Nee other way of describing that shambolic pile of excrement I witnessed tonight. Never in a million miles did I ever think we could play so poorly under a Martin O'Neill management against a spirited but very limited Boro side. There is no excuse as our team was almost at full strength and Boro thoroughly deserve to win it but we were shot shy, powderpuff, talentless, clueless amateurs tonight. I've heard people say Sess was back to his best? Was he? He was busier but had absolutely no end product. Fletcher is isolated and Saha is finished at the top level. For me our best player was Catts and he had a top game imo. Westwood saved us more humiliation and their keeper actually fell asleep for 20 mins such was he under-tasked. I'm lost for words but if I wasn't, none of them would be complementary so its best to just move on, as tonight was no better than under Bruce tbh and thats very scary.
How come O'Neill hasn't already go him in? Is he at another club? I don't really know the story behind this...
Sess was superb Cest, his lack of end product was down to having only a double marked Fletcher in the box. Saha looked fuming when subbed, and didn't shake McLean's hand, McLean also went on like a **** when Fletch sold him a short pass (Fletch was again excellent on scraps, such a genuinely good footballer, gorgeous first touch). I'm watching McLean Sat, may be nothing, but may be that he is a problem, giving the tales of a minder being brought over, and talk of his 'bgi time' bullshit.
Family issues, doesnt need the money, doesnt want to re-locate, fell out of love with the game due to players obsession with money and fame, is the top and bottom of it mate
This, in a nutshell. We either make him an offer he can't refuse, or we are ****ed. Plan B was there tonight, he took a striker of and went 1 up front when we were ****ing behind! Good god.
Cheers bud If that's the case then I think O'Neill should set a deadline (in the very near future) and once that deadline is reached he should start looking for an alternative number two. Not that I know much about management, however in nearly every biography of a football manager you read they can never speak highly enough of there right hand man. Nigel Clough at Leeds is a decent example of how things can go wrong without people you know alongside you, and that man truly was one of the greatest of all time.
Surely it was Nigel's dad mate Apart from that, it's always good to read your intelligent stuff on the board, as others have said, sussed Mags like you are very welcome, such an antidote to CTR/AMBAON/TTT.
Lee cattermole had a top game LOL I stop reading after that. JUST SACK THE IRISH PLANK NOW BECAUSE HE'S PLAN B IS TO TAKE A FORWARD OFF AND THEN PUT A MIDFIELD ON.
I'm willing to give it 3 more games and then I think I will be calling for change. It's been about 7-8 months now!
The way we are playing mate we will lose all 3 easy. just sack him now I would. he hasn't got a clue about tactics or subs.
Do you still think MON can turn it around Cest? I'm not sure but I'm willing to give him time, at least until the Jan transfer window, see who he brings in. IMO we have to look at Wickham, he's young and hungry for game time, him and Fletch up front will do it for me.
Maybe just sacking, or replacing MoN isn't the answer though? We sacked Keane when it all went a bit pete tong and it got no better under Sbragia (actually a lot worse tbh); we dumped Bruce when it went tits up and appointed one of the games big hitters? It started well but has gone a bit awry of late. We have hired and fired for 40 years and it barely gets beyond canny before it goes tits up and we start again. If we cant make a proper fist of things with a manager of the calibre of MoN, then maybe its time to call it a day as a fan (for me anyway) after 38 years of complete disappointment and let down time after time. I wanted MoN to desperately be the one manager that stopped the rot at this club and turned it on its head but that looks increasingly unlikely as the weeks roll on. I look at our team and see some excellent players but I watch them play like clueless fools. I don't think we could score in a brothel a the moment, even with £50 notes strapped to our bell ends and yet on paper at least we have a decent squad. We have all the ingredients for a successful period in our history but it just never works. Are we feted to everlasting failure here? Are we never going to realise a 50 year potential and actually become more than a bit part player? I have my grave reservations we ever will. If MoN cant make it here, then I am prepared to hang up my boots as well, as I don't think I have the fight to support yet another change in management so early into MoN's term, whoever that may be. Last night was a benchmark defeat for me. Deserve to lose? Totally yes. Were Boro that good? Of course not and thats what has hurt so much. We got beat at home off a penniless, bit part play off championship at best bunch of young lads but they wanted it more and deserved their night of glory. For me, I am left reflecting if this is really how I want to spend time in my life anymore.
Cest – Rome wasn’t built in a day or United. Give it time & NEVER lose hope. Life’s too short to let a game ruin your persona. Ps: Although I don’t post much these days I do enjoy reading your posts.
