Holmes_and_Watson

I'll just save you the edits... 🙂

Vision

Most might, but I'm more a fan of the non stripey ones. Since Hummel did a few of those before, it would seem like a good time for a few more non stripes. This one was nice from recent mock ups, for example.

Bad

I don't mind having a direct style of play. Even better, with a squad capable of other options too. Stretching the game, getting into more attacking positions quickly, forcing their defence to make the decisions and costly errors, helped by having players positioned to back up the targets and win it back higher up the park. So yes, we'll lose the ball a bit more, but the key is where and how we win it back, when that happens. Being able to mix it up with other styles when needed is even better. Our midfield has been really weak with Romeu gone, so having options that don't rely on it, isn't terrible. RalphBall was lovely when it worked, and a catastrophe when it didn't and we offered no other options. Glad to have any kind of win on the board. I've no issues with Jones' quotes but we need to see those results now in the league. And the club have to get those players in the door. If they don't, then it will be the second manager they've pushed into traffic. If Che was really geeing up the boss, then it's an excellent sign of player buy in.

I'm hoping for a thumping win, where our direct style surprises a team seemingly a lot more set up for it than we are. Sadly, my magic unicorn is about to whisk me away to see a local game, so I'll miss it.

Fossil

"It is unclear how the child obtained the gun..." In the country where you'd get them from a Pez dispenser or with a Happy Meal, if some folks had their way. Nope, no idea how the kid got their hands on one. That they already had security measures in place for this sort of thing is scary. Yeah, our feral kids air lifted straight in from lord of the flies, at least aren't armed. 🙂

All jammies are covered by my elegant smoking jacket, awaiting the call in my role as Holmes & Watson, consulting forum poster! 🙂

Excellent tips. My wfh attire of wearing my jammies until around 11 before getting changed for a later lunchtime walk may need a review. 🙂

At only 47/48 time is on the side of promising youngster McCann to come good. 🙂

The tie is the desk warrior's uniform! It is his shield against complacency when wfh! It is his sword to cleave the way through the pointless data of the day! 🙂

Is the odd one out the horse, as it doesn't involve a car? The others are 2 stuck cars and a car crash.

DoF nothing. Get him out on that wing! 🙂 If Wilcox is aligned to the City methodologies, I do wonder how it works with the tactics we're moving to (assuming NJ is here for a while). But then I wonder how NJ approach managed to align during his interview to what we were doing. I have an ongoing, sinking feeling it was an alignment of delusions. Perhaps Wilcox has seen past Pep, and into the future of HoofBall. 🙂 After our recent departures and form, it will just be nice to have a football person with some connection to success at the club.

LGBT census data https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64184736

Pressure

Delay

I tuned in and heard Darren Bent talking about Les Reed's time in charge of Charlton. He talked about this very short reign, and that he didn't score during it. He said that the team were at a low ebb, that didn't help at all. But that they looked at Les and thought he was basically a fill in, rather than anyone who would be capable of getting them out of it. With that reaction in place, it didn't go at all well. Not to mention Les' actual skill levels at that job. I was a little surprised that they then went back to Nathan Jones, which is why Reed came up apparently. Surprised in that I didn't realise this was now being discussed that widely. They mentioned a few other short lived managers and said that Jones was already a contender to go, along with Lampard. On Ralph: We played some great stuff with him in charge. It was built on an approach that was very focussed and system based. That doesn't suit all players / personalities, but there's buy in when it's going well. Ralph was unfortunate that the resources were never made available to him to progress with that system during that first period of it. It would have been sad, but understandable if he had been let go after the first slump. He was possibly fortunate that no pennies, also included pay offs. A refreshed team went on a cracking second run, again with limited resources. Ralph was again unfortunate that he had to make do. After RalphBall was found out, it would have been sad, but understandable if he had been let go at any point from the last third of last season. He, and the new owners, could look at previous success, previous bounce back, improved incoming investment, a RalphBall identity across the club. I can see why he was kept into this season, and considering what he'd done it would have been great if he had reinvented the system. But since we offered absolutely nothing during our last slump, it could just as easily have been him going with the back room staff. He did well getting an early season tune out of the side with Broja last time. This season, we lost to fine margins. We'll just not know how much the lack of getting in strikers has cost us. It would have changed not just outcomes, but shape, tactics and possession. With the club looking to trim the wage bill (which isn't a terrible thing if it can be planned well),we won't know how much he wanted to keep Romeu, or Redmond. How much he bought into the recruitment of the summer (I can recall Adams being dropped, ahead of our new attacking arrivals, as if alerting him to other clubs). And certainly about that 3 centre half mess. That lack of doing it all his own way looked to have an impact, particularly when he wasn't given what was needed. Excellent young players brought in, utterly undone by giving the team no attacking outlets, and losing one of our best in a key position. Jones has inherited a side trained to a certain style, in a set system under a certain personality. He has a different style, with players even less suited to get results from it, and with the same glaring deficiencies as before. He's not a bad person or manager in this situation. He's not wrong to take the job or believe he can turn it round. It's an uphill battle from before his first day. But going back to Darren Bent's comment, we needed someone to come in, inspire and have the depth of knowledge and experience at this level to drive through some results until reinforcements could be brought in. We did not need to risk the top level future of the club, and many employees, on someone's pipe dream of a long term project. If the club aren't going to change managers, I can only hope Jones is given the attacking options that Ralph was denied. Then we'll see if we've even got a fighting chance.

