Chris Mepham

So the clarify is Mepham a left or right sided central defender or both?

This from someone who coached him when he was younger.


“I played him at right-back quite a lot but he could naturally play on the right side of a three or at centre-back in a four. He was definitely a defender but comfortable on the ball. Chris can go all the way to the top. Out of all the players we had, you could tell Chris had the perfect approach with his mindset and how he concentrated on the game.”

https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/s...ips-chris-mepham-to-be-a-premier-league-star/
 
I must admit I no longer worry about the finances of the club - that is not to say I do not care about the future of the club.
I seem to have had half my life worrying myself sick about the clubs finances, it cost me (and many others) a lot of money over a period of time. It cost me and the other half god knows how much in terms of time and effort in raising money, working unpaid at the club etc for both the ST and KDSA.
At times it was extremely stressful. I recall one Saturday morning the ST had a conference call with a now previous owner of the club for over an hour during which we literally begged him to sell his ownership of the club for virtually nothing so that we could get new owners in - at the end of the call we really did believe the club was finished. I don't regret a minute of that time and money because it all helped get us where we are now - in dreamland
But no I am not going to worry if Max has spent £12m on a young centre half I am going to enjoy it.
 
Not so sure why the concern about the money.

AFCB is a business, we are customers of that business as fans of the club.

When a number of us had shares in the club we were part of it and had a small share in it.

Now we don’t, whether we like it or not.

We never ever hear anything much from the Chairman,.

Our owner is a very private man.

We have been in the dark re Stadium etc.

Just enjoy our success and the great football we are seeing and let those that run the business get on with it, there is not much we can do about it.
 
I'm sure we all appreciate that but the point is that it is not within the fans' control and that it is reliant on the benevolence of the owner and also his personal circumstances to ensure he doesn't suddenly decided he wants it back.

The reason people worry is because there is a list as long as your arm of occasions where owners have suddenly wanted or needed to get their cash back and have therefore "liquidised the club's assets" often leading to relegation. It could happen to us, it could happen to Brighton, nobody knows.

The reason I agree that it's not worth worrying about is because Demin took the club on after a prolonged period of financial woes - he's invested massive amounts and taken us to levels beyond what we could ever have imagined - if he takes it all back and leaves us back where we were then unlike Al I'm not going to be ruing the day he got involved. Sometimes the glass is half full.

Exactly ! We are in agreement. It's all good. If it goes tits up it's Max's problem and we'll just go back to being a League Two club handing buckets around the Saints fans again. In this day and age all clubs are at the mercy of their benefactor and if he/she pulls the plug, it plunges the club into decline. The only difference now is that we have further to fall if that happens - which in a way is also a positive ;)

At least for now we HAVE said benefactor and so far he has taken us on a brilliant ride to heights we previously could never have dreamed of.
We should enjoy that fact and not get hung up on what happens afterwards.

Maybe one day he will pull the plug, maybe he won't. It's not something we can influence and it's not worth worrying about. Most clubs are in the same position these days. What I will say is that I trust Max's judgement and he will have as accurate an assessment of his personal exposure in a worst case scenario as possible and as long as he is still happy to invest further, we should be confident that the buckets can stay in the shed a little while longer.

:utc:
 
Exactly ! We are in agreement. It's all good. If it goes tits up it's Max's problem and we'll just go back to being a League Two club handing buckets around the Saints fans again. In this day and age all clubs are at the mercy of their benefactor and if he/she pulls the plug, it plunges the club into decline. The only difference now is that we have further to fall if that happens - which in a way is also a positive ;)

At least for now we HAVE said benefactor and so far he has taken us on a brilliant ride to heights we previously could never have dreamed of.
We should enjoy that fact and not get hung up on what happens afterwards.

Maybe one day he will pull the plug, maybe he won't. It's not something we can influence and it's not worth worrying about. Most clubs are in the same position these days. What I will say is that I trust Max's judgement and he will have as accurate an assessment of his personal exposure in a worst case scenario as possible and as long as he is still happy to invest further, we should be confident that the buckets can stay in the shed a little while longer.

