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lake district canary

Are we improving as a team? YES!

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We have just seen three matches in a

row where we have put together some really good football - entertaining,

positive and creating chances.  All things that fans have been moaning

about.  The final piece of the jigsaw is the finishing.  

Confidence/luck/composure - call it what you like - that is all that is

missing in front of goal.  

Its frustrating - but  there has

been progress and we are becoming a very good footballing side -

entertaining, atttacking and creating chances.  If we keep that going we

will surely start to get the goals.  Hughton has been

building a side over the last two years under the most difficult of

circumstances - last year focus was on defence - this season has been

about improving the midfield and attack.  The jigsaw is nearly complete -

we just need a little luck in front of goal.     Maybe

its difficult to see reason after poor results - and the substitutions

didn''t work last night - but we should have been three up by then.     But - the strikers we have

are more than capable of scoring and we have time this season to get

them firing. This may be unpopular opinion for some

to take, but it is I believe a realistic one. 

We have to hang in

there,  need to win our next home game - and another unpopular thing to

say, but true - there are still only three points separating clubs from

10th to 17th place.  So all is not lost - far from it. 

A long time to the next game, but it should be a good one...............and a good one to win.

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Having won TWENTY TWO matches in ALL competitions from a total of SEVENTY FIVE matches played, you suggest progress is being made under accrues Hughton?

Yeah, okay, that is progress?

I see you will progress throughout your chosen career if you believe such figures relate to improvement!

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Hughton''s record can''t be defended any longer.

LDC, yeah, we''re improving all the way to the championship mate.

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Yet more evidence just how easily satisfied Lakey is. Precisely how is;One win since Dec 7th (two and a half months),No away wins since then,3 losses to clubs occupying the bottom spot during that time,6 goals scored in 13 games,Falling to within one point of the relegation places,          construed as ''improving'' ?!There is absolutely no logic or evidence to support your ridiculous comment Lakey.

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[quote user="lake district canary"]We have just seen three matches in a

row where we have put together some really good football - entertaining,

positive and creating chances.  All things that fans have been moaning

about.  The final piece of the jigsaw is the finishing.  

Confidence/luck/composure - call it what you like - that is all that is

missing in front of goal.  

Its frustrating - but  there has

been progress and we are becoming a very good footballing side -

entertaining, atttacking and creating chances.  If we keep that going we

will surely start to get the goals.  Hughton has been

building a side over the last two years under the most difficult of

circumstances - last year focus was on defence - this season has been

about improving the midfield and attack.  The jigsaw is nearly complete -

we just need a little luck in front of goal.     Maybe

its difficult to see reason after poor results - and the substitutions

didn''t work last night - but we should have been three up by then.     But - the strikers we have

are more than capable of scoring and we have time this season to get

them firing. This may be unpopular opinion for some

to take, but it is I believe a realistic one. 

We have to hang in

there,  need to win our next home game - and another unpopular thing to

say, but true - there are still only three points separating clubs from

10th to 17th place.  So all is not lost - far from it. 

A long time to the next game, but it should be a good one...............and a good one to win.

[/quote]

So LDC are you saying if we don''t beat spurs he should go, if we kept improving like you say we would be in top 4, the season will be over and the same things will be said in April that was said in October about Houghton and we will be in championship.

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[quote user="lake district canary"]We have just seen three matches in a

row where we have put together some really good football - entertaining,

positive and creating chances.  All things that fans have been moaning

about.  The final piece of the jigsaw is the finishing.  

Confidence/luck/composure - call it what you like - that is all that is

missing in front of goal.  

Its frustrating - but  there has

been progress and we are becoming a very good footballing side -

entertaining, atttacking and creating chances.  If we keep that going we

will surely start to get the goals.  Hughton has been

building a side over the last two years under the most difficult of

circumstances - last year focus was on defence - this season has been

about improving the midfield and attack.  The jigsaw is nearly complete -

we just need a little luck in front of goal.     Maybe

its difficult to see reason after poor results - and the substitutions

didn''t work last night - but we should have been three up by then.     But - the strikers we have

are more than capable of scoring and we have time this season to get

them firing. This may be unpopular opinion for some

to take, but it is I believe a realistic one. 

We have to hang in

there,  need to win our next home game - and another unpopular thing to

say, but true - there are still only three points separating clubs from

10th to 17th place.  So all is not lost - far from it. 

