OntarioFox

Can we stop with the revisionism about how Bournemouth was supposed to be an easy 3 points for us now? They're a bloody good football team.

Yeah can we not lock this one this time please? As I said previously on the other thread, FT has become a bit of an echo-chamber on this subject, to the point that I often avoid it on matchdays now. There's valid criticism, then there's just vitriol which the conversation has often descended into. There are ABSOLUTELY questions to be asked about the team selections and negative tactical choices, but credit has to be due when we can turn something like that around. You also can't moan about team selections and then also get angry when he brings players on and they turn the game around. Everyone's talking about Abdul, but he would have been way less effective in the first half setup - Cooper changed the shape / formation when he came in which gave him free reign to run at tiring legs. That's good management and for all we know could have been the plan from the start - we couldn't vouch for being 2-0 down to two soft goals at the point though. He also finally dropped Ayew (who hasn't been nearly as bad as people here make out), brought him on to be the muscle that brings the wingers (like Abdul) into the game... and as ugly as it was, he's today's matchwinner. And a lot here were saying the starting line-up "looked good" - and it ended up being crap. He's damned if he does, damned if he doesn't in a lot of ways. That first goal in particular was nothing to do with how he was setting us up and everything to do with individuals switching off - Ndidi and VK in particular fast asleep. I'm just bored of it, we all knew this season would be tough and lacking quality. We've got one of the few managers who would give us a chance with the PSR threat looming, transfers looking shaky, and our main playmaker gone. His choices have been questionable at times, but I've also seen good passages and halves of football in there too. That second half today - much like the first against Bournemouth - was very good. Is he the answer long term? No. But he's got them playing for the shirt, we're scoring goals, and we've just nabbed back to back wins to put us five clear of relegation (avoiding which is the target this season, nothing more). I won't be calling for his head. Criticising him, sure, he deserves that, but he's doing what he was brought here to do, by hook or crook.

I know it's largely because of shite business in the transfer market, but it's remarkable that he's still playing and finishing full games in the top flight at 37, going on 38. Lovely penalty today too - reminded me of his equaliser in the title season actually - I remember one comment on the Reddit post saying they could hear the Smash Bros. baseball-bat home run sound in their head as it left his foot... same again today, 9 years later.

"I'll play Jordan Ayew when and where I f**kin want, mate"

be nice wouldn't it he dropped his main man today like a large number were demanding, and he's come on and bagged the winner, just sayin

back to back wins

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Optimistic of you to think Boob's gonna pop up with the winner.

Met him after a game last season (which one it was escapes me) in the Fox & Soar / Blues Bar / whatever it's called. Really sound guy, plenty of cool anecdotes and fully clued-up on the actual football being played (rather than just being a clueless suit - he's an actual fan). But probably speaking a bit more freely about the club and behind the scenes than I would have expected someone in such a prominent position to be in a public place? Nothing headline-worthy that I'm going to repeat here, but methinks there's probably a bit more to it than just him asking a pissed-up Vardy a loose question at the parade as a one-off.

Down as his OG 😬

Think this is where I sit. Before he was even appointed, 95% of people on here would have bitten one anothers' hand off in some sort of bizarre mass-hand-sacrifice ritual if it got us a 17th place finish and safety. The 'Coward Cooper' moniker is valid. His insistence on either shutting up shop or inviting pressure is frustrating, especially after being so in control last season. And it's undeniably cost us points against Palace and Everton. My issue is the short memories. There's been a lot of revisionism as to what our expectations actually were since the loss of Maresca, KDH, and the dark cloud of PSR forced us into selecting Cooper largely because nobody else fancied the job and was in-budget (Potter is never coming, he's turned us down twice now, get over it). The blunt fact of the matter is that we sit 15th and now have a full 3-point buffer to the relegation zone. Our GD is the best of the mini-league we find ourselves in - largely down to Mads' heroics, but I honestly think we've been defending well in the circumstances save for a handful of brainfarts at Arsenal and Fulham respectively. Most other goals have been the sort I've seen enough times that you shrug your shoulders and think 'fair enough, that was well-worked'. It's the Prem, the step up in quality is real. Already a few 'what ifs' that aren't our fault at all - Vardy being blatantly fouled at Arsenal, the bullshit non-offside at Palace for starters. One can begin to question if there really is a vendetta against us, but then on the other hand all the marginal calls went our way against Bournemouth so yaknow... Objectively, as ugly as it is Cooper has met expectations so far, and our start hasn't been the kindest. Both North London clubs, a Fulham side with the sort of quality we used to have before we collapsed, the best Villa side in 2 decades who are in the Champions League on merit. We have competed in all those games. The footy has been garbage at times. I do a bit of sick in my mouth seeing Soumare not only in the squad in 2024, but getting gametime. The freezing out of Ricky P baffles the mind. But am I being naive to think that performances are improving? The first 45 was our best all season. The actual passages of play when we make them are very good. We were composed passing out from the back under pressure from a team with a notoriously strong press, we made gaps and created chances. Buonanotte's goal was Cooper's tactics in action - those one-twos and overloads are how he did it at Forest. If Vardy hadn't had a rare brainfart we'd have been 2-0 up and cruising before half time. The real test for Cooper is to have the balls to gamble and try to kill games off when we're ahead, because that criticism is totally valid. Arsenal, however, showed that we've got some proper fight in us when needed - again, I think that second half was very good and we almost salvaged an unthinkable point. Side point but while I'm clearly in the minority on FT in thinking we should stick with it, I'm not hearing the level of unrest at the games that I do on here. First time I've seen this place as a bit of an echo chamber, been genuinely surprised at the level of vitriol.

yeah but they beat us 3-1, the DVDs are on sale at Binley Mega Chippy and everything

under-rated comment regarding the meslier moment

That was majestic, in the same way as watching a beached whale try to mate is. Ugly, messy, but compelling to watch and we still get the happy ending. 🐳

Ok that's one fixture down in our favour, what we saying for the rest? Newcastle and Arsenal wins are obvious, West Ham - Ipswich? Draw?

bottled it

That'll do!

Just seen the Dortmund - Celtic score - to think that lot were getting carried away after their first win in the UCL Group Stages in *checks notes* 7 years. Against a team that's Europa League standard at best, and only there because of the stupid new format and expansion to 36 teams. Back in your lane, Brendan. As for the format itself, tonight is further proof that it is diluting the prestige of the competition. With three tiers of competition now running simultaneously, there's absolutely no need for 36 teams to be playing in the supposed elite-level competition.

inevitable

We literally had one job at this point - to get in one down and maybe rally after half time - and we failed to do that with pathetic defending again.

Cause for celebration... Jamie Vardy's streak is safe for at least another 11 games.

I guess it's hard to get up for it, I'll post it then>

Do we want Man City to lose points here? Part of me fears Arsenal will get a sniff of the result and use it to hype themselves up to make a routine win into a cricket score.

We've half-arsed everything and reacted late to reality for the best part of a decade now, why would that change with the ground expansion? Can't wait for it to be all-seater with lip service to standing fans while they're at it. Agree by the way - 45k with the family stand and kop incorporated should be the bare minimum. Tickets were like rocking horse shit against the likes of Watford and Cardiff in the second tier, we could easily fill 50k with people who don't get a look in now if we honestly have the ambition to be playing the greedy six every year. Just a soul-crushing lack of ambition about everything we do since we won the football lottery in '16. But hey, we got a shiny new training ground that seems to have done nothing for our club besides look nice in King Power's promo shots, so there's that eh?