Chumino 57 Posted December 21, 2019 6 minutes ago, yellowfever said: Wasted opportunity again. Smith's need to move on now. Only a matter of time before the locals wake up and realise whats happening here. Time to find some new investment. Working in private equity has its advantages. stay tuned. Agree. If she is the true fan she claims she will realise that she has taken us as far as she can and be actively seeking the right new investment as a priority. She surely wants the best for the club rather than any personal reason doesn't she? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
......and Smith must score. 1,311 Posted December 21, 2019 2 hours ago, Capt. Pants said: We're not good enough simple as that. Arsenal should have won, Sheff Utd have won, Leicester should have won, Wolves should have won, didn't. At the game I went to today they did. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JF 694 Posted December 21, 2019 3 minutes ago, ......and Smith must score. said: Think he means we should have won all those games, we certainly should have won some of them Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Old Shuck 182 Posted December 21, 2019 21 minutes ago, Chumino said: Agree. If she is the true fan she claims she will realise that she has taken us as far as she can and be actively seeking the right new investment as a priority. She surely wants the best for the club rather than any personal reason doesn't she? This new investor will want a return on the money he or she puts into the club, how will they realise that other than by selling players? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alex Moss 2,165 Posted December 21, 2019 Our performance today was very very good I thought, unfortunately we put so much effort in from the start that we burnt ourselves out by the 60th minute. Farke said Pukki’s toe was still very painful so I would imagine that played it’s part, as normally that would be a cricket score line by half time - they couldn’t cope with us up to that point. We seem to be losing only 2-1 of late, so we’re not exactly getting battered or anything, I feel we’re heading in the right direction, just have to hope that we can get a couple of wins soon. Villa and Bournemouth look pretty dreadful at the moment, and the juries out on Watford until we see more of them under Pearson, this is the mini league we need to win, it won’t be 40 points this year, and so far, trying to look at it from an unbiased point of view, I really would say that it’s us that look the best out of that bunch so a big second half of the season to come 🙏 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lake district canary 4,520 Posted December 21, 2019 2 hours ago, Well b back said: So you tell everyone we are finishing 4th then lecture us when we aren’t. I am confused there is a difference in what you say and accepting what will be will be. I 've not been telling everyone "we are finishing 4th", only that I thought it was possible as things stood at the start of the season. I still think we can do something this season...and yes, as things stand staying in the league will be a major achievement....but there is nothing wrong with aiming high and if we can start to get results that some of our performances deserve, we will start going up the table. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chumino 57 Posted December 21, 2019 51 minutes ago, Old Shuck said: This new investor will want a return on the money he or she puts into the club, how will they realise that other than by selling players? Maintaining prem status as a start! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ron obvious 1,473 Posted December 21, 2019 4 minutes ago, Chumino said: Maintaining prem status as a start! Yes, an owner with a net worth 15 TIMES that of our present owners would surely guarantee that, wouldn't they. Or perhaps not ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SwindonCanary 455 Posted December 21, 2019 I would like to know what happens at half time. it seems to me that when we are winning we have, several times lost it and when we are down we usually come out for the second half a better team. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TeemuVanBasten 3,327 Posted December 22, 2019 3 hours ago, Well b back said: So you tell everyone we are finishing 4th then lecture us when we aren’t. I am confused there is a difference in what you say and accepting what will be will be. 4th is still mathematically possible, Lakey isn't wrong until it is. Not sure why he's downgraded his expectations. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TeemuVanBasten 3,327 Posted December 22, 2019 3 hours ago, The Great Mass Debater said: I accepted relegation a while back. It's not defeatism or giving up, it's realism. Almost none of our players have played Premier League football before. We spent £750,000 in the summer strengthening a Championship that surprised most with our season that year, to compete in a league where Fulham spent £150m and still went down. We have no rich backers, minimal worldwide brand, and a small stadium. Yo-yoing between Premier League and Championship is our natural position. Its important to ensure we have a competitve team for next season to challenge for promotion again Can't argue with that, but have to question why the decision was made to spend almost nothing. Especially if we now go and spend in January, when it's too late. