It smacks of keeping your options open.

Well it shows a club will little or no options if we have to turn back to the players that we were freely admitting last season were inadequate.

It is a shambles, someones head on the club board should go for the mess that has happened this week, serious mismanagement and gross incompetance seems to be constant through out.

Who are we concidering to carry the can?

I'm not sure that Geoff Davey's statement amounts to turning back to the players from last season - when the new manager is appointed, he'll have the option of talking to players who Gudjon had decided to release.

That's not an assurance that any of them have a future at the club under the new manager - but it holds the door open in case the new boss wants to retain any more of the current squad (or at least keep them around for a month or two to see what they've got).

It's bad PR. Who is in charge of PR at the club and have they been on holiday for a fortnight? A quiet phone call by the new manager if he were intrested in them should've of been enough

Although the timing of the manager is very poor, I'm not entirely unhappy that he has gone. The football we endured at the home games last season was appalling. The only thing that amazed me was that we only lost five home games. I think it speaks volumes that if you were watching the football it felt like a lot more. It is prudent to keep the door ajar with players theat Gudjon released. This isn't because I think they are world beaters. However, I think individually and collectively they could've achieved more than they did. The style of play and the results obtained by a team is primarily down to the manager.

Furthermore, I read in the Evening Post tonight that the Trust supports the board's decision to close the centre of excellence. I think the paper should clarify that the Trust's board agree with the decision. Yes, the board is elected to make decisions on our behalf and freely give time to do so, for which I am grateful. However, this does not mean that each individual decision the board makes is the view of the majority membership of the Trust.

I'm bitterly disappointed by the decision.

As a lifelong supporter of some 40 years standing i think we are rapidly becoming a laughing stock,no manager,no players,no points to look forward to!!!
For Gods sake give the managers job to Richo cos like us he cares, and as for signing any of last years bunch forget it unless we are determined to achieve Conference football! I already have my season ticket for next year and i always will as long as there is breath in my body but for pities sake sort out this mess asap!!
For what its worth i too do not care how much the centre of excellence costs, in the long term it pays for itself but we seem to be on a short term road into oblivion, please please those in charge get your act together.

I can't disagree that we need a manager but the noises from the club are that we should be appointing one relatively soon. Geoff Davey suggested may-be by the end of the week but experience encourages me to allow a little more time.

I'm not sure about Richo. Does he even want it?

And can someone explain how the CoE paid for itself under current rules where the big clubs cream off our best players at 16? Pennant was before the current situation - Best & McGoldrick generated small sums & only Wilson provided a decent return. Who else made 10 first team starts? I'm not saying that the CoE was not well run, just that under current rules it wasn't delivering what we need - first team players.

I've been saying for ages the club or trust need to disclose a list showing the players that the club got money for and those that made at least 10 apperances.
The Trust board should have this infomation or how else how could they reach anything near a credible decision on this issue.

Still think it was a extreame near sighted pessimismic penny pinching decision to close it and contributes to the contiuing downsizing of the club by this club board who rather let the canabalise itself rather than invest it it ... how many of the current director have invested in the club?

The board have been appointed (see elsewhere for my thoughts on the way some of them were appointed) to run the football club, I don't see why they should have had to "invest" their money. It's my hobby, I don't expect other people to subsidise it.

They haven't penny-pinched, they aren't hoarding a vast cash reserve, instead they have taken a very difficult decision to direct money to the first team rather than to the CofE.

I feel the club are acting as they want to sweep these issues under the carpet without giving us the shareholders even the justification or the reasoning behind the move.

Just the line "we could't afford it", well I say show us proof show us the income produced by the CoE, the funding allocated, the players that made 1st aperances and the overall costs. Show us how local sponsorship was looked into(was it? I don't even know)