Edit, just seen it was a Skirtel OG - we're doomed!!!!! Thank goodness we beat both Sunderland and Bournemouth!!!
OK, so some VERY unexpected results this weekend. How about we continue that trend in the early kick off next Saturday????
Results went horribly badly for us this weekend - it happens. Losing to Watford away will not relegate us, consistently losing to teams around us will though. It was a bad day at the office all round and the weather clearly was awful for our style of play, but it won't always be all that at the same time, so the fact that we have played pretty badly for c. half the season so far and yet still (just) remain outside of the relegation zone should be seen as encouraging. Also, we are not a counter-attacking team reliant on pace and the opponents making mistakes - but we are very reliant on our key creative players at least playing (Hoolahan) and playing well (Brady, Redmond). I really think this weekend was a one off. Miserable, but not time for slitting wrists - we are well in the mix for relegation, but also for staying up. If you thought our weekend was bad, imagine being a Villan... We also have the major advantage that we know exactly where we need to strengthen (defence, predominantly, but also up front) which means we can focus our funds and (albeit I'm not sure) I suspect that is nowhere near as clear cut for our relegation competition.
Well said Rob, especially your last sentence. We ONLY need a couple of wins and other results going our way and we could be moving back up the league!!!!
Even with the Premier League this season throwing up a multitude of unexpected results week after week, and the unlikely scenario of Leicester leading the way, and Chelsea only 3 points off a relegation place, surely no-one can really be surprised that we are languishing where we are at the moment. With very little strengthening in the summer, and the prospect of something similar in January, and a tighter budget than most on here seem to appreciate, it´s hardly surprising we find ourselves as regular members of the ´bottom 6 Club´. Keep out of the bottom 3 and Neil will have achieved what was demanded of him, whether or not he will manage that only time will tell, but the sight of a few fellow strugglers beginning to make a move must be sending a few warning signals his way. It´s a bit of a vicious circle really, he knows we need to strengthen, and where, but the further we drift into danger, the less likely, mouth-watering targets wíll be, to join a potentially sinking ship. Added to that his slightly perplexing ´horses for courses´ team selections, can´t honestly be doing much for team morale, if one week you happen to play out of your skin, and then the next, you´re inexplicably dropped because you don´t fit the system he has in mind, does seem a luxury a club like ourselves can hardly afford. Whatever happened to fielding your ´best 11´ every week, where possible.
I originally brought into the "horses for courses" selection process but I now think it is counter productive. It not only hurts morale for those who have played well and then finds themselves benched and it stops players working together regularly and forming a cohesive unit. We need a "team" playing together and that's increasingly difficult if you're in one week and out the next.
RBF - there speaks 'the voice of reason!!!' As much as I admire AN and what he has achieved in a short space of time, I do wish he'd at least settle on a fixed midfield (injuries/suspensions permitting). I know LG got the equaliser against Arsenal, but I'm sure whoever was playing as the lone striker would have scored from such an exquisite pass, but I'd rather not see him in the starting 11 again.
Strange thing is Braveheart, that last season, as far as I can remember, he was pretty rigid and fixed in his team selections, and the system he wanted to play, for the most part, and because of that, we built up an understanding and a momentum that we certainly seem to be lacking this year. Hopefully he will get back to that sooner rather than later.
I agree with you RBF, but we also have to realise that players like Wes and O'Neil are 33 and 32 respectively and thus can't play every week. I'm not sure why Mulumbu was bypassed for Dorrans yesterday, but I felt that was a big mistake at KO and so it proved. Mulumbu not only defends well, he is capable of moving forward with menace and making key passes, which is even more important when Wes isn't playing. Dorrans never looked like doing that yesterday. I do believe in horses for courses really, but getting that right is the key to survival. We didn't get that at all right yesterday and I for one would be very disappointed to see the same team sent out against Everton.
Poor old buggers, I sympathize entirely. When I was 32/33, I worked for an employer, and he understood completely that at my age I wouldn't be able to work every week. Yes, I took my wages, but i vowed to do my best whenever I made an appearance.
