Ralph Fastenbüttl

A) What? B) They will

Dear god, so many options. I almost don't wanna say Baz 'cos it feels cruel on the lad but let's be honest - he's been diabolical. But AA can truly get fucked, total chancer. Ely can too very much do one. And we all give Che a pass 'cos he's our least shit striker, but if we're honest, he's still a pretty shit striker. Some of the sitters he missed this season were staggering.

Is it a 'football' chat as opposed to a 'mental conspiracy theory I heard from Le Tiss' chat?

Some pretty fucking poor decisions from Ruben tonight. I think the right sub strategy might actually have won us that match, astonishingly.

It's mad that the lad hasn't at least been rotated out and rested a bit, considering how he's so obviously struggled. I have no idea if there's a Premier League keeper somewhere inside him or not, but keeping him in the firing line the whole season behind our shoddy defense as his form continued to deteriorate may well have ruined the bloke. He should have spent another season learning and improving at a lower league club.

It'll be fucking Villa, won't it?

Surely if we've all learned anything by now, it's that there is no manager who can get what's needed so survive out of these players.

I disagree - I think we'll be back fairly swiftly, perhaps on our first or possibly second go, but I have serious doubts about our ability to assemble a squad that can compete sufficiently in the Prem.

Ah shit. I'm not normally one to give two monkeys about celeb deaths but this is very sad news. Motty seemed like a real gent who gave his life to the sport. Thanks for everything, John 👍

I just sighed so hard I pulled a muscle.

Am currently staring at the team sheet for the Chelsea game and feeling the positive vibes above draining away... Let's hope he does in fact know something none of us do. Like what crimes Orsic committed in a previous life.

Having watched the interview I find myself really rooting for Ruben today. He's a very likeable fella - it would be wonderful if it turns out he's got something about him. Go get 'em, lad!

I'm not sure why people think Potter is absolutely out of the question. We're a comparable club to Brighton, and having struggled after stepping up to a Top 6 team, why would he not want to return to more comfortable territory? We would still represent a Premier League Managerial Job, although I of course concur that a Championship club is a far tougher sell.

A lot of folk losing their minds on here but this doesn't feel massive surprising. I'm certain the club have their eyes on a couple of names who would likely become available before or during the summer, Potter being one example. Marsch's Leeds record was, if we're honest, fairly poor, so it would have made good sense to bring him in on a temp contract. If he exceeded expectations - great, sign him up. But if not it would have been very easy to say thanks, walk away and get the person we want. Folk here would certainly be ranting if Marsch came in, either got us relegated or kept us up by the skin of our teeth with the team playing bad football, and then suddenly Potter became attainable. I do think a short-term crisis appointment along the likes of Dyche (tho obviously not him now) to see us through ahead of a more long-term appointment in the summer is the right idea. I am not at all sold on that appointment looking like Rooney, Lampard or Gerrard however, although it's perhaps possible Stevie G (and perhaps Rooney, I dunno) could give us a short term lift, as he did briefly at Villa. No way I'd want him on a long term deal, though.

Honestly, I'm not gutted.

Undoubtedly true, yeah. But just because Harold Shipman is a better appointment than Jimmy Savile, that doesn't mean you welcome him in, pass him a box of syringes and tell him to get stuck in.

I understand a lot of the arguments being posted here but still cannot escape the feeling that appointing a failed manager from a current relegation rival is fucking mental?

Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard, Marsch - four terrible, terrible options. Please no. We need an experienced disciplinarian and organiser imo. I'm desperately hoping Potter gets the sack. I'd even take Moyes if he was booted. Poch remains the dream but it goes without saying that feels HUGELY unlikely.

Obviously I love JWP like a son but, hand on heart, I don't think he's a great captain.

We're 4 points off safety with 48 points still to play for. Obviously it remains absolutely possible for us to survive should we strike gold with the next manager. Is it likely? That's another question entirely, and it's certainly become increasingly less likely throughout the Jones run. And yesterday was a massive blow. However, the squad's definitely better than it was, and I find it hard to believe it's not good enough if in the right hands. But I understand the emotional safety of writing off hope, and it it makes you feel better then go for it.

I'll give him this - I was quite struck by what is now his final interview. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64616084 If you can ignore the infuriatingly persistent use of "aggression" and the maddeningly meaningless "front-footed", AND the "God willing" at the end, what you see here is a terrified little bloke who at least has the balls to front up to the camera and clearly, if nothing else, is giving his all and really, really cares. His eyes right at the start, I admit, do pull my heart strings *a little*. I find it hard not to sympathise with what must have felt like the most monumental plight, to an extent. Plus, he's fundamentally right in this instance - we were good enough for long enough in the game to have won had we have been more ruthless in front of goal. In that respect, for an hour at least, Nathan had done his job. Obviously he ignores the terrible game management that ultimately contributed to the loss, and I'm clearly not buying the 'going down to 10 was bad for us' nonsense. And none of this changes the fact that I despise the bloke and that this has been a dark, dark chapter. But as God was clearly not willing, seeing fit to shat all over him on God's day, in the name of charity I shall grant him thus - he tried. Very, very hard. He gave his all to our club, though fell so far far short. And the players most definitely let him down, because a lot of them are very nearly as shit as Nathan is. I hope whatever you go onto next works out better for you, Nathan. I would perhaps not hold out for another Premier League offer.

This one hurts the most. I genuinely feel broken. Can we please have that man out of our club? I honestly do not want to ever hear from him again.

I am liking the new front three, I must say. So refreshing to be free of Che and AA (and Djenepo/Moi).

Great post, thanks Francis. And the very best of luck with your health, my friend x I've had exactly the same thought regarding the hiring process. Sometimes it's not the idiot you work with that you have to worry about, but instead the more senior idiot who thought them a suitable hire. Either Rasmus couldn't spot NJ's really quite blatant personality flaws (which are hardly subtle - they're so in your face they're impossible to miss!) or he identified with them. Both scenarios are horrific and bode very, very badly for us.

It's entirely possible that SR choose to stick with him, yeah.