S-Clarke

I'm not looking at it in terms of the points we are away from teams today, it's the games we've got left and who we've got to play. Fair enough we might be a few points off of x today, but in a few weeks we won't be as we've pissed away all the games we should be winning. Basically all of a sudden we need to win 5 or 6 from our last 11. That 11 includes Arsenal, Newcastle, Tottenham, Liverpool, Brighton. I'd say that's pretty much not going to happen.

Certainly the way to look at it! We will have some money behind us, so there is no excuse financially and we will be able to properly compete in a league for once. Just need to make sure we get the recruitment right and the coaching setup right. A chance for a reset for sure, but there's still some good elements to build from. You would have to say it's next season or bust though, you don't want to mess up the first attempt. Stoke, Swansea and co are lessons in that one.

That's the key comment for me, there was a lot of good stuff but sadly a lot of the same as well. I don't know how you can get us scoring goals from open play, it's like a mental block at this stage. I guess it's frustrating to see us do what we do at Utd and Chelsea etc, but the difference in those games are that the teams come out and leave space. Brentford closed every gap and every avenue, in those situations you need that extra tiny bit of quality, intelligence and guile (And quick play) in order to break them down. We don't have that, we rely on the space being given to us. Do you know what sums this team up? A bunch of nice but dim guys.

He's going to get us a decent ££ in the summer. Don't think there's any chance of him staying here after the season he's had.

I think that's fair. I notice the usual mentalists are pointing at the manager, but he is still trying to get goals out of the same bunch who seem incapable of scoring goals. Not sure who could make Adams, Armstrong or Ely pose a threat from open play. That's why we've been relegated, no goals in the team. Obviously the Jones blot in the middle removed any chance of a decent fight, but it was always a tough ask with this squad imo.

If any game summed up our season it was that. Absolutley zero end product, nada. Lots of effort, lots of possession but absolutely no guile. Brentford defended well to be fair to them, but we made it somewhat easy as there was nothing different from us. We don't seem to know how to get the most out of either Sulemana or Ounachu yet, so the goals haven't been injected from those guys. That's us done now anyway, we couldn't afford to lose another game like this at home and we have. So there's no way out now.

This is the thing though, he was never going to be a cultured silky player, he was always going to be ugly to watch. But I assumed we may play to his strengths as his height would be useful, but we don't even seem to do that. If we're going to play a high press/high energy counter pressing style then I just don't see how he fits. Maybe a last 10 mins option when you're swinging balls into the box with a plan b, but that's one hell of an expensive plan b when we don't really have a plan a in terms of a goal scorer.

I thought he was decent against Chelsea, but if I'm totally honest I don't think he fits the rest of our team. He's not mobile enough to engage in the front press. His height is almost certainly an advantage, but as of yet we don't seem to be making the most of that. Still early days as he's not really played much, but given that Adams is now back in front of him it's probably suggestive that he doesn't quite fit the style we play. Hope he's not another Carillo.

I don't see that view as someone having an affinity to them, I don't even think half of the people who post stuff like this know what race is - they just know what will get clicks and attention, they don't even understand half of what they post. I don't think anyone should excuse this, but I just don't see how you stop the vile content on social media. It's not just race, the same people play the fat shaming game, homophobic game, you name it they will fire shit at people - it seems to give them a kick for some reason. Sadly social media has given these warped individuals the platform to fulfil their incredibly deranged needs and sadly I don't think there is much you can do about it.

Very much a 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 - which worked perfectly. You had the back 4, who were stable and balanced. Two in the pivot in front in JWP and Lavia (either covering if a full back went forward). Then in front in a number 10 Alcaraz, with Sulumana and Walcott in the wide areas - but playing inverted at times. Adams up top on his own. At times Alcaraz joined Adams as a second striker, but it was a really fluid formation and it suited our lads perfectly.

Absolutley, we could have equally lost that game and be even more frustrated. We didn't deserve to lose and I thought we deserved a win, but teams like them can win a game out of nothing - so however you play, coming away with something from OT/Anfield or wherever is a huge unexpected bonus that we need to take so much from.

What an absolute bloody waste of 3 months pissing around with Nathan Fucking Jones. Seriously.

That was a fantastic performance, even before the 10 men we had the better chances. To be frustrated to be coming away from OT with a draw says it all for me, we didn't have that bit of luck in front of goal. It's been a criticism of us this season that we haven't created, never look like scoring etc, but we were electric today. The press worked perfect, guilt edged chances galore - a little bit of luck and that's a win for us. A really, really impressive complete performance bar the goal. Can't fault anyone today, they were all excellent and did their jobs to perfection. What we have now is a settled team, a settled spine - and you can see it. The back 2 work well together, not Bednarek's biggest fan but you have to give him credit and in a 2 I think he's working well. We looked so balanced because we had a left back at left back and a right back at right back. It's not rocket science really, play our best players in their best positions and look what happens. Bazunu excellent as well. He's just a raw kid with some great potential. This result should be a springboard for us. We have an opportunity to get ourselves out of the bottom 3 in midweek. This has got to be taken in my opinion, or this result means diddly squat.

I think that would be pretty bad for our hopes though, I want the 'weakest' teams down with us. If we take down 'big clubs' with us then we're up against it from day 1, and we will prob struggle to get out in the first year....and that may well be that.

Did you quote the wrong post?? I don't think we have a chance, as I said.

Bit of a disastrous result, no getting away from that! It's those unexpected results which kill the hope of all the teams around them. Back to the bottom with a bang. As much as I want to believe I still can't see any way we stay up.

I don't think we've had a leader for years, certainly not since we lost the likes of Fonte. For all JWP has done for us I still do not see him as an onfield leader, he's the sort who needs guidence himself.

2025 it expires, we'll cash in no doubts.

And that says it all.

That was a tough start to the season for sure, but there was much more to be positive about going forward. We had some cracking players for that level, only a matter of time once we got a competent manager.

I want to believe that, I really do, in fact it's been the only thing keeping me going. But results like tonight make me fear for our future, as it feels as if the entire club has just lost it's way and you don't turn that around in a summer. Could be a long road back, if we get back ever, it pains me to say.

The whole period since Gao's takeover has been utter misery really.

We sold Crouch. We sold Phillips. Camara went back to Wolves, he was a loan. Omerod went to Leeds I think. We started the Champ with Fuller and Jones as our options from memory (and Theo)

Paralysed by fear, scared to take any sort of risk. Happy to pass responsibility off to someone else to take that risk, but they then also don't want to take that risk. Bunch of losers. Not sure how you fix that apart from gutting the entire squad of 30 and starting again.

Haven't you got a Dorset team to turn out for?