WHO'S TO BLAME?

[Max]

Despite the efforts of one poster in particular to attempt to shoehorn it into that single issue, I was never convinced it was solely down to that prospectus (more than anything I was saying people were too hasty in writing it off as insignificant). At the time I repeatedly referred to the Richard Wood contract saga, the treatment of Francis Jeffers after his red card in the League Cup and potentially other factors that we might be currently unaware of as perhaps producing a cumulative effect. And the chairman tacitly hinted at this too in his New Year message by referring to otherwise unspecified 'issues' that had not been resolved by Laws. Whatever happened, it was sudden, catastrophic and we have not recovered fully from it.

There's thousands of other issues as well, most of which we, as fans, probably have no idea of. We have no idea what went on on the training ground, in the dressing room, or meeting rooms, we have no idea what the players, or manager, or staff took from the fans, and it goes on.

What I think can be safely said though, is that this summer is one of those few occasions where we don't necessarily need to look back in order to go forward. We have an opportunity, relegated or not, afforded to us by a new manager and a huge dismantling of the squad, and by the Chairman and (depending on their mood) the fans, to look at what happens next.

My worry is less that we get relegated - that we can overcome in time. My worry is that, come 3rd May, and then come the beginning of August, we're still arguing. We're still saying "oh, but you didn't do this", and "he should've done that". And then where are we? There are plenty of things our recent and less recent past can tell us about how to solve the problems at this club, but while we're all stuck in the mindset that we need to blame people, and we need to argue, and there needs to be one person, or one thing that is the most important factor, we're going to go rumbleing nowhere.

[mcmigo]

Despite the efforts of one poster in particular to attempt to shoehorn it into that single issue, I was never convinced it was solely down to that prospectus (more than anything I was saying people were too hasty in writing it off as insignificant). At the time I repeatedly referred to the Richard Wood contract saga, the treatment of Francis Jeffers after his red card in the League Cup and potentially other factors that we might be currently unaware of as perhaps producing a cumulative effect. And the chairman tacitly hinted at this too in his New Year message by referring to otherwise unspecified 'issues' that had not been resolved by Laws. Whatever happened, it was sudden, catastrophic and we have not recovered fully from it.

Laws changed this season, and I would love to know why and whether the Board had anything to do with it.

Laws was brought in originally on a ticket of Clough style football and management - but the reality was we actually were pretty tight and defensive. Remember, our defensive record at home last season was exceptional. The great run we had under Laws in 2006/2007 we were not hammering teams in the main but playing some steady, defensive stuff with a bit of flair every now and then. The times we blew teams away under Laws before this season - especially away - we hit teams on the break after playing pretty tightly. Burnley away, Leicester away (twice) are examples of this.

This season we were a different animal and you could tell that from the opening game. At no point under Laws did I see us winning 1-0 this season. For some reason Laws changed the way we played and must have changed the way he coached the team. It can only be down to:

1. Laws felt playing in the style we had would only get us to mid table again so gambled on a more attacking style

2. The message from above was to entertain to bring the fans back so he set us up to be more attacking.

3. He thought having better players would mean we could play a more expansive style of football.

Whatever the reason - it didnt work. He made the same noises about attacking football when he took over at Burnley and it is having the same results.

[edinburghowl]

I dont think one specific can be blamed, its several factors.

1. Brian Laws - lost it tactically and in the dressing room. Played poor players consistantly, and should have walked/been sacked earlier

2. Players - Although you cant blame the likes of JOC who just isnt good enough, certain other players have lacked commitment and fight week in week out.

3. Lee Strafford - Cricised fans after scunny game and serious changed the mood in the fan based after an excellent performance which i think was reflected onto the pitch. I also think the handling of the Wood situation annoyed certain players still at the club, their love for Wood was very evident the other week. He also possibly could have sacked Laws earlier (very difficult decision though) and bought back the band.

4. The band - Creates a poo poo atmosphere at hillsborough and players despise playing in front of that monotone crap week in week out, and again that reflects on to the pitch IMO. The atmos at hillsborough was just starting to recover (slow process) after years of being killed by the band, but now, nobody makes any noise, the band are at least partly responsible for this.

I agree with most of that. I think you've been harsh on JOC though. Most importantly we can still get out of it yet. If we do there is no need to blame anyone other than Laws for even putting us in the situation in the first place.

Laws as manager and being in charge of the playing staff is obviously responsible.

The players not being good enough are responsible.

Strafford should have sacked Laws earlier.

And I also agree with the band comment. They definitely want binning again next season, or at least having a proper vote for ST holders where the answer is purely (YES) or (NO).

[pgmetcalf]

Like I said, what's the point in looking to point the finger when it isn't going to change the situation immediately?

[edinburghowl]

Like I said, what's the point in looking to point the finger when it isn't going to change the situation immediately?

