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Jim Smith

In the cold light of day I'm still hugely demoralised by yesterday

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Yes there were some mitigating circumstances with the injuries and yes Brentford are a decent side but that was as dispiriting a day as I can recall for quite some time. I think what it really did was bring a realisation that we have again taken a huge risk with this appointment. I''m not writing off Neil on the back of that but it was a game we needed to win and the team selection, tactics and performance were as bad as anything we''ve seen in recent years indeed arguably that was the worst I''ve seen us play since the Col U game. It really hit hard yesterday i think because we are now pinning all our hopes on Neil and the initial two wins has perhaps allowed us to gloss over somewhat concerns about his ability to step up to this level. Yesterday has brought those concerns into focus. Boos already just 3 Hanes into his career here. How he responds in the next two or three games will be crucial. Personally I hope he does what all our new managers end up having to do and brings Wes back into the side so we can retain the ball.

The positive is that even whilst playing that badly we still created four or five good chances and could have avoided defeat. If we can drag ourselves into the top six then no team we should fear in the playoffs but he will need to have sorted the defence and midfield out by then. For one thing I never want to see that centre back pairing again. Time to stop shooting ourselves in the foot and play Bassong.

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Certainly being Manager at Carrow Road is turning into a poison chalice. It is very concerning when we should still be riding on the new manager effect but the team didn''t turn up and looked devoid of direction and motivation after just 3 games. There clearly has been to many coaching changes in the past months and the players are left confused and demoralised. I am afraid that problem stems back to McNally and the management at the top. We have had two highly experienced football people in Royle and Phelan walk out within weeks of joining us, for me that indicates the rot runs deep inside the team and club. I really hope that in Neil we could finally get some stability and momentum, the next month is now critical for him and the club as a whole. From the booing at decisions and at full time yesterday it is clear people have had a gut full of poor management, poor team performances and inconsistency. Good luck Alex you really need it.

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I said this at the time of his appointment too but to me keeping Phelan was massively important. We appeared to have improved with him about.

The strange thing for me is that the club make noises about going straight back up but have now appointed two managers who need time to learn.

Frustrating - yes. Be careful what you wish for? Yes.

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Situation was not helped by then watching Bolton get a draw at Anfield looking motivated, organised and competent. That''s all we needed this season with the players we have. I still cannot get my head around why Neil Lennon is not our manager.

The summer is where the damage was really done.

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Was so much of the same old from the players. The whit situation is in danger of masking serious deficiencies in some regular performers.

Our squad is ill balanced and loans will be needed to put that right.

Filling the cm vacuum is essential. Our two worst options left yest. Solving the space left by our so called full backs is as big a priority as finding our best cb team.

But it remains a weak league and we need a two point per game average maintained. We can do that. Our cm will not be so weak again (we must sign if injuries still restrict next weeks option)

All not yet lost

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Helsinki. "There clearly has been to many coaching changes in the past months and the players are left confused and demoralised."

That''s certainly the way it looks.

When you see what''s been happening from a players perspective it''s no wonder we looked totally confused and directionless yesterday.

The arrival of Phelan did see a change in our fortunes, it appears his departure is having the same effect.

Massive blow.

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Continuing on the theme of changes in coaching staff, I also see a clear link between the exit of Watson as the GK coach and a loss in confidence and performance of John Ruddy. All these changes in coaching staff stem back to very bad decisions made by McNally in appointing rookie as manager last summer and the best coaches jump ship rather than be told what to do by clearly very in experienced managers. The loss of Phelan this week is the next example of this.....

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Also what sort of message did yesterday''s selection send out to Wes. One fit central midfielder available and he''s overlooked for Whitaker. Staggering.

