HappyClapper

Sounds determined. A few home truths spoken this week by the sound of it.

1 hour ago, Hxj said:

My best guess at the moment is that the cash needed to fund the football club to repay everyone would be around £70 million, plus the costs of the Administration.  That assumes that the funds owing to connected companies are not paid.  Bear in mind that HMRC are in a position to block any CVA in respect of the Football Club, so if they follow their published practice that is what will have to happen.

The split between Morris and any purchaser would need to be agreed.

Something about a barge pole springs to mind.

Liquidation still looks like a real outcome.

If liquidation is the outcome I wonder what the split regarding blame would be. EFL v Morris?

this is the BBC’s guess at the formation.

11 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Well, there’s your answer;

Dasilva & Palmer.

Two former Chelsea academy players who don’t really have the heart for it???

Relieved to see Vyner involved.
 

Not because I think he’s that good.

But if players who have scrapped to get to the first team having come through the academy are not on board the bus we are in huge trouble.

8 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Playing devils advocate, thinking out loud too….lots of posts about Nige unable to motivate, unable to set a game plan, etc.

Lots of two plus twos coming up.

Could the reason be that he’s not been around much as per @HappyClapper’s summary of the club video (I haven’t seen yet) and the players have missed his direction.

Was the feedback that KD and PS couldn’t step up, hence they’ve gone.

Was that why CF was made permanent to keep the message clear, even if Nige not there.

Was that why Alex Ball has stepped up, because he could deliver what Nige wanted, having spent some time covering PS earlier.

Obviously hoping Nige makes a full recovery, but in a perverse way feel more comforted by the video comments than the radio interview.

Interesting take @Davefevs. I remember the interviews after Holden had gone and they were at a complete loss with how to deal with the situation and seemed broken by it.

Just watched the club interview with Gould on YouTube. Basically talks through the situation in a measured way. Interesting and things I picked up.

Gould

1. Nige hasn’t been around much since the last international break 

My take

Seems that everyone is a little shaken by it. Destabilising and might account for the malaise of the past few weeks.

Gould

2. Looking to improve the squad from within and through recruitment. The current situation means that some plans will be brought forward, but still looking for value.

My take

So some recruitment in January if we can get the right players. Sounded like they might have targets identified for the summer but will see which, if any they can bring forward. 
 

Looked absolutely aghast at the prospect of relegation, so at least we won’t sleepwalk towards it without measures being taken. 

5 minutes ago, Show Me The Money! said:

I’m not totally in with the some of the Smith love  in comments.

Yep, not bad manager but he had a huge budget when in the championship and his budget got him so far in the prem and now he was starting to get found out. I mean come on he managed a team that we scored 8 against

Good manager, but much easier to look like you know what you’re doing if you’ve got £££ and Grealish in the team. Games without Grealish his record is nowhere near as good. 

21 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

The timing of this certainly has a "it's meant to be" feel about it. 

I really hope you’re right. Great coach, didn’t quite work for him as a manager. Could he be head coach to NP’s “director of football “?

6 minutes ago, redrob said:

Short termism approach. If players cannot get motivated they need to be moved on (easier said than done I know). 

I see a group who are storming. There are clearly players calling es h other out. Long term (if we can wait that long) they'll be a better group for this hard run.

Good point. Let’s hope that there are players calling each other out. We need leaders on the pitch. Not all leaders are born, but they can be made by being given opportunities to show leadership and developing. I’m hoping some of our younger players have the confidence to call out the more experienced members of the squad.

6 minutes ago, Ostrich said:

It is to do with coaching. You’ve got the 4th lowest pass completion in the division, have the 3rd lowest average possession, the 5th lowest number of completed short passes, the 5th highest number of incomplete short passes. A team that isn’t used to passing, having the ball and isn’t very good at passing it isn’t suddenly going to become able to do it even against 10 men. It’s compounded today by the fact there’s not a leader in midfield, I think Matty James would have helped somewhat.

It’s not the only issue, nor do you need to play that way if you’re ahead but the fact that your passing and possession stats are dire, and they’ve got worse as the season has gone on is the responsibility of the coaches. You can play different ways but there’s nowhere to hide if you don’t play any way well.

