Legod Third Coming

First, let me say I am against booing our own players. I've only done it once - to Fuller at Derby after he'd wasted yet another guilt edged opportunity. Two minutes later he scored a sensational volley... doh. However, if a footballer cannot handle being bood by the crowd, he is not a good footballer. He simply does not have the mental strength. What I would like to see is a Wayne Rooney style reaction. Bood by England fans in a friendly, does he go off and sulk? Does he need a manager's arm around his shoulders? No. He comes out the next two games and single-handedly wins the matches with an inpsirational performance. If Jason Puncheon is a footballer, wants to be a footballer, THAT is how you respond to criticism. I want to breed sportsmen, not wafer thin mentally fragile prima donnas. If I do a crap job, the most critical person of it, first and foremost is me. If other people notice - I do two things: 1. put my hands up. 2 roll my sleeves up.

The Inbetweeners is fecking funny?

If Torres score more goals than Lambert this year you can have my mistress's direct line and the best night of your life.

I've just finished his autobiography - strange fella. But worth a read. As for MLT - can you believe all those goals he set up for Shearer and he doesn't bloody mention him. MLT was our Berbatov and no mistake - except he didn't move as much....

In reviewing Torres performance Shearer has just summed up OUR entire problem so far this season. We are NOT getting the ball forward to our striker(s) from midfield with the strikers running on towards goal. It looks so simple when Alan talks it through. I hope our players were watching...

Because players often come and tell you the new manager is hopeless?

I thought it was very interesting today that our best player (Lee Holmes) was a player often overlooked by Pardew, even when he was fit. He clearly feels there is a clean slate/fresh opportunity whereas some others appear to be missing Pardew and contemplating their futures. For me, this is very typical of business when a new boss comes in. Later in the game, it seemed that some of the other players (even including Hammond who hit a couple of sublime balls over the top) appeared to wake up to the notion that Pardew is now gone... perhaps this is the shape of things to come?

What game were you at? The second half we showed pace. energy and commitment throughout. Both Homles and Puncheon hit good corners. Morgan had two poor freekicks which hit the first man/wall, otherwise our crossing was good. Dickson should start and although I think Hammond is a waste of a shirt, he hit two sensational balls - one which a fit Lambert would have lashed into the net and the second set up Chamberlain and then Barnard for a good chance. If we play like we did for the second half for the remainder of the season, promotion is well within our grasp.

No point me posting other than to say the above is 100% accurate.

Ha ha, great post to start the day. Now we just need a bit of sun, not too much Boat Show traffic and three points (oh and three goals would be nice).

I agree with your other points, but there is no way to judge a manager other the the volume of games he has won - so a win ratio is by far and away the best guide, surely? It's not about team's win ratios but managers - look across Mourinho's career and you will see his is a winner wherever he goes, same with Wenger, Ferguson, Ancelotti and so on. According to the logic of some that is immaterial because they are always managing top clubs - I don't agree. Top managers, managing top clubs are there competing against the same. And becuase they are winners, they are selected by top clubs... Now, you might say, well Pardew had more resources at his disposal than anyone else in this division - true. Those exact same resources were available to Dean Wilkins (win ratio 0%) and are now available to Nigel Adkins (win ratio 0% - unfair assessment at 9:24 this morning I concur). The point I am making (and the players/current results are helping no end) is that players are nothing without a good manager and his results indicate Pardew was a good manager - at least for us, while he was here. People who say otherwise are simply ignoring the facts - which current evidence is only supporting. To say 'oh win ratios, they're situational' doesn't really stand up to scrutiny and that's what I was objecting to - people are judging Pardew on his failure to be promoted (agreed) but then spinning this back into some sort of inability to win games - cobblers. All that said, I am 100% behind Adkins and believe we have the resources to go up with him - in fact I have put good money on it. If we don't, people will then be forced to re-appraise Pardew's ability as manager. And for people to blame him for our current state is bordering on lunacy. Otherwise, all of Pardew's results should be attributed to Jan Poortvliet.

I was being sarcastic my friend...

