Legod Third Coming

Yesterday's results render January almost irrelevant. If we don't win on Monday, we start to look detached...

BBC quoted us at 230 odd two nights ago - third highest - thought it was very odd!

No. Playing shyte! It's what I say when I lose at tennis - the ankle's playing me up!

In fact, I'll give you one. The changes made at half time against Villa to drop Danny Fox and replace him with Clyne was excellent management. This was from a confident Adkins who stuck to his guns of playing football. He needs to get back to this! We're the third highest long-ball hitters in the league. Why?

Puncheon and Lallana were still causing United problems. Scholes had given them better steel in the middle but we were still attacking and they could not push forward because of the known threat. People say Rickie had done nothing. He's like this in a lot of games - he needs a breather. Anyone who would take him off in such circumstances to bring on TOTALLY inexperienced and unproven talent is taking a massive risk. He often needs one chance and bang, you're dead. When those three came off we simply had no attacking threat and gave the whole initiative to United, as we sat back deeper and deeper (something that Lambert can cope with, ironically). I am not (and nowhere have I) calling for Adkins to be sacked. But this was a crass mistake that I do not believe many managers at the top level would make. 2-1 up. At home. To the top side in the league/Europe/the world - take your pick. 10 minutes to go. No injuries. Remove and replace entire front line.... Not on your bloody nelly would Mancini, Fergie, Moyes, Di Matteo make that decision. Stop defending it and defend Adkins for all the good things he has done. Otherwise you sound like you know nothing about football.

It was always going to be tougher playing Manchester United than Ipswich... We've been undone by some really poor defending the like of which we simply didn't see last year at all. At no stage in any game when we were leading last season did I fear us conceding - whereas now we don't seem to be able to defend a blind man on a Peeping Tom charge...

How did it work for Spurs and Liverpool?

Brilliant. Not out of the top two all season in a promotion year and we we somehow fluked it... Feck me.

The good news is that despite having the worst defence in my living memory, we are still by no means under pressure. Two good results and the world would look completely different. I still think we are better than QPR, Norwich and Reading and if we could get our best 11 back fit, we're a good mid-table side!

Cobblers. You are re-imagining this to suit your view. We were causing United problems. Ask yourself this question: United are 2-1 at the Etihad with 10 minutes to go. Would Alex Ferguson bring off his front three? No.

Good post. The key difference with Wigan was a man who had experience at this level. I desperately want Nigel to succeed but if we do not start learning quick, he won't have any more time to learn... I wish he would go back to what we know and what works. Playing football.

Nonsense. You could have said the same of Pardew.

We've spent at least £30m and acquired massive wages in the process. It is no plan to plan to fail. And this would see us end up in adminstration again. The Chairman's plan is clearly to STAY in the division and while I wholly admire loyalty to Adkins, what you are saying is he cannot succeed in this league, but keep him to get us back into it where he must therefore fail again. Think about what you saying. It is wholly illogical. Admirable, but illogical. Every business needs new leadership in new times where the incumbent leadership doesn't have the skills, expertise or experience to thrive.

Good article but I find it more surprising that we are in fact the THIRD highest long ball players in the league! For me, we have abandoned what we know and what works in favour of playing a game we do not know. Against both Citeh and United it was not our fabulous passing style that let us down but in the first game the total incompetence of Danny Fox and the latter, Adkins own mistake of swapping our entire front three on 75-80 minutes thereby handing the initiative to the opposition. Against Villa, I genuinely felt we had the back four nailed. Our flanks worked superbly, we played out from the back, we could have corrected our goal difference there and then! 4-1 flattered Villa. Now, were Villa poor? Maybe but three days later then went to the Etihad and WON! We on the other hand, then swapped to another formation with different personnel and had no form of consistent selection or formation since. Not helped by injuries granted... But we are good enough to play football and win matches in this league. What Adkins needs is to find his mojo and restore confidence - he used to sound genuinely positive. Now, he sounds like he's trying to convince everyone he is positive... Nige - go back to what we know, what works and pick a team that suits US not the bloody opposition! F U C K them. Let them come and try to outplay us.

We have the worst defence in the league and then some. FACT. Call it what you like if it makes you feel better...

Bingo! Over three years people have questioned whether first he could play in Adkins formation in League One, then whether he could cut it in the Championship, then whether he could make it at the top level. Every time the answer is YES - because he is a total professional with a brilliant football brain, and is still only two goals off top scorer in the league with a manager hell bent on not playing him!!!

Bloody Hell - SRL is a bit of a carthorse, can't play 4-3-3... Have I woken in a parallel universe today? Missed Rickie hammering home goals against two of the top sides in Europe did we?? He is the best English striker in the Premiership and has only stopped scoring since the manager stopped picking him and started playing some bonkers formations...

No you wouldn't, since that was probably Holloway's aim...

It's not poetry we need. It's a settled back four without Jos in it.

If this is true. Which I doubt. I won't set foot in the stadium again.

That's right. Congratulations. You can count.

So you think at the start of the season we targeted victories against United, Arsenal and Man City as key to survival?

Of course he doesn't. But people trotting out 1 win from 7 games which takes no account of who those games were against is a little fatuous. Or are we judging our newly promoted team against the top teams in Europe already? I'm willing to bet that we will give all the clubs who have beaten us a far better game when we next face them.

1 win from three winnable games, you mean?

I didn't realise Turkish was privvy to the conversations Les Reed and the Chairman are having. I will take his posts with less salt in future...