Teamsaint1

1 train per hour ( AFAICS) from Salisbury/ Romsey. So unless SWR have decided to put on unusually long trains they are going to be rammed. edit. SWR tell me on X that the 17.38 is planned to be two carriages. No comment.

He also has very few quality senior pros( esp forward players) to learn from, which is always a problem.

Much as we need to bounce back next season if possible, we also need to have a 2 year parachute- payment plan, to totally reset the club, which will take more than 10/12 weeks ,and make brave decisions, EG trusting some young ,hungry ,talented and potential PL players . AFCB failed, just , first time round, and they have done so well despite that. incidentally, just watching a long interview with Chris Wilder……seems to have an actual plan , based in the real world, and born out of adversity for competing and improving. That would be nice…..

Yep. They might do the things that poor teams need to do in order to occasionally beat better teams. simple tactics, settled back four, play to what few strengths you have, keep every game as tight as possible for as long as possible. The skate bishop ( sorry) put it well last week when he said that they back themselves to force the other team to make mistakes. I mean, we shouldn’t be taking lessons from them obviously, but his point was a good one.

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.

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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.

Unsurprising, he is carrying the team.

I wasn't there, but the Anderlecht goal at the Dell was a really tough one to take. I really hope not to have one overtake Adrian Heath as the worst ever though.

They will be paying a loan fee presumably.

Not going to make excuses, but can you imagine one of the top 4 being given only 2 clear days between games when the opposition had four. Unacceptable IMO.

It is a self limiting condition I think Not nice while it lasts though, somewhat irritating.

Watching a bit of the skates game. How on earth are Middlesbrough 5th ?