cellist

Yep just managed to get one too, seems they are popping up.

Collection only - anybody know if I'll be able to collect at the ground on the day? Or is the shop open for collection on eastwr Saturday? Won't be at the Leicester game

Not for me, Clive.

Lots of posters have said it well. What other club would do this? It's just so weird.

Would he interested to know what the comments on twitter say? Can't see them as I'm not signed up. Similar response to on here? We probably aren't the target market to be fair!

I'd be keen to go too if anybody discovers nearer the time they can't go and have a spare. Just looking for one adult ticket.

5 minutes ago, SecretSam said:

 No other club in that time has spent more than us and not experienced the PL, we are an outlier.

1 minute ago, SecretSam said:

How much have Stoke spent to be the mess they are?

Sure they've spent much more than us. But since our play off final, they've had 10 seasons in the Premier League, a season in Europe and an FA Cup final. They've made a mess of things spectacularly since 2018 for sure. They should never have gone down, they finished 13th the season before. (9th for the three before that).

Big 3 points. Needed a win. However we feel about Manning, Tinnion and JL, we don't want to get drawn into a relegation scrap. Going down would set us back years.

Do the players come out with any credit? Improved second half after having 0 shots on goal in the first half. Booing during the first half according to BBC, not just at half time. Improved after the break which didn't happen against Birmingham, QPR, Millwall, Cardiff, etc etc etc. Clutching at straws maybe, but at least they went on to create a few chances and win the game rather than complete capitulation.

Still, saddest thing is how we've gone from a decent feeling around the club to utter, abject, indifference. Never has a win against Swansea left me feeling so unenthused. How the higher ups can say we're moving in the right direction is delusional.

1 minute ago, BanburyRed said:

He'll say its 'the perfect emotionless performance'.....

I've never felt as emotionless watching us winning before

Did the ref just give a foul throw?! Don't think I've ever seen one given in professional football before!

Swansea look pretty awful too tbf

Just now, robinforlife2 said:

OMFG

Ross wtf !!!! square it for a bloody open goal!! We're not even trying to win.

that was such a baffling decision, I wonder if they're genuinely not trying to win at this point. Conway was unmarked, 2 yards out, and didn't seem to mind that much that Ross didn't pass to him

Just now, The Original OTIB said:

Now on the front foot, apparently, so Robins TV telll me.

What we've all been waiting for, as promised. Has it been worth the wait?

I wouldn't put it past them to reappoint LJ on a short term basis. I can see them marketing it as unfinished business. I have that little confidence in SL/JL/BT to read the room.

Don't think they would do it, but can't rule it out. Which tells its own story. Trust in them is very low.

Don't think any change will be made this season though. Not much improvement will be required for us to be mathematically safe with 2 or 3 games to spare. If we lose every single one and are in with a chance of going down by then, they may just pull the trigger. But we'd have to a) be mathematically in danger with 2 or 3 to go and b) show no signs of getting any points. Even last night we could have got 1 if not 3, so I suspect he'll survive. Don't personally believe that he should, but given how expensive it would be to sack him and how foolish they'd look, I think they'll back him.

Of course, they all look like fools anyway.

End of the season can't come quickly enough, just so I can stop thinking about Bristol City FC for a while. What a sad state of affairs.

Do we need a player of the month award this month? After the last 3 games I'd be embarrassed to win an award like that. Do you think Rob Dickie is pleased he's won? Will it be going up on his mantlepiece?

The big social media post about it just invites ridicule in the comments. Daft really.

9 minutes ago, The Original OTIB said:

Ok, plan B then:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/68467893

 

My lipreading in German isn't up to much, but I believe he's saying "you guys haven't been showing the right behaviours"

Any proven manager will see how pearson was treated here and steer well clear. Who wants the hassle? Who wants to work for morons, let alone be dictated to by them?

Can't see anyone with a realistic championship cv coming. Obviously Cooper is way out of our league anyway. So were we to sack Manning, i fear we will have to get lucky with an 'up-and-comer'. 

I don't think they'll make a change. But if we really look like we might go down, I can genuinely see them turning to LJ until the end of the season. He may even get a result or two out of this bunch, backs to the wall and all that. Of course no other championship club would employ LJ at this moment in time. But isn't that what we do?

Things looking like a bit of a shambles atm.

Unlikely. Not due to our form, but the number of teams below us who would have to seriously get their act together. Rotherham are doomed, and so we only need two of the other 10 teams to not overtake us. Sheff Wed and QPR have come good the last few weeks, but not sure I see Birmingham, Huddersfield, Stoke, Blackburn in their current form all overtaking us with a few points head start.

Still, the fact that we are worried at all shows what a total car crash replacing Pearson with Manning mid-season has been. Couldn't really have gone much worse in terms of points and performances overall (one or two exceptions). Would love to hear BT/JL hold their hands up, but what can they say at this point really? We don't tend to sack managers quickly. Manning would be going the way of Beale or Rooney very soon at most other clubs but I doubt he will here unless we do look like we're going down with 3 games to go.

Some bad publicity on the BBC feed. Hope the fans there can make their feelings known

Here we go

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/68431928

Heard this interview with Warnock today after Aberdeen had lost at St Johnstone and thought it made an interesting comparison. Fans chanting "you're not fit to wear the shirt and sack the board." Of course the situations are very different - he inherited a team underperforming in the bottom half, we were in a decent position and have a "top six squad"...

