Saints 0-3 Chelsea - Match + Reaction

[shurlock]

Who's fault is it that Ings missed the biggest sitter of the season, Hughes, Reed, Hoedt?

 

Awful miss, utterly awful and would have made a different game had he scored

 

Utter pony.

[Hamwic]

It might be premature to ditch Hughes. For me the problem lies higher up the food chain and the club's strategy of selling half decent players for hefty profits and replacing them with too many of limited ability. The results speak for themselves and, eventually half decent players will not want to come here regardless of who the manager is.

[obelisk]

Slightly better 2nd half I suppose but opposition teams and supporters seem to like coming to St Mary's. Are there three worse teams than Saints this season?

[kyle04]

Couldn't generally fault the effort, and we created enough chances to have got on the scoresheet. 0-3 a little harsh despite Chelsea dominating posession. Can't really fault Hoedts attitude, just his judgement at times. He is trying hard but is making costly mistakes nearly every game, and as a defender its spotlighted more. Ings missed from 3 yards, Bertie had a good chance. We just couldn't cope with the movement of Hazard and Willian, and when we had the ball couldn't keep it for long.

Next 2 games crucial, lose those and I think MH is on thin ice.

[CB Fry]

Who's fault is it that Ings missed the biggest sitter of the season, Hughes, Reed, Hoedt?

 

Awful miss, utterly awful and would have made a different game had he scored

We would have lost concentration at the restart and Chelsea would have cancelled out Ings goal before everyone had the chance to sit back down.

[Mister Neil]

I give you Witless with the Penniless family.

 

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[eddie]

Couldn't generally fault the effort, and we created enough chances to have got on the scoresheet. 0-3 a little harsh despite Chelsea dominating posession. Can't really fault Hoedts attitude, just his judgement at times. He is trying hard but is making costly mistakes nearly every game, and as a defender its spotlighted more. Ings missed from 3 yards, Bertie had a good chance. We just couldn't cope with the movement of Hazard and Willian, and when we had the ball couldn't keep it for long.

Next 2 games crucial, lose those and I think MH is on thin ice.

 

agree with all of that. good effort against an unbeaten chelsea side when confidence is low. ings was a fairly bad miss, although his and bertrand’s chances weren’t the biggest ‘sitters’ i’ve seen. 3-0 was harsh over 90 minutes but when you concede that much possession to chelsea it’s going to

hurt.

 

not really sure what the answer is. hughes, reed and some players are easy targets, but to be honest I can see them being scapegoats for a general lack of direction in terms of recruitment, player management and confidence. Getting rid of them could easily be worse than what we have now - and that’s saying something. No wins in 26 games is awful and we’ve lost our reputation as the best of the rest from 4-5 seasons ago. sad state of affairs and I for one won’t be calling for anyone to leave because i just don’t have the knowledge of the inside workings of the club to know what’a really going on, and at whose feet the problems lie.

[DT]

Utterly pathetic. Hughes is a dinosaur, playing football from the 90’s. Hoedt must have something on him.

Sack him now and get Henry before he goes to Villa and give the city some buzz about the place and him 2 weeks to work with the players. 4 points minimum from the next two. Absolute minimum.

 

Hughes Out.

 

We have more chance of getting Lenny Henry than Thierry

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[saint michael]

Well that was fun wasn’t it...

 

Inept owner..inept Board...inept manager...inept team... pick any, change needed at all levels..we are beyond a quick fix now, need To take some sensible longer term decisions and live with the short term Shyte being served up.

 

Think the set up is getting off very lightly from the fans paying and watching that week in and out

[cloggy saint]

Chelsea are a top side, unbeaten in all competitions(?) and with one of the best players in Europe f not the world in their ranks. I'm not gong to lose any sleep after losing to them.

[Cabbage_Face]

Shut up Hughes. Same excuses after every game.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ally_uk]

Todays game was a write off lose the next two and Hughes should go.......

[Wes Tender]

We didn't play badly for much of the match. I'm not certain, but I suspect that we possible had more shots on goal then they did, but mostly they were tame and hit straight at their keeper, although he did make a couple of really good saves too. The difference between the two teams is that their World class players will put away a chance, whereas our players often will not. Today we missed a play-maker like Tadic. Elyounoussi was supposed to be his replacement, but is nowhere to be seen. Is he injured, or just not considered good enough? Presumably Vestergaard is either injured too, or considered too slow against a pacy attack like Chelski's. It was good to see Yoshida back, as he at least does possess the pace to get back into defence and I believe that he could forge an understanding with Bednarek. But we have already had several different combinations across the back line and a more settled defence would surely be preferable.

