Its irrelevant how those points were picked up, we finished 8th and accumulated 69 points over the course of the season. We won 5 out of 6 prior to the international break as opposed to the 6 out of 6 we won prior to new year last season, no one would ever cut this years run of form out. Kaminski, Pickering, Brereton, Gallagher, Wharton, Travis and Buckley were all regulars last season, not even factoring in Ayala and Dolan. The 3 out of contractors were replaced to the cost of £4m ish in the summer. We also didn't have Carter here last season, he is a different player after a loan spell in League 1 where he excelled. Dack wasn't fit to start a single game last season. We also have signed a couple of extra loans. We also crucially replaced a manager we all agreed couldn't push us on with an upgrade.

Exactly. Unsubstantiated gossip that doesn't add up. Literally just parroting what Tomasson has said. It wasn't a mess. It finished 8th, and the 3 players that left with no return were then replaced with 3 signings for whom we paid fees for. Brereton having the season of a lifetime wasn't some freak occurance, he had massively improved the season before but we played a tactic last season that got the best out of him. Tomasson has struggled to play a way that is quite as suited to him but he is still easily our top scorer and he has still been good enough to earn a move to a top La Liga club. We all agreed that Mowbray needed to go, he couldn't take us any further and the point of Tomasson was to take us on to that next level. As the table stands, barring another collapse, we are in the top 6 which would be doing just that.

I was very downbeat after Sheffield United. We were 10 minutes from Wembley and we couldn't see it through. Point being, even if you are perpetualy "positive." Surely you can at least slightly understand why people are concerned and fearful. Most of the same players were here when we fell away last season. We nearly got to Wembley and we let that slip away at the end. Now, we have been in the top 6 for most of the season and now have lost 2 on the bounce (with poor performances to boot) since the 2 week break. It is understandable why many are fearful that we will again throw away a good position as we approach the final hurdles. If we win on Monday, the mood will change massively. But as it is, so close to the end of the season after 2 losses and with recent disappointment fresh in the mind, the fear and concern is understandable. I know the support was good. I don't get why you needed to mention that people need to get behind the team, that is already happening.

Hasn't been a lucky general in his first 3 jobs. Well, aside from being lucky to actually get the jobs.

They do need a manager, but ideally one who is competent, not one sacked for doing a shit job at a relegation rival. I don't know, can't proclaim to have a knowledge of managers especially across Europe. But there has to be a better option. If there isn't until the summer, get Big Sam in to keep them up.

Most of the squad is the same as last year, with some changes (Hyam for Lenihan, Brittain for Nyambe, Szmodics for Rothwell) admittedly. If we fall out of the play offs this season and have a similar season to last season, say we finished 8th again. Both of the last 2 seasons would represent solid seasons in terms of league position, but hitting that same ceiling of not being able to see through a very good position. But how could we expect anything different to happen even if we were again doing well come this time next season? Even with a couple of extra players and maybe a couple more graduates. I don't get why people expected us to be lower down this season with a similar squad and a manager who we brought in to push us on.

😂 some of the decision making at the top of even big Premier League clubs is truly remarkable.

But he didn't "know the club" at Everton. An inability to man-manage and to improve players surely is neither here nor there.

It would get everyone significant pay rises if we was to get promoted. I can't fathom how anyone can imply that it is not in everyones best interests to get to the Premier League. If you think that there genuinely is a culture on the ground that is opposed to a comfort zone smashing promotion, then how have our absent owners who you go out of your way to defend not managed to try and fix that in over a decade? You still speak of them as innocent bystanders. And where are these changes?

He may well come across them. I am just struggling to grasp that if Josh merely says that Adam Wharton is a good player to them for example, that those players then respond to essentially a stranger by going into detail listing examples of a lack of professionalism off the pitch. And on the off chance that they do, they themselves are being unprofessional by happily telling randomers such information!

Last season, we were in an even better position and fell away. Three games ago, we had a potential trip to Wembley a game away and also were in an excellent position following a good run of form. Since, we messed up that chance of an FA Cup semi final despite being 2-1 up with 10 minutes to go, and have since come back from the 2 week break by putting in two awful performances (in line with some of the earlier in the season no shows prior to things just appearing to click) leading to 2 losses. Surely even you can appreciate why people might start worrying that we might get a season of de ja vu, of being in an excellent position and it fizzling away? The team is being backed, we had a big crowd yesterday and contrary to some idiots, our away followings have been tremdendous. That backing is there and when people criticise on here, it doesn't warrant the "back the team" comments. They are being backed.

What makes you say that he did, bar rumours on here most of which generally are a load of shite? He wanted to sell Rothwell to sign 2 players, not fitting with a man who didn't want money to spend. He turned a couple of kids on loan down, he admitted so, but other than that.

No, I had a similar opinion. Not worth getting wound up over and micro analysing. May aswell be reading from a script, just typical cliches and trying to dampen expectations. I didn't doubt that he has run into them. More that why would they discuss team mates to such a degree to people they don't know much if at all which highlights various examples of unprofessionalism? Reminds me a bit of when Paul Mani was saying that Rothwell's dad was telling everyone on the train that Mowbray had a move lined up last summer and was trying to tap up all of our out of contract players with quadrupled wages or whatever it was.

His quotes throughout the season have been similar. Project/journey talk and bigging up our opposition and what we are up against. Managerial spiel.

But still, for them to sell their team mates down the river by listing unprofessional traits willingly to strangers.

I don't get what relevance that has to players actively telling fans they dont know about how their team mates train and their lack of discipline.

Yeah I am. Even if I bumped into one of the first team players though, which has never happened, I suspect that they wouldn't openly tell me about the discipline of other players.

I don't think Morton is comparable to Mola in that in an area of weakness, unfortunately Morton is needed and I would personally say he is probably better than Garrett. But he certainly shouldn't be playing anywhere near as often as he has been. He was again ineffective today, Mola is levels below which is saying something.

Where do you meet numerous players on a regular basis?

Why would they tell you that? And how?

Tomasson has definitely not been aided by poor recruitment by Broughton. In midfield, we needed experience. Broughton opted for Morton who is not what we needed (ie young and not very good) and compounded it by failing to strengthen in January, the O'Brien fiasco being key. Up front, our main target only lasted until January because he was so shit and then he failed to bring in any one else. Hyam has been a very good signing, Szmodics has grown into an important player and we also got an injury prone squad player at full back and an additional joker in Mola. That being said, that doesn't excuse a quite frankly embarassing record from losing positions, 1 point (from a bad goalkeeping error) is simply not good enough and will always create a ceiling on what we can achieve.

Kaminski Brittain Hyam Wharton Pickering Travis Wharton Dolan Szmodics Rankin Costello Brereton Subs: Pears, Carter, Hedges, Gallagher, Morton, Leonard, Garrett

This Sunderland v Hull game is brilliant. Mowbray has twice got them ahead from losing positions.

Would you start Gallagher then?! A huge weakness of Tomasson is dealing with going a goal down. He cannot get us back in games.

Your logic is utterly bizarre. He failed last time hence why he got sacked. Merely knowing the club is no substitute for being a competent manager.