Here is the NFFC news

I know you like to play the man and not the ball and are fond of telling us idiots to “actually read what I wrote.” So, in this case, I will politely suggest you do the same.

At no point did I suggest he should not manage up or down, challenge, inspire or, indeed, speak out. At no point did I say he should “keep his head down and gulp down shit.” (I’ll ignore your neurosurgeon vs actuary comparison as it’s both vacuous and irrelevant in this context). So right back at you with you cobblers, assumption and projection.

What I did say was that he should not have done so in public, particularly as it appears to have surprised the club (at least per some reports, e.g., Taylor and Dorsett). This is the unprofessional part. Most people in “global leadership roles” understand that things may not always be done in a way that you would choose and that there are people you’d rather not work with. They debate this internally and try and find solutions, even if that means negotiating an exit. They do not in front of the wider public as that simply erodes confidence and drives uncertainty. As is the case here. Going straight to the press is hardly ever conducive to a good outcome. You may think that it’s an acceptable way to behave but I’m willing to bet that in most professional situations, people would disagree. Why not discuss with Marinakis that you have beef wither Edu, or the concept of a DOF model (as one of these is clearly the root of the issue) and discuss if it can work and, if not, what the alternatives might be.

Now, if there had been a moral or ethical issue (something akin to medical malpractice or financial fraud, to make better use of your neurosurgeon and actuary), and he had aired that grievance, I would be more sympathetic. But, this doesn’t appear to be the case.

When I said I did not know what he was thinking, I was questioning his judgement in how (not why) he has gone about this. Any contract will have some sort of “bringing the club into disrepute” clause in it. If I went around slating my CEO and saying our relationship was no longer good, that there’s no smoke without fire etc., I would not expect to be treated as a good leaver.

It’s not that complicated.

So, I think we can totally agree on Postecoglou.

It’s an interesting point re rebuttal and public comments. It’s an unusual step for Nuno who is normally diplomatic to the point of anodyne. Had this been Mourinho, Clough, (even Billy Davies although he does not deserve to be in the same sentence as the other two), we would not be surprised. It’s just not Nuno’s style.

You raise the (even) more interesting point about the evolution of the club and how that happens. The pithy phrase that corporate coaches like to use is “what got us here, won’t get us there.” I think that’s true to a degree. Clearly Marinakis likes disruptive, radical and rapid change to a point that I find a bit uncomfortable. That said, it’s effective; if you said to me 4 years ago that we’d be playing Europa League and would have a squad of this quality, I would have been very sceptical..

8 years ago today we won 3-2 AET at Newcastle in the not Carabao then cup (Cummings 2, T Walker).
9 years ago today we won 2-1 at South Bermondsey in the not Carabao then cup (Paterson, Veldwijk).

Tomorrow we'll be maintaining our 100% start to our 4th Premiershipleague season in a row, Nuno will smile his smile and all will be well with the world. For a bit at least.

So it appears not much happened yesterday when I was disconnected from the world for 9 hours…

In part, that depends on level of ambition. Mine was to be in the solid mid-table camp with the occasional cup run/win; possibly Conference League qualification but free from relegation worries etc (“staying the same”). Some people might now see us as part of the camp that’s nibbling at the legs of the SkyBig6 (improvement). Marinakis clearly eyes a higher ambition and is taking an approach to achieve that (involving your third option) Is he deluded, i.e., will it lead to your 4th option? We can’t answer….yet. Whatever the outcome, it’s definitely not staying the same.

In purely footballing terms, this is the strongest squad for decades and there looks to be an ambition to play a different style than last term. Marinakis’ view of the structure and approach that enables those things is clearly different to Nuno’s (and others). There is a narrative that he should stay in his lane and not try to upset the hegemony or the behaviours that the English football establishment deem appropriate to a club of our size. It doesn’t take a genius to assume that this attitude results in a big “Fuck You” from Marinakis. Nuno’s dilemma is whether he stays hitched to the disruptor or whether he cuts loose (or gets cut) to maximise his chances of a future career amongst the clubs who prefer a more conventional approach.

You would be king of the playground and found out when the bigger boys came to play. As happened to us last season.

I don’t sense we are dicking around with it for ages. Based on last weeks performance, at least. But we are looking to have more of the ball and be creative with it in different ways rather than just breaking at pace having defended for large chunks of the game. Last year when we had the ball and teams sat back, we weren’t able to be particularly creative.

So we did kick ball forward well but now we need to evolve because we got found out? I agree.

So do more of what the opposition expects with more energy as infinitum?