Just back from a long run and had plenty of time to reflect on another defeat. I have to say i winced at our teamsheet and had very little confidence of a result leading up to the game. I wonder how TF and Amit are feeling tonight? I think one thing is now plainly obvious to all. This team and squad is poor, actually very very poor. We have all read that MH will have millions to spend, but realistically what players will want to come to us now? I fear that the only players we will attract will be after the big pay cheque as why would a top player with ambition want to come to us right now. I fear we are ripe for mercenarys after the big pay cheque. The few players we get will cost us a fortune and prob be on long expensive contracts. IMO i hope we get in good players on loan with an option to buy. If they perform and we stay up then we initiate the buy clause and if we go down then we can walk away. The last thing we need now is to get 4-5 top players on huge contracts and be stuck with them if we unfortunately go down. The goons really did us incredible damage. They left us in a terrible mess and ill prepared for our important first season back in the Prem. In many ways NW was doomed starting the season with the squad he did. Lets look at a few interesting thoughts. 1. NW knew what players would get us out of the Champ. Unfortunately all these players have long records in the lower divisions, why? because although they are top pros, they are simply not good enough for the Prem. 2. Our team was very tight and disciplined last year. Derry, Hill, Kenny etc knew how to keep it tight. Adel was a luxury we could afford surrounded by grafters. In the Prem a struggling bottom half team just simply cannot carry a flair player who does not also work his socks off. 3. NW was left with one week to either buy what he could or just simply throw his hat at it. He bought what was available, which was players that other teams did not want before the start of the season. Players other teams were glad to get rid of. Ferdinand tries but he was 4th choice CB at Sunderland, Traore was 3rd choice left back at Arsenal, great going forward but he is a LB!!. Young looks great to us, but thats because he is so much better than Orr, remember he was a Villa castoff. Gabiddon was available all summer and nobody else really wanted him. Bootsy scored in the Champ last year but is unproven at Prem level. SWP is long long past his best days and has been a squad player for the last 6-7 years, why is that i wonder? Loads of teams made inquiries about Barton, but how many actually wanted to sign him?. The point i am trying to make is that the players we bought to bolster our squad were probably one notch better than what we had when in actual fact all the decent players were long sold. 4. The majority of NWs managerial experience was in lower divisions. His short terms in office in the Prem both resulted in failure. It was a long shot that he would succeed with this squad. Why have other Prem teams never offered him another crack at thebig time. Simply, not good enough. All this aside, as depressing as it is, we now have solid owners, a world class CEO, and an experienced manager with enough top flight experience to get us out of this mess. I suppose my questionafter this rant is, is the damage already done? Does MH have enough time / matches / quality players to turn this around. I think we need to think very carefully about who we buy and the contracts we offer.
You're talking sense NUTS, everything you say is spot on and the horrible reality of our situation is growing with every disastrous result. The problem we face is we are going into the most important run of fixtures, the potentially winnable ones against our relegation rivals, with a hotch-potch squad that has run out of both luck and confidence. Add to that the fact that they have all started nicking results themselves and we are suddenly in danger of being in the bottom three as we go into our last eight matches which include five of the big six. I hope we can do something to arrest the slide but we're threadbare and our best performer is crocked for the season and our 'talisman' from last season is playing elsewhere for the next few weeks. If I were pushed I'd say it's 60/40 that we'll go down at present...
There are 51 points to play for and a couple of weeks to bring some new faces in. Keep the faith people.
Sadly NUTS I think it is. Pretty soon it will be irrelevant as to whether we can hit 40 points or thereabouts as we'll either run out of games or will find ourselves in a mini relegation league of 3. In my heart I think its a rebuilding exercise already with the CCC in mind however I will suspend my doom until Wigan. Fail to win that and I think it'll be curtains. Man City better do the business tomorrow
You need to get 20+ down before New year to stay up if you are a newly promoted club. Rangers negative fans have not backed their club like Norwich have; and it will cost them
You've been whinig since day 1. Norwich and swansea have been a breath of fresh air in the prem Whining Warnock will not be missed
Thank you for some perspective Watford. For all of you who think we are doomed, do you really think Mr Ambitious Hughes would have joined if he didn't believe staying up was achievable? We lost by one goal to a top 6 team and had many more chances than them at their own place. I agree that we seemed a bit lightweight, but the defence is already better organised and we fielded a team that I will be very surprised will ever be our starting 11 again. As Ellers has so frequently reminded us, the key to survival is our home form, and we have the chance to get moving again next Saturday. Way too soon to push the 'it's all over bar the shouting' button.
Interestingly enough, I don't think Warnock whined (as you put it) that much during his PL tenure of QPR. No doubt he was his usual animated self whilst in the technical area during the games themselves, kicking every ball, but I still call that competitive passion. Sure, he made the odd regrettable comment (RVP immediately springs to mind), but whine? Not really. Thought I'd engage you intelligently, 'finest, but you don't really want that, do you?
QPR Nuts, you speak alot of sense, however in anwer to "All this aside, as depressing as it is, we now have solid owners, a world class CEO, and an experienced manager with enough top flight experience to get us out of this mess. I suppose my questionafter this rant is, is the damage already done? Does MH have enough time / matches / quality players to turn this around. I think we need to think very carefully about who we buy and the contracts we offer. " If we were still under control of the goons, we would have ben dead and buried by now, NW would have walked after the Bolton game and I doubt very much whether anyone would have taken the club over. AH and TF are business people, that have convinced Mark Hughes that there is a light at the endof the tunnel. I dn't think we will go down. It will be touch and go some weekends butI reckon that once MH gets into the mindsets of the players, and gives them confidence then we will start to climb up the table. I would imagine that MH would not have come in unless allowed to spend some serious money and I would imaine he already has an idea of who he wants. I know we are on a bad run, but for a reality check, its our first bad one in almost 2 years!!! Yeh, some of the players are not good enough, but, whilst there are no alternatives we have to go with them. Plus, they should be out to prove to MH they they should stay and not go. On a previous thread, I have already mentioned that Derry & Hill will follow NW to his nex club, Rowly to Wycombe, Cook to Orient, Borrowdale to Barnet, (please don't ask about Vine, Hulse or Dave), Hogan has probably got till the end of this season to prove he has what it takes..Buzz probably a championship side. Others will also leave BUT when they go it frees up wages and hopefully gets us back to a managable club. At the start of the season, I said I would be happy with 17th spot. there is always one club that drops into bottom three in second half of season...we are just keeping it wam for some. If the out of favour players get a chance against franchise then they would be stupid not to take it
Both Wenger and Villas-Boas do a good line in whining, the latter whilst being ever so slightly ginger too.
Good post and good question Nuts. Clearly the answer is NO. There is still a long, long way to go. Obviously our run of games coming up is vital, but a couple of decent signings and a reasonable haul of points from that run and the tension will start to ease. Hughes will need to treat the MK Dons game as a practice match in order to help sort his plans for Wigan on Saturday. Losing that match doesn’t bare contemplation.
