murphy

This is why I have gone so early on Cooper - I don't believe that we will get significantly better because he has shown this defensive mentality is his MO. Why did he sign wingers for their defensive capabilities? Why splash out so much for another defensive mid when it is one area that we were already covered in? It's because this bus parking, handbrake on anti-football is how he wants us to play and also how Forest fans have told us that he plays. It's not a case of a new manager struggling to stamp his identity on to a team that may come good. Cooper is the obstacle that will prevent us from becoming significantly better.

I think you should aim higher than 17th, If you aim for 17th and fall short you're gone. We should be aiming for the maximum output that we can from this group of players. Is Cooper's set up and tactics achieving that? I'd say no and that is the issue. It is only a matter of time before league position reflects the performances, the timid set up and those horrific stats imo.

Bookies win by assessing probability and building in a margin. They use statistical data to do that.

ostrich /ˈɒstrɪtʃ/ noun 1. a person who refuses to face reality or recognize the truth (a reference to the popular notion that the ostrich hides from danger by burying its head in the sand)

Palace did though didn't they? Twice. The only other time we've tried to defend a lead. How Bournemouth didn't is more through luck than judgement. If you're confident we can keep doing that, great. As for your second second sentence, bookies have a booming business because stats are reliable

The person I was responding to seemed to think that the stats were in some way positive. I was simply trying to point out that it wasn't but I'm not sure he got it. As for xg etc, Cooper's defenders have just one thing to cling to. Current league position. The data suggests that this is only a temporary respite, hence why it is relevant.

Disagree. We defended well in the first half when we restricted the chances Bournemouth had by actually having threat, possession and territory ourselves. All of their chances, the disallowed goal, hitting the bar and post happened etc in the second half when we invited them to attack. They had 4 big chances 2nd half to 0 first half, double the amount of shots and their xg increased from 0.42 first half to 1.55. Our xg second half btw... 0.03!

No, it has happened. The 'if' is if we don't improve, ie we stay the same... And again, it is not remotely positive to be in an inflated position. This is hard work

Really? Don't you understand it? They call it over-performing because we are in a higher position than our performances warrant. It is not a positive thing, it means we've been lucky and we are in a false position. If we don't improve, when we revert to mean the stats say we will be second bottom.

Of course it does. It predicts all kinds of things, hence the saying "there are no poor bookmakers". What it doesn't do is guarantee anything.

Ordinarily, I'd agree with that, but there are two reasons that I have declared early on Cooper: One, in our predicament, we don't have time to fail. Cooper is our self-appointed points deduction which we can ill afford and the more we persevere, the more points we will likely drop. Two, Cooper has shown exactly how he intends to set us up this season with his actions and his signings - defensive line ups and defensive tactics allowing the opposition to lay siege to our goal and not allowing us to play. Personally, I am against this way of playing in principle and I also think it will be disastrous for us. It does not play to our strengths and conveys a lack of belief to the players.

But don't you see that Mr Hyde's appearance was as a direct result of Cooper's tactical instruction to retreat and defend? Cooper summoned him... On purpose. We got away with it, but as tactics go, deliberately inviting pressure without offering any offensive threat, is just not particularly bright in my opinion.

Ben, it's not hate. On a personal level, I feel a bit sorry for him. He's barely got his feet under the table and the pitchforks are out, however, the writing is on the wall. Cooper's way of deliberately camping the team in our own half and inviting a 45 minute cavalry charge, ceding all momentum, territory and ambition is just anathema to me. It is craven, timid and deserves to fail. Edit - This borrowed graphic, copyright @StriderHiryu, demonstrates it much more eloquently than I can:

You can't use 'all competitions' to argue for our chances in The Premier League. Walsall and Tranmere don't play in The Premier League. The reality is that we have 6 points out of a possible 21.

That is one way of looking at it. You seem to be giving Cooper credit for the first half display. The way I look at it, is that the first half performance shows that we can play in this division but I strongly suspect that the second half retreat was Cooper's tactical instruction, as is his MO. Stop playing, retreat, defend for a full half at home and make Bournemouth look like Real Madrid. I just want a manager that will let us play for a whole game, have some belief and some balls.

That may be true, but that is not the issue. The issue is that we camp in our own half, invite teams onto us and show no attacking threat or even counter-attacking threat. Honestly, I have never known anyone play quite as timidly as Steve Cooper's Leicester City.

We may have just been promoted but we are a club that has only spent one season out of the last ten outside of the top flight and when we have been 'allowed' to take the handbrake off we have looked competitive. We were promoted with a squad that was considered by many to be the best that had played in The Championship and for every Burnley there are several clubs that go up and stay up. Having said that, you might be right. We might be a bottom 3-5 club, but I suspect that we might be better than that, but how will we ever know unless Cooper lets them play instead of retreating and handing over the initiative to every team he comes up against? At the end of the day, bus-parking. anti-football, whatever you want to call it, is just something I can't get behind. I'd rather go down fighting.

He has not learned from the palace debacle. If he insists on parking the bus, then there must be some counter-attacking threat, ie pace, to at least keep some of the opposition occupied and not to just keep pouring forward.

How do you know we are a bottom 3-5 side? We just play like we are because cooper is terrified of every opposition he comes up against. I think that we should remember that we won the championship and we are here on merit and instill some belief into the side.

Imagine if we were still playing Ward...

He was signed with a back injury. He played a couple of times when that cleared up but was then dropped never to be seen again.

You might think that we're doing OK cus we're sitting outside of the relegation zone for now, but at this rate we are on course for 19 points and certain relegation. Personally, I just think that Cooper's bus parking is not giving us our best chance of survival. The idea of bringing in wingers for their defensive attributes makes my teeth itch.

22/23 squad was clearly better, but some are failing to take into account the Ward factor, the Amartey factor and the fact that we were rudderless as Rodgers had run his race and checked out. There was a malaise over the club which dragged us down like an anchor. I don't know whether this squad is good enough to stay up, I suspect it might be, but we will never know as Cooper is not letting them play.

I think we'll finish 21st.

I believe this is now game number 19 since Cooper's last Premier League win. That's half a season.