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cantiaci Canary 556 Posted December 22, 2019 (edited) Glass half full = we are improving, we look good enough in spells, Farke is still cutting his teeth, we're not horribly cut adrift and perhaps a January signing or two might tip us over the line. Glass half empty = the lads who shocked us all by winning promotion deserve their crack at the big time and if they fall short we'll only be in the division that we all thought we would be in anyway in Aug 2018 ... but richer and with the scalp of Pep! Edited December 22, 2019 by Cantiaci Canary 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Well b back 3,140 Posted December 22, 2019 2 hours ago, lake district canary said: I 've not been telling everyone "we are finishing 4th", only that I thought it was possible as things stood at the start of the season. I still think we can do something this season...and yes, as things stand staying in the league will be a major achievement....but there is nothing wrong with aiming high and if we can start to get results that some of our performances deserve, we will start going up the table. You also told us when we were talking about Man City we should be upset at any loss whoever it was against. So now we are you tell us we shouldn’t be. Which is it ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kenny Foggo 1,105 Posted December 22, 2019 5 hours ago, lake district canary said: I 've not been telling everyone "we are finishing 4th", only that I thought it was possible as things stood at the start of the season. I still think we can do something this season...and yes, as things stand staying in the league will be a major achievement....but there is nothing wrong with aiming high and if we can start to get results that some of our performances deserve, we will start going up the table. It's cool... We are on Target to hit top 26..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
City 2nd 191 Posted December 22, 2019 10 hours ago, lake district canary said: Easy to say, but there is still a long way to go. What is good is that we are consistently matching opposition sides for quality for large parts of matches - and there are plenty of positives still to be got out of the recent run of matches. Need one or two more different goal scorers, Emi, Vrancic, Stiepermann, Hernandez, all contributed goals last season and they need to this too. Vrancic I think will come more into the games as the season progresses and he gets fully matchfit. So go on, keep the faith, we knew it would be tough - and it is. I still think there is something special to emerge out of this season, we are not cannon fodder in any shape or form and will make a game of it with anyone, take points wherever we can whether its against top or bottom. Still playing some great football and doing us proud. OTBC I agree Lakey. Yesterday first half was some of the best football I have seen a City side play in my 60+ years of support. They played Wolves off the park and had Pukki had his shooting boots on would have been out of site at HT. It was very entertaining. Yes we are down there, but with minor tweaks this side will deliver, be it in the prem or championship. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lake district canary 4,520 Posted December 22, 2019 6 hours ago, Well b back said: You also told us when we were talking about Man City we should be upset at any loss whoever it was against. So now we are you tell us we shouldn’t be. Which is it ? You keep trotting out stuff from the past and I keep replying to you about it, but you keep on doing it.......ok, I'll explain again - I want to win every match and losing the Man City match would have been as big a disappointment as losing against anyone else - which people kept telling me was nonsense because we were never going to win that match......... However, if we lose any match it is not the end of the world as there is always another match coming up, at least it is until the end of the season. I was hugely disappointed yesterday, but something inside me says ok then, we did well enough to have won and maybe should have, so that is a positive, moving forwards. We HAVE to maintain that belief and positivity as fans. And yes, fans can affect what happens on the pitch. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BroadstairsR 2,095 Posted December 22, 2019 What sort of geek even bothers to scroll back through other's posts in the first place? Who gives a fcuk? I'd rather have LDC's optimism as a Sunday morning read than that rubbish from the little queue of suspect binners, or whatever they are, who only ever turn up on here when we lose a game. I note that they're out in force again. Btw. I still think that we can dig ourselves out of this hole. During the match yesterday the thought hit me that I have never, in my years , witnessed a city team play such brilliant football. By the end of the game my thoughts were that I've never witnessed a City team concede so predictably. My additional thought was that the defensive side of our game needs more than one new face in January because a bit of an overhaul of it will be necessary in order to survive . I was happy to see Webber make that point in his post match interview. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
