Gamst

How did Henriksson play today? I’m only vaguely interested to know really and I sense my apathy is shared by many as I’ve seldom seen such a quiet match thread.

I don’t mind Val generally. I quite like his honesty and feel he comes across pretty well. My biggest issue with him is how he drinks the club kool-aid and this makes him complicit. I don’t think many managers would be able to perform under these restrictions and Val is either extremely confident in his own ability or just happy to accept a very decent salary. Somehow the club actually did manage to find two managers who were able to perform minor miracles despite the situation, but of course they soon wanted out when they worked out how rotten the club is. Val doesn’t appear to have what it takes, but that’s not really a big criticism as few could. Our squad is also a lot worse than what JDT and JE had to work with. Sacking him would only be rearranging the deck chairs on the HMS Venky.

That escalated quickly! More hard luck stories incoming no doubt. In fairness it will be interesting to see Frank’s assessment as I think every other team has been battered and Norwich rode their luck massively to get a point at Coventry. You do get the distinct feeling that nothing is going for us this season which is often how a relegation season plays out. You reap what you sow.

Did Cov announce their team 15mins early too? Given our lineup reveals an important tactical change going 3 at the back. I don’t know how these things work but maybe the opposition can make a late lineup change given this information? Not that it makes a big difference today like.

Have a strange feeling we might surprise a few today and only lose by 1 or 2 goals.

Good fight back against a strong Stoke team. Expected us to roll over and concede a couple more after their first goal and that certainly didn’t happen. Only a point but it stops the losing run at home and provides a little more hope than the previous 2 matches. The sheff wed draw at home was the spark for a good run last season. It’s nice not to lose or have a late abandonment to ruin the weekend for once!

Really poor tonight. Severe lack of quality all over the park. Apart from Alebiosu the new players didn’t impress. When Tronstad blazed over from the edge of the box there wasn’t a single Swansea player trying to close him down. We lost despite the opposition being poor and disinterested which is a damning sign. Ipswich was an incredibly unlucky incident and it’s clearly knocked any confidence and momentum that we had. The owners and directors deserve every ounce of bad luck they get. The fans don’t deserve it but we have to just hope and pray that each setback is another step closer to a venxit.

Well yes. Something like that. We are not as bad as I expected and are likely to struggle but dead certs for relegation we are not and as usual people make dramatic apocalyptic predictions after a bad defeat. Please don’t mistake me for a happy clapper, I’m appalled at what the club has become but on the pitch I don’t think we’ve been terrible (until today).

It’s been a mixed bag for sure but given the budget squad overhaul I think we’ve not been as rubbish as some expected. Unlucky to get nothing from the Birmingham game and historically unlucky against Ipswich. I do not think we are dead certs for relegation!

People were not saying this after 75mins last week! A poor performance and a deserved defeat but they deserve more of a chance than that!

The further update basically describes the work of a journalist.

I’ve always thought the LT were pretty sympathetic to the club and on the occasions they have been critical it has been entirely deserved. They are not a mouthpiece for the club ultimately. Feel for EJ as he has to thin line the tread between keeping the club onside and reporting the actual events which inevitably reflect poorly on the club. I hope the LT support him as he has a young family and doesn’t deserve to lose his job.

If I were at the club I would be demanding an explanation from the EFL about why the fairest outcome was so impossible to sanction? The EFL statement suggests they’ve ‘comprehensively’ considered all the options and made their decision in order to ‘maintain the integrity of the league’. I would say awarding us the 3 points would be the least fair option followed by the full replay 11v11. Clearly the fairest option would be to play out the remaining minutes 11v10. Surely the fairest option upholds integrity the most? So if they have considered the options ‘comprehensively’ what is it that makes the part replay so impossible to do?

NASA put people into space and the EFL can’t organise a shorter football match.

Really the penalty should carry over. Why be punished for one rule break and not another?

We absolutely should appeal and sue the EFL. This is not like the futile appeal with O’Brien when we just missed the deadline! Due to the weather (drainage issues aside as that’s not the players, fans and coaches fault) we are being negatively impacted and these 3 points could define our season. It’s simply unfair and we should not just take the ruling lying down. Would LFC or Man City accept such an injustice? The EFL claim to have considered all options thoroughly but I fail to see how playing a 15 minute match 10v11 is such a logistical impossibility? How can we be awarded a penalty that now no longer counts? How can the player be suspended if the penalty and yellows no longer count? How are Ipswich being punished for the penalty and yellows now? They broke the rules. Why are the team who face Ipswich next benefiting from the suspension? The EFL shouldn’t need a precedent to do the right thing. If we always needed a precedent then there would never be any progress and as an organisation like the EFL are lacking the courage and imagination to change. They are probably doing this just because they feel it’s the path of least resistance and that is a poor way to run any organisation. They deserve to be sued.

It’s taking them a very long time if their decision is a full replay 11v11. The delay would suggest they are at least considering the options. I said just after the game was abandoned that the sending off and the penalty would make their decision difficult especially considering the precedent where the suspension stands. That’s 2 rule infractions that can’t just be ignored and if you keep the suspension why not keep the penalty and the multiple bookings.

I’d be surprised if they listen but if Nicko is to be believed we are trying to fight our corner and I think that’s a good sign. It’s also good that the EFL are listening to the clubs and allowing them to suggest alternatives. They could have just said straight away that it’s a full replay.

I’m suggesting we appeal and seek legal advice rather than forfeit….although I think I’d prefer a forfeit to losing a replay! Could you imagine Liverpool or Man City accepting such an injustice??

Completely agree. Other teams with promotion hopes will not be happy as a full replay would give Ipswich a massive advantage (as if having their parachute payments isn’t enough of an advantage already…). We should not accept a full replay basically if that’s what the EFL decide.

Whilst I fear you will be right, it would be completely unfair and we would have a strong case for a complaint/litigation especially if it makes a big difference come May! I don’t think this can be compared to any previous events. Has a game ever been called off at 80mins with one team leading and having a man advantage? You can’t go from a win % chance 90% down to ?40% and likely lower by the time the match is replayed. It would be equally unfair to just award us the win when. They have to find a way to play the remaining minutes. I really can’t see how it would be so difficult to arrange and neither side would have a reason to complain.

In fairness to the Venkys, the one thing they are usually quick to do is lawyer up. Look at the O’Brien situation however futile and wasteful it ended up being!

The ref knew the forecast and should have postponed before KO or abandoned at HT when it was 0-0 and 11v11. He made a misjudgement that the pitch would be okay to complete the match and it wasn’t. He represents the EFL so they are not completely devoid of any blame here. Of course when the pitch became waterlogged he was left in a difficult situation and probably had to make the call he did. The ONLY fair conclusion would be to play out the last 10 plus injury time with 11v10. You can never fully match the conditions of the day but this would be far more realistic than restating the whole match 11v11. Clearly just awarding us the 3pts would be very unfair on the opposition….lets be honest, it would be very Rovers to concede one (or 2) in the dying stages against 10 men!

A player could get seriously injured during the first 80 mins of a replay that should be 10 mins long!

Do you really think this will happen?