I agree. However if it does happen then people need to be made accountable. We need to focus on making sure it doesn't happen.

[boxing_day]

I agree with most of that. I think you've been harsh on JOC though. Most importantly we can still get out of it yet. If we do there is no need to blame anyone other than Laws for even putting us in the situation in the first place.

Laws as manager and being in charge of the playing staff is obviously responsible.

The players not being good enough are responsible.

Strafford should have sacked Laws earlier.

And I also agree with the band comment. They definitely want binning again next season, or at least having a proper vote for ST holders where the answer is purely (YES) or (NO).

Yeah i probably was harsh on JOC, but i just think he's an example of a player, who tries and clearly cares, but ulimately isnt good enough IMO. Others do have the ability and havent put a shift in!

I'd like a vote on the band by season ticket holders, i think that would have a clear winner.

[Guest thetruthisoutthere]

Puma are to blame......if they had delivered enough replica kits on time we would have raised an extra 5 million through shirt sales and Mr Laws could have blown it all in the January transfer window.....with £5 million extra i reckon even our Bri could have kept us up........having said that we would be stuck with the guy for another season

Still it's not over yet we just might pull off the great escape

[RichSheffWeds]

The factors for me:-

30% our whole situation/politics/infighting/debt etc

30% Laws - bottom line (after doing a decent job until the summer) he bought the wrong players, gave us a midfield full of lightweights and midgets, and lost the dressing room to the point we were getting thrashed week in, week out.

40% Playing staff - Spineless barstewards (with the odd exception) who make me puke.

Other teams have a similar (if not lower) budget and manage to compete due to a spirit and attitude which our players just do not have.

Edited April 7, 2010 by RichSheffWeds

[Jim]

I believe the chairman should've sacked Laws after the 4-1 defeat at Watford. It was quite clear after that performance the players had stopped playing for him/respecting him? Laws on the touchline that night looked like a beaten man/a man who had lost the plot? Having decided to give him longer the WBA game should've been the final straw. We could've lost that game like the one at Newcastle under Danny Wilson but fortunately WBA took their foot off the pedal and let us off. I don't think he'd have been sacked when he was but for the demeanour in Laws' post match interview after Leicester, it obviously got through to the chairman a change had to be made. I also genuinely believe the chairman would've kept Sean McAuley in charge to the end of the season at least had his 2nd time in charge as caretaker had been as succesfull as the first?

The appointment of Alan Irvine was one at the time I was unsure of. Not much experience as a manager but a seemingly top class track record as a coach. I thought Preston along with Sflaphorpe and of course ourselves are the worst 3 teams I had seen down at S6 up to his appointment, so the appointment seemed a strange one to me. To Irvine's credit he's managed to get more out of this squad than Laws has and may yet keep us up. If he succeeds then he deserves all the credit I'm sure he will get. That said Preston Fans were muttering much the same about Irvine after his sacking at Deepdale as we were about Laws, Poor Signings, Poor Tactics, etc. So whether he's the man to finally crack it at S6 probably depends on Investment?!?!

The players in the main haven't been good enough this season but ultimately the squad is not big enough and as a result doesn't have the strength or quality in depth in order for whoever is in charge to make necessary changes. So what we've had are players who should've been dropped yonks ago continuing to get a shirt when their level of performance probably hasn't deserved one? I've lost count of the amount of times we've hit the woodwork, at Hillsboro alone it must be in to double figures? Some refereeing decisions have beggared belief countless stonewall penalties being denied, the handball incidents at Watford and Ipswich, Varney being blatantly shoved to the floor in the box against Leicester, Purse being brought down in the box the other day against Bristol City. The pen given against Purse for handball at Forest when it hit his back. The disallowed Leon Clarke goal at Coventry, I've seen it several times and can't seen any contact between Tudgay and the Coventry defender. People will say you don't get decisions at the bottom but the standard of refereeing this season has beggerd belief, it really has. Any 50-50 decision more often than not seems to go against us, the amount have times Tudgay's been pushed off the ball when challenging for an header and he doesn't get a free-kick but we only have to fart on a opposition player and they seem to get one straight away.

In summary it's not just down to one particular factor or person why we find ourselves in the mess we are currently in. I'm sure some of the people in charge at S6 would point the finger at us fans for not coming through the turnstiles in greater numbers? Greater number's would bring in more revenue to bring in better players, wouldn't it? They would say? Can we argue with any real conviction that they are or wrong. All I know for certain is that I've bought my ST for next season and I'm totally Sh!tting Bricks that it will be an ST for League 1 football. I very much hope it's not.

[Guest oliver666]

There appears to be a overall attack on Brian Laws now he has gone. Where were the rumblings whilst he was in charge at Hillsboro. There was never a supporters revolt in the stands like 'Laws out' etc. We all have opinions of where the blame lies for this situation but I would like to ask one question to a person who really should provide answer.

