Tyrone Shoelaces

I don’t know why people are surprised by these results. It happens at the end of every season. Teams that appear to be “ dead and buried “ start fighting for their lives. Tomorrow we get a chance to do the same. Let’s see whether we can do the same.

The Rolling Stones - I Wanna Be Your Man

I got told a long while ago by the Chief Exec at my local Rugby League club - “ never make excuses for the players, as they’ll take them.”

Bruce Springsteen And The E-Street Band - Blinded By The Light

I hate these early kick offs. It just gives them the opportunity to ruin more of your weekend.

Sam Cooke - Bring It On Home To Me

I went to a sportsman’s dinner a while ago were Dean Saunders was the guest speaker. He told tales of Ron Atkinson doing similar things when he was at Villa.

It’s all a joke.

More injuries ? Suspensions ?

Who are the top players ? The best one just left the building recently. How many have we got ? I’d class top players as ones capable of getting us out of this league. I don’t see many of them, unless you count getting out through the back door.

We’re on too much of a knife edge to start bickering internally but when the season is over I’d like to hear some straight talking. Given we haven’t much of that in 14 years I’ll probably be disapointed.

Yeah, 14 years of shit is a long while. Some times you need a break from it. I took a break when they appointed Coyle. I could see where it was heading.

What are the bookies saying now ? Just asking for a friend.

It’s OK slagging the manager off but I doubt very much that he’s telling Hyam - “ The next time you’re chasing a long ball out of defence with a striker breathing down your neck don’t put it row Z, try and get the ball under control and beat the guy “ is he ? Ditto Brittain - “ Don’t volley the ball back up the pitch, miss your kick completely so their guy has a run in on goal “. Making the correct decisions, at speed, under pressure is what separates the good players from the also rans. It’s hard to coach. In rugby league, were you have more opportunity to sub players, anybody making mistakes like that would be subbed off right away. You don’t get the chance to make any more mistakes or play like you’ve just walked from Blackburn to Bristol like some of ours did last.

Sorry, I don’t know how that happened.

“ Nothing to play for “ can work two ways. It also means you start out under no pressure. It’s up to us to provide that pressure. We needed not to let them score. Get our noses in front, make them work, get the home crowd restless. We did none of those things. When you have your captain saying to the opposition striker “ I know you’re having a bad run son, see what you can do with this one “ , you’re making a rod for your own back. Once that one went in the pressure was off their backs and on ours.

Possibly. I know I was less than pleased by his apparent attitude, then to follow it up with the home shambles to the Nobbers !

The Miracles - You Really Got A Hold On Me

The absolute shambles at the dingledome lost him a lot of support. That and the way it was shrugged off as just another game. I know I never had the same confidence in him after that.

Gordon Lightfoot - Early Morning Rain

Letting Wharton go to the first bidder told us all we needed to know. That was the moment our fate was sealed for me. It’s not just about losing our most creative player, it was the message it sent to the rest of the players.

That was when we should have pulled away towards the play off zone and we did the opposite.

Last night was as bad as the defeat at Rotherham last season. That was the pits for me, we were totally out enthused by a team that was workmanlike at the best. We were second best in every aspect of the game. It’s the same old story - go in front and we can give anybody a game - go behind and the wheels fall off big time. I don’t get it, we’ve had this problem for years now and nothing has changed. Players come and go, managers come and go - yet the issue remains the same.

I was thinking about 5 at the back against Leeds . Watching that it still would work ok, we just need another 5 players. Nobody at the back could complain about being dropped after that. Was it Lothar Mathias that once said “ Put them all in a big sack, whack the sack with a big stick, and you wouldn’t be hitting anybody who didn’t deserve it “ ?