Cabrone

I disagree - think we have every chance of getting something from our next 2, but we must get sharper at taking our chances. This week we have bossed Man Utd around on their patch and destroyed Wigan in the 2nd half on their patch. We made them both look like chumps. We should fear no-one.

Immense 2nd half performance, completely strangled Wigan and got through huge amounts of work pressing and hassling them. Should have been 3 points but a momentary defensive lapse and it's 1. That's the premier league for you. Shaw my MoM - what a talent he looks - with special mentions to JRod, Cork and MS. If we could sharpen up a bit more infront of goal we should stay up no problems. Dare I say it but if we had an Adam Le Fondre up front we'd be banging them in all day long.

Give JRod the correct service (ground hugging balls through the channels) and he'll score. Remember his FAC goal against Chelsea? The ball was played down the channel and JRod applied a classy finish. The midfield have to give him the correct ammunition as he's got what it takes IMO.

No, I want all 3 and I think we can get them. They are not nearly as bad a team as a lot of posters on here would have you believe though. Said all along that this relegation battle is going to be tough, there are no mugs at the bottom. Villa are probably the worst but that is due to confidence more than anything, if they pick up a win or two they could transform. Other than them Wigan are a useful outfit, QPR are showing real resilience and an upturn in form, Reading are showing a huge upturn in form and we are looking good now. Newcastle, Norwich, Fulham and West Ham should be concerned. I can see at least 1 of them falling into the bottom 3. At least 40 points is the target and to be super safe 43 IMO.

Not too bothered, the last thing we want is to sign players we don't really need and if the ones we were interested in didn't happen for whatever reason then so be it. Not forgetting that we did actually sign a highly rated international CB. The squad should be good enough to stay in this league and that is the only benchmark for the season.

He's quite often nice to teams he thinks are no threat. He got the 3 points, job done. I actually look forward to the day when Ferguson snarls into the mike that he hates the sight of us and tries all his old school mind games on us. Then we'll know we are really doing something right. Not saying we didn't play well but we lost and he got the points.

Midfield were superb 2nd half, snapped and harried United who were chasing shadows for long periods. Our attack needs to sharpen up though, I thought we were quite blunt. Sometimes we need to play the quick long ball in, we were far too slow to build up. Their GK didn't have to make 1 save in the first half and was barely tested in the 2nd despite our dominance of possession. However the pressing was excellent, Boruc made a world class save, JRod scored a quality goal and United were run ragged in the 2nd half so a lot to be pleased about. Can't help but feel that we could have had a point though.

It's just the usual 'Arry bluster. I personally think he'll pull QPR out of relegation, they look a much tougher outfit than earlier on in the season (forget the cup performance) and are fighting for everything. West Ham should have buried them, so should Chelsea but they got the point each time. It's points like that that keep you up. Reading look like they doing their usual 2nd half of the season run - 5 wins from the last 6 -and I see them pulling clear too. Too many on here have been underestimating them. I've no idea why after what they did last year. We just need to make sure we don't get sucked back in there.

Will be interesting to see if MP has much of an effect on the team performance for this one. Would like to see an 'in your face' performance but still can't see anything other than a defeat though.

Always thought that Climbatize by the Prodigy would make a great tune as the teams are coming out.

Rape, armed robbery and a total disregard for club rules. The kid seems to be determined to **** away any chance he's ever been given. Had never heard of him before this thread and somehow I doubt I ever will.

Yeah, easy. Making up 16 points on the top 5 in 15 games should be a doddle. The Don is a bit bonkers but I have to admit his crazy ambition is also a bit exciting. I've never seen anything like it at this club. Just hope we don't blow up somewhere down the line like the mob down the coast.

He's a bit of a nutter but I like my GKs a bit crazy, makes them a more exciting. As long as they can do the job that is. The abuse Boruc has received on this site has really made me laugh, amazes me that people can post such strong vitriol about a player when it's obvious they don't know much about him atall. Just relieved that the club have finally got the GK situation sorted - Boruc clear No 1 with the experienced Davis and apprentice Gazza in the wings ready to step in if needed.

