qwertyell

0-0 HT. Sparky's come for a point. It's absolutely desperate - I feel sorry for the fans who've shelled out to watch a team trying to not lose too heavily in a semi final. Chelsea have been under so little pressure they haven't conceded a single foul. It's only a matter of time before they score, and then it's over. Which will come first, a Chelsea goal or a Southampton touch in the opposition box? Chelsea's keeper is top banana in penalty shootouts anyway, so it's not like a draw is great outcome for us at any rate. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Five at the back, three holding midfielders, an acre of empty pitch for Chelsea to play in, two isolated strikers. Tactical genius Hughes must wonder how we're getting utterly dominated. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Like he's kept Stoke up, having been given plenty of time? Wouldn't have touched Hughes with a bargepole, but he's wrangled a nice little earner and our relegation won't damage his dwindling reputation - Stoke's relegation will, though. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Slow, predictable, devoid of attacking ideas. Five defenders and three negative midfielders is not generally the ideal balance for "must win" games But we're still in it. I don't see how we're going to score, and we'll concede the moment we open up, but we're still in it. Bertrand playing himself off the plane tonight, with Southgate in attendance. Why do we look in such bad physical condition? Literally every side we've faced this season has been quicker, more dynamic and vibrant than the one-paced trudge we've served up. Come on, let's do this - hiddeously ugly wins still count. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

In two years, we sold our best attackers without replacing them and have since sold our best defenders without replacing them (and still haven't gotten around to addressing the attacking shortcomings). To nobody's surprise, we are now a team poor in defence and attack. Our demise is entirely self-inflicted: we have chosen to drastically weaken key positions in the deluded belief that somehow our "system" is bulletproof. Whoever gave Les Reed free reign over all footballing decisions has killed us. Unchecked by a strong manager like Pochettino or Koeman, he's been disasterous. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

It was in stark contrast to most of his performances this season. Perhaps he heard about Newcastle being interested and realised he needed to step up his game to get back on the radar of some decent clubs. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Last four games: 0-3, 0-3, 2-3, 2-3. Doesn't matter if it's three, four, five, six at the back - our defence is horrible. Top of the league now in goals conceded from headers: and Ducker Stephens wasn't even playing. Reminder: in the last year Les has sold both of our starting centre backs for £80m or so combined, and replaced them with our third and fourth choice centre backs and a chap from Lazio reserves for £15m. Great business model on the spreadsheet, but relegation whilst making a tidy profit is a depressingly soulless approach to running a football club. Sad. Today isn't why we're going down - we gave a good account of ourselves for 70 minutes. The rot set in a long time ago. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

On this season's half-assed performances, I'd be amazed if anyone decent comes in for Bertrand, let alone for crazy money. Generally, he's looked out of shape, plodding and disinterested. A West Ham kind of signing. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Didn't look special against league one Wigan. Or even bang average. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Welbeck came in a long way from the wing. At any point, Cedric - who was marking no-one - could've engaged him and made it difficult to get a free run and jump at it. The frequency with which he gets bested on the back post isn't a coincidence. Plenty of fullbacks over the years have been diminutive in stature without being a total liability. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

August. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Two goal assists for Cedric - and two pretty abject pieces of defending costing us goals from Cedric. Cedric giveth and Cedric taketh away. Moderately spirited effort by the team. Too little too late, obviously, and we're still weak defensively and uninspired going forward, but hey: small mercies and all that. I wonder if Bertrand is planning on going an entire season without once breaking into a sprint... Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

This, in droves. When you're signing players on the promise that they can leave as soon as possible, what kind of committment do you expect? When the chips are down and it's time to roll up your sleeves and show how much you care about the club, the folly of signing huge numbers of mercenaries who were planning their exit before the ink on their contracts even dried is laid bare. They don't give a damn. They're not calling team meetings to sort things out - they're calling their agents to arrange their escape from the stricken vessel. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Well, his strength of personality didn't stop QPR from getting relegated with a whimper. We don't need players who say all the right things after the fact. We've got plenty of those. Perhaps our lethargic, unfit squad would've been better served doing less media training and more football training. Just a thought. What we do need are eleven utterly committed bastards who aren't prepared to shruggingly accept relegation on their watch without one hell of a fight. Sadly, I'm not sure we could even come up with more than two or three. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

We've only won once in four months. Our last three "must win" games against relegation rivals have gone 0-0, 0-3, 0-3. We aren't winning another match this season. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

I assume that's either sarcasm or inebriation. We were horrible. And disgracefully unfit. When a 35 year old Zabaleta can give Redmond a two yard head start and still easily outpace him over 15 yards, you know something's badly awry. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

I don't know why anyone expected anything else - we've had about half a dozen must win games in the last few months and been absolutely woeful in all of them. It'd take a better manager than Mark Hughes to get a tune out of this bunch of pea-hearts. Did he not notice our midfield getting overrun by the mighty Wigan in the first half last time out? Beggars belief that he'd line up the same way against a top flight team. Relegation with barely a whimper is a horrible legacy for one of the best kits we've had in years, but few of them have been fit (literally in some cases) to wear the shirt in any case. 0-3, halftime, game and season over. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Nothing wrong with one up top - Man City and Barcelona seem to be doing okay. It's about the support we give the striker, that's where we're failing. The wide players rarely turn up in the box, our midfielders almost to a man want to sit and hold, or don't have the mobility to get up and down all game. With the limitations of our current squad, I'd give the old Christmas tree formation a whirl: 4321, two free roaming number tens up close behind the striker, the full backs bombing on to provide the width (as they have had to anyway, because our inverted wingers cut inside 90% of the time). Gabbiadini up front with, say, Sims and Boufal in close proximity could be a good blend of clever movement, pace and occasional brilliance. Redmond's rare moments of quality in his Saints career have all come from the centre of the park too. I wouldn't have Tadic anywhere near the team. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

It wasn't pretty, but a win's a win and a step in the right direction. Acheived with just nine players, too, as Carrillo and Tadic are total passengers. Hopefully Cedric finally getting his first goal out the way will discourage him from desperately whacking the ball into the stands from 40 yards once per game. Shame Gabbiadini couldn't register, but he put himself in good positions and at least looked like he was trying. That Brighton keeper is one to watch in the future - only 22, an England u21 international. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Yeah, he really got Berahino firing... Hughes isn't a coach anyway - he leaves that to Eddie Niedzweicki and Mark Bowen. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

I too have experienced women not really wanting to speak to me. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

At least we won't be stuck with him next season when we're trying to get promoted. A couple of ex-players on The Debate downplaying the myth of Hughes being a no nonsense, arse kicking manager - Mark Schwarzer just said he sometimes saw him ranting at officials on the sideline and wished he would be more like that in the dressing room. Good luck to him. I don't think he'll make any impact on our decline as it's a) probably too ingrained at this point, and b) he's not very good, but I hope to be proven very wrong. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

A nothing appointment. Neither one thing or the other. They could've thrown money at someone half decent and had a red hot go at staying up, or rolled the dice on a wildcard and crossed their fingers. At the very least they could've planned ahead and brought in an up-and-comer for the inevitable rebuilding job after this season's disaster. But instead we've settled for dire mediocrity, accepted relegation, and will be lumbered with him next season, which will only continue our decline. Won't win another game this season. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Garbage appointment in a garbage situation to end a garbage season. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

First bit of good news this season. Reed and Wilson are still escaping being held to account for their culpability in our demise, though, so what's likely to change? The same bunch of incompetents who hired and backed Pellegrino are being entrusted to replace him. And so the cycle continues. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk