fazzyfox

“We Will Be Back” “An exciting new challenge” Deflect focus onto Ricardo “All things must end” “Come early for the Millwall game and enjoy a urine based lager substitute and an experimental pineapple cake thingy we found rotting in the stock room of a King Power store representing a beneficial tax write off.” ”We will take time to reflect” ”We believe in our young players, they will ensure a successful future for the club” (on a day none featured)

Hard work supporting Ipswich for 1 night, with players like McAteer and Hirst lumbering about, just where to these clubs find these kind of donkeys?

I thought in the summer that although they lost Delap and Hutchinson Ipswich had a lot less to do to sort themselves out than we did. A lot of their squad had been bought and built in the championship previously, they kept their manager and I fancied them to boss the league. They had a slow start and I didn't foresee Coventry's season but it looks like Ipswich will be taking that second place. Southampton made a lot of sales for surprisingly high amounts in some cases (a bit like MacAteer but he was the exception not the rule for us). They had a fair bit to do to get functioning as a new look side and again after an iffy start the cogs finally started turning, it's a long season and they've got traction at the right time. Neither of those two are riddled with players who think they are too good for the club (hence my point about a "settled" Ipswich) and who don't want to be there. We knew our situation, no money to spend, points deduction imminent but it didn't have to be this bad. Handing repeated starts to players who don't put a shift in, wasting the CF loan slots on Caranza (more like an old fashioned 2 week triallist than a loanee) and Richards (he may still surprise us but ) and the AM on someone found in a casualty waiting room. In short we had the most to do in the sense of getting out players than no-one seemed to want to take off us and with our hands tied behind our back. Had we got fees for Faes, Kristiansen, El Khannouss, Soumare and Winks in the summer we may have had some wiggle room to improve ourselves a little bit. Ipswich had a lot less to do and Southampton have demonstrated what a reset can look like with a little patience and belief and sensible player selection.

With the quotes from Rowett about a not so polished but tougher line up I can see Hamza, Aribo and hopefully James in for Winks, Mavididi and either Mukasa or Fatawu, with Aribo in a wide position, James possibly wide too, maybe narrowing the 5 man midfield to something approaching compact.

And if it’s not a game covered by a season ticket the club won’t be able to add those numbers to the actual attendance to make a farcical fabricated one as they do for league games. Tannoy man - “For the benefit of the players our crowd today….Row A seat 215 Gary Bishop, Row F seat 104 Jenny Smith, Row K seat 47 Dave”Pie Muncher” Palmer………”

IF we could beat Portsmouth it could be worth more than the 3 points as it would leave them deflated as we were after Sheff Weds, feeling “If we can’t beat them where are any wins coming from.” But you can’t really think about psychological gains when the psychology of our own mob is so much in tatters it would need an army of therapists to untangle. As a club we can be quite capable of watching others drop points, it’s the “Put your boots on, take to the pitch and earn points of your own” bit we struggle with and we’ll need points of our own.

Saw a quote about making changes, resulting in being less polished and pleasing on the eye but tougher and possibly a different formation for the home games. Could be Aribo in a wide position instead of an orthodox winger, Hamza in DM, Vestergaard or Souttar up top ? I don’t care how ugly it is if the history books show we got the results. Repeating the same thing and expecting different results is not working but I doubt the current mob have the intelligence to adapt to something new and carry it out as intended. I’d suspect Winks, Mavididi and possibly Mukasa would be out and BDR not an option either. Don’t be surprised if the team sheet stinks the place out but steers us away from thinking we’re Barcelona and addresses some of the rudimentals of championship football.

“Some Final Scores for you:- Sheffield Wednesday -12 Leicester City -6 West Bromwich Albion -2 Sheffield Wednesday -6 Manchester City 0 - Chelsea 0”

I felt with the way we had most of the ball and them hardly breaking forward the double pivot or 6 & 8 of Skipp and Winks was over the top caution, firstly we didn’t need that much safety and security (the goal was an error riddled gift) and secondly they both found themselves high up the pitch in uncomfortable territory and in good shooting positions (for players who can shoot). Whoever shouted. “Shoooot” to them when they’re 25 yards out, have they seen them regularly! I would have been brave but after seeing that for 30 minutes bring on say BDR (presuming James is not ready for more than 35-30 mins yet) who for all his many faults does have a better shot on him than they do and doesn’t get a nosebleed when in the final 3rd. Similarly nothing coming down the left wing yet again, it was a waste of a shirt, address it earlier, Ibdon’t know which cereal box Mavididi got his free pass in but it’d in-defendable now (unlike him). In defence of the Choudhury introduction I’m sure it was purely down to Ricardo being shot (check spelling), unable to contribute, risking an error and risking being unavailable next week, it was a boring change that didn’t look like helping the situation of needing goals but like the recent Lascelles withdrawls a necessary move. The ideal would be to only field players capable of lasting the game and not needing to waste a substitution which could have been a progressive one (who am I kidding!). If our tactic of choice is to get Thomas to hurl long throws into the box (well into the keepers hands) then Souttar as a nominal striker joined by the 2 CB’s may have given us a better chance than Ayew trying to make any connection. In short amongst all our other deficiencies game management was abysmal and not pro-active or reactive enough, I called it early on “If we don’t do something about it it’s going to be a 0-0……well nearly right.