 

Discounting their goal in injury time, it could well have ended 2-2, as Ings' miss for his first gilt-edged chance was criminal. It must have been more difficult to have missed than to score. He also had another chance put on a plate for him and missed that one too. Gabbiadini also had chances, but shot straight at the keeper. We were certainly better in the second half when we had four at the back and reinforced the midfield with Romeu. A midfield comprising Romeu. Lemina and Hojbjerg is a solid one and I think that we should certainly play it against the glory teams at least. All three of them had a good game, as did Gabbiadini and Redmond. Hoedt didn't play too badly today, and made a couple of crucial tackles just as Chelsea players were about to pull the trigger in the area.

 

If only we had found replacements of equal ability to Mane and Van-Dijk, we would have a half decent team. If we still had them, it could be argued that we had strengthened the team, but without them and Tadic, and capable replacements, we are are a poorer team, off the pace, lacking invention, pace and leadership.

 

It's going to be a long hard season. Let's just decide to replace Hughes if we are in the bottom four by the New Year, instead of playing Russian Roulette with relegation like last season.

[Vancouver Saint]

I don't think anyone expected us to get anything out of this game, however, what disappoints me is it was clear the players felt that way too! There was absolutely no belief we could get a result.

 

A reality check of the gulf in class between the top and bottom of the table. Hazard unplayable and a huge difference-maker...Willian on song too and it's game over.

 

Should've scored at least 1, that's the best we could possibly have hoped for with that going-in mentality.

[Shroppie]

For most of the game today we played well. Liked the team, particularly second half. We had six clear chances. That's decent, but if you don't take them against a team like Chelsea, they'll punish you

 

The ref was a joke. First goal was a bit unlucky - ricochet to Hazard in front of goal is as unlucky as you get. Second goal, we were distracted by to offside players from the initial delivery. Many refs would have said interfering, which they were.

 

Just needed Ings (x2), Bertrand, Hoedt, to put a chance away and it's a different game.

 

Yoshida made a difference to the defence. Liked Gabbiadini.

 

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[stknowle]

For most of the game today we played well. Liked the team, particularly second half. We had six clear chances. That's decent, but if you don't take them against a team like Chelsea, they'll punish you

 

The ref was a joke. First goal was a bit unlucky - ricochet to Hazard in front of goal is as unlucky as you get. Second goal, we were distracted by to offside players from the initial delivery. Many refs would have said interfering, which they were.

 

Just needed Ings (x2), Bertrand, Hoedt, to put a chance away and it's a different game.

 

Yoshida made a difference to the defence. Liked Gabbiadini.

 

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

Ricochet?

[ALWAYS_SFC]

We didn't play badly for much of the match. I'm not certain, but I suspect that we possible had more shots on goal then they did, but mostly they were tame and hit straight at their keeper, although he did make a couple of really good saves too. The difference between the two teams is that their World class players will put away a chance, whereas our players often will not. Today we missed a play-maker like Tadic. Elyounoussi was supposed to be his replacement, but is nowhere to be seen. Is he injured, or just not considered good enough? Presumably Vestergaard is either injured too, or considered too slow against a pacy attack like Chelski's. It was good to see Yoshida back, as he at least does possess the pace to get back into defence and I believe that he could forge an understanding with Bednarek. But we have already had several different combinations across the back line and a more settled defence would surely be preferable.

 

Discounting their goal in injury time, it could well have ended 2-2, as Ings' miss for his first gilt-edged chance was criminal. It must have been more difficult to have missed than to score. He also had another chance put on a plate for him and missed that one too. Gabbiadini also had chances, but shot straight at the keeper. We were certainly better in the second half when we had four at the back and reinforced the midfield with Romeu. A midfield comprising Romeu. Lemina and Hojbjerg is a solid one and I think that we should certainly play it against the glory teams at least. All three of them had a good game, as did Gabbiadini and Redmond. Hoedt didn't play too badly today, and made a couple of crucial tackles just as Chelsea players were about to pull the trigger in the area.

 

If only we had found replacements of equal ability to Mane and Van-Dijk, we would have a half decent team. If we still had them, it could be argued that we had strengthened the team, but without them and Tadic, and capable replacements, we are are a poorer team, off the pace, lacking invention, pace and leadership.

