deep blue

If Man City are relegated to div 2 then we might end up still in the Prem.

This is exactly what they should be doing, and big Nige is the obvious person to turn to. However, the likelihood of such an "innovative" thought crossing their minds is low, and even were it to do so, if rumours of past friction between Nige & Rudkin are true then that makes it even less likely.

We'd be better off taking the points deductions, resetting our financial (mis)management, bringing in a progressive manager (at whatever cost) who is going to assimilate our academy stars into the squad, treat next season as a reset in the Championship, and the season after go for promotion. That way, if we got promoted in the 2nd season we would be in a better place as a club to put up a better fight in the Prem with a club structure and squad much better prepared for it.

Just the last line doesn't scan. How about ")just release a f***ing statement, shift the blame".

Yes, but for DOF rather than manager. Oops, sorry, just seen Bilo got in before me.

I agree. I think he came over as a person overly concerned about himself because he was a very driven person who forced himself to the top of his profession by setting himself very high standard throughout his development. This must have made him appear strict, unrelaxed with some of his teammates at times, especially as he expected them to adhere to his high standards too. Just look at our squad's decline over the last few years. How we could have done with a strong character like Kasper to whip some of them into shape. As he is also a very intelligent, thinking person who expresses himself well, I could well imagine him becoming a great asset to a club in some sort of managerial role.

Absolutely. I'm convinced that had he embraced "remain" with enthusiasm, as I believe a majority of Labour Party members wanted him to do, then it would have more than tipped the balance by persuading more Labour voters to follow his lead. His weak, conceited and unprincipled leadership enable Brexit to prevail and opened the way for the likes of Boris and Truss to lead us into the current mess.

Perhaps we could bag Nuno if Forest sack him?

I seem to remember Liverpool were sniffing at the time so it's not surprising many of us thought it as a coup.

But that's exactly the sort of mistake we keep making. We'd cash in for a few mill and then find we'd have to pay significantly more for a replacement who would turn out to be not at that level. Best to go with Thomas for next season in the Championship, and bear in mind that we look to have a super young LB prospect in the development squad that we could introduce gradually too.

I've consistently supported Thomas on here against the doubters because, in my view, his progress and confidence were shattered during, and by, the later Rodgers years. I always thought there was still a decent player in there. He may lack speed but he gives clever support to his winger and is solid defensively (a bit of bulking up wouldn't go amiss, though). I'm pleased he's come through that, though, and hope he can build on that next season.

Chocolate oaties for me. Oops, are we back to managers?

I think there's a flaw suggesting that Russell Martin would be good to get us promoted but no good once we're back in the Prem at the first attempt. What would we do with him at that stage? Knowing our owners we'd have him on a 5 or 6 year contract and our PSR situaton would never allow us to sack him.

Not if you score than they do.

If moves were made now by some other entity to buy our club, wouldn't the process likely take a lengthy period that would render us unable to make football-related moves (manager, recruitment, pre-season even) during the summer?

If he were trying to get results he wouldn't have picked the players he did yesterday.

Absolutely agree with this. Being deducted a few points next season is of no consequence compared with the long term health of the club. We would soon recoup those points with decent football management, organisation and personnel at the club anyway.

Wasn't it said a few games ago that some of the squad were unhappy with the lack of intensity in training? I remember that also being stated as the case in the season after we won the title, and that was put down to Ranieri involving himself with our training sessions, which he had left completely to Shakespeare in the previous season ... and the drop-off in performance was awful. I wonder whether there is truth in that current allegation. It would certainly go somewhere to accounting for our lethargy on the pitch this season.

This has been a big part of the problem all season. Our midfield don't have the motivation, aggression or technique to win the ball and they lack fight.

Wow. This nails it so accurately. Surely the club will start to see the light

Ah, thanks. Hoped it would be someone out of the blue.

Which manager does this refer to, please? The link is blocked on my device.

I agree 100% with this. I think he lost confidence under Rodgers and it's taken a while for him to get it back. I hope he progresses even further from his recent solid performances.

True, but you have to give credit to Pearson for having the nous to engage Shakespeare and Walsh, and especially putting together a squad with a good mentality.

Well done, great work.