Milked

There's a fascinating article in today's Guardian by David Conn, who casts his expert eye across the murky world of the club's finances, with the help of nufc-finances.org.

Needless to say Dirty Doug comes in for particular scrutiny, with Fat Fred not far behind (although at least Freddie still lives and pays tax in this country.)

What frustrates me about the whole thing is my own failure to do something about a situation that clearly galls me. I know that every time I give the club money a percentage of it finds its way to the gruesome twosome by way of the massive dividends they pay themselves, yet still I continue to pay for my season ticket and buy the shirt.

I can't disassociate the club from my sense of regional identity and pride, and as a result I'm a prime cash cow to be milked by the board to pay for their extravagant lifestyles.

Just remember, the next time Fat Fred says that the board always back the manager, it's the fans' money they are backing him with. The same pot of fan's money from which they take their extravagant dividends.

Kieron Dyer may earn over £3 million a year despite not being able to play for much of the season, but the Halls have taken £36,446,153 from the club to date. Who do you think is really taking the piss?