[paulosull]

If we drop out of automatic places I believe Lai should act and remove Ishmael think in hindsight he made the wrong decision in not appointing Wilder who in many ways probably suited the player’s at club. Now if he sacks coach can only see someone being promoted from back room staff to take over till end of season.

[liverbaggie]

What league position is Wilder team in mate?

[paulosull]

What league position is Wilder team in mate?

no your question should be what position were they in when he took over mate?

[skyclad99]

What league position is Wilder team in mate?

I can answer that liver, they are currently 8th, 3 points behind us. When Wilder took over they were 15th. They have won 4 of their last 5 games, only losing to a very 'in form' Blackburn. Over the same period we have won a hefty 4 points out of 15, so they have gained 8 points on us. It is highly likely that he will go above us in due course.

Wilder was probably the right choice but hindsight and all that.......

[paulosull]

I can answer that liver, they are currently 8th, 3 points behind us. When Wilder took over they were 15th. They have won 4 of their last 5 games, only losing to a very 'in form Blackburn'. Over the same period we have won a hefty 4 points out of 15, so they have gained 8 points on us. It is highly likely that he will go above us in due course.

Wilder was probably the right choice but hindsight and all that.......

great self knowledge is a wonderful asset   

[AlbionFan]

Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year, Lai.

Now make ours the same, sack Val and sell the club ASAP. 😂.

[AlbionFan]

If anyone is interested in emailing Chinese New Year greetings or other issues to our Chairman and CEO their email addresses are below

li.piyue@wbafc.co.uk and xu.ke@wbafc.co.uk

Year-Long Good Luck in Water Tiger Year!

  Happy hunting

[Smethwickender93]

If anyone is interested in emailing Chinese New Year greetings or other issues to our Chairman and CEO their email addresses are below

li.piyue@wbafc.co.uk and xu.ke@wbafc.co.uk

Year-Long Good Luck in Water Tiger Year!

  Happy hunting

Done 

[Aussie Baggie]

I'm a bit naive with all this so apologies if this is a stupid question, but what motivation does Mr Lai have for letting the club get to the point it is currently at?

Surely for him to get some return on his investment, he needs the team to win games. Why does he not see what we all see?

[johnny Cash]

I'm a bit naive with all this so apologies if this is a stupid question, but what motivation does Mr Lai have for letting the club get to the point it is currently at?

Surely for him to get some return on his investment, he needs the team to win games. Why does he not see what we all see?

Lai gets a lot of stick, but I don't think he has done a lot wrong over the years. That is not to say decisions have worked out well, but I can see why he (or his men) have made many decisions at the point he has made them.  It is not as easy as just try harder. If it was, every club could be progressing but the nature of a league dictates that for some clubs to progress, some must regress. 

It may be that Lai thinks he has tried switching and swapping managers and that hasn't worked, so he is just going to let this play out a little longer and have faith in a process.

When things are going badly, he is a very easy target.

[baggiejohn]

Lai gets a lot of stick, but I don't think he has done a lot wrong over the years. That is not to say decisions have worked out well, but I can see why he (or his men) have made many decisions at the point he has made them.  It is not as easy as just try harder. If it was, every club could be progressing but the nature of a league dictates that for some clubs to progress, some must regress. 

It may be that Lai thinks he has tried switching and swapping managers and that hasn't worked, so he is just going to let this play out a little longer and have faith in a process.

When things are going badly, he is a very easy target.

I don't think you're far off.

The analytical Val fits in quite nicely with the Chinese Psyche.

Also, they would understand the Tuckman model I referred to earlier, I think we're in the "storm" phase & this week we'll get a re set.

[paulosull]

Well if I was one of his share holders I’d be pulling my hair out at the lack of business nouse he possesses, for one bought a product for £50 or £60 million above its real valuation. Has no experience of running said business which if sold tomorrow would be lucky to recoup £50 million but other than that he’s doing great so happy new year dear leader.

[AlbionFan]

Well if I was one of his share holders I’d be pulling my hair out at the lack of business nouse he possesses, for one bought a product for £50 or £60 million above its real valuation. Has no experience of running said business which if sold tomorrow would be lucky to recoup £50 million but other than that he’s doing great so happy new year dear leader.

