CB Fry

There's actually a rumour about this, then?

You seriously think Boro can "get the best out of talent and we can't?" you actually think that? That's my answer. Your premise is effing ridiculous. That do you?

So you say this is a disappointing season but you're also complaining that the manager responsible for that disappointing season hasn't got a longer contract. So you want three more years of disappointment or not?

What question?

Where have I said I don't want to see us in Europe or running round Wembley with a cup? Anyone who pays attention to anything I write on here will know that's all I ever want us to do. If you read the drivel I was replying to, you'll notice it was blathering on about how the club has "eroded" when we haven't. Presumably you agree with OldNick meaning that when we were 9th two years ago we weren't accepting mediocrity but right now, in 8th place, we are mediocre. Okay then. And if you can actually find a post from me where I say today's defeat and Tuesday's are "acceptable" then do post it up. Because I've said nothing, whatsoever, at all, even resembling that. Keep frothing though. Keep frothing.

This is based on a couple of performances in the second tier and then a scenario that you've made up in your own head. When we were promoted from the second tier we signed Billy Sharp in the January to help get us over the line. He then became utterly surplus to requirements the minute we achieved promotion. You gave no idea that Boro aren't looking at Gaston in exactly the same way.

Heaven help us if we were 17th. Keep blubbering drivel you whining hysterical sap.

I'm starting to believe they are going to win the whole damn thing. Amazing stuff.

This time two years ago, after 29 matches, before this howwible howwible erosion started, we were 9th. But with a whole point more than we have now. A whole point. The erosion, oh the erosion, has been chronic since then, it really has been. We'll never be ninth after 29 games again, that's for sure. Such erosion. Such terrible, terrible erosion.

We will definitely win this.

Not really. You can't stream championship matches for a start. If Derby, Forest, Sheffield Weds and Leeds can still pull in 25k more or less then why wouldn't we? Villa and Sunderland/Newcastle/Norwich will see gates like that next season too, in the case of the NE teams much more. In the last five years Championship attendances have held up very well despite the rise of streaming. The total average for the league was about 17k five years ago and it still is. There is not one good reason we couldn't see gates of 25k at least in the Championship. Why on earth you think we are a special case I don't know.

Not really though. If we stop riding high and end up back in the Championship then we'll revert back to those hardcore fans and maintain gates at 25k ish like before. Yes, it's kind of complacency, but football fans are stupidly loyal, and the fly-by-night affluent Prem fans will easily be replaced by those currently "priced out" should the time come.

Jesus H Christ. Why don't we find ten other players that have managed to score three goals in the second tier and offer them contracts too.

No one should be making any decisions until we've heard what Jermaine Jenas has to say.

I thought we were going to definitely maintain the form from our six-match streak for the rest of the season. What happened to that?

Where I come from the "economics" of a business decision do tend to require actually selling the thing you are planning to sink investmet into. You don't split the two. It's the same argument.

I'm glad us selling 10,000 extra seats for every single game doesn't feel unreasonable to you.

Anyone saying we "scraped promotion" from League One or the Championship would be regarded as a total fu cking idiot. Oh yeah.

My going in assumption with anything you post is to assume you write utter drivel. It's served me pretty well thus far.

That's not what my PC said.

Obviously not. Painfully, obviously not. Ipswich and Norwich are 50 miles apart and is a huge derby but that does not mean every club in a 50 mile radius of another club is a derby. Fu ck me. Can't even believe I am having to explain this.

Nigel Pearson lost 4 matches. Harry Redknapp lost 15. How does that equate to Pearson losing 5% more games?

Indeed. Indeed again. Also a team very much constructed by Burley with players he knew well and hand-picked - Rasiak, Skacel, Wright - plus other big names for the level we were at. Scraping that team to 6th on the last day was appalling, acheiving the barest of bare minimums with the resources given. He took over when we were 12/13th and left when we were 12/13th. No progress whatsoever, sowing the seeds for what came later. He was dreadful. (For SOG's benefit - Dreadful for us. Dreadful for Southampton FC. When I say he was dreadful I am specifically talking about him being dreadful for Southampton Football Club. Clear?)

Read the post before. Read Batman's reply. Read them. Really try and read them.

Read the post Batman quoted. Read Batman's reply. All the words. Read all the words in both posts. Read them slowly. Read them in order. Give it a try.