The stadium ones always a tricky subject. We never had the money to outright fund a new one with the ridiculous building costs in this Country. I was always in favour of a shared new ground with Everton when Robinson first floated that idea the '80's to cut costs. The majority where naturally totally against it ('We'll never share with those bitter blue c****! etc etc); but it always made perfect sense to me if that was the only way to get a new ground and maximise our potential week on week. I could of swallowed a ground share with the benefits far outweighing local rivalry. But that was never going to get off the ground sadly. So it wasn't so much he refused as we just didn't have the resources.
To be fair, he was never slow in backing successive managers financially. Souness went through a lot, and Evo and then Houllier and Benetiz spent heftily. Evans spent big on Babb, Scales, McAteer and Ince among others, and broke our record for Stan. Can't agree that Moores didn't fully back his managers in the transfer market. If anything he gave managers too much free reign to go spend. Often not very wisely.
Yeah, we lost out on some big names under Evans early who wanted to join. But that was mainly due to all the money Souness had blown through. All relative.
Now the last one is the biggie I'm 100% with you on. For someone that pertained to 'love' the club so much, to be so hoodwinked by those two charlatans and put the club into so much financial strife that we almost went the way of Leeds and receivership before FSG stepped in (the very same day); all to make a quick sale and as much as he could make out of it I'll never forgive him for.
I think his heart was in the right place and he tried to do the right thing through most of his time as chairman. But he was never remotely as strong or savvy a businessman as his father and nowhere near the Chairman Sir John Smith was.
