QPR, BRUM, CARDIFF WE BEGAN TO PLAY BEFORE GRANT BEGAN COACHING

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

How can it be? Worthy leaves and Norwich get a worthwhile draw at QPR scoring 3 then go to Brum and play well before a cracking first half against Cardiff before tailing off.

Went to Stoke with a load of tinkering.........crash. Listened on the radio tonight and it didn''t sound scintillating.

Grant seems to be re-learning Worthington''s mistakes, can he afford to experiment? I know there have been injuries but how could the players do so well in the interim period?

Football is a simple game. Are we coaching ourselves into oblivion.

This isn''t an anti-Grant post Kevin, if he has aspirations to play a certain way then he MUST be getting some loans in. The season is over already.

[Ginja 26]

Well you certainly sound anti-Grant and very negative "The Season is over already" blimey I think I''ve missed a few games there...

[carpio 0]

seems to me that some people are only happy when they are moaning!! Grant has inherited a small, under achieving squad with probably 30% of the players needing to be moved on. He will not be able to wave a magic wand. Last night we had 3 players not really fit but willing to play, not ideal but at least some of the squad have the heart for a fight. Now we just need ALL the fans/supporters to stick with the new manager while he REBUILDS the squad and we might just get somewhere!!

[canary cherub 1]

It''s a very common pattern when a club changes the manager, and it''s hard to explain.  True we caught Brum and Cardiff at a good time, and players are bound to try and impress a new manager.  But Sheff W are having a mini revival too, and their new man hasn''t even been appointed yet.

If there are fundamental problems though, it won''t be long before they re-emerge, and that''s where we are right now imo.  Ditto Leeds, who appear to be in a worse mess than we are. 

[mbncfc 1]

It seems pretty clear to me...

Hunter was probably the one pulling the strings for the QPR, Brum and Cardiff games, as Grant was still settling in. They should have given him the job! Cheap option my ar*e... [;)]

On a more serious note, we''re still only a few points off the playoffs and the middle of the table seems more congested than ever. I don''t really consider the season to be over yet (although I understand and appreciate the dramatic influence)

23 games will give a much better indication...

[blahblahblah 2]

Is version 1 of anything ever perfect ?  It''s going to take time for Grant to get his requirements over to the players, and for the players to deliver.  Although we''ve had some very encouraging early results, you can''t expect a mid-table Championship team with 2 or 3 low Premiership standard players to instantly become superhuman the moment the management changes. There will be things that worked on the training ground that get lost in transition to the match, it''s human nature.

To say that the season is over is melodrama, I expected more of you Mr. F.  Look at the table, any one of 20 teams could make the play-offs.  I suspect that the season won''t be over for us until late April at least.

[mbncfc 1]

[quote user="blahblahblah"]

 I suspect that the season won''t be over for us until late April at least.

[/quote]

I think that''s the most optimistic thing I''ve heard on here in a couple of weeks [;)][:P]

[broadie 0]

There were plenty of people slagging Grant off at the ground last night.

To be honest though, we are in a ridiculous position where losing one player to injury upsets the entire balance of the side. That''s gradually been allowed to fester over the last couple years because of the crazy lack of transfers and squad development, and Grant can''t be held responsible for that.

There will be big changes in January. People just have to have patience. Which they won''t!

[Old Yellow Bird 0]

Between the QPR game and next Saturday, we will have played 7 games in 21 days, with a new manager taking over between QPR and Birmingham.  Four of the first 5 of these games were away.  What with the travelling and working round injuries to some of the most influential players, when exactly has Grant had time to change anything? 

At best he has been firefighting.  After the Sunderland game he has a week  to think about playing West Brom away. 

I assume he didn''t think this was an easy job!

Can''t see the point of criticising him until he has had a chance to show us what his game plan is - with players he wants in the squad.  Last night was pretty poor, but as Broadie said we have to be patient!

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

I''m not slagging Grant off per se, God knows he must have wanted the job to take it under the conditions he did: same back room staff; a long time until the transfer window and either no money for or no potential for good loans.

But after the exhausted Worthy left the players seemed to play for themselves with three different but dogged performances.

We then apparently play crap at Port Vale and lose on penalties although the defence was still fine.

Then what? Granty messes around with a performing defence, takes a gamble on Doc Oc being a ball playing defensive midfielder and Hughes being a left winger and Stoke have a field day. Stoke man mark the other two in midfield and let Doc Oc have the ball because he didn''t know what to do with it......brilliant.

So, did the retained coaching staff mislead Grant in this? Did he take a gamble against their advice? Or is there another option I cannot plausibly think of?

What shouldn''t happen is for Grant to make all the mistakes Worthington made, again. I thought he would be refreshingly putting round pegs in round holes and keeping to a system, he said he was, but no!

By the time we play Colchester the players are demoralised again. They did well, after getting stuffed 5-0, going a goal down on the night and coming back. We could easily have lost.

These are the same players who kept going through Worthington''s demise, through demonstrations and cheering of the opposition, who came back in games they were being booed in and who haven''t turned on the fans as a body (the odd individual, yes).

Isn''t it about time all the clever buggers stopped messing around with what are actually a small but decent group of players with a good attitude and just let them go out and express themselves.

This happened in the interim and it worked. The tinkering starts and.......bang! Off we go again.

As for the season being over, yes, this might be a bit melodramatic but many, many people on here have already consigned this season in their expectations to one of consolidation and rebuilding; they talk about summer clear outs.

Well, let me tell you there will be a clear out next summer and it will be of our out of contract well paid professionals. We will have to re-build and might well end up spending another 10 years out of the top flight.

The only solution is to give Grant serious loan money NOW, so we might be in a position to challenge for promotion and thus attract good players in January when Grants needs serious transfer money.

I believe Peter can do a job. But if he is just an unsupported cheap option then both he and us will lose.