Craig Beazley, UTCIAD, external
It’s exciting times at Dean Court with Bill Foley’s takeover completed during the World Cup. Bill as well as members of his team such as Michael B. Jordan and Nullah Sarker were in attendance for the game against Crystal Palace to an amazing reception by the Dean Court crowd.
During the break for the World Cup, Foley has been discussing a lot of his plans for this football club which are a world away from the struggles of Minus 17 and the Winter Gardens appeal in the late 90s.
One statement made was that “we will not be relegated”. This statement alone proves that he will be ruthless and determined to keep the club above the red line. That determination may be seen in the transfer window and in the decisions he makes based on what is seen on the pitch.
I have full confidence in what Foley is setting out to do. The training ground work has resumed and who wouldn’t want to play for a club based in such a nice area of the country for an owner who is so enthusiastic to provide the very best?
The stadium is also going to be a focal point with mentions already to the future at, or more likely away from, the current Dean Court. But the immediate need is on the pitch and that will have been highlighted after our poor performance against Palace.
And I still, despite recent results, feel Gary O’Neil deserves the time to put things right. No doubt he is under pressure but we have had times throughout our spell in the Premier League where things were a struggle. Take the start of 2017-18 where we achieved four points in eight games and sat rock bottom of the Premier League. We finished 12th that season, our second highest finish in our history. It can happen and O’Neil is astute enough to turn this.
But is O’Neil under pressure? Most definitely. Foley has shown with the Vegas Golden Knights, his NHL team, that he will make difficult decisions quickly to stop a rot and I am sure that he has set a realistic target of what he expects from the next four games.
Finishing 17th after all would have been a successful season for most fans. Whether our new owners think the same is still to be seen.
