If the Icelanders were still in charge ...

[339187]

... which division would we be in right now?

Just to counteract all the euphoria on here, a little bit

League One, IMHO.

[lordb]

well given the financial meltdown in Iceland - I beleive Kaupthang (sp) has been affected? -
then can only assume they would be looking to sell the club ASAP!

going back to when they sold to PC its fair to assume they wouldnt have re-appointed TP,probably would have given Boskamp another year with Taggs & Blake as 1st team coaches,
bringing 1 or 2 more players from abroad & promoting youth
It would have depended imho on Bangoura for 06-07 how we did,I would have said mid table again with far less home defeats

who knows though anything could hav ehappended promotion,relegation anything.

[Deleted]

Lets not forget before the Icelanders took over the club when were on the steep slope to Division 3 or 2 as it is now. They stopped the slump and did eventually get us into the Championship.

[werrington]

Before anybody rubbishes or slaughters them just remember they saved OUR club from oblivion all those years ago and got us back to a the Championship with investment in players...just like Peter Coates has saved us this time around

[Lakeland Potter]

I have been assured by many posters on here who are close friends of Bosschump that we would have been promoted to the Prem a Year earlier than we were and would be challenging for the top 4 by now.

I have no reason to believe a word of what they say. ;D

[Deleted]

Our former Icelandic owners come in for a lot of criticism on this board which mystifies me. Their place in the history of this club is that they saved us. They stopped the rot and got us back into the Championship. You might as well ask which division we would be in had they not taken the club over in the first place. League 2 was beckoning at the time.

[greyman]

That thing with Gislason at the press conference still eating at you John? Time to let it go mate and recognise they halted the slide, even if they did foul up in other ways.

[Lakeland Potter]

Malvern/greyman- I agree with that. If they hadn't taken over gawd knows how low we would have dropped.

However, the question at the top of the thread was, where would we be if they had remained in charge - and I suspect we would have been one or two leagues below what we are. They had insufficient resources (or were not prepared to commit the resources) needed to get us promoted to the Prem.

EDIT - I liked Gunnar, greyman - he was a decent bloke. I certainly bear no grudges over anything he said in Delilahs.

[606Stokie]

Jan 13, 2009 13:25:08 GMT malvernstokie said:

Our former Icelandic owners come in for a lot of criticism on this board which mystifies me. Their place in the history of this club is that they saved us. They stopped the rot and got us back into the Championship. You might as well ask which division we would be in had they not taken the club over in the first place. League 2 was beckoning at the time.

Agree with that one

[MarkWolstanton]

Jan 13, 2009 13:26:32 GMT greyman said:

That thing with Gislason at the press conference still eating at you John? Time to let it go mate and recognise they halted the slide, even if they did foul up in other ways.

Yes indeed.

Will Mr Fornside please stand up and rise above this.

;D

[Lakeland Potter]

I refer Mr Wolstanton to the edit on my post above. I liked Gunner - in fact I rather hoped he might stay on the board even if the Consortium pulled out.

[606Stokie]

Jan 13, 2009 13:38:35 GMT Lakeland Potter said:

I refer Mr Wolstanton to the edit on my post above. I liked Gunner - in fact I rather hoped he might stay on the board even if the Consortium pulled out.

Agreed he was the messinger for the others there...

[Bick]

The premiership!

[sheikhmomo]

They were largely accepted as saviours until they sold our two best players to fucking Baardif quite soon after lying to people that they would never do such a thing. History might tell us we got decent money for them but that sort of thing is always going to get you a bit of deserved stick.

They were good for the club over all but they were naive, arrogant, deliberately mis leading and in the end wanted the big prize without putting their nuts on the line.

The fact they didn't have full or even part time representation at the club was unforgivable and mental Magnus's increasingly erratic behaviour towards the end sealed their fate as being considered good natured oddballs who were unwilling to learn anything about English football.

[Maccca100]

I shudder at the very question...

[Vodkab1ock]

i lost respec for the icelandic board once they sacked gudjon after we got promotion it just seemed to ruin that summer for me personally. went from looking forward to the next season to worrying about who this fucking cock we appointed with lineker style jumbo ears. what a twat he was.

[meladben]

still championship i believe ..would doubt they'd av got the signings in we had to get us up but enough to hold onto mid table in div 2 ( old money )

[OldStokie]

Naughty, naughty, Mr Tirtytree. You are displaying symptoms of that which you have accused others: stirring the proverbial shit.

