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Gary Rowett. Winning fans over a game at a time.

Immense at the end. Just what we need to grind out results.

Oh good. Ayew.

Charlton behind

I thought Okoli might have been concussed, but then I remembered it's pretty standard.

Watched it last night. Fascinating. Macquarie get a mention too, and not in a good way, which is just great as they have us in their pocket!

The defence is bad, we can all see that. Statistically, the defensive numbers are in and around relegation form. That's a worry, for sure, and the defence needs a proper clear out in the summer. Some reason for some optimism though, if you're going to delve into stats... The goals scored column makes for better viewing. We've scored at a rate of 1.39 goals per game which projects to 64 goals over a 46 game season. Only one team has ever finished in the bottom 3 of the Championship since 1991 after scoring more. That was Peterborough in 2013 who were relegated with 54 points (scored 66 goals). Their defence was comparable to ours (theirs actually slightly worse). Peterborough's 54 points that season was also the most points scored by a relegated team in the same time. Our points per game this season is 1.18, which puts us on 54 points - 6 = 48. We are certainly in relegation trouble. But the season isn't over yet. My prediction... It's going to be close!

I do miss the days of the likes of Steve Walsh and Matty Elliott being strikers. Don't see enough of it now.

And this post highlights the negativity from some people. Some fans just hate players and refuse to acknowledge when they do something right but pile in on every mistake, and then criticise the fragile mentality of the team. It's toxic.

Game changer when VK came off. I'm not saying Thomas the game changer but VK was horrendous. Thomas poor for their second. He was unlucky not to score at the death, but at least he was there. VK would have been nowhere near it. Throw ins are a plus and his set piece delivery is generally good.

Marti's half time team talks were his downfall. Let's see if Rowett can get a reaction.

I'm beginning to form the opinion that these players are so fragile, they actually need an arm being put around them rather than shouting at.

To be fair... 1. He wasn't offside 2. Why did Mav take so long to pass it?

Rowett In!

This is where any excitement relating to a change in manager is brought crashing back to earth on the realisation that we have the exact same players as before.

It's happening

@em9999 is right. The players are highly paid, elite, professional sportsmen. It should be an absolute, non-negotiable prerequisite that they give 100% effort. Unfortunately there is a culture at the club where it seems acceptable for several players to merely turn up and go through the motions. This has been going on for too long under too many managers for it to be seen as the fault of the manager. Tactics? Yeah, that's on the manager. But lack of effort is something that appears to be allowed by the leadership of the club and encouraged by too many players. The manager has a role to play in picking the players up mentally after a hard fought defeat, or getting an extra 5-10% out of them before a big game, but generally we have too many players that have consistently given about 70%. And we can't get rid of them.

Should be enough for the play offs

Ha yes! I meant it in terms of FoxesTalk time! He doesn't deserve a Rowett Out thread an hour before his first match kicks off based on his first team selection. The truth is, he is going to struggle for proper training time with the fixture congestion coming up. I hope he makes perfect decisions from minute one, but the reality is, he may need to see things with his own eyes before learning the detail of the squad. That might take 2 or 3 games at least (I hope I'm wrong).

Ultimately some managers just fit. They do well at one club and bomb at another, there's no guaranteed success with anyone. I sense a certain amount of snobbery towards Rowett from some. There's no evidence that he's going to be a terrible fit here. He should be given time and backing from the fans. We all know what a circus he's walking into, I'd be surprised if he wasn't coming in with his eyes wide open. He has to work with the tools he's been given, there is no magic bullet. It's a tough job but it sounds like he's here until the end of this season, he will have very little time to impact training over the next 3 or 4 weeks at least (he should have been in three weeks ago) so us fans need to just get behind him.

Which means we're only a week away

I actually think Okoli is a half decent defender in terms of getting in the way, making blocks etc. Problems arise when there's an expectation of him competently kicking the football.

Makes perfect sense. We spent a week waiting for Enzo to call back, a week interviewing candidates... Reluctantly about to give it to Rowett, then Dyche gets sacked and we spend another week trying to convince him to come. After telling us no for the 50th time, we go back to Rowett.

I suppose most of his first day will be spent generating social media content for the club to put on YouTube. #priorities

Am I right in thinking that he hasn't actually signed yet? I'm not going to get too excited until it's a done deal. I love the fact, that if it happens, it's actually a sensible decision, but one the board have essentially been backed into making.