Jobyfox

Really???

If I was going by the decisions made by the hierarchy in recent seasons I would say that this post makes far too much sense to be true. I hope it is - because that would indicate that sanity prevails

The thing is they’re right in a way. We should never have appointed Cooper but, having done so, it’s another strange decision to sack him when we’re still outside the relegation zone and having just lost to Chelsea - who’ll probably finish top four. The logic would be to see it through for a bit longer - unless you’re admitting that signing him was a gross error of judgement by someone and you’re not prepared to back it An odd decision compounded by another odd decision, but the real error was hiring him in the first place. It’s another silly and expensive, mistake that I’m assuming will be brushed under the carpet like the others made by the hierarchy in recent seasons

A very odd episode all round. He never looked like the right appointment from the outset and was clearly not a manager the fans would likely warm to. Having hired him, however, I expected us to stick with him. Sacking him now seems like more evidence of muddled thinking. We’re not in the relegation zone (yet!) and we’ve just played two games against opponents who were always going to be big favorites to beat us. I never wanted him in the first place. I didn’t understand why we signed him. I don’t understand the timing of the sacking now. I’ll await with interest to see if the new hire inspires me with more confidence but, at the moment, it’s just more evidence that the people running the club don’t know what they’re doing!

I think anyone will struggle with our squad, but I just want to see someone who has a clear strategy and plan. I could never quite work out SC’s style or what he was trying to achieve.

I don’t think we’re winning this even if Alan Birchenall is the referee!

This thread has now reached 296 pages of mostly pointless conjecture (I include my own contributions in that assessment). He was the wrong appointment but, having made it, he isn’t going to be sacked without a compelling case to do so. That’s in the bottom 3 after a significant number of games. Given our next run of fixtures our destiny under Cooper will become clearer as we approach the Christmas schedule. I wouldn’t expect any change before the January window. That’s despite the fact that this thread will probably have doubled in size by then with more pointless comments - including a few from myself no doubt.

Peter Taylor, Dennis Wise, Ryan Bertrand and Danny Ward

I think there is some truth in this. Not just in respect of “happy clapper”, but in terms of fan engagement, passion and vocal support within the stadium. When I first started supporting at Filbert Street you bought a ticket on the door and stood with a vociferous, loud and totally committed group of fans. There might only have been 10,000 or so, but those were the ones who were truly committed. Now if you went into the kop you’ll see a very comfortable, ageing, apathetic fan base. I’m not sure what the solution is and there certainly isn’t one that anyone would have any initiative to implement. When I had my season ticket (up to a few years ago), I know I’d have been happy to relocate to another part of the stadium rather than sit in the kop, if (for example) safe standing was installed. It would have felt a bit like passing the baton on to the next generation who would create the atmosphere that I helped to create in the eighties and nineties. It feels like we need something radical like safe standing, more tickets on general sale, singing areas etc. if we’re ever to get any sort of atmosphere back. Be it a positive or a negative one.

NOW!!!

Everybody slamming Cooper for this line up but, without Vardy, who do you pick? I’d trust Ayew more than OE even if I don’t think he’s a starter. Justin is also the obvious replacement for Ricardo despite his current form. So, the only controversial decision here is the inclusion of Soumare?

We definitely will. Guaranteed

I’m marginally better than anyone else we have if Vardy can’t play

I suppose we also need to appreciate that those “easier fixtures” will be ones that our opponents are targeting. Ipswich, with no win all season, would have been looking at that home game with us almost like a cup final. They’d have been desperate for the win and that’s evidenced by their complete meltdown about the penalty incident since. Our season might be defined by those fixtures where we grab points completely against any expectation. A good start would be Manchester United away

There is definitely a bit of that, but it’s compounded by the fact that the current alternative is Odsonne Edouard

The stock of a player, absent from a poor performing team, always rises. I doubt Patson will be the answer but, I must admit, I’m glad he’s coming back to give us another option. I can’t think that he’ll be worse back up than Odsonne Edouard. He won’t bring quality, but at least we’ll have effort and energy

A bit of context. He’s scored six goals. Four in one game and the other 2 were penalties. I’m not saying that I don’t agree with your overall sentiment - as I do. I feel he’d be better back up than OE and we’d also be developing our own player. I’m just not sure you can read too much into his numbers just yet. A Championship loan would be his best option ideally. Develop at that level, gain some confidence and then try and make the step up to the PL. It’s only our dearth of striking options that don’t give us that luxury. Daka and Cannon as Vardy back up is a bit worrying, but no more so than Daka and Edouard

I think he has to play a part but, whether that’s as a starter, I’m not so sure

Strange timing for that comment since the comments after yesterdays game are almost overwhelmingly positive. Quite a few suggest he’s not a starter but, as his best contributions have all come from the bench, I’d say that there’s currently some logic to that argument as well

It’s interesting that lots are now putting Ayew in as a starter just as they did Fatawu after the Southampton game. Both have disappointed when they’ve played the full 90 and I’m wondering whether we should hold them back from the bench. Ayew, in particular, is made for the late substitute role. I’d maybe go: Mads Ricardo, Faes, Vesty, VK Winks, Ndidi Goodnight, Bilal, Mavs Vardy Then you’ll have potential game changers from the bench in Fatawu, Ayew and … ‘cough’ … Soumare. They have the European game this week, before they play us, so my main hope is that we approach this game with some intensity from the off. This is the worst Man Utd side in years and you can get at them, but we need to be very on it. My fear is that this side just doesn’t look robust enough to go to somewhere like Old Trafford and win - even if Man U are a very average side. It’s more likely that we’ll concede 2 or 3 easy goals and they’ll win comfortably, but I wish I could be more optimistic

He’s definitely a player to bring off the bench later in games rather than a starter. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that he’s made his two most meaningful contributions playing this role

I can 100% guarantee we will!

Negatives: frustrating that we couldn’t get the win. There is still a worrying lack of consistency to our play and we never have games where we look ok for 90 minutes. It’s difficult to be optimistic and positive about Cooper, when the games feel so ugly. The better results still leave you with a feeling of dissatisfaction that we were never in control of the game. Positives: A goal every game demonstrates we must be doing something right. We aren’t playing with the complete lack of endeavour we had under Rodgers and that might help us to nick the extra points we need sometimes. The 2 points taken off Ipswich are as vital as the 1 we gained. At least we haven’t let Everton, Southampton, Crystal Palace and Ipswich beat us. We’d have found a way to do exactly that under Brendan

Wow! This is getting exciting. I hope we get promoted

If only you had provided his scouting report. It could have saved us a lot of money!