Probably still in the Championship. But not for long given the financial meltdown there. They were naieve in much of what they did but at least they did try. Just for the record and all those rimming Coates now, he tried every which way he could to make sure they didn't do too well so he could buy the club back at a bargain price. The Icelanders served a purpose for him. Thankfully, his purpose and our club have been the beneficiaries of his wiles. I bear him no malice. He's a businessman.

The Icelanders were never going to be big enough to take this club to the level we are at now. Gudjon didn't help with his long apprenticeship in the English leagues. That scuppered their plans big style. I still think we were promoted despite Gudjon and not because of him. That promotion was down to the sterling work of Super James and the team who battled so hard. Having said that, I still believe that Gudjon should have been given the chance to manage in The Championship just as Pulis should and has been given the chance to manage at this level because he deserved it. I well remember the utter dejection I felt at the time Gudjon was sacked even though I was aware of the reasons why he was sacked.

OS.

[Miniman]

With Iceland itself going into financial meltdown, We would have no funing and be a lower league Championship or mid table league 1 team....

'Shudders at the thought'

[339187]

Jan 13, 2009 21:10:47 GMT OldStokie said:

Naughty, naughty, Mr Tirtytree. You are displaying symptoms of that which you have accused others: stirring the proverbial shit.

Who, me?

'ow at, OS? Who's your avatar, the captain of the good ship Stoke City?
(Now then, THAT was some good writing)

[OldStokie]

It's the pantomime villain, Captain Hook. It serves it's purpose well on this board nowadays. So when you start shit stirring, listen for someone shouting...

"LOOK OUT, HE'S BEHIND YOU!"



NB: good to see you around these days, you gloryhunter you. Still wearing the skunk hat?

OS.

[jbstokie]

Championship, stable club but going nowhere

[339187]

Jan 13, 2009 21:40:15 GMT OldStokie said:

Still wearing the skunk hat?

OS.

Of course; just as I expect you're still wearing those pissy slippers, overdosing on marmalade and cheating the bluddy Yanks on eBay ;D

[OldStokie]

Touché.

OS.

[stokief]

Not so much the skunk hat OS as a goldie looking chain, baseball cap and a well dodgy tracksuit!
In answer to the question I'd say we'd be called Stoke Puffins Bjarni would be player-manager and Gunnar would be still around wearing a Motty sheepskin and patrolling the sidelines of the many grounds of the Blue Square Premier division shouting us on with a broad Potteries accent!! ;D

[kice]

It is good to see that people still appreciate what my fellow countrymen did for the club. They were naive and did not have the money to hold out, but the best thing they did for Stoke was stabilise the club financially. What is more than can be said about most clubs in the lower leagues.

Some on here are critising them for firing Gudjon. The thing is that Gudjon was out of control. He was brutal in communication with his countrymen and left them no option. This was covered in details at that time and some posters on here know exactly what happened but have preferred not to tell the whole story. Ask Monica and Smudge.

[OldStokie]

Hello, Kice. Great to see you around. I knew the reasons why Gudjon was sacked but it didn't make it any easier having your manager kicked out just as we were celebrating promotion. The club went as flat as a pancake for the whole close season due to that decision. IMHO, he should have been made to draw in his horns and made to apologise for his behaviour.

However, it's all water under the bridge now and most of those of us who were around at the time SH took over the club will always be grateful for their intervention. They sowed the seeds of what we have now. They stopped the downward spiral and took us up one level. Coates has finished off the job. Hopefully, as I am led to believe, SH benefitted by a further payout when we got promoted under Coates. IMHO, nothing less than they deserved.

I hope you and the other Icelanders who were with us in those days are still with us. Many of us look on you guys with affection and remember the many visits you made to Stoke. You're always welcome here. Just let us know if you can make it over and we'll have a beer together.

Take care.

OS.

[kice]

Hello, OS. I noticed that you had posted just above and knew well that you knew.

Yes, I am still here but not as much on the MB as before. Now I get ALL the games live on TV so I am not in the same urge in getting over as before and then the financial crisis is hitting me hard. I have only lost something close to 3/4 of my assets on it. I guess I have to recover at least some of it before I start travel again. But I will survive and it is only money.

[stokeydaz]

good old peter coates i say