BigJim

So it wouldn't bother you if they all left? Fair enough, I suppose. I'd prefer to keep one or two.

Just sour grapes from Wilkins. It's worth looking back at the youtube clips of Gil playing in the same team as Delph against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. OK, he struggled last season when he had it all to do with the plodders around him and the plonkers guiding him but there is a good player there in the right team with decent coaches.

Can see Adama or his agent being the next to say he doesn't want to play in the Championship.

But if it's true he "doesn't want " to play in the Championship I would expect RDM to ship him out sharpish. I seem to be in a minority in rating Gil, with better players around him he would shine IMO. But we need everyone to be totally committed to the cause first and foremost.

Apparently doesn’t want to play in the Championship. Perhaps he really means he’s just had enough of us. Either way it’s disappointing. I sort of hoped he might be one of the players a proper manager could use (even if it meant loaning him out while we’re in the Championship), but if he doesn’t want to be here then that’s the end of that.

Cambiasso? OK, promoted Championship team, but I'd have thought we could pick up players like that (in fact we should have got him at the time.)

Yeah, looking at it again you're probably right, only 1 Brit group.

Way I read the BMail story is that there is an British group that have been accepted as one of the three bidders, and another 'mystery' British consortium who haven't quite got their act together yet. The story looks approximately authentic to me (as a totally OTK observer).

I'd love to keep him, if I weren't quite sure that he would constantly get kicked off the park in the Championship

Bernstein refers to authority being undermined and being unable to implement reforms. It may be all about finance, but I've a sneaking suspicion a certain ex marine is the spanner in the works.

Not sure how can we get the required 7 wins if we lose 5 out of 11 ? Still, it's more likely the laws of mathematics will change than we will win 7 more games this season.

False economy to spend big to survive? The sensible thing is to take relegation and hope we will bounce right back? I know what I'd choose if I were Randy. And why would rebuilding be necessary four months later if we stay up with a couple more quality players? Surely Remi could blend them in without having to scrap all his plans. I will be astonished if we don't spend significantly. Unless we are too far adrift come January.

Good point. I think Tim probably needed Chris Ramsey alongside him to make it work this season but QPR chose to keep him as their manager despite their relegation. Would Garde without his own staff possibly be the same and would he want the job without them given it will be tough enough with all of them in place? Wenger seems to think he should come without his coaches. I tend to think if he was confident enough to do that he would have done so by now. The fact that he doesn't seem to be that confident doesn't bode well for me.

I rather doubt Rodgers would fancy the job: would he be confident he could keep us up? It's a tough call for anybody, and I think Rodgers may well feel it's too much of a risk for his reputation. He can afford to wait for a better opportunity. We need somebody who's more desperate

The only thing I can think of is that he was counting on getting Adebayor in and when it became clear he wouldn't come it was too late to get a replacement. Gestede may not have been bought as a regular starter. While I was never too keen on the idea of Ade, I have to admit that we may have looked a very different proposition on the pitch with him leading the line.

Spot on. It only works when you first come into a club, Not after a preseason. This fitness thing worries me a bit. Didn’t Tim say he was pushing the lads to play at flat out match tempo during training sessions? Like it was an idea of his that no other manager uses. Are the players too knackered from over-training?? And then we remember he wouldn’t rest anybody before the cup final: players couldn’t keep up the tempo that day, no doubt about it. Fitness can mask deficiencies in other areas: 11 superfit players can make life difficult for more talented opposition. Maybe that’s what he’s aiming at, because he doesn’t know how to organize them properly to play football?

Came to say this. I don't think I can survive another bus parker or hoofball merchant, "safe" or not. said it before I would rather go down than have a Allardyce or Pulis in charge It's clubs' fear of dropping out of the megarich elite that keeps people like them in jobs, of course. Sad that there aren't more who think like you.

Definitely need someone who speaks fluent French. I couldn't honestly see Big Sam getting his ideas across to our new lads.

I think what he was trying to do was just keep it tight and keep the pressure on and get the crowd on their backs, but Milner's goal effectively blew that out of the water and we were under the cosh. Sherwood didn't really have any answer to the situation and it took him a good 30 minutes to get a grip on the situation. You can't expect a manager to change the system right after going behind in the first minute. I think he was right to try to play safe for as long as he did. It might have worked if it hadn't been for that absurd 3rd goal. It really worries me how quick some are to jump on the manager's back, thinking they know more about the game than he does.

Disappointed to see the witch hunt is well and truly under way. I was never in favour of appointing Sherwood but come on, he deserves a bit more leeway. We need to be patient because to get on the players’ and the manager’s back now is going to sink us. We were up against a side who have been streets ahead of us for years, who happen to be in an unrealistic position given the players they’ve got, playing in their back yard. We are very much a work in progress. Our recent record against them has been a statistical fluke, which today’s result has corrected slightly. I expected Liverpool to dominate and I think the tactic was right to stay deep even given the early goal against, and try to hold tight until the last quarter before bringing more flare players on. It didn’t work, but it might have done if we had not been so ******** careless after pulling a goal back. Gana was a gamble (not quite fit) that didn’t pay off. Same with Traore. We might have started with Ayew instead of Sinclair but it would have been a huge ask for him to play anything like he did the other night. It would more likely have damaged his confidence. Tim has signed some fine players, I think we all agreed on that before the season started. Of course it will take time to get them to play together as he wants, and injuries early on haven’t helped. We need to start picking up points soon, and I think we can if the fanbase can stay on side a bit longer.

Just watched the first half of the B.lose game (thanks Chewie) and I don't think Rudy is getting the credit he deserves. He worked really hard, won everything in the air, put in some good tackles, and OK, the ball bounced off him two or three times but he also made some good layoffs. He was by far the most effective of the front 3. Sinclair and Gabby were particularly poor (though Gabby was at least trying to put himself about). I think he did his best with players behind him just belting high balls in his general direction (never want to see Clark in that position again). Add that to his fine goal and I think you have an acceptable performance from him. If he'd had half decent supporting players alongside him that first half would have looked a lot better.

Charbonnier looks a bit more useful than Ayew on Youtube

I thought he did OK all things considered, but OK is not really enough when we have lost a world class striker and nobody else seems to own any shooting boots.

If as everybody accepts we were talking to Ade until very recently, it can't just be a case of 'oh well, we can't get Ade so we'll go with what we've got'. Surely another main man will be coming in? Edit: Sorry Harry and Dr P. Didn’t mean to cut you off so abruptly J

Wouldn't be surprised in that was Timmy's top list too. Trouble is, who would want ANY of them and be prepared to offer similar conditions to what they have? Unfortunately this means some or many on the next list will be on their way out.