That has to be it. Pearson needs to go.

[NotTheMarketLeader]

I'm pretty certain that we had/have the players to stay up this season. The problem as I see it is we have a Manager who sets the side up and encourages negative ball possession 35/65 to the opposition. This in itself doesn't have to be a total disaster but, unlike Burnley for instance, that opposition possession is almost exclusively in our half. It's why no team actually hammers us. The frustrating aspect is when we have to chase goals the players are more than capable of taking the game to the opposition (ie. Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal),

THIS, THIS AND THIS

[zak_lcfc]

Argued post-Villa last time he should have gone, kept my thoughts to myself since and we're still in the same situation as we were back then, I thought post New Years we had genuinely turned a corner and whilst some bad decisions from referees had halted our progress we still looked a rejuvenated team, I made the point back then he was out of his depth and evidently nothing has changed in regards to tactics and in-game strategy, what he's shown me is that apart from being a tactically unsuitable manager he is also a bad man manager in that favourites get precedent over players deserving of chances!

Nothing's changed over the past few months, we still have no plan B and all the people moaning about "long ball" under Pulis if he came happens here albeit to a striker who is left stranded up top with nobody to follow in for the second ball, I think a lot will be different next season in the championship if we stick with Pearson - many players will leave as we've established, players like Knocky and Albrighton will probably not want to be part of our club and I'm not surprised, players such as Drinkwater and Vardy have had their confidence shot and so we can't expect repeats of the 13/14 season, it's been a bad few months for the club and I don't like the man, have never liked him but I have always wanted him to succeed with this club no matter my personal preferences, now I feel it's way too late, the only decent alternatives have been employed and that's done, I still hope he proves me wrong and we finish 17th somehow but I don't think Pearson is the man to take this club further anymore.

[Oxfordfox83]

Bloody predictive text !! Always does it to certain words can't be asked to sort it tho !!

Fair enough- glad I'm not just missing something...!

[Bob Weasel Fox]

It's pretty dark days to be a City fan at the moment if truth be told.

Who would have thought we'd be this bad?

Nige has gone from pretty much hero to zero in less than one season.

Yesterday was really really disappointing.

I remain amazed however at the strength of feeling on the night he was 'sacked' (posters stating they had been crying, pictures of Jesus reincarnated etc) to the strength of anti-feeling yesterday.

Dark days. We need a spark from somewhere...

Dark days indeed Col couldn't agree with you more

[Guest MattP]

Dark days?

In terms of recent history it's not been a bad season.

[AndWhat?]

Dark Days?

[The Doctor]

Dark days?

In terms of recent history it's not been a bad season.

Spot on - can anyone honestly say that being a team that's just short of being competitive in this division (we've generally played ok but let ourselves down with poor finishing and silly mistakes) is worse than being the joke we were from 2006-2008

[ronnup]

Dark Days?

Agreed. Anyone who thinks a jaunt in the prem and seeing players like Mahrez and Kramraic in Leicester is 'dark days' has a conveniently short memory.

[Mike Oxlong]

Not being competitive in the division in which you play is failure. End of.

[inckley fox]

Spot on - can anyone honestly say that being a team that's just short of being competitive in this division (we've generally played ok but let ourselves down with poor finishing and silly mistakes) is worse than being the joke we were from 2006-2008

 

This simply isn't true.

 

Relegation from this league, in the context of our recent history, has been a complete disaster.

 

After 2004 we had a ten year absence.

 

After 2002 the club collapsed and very nearly ceased to exist.

 

If you wish to go back further you've got the arrival of O'Neill on the back of relegation in 1995, but if you look further back than that there was a seven year absence (and very nearly relegation to the third tier) after relegation in 1987.

 

So how this is a good season in anyone's book, regardless of context, I don't know. We've seen a guy who we'd hoped would be Premiership management material look hugely out of his depth (and I'm afraid the fine margins point can't be laboured any further, narrowly losing nearly all of your games and having 17 points from 24 games is not the stuff of fine margins), we're playing our oldest line-up since the last time we came down (when we were basically broke, couldn't afford any better, and dropped to the third tier a few years later) and the fans are hugely divided.

 

Worst still, as I say, history doesn't tell us to be especially optimistic about the future.

[ADK]

Beating Man U, coming back from 2-0 at Anfield and other creditable performances aren't bad. We've not actually lost a match by more than two this season.

 

It's posts like that which make the Pearson out camp look ridiculous.

[Bob Weasel Fox]

Agreed. Anyone who thinks a jaunt in the prem and seeing players like Mahrez and Kramraic in Leicester is 'dark days' has a conveniently short memory.

In terms of us being bottom out of the cup and things looking bleak it defo is. Your opinion is yours mine is mine

Hopefully we can turn it around but I doubt it

[The Doctor]

This simply isn't true.

 

Relegation from this league, in the context of our recent history, has been a complete disaster.

 

After 2004 we had a ten year absence.

 

After 2002 the club collapsed and very nearly ceased to exist.

 

If you wish to go back further you've got the arrival of O'Neill on the back of relegation in 1995, but if you look further back than that there was a seven year absence (and very nearly relegation to the third tier) after relegation in 1987.

 

So how this is a good season in anyone's book, regardless of context, I don't know. We've seen a guy who we'd hoped would be Premiership management material look hugely out of his depth (and I'm afraid the fine margins point can't be laboured any further, narrowly losing nearly all of your games and having 17 points from 24 games is not the stuff of fine margins), we're playing our oldest line-up since the last time we came down (when we were basically broke, couldn't afford any better, and dropped to the third tier a few years later) and the fans are hugely divided.

