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Perhaps consider setting a posting cap for users in contentious and emotionally charged areas, such as Middle East discussions. For example, limit users (or repeat offenders) to one or two posts per day or enforce a word limit per reply in these specific threads. This would encourage more thoughtful contributions and hopefully reduce the rapid escalation of heated exchanges. Implementing this sparingly, only in certain ‘hot-potato’ sections of the forum (rather than site-wide), ensures that freedom of expression is maintained in less contentious areas, while keeping more sensitive topics manageable for Phil.
Currently, we're available at odds between 20/1 and 30/1, with my last check showing prices of up to 37/1 on the exchange! I recall Norwich beating them at home in 2019 when they were priced around 25/1. Not that it did them any good in the end, as they barely won another game for the rest of the season!
I seem to recall that the Ipswich team which reached the playoffs under Mick McCarthy initially cost just £10,000 in transfer fees (for Tyrone Mings). It wasn't until we later signed Freddie Sears for £100,000 that the team's total transfer value increased to £110,000! I might be off with those figures (as thankfully, it feels like a long time ago) so please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
In the fourth episode of Outside the Box, Jermain heads to Brighton and Hove Albion to speak to Chief Executive Paul Barber and technical director David Weir to find out how they work with managers and what the expectation is when they bring in a new leader of the football club. After being told by Derby manager Paul Warne that he needs to become more acquainted with the men and women who do the hiring and firing at football clubs, Defoe sits down to find out what they do, how they do it, and what he needs to do to make himself a legitimate contender for a top job in the game. Barber tells him that he needs to begin to prepare a serious presentation for when he has an interview, whilst Weir says that if he ends up working at a club with a director of football or a technical director, that their job is very much more long term, whilst the manager may only be thinking of the next game.
He then hears from Rotherham United owner Tony Stewart on how different life is in the Football League in regards to dealing with chairmen. Stewart tells him that he needs more experience if he’s to be taken seriously, and that being a great player and being a manager don’t necessarily equate. Stewart tells him that he wouldn't employ him at the moment because of that lack of experience, but that could change depending on what he does in the game over the next couple of years.
In Episode 3 of Outside the Box, Jermain travels to Derby County to meet the management team of Paul Warne, Richie Barker and Matt Hamshaw as he seeks to discover more about what it takes to be a manager, especially in the lower leagues. Leaning on Warne's experience as a player in the Football League - and his six seasons in charge of Rotherham United - he seeks an answer to the question about whether he's ready for a top job. He talks to First Team Coach Hamshaw about why he wants the role, how he feels he would like to play tactically should he become a manager, and why ex-pros like Steven Gerrard were always set to become managers. Then Jermain picks Warne's brain about the stresses of the position, about what he will need in a number two, how much an analysis and nutrition team will have to gel with him, and the importance of a coaching staff all being on the same page. Before he departs, Defoe finds out from Warne about the nuanced relationship between managers and chairmen, with Warne telling him that he needs to go and meet some chairmen to ask them what they're looking for. After Jermain heads home, Warne reflects on their afternoon together, concluding that whilst he believes Defoe will get a job, it's his belief that at the moment, he wouldn't be ready.
I'll be deeply disappointed if he leaves, but even if he does, we must remember that he's transformed our situation dramatically for the better. And we should have confidence in Ashton to find the best possible replacement.