13 months Vs 3 years - the point still stands. It's bad when you try defending TM by quibbling over whether another manager has had 12 or 13 months...

It reflects badly on TM either way. If the squad isn't that good what the hell has he been doing the last 3 years. If it is, then they are underperforming. As it is, very few championship clubs are that good and it's about getting the best from limited resources and playing to their strengths and hiding their weaknesses. A lot of limited players in some of the teams above us but they are used effectively. That's the key and not many of ours are. My biggest gripe with TM is the basic mistakes that we make which we really, really shouldn't. Mistakes like just having injury prone centre halves and letting them decide when they play. Playing Gally as a winger which only bares fruit when we are battering teams. Mistakes like letting Nayambe's contract run down. These are mistakes only an amature would make and yet we make them consistently. As for the not beating top 6 etc. all that's happened is we have got more predictable. We have always been inconsistent under TM, now we are just doing what is expected on paper. The predictability is perhaps making things more frustrating but it is no change. The most worrying unchanging thing is no matter whether GB or TM we bottle it when real chances to progress occur. Today would have pushed us up the league, nearish the playoffs. Coincidence that this is a game blown, against a mediocre at best Stoke side? I don't think so.

Hmm, given how Boro and Stoke are now above us with managers with less than 12 months in the role, you do wonder how TM gets such an easy ride after 3 years plus in the role. Some terrible decisions, basic decisions from the manager, which utterly hinder the team. Taking off arguably our best player in Trybull? Playing Gally on the wing? Needs Ng a midfielder at CB? It really doesn't help us whatsoever.

We got a chance to get near playoffs. No wonder we are struggling...

Outscoring them is the only way to win this. I know technically that's how you best all teams, but what I mean is I can't see us keeping it tight and nicking a goal. It's got high scoring written all over it.

I'll be honest in the circumstances Johnson at CB is as good as it gets. Not sure who else would play there given the physicality of Stoke. It also keeps Nayambe in his best position which is another plus. That said, that we have come to this situation is all too predictable and a poor case of squad construction.

But the other 2 missing was very obvious! And after Travis and Dack we really should be aware long term injuries happen. The problem is that going with so many injury prone defenders means that we have no room for error, no margins for any other long term injuries in defence. It's basically having a strategy that hopes nothing bad/unexpected happens and having no room to manovere when it does.

And we are without centre backs. Who would have thought it? Make make no mistake about it, it makes today so much more difficult. Shame as today is shaping up to be a real opportunity for progress.

We may well do. I missed that! Thought Ayala wasn't fit and that's why Williams started? Glad I got that wrong. Yeah it's going to be ok IF those 2 remain fit but it's a hell of an ask. Even before their respective injury records, centre backs pick up cards it's the nature of their position. Factor in the intense load of games this season and I can't see us getting through this period with just 2 centre backs regardless of who they are. So yeah, not a disaster as yet but we are wobbling on the edge of one.

Agree with you that it might be the biggest squad but my word it isn't balanced! 3 injury prone centre backs meant it didn't take much to, as you say strip us bare, and a collection of the worst left backs really doesn't help us. Not sure what I would do to be honest. Are Stoke still quite a physical side? If so me may need as physical a defence as possible, although not sure who that would include. As for longer term we need defensive reinforcements.

We might as well give up then! It's the same for all clubs. Honestly whilst the owners are our curse and burden, fans standards being so low is depressing to see, and seems as though we are condoning the malaise.

Yeah just saw they lost to Preston. How we lost to them is a mystery and a huge mistake. A win there would have made a huge difference for is in the table. It's results like that which are just as costly as not beating the better teams. (Although they are technically about us, although echo the questions as to how.)

You (or someone) mentioned AEW is like mid 90s WCW - will have to give that a try if that's the case as prior to Hogan I really loved that period. I feel the infection is a bit of a slow creep. I didn't really notice any major problems until after the pandemic began. The February Takeover for example was still excellent and I thought the 1.5 hours per week was working well. Since then it's taken some real hits in amongst showing what it was and can be in terms of quality.

