Red-Robbo

Industry term, innit, but I take your point. Going back to the OP, what you so rarely read on here, but always restores your faith in human intelligence when you do, is when someone starts the thread arguing one point of view, but then has his or her mind changed by what others have posted and acknowledges it. It seems to me, there's something about social media and making posts to strangers that stops many people being able to compromise and back down from set positions. Chatting with your mates in the pub, you are much more likely to change your mind or concede that the opposing view has something going for it.

I think anyone with an ounce of grey matter will acknowledge that Pearson has had a difficult job. Trim the wage bill, not much wriggle room in bringing in players he wants. I am concerned about how very basic mistakes seem to be happening over-and-over and our shape isn't great and to a degree (with a notable Austrian exception) we don't even seem as fit over 90+ minutes as other sides. I confess I do worry about the coaching. I had gone with the received wisdom that Pearson could coach a decent player and make him special, but we seem to not really be developing but accepting that we are one of the weakest sides in the division. Maybe it'll all click into place with Semenyo and Kalas's return, but fans seem to be very accepting of mediocre results against not-that-special sides. If the end of last season gave me hope, the beginning of this one is filling me with a vague sense of foreboding. I don't even want to ponder where we'd be this season if Weimann gets injured.

Certainly wasn't impressive against Sunderland. Looked a shadow of the player he'd been before his injury.

Players develop as they get experience and you could see Ayling improving as his time here went on. Early on his occasional charges upfield would sometimes see him lose the ball just into the opposition half, allowing them to instantly start a counter. This gung-ho tendency was beginning to be tempered and he both retained the ball better and also was surer his attacking forays were covered. I'm certainly not trying to suggest the only reason Luke departed was because he got a telling off over the Cheltenham thing, but whatever the full reasons were, it was, I think, a big mistake by us.

I think Luke was rather unfairly singled out as a result of one picture showing him putting an arm around Carruthers (sp?) and laughing. It's not clear if this was about the peeing or, indeed, whether he was even aware of it. The players were relatively guarded about it, had they not been caught by a pap with a long-lens, no one would have been the wiser. I'd hope the incident didn't hasten Ayling's departure and the club treated him tolerantly, given he was not the miscreant there. We could all see his quality when he was here, plus he was a developing player, he was destined to become something pretty special.

Not sure that's the case. More the fact, he wasn't good enough. The fact he wasn't, is the fault of the 'recruitment team' that signed him, and potentially, his agent. What footballer is going to turn down the chance of a crack at the English second tier? Let's face it, if City wanted to pay me several grand a week to try to get good enough to feature, I'd sign on the dotted. The fact I would make Bas Savage look like Mo Salah would be the fault of whoever was mad enough to recruit me!

I think the club rather made a mountain of it because of the publicity, when in fact it should've pointed out he had done nothing wrong.

To be fair, it was the MK Dons and Northampton players who were the pissers. Ayling's crime seems to simply have been stood with them.

So, if you can't be at a game like that, or follow it on the radio, I reckon the next best thing is - as I was - to be in the pub occasionally checking the score in the presence of a "prowed" Gashead, who follows his side so closely he was unaware of their own League Club "difficulties". You Redzzz!

You're a poet and you don't know it.

Maybe wait for more than two games played before predicting doom for us this season. Many people had to backpeddle hastily after predicting we'd be relegated last season. Including every Gashead in existence.

Not going too well for Wade Elliot up there, is it.

It is compulsory.

Until Christmas. Nothing is going to happen before then, but if we're bottom 3 I imagine the Lansdowns may take action. I do expect this season to improve. How much it will though, is a matter of speculation.

He was only worth 1.8m according to this site...

If Naismith regularly did that, he most certainly would be in the discard pile. The fact it was a one-off mistake and he had an otherwise OK match means of course, he'll still feature. One thing about Pearson is he has shown he is willing to drop all sorts of players, from Bentley (in the past) to Wells, if he thinks they are consistently not performing. The starts given to Zak Vyner show he is also open to allow people to work their way back into contention. Not that I think Zak has managed that after his failure in the Sunderland game.

The film he made about his parents' life, Ethel & Ernest, is a particular fave in the Robbo household. Simple, but strangely touching, and if you're in my generation, it's everyone's grandparents' story.

An owner saying he wants out having failed in his declared objective for over a quarter of a century. To be fair, most over 70s want to step back from something that must take up time and resources galore. However, Lansdown has made clear what he really seeks is a new co-owner to 'inject new ideas' and share the cash pain of owning a football club. He may be open to completely selling-up, but has made it clear that this is only to the "right person", someone with the club's long-term at heart. I believe him. Many fans wanting manager out A vocal minority Too small a squad at this level In 20/21 we had lots of Otib experts saying we had too big a squad. The reality is we have a 32-man First Team squad. One less than Hull, but 7 more than Sunderland. It's the quality and experience of the squad that is the issue, not the size. Best players may yet leave, even worst players leaving could leave unfillable gaps in squad Players leaving may free wages or attract fees enabling better players to be brought in. Anyway, nothing much is confirmed yet. Do not 'catastrophise'. Possible points deduction still on the horizon. The legacy of a profligate CEO and a compliant head coach, both now no longer with us. Nothing we can do about past misdemeanours, but the rot has at least been stopped.

Extra time might catch you out. We seem to get about 5 minutes as standard these days.

It was their 21, Pritchard, who really impressed me.

I agree that talk of sacking Pearson is ridiculously premature and totally knee jerk. , but I don't think we were any way near the better team. It's true, had Naismith not gifted them a goal in the third minute, we'd be sharing the spoils, but that said, had their loanee not sliced two gold-plated chances we'd be looking at a 2-5 loss. We looked to have their beating for about 20 minutes of the first half and about 5 minutes of the second. It was a very depressing display over all.

He's big and a bit ungainly, plus he's knocking on a bit. His game isn't to chase down marauding attackers, but to be in the right place, have the physical presence to fend them off and to cut out aerial threats.

A guy like Klose is never going to be lightning fast, but nonetheless, I thought the gate into our open and inviting final third was slammed shut after he came on.

He probably won us more yards in the first half than any other player, but although he can tackle, HNM has virtually no defensive presence as a midfielder. He's in the wrong place, he doesn't shadow, he doesn't spot danger. Having such a midfielder sitting fairly deep in the field is a liability when we're not going forward.

Sounds like a good pub quiz team name. My suggestion of our team being called Quizlamic State was barred by the league organisers. Maybe I'll borrow this one.