Jobyfox

I would actually prefer Ricardo to others in a number of roles: RB above Justin who should compete with VK for the LB role DM definitely above Hamza & Soumare, but sometimes above the others depending upon the situation RW above BDR, Ayew and KMc

No I don’t really accept that. There are candidates from the Championship, foreign leagues and assistant managers around who I’m sure could have been approached and would have taken the opportunity. Maresca himself was someone who was acting as a number 2 having been sacked by Parma. I might agree that Cooper was a pragmatic choice, but he’s also an incredibly unimaginative one that doesn’t give us any consistency of direction

That’s it for me really and sums up why I thought it was a strange appointment. Last season we felt that the best way to rebuild was to appoint Maresca - an up and coming manager with a clear philosophy and team identity. Whether you liked it, or not, you could see that the style was progressive and probably more suitable the higher the level we played. You could have made an argument to appoint a manager like Cooper last season. Someone with experience of getting a side promoted and keeping them there. A limited manager for a specific task. Instead we went with the bold (or bald) decision of appointing Maresca. A brave decision that paid off - only to then revert back to someone like Cooper. It’s just muddled thinking

Edouard, BDR and Ayew - FFS we shouldn’t be booing these players. We should be booing the recruitment team. God knows what they were on!

Cooper was a strange appointment from the outset and revealed a confused strategy from the decision makers. We’ve now “made our bed” with him and it’s difficult to see us sacking him anytime soon. I’m also not sure what another manager would do with this squad. It is one of the worst in the league and I expect us to be fighting in our mini league whoever is in charge. Would Maresca have performed better in the transfer market on a limited budget? (Eduoard and BDR look poor signings and Ayew should really be no more than a squad player). Would Maresca have picked up more points as, irrespective of manager, we expected a relegation battle? Given the trajectory we’re now on I’m expecting this season to be a difficult slog right to the end whoever is in charge. It’s odd that even if Steve Cooper kept us in the league we’d ultimately still probably need a more progressive manager to take us forward. As stated it’s just a bizarre appointment that I’m still struggling to understand

???

I’m fully expecting the “Cooper Out” thread to go “hot” after this one

Lots of people were putting him in their team before he’d kicked a ball for us. I was always nervous based on the reports from Palace fans. Quite a few were sad to see Ayew go, but almost nobody had much good to say about this fella. It shows the level when you actually start wanting Daka back. He at least applies himself even if his ability isn’t at the required level

Well it could be the player’s ability or the manager’s reluctance to play him. I guess it will become clear in time but, one things for sure, one game against Portsmouth isn’t going to define the narrative either way

Coop rout!!

The writing in the spreadsheet is even worse!!

I love spell check

I hope we win this match, a few more, we stay up and Cooper stays. That’s surely the best scenario. I’m not a Cooper fan and thought he was the wrong appointment from the outset, but the best outcome for the club is still that he’s successful. It just seems unnecessarily vindictive to want us to lose to prove a point. That’s not to say that I want him to stay and the pressure will mount if he doesn’t win this. Certainly I think he should go if there isn’t a decent points return from the next three games.

I think a loan in the Championship is precisely what he needs this season. His stock is rising because we’re struggling, but I’m not sure he’d do a lot in a team that creates as few chances as we do. It might even negatively affect his confidence. One swallow doesn’t make a porn star …. or whatever the expression is …

I’ve read on this thread that we don’t treat our youngsters well. Historically I’m not sure that is the case. Chilwell, Barnes, Thomas, Choudhury, KDH and McAteer have all broken through into the first team with various degrees of success. I do agree that there is no point having a player in a PL squad if there is little hope of them playing. Those players above benefited considerably from Championship loans. I do have a slight nagging doubt, however, whether we overate some of these players. I can’t immediately think of many young players that didn’t break through here that have gone on to great things at the highest level, but plenty that are now plying their trade in the lower leagues. I suppose the only way to find out is for them to play

Reminds me of the difference between: “helping your Uncle Jack, off a horse” and “helping your uncle jack off a horse”

The League Table suggests that we were

No, it’s a bit early for me. Oh …. we didn’t … did we?

I’d be happy to just give them a 3-0 bye and reduce the risk of injury to our players at this point

They’re still infinitely more capable than us unfortunately

The theory that we should “give him time” isn’t, in itself, a bad position to take. We appointed the manager after a period of due diligence. It’s only right that you should then back that decision over a reasonable period of time. The problem is that this appointment looked a bizarre one from the outset. There was no continuity of strategy from what we’d rebuilt under Maresca. I think fans would have been more forgiving if they could understand the sense of direction. Sacking him asap looks the correct decision because we should never really have appointed him in the first place. I don’t think that he’ll be sacked in the immediate short term, however, as to do so would be to admit that the process of his recruitment is just the latest embarrassing chapter of our decline

You saw it with Vestergaard. The Danny Ward redemption curve started last night

I wonder if we could start quietly and informally sounding people out. There is nothing more frustrating than sacking a manager and then stumbling along with no coherent plan until a replacement is found. I didn’t actually think Cooper was the worst appointment. My main fear was that the clear identity and philosophy (whether you liked it or not) we had under Enzo would be ripped up and we’d have to start again. That to me suggested the people who run the club had no clear strategy or vision in terms of how to take the club forward. A few games in, however, and I’m really struggling to see what this guys stands for. He’s not innovative, has no clear identity and doesn’t even appear to be a motivator. It’s not his fault, but the suspicion that he was the wrong guy is currently being played out on the pitch

Shocking signings really. Their ceiling has always been bang average and the only one who will be missed by the fans at their previous clubs will be Ayew. But that, itself, is purely based on previous endeavour rather than any expectation of future output. I’d much rather us have taken a punt on younger players from the Championship or abroad who might have had something to prove. They might not have worked out, but at least there would have been some hope. These players are proven at PL level, but at a fairly low quality even if they’re at their best

That theory will gain more weight when he drops Hermansen for Ward for the Arsenal game