Agree we haven't covered a single injury with an additional player except perhaps Trybull for Travis. Cunningham out for the season - we don't replace him. Dack out for the season - we don't get any cover. It's not like these are minor players either but key components of our side. Daft how we don't adjust for them.

That's just under 20% of games missed. Ignoring previous seasons and assuming he can keep this level of fitness what are we going to do for the 1 in 5 he misses? And that's not factoring in how many games are crammed into a shorter space of time, and the attritional effects of this. Nor is it considering our Ayala's fitness record. Let's say Lenihen is fine, what if Ayala isnoutm Nor is it considering that we might get another long term injury like Warton or Travis or Dack.

Oh I don't doubt. My recollection of it is though that a lot of comments about TMs treatment of Nayambe was in response to comments in LT articles that were linked. Again can't be bothered to travel back, however am fairly certain in this case (as I remember reading them!) that TM had commented on Nayambe's performances. I guess it depends on if it is done to all players or just some. IF it is all I would probably agree with you - nothing unfair at all. If only to some, and the worse culprits ignored, it's a different matter. Must have missed the Williams one but outside of that, that's my recollection too. Would also add in Raya, and then very belatedly Walton too. Interesting that Bennett, Smallwood and Mulgrew aren't in that list despite many dire performances. Smacks to me of double standards. Would agree with all this. Agree we don't know the whole story, and there will have been times he needed resting. However I think the poor treatment is a cumulative effect based on all the evidence. You've alluded to yourself that some players avoid criticism, we both agree he is the best right back at the club, Williams and Ayala have been thrown in when scarcely fit.l, some of the reasons given for his omission are laughable. All of which together suggests poor treatment. Any one would be a tad tenuous I agree but all 3/4 strands together and it doesn't look good at all.

You are asking me to go through three years plus of match interviews? No chance. Doesn't mean the evidence isn't there but that I have a life. The examples.have been stated as being called out in the press, assumed that's common knowledge and has been discussed regularly on here, poor reasons for being dropped (see just a couple of posts above for specifics) and lesser players playing e.g. Caddis. That's a fair bit of evidence. If you want to check Nayambe's criticisms in the press Vs Bennett say that's fine by me. If you won't accept any evidence until a link has been posted I think there wouldn't be much conversation on this board or in the pub for that matter (when w are allowed back in).

Which bit aren't you buying? I mean I appreciate its different but I cannot see anyone being happy with being called out by their boss when others aren't, nor not being given important pieces of work because of spurious reasons. Do you really think numbers too high and low on confidence are good reasons to drop a player?.I'd also be peeved in work if weaker colleagues gor opportunities I didn't. Genuinely I don't think many people would be happy in that environment.

See it's things like this make me certain that we are going nowhere under TM. If Coyle had come out with this garbage all fans would be jumping on it/him and rightly so. It's so bloody stupid. It's beyond basic. The guy who manages to see something in Bereton when everyone else (me included doesn't) gets Armstrong into a top Championship forward, makes the most stupid idiotic mistakes I wouldn't expect a Sunday League manager to make. Comments and decisions like this are gross incompetence.

Yes those two decisions alone show it clearly is poor treatment of Nayambe. And the Williams and others playing when not fully fit kiboshes any idea of it being solely fitness related. And if you go back even further what about when Caddis was preferred? You'd also have a hard time justifying the criticism of Nayambe in the press compared to other players. I get not looking for a stick to beat the manager with but I think his treatment of Nayambe is probably one of his clearer cut mistakes.

