Post-mortem Northampton

[Scratch]

regardless of the timeframe its a fact.

It may be a fact we're near the relegation zone.

It's also a fact we're 3 points of 4th.

But it's september, we've played 5 games, so the table is inconsequential.

[Roboklopp]

Not really. There'd be arguments anyway, there always is.

You can hardly blame those who didn't want Benitez out for complaining. Many of us expected a massive downgrade and downturn in results and performances. And we've got one. Why should we sit back and take it? The anti-Rafa people were so ****ing mouthy, loud and obnoxious for the last 12 months....I'd expect them to be able to cope with getting a little bit back. Seems they can't though. Swings and roundabouts eh.

****ing too right. The lack of support for Rafa amongst our "fans" was a large part of the reason the board were able to sack him. Had everyone backed him, we wouldn't be suffering this massive downgrade, so I'm still bitter as a mother****er about it.

Rafa wasn't given any spaces or allowed any extenuating circumstances ffs.

[danperkins]

It may be a fact we're near the relegation zone.

It's also a fact we're 3 points of 4th.

But it's september, we've played 5 games, so the table is inconsequential.

[dom9]

Where's fredo?

He'd love this...

Closer than you think...

[Roboklopp]

Your best post by a long way. Agree with Craig too about the gloom surrounding the club, and whoever said Gerrard was more if a problem than Rafa last season.

At the start of last season we kicked off the season with an air of depression around the club. We'd just finished 2nd in the league, ending the season playing some brilliant football, and with United losing Ronaldo, we all thought it was our big chance to push on and win the league the following year.

Rafa signed a new contract around Easter, being told he'd have £40m quid plus whatever we raised through sales to strengthen the squad and allow us to really push on for that league title.

Torres was talking up David Villa and David Silva, and players all looking forward to who we'd bring in and looking forward to the season starting.

In the end, the owners business model came crashing down in style, with RBS calling in loans and the summer then revolved around recouping as much capital as possible to repay the banks.

Players were sold and replacements signed only from clubs that already owed us money, meaning as little cash outlay as possible at the time. The £40m soon turned into a repayment.

It soon hit home with the players that we weren't going to be signing the players we needed and wouldn't be doing anytime soon. A cloud formed over the club and we went into the season looking glum.

We never recovered.

Rafa blamed the senior players after the home defeat to Villa, while later on the senior players seemed to blame him. It was a season to forget, but all stemmed from what happened in the summer to me.

People screamed it was all Rafa's fault and if we got rid of the fat Spanish cunt you'd see a different side next season. He'd lost the dressing room and was taking the club backwards.

We disagreed.

Changing the manager will change nothing we said. We'd be replacing him with an inferior manager, and no manager in the world would be able to achieve success under the current ownership. They wouldn't listen.

We sacked Rafa and replaced him with flavour of the month with the media. Our current board know as much about football as my missus. They selected the new manager on the back of media opinion, as well as - not forgetting - Martin Broughton's interview after Roy's appointment that he was impressed most of all that Roy didn't ask about transfer funds and was happy to work with whatever squad was available.

It says it all.

I don't blame Roy for the shambles of a start to this season. He's tactically inept and massively inferior to our previous manager and is way out of his depth, but as we said throughout last year when Rafa was taking it from all angles - nobody stands a chance at the club in its current state. Nothing changes until the owners do.

We can all score points arguing all day about Rafa and Roy, but the facts are the board that know nothing about football sacked a world class manager and replaced him with a 62yr old that hadn't managed a big club in 20 years. They apparently sacked Rafa due to our poor style of football that the senior players were unhappy with, then replaced him with a manager that plays even more negatively and had no experience of dealing with the pressure associated with a club like ours. A board that understood football would have known that.

Everything points back to the board and the owners.

The dark cloud hanging over the club remains until they've gone, no matter who the manager.

Maybe those slaughtering Rafa last season will now begin to realise what we were on about.

[Roboklopp]

I got no stick either, except off an Evertonian. I'm afraid I shot my bolt the night before and asked him if he'd been stung by any Bees lately. I did think 'shall I hold off and wait til we've beaten Northampton?', but I thought **** it, no matter how **** we are there's no way we'll lose to one of the worst professional football teams in the country.

That aside, nothing. And I live in Manchester. It used to be relentless. Not a ****ing sausage. I almost wish they would. I've had a sympathy text from a Spurs fan "you need new owners mate and a new manager otherwise it could be crisis time".

