CHAPEL END CHARLIE

I aways liked 'Debauched' but I can never decide if I prefer it as a verb or a noun.

I can picture the scene now. The condemned prisoner is strapped into the electric chair and the guard is just about to throw the switch - but hold on a minute - the Governor has just phoned through with a dramatic last minute stay of execution! Will the new evidence - the next two results - save our man, or is he doomed? Watch this space to find out ......

If you give over your hard earned cash and go to games then you must be a 'supporter' in every sense of that term that makes any sense. If the OP is of the opinion that to be a real supporter you must also hold the same set of views as some other supporters do re the running of their club, then he is very much mistaken.

When it comes to Cortese there was a time (not so long ago) when a fan dare not offer the merest hint of criticism on here because the Don's legion of admirers would soon fall on you like a ton a bricks. Well one (small) upside of this miserable season is that a spirit of Glasnost is sweeping the forum, and we can freely say now what we really think. The manager has not exactly covered himself in glory - far from it - but truth to tell the root cause of this clubs current problems stem from the boardroom, not the dugout. The fact that Cortese knows next to nothing about how to run a Premier League football club is self evident, but that wouldn't matter so much as long as he possessed the humility to acknowledge his limitations and take advice from those who do. It seems to me however that his ego-centric personality precludes that possibility. Someone said earlier that Cortese needs to 'pull his neck in' and leave the running of the team to the manager - with absolutely no sign that our absentee owners are prepared to intervene (or are even interested) until that happy day happens we're likely to remain in deep trouble if you ask me.

We didn't "roll over and die" against Leeds - its more a case of the manager deliberately selecting a team that was 'Dead on Arrival' before a ball had even been kicked. I also thought that as hard as we 'huffed and puffed' Wigan were pretty good value for their win. A neutral might conclude that Fulham too were within a minute of taking all the points. You are correct however in saying that Spurs outclassed us, (for a hour anyway) but other recent results suggest that they (and even Arsenal perhaps) aren't really as good as our 'Keystone Cops' defending made them look. Now if anyone wants to claim we might have taken points from both Manchester teams then fair enough, but overall bottom of the league on 4 miserable points is, more or less, what we deserve I'd say.

I don't see a firesale of players come January in any circumstances, but 'Stick or Twist' will soon become the question on our current form. But this key decision needs to made in early-mid December, not sometime in January. A single digit points total on Xmas day and this season is already a lost cause in my opinion. In that unhappy circumstance we might as well batten down the financial hatches and prepare for the Championship. Even 15 points by Boxing day may not be enough.

This week I am mostly listening to: 'The Dubliners' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJwC9jPhuY4 Hairy!

Some on here obviously don't like it much, but the OP is perfectly within his rights to point that a gap between the "stranded" bottom 3, and the rest of the division, is starting to emerge. The truth will out I'm afraid, those unpalatable truths having a bad habit of not going away just because we choose stick our collective fingers in ours ears.

I'll thank his Lordship for the 'NYPD Blue' link - although I've never forgotten it, it still brings it all back. Anyone who followed this series from beginning to end, as I did, will surely know what a complex, beautifully drawn character Andy Sipowich truly was - there's almost something Shakespearean about him. It's highly unlikely we ever reach a consensus on what the greatest US TV series was of course, but for me it just has to be NYPD Blue. If 'Blue' is the greatest, then it is because the genius behind it - Steven Bochco - made it so. It's no coincidence that Bochco also produced 'Hill Street Blues', without that groundbreaking series NYPD Blue could perhaps never have been made. Watching 'Hill Street' today and it seems a bit dated - more so than NYPD Blue ever will - but you must remember that in its day there was literally nothing else on our screen quite like it. Look at his body of work and you just have to say that Steven Bochco is the greatest TV writer/producer we've ever seen.

Not my second team, I don't even like them really, but I took the kids along to see Bompey v Dagenham & Redbridge in the FA Cup 1st round yesterday. Alright it was typical lower league fare to be honest - more effort than skill mostly - but the game reminded me of what good value (£12 for the 3 of us) and fun there is to be had from watching a bunch of honest players win a football match. I'm not about to join "Eddie Howe's Barmy Army" for one minute you understand, but compared to paying more than £500 this season for the privileged of seeing our assemblage of incompetent defenders fail miserably, watching this game was actually a enjoyable experience. So hateful as the prospect of relegation is, I must admit it won't be the end of the world. PS - Bournemouth's wide left No7 (Pugh) - a bit one footed but no worse than Puncheon or De Ridder methinks.

Has it occurred to you that one of the reasons these teams are in the top 9 is because they're been lucky enough to have played us?

Ramirez is clearly a good player - he bloody well should be at this money - but I haven't seen anything to suggest he's a outstanding footballing talent in the same class that MLT was for us in the past. It's good he's coming back, but Gaston Ramirez alone won't save us this season I'm afraid. It's a obvious thing to say but I'll say it anyway - our only chance of avoiding relegation is learning to shore up our terrible defence somehow. Answers on a postcard as to how we do that with these players ........

You are so right. Unlike the more trendy shows many on here are forever praising, this conventionally structured, but superbly realized, series never seemed to receive the attention that I think it probably deserved. But what a heady mix of rock hard realism, office politics, quirky humour, and above all Humanity this unusual series was at its best. Add on a killer cast and scripts to die for, and a TV addict has to ask what more you could possibly want? Broadcast late at night on a obscure channel, it's a great shame this fine programme failed to find a mass viewership here. But if its UK audience was a relatively small one, at least it's encouraging to know that there are still a few of us left who can recognize bloody good Television when we see it. Not since the demise of my beloved (but very different) 'NYPD Blue' and 'Star Trek TNG' have I felt quite so saddened by the death of a mere TV series.

