derek smalls

yes he did but that was (in my opinion) because he said openly he wanted to try and improve the playing style of the team and move away from the SKD route 1 style (that we are still using to this day). He brought in some players who may or may not have been up to the job, it didn`t work out, we went shit and he got the bullet as no-one was prepared to give him the time to sort it out because he was a dour fucker and nobody liked him. However.......prior to that he did a miraculous job keeping us up and we never looked in ay danger of going down the following year. We all know his European comments pissed people off badly similar to Phil Neals `water off a ducks back` comment in the 80`s and folk couldn`t wait to turn on him as soon as they got good reason. The point is it doesn`t matter who we have as Manager, people always see every decision as being made by a clueless idiot when results go against you. FSA had the happy knack of sticking Subs on and getting instant rewards which made him look like a genius. OC changes things around and when it doesn`t work hes a knobcheese who doesn`t know anything about football. Thas life, you stand and fall by your decisions but hounding out someone who fits the bill as the perfect choice and was doing really well til that DMB ended Holdens career is stupid to me. Can you seriously say his early success was nothing to do with him? that the team managed itself and he just stood watching? How many years did it take Ferguson to get it right at Old Trafford and he had pretty much a blank cheque? I say get off the blokes back and get behind your team. If we are bottom 3 by Christmas fair enough but we won`t be. I`d bet we are nearer the top than the bottom by the end of November

short memories some folk

lets suppose OC went and Curbishley came in and failed. what would the arguments be then? he`s old hat, he`s boring, he`s negative, out of work for 4 yrs we should have known he`d lost it, we need some one new, a young up and coming Manager, someone who plays good football, etc, etc. which is what we have now only he`s having a bad run. Allardyce took us to heights - left under a cloud, people blame him for ruining the club Lee - tried to play the right way, got no results, out the door before his arse print was in the Gaffers Chair Megson - Did an excellent job, Ginger Mourhinio and all that but when he tried to change the style of play nobody would give him the time to work through it, hounded out of the club Coyle - Came in with a blaze of glory, all going well til some terrible injuries threw us off track, currently being hounded out theres a pattern here isnt there lads?

Personally. I thought the Forest game was very entertaining and we were doing OK at Burnley til they scored. Also, given the number of season ticket purchases you have to deduce that people want to see what is on offer. unlike the allardyce era where although I was a big fan of his achievements it was pretty dire to watch tbh. Its clearly a confidence issue which OC may or may not be able to turn around. You have to say he has had a hell of a lot of bad luck with injuries. Wheater being out for the last game was a ridiculous stroke of misfortune after losing Holden, Chungy and Muamba (yes i know he wasnt playing) Even with all that we were 1 goal away from staying up. Two good wins and we will be on our way. Whether we get 2 good wins is another story but Cas, Im surprised at your recent comments. You`ve always banged the drum to anyone under 30 about how shit it used to be. Relatively speaking, after 37 years of regular watching we`re not doing too bad for me edit: get your Roadrunner videos out if you want to watch shit, boring, poor quality drivel. Wrexham away! What a day out but what an absolute crock of shit we were back then

Andrews looks like he could do a job for us, We have in both home games played some chuffin good football Eagles has found his level and looks like he will score a pan full. Surely the right defensive blend will appear if he keeps shuffling the pack Nobody left in the transfer window New signing looks a belter. Surely we can't have any more bad luck with injuries?

they wont sack him. in real terms, narrowly not getting promoted and not getting promoted amount to the same thing and we won`t go down. anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm is the old expression. its when the waters get choppy you see what a man is made of. he`s had a downward spiral that wasn`t entirely of his making and while he certainly isn`t blameless in all this he has plenty of time to turn it round. if we bounce back with a few wins it`ll be a different story. his shit decisions are only shit decisions because they didn`t work out. any one can be wise after the event. lets see what september holds. i`m coming over all supportive which to be honest i`m not particularly but this is the likely reality

next level was his terminology, not mine, meaning basically we were on the edge of the champions league and a few big money signings would take us to `the next level`, hence the term `next level`. the squad would have rotated by players coming in and players coming out, hence the term `rotated`. Allardyce was very good at that and theres nothing to suggest he couldn`t of carried on in the same vein. His early signings were tempted onboard by bluster and promise and probably big bucks but by the time he left they were attracted by what the progress they could see. Could things have carried on upwards? Who knows, maybe, maybe not. All I think is theres no asterisk in the record books, his achievements are there for all to see. If anyone thinks he deliberately resigned because he knew it was going tits up and couldn`t stop it then they also probably thinks elvis is still alive and the USA blew up the Twin Towers as a political move. Sometimes the truth is just too boring

