Question for the Positive-Thinkers after the Walsall result

[Turkish]

I appreciate positive thinking is an alien concept to you but as I think that I am covered loosely within that description let me try and put 'perspective' in to this...I'm guessing this may be hard to understand also but try and keep up?

 

I didn't speak about being 'mugged' as it happens - only that we played far better, created more chances, corners and (from my listening to the radio only - I wasn't there) played a far more attractive style of football. That last word is quite important...football often bites you as the best team doesn't always win - it's in the nature of the game that this happens - SO - I'm philosophical about this but know that we have a better chance of winning games if we play well...we did and I will be at Colchester thinking that we're playing well and have a good chance.

 

Now you could call this logic as against positive thinking but label as you choose.

 

Bournemouth are where they are on merit, no more, no less - they have surprised me with their ability to keep this going despite personnel changes in the playing and managerial staff but the positive thinker would believe that we can do that too...in fact we have a better crack at it because we have strength in depth - Where are the double standards within that?

 

To summarise then - We lost a game...we played plenty well enough to win it and have a good enough chance to carry on playing that well until every point has been decided..a positive Actually the second point re Bournemouth is too banal to type any further on.

 

Q - If you fell in the water would you open your mouth & let yourself sink thinking that there's a chance that you're going to drown any way so let's get it over with or do you think that the land's only just there, I can swim and give myself the very best chance of clambering out & heading off to dry out? I am intrigued by the vocal depressive that seems to drive your persona..on here anyway...

 

Let me spell it out for you. This "we lost a game" nonsense is really starting to p*ss me off. We have now lost 40% of our games against the bottom 7. This includes defeats agains the mighty Wallsall, the worst home team in league one, Tranmere & bottom club Plymouth. We have failed to win half of our games against teams in the bottom 7 and dropped 14 points in 10 games against them. Do you think this is acceptable for a club which claims it is challenging for the title?

 

And i was there tuesday, we didn't play fanstatic attacking football like you seen to be claiming, the longer the game went on the more we humped in long and hopeful, which quite often lead to Lambert and Barnard crashing into them and our "chances" in the second half, came from scrambled crosses or corners, not carving Wallsall open and missing with the goal at our mercy.

[miserableoldgit]

Everybody needs to remember that this was "the season of NO excuses"

 

Definitiely better than being in Walsall on a Tuesday evening, freezing my knackers off, watching our promotion campaign fall apart, at least.

Firstly, any excuses, if any are needed, will surely come when the season is finished or at least when promotion is impossible, not now. Once again a hysterical remark that the promotion campaign has fallen apart!! Have you actually looked at our position in the table??? Whilst the Walsall result was extemely disappointing and a chance missed, it has NOT put paid to our promotion chances. There are still 45(?) points to play for and we still have to play our promotion rivals. Wait till the end of the season and if we fail to get promotion I promise that I will be the first to say "F*ck Me! Alpine was right all the way along!", but until then just sit back and enjoy the eidelweiss poking their heads through the Alpine snow to greet the spring.

[benjii]

Alpine, you're a div.

 

46 games = reasonable sample, probably a fair representation, effect of outliers mitigated.

1 game = small sample, indicative value minimal as could be an outlier.

 

I would expect a 12 year old to understand this.

[alpine_saint]

Alpine, you're a div.

 

46 games = reasonable sample, probably a fair representation, effect of outliers mitigated.

1 game = small sample, indicative value minimal as could be an outlier.

 

I would expect a 12 year old to understand this.

 

Sample size has some impact on accuracy, not on direction or principle.

 

Give it up, I design ADCs for a living so you wont win that argument with me.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

At the end of the day if you don't put the ball in the back of the net you don't 'deserve' to win based on any other aspect of your play, but you can consider yourself unlucky if you are the better team, the more dominant team, and you not scoring had an element of bad luck to it (such as deflections of goalbound shots going straight into the keepers chest and so on).

 

46 games is more than enough for one-off unlucky games and incidents to be cancelled out over the course of the season. If Saints pip any other team to 2nd it will be because we deserved it. Anyone suggesting otherwise clearly doesn't understand why a league format exists.

 

I do not believe we deserved to win on Tuesday night, but I do consider ourselves to be very unlucky not to win.

[(not THE) Kevin Moore]

Sample size has some impact on accuracy, not on direction or principle.