 

It's going to be a long hard season. Let's just decide to replace Hughes if we are in the bottom four by the New Year, instead of playing Russian Roulette with relegation like last season.

 

Decent summary

[Stu Man Do]

Ricochet?

 

Looked a lot like a decent pass through to me but there we go!

[Supersubpuckett]

current first XI suggests our summer recruitment wasn't very well judged - aside from Ings they were either on the bench or not even in the stadium

[Shroppie]

Yes. It bounced to him away from a tackle, as far as I could see. Or at least, that's what set it up.

Ricochet?

 

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[beatlesaint]

Todays game was a write off lose the next two and Hughes should go.......

 

for who to come in ?

hasnt the penny dropped yet - its the players and player recruitment the problem !!

[stknowle]

Yes. It bounced to him away from a tackle, as far as I could see. Or at least, that's what set it up.

 

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

No ricochet, just Hojberg getting robbed and then Barkley putting an unmarked Hazard through with a good pass.

[mrfahaji]

We didn't play badly for much of the match. I'm not certain, but I suspect that we possible had more shots on goal then they did, but mostly they were tame and hit straight at their keeper, although he did make a couple of really good saves too. The difference between the two teams is that their World class players will put away a chance, whereas our players often will not. Today we missed a play-maker like Tadic. Elyounoussi was supposed to be his replacement, but is nowhere to be seen. Is he injured, or just not considered good enough? Presumably Vestergaard is either injured too, or considered too slow against a pacy attack like Chelski's. It was good to see Yoshida back, as he at least does possess the pace to get back into defence and I believe that he could forge an understanding with Bednarek. But we have already had several different combinations across the back line and a more settled defence would surely be preferable.

 

Discounting their goal in injury time, it could well have ended 2-2, as Ings' miss for his first gilt-edged chance was criminal. It must have been more difficult to have missed than to score. He also had another chance put on a plate for him and missed that one too. Gabbiadini also had chances, but shot straight at the keeper. We were certainly better in the second half when we had four at the back and reinforced the midfield with Romeu. A midfield comprising Romeu. Lemina and Hojbjerg is a solid one and I think that we should certainly play it against the glory teams at least. All three of them had a good game, as did Gabbiadini and Redmond. Hoedt didn't play too badly today, and made a couple of crucial tackles just as Chelsea players were about to pull the trigger in the area.

 

If only we had found replacements of equal ability to Mane and Van-Dijk, we would have a half decent team. If we still had them, it could be argued that we had strengthened the team, but without them and Tadic, and capable replacements, we are are a poorer team, off the pace, lacking invention, pace and leadership.

 

It's going to be a long hard season. Let's just decide to replace Hughes if we are in the bottom four by the New Year, instead of playing Russian Roulette with relegation like last season.

 

Agree with most of this. I was enjoying how we were playing in the second half, and then they scored a second. We were at least looking a threat going forward, shame that we couldn't make it count.

 

It is a concern how easily we get the stuffing knocked out of us, but given our last year or two of results, is that really surprising? I'm not exactly sure what people could point to today that was directly the fault of the manager. Team selection was decent, we didn't give up too many good chances and we probably had as many ourselves, we had some spells (admittedly short) of good football. Fitness and confidence perhaps.

[mrfahaji]

No ricochet, just Hojberg getting robbed and then Barkley putting an unmarked Hazard through with a good pass.

 

Don't forget to blame Hoedt! Second and third goals were also his fault, as were the Ings and Bertrand misses.

[shurlock]

We didn't play badly for much of the match. I'm not certain, but I suspect that we possible had more shots on goal then they did, but mostly they were tame and hit straight at their keeper, although he did make a couple of really good saves too. The difference between the two teams is that their World class players will put away a chance, whereas our players often will not. Today we missed a play-maker like Tadic. Elyounoussi was supposed to be his replacement, but is nowhere to be seen. Is he injured, or just not considered good enough? Presumably Vestergaard is either injured too, or considered too slow against a pacy attack like Chelski's. It was good to see Yoshida back, as he at least does possess the pace to get back into defence and I believe that he could forge an understanding with Bednarek. But we have already had several different combinations across the back line and a more settled defence would surely be preferable.

