Teamsaint1

You mean the way lower league teams do in cup games against higher level opposition , and where, EG, Exeter ( even when down to 10 men) v Forest recently ?! who knew there was a way to play against markedly better opposition.?

Unbelievably stupid from Manning.

The annoying ones are where it is left and up, right next to first. Very unsound positioning. Much like our defence much of the time this season.

Whatever else happens on Saturday, the crowd need to give Will Smallbone a good reception .

Mediocre players can play a big part in a decent team. Mediocre teams can compete with more talented squads, even if they lose more often than not. Recruitment has been flawed , and most especially the search for decent strikers, but what has happened this season is that we have failed to do, far too often, the things that mediocre ( or poor) squads need to do. Keep as solid as possible. Stay in games as long as possible ( last match being a classic example), put in absolute maximum effort, give the players their best chance of performing well in their best positions, and learning quickly from bad days and mistakes. The players should accept some responsibility, but management is where the buck stops . Martin got too much wrong,( should have gone after bompey away, ) and Juric hasn’t t really improved things. And as for the board, one can only hope that the new DoF is a big step forward, because that is what we need, with a really tough Championship campaign ahead. The word “Luton” should on the boardroom walls in very big letters.

Against Tottenham and Brentford they did a bloody good impression of not trying and also being useless. there are ways to play against more talented sides. Exeter did this stuff last night. And to stay on topic,despite his antics and form, I’m still convinced that FD can do a decent job in the PL.

Out of the cup . That used to matter. Now I’m not sure what does matter to those on the payroll. staying on the payroll mostly, I guess.

It is really hard to look good in a side that is struggling as much as we have. Only AR, KWP, Fernandes and Dibling have managed to look consistently good. I think as part of a solid midfield unit he would be quite at home in the PL. He has been pretty exposed at times to say the least, with little effective help But maybe upper Championship really is his level. Either way , you's have to hope that he more about him than throwing his toys out just because he didn't go straight back into the starting line up, because recruiting a better CM ,even if we get our money back on him, is going to be really tough.

In the 2011-2012 promotion season, every time we went a goal down i had to go out for a quick drive to get us a goal back. Not at games I attended, obviously.

Really pleased for those that made the trip. Brilliant reward for extraordinary dedication.

Could hardly bear to watch at the end. with relegation all but certain on the 1st of Feb, that is surely a sign that despite everything, and at 63 years old, there is no chance of me ever not caring . Better get used to it. We were mediocre on the ball, but there were some good things, to enjoy, esp the debutants,and I thought Smallbone was really good. Can’t see the virtue in the three CB approach really,but I’m sure Juric knows more than me about such things.

The Championship is going to be very tough next season, every bit as tough as last season. We are going to need to keep hold of or acquire some PL quality in each area of the pitch. A priority ( at a guess) would be to look to keep hold of one of either Fernandes or Dibling, on the assumption that selling one of them will deal with a fair bit of the revenue drop. Won’t be easy, but we really need to play hardball on that, if we possibly can. More or less everything else is negotiable. EG Archer would raise a few quid, but where and how do you get a quality replacement at anything like the sort of money we would get for him? He should score plenty in a decent championship side.

.....

Not much comfort that it was Everton, really....

If the team and management stick together we can get a halfway respectable return from the last 15 games, say 2 wins and three draws. We will need a couple of games where we play near our best and get a decent rub of the green, but I’m sure the players will be up for the challenge.