Poison chalice, Nige would be better to wait for someone in a better position than Villa. They are going down and need a faith healer, not a manager to stay up at this rate. He should wait for either a prem club that can give him a whole season OR a champ club that looks like it's going places. Would hate to see him squander his good work at SFC on a rusting, sinking hulk like Villa.

I never doubted the Pole in the goal and was amazed he didn't get the jersey from the time he arrived. GK was my no 1 priority from the moment we got promoted and I'm just relieved we have it finally sorted. Boruc is transforming our defence, he's a class act who has already earnt us points and from what I've seen may even reach Niemi'esque levels. The club should try and get another 2 years on his contract if they can.

That was a decent point well earned. Relieved that the team didn't have a melt down out there against tough opposition. Of the outfield players Shaw, Schneiderlin and Cork stood out for me. Would like to see the midfield start playing balls through the channels to Jay Rod as that is where he is dangerous. Boruc was probably my MoM, was quiet for large parts of the game but when called upon did the routine stuff perfectly well and made some great saves too. Apart from the sacking of NA his exclusion for so long is the biggest mystery of the season as he's already earnt us valuable points. All in all that was very reassuring.

Everton are a decent team so I'd have gone for a draw at best but post NA who knows? Morale may have been dented and we could sink or alternativley we might just for once get new manager syndrome and actually win. Guess we'll find out pretty soon.

Before last Friday I'd have gone for 6-8 being par for the course. Now...............who knows? The Barcelona trip may be a good move - manager and players need to bond ASAP.

The only way to make a protest that will be felt by the board is to stay away. It's not quick (ST holders obviously can't have an effect this season) and requires a lot of fans to individually do it but it will ram the message home like nothing else. In this age of win at all costs nothing else will work. TBH after this strange decision I'm prepared for relegation anyway so sales would go down automatically. If the new guy pulls it around then fair play to him but with Reading (stable manager - unlike us) and QPR (the much maligned Harry in charge) looking like they are picking up form my money is on bottom 3 now.

Still can't get my head round this one. We have 16 games to go and were 3 points above the bottom 3 at the time of the sacking. We are still very much in the pressure cooker. To sack a man fully backed by the fans and who was steering the team to a position where survival was more likely than not for a guy who has no premiership experience, can't speak English and has a mixed record still isn't making sense to me. Even if you take a clinical 'win at all costs' view and ignore the back stabbing element of this I'd say the chances of relegation and losing lots of revenue have increased greatly so it's not adding up for me as a pure business decision. If this doesn't work out Cortese will find himself back in the champ with a mutinous set of fans (I'd imagine the new guy would have gone by then). He's dug himself into Lowe hole - he's going to have to work hard to get out now.

I'm truly gutted, I really believed Nige could have pushed us on a lot further. He had an absolute baptism of fire which not surprisingly left us bottom but since then he's really started to learn and adapt. We were looking better and better and even started to hold our own against the big boys. Survival was looking increasingly realistic. We've lost a manager that could have gone down as one of our greats for a guy that has an average record and doesn't even speak English. We are 3 point from relegation with 16 games to go - if nothing else the timing was completely mad. What the hell was Cortese thinking? What's more Nige was a good guy, a bloke who held out coming here until he'd got S****horpe some decent compo and a guy who was always upbeat and honest. I liked him as a person and I don't say that about many managers. The only people who will be happy today (apart from a few odball wind up merchants on here) will be our relegation rivals. They will be dancing a jig today.

I read the rumours this morning but didn't really think they'd be true. Unbelievable. We've just sacked one of the brightest managers we've had in a long time. Unbelieveable. Looks like the much demonised media got this one right. Cortese has had a major brain fart. Unbelieveable.

I hope there is no truth to this because it would be total madness. If you are thinking about it Nicola don't do it. At the moment you have a lot of good will amongst the fan base but that will evaporate if you get rid of a manager that has been one of the freshest breaths of air we've ever had a this club. DON'T DO IT.

Never ever expected anything from this so to get 1 point having been 2-0 down is a real Brucie bonus. Well done the team, we look like we are really starting to move now. One top class CB short of becoming a solid prem outfit?

That's 2 or 3 points he's already saved us. Just a shame Nige didn't select him earlier (the total over-reaction to the bottle incident didn't help), we could have been comfortable mid-table by now. Still, better late than never. I think by the end of the season his critics will be hoping he stays.