Hi guys, Thought I would l write a post as it's been a while. We have been lucky in some ways and unlucky in some ways recently. Our performances whilst decent on the whole have not yielded the results that most would say have been fair. On the other hand in an extremely poor game against the Swans we managed to take all 3 points and then there was the draw at Liverpool. I am looking at the table with a bit more concern now after the Sunderland win. Will this galvanise their squad and re-unite the fans and players. With Big Sam at the helm I wouldn't be surprised to see them string together a few good results now. Our next 5 games look tough on paper and unless we take points I can see the season really becoming an uphill battle. We all know the treasures that the premier league has to offer but if we were to take little or no points from the next 5 games I can see AN starting to come under pressure. Me question is this. As I think most of agree CH was left in his position too long to keep us up, some may argue differently but the writing was on the wall after the loss to West Brom at home and it was too late to make a meaningful change by then. Do you think McNally and the board would do the same again? Our last outing in the PL was very defensive and we were losing games, this season the football is a lot more expansive but we are still losing games. What would you guys do?
You make some good points K E M P. I feel that we have not had much luck at all since our return to the PL. In our first game against Palar5e, the referee was WRONG to disallow CJ's equaliser and had that stood, we could easily have gone on to win or at least get a point. BJ blasted over when if he'd tried to stoop and head the ball, he could have scored. Against Stoke with Butland in outstanding form, it was going to be difficult to get a winner. We were approx 90 seconds away from beating West Ham. I feel we were denied a penalty on Saturday, but Chelsea could say the same. Sunderland's win last night was laughable and I'm not convinced they'll get much from Stoke!!!! In summary, we could easily be on 16 points, not 12 and things would be looking a lot more rosy. I feel the board has to spend some serious money in January to improve our chances of staying up. I don't think AN is in line to be sacked, but if we have a disastrous run between now and Dec 31st, that could change. Edit - I don't really see Sunderland picking up many points from their games and I'd like to think we could get something at Watford and beat Villa!!! Sunderland V Stoke Arsenal V Sunderland Sunderland V Watford Chelsea V Sunderland Sunderland V Liverpool
I don't think there is any question of AN leaving. I was one who was worried when he was appointed, but I'm very convinced that he is the real deal now. It isn't easy to go against your natural instincts to change the tactical approach when results aren't going as planned, but, IMO, the performances have been consistent throughout the season, with a few exceptions. Performances in the last three matches have been excellent. Just look back at our previous performances against ManCity and Chelsea away to put that into perspective. Yes, Sunderland got very lucky last night after an abysmal performance (I watched the whole match). They got 3 points, but little has changed regarding the performance. Our recent performances have been miles above either team last night. This will level out over the season as a whole. We wouldn't even be in the PL now if it wasn't for AN, so let's extend a bit of trust that he will see us through.
I agree with most of the above and no way do I see AN getting the push this season. CH came with expectations, AN not nearly as much so I would say there is less pressure this time round regardless of what happens. That said, I do want to see the glaringly obvious positions of a CB and striker addressed in January but if that does not happen I am not sure where the blame (if any) will lie.
Even if we get relegated at this stage I'd be surprised if we fire Neil. So long as it's not a monumental collapse. If we go down to the Championship, which manager would be better placed to lead us back up?
Fully agree with this. Too many clubs are gasping for the 'quick fix', 'miracle cure' etc...but how many of them find it by making mid-season knee jerk reactions. He's destined to be a top manager - he is still learning his trade at this level, don't forget, so not yet the 'finished article' and if there are one or two 'stumbles' along the way, I think they'll back him. Assuming you can call possible relegation a "stumble" of course!
A work colleague of mine, who supports Chelski, went to the game last Saturday and complimented us on being "busy", "compact" and "tidy". Not sure how to take these kind of comments but he did say that City lacked "someone who could hurt us" saying that although the danger of a breakaway goal was always there, there wasn't any individual who he felt would be a threat. I know we seem to rely on the group of players weighing in with goals from all over the pitch but does my mate have a point ?
Many fans (on here, certainly) would like to see a striker and a centre half added in Jan. Ideally, the striker would be of the calibre required to 'hurt' teams - and the defender good enough to minimise their most dangerous attacking threat. In terms of survival in this division, I feel both positions are critical to fill asap.
He is young, He is inexperienced. He is hungry, he has a feeling about him that inspires. He says the right things, He doesn't moan about in house matters, publicly. He comes across as a great guy. He is respectful. He will only get better with the experience of the Championship promotion push, in that unbelievably tough league, then a seasons experience in the Premier League. I love AN. He is the style of manager I want for my club, and he is the style of man I want representing our club. When we went up, It was such a massive shock and achievement. I thought there was way too much to do, and our team was too far off the pace. To expect to survive with minimal spending (which was obviously going to happen) is mad. I was just so happy we got promoted and another season in the sun, the money, the parachute payments, if worst came to worst. I want AN to stay. If we go down (which was always pretty likely) I would like us to be led by Alex. With that added experience, settled in the city, knowing the squad more, and the parachute payments to use next season. I don't see any benefit in sacking him. Only thing that would put that under pressure is if managers like Big Sam, Pulis, and Pardew were without a club. They have obvious instant impact of keeping clubs up. If all three were without a club I would still stick with AN for now, but I would have them in the back of my mind. At the moment, There's no-one I would think "Ah! He would claim us safety with this squad!" I haven't agreed with a fair few things this season that AN has done, and I've ranted to the GF, but when I calm down, I know he is still learning. He's trying to be different so we aren't so predictable. It's not totally working at the moment, but he seems an intelligent guy, I'm sure he learns from every loss.
Indeed And if you think back to when Adams was appointed, there was a big show of hands for Malky Mackay (clubless at the mo) and Neil Lennon - bottom of the championship with Bolton. Be careful what you wish for
I'll hold my hands up, Malky was high on my list. I think there were other managers I wanted more, if we pushed (was Pulis without a club I think?) but as a get able option I thought would be sound. I would have taken Malky.
I can say quite categorically that even if "Big Sam, Pulis, and Pardew" were available, I'd much rather stick with AN. He wants to build a dynasty here and none of the others would do that.
I would have said that about Lambert, but as soon as Villa came knocking... My only worry is if we went down a solid, intelligent chairman would want to invest in him.Somewhere like Everton or something if Martinez got snapped up by a big Spanish club.
My view is that we should take our chance with AN come what may, and that includes relegation. If it happened I would be reasonably confident of a Neil led team ripping through the Championship rather than doing a Fulham or a Cardiff and ending up slugging it out with the Binfolk for a top half finish.
That could have the added benefit of offering the chance to some of our younger players to prove their worth and also reduce our wage bill. I could see some of our more senior players asking for a move and I'd certainly see Redmond leaving - hopefully Whittaker and Martin would want away too!!