:utc:

Yes, and I think I speak for all of us when I say how MASSIVELY lucky we are to have such wonderful and benevolent benefactors just up the road in Southampton. We'll never fall that far with such a charitable bunch of supporters always looking out for us. :bow:;)
 
Yes, and I think I speak for all of us when I say how MASSIVELY lucky we are to have such wonderful and benevolent benefactors just up the road in Southampton. We'll never fall that far with such a charitable bunch of supporters always looking out for us. :bow:;)
I'm sure Max has factored in ( no, not a makeup reference :D ) the benevolence of our neighbours up the road should he at some point in the future be short of a few bob. Certainly expect that a lot of the financial commitments he makes to our club are "secured" in his own mind, by those with deep pockets just up the M27.
:party:
 
Exactly ! We are in agreement. It's all good. If it goes tits up it's Max's problem and we'll just go back to being a League Two club handing buckets around the Saints fans again. In this day and age all clubs are at the mercy of their benefactor and if he/she pulls the plug, it plunges the club into decline. The only difference now is that we have further to fall if that happens - which in a way is also a positive ;)

At least for now we HAVE said benefactor and so far he has taken us on a brilliant ride to heights we previously could never have dreamed of.
We should enjoy that fact and not get hung up on what happens afterwards.

Maybe one day he will pull the plug, maybe he won't. It's not something we can influence and it's not worth worrying about. Most clubs are in the same position these days. What I will say is that I trust Max's judgement and he will have as accurate an assessment of his personal exposure in a worst case scenario as possible and as long as he is still happy to invest further, we should be confident that the buckets can stay in the shed a little while longer.

:utc:

I like that way of looking at it. When the day finally comes, at least we'll get one season of Championship football on our plummet through the leagues. Would have killed for that ten years ago...
 
Max probably has his investments in a lot more than AFCB. We all know how clever these business men are at squirreling away money. I doubt he's got any money worries other than what to invest it in next.
 
How long does everyone expect Franno to keep playing for?

My expectation is that Mepham's entry into the starting 11 will be as our right-back. This could be a gradual process over the course of next season – dependent on how long Franno can keep going I guess.

This time next year I wouldn't be surprised to see us lining up:
Smith ---- Ake ---- Cook ---- Mepham
 
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Just watched the interview with Mepham. In it, and the accompanying film shots, he was clearly a bit nervous but I thought he came across really well. There was an understanding of the challenge and, I thought, an obvious determination to knuckle down and do well.
 
Our only real worry is if the tv and rights money does a Setanta and runs out or we get relegated.

Look at it logically we are generating approx £130m p.a. and rising from a stadium holding 11000. Why would someone put in say up to £100m for a new stadium to generate roughly the same amount as now p.a.just to keep a few JCL's happy? That would be dead money rather enhance the squad in each transfer window to maintain our PL status.

As it is we pay for new acquisitions over a four year time frame.

If we still aspire to achieve CAT 2 Academy status rather than the Brentford B team model then it is still a priority to get the training complex up and running.

As to players out on loan without an under 23 full fixture programme it is the right way to manage fringe squad players and stand out youngsters. Players like Harry Arter are in the shop window and selling on for £10m plus could go a long way to funding the new training ground complex.
 
How long does everyone expect Franno to keep playing for?

My expectation is that Mepham's entry into the starting 11 will be as our right-back. This could be a gradual process over the course of next season – dependent on how long Franno can keep going I guess.

This time next year I wouldn't be surprised to see us lining up:
Smith ---- Ake ---- Cook ---- Mepham


Unfortunately, personally I do not believe that Francis will be returning at least not in the Premier League. One has to take into account his injury, the length of time he will be out and the fact that he is now 34 years of age.
 
My question is... Is he better than Mings? Ok hopefully not as injury prone. Maybe hes the long term successor to Francis?
 

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