GDog07

The tactic of defending for 80mins, hoping we’re still in the game, drawing or only a goal behind and chucking six attackers on for the last ten minutes seems to be the Ralph way and it’ll work every once in a while, but you’re definitely losing more than you’ll win or draw with such an awful plan. Edozie, Aribo and Stu should be starting far ahead of Diallo, Moi and Djenepo and I’d be sticking Mara ahead of A.Armstrong. One of the most likely games to pick up points and secure a good start before the WC and we are pissing it away by playing far from our strongest starting XI.

Edozie should have started after his twenty minute cameo against Wolves. Beggars belief if anyone in the coaching staff actually takes note of anything positive. A blind bloke seen how well he ran at the Wolves defence a couple of weeks ago ffs, 70mins of no SOT’s and he’s still warming the bench hahaha, unbelievable.

Had seen Ronaldo getting off the team bus five times before kick-off in their match v Leicester. The same interview another five times with Man City’s new defender. And they got woman in white, sitting on the couch, to give her examination of Man City’s transfer window, expertly stating it’s been exceptional because they signed Haaland. Groundbreaking.

Looks like a mass ‘Ralph train’ revealing beyond 10pm and it’s looking more and more like it, if we actually have anything over the line yet.. Defenders and Midfielders but not a much needed big Striker would be the only disappointment to end a very very strong window.

A quick search seems to suggest this guy is already signing for Monza.

Would love a point right now and I don’t think it’s any less than we would deserve. Play like this throughout the season and we’ll be alright, for sure.

Amazing what happens when you play with a few attacking options on the field rather than a bench full of them and five at the back.

Times up, hoping for a performance, we’re still in bed. Zero points from at least the first five games, it’s desperate not being able to beat a Leeds side that should have been down last year. I hope the fans are making it clear in the stadium that we don’t want him anymore, or we just sitting quietly and accepting it?

Got confidence that we’ll play well today, it’s definitely our most winnable game of the first five by far and if we come away from these first set of games, with 3/4 points or miraculously more, I think we should be happy. Opposingly, if we get gubbed today, it could see us bottom of the league, five matches in with zero points, that would just leave us in an awful position unless by some miracle, 16/17th place was still within three or four points of us by then. Expecting us to be up for this game, soon find out how we expect things to go when the 2pm teamsheet is released, but I’ve got confidence we can take a few goals off this Leeds team and play well.

Newcastle will end up finishing above us, how depressing when they’d only one win and had hardly hit double figures by Xmas 😩

Packed up, gone home and stuck our feet up with a half-time lead as usual, nobody at the club realised yet there’s two halves of 45mins to a game of football?

I think we do, we get sucker-punched in most games that we dominate statistically. We can have 15 shots and score 0, whereas the opposition score their only shot on target. Or, we have 70% possession and end up on the losing side. I would love nothing more than a thumping 4-0 win, but it just hasn’t happened for us like that for a while now.

LOL, Xmas? I think they need a meeting on Monday morning.

Gotta find something to give it, eh. Time for someone to photoshop out a hair before getting a kid to draw their lines up.

I know Newport are sub-standard in comparison to Premier League opposition. But, 0-10 would be a positive piece of media coverage for once.

Jesus Christ. Everton put 3 past this team. Man Utd put 4 past Everton. 5 past Leeds, sadly to say a better team than us right now. Hold onto your hats for 9 with this awful selection. Had high high hopes for Ralph. It’s diminishing by the game, it’s time for a change if he thinks this is our best side.

Had no enthusiasm for this season, all very flat in the transfer market, nothing ever to get excited about. Ralphs management doesn’t help, tactically inept so it seems and never makes a sub before 80mins that could make a massive impact in the game, yet Rafa turned the game on its head come 45mins. Definitely not the first time we’ve been tactically outclassed after taking a lead. Think it’s time for a new gaffer that can read a game and make the changes, might actually stand a chance this season, we have the players to stay up but quite a few were sat on our bench today with the questionable line-up.

But, England being England, neglected to select the best English set-peice taker, not just from their starting XI, but the entire Euro 2020 squad.

Possibly, I don't know if there is a stat for that, I don't have enough time to keep track of every single professional football match all over the world, lucky if I can watch one in a week. He may not have started, but he'd be a better option than anyone in the current squad for set peices. I am sure, however, that there are teams in many professional football matches all over the world that will be selecting a player in their starting XI solely based on their outstanding set peice ability.

Keep on seeing these free kick chances just outside their box. Does make me feel for JWP, knocking those in with no effort at all, all season.

First time I’ve been back on this forum in four months. Unbeliveable start to the season and then it became soul-destroying to watch, could have been where West Ham are now in the league if we hadn’t taken a handful of points in 15/20 games, not enjoyable at all and lucky again to have three teams who were far worse off than us again this year.

We’re paving the way for West Ham to clinch a Champions League spot keeping Tottenham at arms length for them, Chelsea their next game and a fairly gettable 15pts afterwards Crazy to think they could be CL material, I’m just jealous and wish it was us lol. They’ve got us last day mind, we could spoil their party and let our good pals Liverpool sneak into 4th.

Exactly. FA Cup being completely seperate to the league pyramid. Not really fair, if say, a League One or Two side magically found their way to an FA Cup final, beaten by a Man Utd, but the european place that used to go to the runners-up, gets thrown back to a middling EPL side. Definitely stunts any opportunity for a smaller club to get their chance at glory and maybe only opportunity at Europe that they'd ever have, for doing so well in a cup competition, even if they did fall at the last hurdle.

I know it used to be that if the winner was already guaranteed an European place, the runner-up was awarded it. I knew the changed it to something like that, shame really, felt more of an achievement that way rather than throwing it back to the league which doesn't have anything to do with the cup.

Is the FA Cup still a backdoor for Europe with Chelsea surely going to secure a spot through the league? I remember it always being as such years ago, but somewhere in the back of my mind i'm telling myself that i'm sure they done away with it and revamped the pathways into Europe and it's not how it used to be.