 

Give it up, I design ADCs for a living so you wont win that argument with me.

 

erm.... so using that logic, I'm going to use a sample of 1.. say the 6-0 to say we're going in the right direction... you're using a sample of 1 loss to say we're not going to go up? Of COURSE sample size is important, you're being a mong.

 

Take the results since Adkins and it puts us second in the form table, so direction is fine... despite anything you (clinging on to every negative result) might claim.

 

And I'm pretty sure this is my last post of the day, so you can go back to your idiocy again now.

[Turkish]

Just to confirm how poor tuesday nights result was, only one team, Preston, who has lost more games at home this season in the whole of the football league than Wallsall. I am truely stunned that some people are attempting to justify this result as unlucky, one of those nights etc and even claiming we played brilliantly!

[alpine_saint]

At the end of the day if you don't put the ball in the back of the net you don't 'deserve' to win based on any other aspect of your play, but you can consider yourself unlucky if you are the better team, the more dominant team, and you not scoring had an element of bad luck to it (such as deflections of goalbound shots going straight into the keepers chest and so on).

 

46 games is more than enough for one-off unlucky games and incidents to be cancelled out over the course of the season. If Saints pip any other team to 2nd it will be because we deserved it. Anyone suggesting otherwise clearly doesn't understand why a league format exists.

 

I do not believe we deserved to win on Tuesday night, but I do consider ourselves to be very unlucky not to win.

 

Walsall was not a one-off freak result, however.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

Walsall was not a one-off freak result, however.

 

Then at the end of the season if we do not finish 2nd we can say what cost us promotion was not being efficient enough in front of goal. End of story. What is the problem?

[Nexstar]

The fact that the team are playing exceptionally badly.

 

Right, i'm not normally one to play the 'Super-Fan' card but unless you have actually been to the game, how can you POSSIBLY say that we played exceptionally badly?! You would have to be a complete tool to base the performance simply by looking at the score. IMO We played the same as we did at Oldham, but Walsall's last ditch defending stifled us time and again.

 

We didn't play exceptionally badly, nowhere near in fact, and until you actually get to a game to see how we are playing then I'm done reading the absolute sh!t you come out with.

 

Clueless mong.

[jam]

erm.... so using that logic, I'm going to use a sample of 1.. say the 6-0 to say we're going in the right direction... you're using a sample of 1 loss to say we're not going to go up? Of COURSE sample size is important, you're being a mong.

 

Take the results since Adkins and it puts us second in the form table, so direction is fine... despite anything you (clinging on to every negative result) might claim.

 

And I'm pretty sure this is my last post of the day, so you can go back to your idiocy again now.

 

The direction isn't fine though, is it?

 

If we want automatic promotion then results since Adkins have to be better than they are, as the table shows. We have improved over the beginning of the season but not improved enough. The results since Christmas would have been good if we had started the season well. But we didn't start the season well so they have not been good enough.

[jam]

Then at the end of the season if we do not finish 2nd we can say what cost us promotion was not being efficient enough in front of goal. End of story. What is the problem?

 

I'd say another season in League One would be the problem.

[Turkish]

Right, i'm not normally one to play the 'Super-Fan' card but unless you have actually been to the game, how can you POSSIBLY say that we played exceptionally badly?! You would have to be a complete tool to base the performance simply by looking at the score. IMO We played the same as we did at Oldham, but Walsall's last ditch defending stifled us time and again.

 

We didn't play exceptionally badly, nowhere near in fact, and until you actually get to a game to see how we are playing then I'm done reading the absolute sh!t you come out with.

 

Clueless mong.

 

Sorry, i was at the game and i dont agree that we played well. Can you remember ONE clear cut chance in the second half? I cant, i remember lots of crosses, lots of corners, lots of scrambling around trying to turn the ball in from 10 years past a goalkeeper and 6 defenders and yes, some brave and commited defending but i dont remember us carving Wallsall open and missing chance after chance. The first half was bad finishing, five times in on goal, five times the keeper pulls off routine saves, second half was desperate clueless, hopeful stuff. I'll say it again, only ONE team in the WHOLE OF THR FOOTBALL LEAGUE have lost more games at home than Wallsall this season. HOw anyone can think this defeat was acceptable is beyond me.