 

Discounting their goal in injury time, it could well have ended 2-2, as Ings' miss for his first gilt-edged chance was criminal. It must have been more difficult to have missed than to score. He also had another chance put on a plate for him and missed that one too. Gabbiadini also had chances, but shot straight at the keeper. We were certainly better in the second half when we had four at the back and reinforced the midfield with Romeu. A midfield comprising Romeu. Lemina and Hojbjerg is a solid one and I think that we should certainly play it against the glory teams at least. All three of them had a good game, as did Gabbiadini and Redmond. Hoedt didn't play too badly today, and made a couple of crucial tackles just as Chelsea players were about to pull the trigger in the area.

 

If only we had found replacements of equal ability to Mane and Van-Dijk, we would have a half decent team. If we still had them, it could be argued that we had strengthened the team, but without them and Tadic, and capable replacements, we are are a poorer team, off the pace, lacking invention, pace and leadership.

 

It's going to be a long hard season. Let's just decide to replace Hughes if we are in the bottom four by the New Year, instead of playing Russian Roulette with relegation like last season.

 

You mean the penalty the ref missed?

[ringwood]

Negative set up, getting negative play is my view from the Northam , 5 at the back yet still really narrow , dare I say it we need to do what we first did under Poch , we need to up the tempo get in teams faces and at least give it a go.

 

Redmond didn't seem to be arguing today and could be argued to be our best player on the pitch as for Wesley well if he'd stayed off after his injury he would of had as much effect on the game.

[stknowle]

Don't forget to blame Hoedt! Second and third goals were also his fault, as were the Ings and Bertrand misses.

 

Haha, yes. Redknapp was trying to blame him albeit for "over-enthusiasm" rather than being crap.

[mrfahaji]

Haha, yes. Redknapp was trying to blame him albeit for "over-enthusiasm" rather than being crap.

 

Don't get me wrong, he was partly culpable for the opening goal, but the match thread was amazing for how many people were shouting at him but not Hojbjerg, when Hojbjerg was the one who lost the ball. Apparently Hoedt should have just cleared it! But couldn't Hojbjerg have just cleared it as well then? It wasn't like he was being marked when he received the ball.

[stknowle]

Don't get me wrong, he was partly culpable for the opening goal, but the match thread was amazing for how many people were shouting at him but not Hojbjerg, when Hojbjerg was the one who lost the ball. Apparently Hoedt should have just cleared it! But couldn't Hojbjerg have just cleared it as well then? It wasn't like he was being marked when he received the ball.

 

Indeed, I'm no fan of WH but out of him, Hojberg and O'Shea, he was clearly the least culpable in that incident.

[mrfahaji]

Negative set up, getting negative play is my view from the Northam , 5 at the back yet still really narrow , dare I say it we need to do what we first did under Poch , we need to up the tempo get in teams faces and at least give it a go.

 

Redmond didn't seem to be arguing today and could be argued to be our best player on the pitch as for Wesley well if he'd stayed off after his injury he would of had as much effect on the game.

 

While I agree that playing with more tempo would be better - it saw us create chances and helped generate a bit more support from the crowd - it's worth noting that Chelsea scored their first and second goals just after some of our best spells in the game. I know the second is misleading because it was from a set piece, but if we go for it a bit more we can't be surprised if we're then cut open at the back. Whether it's players or manager or a bit of both, we don't seem to be good enough to be an attacking threat AND defensively solid.

[Forester]

Anyone who expected us to dominate possession today was a fool, and while we starte too deeply to be fair we were in the game and should have taken the lead from Ings. I thought Hughes showed imagination to change formation at halftime and we were much better, still not as good as an excellent Chelsea team and again Bertie should have scored.

 

Unfortunately we are second best in both penalty areas most weeks, not general play but where it matters, and there seems a real concentration problem for some.

[mrfahaji]

You mean the penalty the ref missed?

 

So on that penalty... it should have been one, I agree. But, from a hypothetical point of view and not because I'm trying to justify them not getting it (they scored anyway, so it didn't matter):

 

Giroud touches the ball to the side, in the direction that the defender is trying to play the ball anyway. Giroud doesn't follow the ball himself though. If Giroud had played the ball in front of him instead of flicking it out wide, it either would have been a blatant penalty or Hoedt would have won the ball.

 

Can you see where I'm going with this? If the striker plays the ball with the sole purpose of winning a penalty, to the extent that he is no longer in control of it (which I know in this case is debatable), isn't it a bit harsh to give a penalty?

 

Hopefully you can see the case I'm trying to make - I'm assuming the rules don't make such allowances and that it was technically a penalty so not claiming the ref got it right.

[Give it to Ron]

Teach the defence man for man marking and go with them at any set piece its embarrassing.