You have made some good points, and I get your rationale. I’m just furious at the idea that we can’t control the game v10 and end up conceding 3 goals. I get that our stats are poor, but I’m not prepared to blame the coaches and let the players off the hook after that second half. We have capitulated so many times, that is not due to coaching or shape or anything other than professionalism, desire and commitment. 3 things that many of our players lack. We lack leaders and players willing to take responsibility on the pitch. They all seem to be looking to someone else. Pearson’s MO seems to be to designed to find out who is capable of what he wants,(who’s on the bus) and then to ship those out who don’t pass muster. The rot at our club is so deep that he has found that he has very few worth keeping. 

Lots of understandable anger and disappointment on Otib tonight. I know I’m in the  Pearson in camp, but I honestly don’t think you can put today down to the coaching team. We were 1-0 up against 10 men. To lose the second half 3-1 is embarrassing, and the first place to look is the players. Anyone who’s ever played the game has played against 10 men and understand the need to control possession and move them around and hopefully make gaps and tire the opponents. This has nothing to do with coaching but grit, determination and professional pride. To concede 3 goals against 10 men is an absolute joke. These are the same players that collapsed after the Covid break. Capitulated last season and are looking like doing it again. They have shown the same weak mentality and a lack of passion for the shirt under 3 different managers. I really don’t think that yet another manager will make any difference.

In his pre match press conference NP called on the squad to roll their sleeves up and show some grit and determination At half time it looked like tactically things were working and we had a 1-0 lead against 10 men. Then a collapse…

I think there are plenty of senior players who should be looking hard in the mirror over the international break and deciding if they have the cojones to get us out of this mess.

I won’t be holding my breath.

Best case senario, we manage to stay up and clear out the playing squad ASAP.

12 minutes ago, And Its Smith said:

Prediction time:

Coventry  2 v 0 Bristol City

Possession  57%   43%

Total Shots    13      6 

Shots on Target 7   2

Shots off Target 6   4

Big Chances     3     1

Pass Success 77%  65%

Corners          7      3

xG               1.8       0.5

MOTM Ian Maatsen 

2 shots on target. Progress

7 hours ago, billywedlock said:

Oh yes . He is testing them . He mentioned players sulking again this week . We are going through a transition from a great team on paper to a great team . We need big characters . How the hell do fans think we will ever get promoted otherwise ! I’m enjoying the pain in a sense that this is done thing that has driven me bonkers post the L1 championship side being dismantled . 
 

IMHO we did not keep up with the physical change in football and the huge athletic need to conifer these days . You add in a squad assembled with no regard to mental and confidence , maybe bravery ideals and you get the total mess we have . 
 

I’m not oblivious to current rubbish on the pitch , but damn it I feel we are putting g right some massive issues at our club . Yes I need Nige to now sort recruitment a d bring in a top top coach . But finally I feel we will become a proper Prem club in waiting . Fans need to take some pain , too many thinking this is a quick fix . In 3 years this club should be something special. If then we get near the Prem we might actually have a chance of staying there .

too many superficial comments based on emotion not on hard reality . This is what happens when you change the culture of a club . About time for me . It’s what i have wanted . Raising the level everywhere, we still need recruitment and coaching to catch up  . We have been a L1 club for too long . 
 

Nige is making us face up to our superficial management of the last 5 years . Recognising your issues is the first step to progress . Step 2 is doing something about it .

Nige has to be allowed to do more and faster . It was crazy he was muddling by with 2 coaches that were far from ideal .

Anyway. Tough love right now . Get behind the team. 

Great post BW. I share your confidence that given time NP will transform our club. Whilst I understand the emotion attached to poor results/performances I am trying to look at the bigger picture. You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs and all that. 
It is difficult to watch some of the recent games and not vent your frustration. Our club has been too cosy for too long and this transition will be bumpy. I try and keep this in mind but it isn’t always easy!!