[alpine_saint]

Sorry, i was at the game and i dont agree that we played well. Can you remember ONE clear cut chance in the second half? I cant, i remember lots of crosses, lots of corners, lots of scrambling around trying to turn the ball in from 10 years past a goalkeeper and 6 defenders and yes, some brave and commited defending but i dont remember us carving Wallsall open and missing chance after chance. The first half was bad finishing, five times in on goal, five times the keeper pulls off routine saves, second half was desperate clueless, hopeful stuff. I'll say it again, only ONE team in the WHOLE OF THR FOOTBALL LEAGUE have lost more games at home than Wallsall this season. HOw anyone can think this defeat was acceptable is beyond me.

 

In addition, apparently we have also failed to score 12 times in 31 occasions this season - already double the number for the whole of last season.

 

In short, we cant hit a cows arse with a banjo this season.

[John Boy Saint]

Then at the end of the season if we do not finish 2nd we can say what cost us promotion was not being efficient enough in front of goal. End of story. What is the problem?

 

That and not being aggressive enough when not in possession of the ball, being too slow to close down at times, sitting too deep, and taking 3 weeks to get the ball back into play from Kelvins hands..................... that last bit drives me up the wall: watching him check everyone from both sides is in their correct position before kicking out, regardless of Harding, Lallana, or even Rickie saying that they want the ball quickly.

 

Anyway if we smash and grab automatic on the last day................. I'll go along for the ride: given the journey that we have been on in recent years.

[polegategavin]

The fact that the team are playing exceptionally badly.

 

And yet our manager is nominated for manager of the month, go figure.

[stu0x]

You've spoken about the "bad luck" and the "chances created" against Walsall, and how we deserved to win and were "mugged".

 

Dont Bournemouth actually deserve second place, and wouldnt we be "mugging" them if we were to snatch it from them in the last couple of weeks of the season, seeing as they have been there for months ?

 

I think there is some double-standards in your thinking.

I would suggest that over 90 minutes it is quite easy (and indeed quite common) for the better team not to win. Over 38+ matches, teams tend to end up where they deserve to be. After all, these things all even up over a season. Literally. Richard.

 

(It's called 'regression to the mean', by the way, a well established statistical concept, and nothing to do with optimism or pessimism)

 

Not that I think we were necessarily 'mugged' against Walsall, incidentally

[warsash saint]

In short, we cant hit a cows arse with a banjo this season.

 

What utter b*llocks - care to take look at our goal difference ??? (now where is that ignore button !!)

[alpine_saint]

What utter b*llocks - care to take look at our goal difference ??? (now where is that ignore button !!)

 

Great. so, if we can be bothered to fight for a lead, we get brave enough to go on and pummel teams.

 

Play against a team that dares to say "BOO!!" to us, and we crumble.

 

Not promotion mentality, I'm afraid.

[Whitey Grandad]

One or two unlucky losses against a team who manage to fluke a goal are to be expected over the course of a season. We seem to be having too many of this type of game for my liking. We are not ruthless or single-minded enough.

[warsash saint]

Great. so, if we can be bothered to fight for a lead, we get brave enough to go on and pummel teams.

 

Play against a team that dares to say "BOO!!" to us, and we crumble.

 

Not promotion mentality, I'm afraid.

 

So we can or cant hit a cows arse ??? sorry you are confusing me

[alpine_saint]

So we can or cant hit a cows arse ??? sorry you are confusing me

 

We can hit a cows arse when the opposition is nice enough to let us.

 

We are completely incapable of breaking down determined teams.

[Kingsbridge Saint]

Some time to go this season and we might improve. But right now we are 5th for a reason. We are headed for the play offs and a 25% chance of promotion unless we improve and get some consistency in results. Not good enough up to now. It's as simple as that.

[Deppo]

We can hit a cows arse when the opposition is nice enough to let us.

 

We are completely incapable of breaking down determined teams.

 

 

What, some teams play well against us an others don't? That's not fair!! Why can't all teams let us score loads? This is, of course, unless they don't play in that manner as some kind of tactic? The sneaky b*stards.

[dronskisaint]

Let me spell it out for you. This "we lost a game" nonsense is really starting to p*ss me off. We have now lost 40% of our games against the bottom 7. This includes defeats agains the mighty Wallsall, the worst home team in league one, Tranmere & bottom club Plymouth. We have failed to win half of our games against teams in the bottom 7 and dropped 14 points in 10 games against them. Do you think this is acceptable for a club which claims it is challenging for the title?

