Legod Third Coming

Look at them five years ago or so - League Cup winnrs being managed by Martin O-Neil FFS. Now in League One - albeit doing a good job of coming back. All this thread proves is that sh!t happens. And if you didn't know that already, what a clueless clown you were.

It's not about age, it's about experience and in James, Lallana, McG, Robertson, Cork, Pearce, Spiderman, Patterson, etc we have players who are starting their careers and who (Cork aside) are in their first full season's in a first team squad. I bet Shefky Kooki has played more bloody games in the past two years than all our young players put together!!!! But, no, keep on banging your drum about the coach not being up to it - after 22 games in English football...

At Stoke they bring him on for throw-ins and play the rest of the game with ten men - FACT.

LOL - you miserable bugger. Me and you might win euromillions on Friday and then it'll be DD and LGTC that everyone else is moaning about...

Why? Have a look at where Hull were five years ago. That's football. That's life. None of knows what tomorrow holds.

Thank the lord. We should be over the grieving by now.

We were poor at the back at the start of the season. Before Monday we had only conceded 2 goals in four games which is pretty impressive - better than Chelsea in fact. Then Monday we had a defensive abhoration and no mistake - although Kuqi's first goal WAS a foul, no question. Second goal we were asleep. 3rd goal that was James' one mistake of the game. Together it was a mess - not excusable, just the kind of mess you get when you lack a bit of nous. Our strike force on the other hand has delivered 17 goals in 22 games. Why? The people who score goals are like rocking horse dung and we have two and half but they're all on loan!!! I fail to see how any different system or manager would derive more goals from our strikers and it's THIS that has cost us against Wednesday, Plymouth, Charlton... Lallana should be shooting and scoring more. MCG has missed more one on ones than I've had hot dinners, Robertson is average and Patterson - who knows? IS this really that hard to grasp for people?? People want to change the symptoms - look at the firking cause!!!

But the reaction is based on the Palace game - people bleating on about us needing to toughen up, tippy-tappy football, etc. It's complete tosh. We need a cutting edge - we have done for weeks. We have not been bullied, outfought, undone by our age or style, etc. On Saturday we should have won - we didn't score a second or third because we have no cutting edge. But this has been turned into a sleight on the players, their style, strength and motivaiton in the usual post-defeat self-flagellalation. Palace was awful - the four games leading up to it weren't - three were a shot shy of being good, one was exceptional. This forum should be renamed koiweb... No-one is saying this season will be easy. No-one thinks Palace was a good performance or result. No-one thinks that's as good as we get unless they are a bloody idiot or a pessimist who needs to be placed on suicide watch and quick. Here we are after everyone's played - still four points off relegation because we are in the mix with some bad sides. All we need to be this year is better than three of them. Right now we are. In 26 more games if we are - that's enough. Not great, but enough. And enough to build on the young squad where we can for next season and the future - not for Thursday afternoon at 3:48 - which seems to be as far as most patience stretches...

I think we all agree last night was a disaster. But to say we play 'tippy-tappy' football is not true and not a fair reflection on what the lads are trying to do. One thing the opposition cannot do is score if they do not have the ball. Every succesful manager in the world understands that possession is ten tenths of the law... We, however, lack movement and people breaking into space forward so sometimes players revert to a short sideways or backwards pass when nothing is on in a forward position. It's understandable because we don't have the kind of striker that we can hit from distance!! They're on loan, different story... And the boys know it is better to keep the ball and loko for another opening. Last night Lallana hit a mighty 40 yard ball and landed it on Surman's chest in the box - he was pulled back but that's another story... Holmes, Morgan and James can all hit decent raking passes - we badly miss the former two when they are not playing. We lack penetration which comes from confidence and having the kind of strikers who can pull the opposition out of shape and create space. James did a good job last night of attacking the right flank but then didn't pick out anyone with a cross. BWP did the same down the left. Who was in the box waiting - answer no-one!!! Everyone understands that passing the ball around without inflicting damage on the opposition is irrelevant. But it is only from confidence on and with the ball that players will ever learn how to penetrate and score. What is our alternative? Direct football to strikers whose combined height is 4' 11"? And who still won't be in the right place!!! If the kids are left alone or encouraged to believe in the philosophy - one that they have been taught from a young age - it has a chance. If they are thrown to the wolves halfway through their education, they and we have no chance. Last night was not a reflection on whether our system works - otherwise you could equally base the decision solely on the Reading game and say we're world beaters. In recent games we have been undone by schoolboy errors from schoolboys - I will still not blame the symptom but the cause. We need some experience in attack, just as it has (yesterday aside) really improved our defence.