A long time to the next game, but it should be a good one...............and a good one to win.

[/quote]

Lakey I really do admire your perseverance and belief that everything is ok. However I am really struggling to see that myself.

How many times can we keep on saying “we played well and should have got something out of that game?” “Should have” gets us no points.

If it’s a question of playing pretty football and getting no points as opposed to playing scrappy and getting the 3 and 1 points we need to stay in the division then I know which one I would go for.

There’s little point saying that we are improving when the only thing improving means is that we play a bit better. If there is no actual result at the end of the day then there’s no point in making an improvement and therefore way we will survive.

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Losing too many games to our rivals, if people are defending Hughtons record then they are frankly deluded.

Improved since when, since Lambert left ?

No, better squad yes but improved, no way.

Shoulda gone weeks ago, wrong subs AGAIN, seem to say it game after game. When your on top at 0-0 dont make changes to go for the draw. HUGTON OUT !!!

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There is a place in life for totally blind, baseless optimism. As Lord Melchett once famously said ''If nothing else works, a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through.''

 

God bless you LDC, whoever you are. I assume you are some sort of parody, perhaps a budding script writer seeing just how far you can take this until the Grand Reveal takes place , and you are in fact Richard Curtis'' nephew?

 

Sadly this will be just as we get relegated.

 

But keep it up . Its a jolly good read. And I salute you Sir.  

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Given the time scale it''s taking to come together it should all click by the time we play Watford at home in October. Sadly by then most of the team will have been shipped out to cut the championship wage bill.

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[quote user="InchY_barn door_wolfswinkel"]Given the time scale it''s taking to come together it should all click by the time we play Watford at home in October. Sadly by then most of the team will have been shipped out to cut the championship wage bill.[/quote]Quality post.But scarily likely.Are you suggesting though that the team will not have ''clicked'' for the opening game at Brentford in August ????

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I have my suspicions that Lakey is in fact our old friend Camulodunum on a wind up.

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As far as the crucial areas of the pitch are concerned I''m afraid we are most definitely not improving. We are creating chances but not scoring and we are letting in soft goals. The Man U home game is a perfect illustration of this. We all felt it was an unfair result but ultimately that is what football is about and we are poor in those areas.

So sorry LCD but overall we are not improving. We look better at certain times, particularly creating chances, but we are constantly failing to do the important things right.

For me Hughton should have gone after the 7 - 0 and by keeping him on the board have taken a much bigger risk with relegation than they would have done by replacing him. It''s probably too late to change now and we may well stick with him to the season end. I''ll get behind him and the team come what may but I''m very, very concerned that we don''t have what it takes.

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There is one phrase which stood out above all others to me in LDC''s OP, and that is "under the most difficult circumstances".

Chris Hughton took over when:

1. the side had won back to back promotions;

2. it had finished 12th in its first season

3. it could give anyone a good run for their money

4. the squad overall was high on team spirit and work ethic

5. the club was virtually debt free and apparently is completely debt free now

6. he was given a healthy transfer budget which then became the biggest ever for a City manager

7. there had been no change of club owner and no disruptive foreign investors interfering

8. we had a good youth set up which won the FA Youth Cup last Spring

9. all season tickets were sold out

10. every home game was packed to the rafters with happy and enthusiastic fans.

Exactly how does this qualify as the "most difficult" of circumstances?

The reality has to be faced that despite all of the above he has found a way of achieving abject failure on the pitch..

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Results merit improvements, we aren''t getting better results, aside of a point against Man City at home...

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I know this is an incredibly personal post to make, and that I have always previously refrained from making personal comments, but listening to LDC reminds me of the incomprehensible blind faith that comes out of the mouth of a religious zealot. Like when you see an interview on the news with someone who''s just had their entire village destroyed by a natural disaster and lost their entire family, yet still believes that god loves them and has a plan for them. Every time I read a post from you LDC I wonder just what it would take for you to change your mind? You are entitled to your opinion of course, and I am not trying to invalidate it, but I just cant imagine you changing your tune. In any circumstance. Ever. If we get relegated, I still suspect you''d be coming out with how rosey things are still. Im not trying to be offensive or upset anyone, but would you be able to say at which point you would draw the line? At which point you would feel performances were unacceptable or ineffective and that a managerial change was the right thing? Do we have to be relegated for you to change your position? Or is sacking the manager never the right option in your opinion?

