shiv

Here’s my problem with this type of appointment which I’ve already laid out in another thread. -Would command huge wages. -If he doesn’t get us promoted his reputation will not be affected given he is a big name who probably will still get thrown jobs in the future (eg look at Big Sam). -If he doesn’t get us promoted he will still get his pay off whereas we would be back to square one next year. -Do we really trust him to oversee a rebuild? We’ll likely end up with a bunch of has beens like Rondon and have another rebuild to do.

Personally I would push for Van Nistelrooy. -Although he only had one season as PSV manager, he’s been a coach for 10 years now. -PSV were outstanding this season, were top scorers in the league and still managed to finish 2nd despite losing Gakpo and Madueke in Jan. -He’s been in and around the Netherlands coaching set up for many years. -He’s managed PSV’s U17s, U19s so has brought youth through and contributed to Simons (20 years old) being top scorer in Eredivisie this season. Simons isn’t even a striker, he plays LW. -He has pedigree in the game so would command respect. -Needs to prove himself in England so would have the hunger to do well. It’s a gamble but just as much as a gamble as bringing in a journeyman who might well be past it and isn’t really going to be affected whether we go up or not. Let’s take Rafa as an example, if he doesn’t get us promoted he will still get thrown jobs left right and centre because he’s a big name and has done well in the past. IMO this is type of appointment would be too short sighted, we have a huge rebuild to undertake and we need someone at the helm who can help oversee it. If we can assemble an exciting young squad, when we’re back in the PL we will have a stronger foundation to build from.

I don’t agree with this. Top has always seen himself as one of us IMO and if you’ve read any of his statements in the past they don’t read like he’s talking to us as a fan base. It’s always in the tone that he’s with us and part of our club. The fact that he roamed the streets during our European campaign, speaking to fans and having pictures taken is more evidence of that. Could he have thrown an apology in there? Maybe. But I don’t think he’s obliged to when he’s the one putting his money in and going to be financially affected by us going down. I also think everyone would have still cherry picked parts of the statement they don’t like. To me the statement was him saying we need to learn from it, I’ll make some big decisions soon and I am going to stick with the club and try to get us back to the PL. Him mentioning the abuse isn’t a guilt trip, it’s him genuinely being hurt by some of the things he might have read IMO.

I get we can’t wait weeks but there is a middle ground. 24 hours after confirmation of relegation really isn’t a lot of time and there will be raw emotion amongst everyone. If we see some decision-making over the next 1-2 weeks then he’ll have backed up his words with actions. I think most would expect someone else in place to oversee footballing matters instead of Rudkin and a new manager. Glover is there for recruitment so we’re okay on that front.

I don’t disagree with you there. But then isn’t it also 99% of people cherry picking parts of the statement they don’t like? Ultimately if you get beyond the waffle he’s said action will be taken (think this is the third time I’ve said it) so surely he deserves a chance to show he means his words. He’s not going to come out and say “I was stupid to trust Rudkin” publicly so not sure what people really expected to hear. I also don’t agree with this whole “he owes us an apology”. I’m confident he will hold those responsible accountable. If he proves me wrong and does nothing then I’ll happily criticise him if I feel it’s warranted.

So people didn’t like there was no statement. Now there is people are cherry picking parts of the statement to suit a narrative. He’s specifically said action will be taken so let’s give him time to show some leadership. There will be drastic changes over the coming weeks and months I’m sure of it.

Do people really think one day after confirming relegation he is going to come out with a detailed plan? He literally says “What we learn from this experience must convert into action” Give the guy some time.

The first thing I want to see is a statement from the Board (not just Top) and some action (eg a Board shakeup, Rudkin sacked etc). Fans deserve answers and action.

Only reason he spoke to the press was to protect his own reputation. Mini Brendan Rodgers in the making.

Same here mate. Dreading Sunday. I had heart palpitations during the Everton game so no idea how I’m going to cope with this one

Smith said it was cramp not an injury so fingers crossed.

Bumping this as I felt yesterday Evans showed the leadership we’ve been missing for months. Marshalled the defence to hold their line, was super vocal and even played on through cramp. Think it’s great to have him back and although Souttar was the standout CB he was immense IMO. Let’s hope he has one more colossal performance in him on Sunday.

In all fairness, we’ve set up like that a few times before under Rodgers (eg Man City, Liverpool) and succeeded. We just couldn’t string a pass together yesterday which is where we probably lacked quality and made it seem like we were just there to park the bus.

As people have said the game plan almost paid off. I know it wasn’t pretty but we would have got hammered if we went toe to toe with Newcastle. They are on of the best teams in the league this season when it comes to pressing. We lacked quality on the ball which is why it maybe seemed like we had zero intention of creating anything going forward. I don’t think that’s the case and can’t imagine Smith would’ve played two up top with the hope of not creating one shot on goal. We got into some good positions but couldn’t find the killer pass which is why he probably brought Maddison on. Unfortunately after 60 mins we still couldn’t quite show that little bit of quality we needed to create some clear cut chances. But I’m not mad at the set up at all - anyone thinking we should’ve gone for it is totally deluded.

I agree. It should be about how they leave IMO. I’m not a fan of our fans booing most who leave unless they truly deserve it. I’d say only Fofana and Chilwell deserve a hostile reception - the rest arguably haven’t left on bad terms so probably shouldn’t get the reception they do get. No idea why we ever booed Kante, Mahrez and even to an extent Maguire.

Conveniently the one injury you can’t medically treat. Can’t make it up

When we played Everton on the Monday we’d had almost a week to recover, and Everton had played on the Thursday. You wouldn’t have known from seeing the running on the pitch. Absolutely zero desire from this bunch.

The reason we ran the same as Liverpool is because they barely ran. They didn’t even get out of second gear for most the game. Not a fan of this at all. I’m all for managers protecting their players publicly but that’s just a nonsense comment. “I’ve got the figures”

Dig at the rest of the squad? Honestly not mad about it. Although he’s not been great this year you can never question his work rate.

Rinse repeat.

In all fairness the article does allude to the fact that Vichai had far more involvement in decisions than Top currently has but I do agree with you to some extent.

Agreed. The final twist will not be us.

I hope Top uses this as a threat to anyone not out of contract, even if empty. Take us down and you’re coming with us. Maybe that’s the only thing to get these morons fired up.

I’d have Souttar given Evans’ game time this season but aside from that I’d probably go with the same.

They haven’t had a part in the relegation but they sure as hell haven’t put anywhere near enough blame on Rodgers. Media and pundits still place him on a pedestal for no reason. Simon Jordan is the only pundit that’s been vocally calling him out for months.