FoxyLeon

We were 3-0 down within 25 minutes, it was clear visually that Man City stepped off. Crystal Palace had 20 shots against us in the 1st half because the game was still in the balance, they had the same intensity throughout the match at 0-0, 1-0 and 1-1 because the result was in the balance. Let's say that Man City were only behind Arsenal by a goal difference of 6....There's no way they would have dropped their intensity, and no doubt it would've been just like Palace. We were just as poor at either end against Man City - The difference was we played a higher quality side so they were able to kill us off quicker and stroll for around 70 minutes.

Nobody 'looks worse than us'. We're conceding over 20 shots a game, sometimes even 20 shots a half. We're the worst side in this league by a distance, yet, there's a slim chance of survival because of the individual quality we have. During our 'Great Escape' season we were so so much better than we are now. We were getting narrowly beaten, whereas this season we've been disgraced and destroyed by lower league sides. I can't believe how so many still fail to see how deep this hole is that we're in. Should we go down, there's far more chance of back to back relegation than a mid table season in the Championship, we're simply that bad.

I see that he's now becoming the new 'Soyuncu'. I'm sorry, but the characters of Faes and Soyuncu are the types you need in the situation we're in. I genuinely can't believe that there are people suggesting should we only play with two CBs, then Faes should be dropped for Souttar....What are you watching? Souttar is slow, quiet, unsure of himself, quiet and just doesn't have any character. When Faes first came in, he looked great and again, like so many before him, went into a quick decline because of awful coaching. Whereas Souttar has looked dreadful every time, he gives a goal away every game and looks lost. If Souttar plays instead of Faes over the remained, we go down, and probably 20th.

That's the difference with regards to Smith/Pearson types and Rodgers. Pearson always bought leaders into the club, we had Huth, Was, Morgan, Fuchs etc, He wanted to have other leaders and experience around him, even with coaches we brought in the likes of Powell/Phillips etc. Smith seems of the same mould, we all know about Shakey but Terry is one of the great leaders in the History of the game. Compare that to Rodgers and he wants followers, and head nodders. People won't like it, but it's why Maddison is his greatest achievement here. A player who excels when there's no pressure....But folds as he has done in recent weeks when there's been a pressure on him to be 'The Man'. I watched Jack Grealish drag an average/poor Villa side to Promotion and then Survival week after week, I'm not convinced Maddison is capable of one, let alone both. The training ground footage of Smith's arrival told he everything we needed to know about the Soyuncu vs Rodgers scenario. Cags was spending a lot of time with Evans and Vardy....Can't believe they would be around him so often if he was in the wrong. Soyuncu stood up for himself, at some point, and no doubt the weak and inept Rodgers couldn't handle it.

The lad has been blowing out his arse for weeks because he's the only player we have who pressed every week under Rodgers. He needs a rest.

I don't see how it can be somebody else's fault that Rodgers picked Ward over Iversen. If I recall correctly, didn't Rodgers say he picked Ward because he played second fiddle to Kasper for so long? That's how Brendan operates, he has his favourites.

This is simple to understand, most recognise that the rot generated for over 3 years doesn't just disappear overnight. I'd give the analogy of someone who is say 5 stone overweight. You can soon put into place a plan, which involves a good diet and exercise, but just sticking to it for 6 weeks isn't going to solve the issue in that period of time. Our horrific injury and fitness record can't suddenly be erased. The new 'SST' trio can do a good job and we can still get relegated. They could average 1.5 points a game, which would be a very good return, and we could still go down. Whether we survive or not, the Club needs considerable work to compete at this level again.

If he keeps us up, I want him in charge at the start of next summer. Don't like this talk of "Who should we get if we stay up?". It's a big job, but if he pulls it off, somehow, then he deserves it permanently. Especially given the momentum survival could generate....We know about that more than anyone. It's just nice to hear no excuses, let alone some positivity. He's got a bit of a free swing at it, as anybody reasonable knows the decline under Rodgers has been so deep and long that it needs longer than the few weeks left of the season to fix. Also, looking at his signings at Villa, overall they seem to have been pretty strong, especially compared to Rodgers. The likes of Bailey, Buendia, Watkins, Douglas Luiz, Martinez etc would all have been welcome here.

When I hear the negativity from the 'Football Press', it reassures me he might be a good fit. Let's face it, we all know they're completely wrong about Rodgers. The big problem that I see, unfortunately for Smith and anyone that came in, is that we're so unfit as a side and have been so poorly coached for so long, there is no 'Quick fix'. What I want to see from the remaining games is evidence of coaching improvements. Us actually looking like a 'team' at times, with an actual shape. I'm not talking about us setting up negatively, more so that there's a cohesion about us when we actually look to press sides, as off the ball Rodgers was a disgrace of a coach and completely clueless. That's fundamentally why we concede so many chances. If I see that, then there's no reason I couldn't be convinced in letting this trio try and get us back up next year, as far as i'm concerned, we're already gone.