He's also very critical of his playing staff. More of their attitude and integrity rather than playing ability or "ability to learn". And silly mistakes - "I don't care if you're Pep Guardiola, if you concede goals like that you're going to lose games". I guess his reputation in the game allows him to do that - and it isn't a sulky, off the cuff, defensive comment. It's a challenge to his players - that's his man management style.

Difference is the honesty and straightforwardness though. "We played well in the two home games, but if we play like that we won't win another game". "I understand the fans, they deserve better". No hiding behind coach-speak, no nonsense comments about 1 bad performance in 20. Hard work on the training ground required.

Not for a moment suggesting we appoint Colin! But why can't we have a manager/some leadership who respect the fans and don't hind behind bullshit, and just tell things how they are?

Obviously we did have that, and that ship has sadly sailed. LM not helping himself when results and performances aren't good. Needs a win on Saturday that's for sure.

2 hours ago, spudski said:

I don't think he read it...he swallowed it whole, and spouts coaching terminology lazily. 

He's the Les Dawson of coaching...says all the right phrases, but not particularly in the right order.

I really can't warm to him. Full of his own hype. 

Even Tommy was using expressions in his presser that he'd obviously had drilled into his head. 

 

 

He doesn't come across as easy to warm to, and that is exacerbated by the last two results/performances. If he was winning games I dare say we would be warming to him - we'd be saying how ruthless and focussed he was, confident in his own ability, measured, detail orientated, tactically astute, young and up and coming etc. Some would see through it, but football fans will be taken in by pretty much anything as long as the team is winning. But when the chips are down, all the sound bites come across really badly.

To those who say he reads the forum - clearly not enough or he'd have dropped the word "behaviours" from his vocabulary by now!

Liked Danns. Good player.

Did you know Mickey Bell's son Sam is a pro footballer now! Well I never.

I knew Matt Hill's son James had broken through at Fleetwood. What I didn't realise is that he was signed by (you guessed it) Bournemouth in Jan 2022 and is currently on loan at Blackburn. Completely passed me by.

52 minutes ago, The Original OTIB said:

Last interview before sack at MK... hmm ...

 

Absolute car crash of an interview. It does bear one or two worrying similarities with Saturday.

Can see why they sacked him afterwards. I wouldn't want to play for him after that. Don't know anything about the MK situation at that time, but it doesn't really matter does it? If you're saying what essentially adds up to "Me and the coaches are brilliant, it's all the players' fault" - hard to see how things can get better.

General feeling of frustration here at the moment means this is turning out to be another stick to beat Manning/the decision to sack NP/the leadership with. There are plenty of good sticks to beat them all with, but I wonder if this isn't one of them!

He can't go on loan to a league side outside of the window.

Bath is a local club who we have a good relationship with - he can play a few games and still train with us some/all of the time. If our injury crisis is over, why not go and play a few men's games? Presumably he could have gone to a conference club, but a) it wouldn't be so local, b) perhaps don't have the contacts. So this is a bit of a non-story for me. 

They have 13 games to go, chasing a play off place - maybe it helps strengthen a useful relationship with them. Maybe he helps them get promoted and we can send a couple on loan to a higher level next season. Could be a case that everybody wins.

9 minutes ago, 2015 said:

I find it hard to consider a lot of those players in that era "legends" when we used to get beat by Chesterfield, Port Vale and Wycombe quite often which would stuff our chances of promotion. 

Great players do not hang around in League 1 for most of their career.

Exactly. I remember fondly those years because it was my first taste of football growing up. But we repeatedly failed to get out of a worse division than the one we're now in.

In terms of footballing ability and achievement, BT can't really hold a candle to some of our current squad and many others we've had since. In terms of footballing CV he does not compare favourably to James, King, Pearson, Euell, Fleming for example. Bit of a joke that Pearson might have his decisions (allegedly) questioned by someone like BT really.

10 minutes ago, TDarwall said:

I actually feel a bit sorry for Mehmeti.  Came here with a really good reputation & it (so far) hasn't worked out.  Hopefully he's not Smozdic v2.

Personally I don't think he's been as bad (overall) as some make out, but clearly he has been underwhelming.

Thing is, look at the team yesterday, you basically have a keeper, 9 strong runners & Mehmeti.  Other than him, who is going to beat someone & create something (feel free to insert your own punchline that he doesn't do that either).  We're incredibly predictable to play against so I can understand persisting with him because at least there is the chance he may do something different (think he may have had our only shots on target v Leeds & QPR.

How's this for a sliding doors moment - I think Anis & Harry C made their debuts in the same game, Cornick is thru wide right, if he squares it to Anis, HC gets an assist om debut, Anis gets a goal, the fans are happy & both players get a lift.  Obvs what happened was Harry went for goal & it was a routine save.

Mehmeti has had way more game time than sammie ever did. Not sure thats the right comparison because nobody can say he hasn't been given a fair crack of the whip.

Like you say some of the scapegoating a bit harsh, an easy target for a general sense of frustration. Hope it comes good for him. And if we are going to play the way we are trying to, you're right that you need some kind of unpredictable outlet on the pitch (the fact that at the moment he fairly predictably gives the ball away notwithstanding!)