Er, is that not what I just said? Are you on auto-disagree... We have played some brilliant football. Your question did not ask whether we have the best TEAM. Lord help us - posters don't even read their own firking posts now... And we complain the manager and refs don't see things...

That's an area I could address old son. Or a Colour Seargeant. It is not the preserve of the terminally expensive...

We are second worst scorers in the league. We have conceded the third worst number of goals. That tells its own story. We are not good enough as a unit - yet. Having said which, we have played brilliantly at times - for 60 minutes against Birmingham in the league. For long periods against Norwich. For long, long periods against Reading. For forty minutes against QPR. Why? Age and experience is my view. Maybe in one or two cases ability too. With age comes better decision making and wisdom. With experience comes knowledge. When we have more of both, we will be a good football team.

Last night was ugly but why are people basing their entire judgement of the season to date on one game?? Have we a fraternity of goldfish? Last night was woeful. Reading was not, Charlton second half was not, Wednesday first half was not. Last night was awful, awful, awful - anyone who says we play like that all the time has not watched us this season.

Fair point - it's easy to look at a player and believe he is not trying. Most of our lads have played more games this season already than all of last year. And, not that we should have symapthy, these back-to-back games will come as a real shock to a 19-21 yr old used to playing every other week and even then at half the pace and power of these games. It is perhaps a reason JP should have mixed it up a bit tonight beforehand. Pearce looked off the pace, even Cork was not the same player from Charlton second half. Surman looked a bit lethargic too. Hard to be too critical of them given the circs, but we must address basic mental fitness asap.

I don't think we're too nice. We make plenty of decent tackles. In fact, most teams can't get near us on the ball. What we lack is end product - not sure how much of that Chris Marsden football genuis gave us???!!!!

I expected us to finish lower half. I hoped and prayed we could sneak a play-off place. That is still not impossible so I don't give up hope, but 17 points behind QPR is a tough ask. My money is on 15th. Will that be enough to stave off adminsitration? I think so. I think the global credit crisis will actually come to our aid as assets the world over will have to be revalued and we'll be a beneficiary of that. What would I feel about 15th? Satisfied - nothing more. It gives us a genuine opportunity to build for the future.

I think there are some ideas there worth thinking about.

Leeds, Luton, Rotherham, Bournemouth... Man City five years ago? When I started supporting, Pompey and Chelsea were at the bottom of this division and both played total garbage. Newcastle came down to Fratton and battered them 4-0 with Keegan and Waddle and the ugly fella. I was there, supporting KK like a lot of old Saints in them days. My second team they were - a lot of us too. Cheer up son. Things change in the world. That's the beauty of football.

Can I have quick word? Velocity... Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to look at Ceefax, eat some crisps and pray that we're still 18th when the season ends. That'll do for me son. That'll do for me.

Is it the right back's fault our strikers are out on loan now? Ba5tard- why doesn't he bring them back? I knew I never liked him. Welsh isn't he? I knew it...

nice one

Down negative man, down!

Who says there were no positives from tonight's game? Agreed about Lloydy, his attacking play was superb - just lacked an end ball and then undid all his good work with one crappy mistake. Still, he finally has started looking like a footballer!

No, cos unlike Jose, Arry don't speak the English too good.

Yep, where's he when you need 'im? Bring in Sir Clive! My mates at the BOC tell me he's about to get the ole Spanish Archer...oooops my mouth.