Irvine's negativity will relegate us

[BIG D]

AI - 27 points from 21 games

Previous 11 games - 3 points

[DJMortimer]

Irvine can't be judged on this squad. The fact is they played the 1st 60 mins much better than at any time this season under Laws. What let them down is their composure. We don't have the experience in midfield to hold things together and after O'connors yellow we were much less effective.

1 win in 10 games.

Speaks for itself.

Look at the job Peter Shreeves did when he took over Paul Jewell's rock bottom squad of teenagers and pub players. Ron Atkinson replacing David Pleat? Paul Sturrock taking over from Chris Turner? Brian Laws when Luggy was dismissed? And that's at just one club in the last 15 years. Remember the remarkable transformations at Crystal Palace and Sunderland that saw teams in the bottom three getting promoted? This season Reading might have done the same if they had a few more games to play with.

We didn't need a once-in-a-lifetime miracle. We were three points adrift when Irvine arrived, we've clawed back 2 of those points in 21 games.

[DJMortimer]

IIRC Burnley were 14th when Brain took over and have taken 7 points since ( they were on 20 before).

They were dropping like a stone, winning just 1 in 12 before he arrived.

We were three points adrift when Irvine arrived, now it's one point. Hardly epic is it?

Laws has been a hopeless failure - AI hasn't.

What if he keeps us up?

Both have won just 2 of their last 14 games.

If we stay up we can thank our lucky stars.

[canyoujust]

Irvine shows a remarkable lack of innovation , tactical nous and an ability to drive his players.

How Tudgay has kept his place week in week out beggars belief and teh complacency is there for all to see.

As much as we all laughed at Burnley appointing a manager after getting the sack w were/are no better and our respective positions and performances show this.

If we do go down i see no immediate return under such a drab style of management / football.

Apart from the first 3-4 games the effect of Irvine has been non existent

[BIG D]

Let's get Laws back then

ffs

[SiJ]

We ain't good enough.

Not sure if Irvine is either.

[DJMortimer]

Let's get Laws back then

ffs

Flounce.

[RobHowe]

Let's get Laws back then

ffs

Was Irvine the only option?

[Guest Sheff Owl]

Irvine has had 23 games, in ANY of them have we actually thought flip it "lets go for it"?

We have just seemed to plod along through the games, making the same changes like for like, i always said this what's wrong with not taking a Defender off and getting a Striker on and having them all on, instead of Striker off, Striker on.

IMO no it's not Irvines buys BUT has he done everything possible to win games? i don't think so.

[BIG D]

Flounce.

thrower

[SiJ]

United were there for the taking today.

That is the worse United team I've seen in a fair few years.

Its a bunch of loans players and the mediocrity of what was a half-decent Championship side.

Despite all of that, we were completely incapable of capitalising and pressing home the advantage we had in the first half.

Awful, fu cking awful.

[DJMortimer]

thrower

It's a fair cop.

[scram]

My point was Big D, that when Irvine took over it certainly wasn't a "almost-impossible" task to keep us up.

There's no point kidding ourselves. Irvine had the time to keep us up. The question was, did he have the ability?

The answer to that question, at the minute...is not looking to be a positive one (much like his style of play!).

Some great points in this thread Fras

Agree with everything you've said

It's somehow the infantile domain of the football fan to assume a coach needs to change everything - import all his own players and staff and have major budgets to work with - or else what happens they're blameless for.

This same "totally incompetent" squad has kept the team in the division for a couple of years - they were within one win of sfatey with 23 games to play - yet some buffoons are claiming it to be an impossible task.

The managerial appoitment was rash, ill thought out and opportunistic imo - in a blaze of nonsensical, unquantifiable soundbites.

If deckchair shuffling earned points then Barca would be looking at us with envy

Emperors new clothes

[Glaser]

The managerial appoitment was rash, ill thought out and opportunistic imo - in a blaze of nonsensical, unquantifiable soundbites.

If deckchair shuffling earned points then Barca would be looking at us with envy

Emperors new clothes

Fantastically summarised in those 3 lines scram

His job was not mission impossible, if so, why did Lee spend money on appointing a new manager at all ?

If it was, as many would have us believe, an impossible task, then why did Alan accept the job, knowing only negative worth could be added to his CV ?

[mcmigo]

I would love to know who else turned us down for the managers job - did we even knock at the door of the likes of Keegan or were our sights always aimed low.

DJM you missed out Yorath who not only kept us up but got us to a cup semi as well.

I pray to God Irvine keeps us up I really do - and I am right behind him for the next 2 games. But if he doesnt it will be a massive failure and one he should not be given the chance to put right.

[i used to be sc_owl]

Fantastically summarised in those 3 lines scram

His job was not mission impossible, if so, why did Lee spend money on appointing a new manager at all ?

If it was, as many would have us believe, an impossible task, then why did Alan accept the job, knowing only negative worth could be added to his CV ?

Starting to look that way.

[SiJ]

Some great points in this thread Fras

Agree with everything you've said

It's somehow the infantile domain of the football fan to assume a coach needs to change everything - import all his own players and staff and have major budgets to work with - or else what happens they're blameless for.

This same "totally incompetent" squad has kept the team in the division for a couple of years - they were within one win of sfatey with 23 games to play - yet some buffoons are claiming it to be an impossible task.

The managerial appoitment was rash, ill thought out and opportunistic imo - in a blaze of nonsensical, unquantifiable soundbites.

If deckchair shuffling earned points then Barca would be looking at us with envy

Emperors new clothes

Here is a nail

you know the rest. . .

[kobayashi]

The managerial appoitment was rash, ill thought out and opportunistic imo - in a blaze of nonsensical, unquantifiable soundbites.

If deckchair shuffling earned points then Barca would be looking at us with envy

Emperors new clothes

Strafford's Wednesday in a nutshell.

[RobHowe]

Some great points in this thread Fras

Agree with everything you've said

It's somehow the infantile domain of the football fan to assume a coach needs to change everything - import all his own players and staff and have major budgets to work with - or else what happens they're blameless for.

This same "totally incompetent" squad has kept the team in the division for a couple of years - they were within one win of sfatey with 23 games to play - yet some buffoons are claiming it to be an impossible task.

The managerial appoitment was rash, ill thought out and opportunistic imo - in a blaze of nonsensical, unquantifiable soundbites.

If deckchair shuffling earned points then Barca would be looking at us with envy

Emperors new clothes

Great post.

[Guest Sheff Owl]

Said it before and i'll say it again Irvine has had 23 games so far and at the end of this season if we do go down could we have said "could we have done a hell of a lot more" and i think massive yes.

If we stay up could we say could have have gone for it a bit more in earlier games and again i think yes.

We have just seen contstant negative football, changes on 80 minutes, what the flip is that gonna do?

23 games imo is plenty of time to stamp YOUR mark on the team and do something, anything to change it, yet we just carryon as normal every flipping game.

I'm so pissed off.