 

And i was there tuesday, we didn't play fanstatic attacking football like you seen to be claiming, the longer the game went on the more we humped in long and hopeful, which quite often lead to Lambert and Barnard crashing into them and our "chances" in the second half, came from scrambled crosses or corners, not carving Wallsall open and missing with the goal at our mercy.

 

As I said in the original my take was from a crap radio feed so I accept that anyone who was there would have a more valid take on the match as a whole (although others who were there tell a different version...) but - let me spell it out for you?

 

The question was about whether to take positives out of a performance in which one team created 20 chances and had double the corners of the other. On a one match basis (the premise of that part of the question) would you, however disappointed in the result, not take positives from that?

 

On the other part of your (not the OP's) question - do I think it's acceptable to drop 14 points out of 30 against teams that are in the lower sector of the league (a statistic that in itself dictates that we took a greater part than we lost)? Well it's certainly not desirable but that's not news...this division is very tight. With 15 games to go anyone down to 14th could realistically have designs on a play-off place and so the standard is not so very different between all the teams and most teams will have had poor results against others that, realistically they'd expect to beat. When we sat out the midweek and others around us experienced the same as us and lost and drew against opposition they'd expect to beat. We are not immune from being beaten but - I'd rather be playing well with a good chance of winning than playing badly ----which is why the negativity does my head in.

[aintforever]

I don't think we should moan about bad luck.

 

In the last few games Bournemouth have suffered two last minute equalizers and a missed penalty at 0-0, we are lucky they are not 6 points better off.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

How do you know? By all accounts we played brilliantly up at Walsall.

 

No I would say energetically but far from brilliant.

[Cricketphilly]

This does all smack of deju vu from last season i'm afraid. All this 'we've still got 46 points to play for' business.

[Turkish]

As I said in the original my take was from a crap radio feed so I accept that anyone who was there would have a more valid take on the match as a whole (although others who were there tell a different version...) but - let me spell it out for you?

 

The question was about whether to take positives out of a performance in which one team created 20 chances and had double the corners of the other. On a one match basis (the premise of that part of the question) would you, however disappointed in the result, not take positives from that?

 

On the other part of your (not the OP's) question - do I think it's acceptable to drop 14 points out of 30 against teams that are in the lower sector of the league (a statistic that in itself dictates that we took a greater part than we lost)? Well it's certainly not desirable but that's not news...this division is very tight. With 15 games to go anyone down to 14th could realistically have designs on a play-off place and so the standard is not so very different between all the teams and most teams will have had poor results against others that, realistically they'd expect to beat. When we sat out the midweek and others around us experienced the same as us and lost and drew against opposition they'd expect to beat. We are not immune from being beaten but - I'd rather be playing well with a good chance of winning than playing badly ----which is why the negativity does my head in.

 

Lets get one thing straight, we did not "create" 20 chances, we may have had 20 attempts at goal but humping balls long into the box and shooting into an overcrowded goalmouth from knock downs and deflections is not creating chances, its called percentage football. We did create chances in the first half, but if you look at the finishing, every shot was straight at the keeper, that is bad finishing.

On your other point i have based my 10 games not on the "lower sector of the league" as you put it, or the bottom half, but the bottom 7, thats right,the 7 worst teams in this league, teams fighting relegation. We have dropped almost 47% of available points against teams in and around the relegation zone, battling to avoid the drop. One or two defeats are excusable, they can happen, but fail to win half your games against teams fighting relegation is totally unacceptable for a team that claims it is challenging for the title. I really dont understand how anyone can try to justify this record. We cant have had back luck, a dodgy ref etc in all of those games can we?

[Window Cleaner]

This does all smack of deju vu from last season i'm afraid. All this 'we've still got 46 points to play for' business.

 

Although we aren't yet in a situation where we need to win every game.We can probably still afford to lose 2 more, provided one of them isn't Bournemouth.

Edited 3 March, 2011 by Window Cleaner

[rallyboy]

you have all got it wrong!!

 

We don't need technical skills and the ability to create and finish chances, nor the fitness levels and physical strength to compete.

As cliche-peddling pundits are always telling us, the game isn't about putting the ball in their net more than they put it in ours, no, the game is about opinions, and belief.

