SoccerMom

Just want Big Nige back. Anyone who would take sandwiches so that he could check out the Reserves after a full day's work and not miss his tea clearly takes his job seriously.

Don't think that's entirely fair. Think it's probably that Saga and Davis were they only ones who were clear about their job and their position.

So here is the conspiracy theory, maybe?

Sorry to say the performance was shyte. You know, I may be just a mum who takes her kid to football, but even I could tell we were in trouble from the kick-off. We can't finish. We are making the same errors in defense that we were making at the beginning of the season. When someone gets into a finishing position, they don't shoot, they pass. Why? It's been the same game after game. Even the nipper's team know that you need to get the ball forward. And as for having the wingers on the wrong side, well, all season long there hasn't been enough width and this just made it worse. There was a point for about five minutes when Holmes and BWP swapped over (probably on their own initiative, it was when a Donny corner was taken), but then suddenly they were back in the wrong place. Go figure. I made the point after the Manure match that even the warm-ups are chaotic. These guys just need the basics drilled in over and over until it's automatic again. They are so into the fancy stuff that they've forgotten how to do the simple stuff. I feel sorry for JP, I really do. And I feel sorry for the players. But it's just clearer and clearer that it's not working, but someone is just too convinced of their own reality to see it.

You'll never get him to eat humble pie. narcissists don't. The only way to change things with a narcissist in control is somehow, somehow to make it seem like their idea. Not impossible, just very very difficult. If you can find a manager who is a top-drawer manipulator you might just be in luck.

Just got back after leaving at half time - nipper complaining of a headache and wants to be well to play tomorrow. Gobstruck from minute one. Can't understand why BWP was on the left and Holmes on the right. Both struggling to stay wide. You really couldn't make it up - conspiracy theory, anyone?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/norwich/7829227.stm

Isn't that just a tad tasteless?

Aw, can't we reconsider Fitz Hall, then? Just so our CB's could really be..... Jan Saeijs Fitz Hall I'll get my coat.

Gah! Cureton! Doesn't he ALWAYS score against us?

do-do-do-do-do-doo Saganowski There was a cheerful little ditty posted on here ages ago to the tune of Supercalifragilisticexpialadocious that had my nipper in stitches. Bit of a tonguetwister, but definitely original.

Re the spelling, TBF the Beeb got it wrong, too. They've corrected it on the story page itself but not on the link from the Southampton page. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/southampton/default.stm Poor bloke - must drive him mad. Anyway, first team football (if he gets it) will do him good. Yes, he's lightweight for the CCC but he was quality in the reserves last year. Will be sorry to see him offloaded at the end of the season as I think he has a future - this must be the plan as they won't be able to renew contracts, yes?

Excellent - even a pronunciation guide! Now that they've told us, are we going to get straplines like: Saeijs-ing up the opposition Bringing strikers down to Saeijs ? I do hope so.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder

Only in passing...

Would it surprise anybody these days? Don't think so...

Exactly. It's not rocket science, to coin a phrase. It's just running/stretching/skipping/kicking in a line and learning to work and move as a unit.

Well, you know, part from anything else it seems to me that warming up like the Mancs improves your awareness of other players in your peripheral vision. If you want the back four to work the offside trap, they need to be aware of where the others are. If you want the strikers to work together (when there are two...) they have to be able to sense where the other guy is. It may be old hat, but if you're only playing one up front then it's easy to trap him. And bless me, if you didn't see Neville and co moving up the field in a straight line time and again yesterday...

Did anyone else notice the difference between the warm-ups for the teams? The Mancs were on ages before us, and they were stretching and warming up as a team, old-style moving in a line across the width of the pitch for at least ten minutes. Our lads came on and it was a free for all and then some fancy passing formation routine which, TBH, didn't look much cop. Only thing that impressed was that Gobern can high-kick better than a Broadway chorine. Thought he got his knee to his nose more than once. Anyone else think that pre-match discipline could be improved?

That's funny - I was sat right behind and to the left of the technical area and every time I looked he was there. Gave the ref plenty of grief after the first half as well.

Fair enough.

Um, maybe they were fighting shy of going anywhere near the divers because it seemed all they had to do was put a foot in to get booked. It must have been a hard one to call when you knew the ref would send you off soon as look at you. Nani was a disgrace. But I don't agree there was no fight. Gillett was like a little terrier, always ready to rob the ball and actually won more headers than players six inches taller than him. James did his fair share (actually thought he played quite well today apart from that one dreadful cross) and Holmes was all over the pitch. McLaggon did what he could, but more than once I saw Evans had got him pinioned arms against his chest (couldn't reach down to his waist) and Vidic just bore down on both his shoulders. Lightweight, yes - we need Patto and Gobern's height, but they are beanpoles. McLaggon's in proportion, but just too small to play up front alone. But I don't agree that we need evil buggers. We need smart buggers. And a striker that has both height and weight.

Actually, no I wasn't particularly, but I thought today's display was better than Forest by a country mile. From where I was sitting it looked as if they kept their heads up. Christ, if they had given up then it wouldn't have just been 3-nil would it? Nor do I think this was a career-wrecking game. For what it's worth I thought Schneiderlin was well off pace, possibly just not match fit. McLaggon was incredibly game and didn't give up, when he had Evans and Vidic basically manhandling him in every tackle, but I thought he should have been on the wing instead of McG. Anyway, I'm off to play darts again with the nipper. He's put a picture of Mike Riley in the middle of the board and I've already emasculated him once.

um, a team that includes Berbatov, Rooney, Vidic, Van Der Sar, Neville, Carrick, Nani, Anderson and Mike Riley aren't champions? I was proud of our boysh. Sorry that you're not.

This will do for me.