Dan

Our summer window when you put into context the money spent, the situation we'd been in with PSR etc... is about the worst I can remember any club having. We've spent about £80mil to go substantially backwards and tied ourselves up for the next couple of years as well. It's mental.

It's beyond belief this is only 2-1. Honestly, this ought to have been the real battering.

Our players are all absolute thickos.

Mavididi is a hit and miss player but when all you've done is miss for months then he should've featured a lot more. Only seen the stats - it's a relief that we scored but honestly, how we're not at least two down here. 3/4-1 I'd imagine.

Christ. Wish I'd not bothered.

It's about the one thing we've gotten right in the last few years so naturally we need to rectify that and get that wrong as well.

Fully anticipating another bland "energy conservation" drone from our opposition when they really ought to show no mercy and just embarrass these players.

Arsenal, PSG, Barcelona and Inter feels like the most balanced semis in years. Said what I said the other day - screams a PSG Barcelona final. Two excellent and very entertaining sides. Got a bit of bias in this, backed Barcelona at 9/1 back in about October time - whenever it was they thrashed Real Madrid and Bayern back to back.

Don't think it's quite the same as winners medals but if we're assuming the same rule of 5 games, then yes, he has three in a row.

The case for Rudkin is actually better isn't it the more I think about it but it is just simply because I've wanted him out far, far longer. I think a competent replacement for him (unlikely) would have Ruud gone in virtually no time either.

Real Madrid have had that coming a while in all honesty. They've been getting away with it a lot this season. They often coast through a season then really hit their stride when March arrives but they still look like early season Real Madrid to me. Not quite feeling them this year but probably shouldn't write them off either. PSG and Barcelona look the two best teams in it for me this year. Can see that being the final. I'm going to have to see it to believe it with Arsenal, but fair play, I didn't expect that.

Not in 2025 we can't. We haven't got the residue of a previous era anymore.

15 losses in 16 and he quite comfortably gets the nod for me. I think there was a world where Van Nistelrooy could've taken us down and I'd have possibly bought into having him try and get us back up next season. But I can't after this. I would genuinely back myself to serve up better than what he has here in all honesty. You can't retain a relationship that's suffered this much. Mind you as much as I want Rudkin gone, he's entered the latter day Rodgers zone where I don't even think his departure will really move me. So much so that I am convinced that problem lies above him. Aiyawatt bringing in another inept yes man would be a disaster and in some ways worse than keeping Rudkin. At least his persistence with him proves how useless he is while a switch up would buy him some undeserved backing.

I thought we had our most hateful team ever in 2022/23. Now we just have the same version of that team with a fraction of the ability. The hateful, soft, not trying elements are the constants. The level of ability will only continue to deteriorate. I don't think I've ever felt worse about the club but the team still can remarkably get worse yet.

It being a **** you to the club to celebrate his goal would only work if they actually piped up against Aiyawatt or Rudkin at any point. In reality it was just one of those classy touch incidents which we could do with less of. For what it's worth, as somebody viciously anti not celebrating, I do think that was a rare moment of it being slightly more acceptable. They'd already won the game anyway, he was forced out due to the incompetent idiots at the club and scoring past our lot is barely an achievement anyway. Like Lewis Hamilton celebrating getting into his car. It wasn't one of those goals that would've brought a mad celebration anyway. That one felt fairly genuine for me.

This season for me has revealed the truth. I feared it would prove to be the case with quite how avoidable and shambolic the first relegation actually was. This was a chance to prove it was a blip, albeit a pretty damaging one. To serve this up just proves this is what we truly are now. This was our second bite at the cherry. Despite the warning of the first relegation. Despite the PSR failing warning. They've served up one of the worst Premier League seasons by a team ever. How anybody still backs those at the top is just completely beyond me. You really can fool some of the people all of the time.

Possibly. He may feel obliged to do it due to what did happen to his Dad here. But I'm not seeing somebody showing any care or love for it. It is quite possible he's just lost interest. Or I just suspect he's somebody who's never had to achieve anything to get into the position he's in and therefore can't be bothered with the troughs, and only wants the peaks.

Said it elsewhere but don't agree with the bit in bold - that subconsciously gives way too much credit and frankly, at this point, it's far too kind imo.

This just has to be satire.

I think it can only be 4. I could understand this debate two years ago. Not anymore. To allow it to play out again, somehow even more embarrassingly can only tell me it's 4. He's not arsed. Nobody who cares could ever let it get to this point. It's way beyond incompetence. I'd back virtually anybody on here to do a better job than this. Simply caring would be an upgrade.

Clubs shouldn't be allowed to get away with doing this.

Sadly he actually watched that preseason friendly. I was a bit concerned for Lens when they only won 3-0 - they should've scored at least 7. Unless I've completely missed him leaving Lens. I actually think he'd consider us in all seriousness. I quite like him, but I'm not sure he's the answer here.

I forget who it is but someone on here frequently calls for Sean Dyche because he's an old school manager who will attempt to impact the club at more levels than just on the pitch and I do completely get the case for this to be honest. Forget his brand of football for a minute here, I think being bothered about style of play is a luxury we no longer really have because we have such a terrible structure within the club anyway that no matter who it is it's going to eventually swallow them up. It would've done for Maresca as well. You could argue it already had done before he went. Dyche is of a similar mould to Pearson in that I think he would probably do Rudkin's job for him. I'm not saying he's who I want but I don't think this is some simple fix anymore. But where I think even someone like Dyche would fall is that the minute he tries to get the players into line they'd cry arse to the manchild and he'd be undermined. Aiyawatt's ridiculous structure makes this a poisoned chalice for nearly anybody. We've given the players all the power based on a team that are long gone (bar one that we're clinging onto because Rudkin can't do his own job) and the players are now shite, and mostly dickheads as well.

Weirdly I was never quite as bothered by this video as most of a similar persuasion (like you based on that) because I've no issue with celebrating history and success but you make a good point. 9 years ago now. It's becoming a bit Forest and it's even worse when things have clearly gone to absolute pot. The delusions within this club are going to stop us bouncing up next season. I'm pretty sure of that. Unless we completely luck out on an influential manager with something about him.