You cannot have 3 of 4 centre backs injury prone and say you are well covered there. Even before one off events like Warton's injury (shame as he may turn out to be the best of them long term) which can and do happen you are massively gambling that at least 2 of the 3 stay fit. Factor in those one off injuries, suspensions, personal circumstances and it's a receipe for disaster. I'm no mathematician but the odds of having 2 of the 3 available for most of the season is limited in the extreme. Oh then there's the fact it's a shortened season due to Covid increasing the likelihood of injuries and fatigue. That's only going to make the odds of the 3 being fit enough even less. And we haven't even started to talk about quality. Imo Williams isn't that good. He can have a cracking game at CB (and has) but he is just as capable of a stinker too. Not good enough imo. In short we really need a centre back. Then there's the left back situation. Goodness when you aren't sure if Bell or Douglas is better then you have a world of problems. At least most of our centre backs are decent when fit. Our left backs are absymal. Got to say Douglas surprised me as on paper he was a good signing. But then so was Bell when we got him too. Neither are up to it and it's a massive weakness in the team we can't afford to carry. So a left back is needed too. Then there's the minor detail of cover for Nayambe. It isn't Buckley and JRC is injured. (Anyone know how long for?) So we are short at rb if Nayambe is out too. Our defence is really held together with sticky tape. Build from the back? Out foundations are on sand. Thank goodness the keeper situation is sorted.

Not a bit of it. It's clearly a TM issue. He's been dropped.for Bennett, Caddis and JRC - two of whom have no right to be near the first 11. He's been called out for mistakes in public when defensive colleagues (Bennett and Muklgrew) have not been criticised at all. And he was even dropped at one point for - I forget the exact quote - playing a lot of games. None of which suggests TM values him whatsoever. As for the game where to start. Terrible performance by all accounts but perhaps the most vital 3 points to date as it keeps us with some hopes (still slim imo) of making playoffs. More poor performances like that though and we will get punished. It seems to me that TM deserves huge credit for finding and/or utilising match winners - Graham, Mulgrew (in league 1) Dack (both) Armstrong and Elliott. It is a big bonus having players who can win you games with their talent even when you are playing well. I am however getting rather worried that we seem to consistently rely on this. From league 1 to now we don't half seem to get bailed out by our stars rather than playing well. It seem to me that we are far too overreliant on this.

We can't do it against the good teams. Rotherham aren't a good team. Therefore Rovers will win. And if we don't there really isn't much cause for optimism whatsoever. However I am fully expecting a rampant win to get us long suffering fans hopes up again.

It's not that NXT is bad (imo) it's just not great like it was. There's still a ton of talent and some interesting storylines. Personally I like Gargano as a heel, the women's division is so stacked with any number of women who could be pushed as the main woman, and they still have a ton of good matches. NXT had been hurt by 2 circumstances which have been beyond their control. 1) The pandemic and losing a crowd which has reduced the atmosphere and reaction and generally lowered the quality of matches and angles all round. 2) Two charismatic champions, one who is very talented, have been injured taking the NXT title out of the picture. Neither are their fault and both have massively weakened the product. That said they are making basic errors which NXT was known not to have. Wrestlers turning too quickly making no sense whatsoever. Priest for example turned face a month after attacking Balor with no reason for the change. Champa has turned a couple of times very quickly in the past few months. All of which is terrible storytelling. Going along with this is wrestling amnesia. Angles, actions as heels, there's a ton of stuff which is forgotten quickly. Fans however do remember and when the past doesn't matter it's hard to care. The speed of which things happen is also far too quick. Not just turns but storylines in general. There's no slow build any more. Watching 2014-15 NXT the matches are nowhere near as good (bar main events and take overs) but the product hooked you in with good storytelling. Speaking of storytelling some of the storylines are childish. We had a wargames match for the women which whilst very good, was over a crushed miniature tank. Or take an example from a couple of Takeovers ago Balor Vs Thatcher. Balor was angry Thatcher interfered in a North American qualifying match. Decent storyline until you consider 3 other people interfered in the match devaluing Thatcher's involvement. It's basic stuff NXT avoided which made it a better product. It's not irredeemable and it's worth remembering that February's Takeover was great and such good quality. It's also worth remembering the many quality matches they still serve up. But the trajectory needs to change or it will eventually become mediocre and no different from the rest and it'll be panning for gold in the mud.

Think BDS gives some of my response. I don't think it helped that Walton was in goal, he was terrible with a lot of goals attributable to his individual errors. There was a fair number of clean sheets and positive reviews of him so I think there are some signs Lenihen can be good enough.