In reality the reshaping of the squad is the key thing. This will take time. I am all for NP testing the players and finding out who has what it takes. This will by nature lead to more inconsistencies as he comes to decisions on players. The reality is that there will be several he doesn’t want in the squad as our resources are limited. Managing this will be a challenge. As long as we stay up I really don’t care where we finish as long as the hard yards behind the scenes are taking place. The medicine won’t taste very good but we’ll be much better for it.

All that being said I will be as emotionally invested in the next game as anyone. I just hope that by Saturday night/ Sunday morning I will have regained my perspective.

Just now, Harry said:

The personnel for the sub was right, but the shape needed to change once he’d done it. Leaving TB & HNM as a midfield 2 is, as The Bard says, playing a donut formation. 
You know, the one with a hole in the middle. 

Alternatively, the one with the donuts in it.

1 hour ago, The Dolman Pragmatist said:

This sort of response is getting very tedious now.  The issue is that Pearson is not getting the best out of the current squad - far from it - rather than what happened three or four years ago.  It is nothing to do with Mark Ashton or Lee Johnson that Pearson has players playing well below their standard.  

This kind of response is also getting tedious. Going through your posting history it is obvious that you don’t want Pearson here and are happy to be finding things to fit your narrative. I realise that I am in the opposite camp, but we are rebuilding and time and cool heads are needed.

And please don’t come back with the nonsense about going down. We are on a poor run, I get that, but it won’t last forever. Birmingham were on a poor run and then won their last three.

We will be improved by Baker, Williams and Semenyo being available. I’m not saying they’re world beaters but they will give us some of what we’re missing.

If we slip in to the bottom 3 I will revise my thoughts and will have to eat a shed load of humble pie. Pretty confident at this stage it won’t be necessary.

21 minutes ago, Shaun Taylor said:

Cheers Swede, including yourself there's some decent posters on here who have been more than welcoming over the years. 

I do follow your club closely and wish you well but I'm also mypthed why you can't get it right on them pitch considering everyting is in place to be successful.

Very welcome as far as I’m concerned although you could try explaining some of your Swindon slang.

1 hour ago, Tomo said:

https://thefishy.co.uk/formtable.php?table=2

I was expecting the worst when I clicked on that link. We are on a terrible run yet Cardiff, Peterborough, Barnsley still below us. Derby one point better over 6 games but 14 points behind with a further deduction likely. Extrapolate that over the last 30 games and we’re fine.

Think we’ll be a different proposition with Baker, Williams and Semenyo available.

Hold your nerve!!

1 minute ago, And Its Smith said:

Less than 70% for Bakinson 

That’s because he’s trying to play incisive, quick forward passes. They don’t always come off.

3 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

By a distance.

I’ve been very critical of him but if he keeps that standard up I’ll have no complaints.

Totally agree. Bakinson’s best half this season.

1 minute ago, Davefevs said:

1st half summary:

Its the best we've knocked it about fo weeks, but as usual, some of you just want to moan.  The player opinion agendas out in force, can't wait to type a critical post, ignoring anything decent a player does.

We've played alright.

Brum knock an excellent cross....good challenge to make it difficult - OTIB they should score

Dasilva does the same - we haven't created anything.

"Vyner playing in the middle - WTF" - how has he done?  How has it helped us get Kalas on the ball getting forward?  Take the blinkers off...and some of you the sheepskin noseband too!!! Arghhh.

What a bunch of miserable tosseurs we have on here.  Eff me.

A bit more care with the final pass and we can get something, there have been some good bit of build-up.  Need to be less naive with the challenges on Deeney who has ref Hooper in his pocket.

Thank god for that. Thought I was going mad.

3 minutes ago, billywedlock said:

Bakinson is doing some great work 

His best game for a while. 

2 minutes ago, BasSavage88 said:

He's not reading the forum mate. Hes playing shite again. 

I think he’s actually playing pretty well. 

I know we’re one down, but I actually think we have done ok. There is much more purpose in our attacking play. If we can stay concentrated and tighten up a bit we will win this.

1 minute ago, Eddie Notgetinya said:

Sky arena

1 minute ago, Big C said:

Its on Sky Arena

Also available on sky echo!!

5 minutes ago, frenchred said:

What a shocking line up. The tombola returns

Only one change to the 18 from Saturday. Strange remark.