That it was a good enough squad to finish 11th and get to a cup final. Sorry, is it really that confusing ?
Unfortunately, because Success is dog pooh. But that said, I do think it would have been less comical if Quique had brought on a forward as we chased the game. You can't parody Quique, because he will beat you to the punch line every time.
He is poo (no h, poo with an H is a bear!) but could not have done less than Gray. Not bringing a forward on at 2-0 is ludicrous. I don’t mind the fact he’s defensive but there is no sense in Kiki for Janmaat at 2-0 down
That's 10 home league games now without a win-the fact that Chelsea were the better team and could have scored more but for Foster and that Kiko came on for Janmaat for whatever reason did to my mind create the opportunity for fans to vent their frustration at what we have endured since beating Fulham before the Cup semi. I recall the 1990/91 season when we went an equal length without a win sacking Colin Lee and appointing Perryman who oversaw a 2-0 win in December in our 11th home league game. Its been bad since beating Wolves in that semi-sure we should have beaten both Arsenal and Spurs as well as Sheff U (probably) but we didn't and sadly there is a sense of poor luck-injuries /VAR/missed sitters etc that manifest themselves in a team that's going down. A mate sent me an article from Adam L which alluded to potential sales of GD, RP and Doucs in January-if you are going down then the reduced value of these let alone their motivation in the Championship seemed to me to prepare us for them going as i think the club feeds him selected info. The press release of plans to expand the stadium at this juncture seems like PR as well-i did feel sorry for those in the new corner seating between the Rookery and EJ stand yesterday. Until we (and Gino) see how TD and Sarr are being deployed by QSF in the games post Norwich then i think there wont be any managerial change until after the Palace game-as this gives a void for the Liverpool and Man U games where nil points are expected and with the January window opening to see if the owner is serious about investing to stay up or whether we are reducing our debts to prepare for life in the EFL. It was GT who said "no harm in being a yo yo club" times change of course but last season was probably as good as it gets and we still fell short
Fair enough but that wasn't my perception sat/stood in the Rookery. My sense was that the booers were all getting wound up prior to the event 'because Kiko'. My mate (of the 'hate Kiko' persuasion) leant across me (and the very attractive woman between us - a mutual acquaintance) to another two 'hate Kiko' acquaintances on the other side of me and indicated Kiko was 'warming up'. They were just gunning for it. So, when the inevitable ensued I simply f.cked off to the Lion letting them all around me know why. I won't tolerate/hang around when our own fans, on our own end, after 58 years of my solid support are booing their own team for whatever reason. If it continues then the pub seems a better option. My season ticket only cost me £204 anyway.
Kiko is an unpopular player I agree (deservedly so based on his output). But if you didn't understand that the agitation was at Flores approach to substitution then you lack perception and sense of context. Less than 1% of fans would actively boo a player coming on, irrespective of prior performance.
Because he is a completely underwhelming representative of his profession? There are plenty of chartered accountants and derivative traders who are limited at their roles despite sufficient studying to have professional qualifications next to their name.
Not Kiko, anyone but Kiko, but not because he is pup, but because it indicated that Quique, with all his badges, does not know what it takes to win or draw a game when he is up against it. People with badges get sacked all the time because they don't know what they are doing in football. If an expert gets it wrong, or is getting it wrong, then you don't keep paying them or leave them in charge simply on the grounds they've got badges. Badges don't make you right. They just mean you have less excuse for getting it wrong.
See my reply to Lloyd above. I'm no fan of Kiko, particularly around his lack of defensive responsibility (not entirely relevant at 0-2 down) but you reckon that less than 1% would boo him personally given the previous on here and elsewhere? If so, I reckon it's you that lacks 'perception and lack of context'. Kiko runs on. Load booing ensues. And this man, with a well-documented, fragile mentality but no little football skill, with every intention of doing his best for the last 15 mins, is expected to distinguish between that being personal and a rather more subtle criticism of like-for-like? Really? Do me a favour? I hope he retires to a Spanish beach while our so called supporters/ pig- ignorant, anonymous bullies on our own end, suffer a long, hard winter.
Read my post. I said "less than 1% of fans would boo a player coming on". As to whether it is productive or not, or if Kiko sees it as being at him, that is a different point. But the point under discussion is why the booing happened. As for "anonymous bullies", you are a poster on an internet forum who has threatened to lamp people on a number of occasions............surely the very definition!
