What are your biggest concerns regarding our current predicament?

[Kosh]

Well Cheeky... How about Asylum by Cressida?!? Ideal methinks.

Triggarr you really are a fool of mesmeric proportions and of no little insignificance.

Kosh

 

[TheMajor]

Trying to get a ticket for Southampton away.

 

[Gus]

My worry is Poyet’s reaction to any real or perceived criticism. He clearly has great skill as a coach; he has turned us into a real footballing side, however I don’t think it unreasonable to start to ask a few questions about his character. You find out about a persons true character when things are not going well for them. It’s easy to be good when things are rosy, being good when things are not going your way is the sign of a real star and I haven’t yet seen that from Poyet. Whenever there has been any problem all we seem to hear is ‘I’ll go home’ which is hardly a mature or objective response. Of course we cannot always win, of course we will have difficult spells but what we need to see is the manager fronting it up, taking it on the chin as positively as possible and showing us that he’s able to adapt (whether that’s due to being found out on the pitch or that the players he has simply don’t have the ability to play how he wants) positively. I truly hope that this is just a blip for Poyet, part of his learning curve (he is still a ‘new’ manager) and that he will come out of it a better manager because of the experience. Time will tell I guess…

 

[Commander]

My worry is Poyet’s reaction to any real or perceived criticism. He clearly has great skill as a coach; he has turned us into a real footballing side, however I don’t think it unreasonable to start to ask a few questions about his character. You find out about a persons true character when things are not going well for them. It’s easy to be good when things are rosy, being good when things are not going your way is the sign of a real star and I haven’t yet seen that from Poyet. Whenever there has been any problem all we seem to hear is ‘I’ll go home’ which is hardly a mature or objective response. Of course we cannot always win, of course we will have difficult spells but what we need to see is the manager fronting it up, taking it in the chin as positively as possible and showing us that he’s able to adapt (whether that’s due to being found out on the pitch or that the players he has simply don’t have the ability to play how he wants) positively. I truly hope that this is just a blip for Poyet, part of his learning curve (he is still a ‘new’ manager) and that he will come out of it a better manager because of the experience. Time will tell I guess…

I do see what you are saying. But lets take some of the greatest Managers' in the game as examples:

Arsene Wenger
Alex Ferguson
Jose Mourinho

All utter cocks when things aren't going their way. Same as most of us are on here.

Ask Gus again the same questions in a couple of days time when he's cooled off a bit and he'll probably give you a different answer. He's a Latino hot-head and he always will be, he was even worse when he was playing.

 

[Kosh]

Some interesting and well thought out points being made herein. One thing is certainly clear: We're all a wee bit worried! and with good reason. Relegation would be awful (obviously), but distinctly possible at the moment. Big stadium or nay, we can still lose too many games... simple really.

Come on Gus: at least let's attack on Sunday... Christ a goal would be a start at the moment. Get the first then sit back, but let's not sit back from the start and hope that Noone can provide all the creative spark required, because I'm not sure his game is quite strong enough at his age/level of experience.

Kosh

 

[saafend_seagull]

Southampton scoring 7 against us later this month.....

 

[Richard Hebberd's Syrup]

I do see what you are saying. But lets take some of the greatest Managers' in the game as examples:

Arsene Wenger
Alex Ferguson
Jose Mourinho

All utter cocks when things aren't going their way. Same as most of us are on here.

Cocks certainly. But none of them ever used the phrase "I'll go home". In fact, they pretty much defend their teams to the hilt regardless of what is going on. The complete opposite to Gus' current approach of threatening to resign

The pressure seems to be getting to him and he becomes more erratic with each passing interview - if we loose to Barnsley I genuinely would not be surprised if steam started coming out of his ears. It makes for quite an amusing spectacle, but I can't imagine it is doing anything to help the players out when their confidence must be completely bollocksed

 

[portlock seagull]

The paradox of expectations

Low expectations are often a self-fulfilling prophecy. We insulate ourselves from failure, don't try as hard, brace for the worst and often get it.

High expectations, on the other hand, will inevitably lead to disappointment. Keep raising what you expect and sooner or later (probably sooner) it's not going to happen. And we know that a good outcome that's less than the great one we hoped for actually feels like failure.

Perhaps it's worth considering no expectations. Intense effort followed by an acceptance of what you get in return. It doesn't make good TV, but it's a discipline that can turn you into a professional.

 

[Gus]

True but these guys I don’t believe ever regularly threatened to walk away even when under intense and real pressure. They usually deflect criticism from the team, use spin and mind games to turn problems around with the media and get on with sorting things out behind the scenes at their clubs. That takes a certain level of sophistication and hopefully that will come with time for Poyet and he can find a good balance between latino passion and positive management! Lets hope for a win Sunday and then onwards and upwards..

