rubberman

I'm really excited about this. Looking at the pre-tim's departure favourites was very uninspiring. Moyes would be safeish but dull. Rodgers a better version of Tim. Pearson - no, Poyet - no. It was getting very thin. (though I think Warburton would be good). Bringing on the French speakers, does tactics, has worked on a tight budget..this could be good.

Absolutely this. Got to start him and get the sibling rivalry going.

It is no different to any manager is it and there is always a tipping point and a crossroads. That is potentially tomorrow for Sherwood. Then there will almost certainly be another cross roads further down the line. There will have been hundreds of instances over the years of managers having been one result from the sack, got a positive result, and then gone on for another few weeks, months or years. If a positive result tomorrow was still going to result in Sherwood being shown the door he would have been sacked already. Now I can understand supporters still wanting him out after a win tomorrow that is their prerogative but those above Sherwood won’t see it like that I am almost certain. They will want to give the manager as much time as possible. A win buys a little more time and for me it gets him to the Watford game barring total annihilation in the games in between. You can say that is no way to run a club but at the vast majority of clubs a manager is no more than a run of half a dozen poor results away from being under severe pressure. Sherwood is now at the far end of that scale and at the closet point to being sacked but like many have shown in the past there is a way back and for as long as he remains the manager I hope he does turn things around and hopefully that starts tomorrow. I think this is spot on. Ideally we get 3 points. Maybe Tim then stays, maybe not - there's certainly discussions going on with other managers - but we've got 3 points. Keep winning and he'll keep his job and I could live with that. And, if we do keep winning, maybe Tim's figured it out, the team has clicked and I'll take my criticism back when we're safely mid-table. (I think this is a mightily unlikely scenario FWIW). One win shouldn't buy him an extended run - it's game by game for me, but at the moment points are more precious than getting rid of the manager. Though ideally I'd like both.

Tim - is that you?

10 minutes isn't the problem. It's the other 80... Please not another new formation. Please no ridiculous subs. Please no idiotic backpasses, individual brainfarts and gifting the opposition a goal. Need 3 points, expect none, but hope maybe we'll snatch a draw.

rubberman Villa 1-1 Swansea Leicester 2-2 Palace Norwich 1-0 WestBrom Stoke 0-0 Watford WestHam 0-1 Chelsea Arsenal 1-2 Everton Sunderland 1-1 Newcastle Bournemouth 0-2 Spurs ManUtd 1-2 ManCity Liverpool 1-2 Southampton http://pastebin.com/ZYDUWfe1

Amavi has delivered more crosses than any player in the premier league this season. So naturally he's been dropped. Manager, Keeper and Forward. Then RB (though is Ilori going to play there if he ever does play?)

I'm confused. Are we still in the backlash against the backlash or have we moved on?

I really couldn't give a shite for the personality of our manager - whoever it is. Even less for what they say to the media - that's all just talk. What I do care about is firstly results, and secondly how we play. Right now I'd take the most boring, park the bus, attritional 1-0 wins. If we ever again get to mid-table safety I'd start to hope for a bit more. If Tim manages that - fine by me, whatever has gone on so far. If not - time to do one. I think he should have already gone. He hasn't, so lets pray we get something from Chelsea.

I'd say surprise of selection is pretty much the only card Tim has to play.

Well, if we get 9 points from Chelsea, Swansea and Spurs I'll not be singing his name but I'll be a damn sight happier.

Looks very sensible. Therefore no chance it will happen. I fear Gabby, Westwood, Lescott and probably Rudy are nailed on. (Unless Gabby's still injured)

What's extra depressing is that Chelsea are there for the taking (and who knows, we might), Liverpool and Man U were also not at all good when we played them. As other teams are showing nearly any team can beat another this season (apart from Sunderland) and we really should have been able to get points. Never mind the games we expect to win.

I know Sherwood's a rubbish manager, but comparing him to a banker is a bit harsh.

It's a point of view. Wrong, but still. It completely ignores the influence of the manager. Take Ranieri - he's done ok and didn't bring in any of that squad. If you're a manager - that's what you should do. Manage. Whether you've signed off on every one or not, you manage what you have. Stop whining and start winning. That's your job.

Nzogbia's still here..

Gross spend, net spend - whatever. The squad we have is better than bottom 3. It's better than drawing with Sunderland, losing to Stoke and the Baggies. It's the manager who is not getting the best out of them. End of.

^ This.

Right through the summer I knew it would take time for all the new players to gel and was happy to be patient. As others have said, we have only been margins away from a vastly different start to the season - only losing by a goal etc. We've been able to score, which was the biggest worry. There've been some really good phases of play both individually and as a team, but a very real lack of consistency. But seemingly every time someone has shown a glimpse of coming into form they are dropped or moved to another position. Where my view has completely changed is the lack of any clear direction from Tim. I fully expected us to be an all out attack team, very few draws, some batterings but enough wins. That would have been fine. The Leicester shambles started the rot - the attack part had worked, now shut it down FFS. Sunderland, Palace - he was completely out-thought mid game, and doesn't appear to be learning. By Stoke and something like the 5th different formation he'd jumped the shark for me. I don't really care what he says to the media. Fergie, Jose etc all talk bollocks to deflect from results. What I want is a vision and a direction. I think the squad is good enough and results would start to come, but if you don't let them settle they never will. If we win the next two and start to show consistency of thought, selection and direction, I'm happy to come back round but I fear that ship has sailed.

Top rant.

Swap Bacuna and Sinclair for Gil and Adama. Grealish as a sub. That would do for me.

Not if if gives Tim a stay of execution. Pathetic. Should have added a smiley, I guess. I'm very much NOT in the happy to see us lose camp.

Seems like Moyes is getting more likely, but after 2 failures in his last 2 jobs I think he's becoming a bit tainted. He's hardly a 'modern' manager and the constant injuries when at Everton were supposed to be a result of his antiquated training methods.

Not if if gives Tim a stay of execution.

On the shortlist for African POTY. (Albeit a shortlist of about 40)