And you could do so match better? Despite being badgeless in football or politics? Ha! Playing to the gallery? Obviously, in any profession, there will be those that are better than others. The also-rans are unlikely to last long probably at the behest of their peer group rather than the result of amateurish comments fired in from outsiders. Quique has, so far, withstood the test.
I doubt very much if me, as a 66 y.o., threatening to 'lamp somebody', could be construed as 'bullying'.
Starting to get a slight nagging feeling that might possibly have a small struggle on your hands this year.
So I was surrounded by the <1%? Do me a favour? I know exactly what I witnessed despite protestations by all and sundry that, in retrospect, I should deny the evidence of my own eyes and ears. Fat chance.
I agree with the first bit of this, but then I think you come to a rather contradictory conclusion off the back of it - were QSF to be sacked after this it would be more punishing him due to the absolutely shocking results under Javi, rather than a reflection of the alright job he's made of a very tough situation. Now, if we fail to get 6 or 7 points from our next 3 games (Norwich, Burnley, Saints), then we'll be as good as down and he might as well go, but at the moment it's still a bit premature.
I am not committed to QSF being sacked, more that at this point, I think he's the wrong man for the miracle we need. I also don't think there's anyone now that would come in and rescue our season. I'm more thinking that we need to start planning for tur Championsnip next season and that Quique isn't the man for that. Happy to give him 3 games..
I actually think the Femenia substitution, however negative it may have been at the time, may have kept QSF in the job a bit longer. Imagine a scenario of an attacker coming on at that point for a defender and us shipping another couple and losing 4-0. There'd be uproar in here and everywhere. As it happens it was a narrow loss.
There was booing when sub announced, clapping for janmaat then another set of booing when Kiki came on. The last set of booing was aimed at Kiko. Because football fans love moaning there are always boo boys right now they are Kiko, gray and Dawson.
I'd rather take that gamble and try to actually get something from the game, than just try to keep the score down when we're behind.
There was not the second round where I sat, but if there was booing at Kiko as he came on I agree that is very poor. Flores deserved the full barrel for his utterly pathetic substitution in my view, and they were the boos I heard.
Good. Those three deserve booing. They've been utter **** for ages. Dawson is improving but not to the point we can afford not to have 2 other centre backs alongside him.
Don't talk sense. We have to desperately search for ways to make terrible, nonsensical decisions appear OK. Reality is too painful.
We have to place a lot of faith in Troy coming in to galvanize the team and give us a better centre-forward. Maybe he can do it, maybe not. We'll see.
I understand where you’re coming from, but the problem I have with accepting this is that QSF has been this way throughout his career, and given the performance of teams under his command over the last several years, it would appear his career is on a downward trajectory. I’ve been a staunch defender of QSF up to this point, because I was willing to accept some turgid performances under the pretense of making us harder to beat, but I just don’t know if he’s capable of inspiring this group of players to be harder to beat, and maintain an attacking threat that can win us the points we desperately need. I don’t doubt that he is a well qualified and highly experienced coach, but I think he coaches a style of football that is increasingly unsuccessful in the modern game. Just look at Mourinho over the last few years, a guy who approaches games with the same sort of mentality. Forgive me for jumping to conclusions, but given all I’ve read of you on here, I’d have thought that you’d be equally as offended by the fact that we seem to be going down without so much as throwing a single punch.
This game reminded me of the home game against Man City last season. We were totally outplayed, rode our luck then scored a goal out of nowhere to finally make a game of it in the last 10 minutes. Had Chelsea won that 8-0 it would not have flattered them. We were awful and Chelsea just picked us apart. We got lucky with the final score. It was never a 2-1 game.
Had time to reflect, I used to get upset and angry over defeats, I've now reached the stage of indifference. I said a couple of weeks before the start of the season that I wasn't excited, the end can't come soon enough.
The last time we took the lead at Vicarage Road in the Premier League was 4th April 2019. The last time we scored the first goal at Vicarage Road against a current Premier League team was 3rd March 2019. In fact 3rd March was the last time we beat a current Premier League team in the Premier League. Since that red letter day, we've only won 2 Premier League games against relegated Fulham and Huddersfield. Since the FA Cup semi final win against Wolves, we've played against 18 current Premier League sides in league and cup and won none of them. P 18 W 0 D 6 L 12 F 9 A 40 Pts 6
