GrahamC

Would think it highly unlikely they are fans. It isn’t for me but I doubt very much I’m their demographic. I get the “don’t watch it” comment but agree that laughy, jokey training shots are completely misplaced when we are performing so poorly. Also, please change the name of the training ground, it is embarrassing & arrogant.

I think the first thing is those inside the club knowing the extent of just how unwell he is. If he’s fit to continue then he certainly gets until Xmas to see if this is working. I know we have gone all in for him, Rennie & now Fleming, but at the very least we should see signs of organisation & a plan. I get confidence is low, we were missing key players yesterday but to lose in the manner we did was pitiful.

Is this in the same league where Marley Watkins regularly plays & even Liam Fontaine is still a squad player? Not really sure this helps, we need to move on players who aren’t up to it, not get them back.

As @lenred says, what? I mean we could bring in O’Leary, Bell, Benarous, Britton or if fit, Conway but I just can’t see that’s the answer. This mantra that they “can’t do any worse” doesn’t convince & playing more kids could ruin their confidence. Beyond the blindingly obvious, having the likes of Atkinson, Baker, James, Williams & Semenyo back gives us alternatives. I don’t know what to do.

Spot on, he was completely anonymous but because he didn’t come on today then he’s suddenly become the answer. There have been a couple of posts saying “play the youngsters”, look at today’s team, 50% of it was youngsters & I really don’t think playing more of them is the answer.

Spot on. We had our first penalty in a year & after theirs were 2-1 up against ten men. **** hard luck stories, not good enough.

Absolutely so. I am prepared to give Pearson time but his rationale for running with a small squad was we would keep more players fit under Rennie & so today when we are missing 2 centre backs & 3 senior midfielders that plan falls flat when you can’t even get a draw v ten men.

Think you are right about the size of the squad, but today’s starting 11 had Tanner, Pring, HNM, Scott & Bakinson in it. That is half of the outfield players who are either kids or inexperienced (or both). I really don’t think therefore that playing even more inexperienced players is the answer, but in truth I don’t know what is.

I think probably what was said was we are 1 up & they are a man down, limit their chances. Whatever it was, it didn’t work. Whether you think that is down to Fleming or the players (or both) is up to you. I cannot fathom why we are so defensively poor as a unit, how a man gets free in the 92nd minute when we have an extra player, I just don’t understand.

100%. Plus he has to come out afterwards & be professional but he seemed rightly really angry. How we put this right when it seems like different players making mistakes every game, I have no idea.

Absolutely. Look at our away wins; Reading 3-2, Cardiff 2-1, Peterborough 3-2, QPR 2-1, we have had to score 10 to win 4 games! Weimann has 7 in 17 but apparently that’s “not good enough” **** me, what does that make letting in 27 so far? The defensive side badly needs addressing & I don’t buy blaming these two for that.

Today hurts more because of the circumstances. We need to grab points when they are on offer & being 1-0 up at HT against 10 men is definitely one of those games whereas in midweek Birmingham (who are crap, look at today) outpowered us. Dismal day.

Been obvious if you saw what was going on behind the scenes up there that something was brewing. They appointed someone in the summer to look after their transfer business who proceeded to sign a number of foreign players that he didn’t seem to either want or pick. Out of contract next May with no talks about a new one, think he’s 73 next month so maybe he will finally retire now. Few Boro fans think Wilder is already lined up.

Pretty obvious they are to blame, eh? Weimann has 7 goals now, Martin 5. In contrast we have let in 16 in the last 8, 18 away this season in our 9 games. You have **** all chance of winning very often if you need to score 3 to even get a point. Defensively we are completely shambolic & I am not excusing the midfield from that, either.

On reflection Baker v Forest certainly let Brennan Johnson know he was about, a couple of really aggressive tackles. Mistimed the one on Spence for the penalty but had imposed himself on his opponent before that, to be fair.

