“This looks very tinpot.”

And now for the answers provided by TheCumbrians.net Admins:

How long have you supported Carlisle United?

We’re all between roughly 20 and 35 years into the sentence!

Where did you finish last season?

10th, not quite good enough to trouble the Play-Offs.

What do you think of your Manager?

No nonsense, a spade is a spade type of guy. He’s on a hiding to nothing with the cuts to the budget.

What are your hopes and expectations for this season?

Hope – Play-Offs
Expectation – Mid-Table

One(s) to watch?

Half of them are injured! If he comes on, second-year YTS Liam McCarron has just signed a Pro deal and rumour is bigger Clubs are watching him.

Who do you think will finish in the top 7?

Yourselves, Milton Keynes, Exeter City, Colchester United, then any three others down to 16th. Really is an open division.

Who do you think will finish in the bottom 2?

Macclesfield Town and Cheltenham Town.

What are your thoughts on Lincoln City?

Similar to ourselves in that you have a slightly rural location and a bit of potential. Disappointed you embraced the EFL Trophy last season though!

What do you think the score will be?

With our injury list, you should win easily, but we’ll go for a deserved 1-1.

What will your likely default formation and style of play be for this season?

Mainly 442/433 dependant on the personnel available. We can try and pass it about but can resort to long towards target man Richie Bennett.

Random fact about your Club?

We’ve appeared in more EFL Trophy Finals (Six) than any other Club, hence why we get annoyed by what was once decent competition.

If you could steal one Lincoln City player for your own team, who would it be and why?

Jason Shackell. Superb signing. Doing for you lot what Clint Hill did for us last season.

What are your proudest and most embarrassing moments as a Carlisle United Supporter?

N/A.

Who would you say is your most underrated player?

Left back, Captain and Cumbrian Danny Grainger. Injured at the moment though. Sod all pace, but can cross a ball and takes a proper penalty.

Do you have a Supporters Trust and what role do they play at the Club?

CUOSC (Carlisle United Official Supporters Club) since their rebrand a few years back. Own 25.4% of the Holding Company which owns roughly 93% of the Club. Originally set up to rid the Club of Knighton with roughly 1500 Members. Have a ‘chequered’ history. Finally got the seat on the Board they should’ve had years ago, but Membership is under 500 now. Many fans feel they’re in the pocket of the Board of Director’s and as such don’t hold them to account.

Which was your favourite match involving Carlisle United?

N/A.

Which was your least favourite match involving Carlisle United?

N/A.

What’s better for a football fan – dull but sound management, or a wild ride like with Michael Knighton, or even Brooks Mileson if you consider what might have been?

The Knighton decade was a roller coaster. Started off brilliantly and ended disastrously. But the first half was some of the best times watching Carlisle for a generation of Blues. There was an electric buzz around the Club which hasn’t really been felt since. If you offered us that or say the stability of a Rochdale, give us the thrill every time!

There seems to be a lot of dissatisfaction with the ownership of the club and perceived lack of commitment and investment, particularly since the announcement of the new stadium at Workington. What exactly are they failing to do, and what are the fans expecting?

The current ‘custodians’ took over when we’d just missed out on possible promotion to the Championship in the summer of 2008, with crowds of 8,000 coming down. Ten years late were stuck in League Two with 4,000 gates. They claim to be temporary but don’t want to let go, and only Andrew Jenkins actually has money. Since we borrowed cash from the Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group in the last couple of seasons, they’ve become our de-facto owners in all but name. They’ve put a money man on the Board to count the pennies and the installation of David Holdsworth is also connected. We’re now in a limbo with nobody saying anything and fans hoping that EWM completes a full takeover. EWM main man Phillip Day isn’t really a football person though and his involvement appears to be more of a favour as his company relocates Head Office to our city.

Workington? Nobody is really bothered about them or their new ground plans (Looks a nice development though!).

John Sheridan was an interesting appointment, given his recent track record on and off the field. Why did the board feel the need to have another manager with a poor record – David Holdsworth – above him?

As just mentioned, Holdsworth was brought in as part of the EWM ‘shake-up’ in the summer so the likelihood is that our Board didn’t/couldn’t really say much. Nobody has actually come out and told the full story, so we’re expected to believe he’s purely our ‘Director of Football’ when we all know he’s doing much more than that!

Has the Holdsworth, 40 player a season revolving transfer door been in full operation yet?

No. We had to rebuild our squad in the Summer anyway due to a number of players out of contract and a vastly reduced budget. We’re a mixture of seasoned pro’s, several Loanees and a sprinkling of young lads. We’ll maybe see some action in January?