Breaking News ! After the surprising failure of our last night's innovative 'Surrender before Kick off' tactic, I understand we are now planning to field a entirely new defence for this important game. ......................Chaplin...................... Abbot .... Costello .... Laurel .... Hardy

If the OP thinks that unearthing two years in twelve when we were worst off than we are now, but subsequently avoided relegation, is supposed to fill one with a sense of wild optimism then he's very much mistaken. We don't need to go all the way back to the last century for evidence because the best comparison is surely the last time we in this division during the 2004/5 season. The record shows we were actually a point better off that season after 9 games, and Antti Niemi had 'only' been beaten a mere 12 times - compare that to the avalanche of goals we've hemorrhaged this season. Drawing comparisons between Steve Wigley and Nigel Adkins is very difficult because they came to Premier League management via very different routes. Few would say (myself included) that Adkins didn't deserve his chance this season, while Wigley was not qualified for the job and shouldn't never have been appointed after Sturrock's mysterious departure. Well after 14 games (and just one win) even Rupert was forced to agree with the vast majority of Saints fans that Wigley had to go - the correct decision taken perhaps a month too late many would say. Will the equally hapless Adkins last until December? 'I don't know' is the only honest answer I can give you, but it seems to me he's rapidly running out of time.

Every word of the above is fair comment and perfectly true of course. However there's a element on here that will never admit this because they made their minds up a year ago that Guly is great, and any number of subsequent mediocre performances won't change that fixed view one iota. I call it 'Saganowski Syndrome' - if a player (briefly) performed well in the past, this then guarantees he must be constantly on the verge of recapturing that good form. Unfortunately 'it ain't necessarily true' as the saying has it .....

I'll stick me neck out here and say that I reckon Hughes is going to turn QPR around before very long - their home game v Reading on Sunday being key to that perhaps. Guess who that will probably leave propping up the rest of the table next week ....

He really, really isn't of course, but as per usual I didn't actually boo his unwelcome appearance. After all, It's hard to boo convincingly with your head buried in your hands.

But calling you a simpleton is not a insult, its a technical term that describes someone of limited intelligence. Given that you apparently can't even understand words quite as simple as 'another' for instance, simpleton does seem to fall into the category of 'fair comment' in your case.

Hay I was one of those who thought we'd probably be humiliated again and that didn't really happen, so that must be 'something' right? Wrong. Show me a gallant loser and I'll show you a loser. It's not good enough to play well for 30 minutes when the game lasts for 90. Conceding 26 goals in just 9 games cannot be explained away with the tired old excuse that these are mere 'individual errors' that can be easily corrected - that stat shows you a team that is constitutionally incapable of defending its own goal. I've just seem our manager on TV again restating how "confident" he still is about the future. Well I'll resist the temptation to tell him where to stick his confidence, and restrict myself to saying that I'm confident too. Confident that is that we are on course to end up with one the highest 'goals conceded' records the Premier League has ever seen. That too is 'something' I suppose ....

Sorry but this really is a genuine 'No sh1t Sherlock' moment.

Might not one reasonable definition of 'sense' be that those who fail should be made to answer for it, rather than be rewarded? If you follow through with the logic of this daft 'Keep Adkins Regardless' argument, then if we were to retain him next season in the Championship because of his previously successful record in that division, then we would also presumably have to sack him once he got us re-promoted because of him (in this as yet theoretical scenario) being a proven failure in the Premier League. Blackburn and Bolton attempted what we might call the Tammy Wynette 'Stand by your Man' policy this season - unsuccessfully. In reality I'm pretty sure his job here won't survive relegation, and I seriously doubt the Chairman sees this great club becoming a 'yo-yo' outfit as an acceptable outcome. We don't require a manager who can get us promoted - we require a manager who can get us promoted and keep us there. The second part of that sentence being the really difficult part unfortunately. ..................................................................................................................................... PS - the Buckinghamshire irritant should know that there is no more pathetic sight on here than someone how loves to dole out criticism of other peoples views, but then cries like a spoiled child when they receive some (well deserved) return fire. If you really want to continue this then spare others the tedium of reading your brand of nonsense and continue via the PM system - where I'll be more than happy to deal with you.

You never learn boy. There's nothing classy about having to converse with the likes of you - the only 'class' it reminds me of is a remedial education one.

Trust nobody. Rickie Lambert has played virtually every league game for us since he first arrived here - with great success. I take it nobody on here really doubts he is still our best striker. So unless someone can produce some evidence that a players body suddenly goes into self destruct mode on their 30th birthday, then I see little or no reason why a 30 year old requires all that more 'protection' than a 29 year old would. In this fans opinion 'Tempting fate' isn't the decision to play Lambert - it's the decision not to play him. Football is in its essence a beautifully simple game that is made to seem complicated by those who fall into the trap of over-thinking it.

Are you intellectually challenged ? When I wrote 'another woolly headed thread' the word 'another' was a clue that I was commenting on a recent multi-thread trend that this forum has become subject to, rather than replying to this one particular example of that phenomena only. Now the concept that someone can be capable of expressing a general point on here, rather than restricting themselves to addressing a narrow one, is obviously far too complex a idea for you to get your little head around, but it is nevertheless true. Now something I'm genuinely 'not interested at all' in doing is wasting my time by arguing with simpletons. So I suggest you go away and play elsewhere if you want to avoid making a even bigger fool of yourself.