Anyone taking a short free kick and plays back to defence rather than put them under pressure does an extra lap at Staplewood. Do they believe we have players to play through them?

Yes old school but we are poor and static no pace to get runners in from short.

 

 

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[ozzyman]

I have reached the point where I never expect us to score no matter how good the chance is, and when we do I cannot get too excited as I know a) if we are leading it won't last , or b) if we are losing or drawing we won't get another one.

 

At the moment I cannot see any way out of this situation, plainly we are just not good enough as a team, there is just no belief at the club and no leadership on or off the pitch to get us out of the hole we are in. This has been the situation for the past 2 years and the club has chosen not to do anything about it.

 

Unfortunately if you change nothing, nothing changes.

[OttawaSaint]

****ing sick of this.

 

- Get thrashed by top 6 teams

- No chance against 7-12 teams

- Blow leads versus the rest

 

Club is an utter head case at the moment

 

1 home win in 15

0 wins in last 30 vs a team in the top half (at time of playing)

Won fewer games than Leicester City at St. Mary’s since last November

 

3 other teams will have to have really really bad seasons for to survive, and for what? Same **** again?

 

Mistakes not being learned from in tactics, line up, signings and sellings. What a ****ing mess.

[captainchris]

Couldn't generally fault the effort, and we created enough chances to have got on the scoresheet. 0-3 a little harsh despite Chelsea dominating posession. Can't really fault Hoedts attitude, just his judgement at times. He is trying hard but is making costly mistakes nearly every game, and as a defender its spotlighted more. Ings missed from 3 yards, Bertie had a good chance. We just couldn't cope with the movement of Hazard and Willian, and when we had the ball couldn't keep it for long.

Next 2 games crucial, lose those and I think MH is on thin ice.

We couldn’t keep the ball they hunt and close down very quickly in packs. This how the top teams play. However we sit off, sit deep and invite pressure.

Why don’t we close down in the same way ?

You don’t have to be Eden Hazard to be able to that and it’s critical to stopping these guys playing.

Particularly not having the player quality that other teams we surely need to make them work harder. Time and again we gave the ball away because of Chelsea’s hard work closing us.

[saintwbu]

I thought Bednarek was quite good today and was saying as much when they read out he was being substituted, so I was very surprised by that. Weirdly we probably had more clear chances than Chelsea, despite feeling like there was only one team on the pitch for most of the game. There’s just no feeling in the stadium for the last 18 months, just silence most of the time and I don’t even get that bothered when we lose. Just a bit weird.

[LeBizzier69]

0-3 was a perfectly fair result in my opinion, men v boys out there again and i'd rather see us have a proper go at these teams rather than be ineffective at keeping them out. Yes, we had some chances and good ones at that but Chelsea were given the time and space to cruise through this game.

[aintforever]

current first XI suggests our summer recruitment wasn't very well judged - aside from Ings they were either on the bench or not even in the stadium

 

This says it all, we survived by the skin of our teeth last season yet Ings aside have just made the team worse by flogging Tadic.

[Cabrone]

The club is drifting, the lack of leadership from a distant chairman who looks happy with 17th is seeping through the entire structure.

 

Can't blame Sparky, the whole place has lost it's mojo and he's no miracle worker.

 

The rot starts with Gao, I'd love for him to go now and get some energy in the boardroom but that's not going to happen. Depressingly we could have a long spell under his stagnant leadership.

[S-Clarke]

We're dead. It's gone on too long for this to just swing and for us to be good again, there's a relegation brewing in the not so distant future and there's very little we'll be able to do about it.

 

Not much more to say, other than that we were out of our depth.

[mrfahaji]

We couldn’t keep the ball they hunt and close down very quickly in packs. This how the top teams play. However we sit off, sit deep and invite pressure.

Why don’t we close down in the same way ?

You don’t have to be Eden Hazard to be able to that and it’s critical to stopping these guys playing.

Particularly not having the player quality that other teams we surely need to make them work harder. Time and again we gave the ball away because of Chelsea’s hard work closing us.

 

How many good chances did Chelsea create from open play while we were playing deep and inviting pressure? I seem to recall their best chances came on the counter attack when we going for it a bit more.

 

If we worked harder, they would still have most of the ball, the difference is our players would tire faster and they would exploit it much more easily.

 

Just playing devil's advocate.

[Batman]

We're dead. It's gone on too long for this to just swing and for us to be good again, there's a relegation brewing in the not so distant future and there's very little we'll be able to do about it.

