Yes. It is. How do you spin against my initial post about the teams doing better than us? Aliens did it? Fake news? MSM? Will of the people?

Copy/Paste from another thread... for balance... I’ve not been dropping into the forum as much recently because there seems to be a disease going round that gives you the memory of a goldfish and a mind, when decided, as impenetrable as Fort Knox. Place is getting toxic and infecting the otherwise sound-minded. My view: We have just been promoted (net spend last 4 seasons circa minus £30m?) In between us and the play offs are the following teams - Bristol City - Doing well, steady. Middlesbrough - Parachute Payments = massive wages and quality squad  Nottingham Forest - £23m net spend this season alone. Preston North End - Doing well. Well done them. Sheffield Wednesday - Spent about £40m and stupid wages in the past couple of years Hull City - Parachute payments = massive wages Brentford - Solid. Well run. Something to aspire to. 3 points in front of us. Stoke City - Premier League squad/wages and parachutes from last season. Swansea City - ditto We’ve just been promoted. Get a fucking grip lads. I almost don’t know what else I have to say. - Christ alive you lot are almost giving me faith in the owners! They now know more about football than the forum!

I’m not wearing this kind of absolute bollocks. I’ve not been dropping into the forum as much recently because there seems to be a disease going round that gives you the memory of a goldfish and a mind, when decided, as impenetrable as Fort Knox. Place is getting toxic and infecting the otherwise sound-minded. My view: We have just been promoted (net spend last 4 seasons circa minus £30m?) In between us and the play offs are the following teams - Bristol City - Doing well, steady. Middlesbrough - Parachute Payments = massive wages and quality squad Nottingham Forest - £23m net spend this season alone. Preston North End - Doing well. Well done them. Sheffield Wednesday - Spent about £40m and stupid wages in the past couple of years Hull City - Parachute payments = massive wages Brentford - Solid. Well run. Something to aspire to. 3 points in front of us. Stoke City - Premier League squad/wages and parachutes from last season. Swansea City - ditto We’ve just been promoted. Get a fucking grip lads. I almost don’t know what else I have to say. Apart from - I thought we played really well second half.

They’re a point off the play-offs! Who do they think they are? Worse than you lot ?

To go against the grain slightly... He’s still very raw. Not saying he shouldn’t be starting to iron that out or improve us, mind. He’s got quality on the ball, and a fantastic ability to go past people, good passing etc. But everything, all the time, is just 100mph. I know it might be the desire to impress that puts this into his game, but if he could just slow it down sometimes (as Dack does well), just take his time and use his passing and ability when it matters then I think he’d find himself running down less blind alleys and out of position or in less situations where he gives away a daft ball by overplaying. Time on the ball is something the really good players look like they always have - in my opinion Joe always, and I mean always, looks panicked.

I just think that’s a stretch. He’s played just over 10% of the league minutes for Bristol City since he joined them. I know everyone’s looking for a new angle on the “Mowbray is thick” thing but I genuinely don’t share the opinion that Palmer leaving hurts us in any way. As for Lambert, what an incredible charlatan. You wouldn’t mind him reaching for the rubber dinghy so often if he was actually any bloody good. Look up “self preservation” in the dictionary and you’ll see a picture of our Paul “I met Jurgen Klopp“ Lambert.

Wouldn’t be against dropping Armstrong for a bit tbh, or ideally play him up front, if it can get a Rothwell or Chapman in the side.

Yeah, me too. At least he’s played more than Palmer who you’ve got the inexplicable glad eye for!

I’d rather have Rothwell

He’s only played 171 league minutes out of a possible 990 since joining them you know. Lets not pretend he’s pulling any trees up, as he didn’t here.

First half was terrifying, and we were piss poor. Bennett at CM made me rethink my criticism of Evans. Should not play there. Armstrong missed a golden chance before the subs but after that we played a lot better and knocked it about nicely. Rothwell and BB made a difference to our approach - D & G didn’t have bad games really, just think we need to be a bit cuter than hoofy hold up play and knock downs against quality 6’5 defenders and with players like McGinn buzzing around. Replace Mulgrew & the departing Reed, get some more defenders in and I still think we can be a decent outfit. Overall: certainly not good, but not too bad. I 100% expected worse from Villa Park with their team and form and the way we’ve been going lately. Move onwards and hopefully upwards. Let’s experiment a bit more with the lineups. But not with Bennett at CM.

Would snatch your hand off for a draw right now. Would even be happy to see the defenders just jump tbh Villa 0 - 3 Rovers Brereton hat trick

CHO looks the real deal to me. Only just gone 18 really. Fun and exciting to watch England again, but the abhorrent racist abuse will probably overshadow a good performance. Fair play, as usual, to Sterling for calling it out. Turning into a leader that lad. ?

Update: she’s on the wine, he’s having tea. Could spill it on himself and get burnt the irresponsible sod.

Any report of Dack bending his knees again or pointing at a girl's arse?

It’s hardly irrelevant when we are talking about the things that went wrong, what we can improve and where we might be going. Shall we sack everyone in the squad? Continue just lumping it forward blindly or see that we have the ability to pass it and work with that? Sign players that might suit? Keep players or give those that played well more game time? How can you think that positives are immaterial when discussing a blummin football match? Sort our embarrassingly shambolic defence out and it could be seen as evidence that we have the bones of a team that can hurt decent sides by playing a passing game. Fair play if you don’t want to talk about it, but your comment contributes zilch. I know wE lOsT!!? but please excuse those of us that are trying to look further than the end of our blood vessel bust noses from the last 90 minutes and attempt to express things in less binary terms. Cheers.

Every wide player in the world has defensive responsibilities. I like Rothwell, but if he consistently finds himself robbed down blind alleys and we’re being countered, should we not at least expect the effort to get back?

I was in a beery haze but I did wonder where the hell Rothwell was for the first and last goals that we conceded. Probably still running forwards into blind alleys rather than getting back to help. Anyway, my report: I don’t want to see Derek Williams ever again, and our defending is a disgrace. Played some nice stuff though. Bloody hate Wednesday.

Needs a scan for ability. And a full x-ray to find an ounce of desire.

And if it wasn’t from a last minute worldie we’d have beat him at Ewood.

I certainly did. But I am daft as a brush.

Good points, as usual well made. I think what I’m post-publy getting at is that I really don’t think we can have expected or “demanded” a playoff push. We may have spent money , but throwing more on the fire in January wasn’t a sensible move for me. We just aren’t good enough throughout yet. Who’s “fault” or failing that is is almost a separate conversation, and for me it is too early to point fingers during what I think can still shape up to be a relatively successful season. But I suppose you all know I think that already!

Yeah but it wouldn’t have meant playoffs imo

Will hold you to that.

I must have missed that memo. What was the budget @Stuart? If it was enough to plug the glaring inadequacies in the squad then you must be more optimistic about the team than me!