Fitzhugh Fella

The cynicism on this thread is keeping me going. I suddenly feel there's a lot of us in the same boat and if we go down we go down together. We always knew they would be a glimmer of hope sometime in the last day or so and it seems Dembele is that man. Sit back now and watch it slowly unravel. My money is a gazump by Everton/Bournemouth tomorrow evening and a feature on Theo Walcott on the official website on Wednesday.

You need to understand Trousers a little bit better. He likes the forensics in life.

Calm down mate. I don’t know if you are related to Jones or maybe you are his gardener or something but you seem very protective. I have no problem with the changes he made, yes it made sense but then what followed in terms of cohesion and organisation was depressing. He is meant to be a decent coach and motivator but I saw no sign of those influences this afternoon. Surely it is permissible on a forum to say that without you taking it so personally. I want very much for Jones to succeed, he’s got a very tough gig but if his teams continue to play as they did today it’s going to be a very long 3 months.

Had that been to decide we were staying up or going down or even a 6 pointer, I would agree the only thing that mattered would be the result, but I went up there today hoping to see some green shoots now Jones has got his feet under the table and I saw absolutely nothing to take home with me. Getting through to the 5th Round means little in the bigger scheme of things. OK we weren't embarrassed and that counts for something but there were so many negatives I don't know where to start. Apart from Perraud and the odd flash from Lavia it was dreadful. Careless, unimaginative, casual it was all there. I am still prepared to cut Jones some slack but my that was very disappointing.

Thank fuck you are not our manager. This was an excellent opportunity to build confidence and gel but it was a shabby, careless, mistake ridden poor slack display which served no purpose. It’s not as if we are going to win the Cup so performance is important.

“Looking over our shoulder at relegation”? Its more stating us on the face I would say.

While it's very tempting to criticise SR for their failure to address our glaring problem during the last - and probably this - transfer window, perhaps we have to face up to the fact we cannot now compete financially with the rest of the PL. When the likes of Bournemouth can gazump us, seemingly with impunity, then the sooner we wake up to the fact that our owner is just not wealthy enough, then the better it will be for all our sanity. It's a sad indictment that bloodstained Arab petro dinars and US Hedge fund dollars have distorted our game beyond repair - it's no longer a sport in the old-fashioned sense of the word, and frankly we have done pretty well, up to now, to even stay in the top flight. Do I wish we had been taken over by a despot billionaire? To be honest, although it would be fun to upset some apple carts I think I can honestly say "no thanks". I would take little pleasure by doing a Newcastle, to me they are no longer a football club just a means for some murderous sheik to sportswash in an attempt to win a smidgeon of respectability, while the British media, led by Martin Tyler and Sky swoon on sycophantically. Nah, I'll settle for a life in the Championship (or even lower) where the football might be rugged and basic but you can still smell the liniment, the dubbin and the fried onions.

Well we got to wish him well but I fear he will be playing at Kenilworth Rd next season and probably be on the losing side.

I am finding this thread increasingly therapeutic and amusing. Keep it up. Gallows humour at its finest imo.

Before you despatch the assassination squad............. it was Murphy

Fuck me this is the most worrying post I have read this year. Actually sorry I have just reread it and now realise you are taking the piss. Sorry again for being so stupid

So why have SR pursued him and spent hours trying to sign him. Are they premature?

Two well respected sources confirmed we were after him. As I said whether or not he’s worth it is another matter but he was a target of ours which it looks like we’ve missed. Do we have other targets is now the question and if we do are we capable of landing them?

Whether or not he’s worth it is slightly irrelevant. We wanted him, we pursued him, we wasted valuable time and resources in that pursuit and now we are back to square one, I assume, with quite a few of our fellow strugglers having signed oven-ready strikers in the meantime. I would have hoped lessons would have been learned in the summer. Unless there’s a great big rabbit waiting to come out of a hat I envisage another underwhelming window and near certain relegation. Avoidable all of it.

Rather have Jack Stephens back frankly. At least his heart is in the right place and he shows spirit and guts. Any faith that I managed to harvest after our magical week and Ankersen’s interview is already draining away …….fickle bastard that I am. Saturday was soul destroying

You are quite correct. I am amazed at the number of fans who thought we were Villa’s equal and we played alright. The first 45 mins was truly awful. We gave the ball away consistently (Diallo particularly guilty), we had so attacking substance and little possession. We looked like the away team. 2nd half had to be better (Diallo still gave the ball away) especially when Walker Peters ran the line but then the elephant in the room made an appearance when we suddenly realised our forwards can’t score.

Villa sniffing around Jackson. Don’t know whether to be disappointed or not but don’t think he is the answer to our big problem of not having a goalscorer at the club. We needed to sign immediate impact players this window but it seems that has been beyond us.

Well said. I am sure the wet fanny remark was said in jest, but you are right we all throw insults or use sarcasm when people don’t see the way we see them on a forum. Had they been said to face in a pub (back in the good old days) it would spark a debate not a slanging match but football support has moved on and like the game itself it has developed an ugly side some of us struggle to identify with. I have missed one or two games this season just because I couldn’t be arsed anymore. Going to matches (even though I live locally) has become a chore and unenjoyable, so you are not alone. And you are right about Ings. Love or loath him he would have made an instant impact while we seem to be faffing around chasing unproven inexperience. We have had a good week which has lifted my spirits but we all know we are far from being out of the woods and we have yet to mend last summer’s mistakes 20 days into the window. That is cause to be alarmed. In the meantime, don’t lose heart, keep posting we need all sorts on this forum, but remember at the end of the day all of us want our club to succeed.

Listened to the podcast made on the Sala tragedy. A chilling listen

I am going to go against the habit of a lifetime and place my trust in SR. If they think Jackson is what we need so be it. I have loads of doubts. I am still very wary of Jones and every time he opens his mouth I flinch a little more but - I do think Dragan, Rasmus and Henrik, having invested north of 100m (if Jackson signs), have a firm hand on the tiller. They must see what we all see, surely? They simply cannot be that stupid to not realise what we need to stay up, surely? Just hope my blind faith will be rewarded.

All I want is a bloke who can score the goals that we so desperately need to keep us up this year. If it’s Ings on loan or on a 3 year contract it makes no odds to me. Yes he is injury prone, yes he left under dubious circumstances but he puts away half chances which is twice as much as anyone else currently at the club can do.

Is that word in there?

You are never too old to be educated I guess. Need to download a better dictionary obviously. Anyway basically it’s Chelsea’s way around FFP. Who would have guessed?

Thanks. Genuinely never heard of it. I was never in the corporate world.