Yes he does, yes he did, Rogers may be out of a job by Christmas, Hodgson (like Rodgers) was a politically correct choice (and did fuck all at Liverpool) Allardyce has a reputation for playing shit football and being a cunt as we all know and thats why he hasn`t had a top job The point I would like to make here is that a debt is only a problem if you can`t service it. When Allardyce was Manager we were going upwards, the debt was manageable, the squad would have rotated over time and there would have been no problem. It only became a problem because he wanted to take it to the next level, fell out with Gartside and did one. What followed was a complete collapse which left us exposed for which you cannot blame him. Silly talk to say its his fault

maybe glenda hoddle has a theory about owens previous life?

is JAT the new JSL Traf? I thnk those players are good enough and will be good enough. Personally I didn`t expect us to perform much differently than we have, I had us down for 4 points after 3 games and I think slowley but surely we will climb the league and be there or thereabouts come Easter. A strong finish will send us up, a poor finish won`t. Its no good saying `We are Bolton, how dare Crawley Town beat us` cos thats just blind, ignorant bollocks. Their home record is pretty good, they are a team on the up and lets be fair, you would expect them to have possession and they only beat us with a last minute goal. I`m boring myself keep saying this but anyone who thought we would go on some crazy 50 match unbeaten streak, picking up the FA Cup and League Cup trophys along the way is seriously deluded. The real problem is how we cope if/when we get back up, it seems quite clear there won`t be money invested and this mob will go straight back down. JSL and JAT back on topic, I say again, I think Andrews could become a very good player for us

i`m warming to that lad, I think he will do a good job for us. he seems quite strong and fairly mobile

its a shame he`s not as good as he thinks he is. good energy, good talker, the rest is dodgy

This is bob on. He had a big heart, a big gob and a big ego. I dont think we need him really. I quite like Andrews actually, he seems to be settling in after a scrappy opener v burnley,

tbh personally I`m not sure he had any.

i did a tour with some friends and family in May. Can`t remember the cost but it was very cheap compared to Urinals or their noisy neighbours. you get a full tour of the ground including TV Gantry, Changing Rooms, Pitch side area and anywhere else. we did it on a weekend, there were about 10 of us. It was very good value and they set it up for a time it suited us. Recommended

really? I`d like to watch you try that on a 5 aside pitch. if it was so easy everyone would do it. you see non-league teams doing that against other non-league teams which is entirely the point though isnt it? they wouldnt get far if they tried it at what is after all a level just behind some of the best teams in the world. people talk about it like, `why are we shit, we should stop being shit and be brilliant. he should tell them to stop being shit and pass it`. Does anyone really honestly think thats how it goes? NRC was dog shit when he had the ball, he gave it away for fun. he had his strengths but posession and distribution weren`t amongst them JSL

I didn`t go on Tuesday so I can`t comment but its more a mind set, `know your limits`. On a much, much lower level, I know what I`m capable of on a footy pitch and I know what I`m not so good at, you won`t catch me trying to sprint up and down the length of the pitch cos I know I`ll be bolloxed in 20 minutes then do something stupid cos my legs aren`t doing what my brain told em too then i`ll look a cunt. You won`t thank Tyrone Mears if he spends 80 minutes tanking up and down the pitch then trips over his shoe laces and gives a soft goal away so no it doesnt blow a hole in the argument. Hopefully (really hopefully) maybe we turned some kind of corner in the closing stages of that game and the confidence swept over them but more like Derby ran out of steam and big holes appeared. JSL +1 for Homer

there has to be a fitness angle to this as well? It`s not FIFA 12 on the X-Box is it. It seems simplistic to say `well they should pass it short, make space, keep it on the floor, etc, etc. its all well and good saying that they should be pass and move, pass and move but you need a supreme amount of energy to do that, which is why only the best teams with the best athletes can consistently do it. Maybe they just don`t have the ability or fitness levels to play that way?

? no they have us as 2nd favourites

interesting to see the bookies still make us 2nd favourites at 8-1. We should be about 16-1 by the end of the week when we have 4 points from 9

Thanks for all that shit, anyone know if they're doing a free shirt thing?

anyone know if threres one of them `free shirt `promotions on anywhere, like 118Bet did last year

i think theres not many who know him or know of him who would disagree but if you don`t find him funny on the stage then you`re resorting to the `he`s no better than me` treatment reserved for people who made it big from your town. theres people who knew him before he was famous who genuinely believe he pinched all their old material, as if to imply he just happened to be stood in the right place at the right time and it could have been any one of them. to suggest he was `lucky` or doesn`t have an act is petty and bitter. its not much different to scousers saying Paul McCartney was a shit musician. There! I`ve said it! I don`t care for him by the way, heard some right shit tales about his behaviour.

the reasons are irrelevant. theres always reasons (excuses). they only just went up and thats a fact. you can rhyme off a number of `reasons` why we went down but we went down. is anyone suggesting Fat Sam isn`t a much better Manager than OC? <Shakes head in disbelief>

:shok:it couldn`t be worse than that 11pm one at weekends. Pisspot Express doesn`t do it justice!