......and Smith must score. 1,311 Posted December 22, 2019 11 hours ago, JF said: Think he means we should have won all those games, we certainly should have won some of them My bad. Brain fade. But we did lose to Sheff Utd 😉 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duke63 539 Posted December 22, 2019 Villa are in danger of breaking the FFP rules in the Premier League thanks to their wealthy owner. They will have to sell their best players whether they stay up or not, and it looks increasingly likely not. I don't get how so many think having a wealthy owner will solve this problem, it doesn't. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kenny Foggo 1,105 Posted December 22, 2019 1 hour ago, duke63 said: Villa are in danger of breaking the FFP rules in the Premier League thanks to their wealthy owner. They will have to sell their best players whether they stay up or not, and it looks increasingly likely not. I don't get how so many think having a wealthy owner will solve this problem, it doesn't. Wolves have a wealthy owner... Anyway it's our fault seemingly.. maybe Webber can spend some money on new fans in January. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peanuts 150 Posted December 22, 2019 1 hour ago, BroadstairsR said: During the match yesterday the thought hit me that I have never, in my years , witnessed a city team play such brilliant football. By the end of the game my thoughts were that I've never witnessed a City team concede so predictably. My thoughts exactly and why it's so frustrating at the moment. We really were magnificent in that first half yesterday and Buendia was sensational, yet you never felt confident whenever they had a corner or a set piece that we were going to keep them out. I don't know whether it's a deficiency in personnel, experience, coaching, tactics or just inevitable given the makeup of the team and the way we play, but it's really sickening to see us play so well and then throw it away with a couple of defensive lapses. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Il Pirata 249 Posted December 22, 2019 Disheartened... I can't remember the last time I felt so gutted about losing a football match. Oh, yes, Sheffield Untied two weeks ago! Both results have completely flattened my optimism. As the saying goes, its the hope that kills you. Stomaching defeats to Southampton and Watford was much easier. We should be sat in the table at least 6 points better off. We're much better than the table suggests, but not streetwise enough to show it. The amount of points lost to self inflicting actions is quite staggering and absolutely gutting. Our team has plenty of players good enough for this level. Sadly I think they'll be proving it with success elsewhere. I'd be shocked if Pukki and Buendia are still here come Feb 1st. And yet, had we seen out games, made better and more obvious decisions (Farke included), we'd not be facing this prospect. Instead, looking forward to how far these players can take us. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Great Mass Debater 1,071 Posted December 22, 2019 11 hours ago, TeemuVanBasten said: Can't argue with that, but have to question why the decision was made to spend almost nothing. Especially if we now go and spend in January, when it's too late. I think the model is that we dont gamble. Teams have spent beyond their means, still got relegated and paid a terrible price as a consequence. Our model is to not financially risk the club by over-extending ourselves such that on relegation, the club is in trouble. When we are relegated, we will not be in financial trouble. We could probably afford to keep all of our players (actually doing that is another thing) rather than being forced to sell to balance the books. This means we are in control of whoever we decide to allow to move on, and at which price. This also puts us in control of how much and at what rate our team is depleted, making it easier to find replacements. It could be that we use our current position in January to recruit for replacements for next season and have them bedded in by the time August comes around and the prospects have moved on Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Great Mass Debater 1,071 Posted December 22, 2019 Take Amadou for example, useful player, but we are not committed to him beyond this season. If we go down he goes back if we stay up, we have the option to make him a permanent move - its sensible for a club in our circumstances. We've given staying up a go, without betting our house on it. We are in a position to set ourselves up cleverly to be in a position to hit the ground running for a promotion challenge next season. What relegated teams need to avoid is an enforced recovery period, where it takes a number of seasons to be in a position to challenge again. With this model, we have the potential to avoid that if done properly 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