MR STRAFFORD, WHERE DO YOU THINK THE PROBLEM/BLAME LIES. I have no doubt you have read these posts, and , I would be interested in your expert opinion.

[DJMortimer]

That said Preston Fans were muttering much the same about Irvine after his sacking at Deepdale as we were about Laws, Poor Signings, Poor Tactics, etc.

I don't tend to take such comments too seriously. Even Ferguson and Wenger have had similar criticisms thrown at them many times in the past. Much of the time it's just the mindless reaching into the bottomless bag of football fan cliches with little ability to back up their opinion with any meaningful detail. 'No plan B' is one that has become particularly fashionable of late, and not just talking about Brian Laws.

[Guest Ameezy]

There's a few culprits for me - in order of blame factor for this season...

1. Brian Laws. It was only very recently that I started to realise the mess he'd created. I know we had no money at the start of the season but to leave us with only one truly flair player (JJ), a refusal to consider the thought that Tommy Spurr is not a left back, the whole Richard Wood affair (massive destabilising effect on the team, the defence in particular) and signing Warren Feeney on loan when he was clearly no better than Akpo or Clarke means we were in a mess before the fight was needed.

2. Darren Potter. For someone who's supposed to be a 'playmaker' and force the game I've never seen someone so behind the play. BL's insistence that he was in the starting eleven was pretty remarkable and Irvine's obviously come to realise that he isn't good enough now he's been swapping him for Soares (not that this has worked out but hey, give the bloke credit for trying). He doesn't inspire confidence in the players or the fans and yet holds pretty much the key position in the team.

3. Marcus Tudgay. For all his talk at the start of the season this man has completely sold us down the river. He's not arsed. Irvine seems to be trying to get him to help out defensively (I'm not sure why - Purse and Beevers have been solid in the air for the last 10 games or so) when a set-piece is against us, but when on the attack he doesn't engage at all. He's happy to lay off the ball from a throw or a short pass but rarely bursts in to the box to get onto the return as a striker of his 'quality' should be doing. It might sound crazy to say this but I think the other 10 players are carrying him. He was also indirectly the catalyst for the Richard Wood affair, as his high (and in hindsight unjustified) wages sparked off Wood to ask for better terms.

4. Richard Wood. Yes, he was one of the best players last season. Yes he's given plenty of service to the club, and yet - he clearly didn't fancy the fight we've faced financially and on the pitch for the last few years, preferring to look elsewhere - so why put us through the emotional mangle and tear the dressing room apart?

However, if you want to look long term, you can't look past one man.

Dave Richards. Cursed be his name, we are still paying the price for his half-arsed attempt to make us a presence in the top division, neither committing to spending truly big and going for the glory (a la Chelsea, a team who 15 years ago were not that different in size nor stature from us) or creating a stable base on which our Premiership status would be safe (a la Everton, Aston Villa or Blackburn, the likes of which we were easily mixing it with in the early Premiership years).

[oh_weds_we_love_you]

Attaching blame serves no purpose.

Accept the situation, learn from the mistakes and be stronger next season - regardless of the league we're in.

[muzworker]

Does it matter how we got here????

All that matters is how we get out of it, Blame will do nothing but harm.....mistakes have been made, the true measure of the club(and its board and manangement on & off the field) is how we move forward from the mistakes, that have been made by past & present boards and management.

[edinburghowl]

Attaching blame serves no purpose.

Accept the situation, learn from the mistakes and be stronger next season - regardless of the league we're in.

Blame is perhaps the wrong word. However, people in positions of responsibility should be made accountable for their failures and their actions.

[mcmigo]

We have not had a pot to wee wee in for a whole decade. When by managerial miracle we happen to find a decent footballer for free we sell them anyway.

All managers at this club has overachieved aside from Turner, Laws included.

[Rodger Wylde]

Easy one this.

Apparently its the fans' fault. You see if you dont turn up and shout, cheer and encourage, then our squad of grown men earning a relative fortune just wont want to play!

Nope, they will just jog around, sulk and not try until they are called in for their tea.

So there, according to quite a few on here, its the fans fault. Hope you can live with yourselves. Just look what youve done to our babies!

[gurujuan]

It amazes me how people blame the players and yet defend the the manager, saying he has not had the budget needed. Surely if he hasn't a pot to wee wee in , as it were, then the calibre of player he can obtain will be sub standard. However if we feel that we have genuinely underperformed, then surely everyone is collectively responsible. If we are relegated the chairman, the board, the manager, the coaching staff and the players will all be culpable in my eyes, because even with our limited resources, its clear we will have underachieved massively.

[victorturner]

It cannot be the fans' fault. They are merely the customers and supporters of what is provided. They cannot provide.

Dave Richards among other trhings destroyed di Canio's value.

I liked Ameezy's post

[jasper]

Easy one,the people who hide behind LS and NP are fully to blame for the continued demise of our club,'allegedly'