Patches O Houlihan

So by extension if we were to field a team that played a low block and had shots raining in on the keeper throughout every game, both home and away, but every third game we scored a breakaway goal with our one chance that would make you a happy man?!

Brooks was pretty good too. It worked fine to play Martinball in the Champ, but the players who tried to play it extensively in the Premier League now seem to be broken by it emotionally, and are struggling to adapt their game back to normal football: Flynn Downes has played about eight forward passes all season. To hear you singing Russell Martin's praises is truly a bizarre about turn. You were a hardcore 'Martin out' during the Championship season. Russ was good for team morale and rebuilt the team spirt after the lacklustre first PL relegation, but his style was polarising and was never likely to work in the PL Still inherited a team that was even more demoralised than the one that Martin inherited, and it had worse players at the start of the transfer window. It would seem from the outside that he doesn't have Martin's ability to turn around the mood rapidly (which honestly I was very impressed by). BUT - I think Still's style is far more likely to work in the PL if we are promoted. We have lost only 2 of 10 league games (Martin had lost 4 at this stage) and we did pretty well away at Liverpool. The first half we played today was the best we have played all season. As I just said on the other thread; 36 games to play and we are only 4 points off the playoffs. Aside from the likely points deduction people were expecting Leicester to do well - they have 1 win and 4 draws in last five.

Neither are better than the players who played today in their positions/roles

We are unbeaten in four games since the away loss at Liverpool. The first half today was the best we have played all season. We are 4 points off the playoffs with 36 games to play.

I think we should have used the Azaz money for striker

On average if 'Team A' has 21 shots, 8 on target and 2 off the inside of the post, and 'Team B' has 7 shots, 2 on target you would expect Team A to win. To put it another way. I would be more than happy if those are the shot stats after our game at Bristol - because I would expect us to have won the game.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0m9fj2r Goin Home with Adam & Jo

It did look like he was nailed on for a move to Belgium. Does anyone know why both his options fell through? Did he sit on the pot deciding too long?

Ok I accept that Hassenhuttl was a name! Was Poch?

I posted this on 33 minutes, we were already playing well and then ramped it up again for the last 15 mins of the first half.

We'd be interested to hear your take Fred as a follower of French football. My understanding based only on having read a few articles is that he did very well to maintain league positions whilst having his star players sold out from under him - kind of like Ralph Hassenhutl, and to a lesser extent Claude Puel managed here.

I wish we were QPR

Will Still was/is kind of a name - in Europe and we have a European DOF

I think we have. That's why we're all so pissed off!

Ralph wasn't a name, but otherwise you have a point here.

He did work out a system to beat Swansea. Play that game exactly like that 10 more times and we win it 9 or 10 times. xG was 3:25 : 0.26 ...and yes I know Whitey will bitch about stats and its only about goals, but we don't have a clinical striker. Arma is the best we have currently and he has always been profligate - needing a load of chances in order to get one. We managed that under RM and so he scored a hatful. We managed that today, but it just didn't fall right for him or any of the others.

Is it though? (Just counting today's match) These are professional adult football players that are paid a fortune. When do they get to bear some of the responsibility? The shape, style and formation created a hatful of chances and I'm sure it wasn't Will's idea for Fellows to keep putting 'up and unders' into the six yard box that their GK and CBs dealt with easily, or for our defenders to knock it amongst themselves for the last 5 mins.

That shot counts as a shot off target because of the nature of football stats. But even the kind of nobber who only watches football to see the goals their team scores, and finds every single other element dull would count that as a clear cut chance. You bell

In fairness I quite liked the players we had on the pitch today with the exception of Archer, maybe Edwards, and McCarthy should probably be the reserve behind a better keeper - but Spors didn't buy them. In the summer we sold a lot of dross and bought pretty well BUT and its a big BUT Buying Downs and only Downs as a striker was a massive massive balls up which pretty much negates everything else, and it wasn't like this wasn't spotted before the window closed.

So you want to appoint an ninth eighth manager in under 3 years?

Still specifically mentions trying to empower the players to not be scared.

The manager doesn't beat them personally though does he?! He coaches the players, and the players have to beat them. What he told them to do worked - the ball just didn't go in the net

WS was asked at the press conference. He and Aribo are both fit and training with the squad. But all through pre-season they were planning to be elsewhere. Still clearly hates leaving 5 players at home with every match day squad. For the time being these two are the easy choices to put in 2 of these spots: Edozie: I'd play all of Scienza, Fellows, Azaz, Robinson, and Fraser in his current form ahead of Sam. Aribo: I'd have him on the bench as a striker instead of Downs. Surely it is only internal politics with Spors that has Downs sat on the bench.

Without a fit Ross Stewart he is head and shoulders above any of our other strikers right now (I'm counting Arma as an inside forward because he can't play effectively in the middle)

They didn't sit back though did they?!