Europe_93

Hooper''s contribution has been the most valuable, Redmond is the player I most like to see on the ball.

Malky was spotted at Celtic the other day, I did wonder if McNally was in Scotland too, or was he at our home game? 2+2=5, maybe

LDC - my take RVW & Hooper – bought to suit a defensive philosophy, and these quality strikers are supposed to maximise our return on the minimal chance we make. Injuries have meant that we are probably only just beginning to see the true worth of Hooper. Howson - was beginning to show his worth, when played as the most advanced of 3 central midfielders. Redmond – our most exciting player to watch, came here to play Premier League football under a manager that trusts his attacking ability. Bassong came here to play Premier League football, he has played Newcastle, Wolves & Spurs, on his day he is imperious, but doesn’t perform consistently. Russell Martin – has proved himself an excellent squad player, provided excellent value for money to the club, but lacks a bit of pace. Fer - has great potential. Olsson – I’d like him to improve defensively. Johnson - has improved since coming back into the team. I think we have tried to set up a tiny bit more offensive of late (a 4-4-1-1 rather than 4-2-3-1) giving him slightly more room to play, he has also worked a little on the technical side of his game having lost his position, fair credit to him. Hoolahan – is suffering from not playing regularly. He is one player we have that will always look for the ball, I think he is a long way off top form but his attributes are highlighted because it what we are so sadly lacking.

For me their is only one shop, and this is why I continue to patronise. Games leave me very frustrated these days. My heart is with Hughton as manager of the club I love, my head tells me something needs to change. I wrestle with this conflict, in my head mostly, but I am interested in the opinion of others on here. It is an interesting debate to be had and it saddens me to see one fan ridiculed for saying what is in my head and another ridiculed for saying what is in my heart.

But only a fool would spend £50 on a pair of jeans, moan about them and then spend another £50 on the same type / brand of jeans, which is effectively what you are doing if you continue to go to games that make you ''deeply unhappy''?

Hughton''s tactics (& decision making) are the reason for discontent. He appears to lack trust in the players, with an emphasis on stopping the opposition rather than creating. The balance isn''t right and the confidence of players is affected. This for me is shown in the inability to support the player with ball. We typically only hold possession in non dangerous areas of the field, and usually maintain it by going backwards when pressed. The heavy defeats suffered also indicate fragile confidence. The team play well for phases in games, but largely I am disappointed by current and past performances under Hughton. If tactics don''t change personnel have too. Either Hughton needs to find players that can fit his tactics, or the board need to find a manager that get more out of the players. Considerable money has been spent on forward players who don''t get the ball because of the tactics adopted. Personally, I think spending the money on higher quality defensive personnel (that Hughton could trust) but playing with a more attacking philosophy is what should have been done. A good choice of manager will get more out of the players, a bad choice would get less, but change will cost.

A centre back with a bit of pace, and a defensive midfielder please.

To get back on thread, my opinion on the goal we conceded: Bassong should have won the header, Turner should have been closer to him and mopped up behind. Lack of concentration / positioning by Bassong, poor judgement by Turner (organisation). Bassong looks imperious at his best, sloppy at his worst :-) With 2 good centre halves (which Turner & Bassong can be at the very top of their game) would remove the need for Johnson in front of the back for, we would then be more of an attacking force & keep the ball better.

With Hughton in charge I feel like I''m pushing the bus! I support the man, want him to do well, but it is hard work / frustrating at times. Win, lose or draw I will carry on pushing :-) hopefully one day it will fire up and I can enjoy the view from the top deck.

I''ve mentioned lescott before. A loan deal may mean we don''t have to pay all of his wages, as for a reason, if he stays put, he won''t be going to the World Cup. On form he is easily worth a place in the squad, he was exceptional when we beat Spain

Sunderland semi for me too, John ''the b******d'' Byrne, devastating. Just prior to our match Portsmouth looked like they were going to knock Liverpool out, it was practically in the bag :-(

A centre half, I''d like to take Lescott on loan (with a view to buying in the summer if it works out) from Man City, we need to improve here, he isn''t in the best form of his career, but some regular games might see him force his way back into Hodgson''s Worl Cup plans. He was MoM for England when we beat Spain not so long ago.

If you go with 4 in midfield you just need to push the back 4 up to condense the play. That''s what stopped West Hams domination. We passed poorly, even in the 2nd half, but beat a poor team today. We aren''t out of it, but there are some poor teams we can and should still finish above. Great result, hope the confidence comes back.

City have some good players, but last weekend our players showed a lack of commitment and a reluctance to take responsibility, in all a lack of professionalism. No system will work with out those attributes. Personally, I understand why Hughton likes to fill the midfield, but I think if the defensive unit was stronger, it would enable a more expansive game.

In recent weeks we have been beaten by some strong sides, yet our midfield, in my opinion has made considerable strides forward (including improved passing and passing between the lines). There are still weaknesses to iron out in our side by I feel more confident in Hughton now, than I have done ever before.

There was me thinking we''d qualified for the UEFA cup twice. .......

Surely this is one of the last remaining forms of discrimination??? If you come from this part of the country, if you like this team, ... then you cannot sit here. In a rugby match, you can sit where you like, yet football fans are so much more territorial, this is our end!!!! People need to chill out, let other people enjoy the game rather than abuse them because they are in a minority.

It doesn''t look like un constructive criticism to me.

I have noted the dutch flavour too. Given our geography it makes sense, and dare I say it, it worked well for our neighbours about 30 years ago too!!!

I don''t think that you should have to wait until someone dies or nearly dies before you show your appreciation for them. As far as I know, there is nothing else planned for the 9th minute of that game, that will last as long in the memory as saluting a major figure in the clubs recent history. IMHO - great idea.

The club wasn''t just on its knees, it was on its arse, and Grant Holt was the biggest single influence on the playing field to getting us back where most of us think we belong. In our time of need he delivered, this is why for me he has, and will always be afforded ''cult hero'' status.

Was the heart and soul of our club for his first 3 years, not too many players made a bigger contribution last season either. KEEP.

[quote user="GJP"] Taking relegation out of it (and any release clauses), if Kone had played for us last season would we be happy selling him to a bigger club (or any club) for £5m? [/quote]   Excellent question. I would have been pleased if we had signed him for £5m, based on what I saw of him last season. 

Signing was a success in my opinion. Kei Kamara made a positive contribution to us staying in the Premier League, and his his first rate attitude not only enables him to make the best of his abilities, but importantly gave the rest of the squad & fans a lift at a key time. However, over the long term I don''t think he displayed the quality we should be looking for in a first team regular.

Ricardo, thanks for the reply. My first post was my interpretation of the statistics you provided.  Your second post reveals your point, relating to the statistics you provided in the first post.  I haven''t taken the time, that some posters have on here, to compare our form in the second half of the season with other teams, but I accept your interpretation that one or two teams perceived good run is equivalent to our bad run. If we look behind the statistics, I think most people think that survival was either the minimum /  main / only requirement for the season.  That has been achieved, I think next season''s requirements will extend to a more than survival, personally I think 47-50 points is a reasonable target.