 

Our players need more opinions, and they need to believe in them - it's that simple.

 

Even Merrington is wrong when he tells us that we need that little bit of quality in the final third - no Dave -belief is what we require, that goes beyond any technical skills.

Apparently.

[dronskisaint]

Lets get one thing straight, we did not "create" 20 chances, we may have had 20 attempts at goal but humping balls long into the box and shooting into an overcrowded goalmouth from knock downs and deflections is not creating chances, its called percentage football. We did create chances in the first half, but if you look at the finishing, every shot was straight at the keeper, that is bad finishing.

On your other point i have based my 10 games not on the "lower sector of the league" as you put it, or the bottom half, but the bottom 7, thats right,the 7 worst teams in this league, teams fighting relegation. We have dropped almost 47% of available points against teams in and around the relegation zone, battling to avoid the drop. One or two defeats are excusable, they can happen, but fail to win half your games against teams fighting relegation is totally unacceptable for a team that claims it is challenging for the title. I really dont understand how anyone can try to justify this record. We cant have had back luck, a dodgy ref etc in all of those games can we?

 

OK - I'm getting a little bored with this but - we're 5th, have a goal difference that is worth an extra point over most of our rivals, have games in hand over most and have yet to play Bournemouth, Charlton (twice) and Brighton ...additionally there are still 45 points to play for and our run in is not the most difficult in the league.

 

I'm not sure what record you are claiming anyone has to justify - our destiny is still largely within our own hands and the teams around us are equally likely (with the possible exception of Brighton who have been a more consistent animal this year) to lose against lower opposition. The reason I defined as lower sector was that there are only ten points between Colchester in 7th & Tranmere in 18th...it shows the competitive nature of this league...almost anyone can beat almost anyone else.

 

Live with it...this is the reality - you can choose to be positive or negative about it - the original question was to positive thinkers from a self-confessed pessimist...you make me think he has won a recruit!

[Graffito]

You've spoken about the "bad luck" and the "chances created" against Walsall, and how we deserved to win and were "mugged".

 

Dont Bournemouth actually deserve second place, and wouldnt we be "mugging" them if we were to snatch it from them in the last couple of weeks of the season, seeing as they have been there for months ?

 

I think there is some double-standards in your thinking.

 

Piffle! How can a team deserve to finish in second place on the basis of results part way through a season.

[Tamesaint]

OK - I'm getting a little bored with this but - we're 5th, have a goal difference that is worth an extra point over most of our rivals, have games in hand over most and have yet to play Bournemouth, Charlton (twice) and Brighton ...additionally there are still 45 points to play for and our run in is not the most difficult in the league.

 

I'm not sure what record you are claiming anyone has to justify - our destiny is still largely within our own hands and the teams around us are equally likely (with the possible exception of Brighton who have been a more consistent animal this year) to lose against lower opposition. The reason I defined as lower sector was that there are only ten points between Colchester in 7th & Tranmere in 18th...it shows the competitive nature of this league...almost anyone can beat almost anyone else.

 

Live with it...this is the reality - you can choose to be positive or negative about it - the original question was to positive thinkers from a self-confessed pessimist...you make me think he has won a recruit!

 

Nice one!!

[Professor]

What worries me about the Positive Thinkers is the people constantly telling themselves and everyone else, that we have the best squad in L1. This keeps being said, even though players in opposition teams demonstrate that they are as good as, and sometimes better. I suspect we would struggle to provide more than 3 or 4 players in a 'best of L1' team and possibly not that many. It could be said that if we had 4 of the best players in L1 (if indeed,we do) that would be a positive thing, but even then it would mean that there were some 7 places that could be improved just by signing players who are already playing in this division.

[dune]

You've spoken about the "bad luck" and the "chances created" against Walsall, and how we deserved to win and were "mugged".

 

Dont Bournemouth actually deserve second place, and wouldnt we be "mugging" them if we were to snatch it from them in the last couple of weeks of the season, seeing as they have been there for months ?

 

I think there is some double-standards in your thinking.

 

What is he talking about?

[dune]

Who are you and what have you done with Turkish ? It cant be the real Turkish because a pattern of me agreeing with him is emerging.

 

The difference is that he comes to his conclusion after watching games and you come to your conclusions because you love being miserable.

