We must also take into consideration that at the time of Mladens 'up n at em' interview.. We had just finished mid table and had a goals against column of a bottom 4 side. Plus we were still rattling the 'please buy a season ticket' tin under people's noses.. Looking a mixture of sales patter and hot air 3 months on.
I can forgive doing it last season but to fail to deliver so much during your first season including an absolutely disastrous January window let’s also not forget to then have the stupidity to say things that you are unlikely to be able to deliver is just ridiculous and is going to lead to the kind of criticism that’s starting now then empty promises seem to be just that again.
He was worth the wait, but we ended up paying more than we had liked, do you think we are in a position this season to pay inflated fees the later the window goes on? again the point being we had stated that we were doing significant early progress with transfer targets to quote after the Reading game "These couple of weeks now are massive for us. We have already been in contact and know the market and speak to agents and players and these are the bits where we are saying: ’this is where we are putting our money’ into the window" If you compare to last summer, we were still operating with a 352 system, Mladen admitted we were later than we wanted due to focus being on recruiting a new head coach. We have had more time and planning this summer for the first time in years hence appointing Conor in early April, yet here we are 2 weeks from Plymouth with nothing that resembles putting out a team that has proper full backs on both sides and wingers.
Personally, I think Mladen has been a disaster so far. Recruitment (and the justification for much if it) has, overall been dreadful. His media 'performances' have been poor and, as such, he's not endeared himself to fans. He is a reason why there is disconnect between fans and club. He should also not have said things like 'we have a competitive budget' and indicated that the ball would be rolling early if he wasn't sure that was the case. He's either lying, spinning things or deluded. He should have been honest or simply kept his mouth shut instead of raising false expectations. Yet again he's not helped the link between club and fans. I'd have sacked him by now if I were the owner (based on what I know - and there are obviously things I don't) but he seems to have Parekh in his pocket. Having said all that he still has time to do something more positive before the season starts/ window ends and, for me, the fact that DKD is still here is a good sign (and I know some people like Phillips and Russell who are both still here). Its frustrating and there's not a lot to talk about at the moment but even I can wait a bit longer to see how things ultimately pan out. See who else is brought in - if anybody - and see who is offloaded - if anybody. If the squad looks poor by September then I think Mladen should definitely go. If it looks a bit better I'll be willing to cut him some slack.
I’d disagree that his was inflated but that’s another story. We’ve also covered off that he shouldn’t have said what he said although it doesn’t change the issues faced. The point I was making was it’s worth waiting for the right person and a season is not decided in the first 6 games. Wether we get the right people is also another thing and history and funds would suggest that’s challenging to say the least but as I’ve always said I’ll judge once the picture is full.