Pretty much same as, also living in Manc.

[Tribute]

The team is good enough to finish top 6 but my doubts lie with Roy's ability to get them there without having a coronary. He's looked a shadow of his former self at Fulham in these past few weeks and I worry that he'll just continue on the downward trail into doom and abject misery.
Like most I agree there must be some underlying reason for so many of our quality players underperforming - even through to the academy starlets who are already looking flimsy. We need guile and we need backbone, but most of all we need it quickly.

We've highlighted the next 5 games as the 'start of our season' where we should pick up 15 points, 13 as a minimum. I don't see it. I see each game with renewed optimism that we'll be great, the team will gel and we'll be having shots for fun... but truth is, that's just a pipe dream and far from reality. It might take a bit of luck, it might just take tenacity and bulldog spirit, it might take a piece of genius from one of them, it might take Roy to bravely change things BEFORE half-time in a game... it might be a bit of everything, but there needs to be some kind of step change if we're going to avoid mid-table mediocrity this season. Roy is limited, but just how limited we'll find out in the next 5 games...

[Icon]

The team is good enough to finish top 6...

The first 11 maybe, yes.

But keeping them fit all season? Not a prayer..

[JohnDoe]

"They have to do a lot of work to get themselves back into favour and I will learn an awful lot from this defeat about an awful lot of people.

"It is early doors for some of them - some are still quite young and were making their debuts - but I don't want to be drawn into making a bold statement.

"It is September. We have got this group of players until January minimum, maybe even longer.

"I am certainly not prepared to make the statement that I am going to suddenly start wielding axes.

Classless statement diverting criticism away from himself.

[BobTheCharmer]

Classless statement diverting criticism away from himself.

strange what people read into peoples comments. quite how you arrived at the conclusion its 'classless' is beyond me.

[Exiled_red]

Roy Hodgson comments:

Full story: http://www.football365.com/story/0,1...395434,00.html

"They have to do a lot of work to get themselves back into favour and I will learn an awful lot from this defeat about an awful lot of people.

"It is early doors for some of them - some are still quite young and were making their debuts - but I don't want to be drawn into making a bold statement.

"It is September. We have got this group of players until January minimum, maybe even longer.

"I am certainly not prepared to make the statement that I am going to suddenly start wielding axes.

Only two of those who started the game were making their debuts (Jones and Wilson), Jones at 28 doesn't fall into the catagory of being young.

I'd let the subs off as they are all young and played a max of 30mins, but as Eccleston has played before IIRC only Ince and Shelvey were making their debuts. So that doesn't really wash IMO.

[JohnDoe]

strange what people read into peoples comments. quite how you arrived at the conclusion its 'classless' is beyond me.

He's basically saying the players are ****. They are, but he shouldn't be saying it. Look at the quotes again:

I will learn an awful lot from this defeat about an awful lot of people.

It is September. We have got this group of players until January minimum, maybe even longer.

Dead giveaways.

[SimonNo7]

Probably a bit of both.

It's hard to put your finger on it. Take Lucas as an example. MattShark would argue with you all day about what a great player he is, but for me he plays the type of 'safe' game that it wouldn't make much difference whether he was playing Man Utd or Northampton. He'd still be the guy working hard in midfield, closing space, playing the simple ball.

Shame about Babel because he does have the ability. At best you could point to the fact that he hasn't played much football this season, but it was Northampton. He should should have tore that team to shreds.

Agree with that. I thought that Lucas may play like he did against Steau with Spearing playing the more controlled part and Lucas going forward more. As for Babel well I think it is quite clear that this lad is a complete waste of talent who seems to think his fame should come from Twitter rather than playing for the greatest football team on the planet. What a complete and utter prat he is

[SimonNo7]

We must be the most unhappiest club from top to bottom..left to right

I'm still adamant we have a very good squad and a very good starting 11 to choose from.

However using players in a system that does not work, we may as play them out of position

[BobTheCharmer]

Only two of those who started the game were making their debuts (Jones and Wilson), Jones at 28 doesn't fall into the catagory of being young.

I'd let the subs off as they are all young and played a max of 30mins, but as Eccleston has played before IIRC only Ince and Shelvey were making their debuts. So that doesn't really wash IMO.

bloody hell. perhaps he meant 'some were quite young and some were making their debuts.

surely every word of every sentence shouldn't be picked apart!