[Chez]

I'll say it again, only ONE team in the WHOLE OF THR FOOTBALL LEAGUE have lost more games at home than Wallsall this season. HOw anyone can think this defeat was acceptable is beyond me.

 

There is a lot of chat on this thread about form and length of time to judge teams, and with that in mind can I point you to Walsall's recent home form, which has been pretty good with one defeat in 5 before they played us.

 

Oldham D

Bristol Rovers W

Bournemouth L

Dagenham & R W

Rochdale D

Southampton W

 

So although very disappointing, it's not like their win has come from absolutely nowhere. I do think we have going backwards since last season though and if we don't get promoted it will be a failure. The reasons for this will be numerous and but lets see if we can get our season back on track on Saturday shall we.

Edited 3 March, 2011 by Chez

[MarkSFC]

At this moment in time Bournemouth do "deserve" to be 2nd because they have more points, its very simple. Once everyone has played 46 games it will all brcome much clearer who deserved what.

 

I think its quite clear that the majority our players are amongst the best in the league. What's more apparent is that as a team and as individuals they have been less consistant than the leaders.

 

Consistancy of performance is almost always a mental thing especially when comparing like for like.

 

Poyet seems to have got both the physical and mental right within his squad who on thenwhole haven't been in their position before.

 

Bournemouth though have already been there and done that last season so the "pressure" is easier for m to handle due to both lower expectations from fans and by the knowledge within themselves that they can do it.

 

Within our squad I don't think the cast majority have ever been promoted, and so couple thatnwith the expectation factor and you get the "inconsistency" like Tuesday.

 

This is not an excuse though, merely a potential reason as I see it. Having ability and also the drive and capacity to be successful do not go hand in hand automatically. I hope I'm wrong but I wonder whether some of our players have whatnut takes to be success in our environment.

 

But its after 46 games that counts.

[Mowgli]

Everybody needs to remember that this was "the season of NO excuses"

 

I don't actually remmber this quote but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Even so, everyone needs to remember this IS the season of no excuses.

[Dig Dig]

Lets get one thing straight, we did not "create" 20 chances, we may have had 20 attempts at goal but humping balls long into the box and shooting into an overcrowded goalmouth from knock downs and deflections is not creating chances, its called percentage football. We did create chances in the first half, but if you look at the finishing, every shot was straight at the keeper, that is bad finishing.

On your other point i have based my 10 games not on the "lower sector of the league" as you put it, or the bottom half, but the bottom 7, thats right,the 7 worst teams in this league, teams fighting relegation. We have dropped almost 47% of available points against teams in and around the relegation zone, battling to avoid the drop. One or two defeats are excusable, they can happen, but fail to win half your games against teams fighting relegation is totally unacceptable for a team that claims it is challenging for the title. I really dont understand how anyone can try to justify this record. We cant have had back luck, a dodgy ref etc in all of those games can we?

 

It's likely to be the difference between 2nd and playo ff's I reckon. I was fairly confident of auto promotion a few weeks back but the team does seem to lack a bit of a cutting edge when it matters the most.

 

I have a horrible feeeling that we are heading for a play off final with Peterborough.....and I would hate to play a one off game against those guys

[Legod Third Coming]

Because he's a golden boy for some bizarre reason, people seem to be blaming Adkins who is in fact doing a half-decent job, rather than Cortese...

 

When this season started we had everything in place to win the league at a canter.

 

We had a poor first result, improved, and then fired the manager who had BUILT the entire foundation of our squad.

 

Why are people now blaming Adkins for any problems?? Yes, he inherited a great side, a really, really good side. But he didn't build it. The man who did was removed from post before he could use the team he had created... bonkers.

[Window Cleaner]

Because he's a golden boy for some bizarre reason, people seem to be blaming Adkins who is in fact doing a half-decent job, rather than Cortese...

 

When this season started we had everything in place to win the league at a canter.

 

We had a poor first result, improved, and then fired the manager who had BUILT the entire foundation of our squad.

 

Why are people now blaming Adkins for any problems?? Yes, he inherited a great side, a really, really good side. But he didn't build it. The man who did was removed from post before he could use the team he had created... bonkers.

 

Although I have no great objection to the dismissal of AP it should have been done in the close season if it were to be done at all.

