My Conversation with N.Doncaster

Just got off the phone, why is it when you put the phone down you then think of loads more questions ?, How annoying !.

I have to say that I am impressed the Chief Exec is prepared to pick the phone up and call me as a result of this conversation I do have a lot of respect for him.

Ok so here goes.....

As an overview, I get the impression that ND and the board are under a lot of pressure at the moment. He is certainly getting a lot of calls and emails and for what its worth I think that patience is beginning to wear thin at the top and that an improvement is required.

I outlined that body language suggests we have no confidence and this has gone on all season, he admitted that the club have not recovered from relegation (fans, players, staff etc) still. I then made it clear the this was NW's job and I implied that if he can't do it then he needs to go, ND is clear that NW has NOT lost dressing room, but they are underperforming and have no confidence.

I was asked who would I replace NW with, I didn't name names but stated that we shouldn't do ourselves down as many managers would jump @ the chance, he did agree.

I asked are you happy with the current situation, it was clear that he is not happy with the current situation, however they only have 2 options, 1) Sack Him or 2) Stick With Him. Cost was mentioned on this front as a factor and also that any decision has risks, get rid & it may not get any better.

I questioned the signing of Earnshaw when we are clearly not creating chances, he made it clear that we created a lot @ the start of the season and the strikers wasted them (I do agree on that to some extent, in addition he stated that Ashton wanted out @ start of season), however he did admit that we are not creating enough and the performances of late are not good enough. When I criticised midfield signings - he stated that Robinson has a good track record & Dixon is young, but we didn't get on to Hooze or Jarrett, not sure why, but he did admit that the players are not good enough @ the moment, are they not good enough period ?

When questioned on how long can this go on ? - he wouldn't answer, "as you can not put a time on it", I got the impression though that we need to improve and they will comment unless they make the decision to get rid.

ND accepted that we have spent as much money as anyone else this season in this division and nothing has improved this seasson

I also asked what protest would make the board listen, he said they are listening and that they are having a rough ride, but he wouldn't be drawn. ND did sit in Barclay Lower yesterday so thinks he's got a good gauge of the current feeling.

In essence NW will continue until such a point that they have to make the difficult decision, but he still believes the NW is the best man for the job, how long this will remain is up for debate, but I think improvements are required quite soon.

We closed the conversation by agreeing to disagree I said now is the time to act he implied as outlined above that time has not come, but the board will make the right decisions for NCFC no matter how difficult they are.

I am reading between the lines and as you know 2+2 can = 5 when you do this, but I got the impression that we need to see a big improvement and soon as we are underperforming.

Did I get what I wanted out of the conversation, well yeah probably, Do I think NW will get the boot, well yes if this carries on much longer.

Posted By: Taxi 4 Johnson, Feb 6, 16:44:53