 

Worst still, as I say, history doesn't tell us to be especially optimistic about the future.

You've entirely missed the point - this season has been disappointing but it is nowhere near as bad as the revolving door joke we were in. 2006-2007 and 2007-2008. Relegation hasn't always played out well but for every 2005-2008 there's a 02-03, where we bounce back comfortably - you can talk about the administration that season but that came from building a new stadium + the collapse of itv digital. We are not going to have that problem this time round - we're financially stable with committed owners.

[Monsell1976]

Beating Man U, coming back from 2-0 at Anfield and other creditable performances aren't bad. We've not actually lost a match by more than two this season.

It's posts like that which make the Pearson out camp look ridiculous.

What an achievement not to get beat by more than two goals.

Barring the Man U game, the results and being bottom and going months without a win makes people's defence of him ridiculous.

I think even the most harden Pearson supporter is finding it hard to defend him, especially after embarrassing performances like yesterday, and I have seen many posts to that effect.

[ronnup]

Skirting with relegation from the Champiosnhip and seeing turgid football is dark. Years of it is dark. Finally getting relegated by a loud mouth tit of a manager is dark.

This season has been disappointing. Dark? Not for me. We've got a cracking future I believe. Owners that care and invest. Youth prospects and have just signed a possibly world class international striker. I'm still enjoying myself.

[inckley fox]

Beating Man U, coming back from 2-0 at Anfield and other creditable performances aren't bad. We've not actually lost a match by more than two this season.

 

It's posts like that which make the Pearson out camp look ridiculous.

 

What's ridiculous is looking at two games as evidence for things being 'not bad' as opposed to the other 22. We have 17 points from 24 games, surely it's not ridiculous to say that's bad.

 

Equally, what's ridiculous about pointing out that the vast majority of managers to win promotion to this division, and get relegated from it, go on to have disappointing careers? Or pointing out that relegation from the top flight has almost always been a disaster when it's happened?

 

If these are seriously the arguments in Pearson's defence - that this is alright after all, relegation isn't too bad, we had a couple of decent games in amongst the gaping mire of crap - then that's surely bordering on complete delusion.

[Mike Oxlong]

The "We're shit but we've been shitter argument"

[Guest MattP]

Coming out of the stadium having lost at home to Plymouth in a Championship dog fight praying Alan Maybury is fit for next week at Southend are 'dark days'.

Not going to places like Arsenal and them saying you're the best team that has played there.

[AndWhat?]

You guys can wallow in your dark days while I go for a piss up in Liverpool on Saturday night then to Goodison on Sunday

[cjslcfc]

Come on. "Dark days" is a bit bloody ridiculous isn't it.

[Matt]

'Dark days' is abit much and OTT for me, not sure I agree with that but what I will say is at the end of the day I won't be remembering this season for beating Man Utd in the manner we did, coming back to draw against Liverpool, or being told we're 'the best team to visit Arsenal', no, i'll remember it for being relegated and bottom for a large chunk of the season.

 

Perhaps I should enjoy the 3 things listed above, I did at the time but being relegated, failing to do simple things is an overriding factor.

[inckley fox]

You've entirely missed the point - this season has been disappointing but it is nowhere near as bad as the revolving door joke we were in. 2006-2007 and 2007-2008. Relegation hasn't always played out well but for every 2005-2008 there's a 02-03, where we bounce back comfortably - you can talk about the administration that season but that came from building a new stadium + the collapse of itv digital. We are not going to have that problem this time round - we're financially stable with committed owners.

 

Okay, so I'm looking back to a relegation in 1987, 2002, 2004 when the club was entirely different in order to warn us about what relegation can bring. Yes, those years are long gone. But so is that period between 2005 and 2008 which followed. The club is totally different and there's little cause to ignore one set of warnings on the grounds that times have changed, but look at a different period in history to make us feel better.

 

What are our aims as a club? To do better than we did for the worst three years in our history, or get back to where we've been for almost half of our history as a steady top flight team? Because if it's the latter - and it should be - this season has been a disaster.

[Eskay]

The way I look at it, get probably another 3 points in total from now until the end of the season. The fans turn on the players. Players booed off for the last 3 games at home.........next season leaves no chance of promotion. The team will be shot to bits.....no matter who is in charge.

 

Look at Cardiff, Norwich, Fulham.....No sign of coming back any time soon.

[Ollie93]

Skirting with relegation from the Champiosnhip and seeing turgid football is dark. Years of it is dark. Finally getting relegated by a loud mouth tit of a manager is dark.

This season has been disappointing. Dark? Not for me. We've got a cracking future I believe. Owners that care and invest. Youth prospects and have just signed a possibly world class international striker. I'm still enjoying myself.

 

This is what we should all be thinking!!!!

[cjslcfc]

The way I look at it, get probably another 3 points in total from now until the end of the season. The fans turn on the players. Players booed off for the last 3 games at home.........next season leaves no chance of promotion. The team will be shot to bits.....no matter who is in charge.

 

Look at Cardiff, Norwich, Fulham.....No sign of coming back any time soon.

 

You can look at it from the point of view that all 3 of those teams you mentioned changed managers before the end of last season...

 

Added to that, it's obvious you haven't looked at the Championship table recently. Norwich are 6th and in great form (only 6 points off the top) so I'd say that's a sign of coming back potentially this season.

 

What this does highlight is the need to get the next appointment spot on. You can't just sack the manager for the sake of wanting a change. Change can be bad as well as good. We hire a Solskjaer, Adams, Magath and we are in real trouble! On the other hand we could find a gem like Howe, Karanka or McClaren. With our owners history of appointments I wouldn't be confident they know enough about football to get the right man in.