There's enough quality in our squad to be mid table. I've seen an abundance of individual quality for 3 years, but poor coaching which has left us declining as a Team/Unit game after game after game. Look at Kristiansen and Tete at Villa, the same with Castagne when he first came in at West Brom, Soyuncu, Faes etc etc....Everybody looks great when they arrive, still fresh from the previous Club's coaching, and then they disintegrate straight away. Looking back now, it's clear we haven't had a proper 'Footballing person' here since Puel. His transfer record for us, was outrageously good. Even Benkovic, before that horrific injury, looked like he was going to be the next best thing.

I never understand how people fail to grasp that Football doesn't just 'Reset' every season. If Guardiola doesn't spend a penny this Summer, that doesn't mean Man City will be in the bottom three. Until this season, we had a wage budget which matched our turnover...We've been at maximum capacity and Brendan Rodgers has been backed financially as strongly as a Club our size can back him. It's nothing to do with Ownership, we can't just spend more on wages no matter who our owner is. His decision to give contracts to Vestergaard/Bertrand, and others, which means no other Clubs will take them, is what has led to us not being able to have a 'Squad Refresh'. Rodgers even began using those who needed to be refreshed the most, like Amartey and Mendy, who have become regulars despite Puel not being convinced they were good enough. His decision to "Stop selling our best player every Summer" has led to what? Us losing our best players for free....Genius. If Rodgers wasn't/isn't the problem then what is? I can accept the argument that Top is fundamentally the Captain of the Ship. But ultimately, he's sailed the ship in Rodgers's direction, and that's well and truly ****ed us. Brendan Rodger's Management of this Club has destroyed it. Like at Celtic and Liverpool....The big difference is that they're huge clubs who can turn the problems around quickly, we're not.

'Dinosaur' Roy Hodgson is playing a midfield 3 of Doucoure, Schlupp and Eze. Yet we've had the Irish Guardiola here playing the ball backwards for 90 minutes. Nobody in the Media would dare suggest Hodgson was a more attacking and adventurous manager than Rodgers, but he is I will also add that it's criminal we never went after Eze, Olise and Bowen etc, there's so much ability in the lower leagues that we have neglected over the past few years for 'Broken players'.

We concede 20+ shots on our goal every game. We're higher than we should be, not lower. We've been the worst coached side in this league for over 2 years, saved by individual brilliance.

No, he told others what to do because he doesn't have the legs to do it himself anymore. If he can only drop into a number 10 position now, then I'm afraid his career is over, he doesn't have the technical ability to do it. Starting him against Villa was a weak decision by weak coaches looking to score points with the fans. He's the worst of our 3 first team squad strikers, he shouldn't be playing.

Postecoglou if we survive? Already rebuilt one Club that Rodgers burnt to the ground. He's got good links to the Asia market too, of which, I'm sure the Club would be more than willing to take advantage of. I was impressed by how they took the game to Leipzig, rather than play how we do. He seems the complete opposite of Rodgers, is willing to take the game to better European opponents, and not suffering from some kind of 'Inferiority complex' or making excuses.

Goalkeeper's 'distribution' is massively overrated, apparently Ederson and Allisson are two of the best, yet make 2-3 mistakes a season which lead to goals. It was only a couple of weeks back when Allisson and Courtois both made a mess in the same match....The difference is though, they make saves. De Gea is another example, very average with his feet, much worse than Kasper, yet he's a very good shot stopper. Ward is one of the only keepers I've seen make himself look smaller than he is, everything goes through him and his concentration is abysmal. But it's not a surprise, I said this when we first decided to play him, the bloke has virtually zero professional experience.

The second he arrived and began changing the successful parts of the Club. It began right away with Congerton taking over the part of the Club that had recruited Kante/Vardy/Mahrez/Ndidi etc, then there was getting rid of a Medical team which somehow kept everybody fit for us for years....They seem to be doing the same at Bristol City too. It was obvious to me that he wasn't the right manager for us, right from the very start. Once you do a bit of research, you realise he regresses the Clubs he manages significantly.

It's too late. He destroyed the Club over 12 months ago. Whether we survive or not, huge Financial trouble beckons.

Could be 10 this, against one of the worst attacking sides in the League.

Even Amartey, who is always trying to play forwards, is trying to pass backwards/sideways at every point.

Worst Keeper we've had since Ricardo.

Bournemouth braver against Liverpool than we are against Chelsea.

In. Their financial backing isn't the issue, it's their decision making which needs improving. For me, we need more 'Football Men' at the Club, bridging the gap between the Management of the Players and the Management of the Club, the Manager has too much power currently. We don't appear to have any Long-Term planning at the Club, and a Manager is never going to prioritise that because they know it's the Short-Term which ultimately decides their job. We're 'too nice' as a team, and I think that Culture is set right at the top of the Club, Top is too nice and too loyal.

He bought those players, to play that style, that's the bigger problem.

It has been over 18 months now, since I made the above posts, and it's staggering to me that it has taken so long for a substantial portion of our fans to come to the same conclusions. The second he decided to take the best defensive holding midfielder in the league and use him to start our press (Before KDH broke into the side) it became clear that Rodgers just doesn't understand the game at all. I genuinely can't believe how we can ruin such a player, it would be like Conte playing Kane on the wing. Every comment I made about our performances then, are just the same now. Our performances aren't even significantly worse, we were terrible then, with just greater luck and individual quality.