1) Put me in charge. 2) Although relegation would still occur, I'd be a lot happier. OR Bring in a number of players pronto. Under Ralph that would have been a finisher, Romeu's identical twin and a creative midfielder. Under NJ, it's the above, plus whatever is now needed for a direct game. Far more physical in being able to receive hoofs out wide and up front, and do something with it, plus reinforced midfield/ defence to be able to deliver those balls from deep. Targets and direct passers. OR Bring in someone more in Ralph's line, and bring in the Ralph requirements. All transfers needed pronto. OR Dither once more on transfers. Have the club wheel out how tough it is to seal a deal in the richest League on the planet. Have the manager accept blame in interviews, while actually saying it was rubbish for ages before him anyway, so it's not really his fault after all. Train yourself to move your club in the Championship column of your Shoot league tables wall chart, ahead of next season. I'm for the first option myself. 🙂

The host brings out a cake stand with 11 cakes on it. Everyone at the table except NJ, wants to position them in a 4-4-2 formation, to show him the error of 3 cakes at the back. Tense. 🙂

The team that just beat us managed to bring in 26 or so in one window. Sure, we'd have to accept paying the salaries of the ones we've got too, as it's unlikely there would be many takers. But it might be possible. Just let me have a moment to pretend it's possible at least... 🙂

I'd not want my memories of Adkins tarnished by seeing him have to put up with this shambles. Far better for him to host seminars for us, so supporters can get some positivity from the other parts of their lives, while we slump for the rest of the season. NJ's team would be utterly useless, but thanks to Adkins, we'd all feel so great about everything else, it would soften the blow. 🙂

That's not 2026/2027 mind... 🙂

NJ said that Adams would be a better goal scorer with him in charge. Because making strikers better goal scorers is what he does. Southampton efforts on target = 0 Under Ralph the bulk of that team learend automatisms that, before it got sussed out, gave the team an identity and passing capability that took us well into the top half. I doubt NJ's approach is more technical than that, but yet it's somehow beyond him to get whatever it is across to the players, or the players have somehow lost the ability to learn. All of them. Here, we didn't threaten a team that, compared to how long our lot have worked together, just met in the car park before the game. If NJ's plan is more direct football, then it's odd that his team never took risks, never played with any pace, never looked like wanting the ball, never looked like creating space to recieve it, never looked like holding it up and certainly never seemed capable of getting a shot on goal. There are remnants of Ralph in there, which is never going to work in a new system. But whatever that new system is, it hasn't reached the brains or feet of the players. If it exists. Against a promoted team who have had to quickly work together, who are rightly at the same end of a table and who were sitting back, after we gave away our mandatory defensive howler as a gift goal. I think I saw 1 move, where a poor ball was played to Lavia, he turned it and got a quick pass out to KWP. Nothing came from that. And it had to be done after an error, and against a team that were already dropped deep allowing us bags of possession. We didn;t look remotely capable of quick movement like that, when Forest were further up. Our centre half look fairly strong, but the rest of the tam look deicdedly lightweight against everyone else in this league. We're not going to be winning many fights. And propping up the league, every game is going to be a fight. That was as tough a watch as I can remember in a long time. NJ had a long break with this squad. The end product might not ahve been quite there, without bringing in, say, a more physical attacker. But I'd have expected to see some signs of what the plan is. NJ looks constantly surprised that L1 tactics don't work against Premier League players. The club, manager and players all knew how important these last few games were for our season. Points = 0. And nothing is exactly what they deserve.

Sums up the night really