MON has all the ingredients to be successful at our club, the club itself has never been better, we have a fantastic stadium, fantastic training facilities, the club has one of the best sposnorship deals in EPL history and the backing of a billionaire owner of the highest calibre. We just need to get it right on the pitch and we will so don't lose faith. I don't know what's going on behind the scenes, none of us do, we're guessing at best and feeding of scraps of rumours and newspaper articles which usually are all ****e anyway. One things for sure, it's not all roses and sweetness and light is it? somethings just not right. When MON came to us last season the team was immediately lifted and results went our way, we played decent enough attacking football until we hit the wall and we limped through to the end of the season. Everyone was happy and excited for the transfer window to opemn, buy a few players and kick on. Why all of a sudden (this season) are we playing like a team without belief? with the players we've brought in we should be getting at teams and playing attacking football, instead we're lining up to not get beat, it just doesn't make sense to me. It's like we've adopted a whole new way of playing, totally opposite to last season. We've got a keeper who would walk into just about any EPL team as first choice and defensively we're solid and work as a unit, we don't leak goals like we used to under Bruce and there's a general confidence in the back 5. For me there is anyway. Up front we have a striker who can play and knows where the goal is, he just needs service and he'll produce the goods, no question. Midfield???? individually we have some gifted players but it's like they don't know each other and i can't remember a game this season where we have gelled in the middle of the park. I can't remember seeing any freeflowing football like we did when MON first came in, i can't remember us stringing more than a few passes together to be honest. We were 4 games into the season and we still had players who weren't match fit, we still have players who aren't match fit, that's wrong. Fair enough if a player has been injured but i'm talking top class (supposedly) players who are just not fit enough and are not performing. Fletcher must be sick as **** to think he was coming here to bag shed loads of goals and be fed loads of quality balls, he spends more time chasing after the ball these days. Bottom line, we'll get there, i'm convinced we will. Looking at our fixture list i think it will get worse before it gets better and my take on it is that MON is setting his teams up to not get beat, sort of damage limitation if you like until the window opens again in January. I can't think of any other reason why we would set up 4-5-1, even when at home against inferior opposition, it just doesn't add up. There's either something going on that none of us know about or he's tactically inept and i hope to **** it's the former and it can be put right cos we're in for a long, ****e season if it's the latter.
Given our recent history, is it any surprise we feel as dejected as we do? I too thought MON would turn us round into a stable, progressive footballing force. But on recent evidence my doubts are morphing into fears. I fear he cannot remove the shackles on our club and as November rolls around, I start to hear the death knell ring out on yet another change of management. WTF is it about this time of year and our club management in recent memory? By far the worst was Reid being sacked this time in 2002, to be replaced by sgt Wilko - what a ****ing disaster that was, all 6 months of it, especially after the early promise of the Reid years. By the way, Wilko won only 2 out of 20.......... Then we had Mick Mc for 3 years, he was never given the resources required, and that was always going to end oneway. Bally then took the reigns temporarily. Then Keane came, and a real breath of fresh air. He lasted Just over a season.Started summer 07, out in earnest in Nov 08, contractually Dec 08. Sbragia took the reigns, temporarily. Then Bruce came and lasted just over 1.5 seasons. Started summer 08, out in earnest Nov 11, contractually Dec 11. Some great footie to start, but a v. Rapid decline..... Then MON, who gave an initial blast of optimism, won manager of the month yet slowly but surely our results and play fall into a familiar pattern of 'genrally ****e', just without the good start we got with Bruce. My concern is it feels more like clueless Wilko at the moment, and the results speak for themselves. I sincerely hope this is not another 2002, which is by far the worst I have ever felt about our club. I hope it is just the very bottom of the MON slump, but his tactics seriously blunt the optimism that a turn-around is more probable than possible. In fact, i'm certain we will lose to the Villa with his protoge showing how to do it and Bent sticking the knife in. Will that be the bottom, or the catalyst for another change of management....we can't keep on changing managers though, it gets us ****ing nowhere. A stable management team that can last longer than 3 years, without the final year resulting in abject failure (relegation) can't be that much to ask, surely. so much promise, so much potential, a good squad (bar c mid!).....it really is the hope I can't stand. I ****ing hate November.....it's official. I just hope the month brings about a more positive upturn or 're-birth' for club fortunes, whatever that may be. But I ain't really got a clue who that could be...and I'm sick an tired of it changing every year.
