And that includes the USA version.

I cannot think of 1 thing he has done brilliantly.

And even in a team of 2, he still shirked responsibility of being a PM!

He's a gutless wonder!!!

No doubt he will win though now. It's the only explanation as to the reason he has survived, he must have a mega mega business plan.

Tbh, i hope Margaret rips him apart.

Agreed. I'm finding it so hard to enjoy the show with this "business plan" angle, simply because performance in tasks becomes redundant. As annoying as I found her Melody outperformed Tom in pretty much every single way yet still got the boot, and I'm still not entirely over Sugar firing Glenn because he's never "met an engineer who could turn his hand to business", which wasn't relevant to anything. At least with the job offer I could BS to myself that the tasks had merit, but there's just no point in doing so now.

It's still great fun to watch though, and I actually think it would be quite funny if Tom won.

What's TP?

To be fair to Tom, i don't see why wanting to be in charge makes you an ideal candidate for this different role. Who would want to work with somebody who was power-crazed and unable to see their own faults?

Tom has many many strengths. He is affable, has a unique mind (out of the type of people who usually enter this sort of show), works well within a team, will have a go at anything even when he knows it isn't his strength, keeps tasks on track with his eye for detail.

Much as people call him the 'hindsight man', he isn't. Almost every time something has gone wrong on his team (and it'shappened a lot due to him being on the losig team so often0 he's been the one pointing it out well before time. The fact he's been competing against huge egos isn't his fault. In a normal working environment there would be far less alpha types than these TV-hungry bores.

I have a theory that this whole 'prize' has been set up for Tom.

it's amazing how some people on here manage to get so frothy at the mouth about a nice guy like Tom, it says a lot more about them than it does Tom, quite frankly.

Michelle Dewberry...

We are all Tom supporters in our house
He is quiet,hard working and very methodical.

^^^ This

And he did a fair bit of the leg work last night

Tom has had the right ideas on many a number of occasions - sure, he wasn't loud enough to get his point across, but he explained his thoughts in the boardroom time and time again.

Working one-to-one with Helen to set up a (granted, very) small business... they worked wonders. I think that LS knows that Tom could do the job well outside of this process.

People like Tom are like gold dust - creative individuals who can actually come up with new ideas for the market place - that is where you can make real money in business.

I wouldn't mind betting that his plan will include something really different and innovative whereas the other 3 will just come up with something that is essentially trying to grab a piece of the existing cake - not what Sugar is after I would have imagined.

Though I like both Helen and Jim they are fairly unremarkable compared to thousands if not millions of Helens and Jims already out there who are running businesses - what's going to set them apart from the crowd for Sugar to want risk his money and reputation with them?

But I think Tom has a hint of genius about him, and I think Sugar does as well - that's why he kept him in the process.

Perhaps thats the problem - maybe the Apprentice format just doesn't suit finding an investment opportunity.

Tom and Helen were incredible together last night. The combination of organisation, business skills and creativity, whilst maintaining a good team relationship, are the things that would make either of them a joy to work with, and I think very successful.

And whilst I hate all those corporate nonsense cliches (Natasha 'iconic' really! ) Susan and Jim are exactly the kind of people who made some idiot come up with 'there is no I in team' .

I really like Tom, I think he's creative and he has practical business sense, although even if Helen did end up as PM, I did wish he put himself forward.

I've not really seen a lot of leadership skills / taking charge as yet (and since it's the interviews next week, I won't at all) and that's my only reservation.

I would say Tom (Helen too) is one of the the most deserving finalists ever. Quite frankly their efforts on the food task resulted in a mini business that could actually, with more time, work in real life rather than the usual laughably inept tv set up which would be out of business in a week even when they 'win'. Tom is highly creative but also methodical in preparation, intelligent and personable.

I have found it frustrating at times when LS criticises Tom and calls him 'hindsightman' because he knows very well that on many occasions Tom has pointed out the mistake that will lose them the task (unless, of course, he doesn't watch the film of the task)
His fault (if it is one) is that he doesn't force his opinion on whoever is on the ego trip at the time.
In terms of ego, he is the polar opposite of Jim.

