe and SwinDon were as per that website or as per the stats published in the matchday programme. If the latter, then our average was 7971. An attendance of 8675 at a play-off home game (if that counts) would take us to 8000.

Damn right RK.