Brian McDermott and Chris Hughton are still available . . .

[Seagull73]

Why does none of it help? If even a small part of it provides an assist in the board and management team being forced to raise their game then it's worth it. Better than sleepwalking into League One while providing sponsors with stats that say the club has 24,000 satisfied customers. Club has way more to lose than any of us. The FANS will still go to football, and will be delighted with the thinned-out queues for every damn thing due to many of the CUSTOMERS suddenly finding something else to do with their leisure time.

Indeed. 7% this year, how many next year?

 

[sir albion]

Zola and di canio would be a good duo to have as no1 and no2

 

[34064 Fighter Command]

We could spend £1m or even more on a striker but with the current tactics I really don't think it would help.

£1m is nowhere near sufficient to obtain a decent Championship level striker. You'll have to at least triple that and then some..........

Then there's the wages to add on. One thing we are renowned for is not meeting players wage demands. It's therefore no surprise we end up with the players with no proven experience, as anyone with any ability will command significant interest from other clubs. In the transfer and wages ' auction ' our bids are nowhere near competitive. Clubs with parachute payment easily outbid us. And there's the whole crux of Paul Barber's program column in a nutshell.

 

[kevtherev]

With the current players we have the right manager would still get results. We have defencive midfielders in Ince and Holla. Enough creativity in Teix and Paddy and that's not to mention JFC, Toko, Lualua with March and Stephens still to come back. True we are desperate for a quality striker, but there is enough there to survive in this division. It's the manager that hasn't got a clue, which system suits the players he has at his disposal. The players look clueless at the moment and look like they have lost all confidence in the manager...All we need is a manager to get the players all pulling in the same direction and we will start to climb the table.. McDermott would be my choice, based on what he done with Reading in this situation.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

We could spend £1m or even more on a striker but with the current tactics I really don't think it would help.

Agreed, unless our manager changes his tactics and plays to the striker's strengths it will make no noticeable difference at all.

 

[34064 Fighter Command]

Nobody wanted a relegation fight, and to be honest, I don't think anybody expected one.

I did - and lets look at the reasons why:

Kuscak - gone
Buckley - gone
Elliot Bennet - gone
Orlandi - gone
Lopez - gone
Vicente - gone
Bridcutt - gone
Noone - gone
Murray - gone
Ulloa - gone
Bridge - gone
Upson - gone
Barnes - gone
Hammond - gone

Reckon I could make a decent Championship side ( and one capable of giving Spurs a game tonight ) out of that little lot........

But what I expect instead is another 6-1 defeat like the one we received at Anfield. I just hope our current squad prove me wrong, 'cos if we are outwitted by Steve Evans and Rotherham, then Tottenham will have little to worry about. We could have David Moyes in charge tonight and the result won't really be in doubt either.

 

[Ernest]

And they can stay available

 

[Easy 10]

I did - and lets look at the reasons why:

Kuscak - gone
Buckley - gone
Elliot Bennet - gone
Orlandi - gone
Lopez - gone
Vicente - gone
Bridcutt - gone
Noone - gone
Murray - gone
Ulloa - gone
Bridge - gone
Upson - gone
Barnes - gone
Hammond - gone

Reckon I could make a decent Championship side out of that little lot........

Half of those are ancient history though. Bennett and Murray were gone before we even got to the Amex, we still came 4th and 6th without many of them. Vicente only played a handful of games, Noone blew very hot and cold (mostly cold), Lopez and Orlandi were decent in small patches but mostly crocked, Hammond was average at best.

This squad should not be in a relegation scrap. Its not top 6, but any manager worth his salt would have this lot chugging along in midtable.

 

[Surf's Up]

IF there's to be a change of manager, we need a satisfactory answer to TWO questions.

1. Can the new guy get results out of the Albion's current squad?

2. Can the new guy work effectively with the player recruitment arrangements that the Albion have in place?

I suspect that it's going to be more difficult to move forward than people think.

Exactly, these two points address the underlying problem. The club is caught between a rock and a hard place at the moment and any replacement will have to work with the current infrastructure which will a) make it pretty difficult to recruit someone and b) mean that, if we do succeed in recruiting a good manager they're working with one hand tied behind their back.