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I think the side that gained promotion to the Premier would beat the current team. That was a team - not a group of players.

Hughton had been unable to recreate the togetherness his signings destroyed. This appears to have spread to the crowd.

I am disappointed the Board have let this disaster drag on for so long.

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[quote user="FCC"]I think the side that gained promotion to the Premier would beat the current team. That was a team - not a group of players.

Hughton had been unable to recreate the togetherness his signings destroyed. This appears to have spread to the crowd.

I am disappointed the Board have let this disaster drag on for so long.[/quote]One of those things we''ll never know FCC. Rather like the ''was Ryan Giggs a better player than George Best /Stanley Matthews ?'' ones.I have been very supportive of the board in the last very trying 2 years, but my patience is wearing sorely thin. As many have said, the time for Hughton and his cronies to go was in November, but the board either did not have the balls to do it, or are populated with crazy , LDC type blind optimist clones.They have missed a trick here, and will be held to account over the summer when we are preparing for trips to Brentford and Doncaster.

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Has he smashed the transfer record? Yep

Has he had the biggest budget in our history? Yep

Are we better after spending approx £35m since PL left? No

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Predictable responses I suppose, but I sat there last night - admittedly don my fairly dodgy stream - thinking during the game that this is a side that knows what it is doing.  Good in defence, good in midfield and creating good chances.    What more can a manager do?   He can''t put the ball in the net for the strikers.   The strikers have to find their touch.   Do that, win a couple of matches and all this angst we see after matches will disappear. 

People keep saying I think eveything is ok - it isn''t - we still need to find the back of the net - but don''t tell me the team performances over the last three games have not been very good - because they have been.   We are just missing that end product - and that will surely happen - and there are enough games to make it happen. 

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Hypothetical situation. If a new manager came in, and suddenly proven goalscorers like Hooper and RvW started scoring again, like they have done before they played under hughton, would you accept that as proof that a manager can be responsible for the form and performance of their players? Is it just a coincidence and bad luck that universally the players seem to be out of form?

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And an equally predictable response from you also Lakey. In case you hadn''t noticed the clock is ticking down on this season and we have probably the worst run in of all those in the bottom end of the table.

It will however be interesting to read your optimistic babble when at the end of the season we have dropped.

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[quote user="InchY_barn door_wolfswinkel"]And an equally predictable response from you also Lakey. In case you hadn''t noticed the clock is ticking down on this season and we have probably the worst run in of all those in the bottom end of the table.

It will however be interesting to read your optimistic babble when at the end of the season we have dropped.[/quote]If.  If.  Not "when".  "When" means you have given up.  "If" means that the outcome isn''t  certain - and the outcome is not certain.  There are still enough games to get us safe.

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Those bemoaning our luck in scoring goals should remember the following:

1) Blasting over or wide continues. It is difficult to see how you can score with these. Techniques are not good enough, or there is panic.

2) It''s no good when you hit the ball straight at the keeper. We are facing Premiership quality, i.e. mostly international quality, keepers in most matches. They are human and can make mistakes, but they will gobble up shots within easy reach.

I think these continue, and explain the majority of our missed chances.

Has luck been bad, and will level out soon?

Yes we have had some bad luck recently, but take away the good luck we have had, and we would probably have something like 15 points. Remember the other West Ham game when our first goal was from the keeper''s mistake and a penalty. Remember our goal against Hull, when Ryan Bennett scored via a defender''s head. Remember when West Brom, and others, forgot to pack their shooting boots although outplayed us mostly otherwise.

It may be a desperate thing to say, but players who have a poor technique and can''t improve should be dropped until they are more likely to earn their high pay. Fortunately it seem likely that Howson could be back in a week or two. I hope that he will show the strikers and other how to shoot from distance.Perhaps it''s time to think of other remedies, - play Becchio, put Snodgrass in the centre, give Josh more game time? I don''t honestly think that using Wes will improve the shooting, and we certainly are creating chances without him.

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Actually, could I ask a different hypothetical question? If Jose mourinho were in charge of our team, managing the exact same players, do you think our results and league position would be the same? If so, then you obvuiously feel that Hughton is getting the most out of the players. If not, then you acknowledge a different manager could be getting more out of the same squad. So which is it?

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