smudger63

Might even improve it, thats how lacking in quality some of them are!

Worse performance of the season in my opinion. No urgency, no creativity and no quality. Moving Ndidi and KDH didnt work at all, and they should have reverted to their normal positions before 20 minutes into the game had passed by. Far too passive with the ball at the back too, Faes being the biggest culprit, and it was him losing the ball, and leaving Winks one on one that caused the goal. Basically it was shite of the very highest order!

If De Zerbi moves on from Brighton this summer, which is a distinct possibility, then I wouldn't be surprised if Brighton came sniffing. He is mates with De Zerbi, and plays the same style of football. So would fit seamlessly into how Brighton play, and with a bit of money to spend on players. Us going up, is possibly as important to Enzos managerial career, in terms of him moving forward, as it is the club. If we don't go up, he will be looked on as a manager that messed up from a position it was virtually impossible to mess up from, with arguably one of the best squads ever to play in the championship. If we do go up though, he will be seen as a manager that even after suffering adversity, in terms of a loss of form, and all the off field stuff, he was someone who was able to turn it round and get us over the line. Our future very likely determines Enzos future in the short term at least.

A massive Ackerman sized hole we never filled, and that has already showed today.

We've benefited from the play offs ourselves in the past, so I couldn't vote against it, just because it went against us all of a sudden.

All goals are preventable to be fair. You can always find fault somewhere. Someone who gave the ball away, someone who didn't track a run, someone who didn't pick his man up. Even the long range pile drivers that go in the top corner, are usually the fault of someone not closing down the player taking the shot, and of course not playing Danny Ward in goal would make a lot of goals preventable.

The 79/80 programmes from our division 2 winning season, under the great Jock Wallace. I stopped buying programmes myself about 4 seasons ago, due to lack of space. I've told my family when I pop off, to find my programmes a good home, and that if they bang them in a skip I will come back and forever haunt them!

A double deflection, it was incredible wasnt it, in a game where the ref didnt send their bloke off for a blatant second yellow, and denied KDH a stonewall pen. Yep, id say that was damn lucky. Even their goal down here took a slight deflection off of a defenders boot, from the initial shot to wrong foot Mads, which meant when he saved it, he pushed it out in front of him, straight to their bloke who scored, instead of to the side and safety.

Yesterday was certainly season defining for Southampton, because it realistically killed off any hopes they may have had of going up automatically. On the flip side it will give them a few weeks to mentally prepare for the play offs, which is unlikely to be the case for whichever club misses out from ourselves, Ipswich and Leeds. Although of the three, i think Ipswich would be the most likely to go up if they did drop into the play offs, because of their undoubted belief and resilience. I really worry for us, if we don't get in the top two, I just don't see us doing it in a play off scenario.

Yesterday was the first time since we played Ipswich away on boxing day that we were able to start both Ndidi and Ricardo together. We are a far better team with those two in the side, but we should have had more than enough in the squad to cope with that in this division, so there can be no excuses on our part really.

Ipswich just seem destined to go up. I almost feel that its just written that way, and nothing will change it. We can talk about all the luck they have had, and I can't remember a team having more in the course of a season, in 50 odd years of watching football, but if they don't keep going to the end, or if they don't take them shots that take a deflection or two, then they don't get that luck that has come their way.

Fatawu, Mavadidi and Faes have been off it for weeks, but play each week. No jeopardy for their position breeds lethargy and complacency, which is what we've got. Manager has stopped managing.

Supposedly they are looking to change them to players wages, and agent fees, and transfer dealings, not being higher than 70 per cent of the income a club brings in. So basically the smaller clubs who don't have anywhere the revenue of the bigger clubs, will have even less chance to compete. Sounds even worse to me.

I suppose we can give the game a positive spin, by remarking how we came back from 2-0 down, that at 2-2, the game could have gone either way, but that the red card changed the game, but we showed some resilience and were only beaten by two late goals, and we gave it a go until the sending off, all true of course, all be it against a currently pretty ordinary Premier league side. As the manager and as a player, that is what they absolutely have to do, but If you look deeper at the game though, with eyes wide open, we should have been at least 4-0 down at half time, but for the dreadfull Sterling. Playing the defence so high, with such a lack of pace, against their pacey forwards was only ever going to end one way, and showed that if we do go up, and are not able to bring in more pacey defenders, then unless Enzo changes (he wont) then we will be screwed before we kick a ball next season. That, despite some very good football between the two boxes when we had the ball, (KDH take a bow, but where have you been hiding for the last few weeks), we never really created much. Once again, the final ball and decision making was poor, when we were on really good areas and situations. Ultimately, we only had 5 shots in the game, and only one of those was on target, we were never going to win that game with those numbers. So, in the cold light of day, as much as we can spin it in a positive way, the truth is, we were perhaps not quite as good as some may think we were.

Almost the perfect draw, Man Utd at home to Chelsea gives Man Utd a sporting chance of getting through, which would make it a winnable final for both Tottenham and ourselves, and probably make for a better final. Ideally we would have been drawn at home, but even away, Tottenham is absolutely a winnable game for our girls.

