if we're having a 'nightmare', what the hell was your team doing on friday night?! they were hopeless... and they cost me money. who the hell doesn't beat barnsley at home???
Some Gooners were calling for his head though to be fair. Its all about credit in the bank with any fans. You start with some, how much depends on previous reputation and then its either built or wittled away. CH had little in the bank before the 7-0. AF had the worlds gold reserves in his and Wenger after 10 years with out a pot was deminishing. Bah!
who doesn't beat Luton at home? BTW, yep we were hopeless second half, ball retention was woeful but then i suppose its better to have the ball to give it away then to not see the ball and be chasing shadows all game.
I kind of do it as a slight slight at those who were always spelling it Houghton. My only agenda would be that I want what can be classed as relative success for our club. My thoughts on how that would be best achieved just differs from yours Bah!
I didn't hear the R5 discussion, but did anyone have the gumption to put this stuff about how much we spent this summer compared with the previous two into any sort of perspective? Did anybody point out that rising from League 1 to the Premiership in two seasons, while nearly entering administration in the process, meant that we were more ill-equipped for the PL than any recently promoted team that I can think of, even Blackpool, even Palace, never mind Reading, QPR, Hull, Cardiff, Southampton, West Ham. What we had was Lambert and the spirit engendered by the literally incredible success of the promotion years. Is there anybody who seriously thinks that could continue? Pretty obvious that Paul Lambert didn't. Every one of the teams we are competing with in the lower half of the table have had time to build, which in football is at least as, if not more, important than money.
and kept our goal difference ok, instead of going down to -14!!!!!!!!! plus our **** midfield who has no flair has scored twice as much as a 13.5 million pound trio of strikers!
no they didn't go into that detail or go back to the double promotion. it's was the national press plus pat nevin and chappers from memory. But you are completely correct. we are to some extent still playing catch up, the £25m is replacing some players who were with us in League 1 days.
I'm not really convinced by that argument. Are 1p5wich building and have been for the last 10 years in the championship? Each season we have signed better players and had what appears from the outside a great team spirit and work ethic. Now I am not a complete tool, whilst a lot of money for city, we have not spent much against the rest of the premier league. But are we now going backwards on the pitch inspite of being in possibly our best ever health off it? I happen to think so. Any little positives in the way we have played so far this season are for me outweighed by the negatives. Some ongoing from last season and some new ones. Bah!
we massively over achieved under paul lambert. to finish 12th with that squad of players was astonishing. but he was a one-off. we were never likely to be able to find a replacement who could match what he did for us in those three years and more importantly, we were not in a position where excitement was bound to keep on coming in the same sort of volume because we'd hit an invisible ceiling and needed restructuring from our league one/championship days. lambert got to do all the good stuff, all the fun stuff. he was the one who rode the rollercoaster, along with the fans who lapped up every twist and turn. then he scarpered to ride another rollercoaster, leaving hughton here to mop up the sick and get everybody back on their feet again. he did a good job last season, no matter what anyone says - he fulfilled his brief 100%, so he really should have some brownie points in the bag - yet for some he doesn't, and this goes back to munky's point about some people never really accepting him. ask most neutrals and they are stunned that norwich fans want him out. for me, its all about the buzz. the buzz of the ride through from league one to the premier league has gone and replaced with the grind of trying to stay up and slowly improve. for some, that will never be enough of a 'buzz' and so whoever is in charge is going to be on a very short fuse with some fans.
You may be right in that respect with some fans, but to be fair I've been a city fan through a lot more mediocre seasons than good, so I don't just think he's no PL. I more think he's not up to the job because I have seen enough from his 48 league games in charge to not really believe he can take us forward. The difference the 7-0 has made is that instead of a long slow painful decline, I think it could be a lot more swift. If we get another tepid rotten display against the Hammers (And to qualify my position on CH, this is what I now expect from us) I can't see how he can stay. If we no score he should go! If we score a couple, play well but don't win. I'll think he should go but could possibly reconcile my mind to the fact he may still have something to offer and hope that he proves me wrong! Bah!
Did I say anything that implied that Ipswich have been building steadily towards the PL? I wasn't making a point about Championship teams as such. My point was about those teams that have gained promotion to the PL, the teams I mentioned. The only team you might compare us with in the respect I was referring to is Southampton, but they had actually been building steadily under Pardew and Adkins and, once Liebherr took over, were far more secure financially than us throughout their promotion run.
i don't think palace were in better shape than us, and possibly not blackpool either. but then the latter went down and the former look likely too!
If you think that's bad! Former Ipswich loanee GK Asmir Bergovic has scored as many goals in the PL this season as Hooper, Elmander and Wolfswinkel combined!! And cost less than £23 Million!!
I've got a lot of sympathy for some of your post, but I would say that: (a) it is not nonsense that fans who have turned on CH are causing problems. Evidently they are not the entire problem, but they are definitely a significant one. Ever since Hughton first arrived there has been a section who he has never won over, they just became more vocal with poor results (albeit understandably). I don't really want Malky Mackay, but he seems to be the only one of the selection of managers touted who would not be confronted by vociferous opposition by a section of our fans - that may just be a good enough reason to get him in. That little section makes it all very awkward. I agree, not the whole problem by a long stretch, but a problem nonetheless. It's one reason why I quite fancy an outrageously risky punt on a foreign manager... most people won't have heard of them so there won't be any opposition! (hopefully...) (b) while I've no doubt that you are not impatient, there is and always has been a very obvious section of the crowd (not necessarily related to the (a) section) who quite clearly are impatient and think we have a team rivalling 92-93 in terms of comparative ability, who look at Southampton and Swansea with seething envy and can't understand why we're not competing for Europe just because we've spent c.£25m over the summer. Someone on here only the other day suggested we have one of the better squads in the league. I must admit, a few obvious examples aside, I don't think our squad matches up favourably against many other teams... It was this section of the crowd that has joined the (a) lot recently and calls are increasing. As for "All of you who can't see that hootun needs to go are not patient, you are mearly slow and unperceptive!" You don't normally say things like that, so I assume it is a bit of a joke, but if not this is the equivalent of your complaint about being unfairly lumped in the same category as the "outers from the beginning" or the "we should be European Champions with our squaders". I think there are several very clear reasons why Hughton should lose his job, but I can also see one or two things which make me hesitant as to whether it is a good idea right now (not least the players and the matches we have played so far). That might make me wrong (in that Hughton might fail to turn things around by the end of November, in which case he definitely should go in my opinion, BUT, it doesn't make me slow or unperceptive (at least not in my book!) it just means I am seeing and judging different (but not necessarily better or more appropriate) things to you.