Was it so urgent that we could not line up a replacement and then sack him? Why did we expose ourselves to the 3/4 game

Wilkins disaster? Something stinks about the Pardew dismissal if only the timing of it. At the end of the season we could look back and say yep NA's results are on a par with anybody else's it was the 3 straight loss Wilkin's period that eventually cost us everything.

[CWD]

Um... Whoever is second in the league table when the season ends deserves second place.

 

This. What a stupid thread. There's still 36 points to play for ffs

[Chez]

Because he's a golden boy for some bizarre reason, people seem to be blaming Adkins who is in fact doing a half-decent job, rather than Cortese...

 

When this season started we had everything in place to win the league at a canter.

 

We had a poor first result, improved, and then fired the manager who had BUILT the entire foundation of our squad.

 

Why are people now blaming Adkins for any problems?? Yes, he inherited a great side, a really, really good side. But he didn't build it. The man who did was removed from post before he could use the team he had created... bonkers.

 

if we fail to go up I certainly will be pointing the finger at both parties, but there will be months for us to argue over this should it happen.

 

For those unhappy with the current situation, how about some solutions? I'd be more than happy to read a post complaining about the current situation before suggesting an alternative route - perhaps sacking the manager/chairman/coach or playing a different set of players.

 

Perhaps people can tell me why we lost on Tuesday and what we should have done to prevent that loss. If it just down to Adkins then should he be sacked now, and who should be brought in. Just posting `I told you so', `it was down to Pardew's preseason', `its not good enough' or `you are all happy clappy' time after time doesn't enlighten anyone.

Edited 3 March, 2011 by Chez

[Gingeletiss]

We can hit a cows arse when the opposition is nice enough to let us.

 

We are completely incapable of breaking down determined teams.

 

I seem to remember in Div/PL, that we done the same on many an occasion to the big boys, and we then thought we were the bees knees, now the coin has been flipped, you claim we are utter sh1te. Face facts, weaker teams always try and raise their game against stronger opposition.

[Window Cleaner]

This. What a stupid thread. There's still 36 points to play for ffs

 

or even 45

[Legod Third Coming]

if we fail to go up I certainly will be pointing the finger at both parties, but there will be months for us to argue over this should it happen.

 

For those unhappy with the current situation, how about some solutions? I'd be more than happy to read a post complaining about the current situation before suggesting an alternative route - perhaps sacking the manager/chairman/coach or playing a different set of players.

 

Perhaps people can tell me why we lost on Tuesday and what we should have done to prevent that loss. If it just down to Adkins then should he be sacked now, and who should be brought in. Just posting `I told you so', `it was down to Pardew's preseason', `its not good enough' or `you are all happy clappy' time after time doesn't enlighten anyone.

 

I'm afraid Chez, that's my point.

 

If you ask me what we should do about it now, we have to sit back and wait for nature to take its course don't we?

 

It's like saying "so having started that snowball rolling downhill, what can you do about stopping it?"

 

The answer was, don't start the fecking thing rolling...

 

Adkins, like all successful managers, has to learn his players, his team and build it HIS way.

 

I have no doubt if Pardew was here we would be playing better and be winning the league - this is not because Pardew is a better manager but because it's HIS team.

[Turkish]

There is a lot of chat on this thread about form and length of time to judge teams, and with that in mind can I point you to Walsall's recent home form, which has been pretty good with one defeat in 5 before they played us.

 

Oldham D

Bristol Rovers W

Bournemouth L

Dagenham & R W

Rochdale D

Southampton W

 

So although very disappointing, it's not like their win has come from absolutely nowhere. I do think we have going backwards since last season though and if we don't get promoted it will be a failure. The reasons for this will be numerous and but lets see if we can get our season back on track on Saturday shall we.

 

So two wins against other teams in the drop zone, two draws against midtable sides and beaten by a team in the top two, so in fact the only team they beat that wasn't in the relegation zone was us. However people try to spin it and try and be positive this was a TERRIBLE result.

[Wildgoose]

So two wins against other teams in the drop zone, two draws against midtable sides and beaten by a team in the top two, so in fact the only team they beat that wasn't in the relegation zone was us. However people try to spin it and try and be positive this was a TERRIBLE result.

 

i'm pretty positive generally, but I have to agree with you there. It was a terrible result. I'm really hoping it will pull us up short and galvanise us for the next few months....