So it's not possible then for someone to fall for somebody who might also be their boss in a work environment. It happens all the time. In regards to the manager coming on to her, so the consent inevitably becomes coerced because of the power dynamic between the two, how do we know it wasn't her that came on to him, we just don't know, but If the lady involved has spoken to the club or been spoken too by the club since the story broke, and said that she has felt pressured, then that absolutely should be investigated, and dealt with swiftly and end with Kirks sacking. If she says that she is happy to be in the relationship, then you have to take her at her word, and let them get on with it.

Then how long does it take to call the lady in question in for a meeting, and ask if she is happy to be in the relationship, or if she feels pressured into it. Would be a 5 minute meeting and investigation, which could have been done on the same day that the story broke. Now of course, if her answer was that she felt pressured into it, that is a whole different thing, and would take a bit longer, and would inevitably and rightfully end in the sacking of Kirk.

If the relationship is a consensual one, I just don't see the problem. Man and woman meet, have a relationship, it happens in all walks of life, and environments. Loads of people meet and have relationships with colleagues from work. As I mentioned in my previous post, the manager of the company I work for, had a relationship with one of my work colleagues, while she was married to someone else. They are now married and have been together 24 years, and at no time did I feel that it was unprofessional, and should have been investigated by the owner of the company, or that the manager was giving her preferential treatment over the rest of us. The Pearson thing was different in as much as what his son had been alleged to have been involved with, in the owners home land, while representing the club on a trip paid and organised by the club. Of course that was going to be investigated, and Pearson chose to stand by his son, which is only natural. Maybe the club have their investigation, sack Kirk for falling in love with someone who happens to be playing for the club, but it all sounds a bit ridiculous to me.

Couldn`t agree more.

Absolutely this! There are team mates within the ladies game that are in relationships, should they be investigated? Of course not! Helen Richardson and Kate Walsh, team mates in the GB ladies hockey team, were in a relationship, and are now married, should they have been investigated, and dropped from playing for GB, of course not, it`s ridiculous to suggest that. In every day life, The manager of the company i work for, had an affair with a married co worker of mine, and they are now married, and at no time was i thinking, that is unprofesional, she would be getting preferential treatment over me. Finally, Harry Redknapp was manager of his nephew Frank Lampard at West Ham, Brian Clough manager of his son at Notts Forest, was that unprofesional, and were they only picking them for family reasons, of course not. Ultimately if we are going to have mixed environments, and even unmixed environments in some cases, then nature is going to take its course.

It is, but we have started letting too many soft goals in for my liking. I think Faes and Justin, have both lost a bit of form. I get why he is starting them, Justin is a better one on one defender than Doyle, and playing Coady ahead of Faes, would mean we have less pace at the back, but they can`t go on defenending like they are. Hopefully the break will give them a bit of time to refresh and get back to the right levels again, along with a number of others who`s form has dropped off a cliff in recent weeks.

Having now seen the highlights, Hulls pen was a brain dead push in the back from Mavadidi, but was outside the area, so should have only been a free kick. Vardy should have had a pen for the second challenge on him, Vardy lays the ball back, their guy is too late to the ball and catches Vardys foot, and Seri should absolutely have had a second yellow. Not only did he not move away, he actually walks towards Faes, and as Faes dummys to take it, puts his foot out. It might be soft, but in the laws of the game its another yellow. This was the same guy that was the referee for the Ipswich away game, where he didnt give a stonewall pen on KDH, and he didnt give a blatant second yellow to Harness for taking our player out, 2 minutes after he had been booked before. So if the referees hierarchy are going to demote referees to lower leagues for incompetent refereeing, this guy should be back on park football!

Bristol City who ended Southamptons 25 game unbeaten run and ran Ipswich away pretty close last week. I think Bristol City is going to be a tough game. Norwich have really picked up and have a great chance of the play offs now, so as you say, very tricky. We also have West Brom and Southampton at home, and Preston away could be tricky too. Looking at the remaining games of the top 4, Leeds have got the easiest run in on paper, and likely win the league now, in my opinion. Ourselves, Ipswich and Southampton all have some tough games to play. If we get RIcardo back, and Ndidi back to his level, and our out of form players back in form, and there's a few, after the international break, we should be fine. Carry on with the performances that we are currently putting in, and we will be relying on both Ipswich and Southampton messing up. Its in our hands at the moment, we need to keep it that way!

Could have been worse, but failed to capitalise on Ipswich losing. Good weekend for Leeds, who are likely to go top next week by beating Millwall at home, and Southampton, who with their home game with Preston in hand, have dragged themselves back in it, with their expected win today. Not great for Ipswich, but us only drawing probably slightly softened the blow for them, and they have a chance now to go a point behind us next week, while we play in the Cup. A decent point for us, in a difficult game. A shame we couldn't find the winner, it would have been massive. We really need Ricardo back, and Ndidi back to his best again. Hopefully the break will give Mavadidi and KDH a chance to have a reboot, because its just not happening for them at the moment.

Cue 98th minute ipswich winner. Edited to say, Err! Cue 98th minute Cardiff winner I mean.