......and Smith must score. 1,311 Posted December 22, 2019 19 hours ago, lake district canary said: Easy to say, but there is still a long way to go...... Is there though ? The Boxing Day match will mark the halfway point of the season. So far after 18 games we've accumulated just 12 points averaging 0.66 per match. With 20 games to go we need to average 1.4 points per game from now on to reach the magic 40. True, a team may stay up with less than that but we need to be twice as effective from now on. Do-able of course but a big, big ask. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BroadstairsR 2,095 Posted December 22, 2019 (edited) We have a enough to do it and if we go down we will be among the better sides to fail at the first hurdle, or even the second or third. Yo-yo as is, yo-yo as does. Edited December 22, 2019 by BroadstairsR Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
keelansgrandad 6,679 Posted December 22, 2019 I am not disheartened at the thought if playing in the Championship next season. It is still a game of football and at a reasonably high standard. And if we can manage to keep the squad somewhat together, we could challenge again. And I agree about the Prem. I am sick and tired of hearing pundits prattle on about it. Sick and tired of a game that has become a pantomime with the use of technology, the antics of players and the almost obsessional need for success. But I am disheartened by our inability to learn from our mistakes. Ball watching. That is a good old phrase from years gone by. And that is what we do at set pieces. We do not look at their players. We watch the ball. Add to Zonal marking which I believe is waste of time for us no matter the stats. And I am disappointed that we haven't reverted to simple man for man marking even for a trial period. I think that DF might be being stubborn. If you man mark, you are more likely to watch the man rather than watching a corner come in that bypasses everyone to the far post. We are never going to be able to close out a game if we are going to keep conceding. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lake district canary 4,520 Posted December 22, 2019 1 hour ago, ......and Smith must score. said: 20 hours ago, lake district canary said: Easy to say, but there is still a long way to go...... Is there though ? The Boxing Day match will mark the halfway point of the season. So far after 18 games we've accumulated just 12 points averaging 0.66 per match. With 20 games to go we need to average 1.4 points per game from now on to reach the magic 40. True, a team may stay up with less than that but we need to be twice as effective from now on. Do-able of course but a big, big ask. Its a big ask for sure, but my belief is that we will get stronger, not weaker as the season progresses - and as long as the team keep their motivation up and not get downtrodden by setbacks such as yesterday, then there is reason to think it could be done. Need a good performance/result against Villa though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Creative Midfielder 1,976 Posted December 22, 2019 20 hours ago, kick it off said: Who cares? Prem is ****, boring to watch and little joy to be found in winning once a month. Bring on next season in the Champs. Couldn't have put it better myself, although I've tried to on a number of previous occassions! What has been very striking this season is that when we've come up against the few footballing sides in the Prem we've performed extremely well, even with all the injuries. Unfortunately against the majority of sides who rely on physicality and very cynical 'football' there is always going to be a high risk that we are bullied out of games. But that is the nature of the Premiership and always has been. It will be a shame if some of our stars, especially the youngsters, move on if we do drop back down into the Championship but I'm pretty certain that it will be a lot more exciting and entertaining to watch Farke's team, even with some changes, next season in the Championship than this nonsense we're having to sit through most weeks in the Premiership. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chumino 57 Posted December 22, 2019 6 hours ago, duke63 said: Villa are in danger of breaking the FFP rules in the Premier League thanks to their wealthy owner. They will have to sell their best players whether they stay up or not, and it looks increasingly likely not. I don't get how so many think having a wealthy owner will solve this problem, it doesn't. I don't get why so many don't get that the right wealthier owner with ambition would be a worse option than Delia and championship football. We needed 2 or 3 key signings in the summer to give DF a chance. A wealthier owner could have backed that. Delia can't or won't. Staying in the Prem is also an option to financial security. No money spent, here we are. Again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites