20th October 2018. We were the early kick off, 12pm against Leeds. Won 2-1. There were 3 or 4 teams that could overtake us in the 3pm's. Most of them failed, but Norwich won with an 84th min goal, so what's that? -about 4.40pm. We were in 6th place for appox 3 hours. They went 6th, we dropped to 7th never to be seen again. Norwich went on to win the league, we finished 15th.

One results in a throw in for the opposition, the other leads to a goal kick.

Chaddy, please knock it off. Match threads a day before a match are very much about team selection. Thus, the comparisons are relevant. We can't open a new thread for every little tangent. If you don't like the direction the conversation is going, then feel free to remove yourself from it.

Hi Everyone, If you want to respond to Miller11's post, please don't quote it. It's very long and detailed and clogs up the page, particularly on mobile. If you just write @Miller11 and then comment, serves the same purpose and helps keep the thread tidy. Thanks.

Scottish Football Association?! ? Suppose with Kean, Coyle, and Lambert in the conversation it's sort of relevant.

So, he's a part time genius is he?! Those must be the parts when he's not dealing with our club. Also, followed by Rich Sharpe, interesting.

I'm with you! Opening up at work Monday morning too so have to be in at 8am. Godamnit, why didn't I book the day off?! Looks set up for a real even game, that should go down to the last quarter. Enjoy. I hope Mahomes takes the trophy. Been the best QB throughout the season. And will be for years to come IMO.

Ooops, was just trying to lighten the mood. Can we park it for another time. In terms of transfers, nobody can call us spoilt or overreacting, entitled fans. This isn't just one window, it's pretty much 3 on the bounce with empty promises, false hope, and incompetent actions. And most importantly, a complete failure to even partially address the glaringly obvious deficiencies in the match day team. We've got every right to be thoroughly pissed off.

That surely can't be what's irking you most tonight.

Was he the one that broke B- Mac? That goal against Arsenal, beauty.

Seems like he's not!

Perhaps I was referring to the education system that installed such good morals. They not from Scotland, Connecticut? Oops, my bad. ?

Really?! If you can't beat em, join em. And we certainly can't beat em at the moment. I admire your principals, but the reality is they aren't gonna make 170 mill disappear, and they aren't gonna get us back playing in the Prem again.

News like that is just more frustrating. If that's the case why the hell don't they box a bit clever, and dodge something up to enable them to spend the money? Do a scam stadium sponsorship etc. Every other club seems to be doing it in the Championship. We're the only chumps sat on our hands. The only way for them to get some money, and respect, back is promotion. The only way to get promotion is to spend money. You say they have money, so surely find a way to spend it. I just don't get it. We're coasting to oblivion.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.hammers.news/club-news/exwhuemployee-provides-update-on-michail-antonio-that-west-ham-fans-will-love/amp/ He's literally the main man West Ham are hoping can save them from relegation. "The 29 year old is vitally important to the Hammers.......his return to the team gave West Ham an entirely different facet to their attacking play."

Mulgrew surely. We need his wages off the books. I don't blame him for hanging onto a contact we gave him, but at 33, if he wants to play a bit more football in his career, he needs a fresh start somewhere new.

Legacy was maybe a bit strong. But almost 2 decades as a manager, years served at top level in the Prem, managed one of biggest clubs in UK at Celtic. Not to be sniffed at. Maybe, but what we're doing with him at the moment is a load of "butts"!

And therein lies the problem. I feel like these older school managers like Mowbray, and at top level Mourinho for example, really care what people think of them. They have a legacy to protect, a longstanding career to keep as clean as possible. Whilst the newer managers on the block at top level - Chris Wilder, Nuno Santo, even Dean Smith- I sense they don't give a toss what people think. They're hungry, and willing to sacrifice anything for progress. Even their own reputation, so they take risks. Let's not forget Wilder could be the laughing stock of football if his overlapping centre back thing had backfired. If TM loaned BB out, BB smashed it, got his confidence, and came back beginning next season and hit the ground running, TM would be hailed a genius. But it would take balls, and more importantly, an abandoning of his pride and stubbornness, to make the decision. I just don't think he has it in him.

10 whole years FFS. Champions League, Ronaldinho, Beckham. Talk about smashing your targets. ? Sad thing is I'm not even taking the piss. Genuinely remember watching the live league table and loving it, and then watching the other teams jump above one by one. Which begs the question, who's the biggest clown in all this, them or me. ?

What a few hours that was though right?! My beer tasted sweeter, the air was fresher, the sun was shining, I had a skip in my step. I remember all the hopes and dreams I had during that time. Oh to return to those halcyon days.....

"Mulgrew was definite 1st choice centre back, playing well and responsible for our only attacking threat with his set piece delivery before he got injured. Not sure how he suddenly transforms into a fringe player who was shit just because he left." Not according to them. But who knows, football fans have form for chatting shit. ?

"How many assists did he provide? I must admit I was a bit disappointed with his output from set pieces considering his record apart from that one that hit the post can’t remember him being particularly deadly." From same thread.

"Since Mulgrew signed stats for league games from transfermarkt.com:With Mulgrew in team12 gamesClean sheets 4Goals conceeded 15Wins: 3Draws: 3Loses: 6Win ratio: 25%Clean sheet ratio: 33%Conceed ratio: 1.25Without Mulgrew14 gamesClean sheets: 1Goals conceeded: 24Wins: 1Draws: 4Loses: 9Win ratio: 7%Clean sheet ratio: 7%Conceed ratio: 1.71So no loss in Mulgrew then as we only won more games, conceeded less and kept more clean sheets with him in the team..." From a Wigan messageboard. They're arguing over how big a loss he is to them. Didn't we have similar stats on here that showed the exact opposite for us?!

As of today we are the only team in the Championship with 0 goal difference: 27 played, 35 goals scored and conceded, 37 pts on the board, 5 pts off the playoffs. We really are the steady Eddie's of the league. Those sort of stats rang a bell so I had a look back. Pretty much exactly 6 years ago, 19th Jan 2014 (only 2 teams in league with 0 goal difference): 26 played, 32 goals scored and conceded, 37 pts on the board, 4 pts off the playoffs. The following year, 2nd Feb 2015 (the only team in league with 0 goal difference): 28 played, 38 scored and conceded, 39 pts on the board, 8 pts off playoffs. The next year, 18th Jan 2016 (3 teams with 0 goal difference): 26 played, 23 scored and conceded, 29 pts, miles off playoffs. Sidenote- we finished this season as one of two teams with 0 goal difference, 46 scored and conceded. Summary: Our time in the Championship the last decade, (barring our relegation season), we certainly have been consistant. Consistantly mediocre and mid table. We score goals, we concede goals, pretty much in perfect unison. But just a tweak at either end of the pitch could be the difference that pushes up towards the top 6. Over half a decade later, countless personnel and a few manager changes, I just don't see any signs of that progression being made. Yes, it's good to be stable and clear of the bottom of the table, but at some point the next step needs to be made to push us towards the top end. It's the only way to save the club. At the moment, I just get that groundhog day feeling.

This post finishes off a thread page that has 6 posts from you pretty much reiterating "one opinion". I'm confused. Is that the opinion you want us to stop allowing?