Ralph Fastenbüttl

I just posted this in the match day thread, and think it applies here too.

On the one hand, I think the people calling for Still's head this early into the season are insane alarmists. On the other hand, you look at the team and can't help but wonder what it is they're actually trying to do? We're playing with the same lack of identity we had under Mark Hughes. It honestly looks like he's just sending them out there with instructions akin to "just get stuck in, lads". Except they're not even doing that. What is the objective? What is the system? What is our style of play? I couldn't answer any of those questions. And I'm already exhausted by it all.

TWELVE MIGHTY POINTS!!!

Well bugger me sideways and call me Roger!

Oh fuck me, I'd forgotten about the living nightmare that is Baz. Something else to look forward to. God, will the horrors ever cease?

People are just despairing, mate, after what has been a season far worse than any of us could have ever imagined. Unsurprisingly that leads people down a dark and hopeless path. But as others have said, people all too quickly forget how godawful we were when last relegated. Not as shit as we are now, of course, but plenty shit nonetheless. Yet look how things turned out. And despite the epic clusterfuck that is Sports Republic, they're clearly invested in sorting this bullshit out. The one fortunate thing for us is that turning a middling Prem team into top half or even European contenders is a gargantuan undertaking, requiring untold resources. Turning a terrible Prem team into Championship contenders is nowhere near as big a job, demanding resources that are well within our means. We might not bounce straight back, but I doubt it'll be long. And I really can't see us going down.

Like, why are all our players so shit? Why is the manager setting us up like this? Just... why is it all so relentlessly terrible all the fecking time? Getting a bit sick of this, lads.

Smallbone seemingly has the club in his heart but I just don't understand him as a player. I don't see what he offers. Honestly, I sadly do think we're best off getting rid.

'Magic of the cup' my fucking arse. Least magical thing I've ever witnessed.

All these folks convincing themselves that Juric won't be here next season may be in for a shock this summer, I suggest. Of course, if we get do in fact hire some shit hot DoF, they may come in with aspirations of bringing in one of their guys. But on the presumption that doesn't happen, I think SR are relatively settled on him.

Who's gonna give Will the bad news?

How dare you sully the name of the Mighty Tall Paul, official Club Hero and Champion?!?!

DEAR FUCKING GOD

One of the many, many players who will probably look instantly better the moment they step away from the drudgery of our club. Yet another example of us failing to get the best, or even just the 'not worst', out of someone.

Never a truer word spoken.

Great job, OP.

My problem with Selles at the time was his unwillingness to deviate from Plan A, which was the very same plan that had failed for Ralph. Interestingly, this exact same inflexibility was a problem for him early doors at Reading, and it wasn't until, like, three months in, that he finally abandoned Ralph's 4-2-2-2 and tried something new. And in the process he completely reversed the club's fortunes and has emerged at the other end of it all as a really loved manager over there. It was always clear he was a very decent and principled chap. I'd love it if he continued to grow and became a top manager. I never thought I'd say this, but I'd have to say I'd welcome him back right now to be honest!

Upon reading the Echo report on Martin's post-match comments, I texted a mate the following: "For fear of tempting fate, every one of these comments reads like a bloke who is out of ideas and knows that he's losing his job, no?"

So how does this corruption manifest? Who makes the decision about who is to be wronged? Who is then told to wrong them, and by what means? Does each ref have a list in their pocket with big green ticks next to some teams and huge red crosses next to others? Are they disciplined at clandestine liaisons in abandoned and derelict buildings in the dark of night by men in black suits and dark glasses should they be deemed to have not been sufficiently unfavourable to those clubs being conspired against? And no-one has ever blown the whistle on this because all refs fear that if they speak up they will one day be taking a walk by a canal with their loved ones only for a man carrying a suspicious bouquet of lilies to 'pop a cap in his ass' via a cunningly concealed silenced P99?

Yeah, I'm convinced fitness is a big problem for us. Which is inexcusable from a management perspective.

It's not corruption, it's... just an inescapable whirlwind of pain and suffering and shit.

Fuck me dude, please. The football is bad enough without the added pain of the constant pedantry.

I've remained broadly pro RM thus far. He seems like a sensible, loyal and honorable chap who doesn't get the credit he deserves on this board for achieving his sole target last season - namely, promotion. But today's clusterfuck is pushing me right to the limit. Such a bizarre selection. I can't decide whether he was trying to be clever or if he has genuinely lost the plot. Right now it feels very hard not to crave the broad ability of a possibly dull but clearly tactically competent manager like Potter or Moyes, especially as I believe the squad ARE capable of more than we're getting from them. Perhaps I'm a fool, but I do think that in the right hands we've got the players needed to stay up. Which only makes the need for change more urgent. I'm not sure how much longer he should be given, sadly. Things feel like they did at the end of Ralph's tenure - it's clearly not working and there's ever diminishing hope of that changing.

Can't blame RM or Russball for that - we created more than enough chances to finish this one off and that equaliser was flukey bullshit. The gameplan worked, but the players failed us. Again and again and again.

How do you come to that conclusion? Because of his rich history captaining the team through an almost historically poor top flight campaign? I'm not saying JWP wouldn't do a job for us, but let's not pretend he's shown any sort of ability to help our team grind out results when all around him are poor.