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Too inconsistent. Too many players having off days together. Too many backroom changes leading to destabilisation. Lack of leadership. Just fed up with the whole lot of it.If by some miracle we get promoted, (yesterday was the big,fat nail in our coffin imo) then we will have to spend so much money to improve this shower just to stop us from being whipping boys, not just relegation candidates.Maybe we have to stay down for another season for a rebuild as we haven''t got the squad to take us up, let alone keep us up.Demoralised? Sick as a parrot Jim!

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Like Jim I share his disbelief that Lennon is not our manager. Equally, Phelan is a massive loss. Results improved following his arrival but, more impotantly, his experience of the English game, gravitas, contacts and ability to deal with millionaire players will each be sorely missed. We were one of the richest 40 clubs in the world a year ago - it is difficult to reconcile this fact with decisions taken by the board of directors.

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I''m not sure Hoolahan for Whits would have had a huge difference.

We may have held onto the ball for longer but we still wouldn''t have stopped more defensively.

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[quote user="chicken"]I''m not sure Hoolahan for Whits would have had a huge difference.

We may have held onto the ball for longer but we still wouldn''t have stopped more defensively.[/quote]

Not talking a straight swap Chicken but Bennett and Wes alongside Johnson in a 3 man midfield or even the diamond was in my view the way to go. Everything they did came through the middle. Midfield is their strength. The team and formation was staggeringly naive. Needed some mobility at CB as well even if that meant Martin back there.

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Just don''t get the Phelan love in.

Couldn''t find a job elsewhere and looked clueless sat in the dugout watching the Preston debacle unfold.

Lennon has gone, time to move on.

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I agree chicken

As for starting with elliot as part of a defensive 3, his contribution was less than lafferty and his defensive efforts were poor. Again that is only a viable option with hindsight.

The issue wasnt so much holding the ball up front, it was defending attacks in the space left by the full backs. Add the ineptitude of both SW & BJ to even try to stem the central mid attack compounded by their inability to pass accurately to feet of lafferty, redmond, hooper or jerome, leading to the long ball hoofs. A cm pair of oneil and tettey would have lead to a different outcome to yesterdays game

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The key for me is the team are not a mislead bunch of world beaters.

If any where true premier class they would be in the Premier league even our most valuable player NR is raw.

AN has yet to sign any of his own men this is important from an ability perspective and important to have your guys who you choose to fit into your system.

I will reserve judgement until the end of the transfer window and then after 10 games.

In the premier league with CH and now with the new manager there are clear holes in our team which need to be filled with new players.

LW, RB at least so if the money does not come out then I know that getting promoted is just lip service as I don''t see any logic in getting a new manager and not letting him bring in at least 3-4 of his own players.

Yesterday let be honest your playing up front and the creative force in midfield is Bradley Johnson? BJ is a decent player especially in the games where he uses his physical dynamism to get in on goal but thread play together?

Adding a composed midfielder with a range of passing would greatly infuse the team.

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[quote user="Helsinki canary"]Continuing on the theme of changes in coaching staff, I also see a clear link between the exit of Watson as the GK coach and a loss in confidence and performance of John Ruddy. All these changes in coaching staff stem back to very bad decisions made by McNally in appointing rookie as manager last summer and the best coaches jump ship rather than be told what to do by clearly very in experienced managers. The loss of Phelan this week is the next example of this.....[/quote]I was forgetting about Watson. The following staff have left the club since April: two managers, four first team coaches, one goalkeeping coach, one chief scout, one footballing consultant and one head of academy coaching. Of those, four were sacked, five if you include Adams.So within a period of just over nine months a total of ten football people have departed the club. This is a high turnover of senior staff even when taking relegation into account. However our Chief Executive is still in the job and got a large bonus for hitting various financial targets.

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This is a great OP that sums up how I feel today too.

It took me by total surprise and I was in a kind of shock after the match, couldnt believe what I had seen.

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"We were one of the richest 40 clubs in the world a year ago - it is difficult to reconcile this fact with decisions taken by the board of directors."

I expect Nutty Nigel to come riding in sat on top of his white horse armed with shield any time now.

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