 

[saltash seagull]

the passing game is fine but there are things we need to do without changing our basic principles

1 - when we get in a decent position out wide get the ball in the box,2 many times we sod about with it and dont get the ball in the box
2 - pass it quicker at times,sparrow and harley slow things down to much........when we get the chance to break we slow it down giving them times to get back behind the ball
3 - set pieces.......in 18 games this season we have scored from 1 set piece,the delivery has got to be better,when dicker was playing we did come up with some inventive ideas from set pieces but at the moment the set pieces just seem to be getting worse ! we dont look like scoring from a corner or free kick and yet last night they scored a scrappy goal from putting a free kick in the box.........we dont seem to do that ! we either lay it across or down the line and rarely get it over
4 - get nooney to get his head up......as well as he has been playing this season he has at times tried to do to much ! he doesnt seem aware of whats around him and is head down to often where as kaz is more direct nooney always wants to beat that extra player instead of putting it in the mixer
5 - play to cms strenghs......when we signed him gus said we were gonna build a team around him and play to his strenghts ! to often we are giving him the ball with his back to goal instead of into the channels for him to chase and use his pace

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Set pieces have been largely a disgrace.

(we've actually scored from more than one though - Harley's FK v Posh, Barnes from a corner v Blackpool...)

 

[Vegas Seagull]

The 'team talk' just before kick off..1 goal in the last 10 first halves must be the worst in our history..
We must ATTACK more, Gus doesn't like 3-3s he says, well they're better than 0-0, 0-1 or 0-1 etc

 

[the right footed denilson]

I have the same question as the OP:

What is the point of the development squad? If the like of Kasim, Rodgers and JFC have less to offer in midfield than Tanno they should probably be released.

 

[Kosh]

Portlock - post of the thread! Awesome... "No Expectations" would make a wonderful epitaph for the Albion.

The Development Squad, just makes no sense to me. If we're developing these players for our benefit... then where is the tangible evidence?!? No first team action = no real value in terms of transfer fees etc. I can only see the majority being released and ending up at Andover. Hmmmmmm. Sending them out on loan seems to be the only option for them, yet when they return we see no actual "d e v e l o p m e n t." I'm really not getting it.

Kosh

 

[the right footed denilson]

Portlock - post of the thread! Awesome... "No Expectations" would make a wonderful epitaph for the Albion.

The Development Squad, just makes no sense to me. If we're developing these players for our benefit... then where is the tangible evidence?!? No first team action = no real value in terms of transfer fees etc. I can only see the majority being released and ending up at Andover. Hmmmmmm. Sending them out on loan seems to be the only option for them, yet when they return we see no actual "d e v e l o p m e n t." I'm really not getting it.

Kosh

They play the kind of football Poyet wants week-in-week-out too. I don't see the harm in giving a few of them a chance.

Dunk and Cook have stepped up, and so can the rest.

 

[Kosh]

I totally agree with that, but I don't get the feeling that Poyet sees it quite that way... I read other NSC posters saying the players are "too young, would crumble under the pressure" etc. However, and I say this based on my outside knowledge (which is little), if you're good enough it doesn't matter how bloody old you are. I guess Poyet doesn't think that they're good enough, which brings me back to my orginal point - If you've been with the DS for two seasons and you're not good enough, why are you still with the club?!? how long does it take to develop to the level Poyet deems better than Sparrow et al. I think the idea on paper is a sound one, but the reality is, at a club like ours it's a folly.

 

[the right footed denilson]

If you've been with the DS for two seasons and you're not good enough, why are you still with the club?!?

Totally agree, and let's not forget, Kasim played last season and is 20/21 and Simmonds is around that age. Didn't a 15 year old score for Wycombe last weekend?

 

[chrissyboy01]

The inability to produce a shot on target despite having over half of the possession rate.

 

[Kosh]

Yes I was going to mention the 15 year old Wycombe wonder kid... Given a chance, and he's risen to it... at the moment that is! I don't want to single out Sparrow, but I'm going to! He doesn't excite me, he doesn't inspire me, he's okay, he's a slogger but he's just not going to change a match... is he?!? sigh. Time will tell if Poyet agrees with our sentiment or, as I suspect, not.

Go on Matt.. prove me wrong on Sunday... DO SOMETHING!

Kosh

 

[Shooting Star]

My real concern is Gus. Don't get me wrong, I love Gus, and I'm 100% behind 'In Gus we Trust', but I really don't feel like he's learning from any mistakes, and some things in the team are quite frankly odd. Last night sums it up; we need to play both wings if we want to play passing football - it's designed to stretch the field, not congest it. It's entirely unreasonable to expect Marcos Painter, a left back, to command the entire left. Also, bringing Paynter in is supposed to give us a bit of a Plan B (hoof ball)...so why was it Plan A last night? If Gus didn't want it to be Plan A, then why the hell didn't he get the message through to Harper and Greer to pass it from the back?
Other things baffle me: Dunk, Buckley, Reyes. If Buckey and Vicente are out and he still doesn't play KLL until the last 5 minutes of the game, then what is the point of having him?

At the moment I'm not worried about the players. Hardly any of them are under-performing in so much as playing worse than they originally have done. We're playing badly because of the current system, not the players.