Sorry Alex, enough is enough!

[Beauseant]

I just think appointing a short term manager hoping for a magic bullet is pointless and won't work, and when it does work the person ends up getting the job permanently and quickly screws things up when handed a big pot of money to spend in the summer. E.g. Di Canio. 

What quality proven manager is out there who would accept a short term job at a team looking like dead certs for relegation?

I'd much rather we stuck with Alex Neil until the summer, and then review his position in the summer if we go down. More a fan of long term thinking than short term thinking personally, and I can count on one hand with a couple of spare digits how many managers (realistic ones) I'd actually be interested in seeing us ditch Alex Neil for in the summer (if we go down)...

Mick McCarthy, Nigel Pearson, and Steve Bruce if he fails to take Hull up, pretty much the only three I can think of right now (you may turn your nose up at McCarthy, but he's consistently shown that he can polish a turd). 

Hull and Burnley stuck by Steve Bruce and Sean Dyche and are currently first and second in the Championship. I rest my case.

 

[Wiz]

Hull and Burnley stuck by Steve Bruce and Sean Dyche and are currently first and second in the Championship. I rest my case.

That's a ruddy good argument Beauseant, but 1 point out of 24 is dire by any standard.

Did those two managers you mention have similar runs as AN?

If so, that's nail on head time.

 

[morty]

That's a ruddy good argument Beauseant, but 1 point out of 24 is dire by any standard.

Did those two managers you mention have similar runs as AN?

If so, that's nail on head time.

Seeing as they were relegated, yeah, its pretty likely.

All the teams down the bottom are on similar runs. Despite how dire we have been we only dropped into the bottom three last night!

Swansea away on Saturday and Newcastle and Sunderland at Carrow road will define our season, not losing to Chelsea.

 

[Canaryboy]

Hull and Burnley stuck by Steve Bruce and Sean Dyche and are currently first and second in the Championship. I rest my case.

And that's a good case to make, but I still feel it is dependent on the players believing in and sticking by Alex Neil. 

Because we could have made the exact same argument for not sacking Chris Hughton, but the fans didn't have an appetite for keeping him and there were allegedly first team players urging the board to sack him. He's 4th in the Championship without the benefit of any parachute payments, so its as much an argument for justifying why we should have kept Hughton here for the final year of his contract. 

Hull had terrible luck with injuries in their relegation season, starting on day 1 with Snodgrass and continuing pretty much throughout the season, at one stage they were using their 3rd choice keeper with their 6th choice keeper on the bench and were not eligble for an emergency loan.

Burnley intentionally spent very little money, they effectively decided to put the bank ahead of survival and do a yo-yo. They didn't make a single high profile or big money signing (George Boyd £3m their record signing).

There are no such mitigating circumstances around our dreadful run of form, we've invested heavily in players and haven't had any major injury problems. 

 

[Wiz]

Seeing as they were relegated, yeah, its pretty likely.

All the teams down the bottom are on similar runs. Despite how dire we have been we only dropped into the bottom three last night!

Swansea away on Saturday and Newcastle and Sunderland at Carrow road will define our season, not losing to Chelsea.

Another good point.

 

[Canaryboy]

Swansea away on Saturday and Newcastle and Sunderland at Carrow road will define our season, not losing to Chelsea.

If the players show the desire that they showed in the second half against Chelsea every week from now until the end of the season then we have a chance. 

Redmond coming alive again is a massive positive, because he was a big part of our good form early in the season. 

 

[morty]

If the players show the desire that they showed in the second half against Chelsea every week from now until the end of the season then we have a chance. 

Redmond coming alive again is a massive positive, because he was a big part of our good form early in the season. 

Despite the result, I hugely enjoyed the game last night. Very impressed with the performance.

 

[lyb]

Swansea just beat Arsenal. The pool of real relegation contenders is now down to a humble 4, us included. :-/

 

[morty]

Swansea just beat Arsenal. The pool of real relegation contenders is now down to a humble 4, us included. :-/

Not really, if we beat them then they are far from safe.

 

[morty]

So, Saturday :-

Swansea v Norwich

Man City v Villa

Newcastle v Bournemouth

Southampton v Sunderland.

 

[GJP]

Swansea just beat Arsenal. The pool of real relegation contenders is now down to a humble 4, us included. :-/

And you couldn't particularly see us beating Arsenal at the moment.

 

[morty]

And you couldn't particularly see us beating Arsenal at the moment.

We don't need to. We need to beat Swansea away, and Sunderland and the Toon at home.

 

[GJP]

We only just squeezed by Swansea at home and they were as poor as they've been in the Prem. But their form is now a little better than ours and they'll be buzzing after tonight's result.

I think this is going to be a bit like the West Brom game of 2 years ago.

 

[morty]

We only just squeezed by Swansea at home and they were as poor as they've been in the Prem. But their form is now a little better than ours and they'll be buzzing after tonight's result.

I think this is going to be a bit like the West Brom game of 2 years ago.

Based on what I saw last night (hoping we don't lose too many to injury) I think we'll get something on Saturday.

 

[GJP]

Based on last night and tonight would you rather be Swansea or Norwich going into Saturday?

 

[morty]

Based on last night and tonight would you rather be Swansea or Norwich going into Saturday?

Whilst I take your point, I still think we'll get something.

I wouldn't be spending the best part of Saturday sat on a coach if I didn't.

 

[GJP]

I admire your optimism. And hope you and the others don't have the "long" trip home.

Our form is rubbish and the manager has failed to convince me for large parts of the season BUT you never know.

 

[morty]

I admire your optimism. And hope you and the others don't have the "long" trip home.

Our form is rubbish and the manager has failed to convince me for large parts of the season BUT you never know.

My optimism is based on what I saw last night. Theres fight in this team, and it looks like we have found a system that plays to the strengths of the players in it, bar a little composure in front of goal. We don't have to win the league, just the games that count.

 

[GJP]

They all count.

 

[morty]

They all count.

Of course they do, but denying direct relegation rivals points counts more when you are running out of points to play for.

Sunderland have an awful run in.