shen

If only Top would have looked to sell the club after Vichai's passing. He, his family and his surroundings should have known that Top couldn't handle fronting LCFC and KP as well as go through that personal ordeal. I don't blame him for his wish to do well for the club, I think that comes from a genuine place, but it's proven to be so out of touch and naïve that he's achieved the opposite of what he wanted. Imagine the reverence we'd have for him and Vichai if he had correctly passed on the torch? He's ruined that now.

NOW can we PLEASE get Monga, Nelson, Page, Aluko, Hutchinson et al in the team? Absolutely no point playing loanees, out of contract players and retirement cases like Begovic, Vestergaard, Lascelles, Ramsey, Mukasa, Aribo , Daka, Ayew etc.

The bugs still left in this game...

Amazing how you can strike gold with this guy, who ends up clear top scorer, and still finish second or third last.

I don't want to judge or gatekeep. Everyone is different. I can understand a simple 'support the team through thick and thin' philosophy. I think utter silence and despondence would probably have been more effective than booing anyway. It's the clapping of another failed performance after an incredibly long string of failed performances that really bemuses me. How does this not prompt a reaction from even the most 'loyal' and 'supportive' fans?

I mean, I get supporting the team, but to actually clap is grotesque. Unless it was made with some wild sarcasm. I can understand the anger, but at best you'd think the remaining fans would be looking with crossed arms looking dejected. To actually clap... Wow.

How slow was Lascelles to react to that pass from Vestergaard...

WHY IS MUKASA STILL ON SET PIECES?! He's been a complete liability.

Wow Ramsey... incredibly bad again.

Unlucky Daka. We could do with a bit of better fortune. We've not had much to be fair.

Gets three touches and a few seconds to set himself and strikes it straight at the keeper. Dear me....

How? Just how? Even taking into account the calamitous owners, the poor decisions, the morbid feel around the place... How can we be THIS bad? If it wasn't for Spurs trying to outcr@p us, the national media would be paying a lot more attention to our decline. It is the biggest free fall I've ever witnessed. This club man...

Have any of you tried striker-less formations after the recent updates? I can't get myself to try them. But I have tried to play three central strikers at times when needs met with decent success. I feel it's tough to get good consistent performances from wingers (regardless of role), defensive midfielders and single strikers. On the other hand, even rubbish fullbacks can get excellent ratings. Maybe this is just down to the tactics I employ.

It does seem bizarre. However, the reputation thing (and therefore the opponent's approach) might make sense as your rep in Europe is still very low, so teams like FCK et al will be a bit more careless, whereas teams at home are adapting. Obviously if the quality of your team isn't improving, then you're going to stagnate. You cannot do much else than try something different tactically to turn it around. What kind of goals are you conceding? I really noticed big differences between my two goalies. I rotated so the one with better aerial command, handling and anticipation played against the bigger clubs, where I was expecting lots of crosses and long shots while being pinned back, then I switched to the other with better speed, one on ones and reflexes when I was expecting counterattacking teams. I could absolutely feel the difference when I had forgotten to switch them.

That's a wild downturn in form. Maybe teams in Serbia have wisened up to you and the increased reputation is making them sit back more and hit on the counter?

Diegem update: This is the table with 5-6 games to go - Ridiculously tight between 3rd and 8th. My form started to stutter as I was playing against the better teams. But with 5 games to go, I only had one very tough match (Brugge H) and the others against Cercle, STVV, Zulte and Kortrijk. The first half against Brugge mirrored the away game where I had won 0-1. I was completely dominated but restricted them to a penalty (which was saved) and I scored my only shot on target. Hopes were up, but unfortunately they weren't to be denied and I lost 1-3 and fell down to 7th. Then came the killer - dropped two points against Cercle after having been 2-0 up which I thought would be the curtain closer, especially as Antwerp, Charleroi and Gent were in great form. Table with one game to go: Going into the last game against Kortrijk I was 6th due to the tie breaker being number of wins before goal difference. Getting 4th - and Euro Conference league quali - would be tough as Charleroi were guaranteed 4th at worst, so realistically Gent had to lose and Standard had to draw at best. Gent were away at Brugge, but as USG had sealed the title the week before and Brugge having nothing to play for, this was not a given. Standard were at home against Antwerp, who also had an outside chance of getting 4th. Gent dropped the ball and went down 2-0. We did the job with a 0-1 in Kortrijk with a depleted squad, despite some nervy final 15 minutes. I'd looked at the live score and Antwerp were drawing 0-0 at Standard!! .... But then I saw this: Utter heartbreak. To lose out on Euro football by virtue of won games (my +/- was far superior) by a goal scored in the 94th minute. Urgh. And by Standard, who had beaten me away by virtue of a 96th minute winner in the opening game of the season too. Sickening... But then... Fifth place gave access anyway!!! I hadn't been paying attention that depending on if the Cup winner (Brugge beat Anderlecht) finished top 4, then fifth place would receive the Euro Conference League spot! Happy days!! Incredible rollercoaster and a massive overperformance this season. My top scorer Djenairo Daniels didn't score a goal until December I believe and he ended up one goal shy of being the league's outright top scorer. An injury in the penultimate game meant he missed the chance to win it. Crazy first season which netted me £3,3 mil in prize money which was welcome (I was £1,3 mil in the red by the end of the season). Surely this will mean a decent transfer coffer and wage & scouting budget increase!!...

Congrats on the double relegation! What an achievement. A blot that will stay in our history books forever.

Mukasa on free kicks is something else...

Probably Hamza.

You have every chance. Enjoy the cup run! It seems like yesterday day we were in a semifinal (Oh wait, it almost was)...

Rudkin doesn't identify players though. I really have doubts as to what his knowledge and expertise is. The way we've handled negotiations, with the possible exception of McAteer, tells me we're not doing great in that area. Are we completely reliant on external advisors (i.e. agents)? Who identifies our transfer targets and who makes the final decision on these? Does there have to be consensus in that decision making group or do all parties have veto rights?

Went to see Karnivool touring their new album. Just brilliant. Thirteen years wait, but well worth it.

Does the quality of the football matter? The Polish league looks stupidly competitive this year, but I'm not sure I'd want to watch it. I can't even get myself to watch the Danish Superliga as moments of real quality are few and far between.

Breaking PSR supposes that the perpetrators have cheated either systematically or by negligence. The other clubs following the PSR rules, that the clubs themselves have voted in favour of, will rightly ask questions and for clubs to get a sporting punishment that disincentivises cheating. In a way, is it much different to when clubs use an ineligible player and lose 0-3 by default? I agree that transfer bans should also be employed, but Chelsea showed their model of hoarding young players secures them against such measures too. The system doesn't work and I doubt anything useful will be put in its stead. There will always be a club. Whether it's LCFC, a phoenix LCFC or another (probably local) club, people will always have a club they can devote time and money to support.