That's what's really really pissing me off at the moment. The club, its pet journalists and happy clappers fans suggesting we should be grateful for playing in the PL. That we're a small club, that fans need to adjust their expectations. Bollocks. We see clubs like Wolves, Leeds and Forest all spending money on decent players while we're scrabbling around ****ing youth academies. It's laughable how passive our fans are. There's **** all communication from the club about long term plans, there's no desire to grow. We'll just sit and clap quietly when Hassenhuttl serves up another serving of ****e on Sunday while comforting ourselves that we're just a small club so should count ourselves lucky
Yep exactly. Our net spend isn’t actually the lowest this season for once yet as far as I can see we are playing like the worst team in the league right now. We should be doing better. But anyway. This weekend is a chance to improve. West Ham are a good side now but beatable if we are at our very best.
Well this is largely nonsense. We’ve spent nearly £80m this summer, and have a very clear plan to try and copy the Dortmund/Red Bull model of investing in the brightest young world talent, as we can’t (and we can’t) compete with the bigger teams financially, or with pull, for the star players. The fans haven’t been passive. They’ve voiced their displeasure pretty much everywhere, including booing at the grounds. How are Wolves, Leeds and Forest doing with their star players, by the way?
First of all, I haven't seen anyone suggesting we should be grateful for playing in the PL. Second of all, please tell me how Forest are doing after signing half a million players. Our strategy is a lot better and I'm willing to bet will be more successful in both the short and long term. I mean, all Lingard is simply a drain on their money. He signed a one year deal on stupidly high wages so they can't sell him. And he hasn't done anything of note for them so far. As for scrabbling round youth academies, that's just utter nonsense.
I understand the frustration, and I see why people are losing patience with Ralph. I just think the response to the Everton and City games is completely irrational. I saw lots of positives in the 2nd half against Everton, and if we’d got at least a point, I expect other people would have done so too. We were never going to get anything from City. I have completely erased the second half of last season from my memory banks; it might have left an emotional scar though.
It's all about how the team performs and how attractive the football is that we play for me. We are never going to be threatening the Euro places on a regular basis and we have been relatively safe from relegation (it's too early to say this season) so it's important to entertain the supporters. We must also take the cup competitions seriously and field our strongest teams after the early rounds. I'm satisfied that the owners want to improve the club on and off the pitch and I think that they will take the correct steps at the right time for us to progress.
The way i see it and I will get slated for it as it is a forum, but some people on here just love a good old moan. Maybe it makes them feel happy in themselves or clever or big or superior by moaning constantly as if they know how to run a multi million pound business and manage the tactics and day to day running of a football team. To me it has the opposite effect. I love hearing opinions ,but quite frankly the constant crusades on here is what has driven many a good poster away. Just look at an old thread from a year or two ago - we had about 20-30 regular posters, I think now you can probably count the regulars on one or maybe two hands. This is 100% to me the negativity and anger shown by some people constantly. I always say if you havent got anything nice or constructive to say then don't bother saying it. I really don't think that some posters realise how stupid they look by the way they act on here.
We haven’t kept a clean sheet since March. We’ve got 12 points from the last 63 available. Most people on here are pretty positive considering what saints are serving up!
I get that, and I also get that what brings us here is the football and it is at times it has been ****. What I mean is that some on here only ever rant, moan and lose their **** - and normally have nothing to back up the rant. (Apparently, we are broke, don't spend any money, scrape around from academies, have a weak board...I could go on)
That needs to apply to this season, more than usual. With the fixture congestion of this season, the chances of someone outside the big six winning at least one cup is higher than usual. Within the first five weeks of players returning from the WC: 20/21 Dec - League Cup round 4 7/8 Jan - FA Cup round 3 10/11 Jan - League Cup QFs 24/25 Jan - League Cup SFs 1st leg 28/29 Jan - FA Cup round 4 31 Jan/1 Feb - League Cup SF 2nd leg
Just because you don’t know how to run a football club it doesn’t mean we can’t complain when it’s done badly. I can’t run a government but I’m sure as hell angry about the current **** show. Actually I’m fairly confident I could do better than the current jokers, but you get my point. That’s the thing with forums, it’s all anonymous so people can behave how they like with little consequence. By the same token you have to take things with a pinch of salt and not take it to heart when things get heated.
Then what do you want from a Forum - a place where everyone agrees? I understand loads have vacated this place, and i think there are many reasons why that is the case. People right now though are very justified pointing out things aren’t going well. Look at the flip side, there were posters on here ramming the Chelsea result down the throat of people who moan about Ralph, when plenty could see it was yet another false dawn. How does that sit into how you see things? I think forums are created for debate, and there has to be a degree if disagreement otherwise this place could be called NotStepfordWives. I agree negativity can be draining, and I was pondering stuff lately. We now have on this forum a few people, Chilco, Laces and others who are now more aligned with Ralph needing to go. Is it more acceptable they took longer to reach that position, whereas others had enough months ago? It doesnt make them more right, more superior reaching the same verdict later (not that they are coming across like that). Guess im saying we all have a tipping point, the form of the club is emotive, some are better at handling that than others. Im not sure crusades are the right way of looking at this either - our form has been horrific. I admire Tom and your positivity (Archers too), but people are understandably complaining at the utter **** served up each week. If we cant bring that up on here, im just gonna have to stay away again and engage in angry masturbation for a few more months.
By tomorrow afternoon there’s a very real chance we could be in the relegation zone. Surely the board would have to act then? Personally I think the negativity is justified, but a change of manager could bring fresh hope, a new start. We might see a different mentality from the team.
Should we though? I mean, in theory, MP2 and Hughes also kept us up. Same as Ralph has done, kept us up. I would imagine plenty of other managers could have done a similar job to Ralph in keeping us up. Seriously, if Ralph wasnt so likeable, I believe more people would have wanted him gone. The flip side is other managers may not have kept us up, so fair play to Ralph, he has the baton so to speak, but he has done what was expected. End of last season, running on into this, it is below the standards required to keep us in the league. It is his squad, his formations, tactics etc. I just think he has done an average job, and great work as that was what I had expected, with a couple of good cup runs thrown in (that said, the Semi v Leicester line up still pisses me off).
I think from all of that it is probably all the negativity and constant moaning that gets me. I spend a lot of time trying to surround myself with positivity, looking on the bright side and spend 20-30 mins every day of quiet reflection (meditation) of what is good, what is bad and releasing the negative thoughts from me. I have always been a cheery person, and normally cut out sources of negativity and things that bring me down. Don't get me wrong, we are not in a good place at the moment, but it is not a binary place where it is all good or all bad. There is middle ground and some good things. Too many people see it as the end of the world or the start of a journey to heaven. Forums are to debate - you are right. However, sometimes this place is just a sea of some people losing their **** and ranting. Debate is a discussion, listening to both sides - not a rant and throwing your toys out of the pram. There are some that I have never, ever seen a positive or non ranting post.