 

[34064 Fighter Command]

Half of those are ancient history though. Bennett and Murray were gone before we even got to the Amex, we still came 4th and 6th without many of them. Vicente only played a handful of games, Noone blew very hot and cold (mostly cold), Lopez and Orlandi were decent in small patches but mostly crocked, Hammond was average at best.

This squad should not be in a relegation scrap. Its not top 6, but any manager worth his salt would have this lot chugging along in midtable.

A large proportion of them are now playing Premiership football. They must have something about them to do that, regardless of when and how they left. Do you seriously think our current squad could beat a team selected from that list, because I don't, and if you think our squad could, I'd love to read how you can justify that view.

 

[martin tyler]

Steve Clarke Maybe a decent option as well

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Why does none of it help? If even a small part of it provides an assist in the board and management team being forced to raise their game then it's worth it. Better than sleepwalking into League One while providing sponsors with stats that say the club has 24,000 satisfied customers. Club has way more to lose than any of us. The FANS will still go to football, and will be delighted with the thinned-out queues for every damn thing due to many of the CUSTOMERS suddenly finding something else to do with their leisure time. It's in the club's own direct interest to listen and respond accordingly.

Oh l'm afraid that l don't think for one moment that what we post on here will ever get acted upon by the club, but it DOES give us the chance to give our opinions and vent our feelings.

In fact l can remember chatting to a certain Charlie Oatway a few years ago who said that all employees of the club, certainly on the playing side, had been banned by the management of reading the content of this website. Although l guess that doesn't stop some of them from doing it.

 

[Easy 10]

A large proportion of them are now playing Premiership football. They must have something about them to do that, regardless of when and how they left. Do you seriously think our current squad could beat a team selected from that list, because I don't, and if you think our squad could, I'd love to read how you can justify that view.

I'm not saying they're all bad players or that we couldn't do with *some* of them now. My point is that harking back to players who left the club in 2011 isn't of much relevance to where we find ourselves now, particularly when you consider we went on to make the playoffs twice without them. Upson and Bridge have been crocked since they left us, so they'd hardly make a difference now either.

IMO, Barnes, Ulloa, Buckley, Ward and Bridcutt are the ones who have not been adequately replaced (the jury is still out on PIGS replacement). THOSE are the more relevant ones then harking back to the crocks, the ancient histories, and the half-season wonders like Lopez and Orlandi.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

We were out of the relegation zone with six matches to go, but he took us back into it.

I've no dislike of Coppell, but he walked out on us once before, and his tenures at City of 33 days, Bristol City at four months, suggest that he has issues to deal with.

He's also been Palace manager FOUR times.

Whether he is the right man for the job or not is immaterial. He is finished with management.

 

[Seagull over Canaryland]

Steve Clarke Maybe a decent option as well

True. Although I watched Clarke as pundit on TV last night - and he had all the enthusiasm of a house brick.......zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Very Hyypia-esque demeanour.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Steve Clarke Maybe a decent option as well

Agreed. And even Lee Clarke, ok he had a miserable time at Birmingham, but still a manager who will come good again l think. Had little or nothing to work with at St.Andrews, yet still managed to keep them in the Championship in the few seasons he was there.

 

[Mr Bridger]

Agreed. And even Lee Clarke, ok he had a miserable time at Birmingham, but still a manager who will come good again l think. Had little or nothing to work with at St.Andrews, yet still managed to keep them in the Championship in the few seasons he was there.

woah, i'll stop you right there with your Lee Clarke suggestions, absolute dullard no thanks!

 

[LamieRobertson]

So, just a stepping stone then?

Can we wait until the body is dead before burying it, and seating the successor? Get behind the present manager for the time being.

That would be novel

 

[LamieRobertson]

woah, i'll stop you right there with your Lee Clarke suggestions, absolute dullard no thanks!

Thought Lee Clark was off to Blackpool?

 

[osgood]

That's all l'm saying, the aforementioned managers, both experienced at Championship level, and with a record of getting teams promoted to the Premier League, are currently out of work.

I'm sure you all realise what l am trying to say . . .

All sensible comments welcome.

as Don King would say , "weve got two chances, Slim and none , and Slims outa town.........."