Er, I wonder if that's because Manchester United and Chelsea achieved higher win ratios? No you're right, who gives a bugger how many matches a manager wins or how often. Just so long as he only wins the ones that matter...

Genius... well spotted. I wonder if this is down to... oh what was it again, oh it was something someone once told me about football... hang on... oh yes, that was it. It was down to THE MANAGER. Feck me, why is it only our fans can watch a manager win well over half his games and credit it to El Nino or the arrival in dock of the Queen Charlotte of the High Seas? Bonkers. Fecking bonkers.

I'll give you three: 1. He's a banker. If you're about to face a cut in salary, unemployment, no interest on your savings... 2. He's Italian. 3. See 1 and 2 above.

We'll find out with Adkins won't we... It's too easy to write off managers who win matches.

Yes, that is why Philip Scolari was fired.

I don't think there is any chance of relegation. It's like thinking Liverpool will be relegated from the Premiership based on their current form. We do have the best first 11 in the league - when all fit, there can be no doubt about it. We do not have Fabregas or Messi on the bench. We don't need them. This is League One. We will be ok once we start winning. It will be soon and we won't stop. We might need a loan or two but really, good players don't become bad overnight.

I can see where you're coming from. Although, if we had buried our first half chances (two free clear Hammond headers for example), the debate would have been immaterial. Against Orient, Chamberlain changed the game a little and set up Harding for a woeful miss... I don't think we have/had been as poor as people are making out. This is a poor league. Games where people tell me we played badly and won or lost, I often think we have played up to the standard of the league. The 5-0 drubbings of Huddersfield are few and far between for any team in any league. Even Neil Warnock will say that QPR were lucky to win their opening game 4-0!!! We aren't great because noone in this league is, in my view. What we are currently is low on confidence and self belief and yes, we lack players who can unlock games. Find me a team in the third tier of English football who doesn't!! Hammond for me is a problem - neither fish no foul. Not tackling and fighting, nor bombing on. Is there a problem with our midfield as a result, yes. Did Pardew try to fix it? Who knows... Danns, Antonio, the lad from Preston. All these names were bandied about as coming but didn't appear. Why? Because Pardew didn't want them or wasn't allowed to have them? For me, it's hard to blame Pardew when from October to March we were the best team in the league on form. That is, of course, now irrelevant. But the fact we did go to Norwich and win 2-0, did stuff Huddersfield, did stuff Leeds... all this says to me that our players are good enough on their day. The key for Adkins is to make that day every game.

I agree with that. Adkins must quickly establish WHY they are playing with so little confidence.

I'm not sure that was the case. I watched that game on Sky - not the same as being there I know. But it does at least allow you to listen to impartial observation. We came out of the blocks in that game and did everything but score. One dodgy moment of defensive lapse then allowed Plymouth the classic smash and grab raid. Now, call me old fashioned but I'm with Harry Redknapp on this. It was a goal out of nothing. They never threatened again. Never looked like scoring. We did. Several times. It was a bad result, but it was no bad performance by any stretch. Nor did we look unfit. We simply looked like on another day we would have won easily.

What went wrong, looking at all the signs we now see, was that our manager was nearly fired in June. He should have been fired in June. Or he should have been backed to the hilt. Looking back, if Cortese set him promotion as a target, and he failed, Cortese should have fired him. I would have been up in arms, but it is clear Cortese cannot accept failure and that, in his eyes, last season was a failure. From then on, Pardew must either have known his was a dead man walking, or that he would not be fully supported and backed in the transfer market - which is exactly what appears to have been the case. This season is now a train wreck. I fully expected the players we have (and they are the best in the league) to beat MK Dons under Adkins, believing that all they lacked was discipline and organisation on the pitch. It is now clear that the manner of Pardew's exit screwed the camp.

Are you some sort of idiot. Pardew's last game - 4-0 win.

4/1 with the Tote, 9/2 with Bet365... oh but it was to win the league as opposed to just promotion.

We could end up relegated and then all four points would look pretty silly. That's football fella. (Oh and I speak as someone who has lumped on us to be promoted at 4/1 and 9/2).