Apart from Kalas who certainly made the Barnsley players aware he was up for the physical challenge, we have been poor at this. Loads of examples in midweek when we were second best in terms of physical play. Not suggesting he returns but this is one area Danny Simpson gives us more, he’s not averse to an off the ball bit of nonsense.

Worked well last time.. Presumably Cisse, if he’s still here.

Fair comment. I was never a defender so bow to the superior knowledge of those who were but my point was really about defending with more heart & desire, whether that is stopping crosses, making us far harder to play through or the stuff I had highlighted. Although we gave the guy too much space for the first against Brum, the deflection off Kalas was unlucky, whereas the other two were woeful from us.

Spot on. I watched the highlights of wins at QPR & Reading in previous seasons you had Ashley Williams, Kalas, Baker all throwing themselves into challenges & blocks. We need this from those in front of the defence too. The 3rd goal at Birmingham was even worse, both Bakinson & HNM put in half hearted attempts to dispossess Gardner, a terrible effort.

If James is out then I expect 10 of them to start, but Martin will do so & so one of Scott, O’Dowda or possibly Dasilva (with Pring in front of him) will be in the XI, though I have a poor track record at getting it right…

To me this is the difference between a theory & reality. Most people would have our central midfield options in this order; James, Williams (it doesn’t matter which way around, you will always pick two) then HNM & then King or Bakinson. The last 2 are arguable in what order but what is definitely the case is that if the first two are missing, King would be involved. Tomorrow it is highly likely none of those 3 senior players will be available (or if James is, he obviously won’t be anywhere near 100% fit). In these particular circumstances Vyner is a useful option. Likewise at the back Kalas & Atkinson are first choice, Baker next then Vyner. To me (& that is excluding his games at RB) this demonstrates his value, a versatile, low wage, squad player. I think the likes of Luton, Preston & Millwall all have players like this. Longer term Zak might not be here, but honestly for me he’s not the problem.

In our last 6 games we have let in 13 goals, so although the OP talks about “parking the bus” (& what a stupid phrase that is) I think it is nothing of the sort. NP talked yesterday about wanting a “gritty” performance, so he is looking for more defensive desire from the entire side to block crosses, win tackles & at the very least deny free headers & shots. This doesn’t mean picking 9 defenders or being ultra defensive, but players doing their job. Looking at Coventry’s home record & our lack of confidence & form it seems a tough ask but he is looking for at the minimum signs of effort, work rate & desire. A point would be a great result in light of the likely absence of all our senior midfielders.

Depends how far you want to go back, but I’d argue there has been, but it has entirely depended on who is the manager/head coach, what there certainly hasn’t been is a consistent one. This leads on to recruitment which has been haphazard & scattergun, obvious examples being Adelakun & Watkins (it is arguable we needed either, certainly not both), the Szmodics, Palmer, Paterson all at the same time nonsense & very many others. Bigger picture here (& this has certainly been said before) is SL has employed people in a football sense who have performed so poorly that Hargreaves Lansdown would have never been the success that it is if it happened there. Fundamentally he just doesn’t understand the football industry, which is fine, but his judgment on who to trust because of this is largely what is holding us back. Whatever anyone’s views on Pearson, it is typical of us that we get exactly the right “type” when someone else has already spent all the money & we are in an era that reminds me most of when Osman took over from Denis Smith, “here’s £100k Russell, now build us a team that can stay up”..

Agree & it will be interesting to see what he does selection wise on Saturday seeing as Baker isn’t back & I take from this James is highly doubtful to be fit. We either basically shuffle virtually all the same players again or try a couple of youngsters, but my hunch is seeing that the starting line up will probably include Tanner, Pring, HNM & Bakinson anyway, that he won’t want to risk too many more & he’s looking to change it around more once Baker, Williams & Semenyo are fit after the international break.

They paid us £15m for one of those, Solanke was £20m, so perhaps it shows it’s about cash?