And therein lies the crux of the matter.

He must be a good businessman as he runs successful companies. However, football is a vastly different entity.

[SmethDan]

And remember, he didn't pay the whole £188,000,000 or whatever it was himself. It was a group purchase. Lai's the front man.

[paulosull]

And therein lies the crux of the matter.

He must be a good businessman as he runs successful companies. However, football is a vastly different entity.

or is he a good comrade who has friends in high places which from what little I’ve seen of how he runs a business could be a factor.

[AlbionFan]

or is he a good comrade who has friends in high places which from what little I’ve seen of how he runs a business could be a factor.

That could also be a telling factor and if so, it would appear, to the layman, that they also have no understanding or appreciation of what owning and running a football club entails.

[gazberg]

And therein lies the crux of the matter.

He must be a good businessman as he runs successful companies. However, football is a vastly different entity.

Spot on. Just because he's been successful elsewhere doesn't mean it carries over into other sectors. His time here has been disastrous. Constantly trying to do as little as possible slowly grinding us down.

[SmethDan]

He's also been shafted several times over. Peace. Williams. Goodman. Pulis. The Man from Delmonte. Dowling. The Bilic fallout........ etc. Yes he's made mistakes but the 'football people' have also let him down badly.

[gazberg]

He's also been shafted several times over. Peace. Williams. Goodman. Pulis. The Man from Delmonte. Dowling. The Bilic fallout........ etc. Yes he's made mistakes but the 'football people' have also let him down badly.

Who appointed those people? All rubbish I agree.

He needs to be looking at that person

[SmethDan]

Who appointed those people? All rubbish I agree.

He needs to be looking at that person

Well, he certainly didn't appoint the ones who got the ball rolling did he  ? When you're caught in an avalanche it can be trickier to get out the way than it first appears. I genuinely think he's had the best of intentions and been taken for an absolute mug by people who are supposed to know better.

[AlbionFan]

A genuine question with no arteria motive

What footballing people?

[gazberg]

Well, he certainly didn't appoint the ones who got the ball rolling did he  ? When you're caught in an avalanche it can be trickier to get out the way than it first appears. I genuinely think he's had the best of intentions and been taken for an absolute mug by people who are supposed to know better.

He was in charge when Pulis was lazily given an extension. If he wants to just own the thing and do nothing I have no sympathy for the bloke.

As for whether he's a nice guy that's been let down it's neither here nor there.

If he's being consistently let down why doesn't he get more involved?

[johnny Cash]

He was in charge when Pulis was lazily given an extension. If he wants to just own the thing and do nothing I have no sympathy for the bloke.

As for whether he's a nice guy that's been let down it's neither here nor there.

If he's being consistently let down why doesn't he get more involved?

What does getting more involved look like for you? 

Hiring and firing more regularly? Scouting, taking training?   I know I'm being ridiculous with the latter two but I genuinely don't know what involvement you are suggesting he should have.

You could say he should make the effort to attend more games, and possibly engage with the fans better but that wouldnt change anything.

[gazberg]

What does getting more involved look like for you? 

Hiring and firing more regularly? Scouting, taking training?   I know I'm being ridiculous with the latter two but I genuinely don't know what involvement you are suggesting he should have.

You could say he should make the effort to attend more games, and possibly engage with the fans better but that wouldnt change anything.

More involved means doing anything more than the bare minimum, stop letting your underlings make mistake after mistake. Ultimately the buck stops with Lai.

People who sit back and say i pay other people to do stuff badly for me so it's not my fault always fail.

Slippery shoulders at the top levels of the club has brought us to where we are.

[SmethDan]

He was in charge when Pulis was lazily given an extension. If he wants to just own the thing and do nothing I have no sympathy for the bloke.

As for whether he's a nice guy that's been let down it's neither here nor there.

If he's being consistently let down why doesn't he get more involved?

I don't need a history lesson and I'm not making excuses for some questionable decisions either. There's no way I'd have extended Pulis's contract for instance but I can see the rationale of someone who doesn't spend much time at games doing so.