What he said

Oh stop it. Why preview a football match when we have no football team. The club have negated their side of the bargain and it isn’t going to change in 7 days. Other than bringing in 7 of the youth team and a new manager we will not do the right things they’re all talk no b***ocks

It’s not about points, divisions or results it’s about standards. Currently if a player doesn’t put effort in, gets the basics wrong, buckles under pressure , doesn’t want the responsibility of being on the ball and shows no leadership or drive to improve they are still handed a starting place the following week, no questions asked, pat on the back, go again son. I’d rather see our hungry youth players beaten 3-0 every week than ever see these two faced all talk no action t**ts ever again. They do not represent me, the city or county, the work ethic and honesty is not there.

For such an important match there were several occasions where nobody wanted the ball. We have no pulse, we are a corpse, don’t chat s**t all week then refuse to make a run when we get a throw in or free kick. As for the goal the chuckle brothers are suing for copyright.

Well I suppose there was Debbie Harry (Blondie), Kim Wilde, Sheena Easton, Chaka Khan, Donna Summer……

The recent trend of not putting chances away comes from players being tense due to the situation they’re in. Snatching at things, not picking their spot, no calmness or composure, those Daka contacts vs Sheff Weds and Skipps chance, just guide it into the net, pass it in anything but panic stations, it’s a ball, that thing you train with each day. The only debatable outcome is on which minutes Swansea score from a scruffy aftermath of a corner to which the happy clappers will say “unlucky, it fell to them, could have gone anywhere, never falls our way” and a curler from the edge of the box to which the happy clappers will say “can’t do anything about those type of goals”. Rowett will give us about 7 minutes of s**t or bust at the end with a 3-1-2-4 formation based on a Wild West posse galloping out of town, colliding like Keystone Cops as the wingers hook crosses over the bar. City 1 Sheep Botherers 2

Vs Arsenal, the famous one with Walshys late goal (and Bergkamp played alright I suppose), we were in the double decker and some Arsenal fans were winding up home fans. Next thing you know there's a couple of guys having a full on punch up and coming along the row behind towards us. We had the Foxy ladies cheerleaders sat behind us in the days where they’d do a half time routine on the pitch and being chivalrous and concerned for their safety I stood up and put my arm across (you know, that measure that is guaranteed to stop two heavyweights who are going hammer and tongs at each other). No need....one of the cheerleaders scowls and shouts "Oi!" and starts whacking the Arsenal fan with her LCFC umbrella over and over again. He lay on the floor squealing for help as the teenaged Scrappy-Doo-esque dynamo gave him a thorough hiding. A one off or were they really undercover super stewards? We produced a hearty rendition of “Same old Arsenal, always squealing”.as he was ejected

In an already bonkers match at Millwall, Terry “Wolf of of Gladiators in a football kit” Hurlock had honoured his comeback game suitably by lasting a few minutes (8) before getting a red. Van Den Hauwe was next off before surprisingly usually mild mannered Oldfield (possibly fired up or concussed from the Van Den Hauwe incident was himself sent off and amongst the mayhem Neil Lewis also trotted off and sat on the bench. Brian Little asks what he was sent off for. “Don’t know gaffer”, well what did the referee say to you, “Nothing”, did he actually show you the red card? After a check with officials it turned out Lewis hadn’t been sent off at all, he had just presumed as he had been involved in a challenge as well as Oldfield and saw the red card appear

Oh yeah, it was more like he chased it off wasn’t it? I remember the Mexican stand off bit where they tried to outwit each other (the squirrel won)!

David Nugent catching a stray squirrel away to QPR. Running round joyously and enthusiastically, fluffy haired, twinkly eyed with a wide grin showing ground down teeth, Nugent was a centre forward in the Pearson era. According to Fossils and Foxes in its brief cameo the squirrel covered more ground than Ayew has in his City career ranking it a place above in our player rankings. .

Gerrrimminnn! Robins going cheap, spring has arrived!

Appoint Cleverly? That’s not something we do!

I noticed Souttar was with the squad arriving at Sheffield Weds, presume he was the spare / 21st man you take in case of injury in warm up which suggests he's close to ready. Where would he be in the pecking order? For me he's a little less mobile than Okoli but his passing whilst basic is not as hap hazard / random outcome / hot potato time. Physically as a "stopper" he's better than any of the other options. In terms of a partnership would he and Lascelles offer enough mobility and pace or an out ball, I just think he's less of a bomb scare than the others have been and maybe not as mentally scarred and fragile as they are although he's had his own different battles (injury) to contend with.