Yes lets look at were we could be, bottom of League One, mid Championship. We are not though, we are in the top league in English football yet we play with the intention and imagination of a League two side. If you cannot play even remotely interesting football in the richest league in the World then can someone tell me when the hell you can!!
That's not quite the message I was putting across. We got a point today, which is a point closer to staying in the Premier League, we didn't lose.
Too many people trying to be positive about how we are set at the moment, there is only one thing im positive about is our current league position. Everything else has become so boring and negative its depressing. If we stay up its not cause we earnt it, it will be down to luck with other teams being worse than us. This is my opinion but I can guarantee im not alone.
Yes, because we are a point closer to staying up, we didn't lose, I'm not a miserable sod and we nearly won.
No your not alone! It shocking when the away side has something like 22 shots at goal and we the home side have 2.
Thought he was excellent, and deserved it. On a day when we are searching for positives, there's one at least.
Pretty much agree with your summary ILD. I thought the penaalty was pretty soft, but we should have had one towards the end of the first half and even the MotD pundits said so!!! I guess it wan;t easy to play in the conditions at CR today (though Saints did seem to manage it), but CH needs to take 'the shackles off' the players for the next few games - everything seemed to regimented today (as it has for the last few matches)
OK Robbie I accept that in the immediate aftermath of the game having drunk two bottles of wine during the day, my words were intemperate. However, I don't think it's just that too many players had poor games. If so, they have all had poor games at the same time for a long period now. And I don't think it's the system. 4-4-2 is not more attacking if it is 4-4-HALF THE PITCH CONCEDED TO THE OPPOSITION-2. It's effectively 8-0-2. And I don't think Fox would make the difference, although I like him very much as a player. No, it's an attitude and it seems to be getting worse game by game. The players look paralysed by fear, as if we were deep in the relegation mire. Which, at this rate, we eventually will be. Self-fulfilling prophecy.
These are the same players (bar Kamara and Becchio) who have played for us all season. This is the same manager who has managed us all season. The formation and tactics have been pretty much constant all season (except in the odd game, like yesterday, when the they were set up 4:4:2 rather than 4:2:3:1). Before Christmas these players, playing this way, under this manager went on a 10-match unbeaten run during which they recorded 5 wins including 2 against top-six opposition. Since that run ended we have drawn with one and beaten another top-six team. It's not an "attitude" problem, it's a drop in the performance levels of the midfield and forward players. Holty failing to convert the penalty yesterday is an example. I don't see CH in his technical area gesturing the midfield back all the time; on the contrary I see him urging them to play higher up the park. But when they misplace so many passes, as they did yesterday, there's not much to be done, except to point out that it is the players who make the passes, not the manager. Although it would be a bit hard on Russ Martin, I would like to see Whittaker come in at right back against Sunderland, and a reversion to 4:2:3:1, with Bennett (or maybe Surman) on the left if Pilkington is out, as seems likely.
