Green for starters confirms what I have been saying, namely much as he said he wasn't the man to be bankrolling the club, nevertheless we have needed bankrolling as and when, and he has stepped in to do just that. Nobody is giving him credit for this, just like nobody gave Omar credit for doing his bollox in to try to keep the ship afloat. We can be an ungrateful lot.
I don't read it as having a go at the fans, just stating the position which should be obvious. Namely, his plan of yet another Championship season with a decent full time squad REQUIRES a goodly expenditure by the fans, and if as my poll suggests, 50% may not renew, then the remainder will not be enough to fund that plan.
I left the poll open precisely so if major announcements were made, people can re-vote, and it'll be very interesting to see how many of us decide to preserve the status quo, given his unequivocal and clear statement of intent, despite the crushing disappointments of this season.
Where Green is in error (and let's be honest, communication is not his strong point) is not realising that after the Fev debacle, they needed to move quickly to do damage limitation. He must have been as gutted as anyone, perhaps in the circumstances more than most, at what happened, and the manner of our downfall. But fall we did, and it is his business which he needs to keep going, in the first instance, to avoid immediate meltdown, and to gain promotion in 12 months time, which year HE has to subsidise - not Ferres, or anyone else. He does have a choice. In many ways the easy choice would be to cut his losses and bail. I am not a little relieved to hear that he isn't doing that, despite the rumours and character assassinations, and while he may not get much credit again for that, he bloody well should.
But I can't imagine how he would stand yet another year were we to fail again, and I can't imagine how we can have any sort of a crack at it unless we keep pretty much all of our support.
His statement skirts round some major problems - such as the undoubtedly disastrous signings record - but the essentials are correct, and I can't argue with them.
As things stand, I am convinced enough to be back next year. It isn't just Green's commitment. It is the fact we also have the germ of a great set of youngsters rapidly maturing, we have the most promising young new coach in the game, and at last we have a fsck in scrum half to start to build a team and systems around. It is idle to pick over the bones of why this only happened too late, as 2016 has gone now and won't be coming back. We are looking at the future for this conversation. Inquests are maybe inevitable, and necessary, but those of us who cling to a hope of return of some better days had better hope that our numbers hold fairly firm as cash will be King.
For the most part, I say well said Marc Green, he has invested a lot in our club and been let down, but he wants to go around again. He will have learned lessons. I'm in.
