Cabrone

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.

The greedy Premier league is going to topple over the way it's going, can't happen soon enough IMO. Bundesliga is the way to go, big stadiums, big crowds and cheap ticket prices. The average Man City fan might even be able to fly over to Germany and watch a Bundesliga match for a similar amount to what they'd pay to watch their own team Bundesliga puts the Premier League to shame

Totally pointless gesture. It's pretty simple really, clubs will charge what fans are willing to pay. At the moment Arsenal appear to be able to get a full house for £62 so they will charge it. If fans don't like it they need to grow a pair and stop paying. Complaining whilst still paying up will have no effect.

Phew. Started watching on 65 mins and the players that stood out were Lambert, Rodriguez, Puncheon and Boruc. Lambert and Boruc the stand outs. Maybe the Boruc haters will calm down a bit now, he's a solid keeper. Villa look relegation bound from what I saw. Infact they looked a bit like us in 04-05, devoid of confidence and ready for the drop.

Firstly I'd be absolutely gutted if NA was offloaded. It would be a really shoddy way to treat the guy plus I believe he's our best insurance policy to get us out of the champ should we get relegated. Secondly I'd be pretty neutral to Di Matteo (whilst wishing him the best), he's an OK manager but not better than NA. He'd also need a certain amount of games to find his feet and we are running out of them. For that point alone I believe our chances of survival would reduce if he was to be brought in. Thirdly I just don't believe it is a good idea to change managers half way through a season especially when you are in as vulnerable position as us. For us to have a good reason to change now we'd have to have a total incompetent in charge and be able to bring in a much superior replacement. Point 1 is categorically not true and point 2 is highly debateable.

I like him, thought the way he took his goal against Chelsea showed class and as the season unfolds I've no doubt he'll get more of a chance. I'd like to see him play alongside Ricky, I think they would be a good combination.

No, we can get the 3 points and make another massive dent in Villa's fragile confidence. We need to go for the kill here.

Can't really look at DiMatteo's Chelsea tenure as the whole setup was on autopilot at the time. Better to judge him at West Brom and when compared to Nige I don't think he is any better. Gross is an odd one, wasn't exactly great last time he was in the prem. Best to keep Nige.

Oh come on, on here everything is Boruc's fault - didn't you know that? I quite like the nutty Pole in the goal, he might be a bit of an acquired taste but he does add a bit of colour to proceedings and will turn out to be a fine GK given half a chance IMO.

There's 3 points definitely up for grabs here and looking at the upcoming fixtures (gulp) what a big 3 points it would be. Their last 6 games (all competitions) are W 1, D1, L4 ; goals for 5, goals against 21 so their confidence should be nicely shattered. However whilst Villa are still my pick for relegation some of the comments on here show real hubris, sure they blow cold but they can also blow hot as their victory against Liverpool and their draw at Swansea show. Produce a QPR performance and we can win, do a Sunderland and it would be a draw at the very best. Just hope our own recent tonking hasn't had any mental effect.

You also have to look at the performances to get a better comparison. In 04-05 we were shambolic and looked like a beaten team. This time around we have a lot more belief about ourselves. In 04-05 I thought we were champ bound quite early, morale was so low and Harry was our 3rd manager just that season but this time we have more than a fighting chance. Just need to get that 17th place and it will be job done for this season. Not sure I agree that the prem is any weaker TBH. There are no mugs in this league and avoiding relegation will be a great achievement for me.

Probably a bit of both but with so many technically excellent Italian players we might as well use whatever advantage we have. Some of the players we are being linked to are of the calibre that we would never have dreamed of getting during our last premiership spell. All pretty exciting stuff.

Swap deal?

I have to be honest, Chelsea were magnificent and gave us an utter pummelling after 35 minutes. Yes, we played a weakened team but the mood they were in meant we would have gotten beat anyway regardless of lineup, that's just the way it goes. TBH I'm more gutted that we couldn't seal the wins against Stoke and Arse and that QPR got 3 precious points at their place because I can't see us getting anything out of them. Ba looks like he could be their own Van Persie. JRod showed some real class with the goal and Boruc showed enough to persist with him, the rest were pretty anonymous. On to Villa and a full strength team, 3 points are very much up for grabs.

Play your strongest team and go for it. If it looks like we are going to go out then sub key players early, they will have plenty of time to recouperate before Villa. We are no good after extended rests anyway.

With a run in like yours you've definitely got a chance, no doubt. If your confidence rises then I can see you getting a decent haul of points from the start of February onwards. As I've thought from the very start, there is going to be a real scrap at the bottom and I wouldn't be surprised if the likes of Newcastle evn got sucked in.