Depends what Sugar wants really.......a bull in a china shop, or a creative thinker with manners.

Then again I think he will choose Susan Ma because she has a more marketable life story and there are rich pickings in the cosmetic industry.

The final is on Sunday 17th not next week.

There are no leadership skills to be seen, although at least Tom recognises this, unlike Jim.

I agree. I think those who are slating Tom completely miss the point.

In order to succeed in business, you don't need to be a shouty, arrogant, boastful jerk who says "I" all the time. That kind of person might make entertaining telly but, as I'm sure many forum readers will know, is a complete nightmare to work with.

Tom obviously has a lot of creative ideas, he's evidently methodical (check out that notebook! ) seems financially astute and he comes across as a genuinely intelligent, approachable bloke. You feel you could work with him - would you really be able to work with Jim It Wasn't Me It Was Them or Susan My Excuse Is I'm Only 21 every day?

Just because he's not a loud, arrogant cock doesn't make him a bad businessman. In fact I'd say it makes him a far better one than someone who spouts endlessly on about how brilliant they are and disguises their actual lack of talent with streams of meaningless business buzzwords and jargon.

Sugar isn't looking for a leader, apaul. He's looking for a business partner with ideas - big difference.

Totally disagree with you. Just because he comes across as personable does not make him "gutless". This obsession with the idea that people have to be ruthless to be successful is a myth. And it's interesting that you would enjoy seeing Margaret 'rip him apart' - I wonder why....???

It is apparent that Tom has been the brains behind the finances in many of the tasks. On the background to the final five show, Nick said that Tom was always working out the figures in his notebook and was like a walkiing computer.

Watching him working on his own and the way he came up with the branding ideas for the takeaway task, we got a tiny insight into how he works - and IMHO it was very impressive.

The fact that he seems easy going and likeable is a major strength for the role that he is going for - nobody wants to work in partnership with a power crazed, rude, obnoxious loudmouth who doesn't listen. Tom is never afraid to speak up when he thinks something is going wrong, and he puts his points across succinctly and well without resorting to name calling and insults.

He's obviously extremely clever - nobody gets an Honours Masters Degree in Engineering without working hard and being very intelligent. He obviously copes with his dyslexia well, without it being a major handicap for him.

It is obvious that Lord Sugar, Karen and Nick all have a lot of time for him. He may well have the best business plan, but his personality, work skills and ethics would also have a great bearing on their opinions.

Whether he wins this role or not, I think he'll do very well after the process - and he deserves to.

Agreed. I think Tom is one of the best candidates ever to appear on the show.

He really came into his own on this task, probably because he and Helen were completely on the same page.

The tasks are always a bit of a jumble because everybody wants to shine in them. Which is why the fired candidates often do much better on the final task when that competitive element is gone. Tom's only 'failing', if it can even be called that, is that he doesn't compete - he's treated the entire process like a team effort from the start. It's never been about him.

Where did I say that Sugar was looking for a leader? As for business partner with ideas, it appears from the preview that Tom has forgotten to put any ideas into his business plan.

I completely agree with you, but you have to remember that Tom comes from a comfortable middle-class background and doesn't really have a story. That's enough for some people to feel they should have a go.

IMHO this has to be the silliest post about The Apprentice (what's 'TP'?) ever.

Hes been a coward all through the show.

Only ONCE as PM, which he failed at badley

Epic fail.

Incidentally, is the title of this thread supposed to be "most undeserving finalist" or "most under-serving finalist"?

The first week of the show closed with Karren telling Alex that the days of radar-dodgers winning The Apprentice were long gone. To win, you had to step up and take authority early on. You had to implement ideas. You had to contribute, practically, to tasks. You had to put your head above the parapet and be willing to have it shot off.

If Tom wins, this will have been idenitified as complete nonsense. I mean, it's Karren, so it's not surprising, but still...