WBA - Deja Vu

[Making Plans 936]

So here we are then, almost 12 months have passed by & we really need to beat WBA once again to survive.And so, what has changed since the 12th of May 2013.Well in all honesty, not a lot and virtually everything that has changed has been a negative.The team has got worse, results have got worse and the style of play has got worse. Our attempts at scoring in a large number of games have been non existent, our defending has all to frequently been shambolic and the vast majority of our away performances have been devoid of any cohesion, desire & passion.Our passing & crossing have not improved one iota and our ability to create & convert chances remains a joke.Team selections and substitutions remain a mystery for the majority of supporters.We get rid of a leader and goal scorer but failed miserably to replace him on both counts.The much vaunted, and expensive, "lethal" strike force of RVW, Hooper & Elmander have been totally useless in most games.Martin, Bassong, Pilkington, Hoolahan, Johnson and Whittaker have all

gone backwards, in most cases beyond any recognition of the players they were

just 12 months ago.Garrido and Becchio have disappeared off the radar faster than a Malaysian Airways flight.Ruddy, Ryan Bennett, Howson, Snodgrass and Turner have barely shown any improvement and Gutierrez was never going to be the answer to anything. And, in the overall scheme of things, Fer, despite some early promise, has not lived up to expectations.Olsson, Redmond (who strangely has found it hard to get a game lately) Yobo and Tettey are the only players that have really shown any ability and desire.Meanwhile, our Manager & Coaching staff appear to have done nothing to address the problems & put things right.The writing was on the wall as early as the 2nd game of the season & yet they have been allowed to carry on taking this Club backwards for the last 7 months.Whatever the result tomorrow, and the eventual outcome of this season, they have failed miserably to build on last season & take this Club forward.They must go as soon as the season ends.

[Guest]

Depends on your interpretation of things I suppose, but I certainly don''t think the style of play is worse than last season.

And now the U21''s are losing 4-1. Can this season get any worse?!

[FenwayFrank 2,457]

So reading between the lines, you''re not happy ?

[Making Plans 936]

[quote user="I.S."]Depends on your interpretation of things I suppose, but I certainly don''t think the style of play is worse than last season. [/quote]OK, that point is arguable. So I was right about everything else then

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,424]

[quote user="I.S."]Depends on your interpretation of things I suppose, but I certainly don''t think the style of play is worse than last season. And now the U21''s are losing 4-1. Can this season get any worse?![/quote]

 

Oh yes. The binners could sneak into the playoffs, whilst Forest , Reading and Brighton commit Hara Kiri . Much worse. Much much worse...

[Tim Dawson 0]

As far as i can see the O/P has everything spot on, 12 months on and even more abysmal with a supposedly stronger squad, mmmm, summat aint right !!!

[Ashwood 24]

Making Plans - by far the best post of the season so far !

[lake district canary 4,531]

[quote user="Making Plans"]the style of play has got worse. Our attempts at scoring in a large number of games have been non existent, defending has all to frequently been shambolic Our passing & crossing have not improved one iota ability to create & convert chances remains a joke.Team selections and substitutions remain a mystery for the majority of supporters.RVW, Hooper & Elmander have been totally useless in most games.[/quote]I''m not going to disagree with everything you say, but the above I will dispute.Style has improved in quite a few matches imo, with several exceptional performances at home.Our attempts at scoring has increased quite markedly compared to the second half of last season.Defending has been so shambolic we have one of the highest clean sheet totals in the division.Passing has been very good in some matches, but not in others, so it is a mixed picture there, not all bad, or worse.Ability to create chances has been much better this season - its just the finishing that has been the problem.Team selections have not been that strange imo, perhaps the Southampton away was difficult to understand, thats all.The West Ham subs were the obvious dubious substitutions, but substitutions do generally  hold up under scrutiny, some have worked, some haven''t.RVW has not been useless most games, he simply hasn''t found his confidence in front of goal.Hooper has not been useless either, scored some good goals.Elmander has not been useless either imo - when the team play well, he is often at the heart of that.

I understand the sentiment behind your post, but a bit ott, imo.WBA will be a tougher nut to crack this season, but that is the story of this season, with so many teams scrapping for points in the lower half of the table. 

[nutty nigel 7,509]

More absolute misery from MP. Tomorrows game gets the briefest mention at the very start before this turns into yet another post to slit your wrists to.

I''m looking forward to the game tomorrow. Is anyone else?

[Making Plans 936]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]More absolute misery from MP. Tomorrows game gets the briefest mention at the very start before this turns into yet another post to slit your wrists to.

I''m looking forward to the game tomorrow. Is anyone else?[/quote]I think you''ll find that everything I said in my original post was proven beyond any reasonable doubt this afternoon.

[SeattleCanary 0]

[quote user="Making Plans"][quote user="nutty nigel"]More absolute misery from MP. Tomorrows game gets the briefest mention at the very start before this turns into yet another post to slit your wrists to.

I''m looking forward to the game tomorrow. Is anyone else?[/quote]I think you''ll find that everything I said in my original post was proven beyond any reasonable doubt this afternoon.[/quote]

Without doubt. NCFC has gone to sh!t. The level headed posters will always try to be shouted down by the usual suspects, but the reality is that we show concern and frustration because things are in a good state. If they were, we wouldn''t be upset. I''ve found myself arguing with the same posters over and over, too blind to see what is unfolding before their eyes. 

Many just cling to blind hope, and now and again we get a result, but not often enough. Finally we find ourselves 17th having dropped 11 points against rivals this month alone, and I knew it was coming, and said so. The footballing knowledge, and genuine intellect of some people baffles me. Needless to say based on how some have carelessly supported the tripe we have seen dished up, their opinions hold little weight with me now as a large chunk of their preaching looks to have been naive at best.

[SeattleCanary 0]

[quote user="SeattleCanary"][quote user="Making Plans"][quote user="nutty nigel"]More absolute misery from MP. Tomorrows game gets the briefest mention at the very start before this turns into yet another post to slit your wrists to.

I''m looking forward to the game tomorrow. Is anyone else?[/quote]I think you''ll find that everything I said in my original post was proven beyond any reasonable doubt this afternoon.[/quote]

Without doubt. NCFC has gone to sh!t. The level headed posters will always try to be shouted down by the usual suspects, but the reality is that we show concern and frustration because things are in a good state. If they were, we wouldn''t be upset. I''ve found myself arguing with the same posters over and over, too blind to see what is unfolding before their eyes. 

Many just cling to blind hope, and now and again we get a result, but not often enough. Finally we find ourselves 17th having dropped 11 points against rivals this month alone, and I knew it was coming, and said so. The footballing knowledge, and genuine intellect of some people baffles me. Needless to say based on how some have carelessly supported the tripe we have seen dished up, their opinions hold little weight with me now as a large chunk of their preaching looks to have been naive at best.

[/quote]

**Aren''t in a good state**