Sorry but he is, he let our Queen Melody walk all over him.

Poor project Manger, might be a nice a bloke, but has no voice.

That's his major failing, as time and time again he is one of the only ones who possesses common sense.

Tom should have told Melody where to get off...she might have booked the sales appts but he'd brought the products with him without which she had nothing to sell. Come on man, stand up and fight.

I hate it when people say so & so LET the other person do this to them.

Does a victim of bullying 'let' the bullies do it them, does a battered house wife 'let' her husband beat her?

Why can't people just have a sense of how you should respect someone and why when you have a w*nker or w*nkerette, like Melody, in your face why should you have to stoop to their level of w*nkership?

Tom is "back of the house ", not "Front of the house" ....

I bet when he's sacked Dara will be giving him a pair of these as a parting gift http://d5lx5634mkgoi.cloudfront.net/...9/11/balls.jpg

Melody is hardly a bully.

Never said she was, nor did I say she was an abusive husband. They were just metaphors

This is what I'm beginning to think. He alternates between being quite wise behind the scenes and turning into a bumbling fool in front of businesspeople and customers.

Sweet guy, but not polished enough for the job Sugar has in store I don't think.

Oh, sorry. I misread your post

Reality TV fans confusing this show for Big Brother? Sorry but if you don't have fire in your belly on this show you are not going to win.

Agree Lucy, there are lot of Big Brother type lines being spouted.

Such as Melody being unlikable so what, she is the most passionate about her abilities, just as well there is no public vote

Tom must be one of the nicest candidates to appear on the show but he's got zero oomph. It seems impossible for him to stand up to anyone. He's got nice guy syndrome, a desire to please everyone, and they do say nice guys finish last. I can't see him having any hope of winning. It will be a miracle if Sugar picks him.

I agree that he is weak and tonight was a shame for him because being PM he could have done a lot better.

I do like him though, out of all the contestants I like him the most, he just needs to find his steely side(balls) if he has one.(two)

Tom is honest and has a lot of integrity. If he's invented, patented and sold his products successfully all on his own, and Lord Sugar is looking for an innovative business partner, then Tom is a contender. Perhaps not a winner, since he thought Melody's aggressiveness was supposed to be good (while he disapproved of Jim's similar disposition).

Tom = weak + inventor > Melody

I don't recall AS ever taking on a bulldog before - he usually seems to go for someone who comes across as reasonable, after all, he's going to have to work with them.

Weakest male candidate ever? Could be. Seems a really nice bloke though but Sugar isn't looking for a nice guy to be friends with. Sugar admired Melody's ruthless nature. Tom has no ruthless nature, he's so out of his depth on this show it's hilarious. Poor guy.

I see him in quite the opposite way myself. It is interesting that he mentioned Dyson as a role model in the board room. I'm always totally in awe and convinced in Dyson's product placement and pitch, I always feel I need and want his products by the calm, good natured, thoughtful approach.. For me somebody like Melody is a complete turn off, a crashing titanic sales disaster, even if I went in to her shop to purchase an item her all out attack sales approach would make me just leave and try elsewhere. I don't get why people rate that vicious, aggressive sales attitude, because personally I NEVER buy from it.

You're entitled to your opinion but the fact is Tom didn't make any orders, his order book was empty, Melody made a number of orders. The bottom line is Tom can't sell because he's not assertive enough, Melody is. I don't see her as having a vicious, aggressive sales attitude, she's playing the game as it's meant to be played. Tom is a bit of an embarrassment to the male sex, well, certainly within the context of this show. He may be an amazing inventor but men are supposed to be a bit more aggressive and assertive than women. Tom isn't and that's not that attractive in a guy.

I like Tom because he is sweet and intelligent but I agree.
I'm wondering how he has managed to run a business in "real" life yet made big decisions via games!
I suppose we can blame the fact it's television and not taken as serious.

Seconded. I don't think I could buy from Melody, let alone work with her! It seems as though she just pushes through her own opinions, hears what she wants to hear and twists things to make herself seem right.

That said, I don't think I could work with Tom either. I'd spend the whole time hugging him!

AS has said he's not looking for a sales person this time. To my mind, an inventor is exactly what he's got in mind - and I don't think he'll have to deal with many Melodys once he gets the job.

Yeah - when you know and understand your product inside out, it's a lot easier to get your message across directly and not to put up with any bs from arrogant tossers who think they know better than you when they don't.

Tom may be a bit hopeless in TA style compressed time scale tasks but in the real world he would perform a lot better because he's clearly the type of person who thinks things through and makes considered decisions.

He was back footed by the nature of the tasks that don't allow him to give things the thought needed.

In the real world of business you more often need people who think things through a lot more often than you need 'on-the-spot' blaggers. I think that's why AS let him stay.

Anyone could have said anything to her and she'd have just gone ahead and done what she wanted to do anyway. The expression 'loose cannon' springs to mind (as does 'all tits and pout' )