 

Not much more to say, other than that we were out of our depth.

 

yep, we are down this year.

We have totally wasted a lot of good money.........and relegation will be the start of something very bad.

 

For some reason, we have to sell anyone decent before we buy....that is in the premier league. The team next season will be a fuking state

[saint1977]

We're dead. It's gone on too long for this to just swing and for us to be good again, there's a relegation brewing in the not so distant future and there's very little we'll be able to do about it.

 

Not much more to say, other than that we were out of our depth.

 

This, and Cabrone’s post above it. Gao takeover just odd and no benefit to SFC, only to KL. Club has no direction from top to bottom, with the appalling players on huge wages, not least Fraser, we will be in administration within two years of relegation even with a reduction clause. Fans have been totally disenfranchised. Only two things would re-engage me:

 

- Gao selling - but can’t see it happening for a decade

- Phoenix club set up as rival or replacement, would definitely drive up from Devon to support that

[cloggy saint]

yep, we are down this year.

We have totally wasted a lot of good money.........and relegation will be the start of something very bad.

 

For some reason, we have to sell anyone decent before we buy....that is in the premier league. The team next season will be a fuking state

 

Like we were down last year? We're 8 games in FFS, get a grip, things can change. Honestly, the attitude among so many people here is embarrassing.

[S-Clarke]

Like we were down last year? We're 8 games in FFS, get a grip, things can change. Honestly, the attitude among so many people here is embarrassing.

 

It has been 2 and a half years of losing games. You would have to be mad to not sense a relegation in the distance - maybe not this season, but certainly within the next year. We're on a downward spiral which isn't going to change barring some major dramatic action.

 

When you see stats that state Leicester have won more games at St Mary's than us in 12 months FFS, that tells you all you need to know. A relegation is coming.

[captainchris]

How many good chances did Chelsea create from open play while we were playing deep and inviting pressure? I seem to recall their best chances came on the counter attack when we going for it a bit more.

Just playing devil's advocate.

If we worked harder, they would still have most of the ball, the difference is our players would tire faster and they would exploit it much more easily.

Just playing devil's advocate.

Yes but it doesn’t stop them closing down and because they do they win procession back quickly and are back in control leaving us getting knackered singularly, now and again and half heartedly chasing the ball again. We do not chase chase the ball down with purpose when out of procession.

[OttawaSaint]

I have reached the point where I never expect us to score no matter how good the chance is, and when we do I cannot get too excited as I know a) if we are leading it won't last , or b) if we are losing or drawing we won't get another one.

 

At the moment I cannot see any way out of this situation, plainly we are just not good enough as a team, there is just no belief at the club and no leadership on or off the pitch to get us out of the hole we are in. This has been the situation for the past 2 years and the club has chosen not to do anything about it.

 

Unfortunately if you change nothing, nothing changes.

 

Same here. If we go behind it’s game over, if we go ahead it’s obvious we’ll blow it. Even our wins have had an element of luck about them whereby someone misses badly late on (Benteke) or we get carved wide open at the death and McC has to make a heroic save (Bournemouth). When did we actually last win a game in convincing fashion?

[mrfahaji]

This, and Cabrone’s post above it. Gao takeover just odd and no benefit to SFC, only to KL. Club has no direction from top to bottom, with the appalling players on huge wages, not least Fraser, we will be in administration within two years of relegation even with a reduction clause. Fans have been totally disenfranchised. Only two things would re-engage me:

 

- Gao selling - but can’t see it happening for a decade

- Phoenix club set up as rival or replacement, would definitely drive up from Devon to support that

 

Agree with you agreeing with Cabrone and S-Clarke, they both summed up what I think. Not sure about needing a phoenix club though, it's not like our club is unrecognisable from the one we started supporting 10, 20 or 50 years ago, it's just they are getting lots of things wrong.

[Bazzyfryer]

Same here. If we go behind it’s game over, if we go ahead it’s obvious we’ll blow it. Even our wins have had an element of luck about them whereby someone misses badly late on (Benteke) or we get carved wide open at the death and McC has to make a heroic save (Bournemouth). When did we actually last win a game in convincing fashion?

 

It is nearly 3 YEARS since we beat a top side in the league. This is appalling when so called lesser teams have managed wins. There is something rotten about this side no passion no belief and little ability. Think we need a goodyounprogressive manager e.g Dean Smith of Brentford or Chris Wilder of Sheffield Utd