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Stay for me. Im not convinced the "hoofball" that we see is all down to AI. I sit south stand lower (yeah, yeah, prawn sarnies etc etc) and from there I get a good view idea of what is going on in the technical area.

On Saturday AI was doing his nut in with Buxton and Purse when they lumped it to Tudgay - he was also bollocking Potter for not going to collect the ball more, and Otsemobor for "hiding" behind the left winger when Purse had it. Lets face it, you've got to give Purse the most chance you can to be able to pass the ball even over 10 yards.

From what I can see, the defenders we have are not comfortable with the ball, and when we play JOC and Potter together they are both prone to going missing.

This leads to the ball being lumped forward to Tudgay and the other forwards / wingers to try to get to it. My opinion is that the Forward players get "conditioned" to expect the lumped ball so they wont drop back / move for it as they know that 8 out of 10 times its going to be launched.

Is that all the fault of AI? No. Its partly his fault as its his job to try and coach the team to play. But whenver we have Purse, Beevers, Buxton, Spurr, Hinds, Sedgewick or O'Connor in the same side (or a combination thereof) this will happen as none of these players can pass / control a ball. What do most of the aforementioned players have in common?

Barring Sedgewick - none of them are AI signings.

good post

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It was BL squad that got us relegated, and I seriously doubt he would have kept us up. As for AI motivational skills, how would you know what they're like unless you're in the dressing room and at the training ground? < AI keeps picking players from BL squad. He had over 20 games to motivate that squad to stay up - and he failed miserably. When you listen to AI in an interview, do you feel inspired? I feel like slitting my wrists.

I don't think AI is concentrating on the opposition too much, we're a proffesional club, we know where our qualities lye, also, basing our play around the oppositions weaknesses makes sense to me. Our squad is fitter, we might not have a team with the most pace in the league, but bar Clinton Morrison, our squad looks like they can actually last longer than 90 mins. < He constantly bigs up the opposition and there was an article last week about how he wasn't going to change his methods. These methods included watching DVD after DVD of the opposition. He sets out not to lose, rather than to win.

He might not have won any silverware, but if you actually think we're going to win a cup (appart from the paint trophy) then you need to wake up and smell the fish. Also it's not like many other managers would win silverware with this squad. < No one expects him to win "silverware."

We're in this league for a reason and we're 5th for a reason. < Were in this league because AI couldn't win any of his last 9 games to keep us up. We're 5th because - despite being absolute throw - some teams haven't been good enough to capitalise on this.

Remember what it was lie last season? well we might not be playing like Barcelona but, the players and AI are trying their best to get us our of this league, so you have to give them some. < Yes I remember what it was like last season. . .it was poo poo. Unfortunately the football has continued in the same vein. As for the Barcelona comment. . .

Also, I think AI wants to keep it tight at the back but, I don't think he wants us to be so predictable when going forward. < Have you actually watched us under AI? His whole mantra is: "keep it tight and hopefully knick a goal." He utilised the exact same tactics at Preston - but was fortunate that he had Jon Parkin to lump the ball up to.

Edited by SiJ
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Guest britmod_owl

Stay,

His transfer dealings have been smart, we are in a decent league position for a team that attack wise have only played together for 1/4 of a season. Defense wise, we are doing fine as the back 4 have already geleld and are stepping in as needed i.e buxton saturday.

We can slag him off for playing negative, but laws last season tried making us pass forward and play attacking football which left massive gaps, stray passes, lost possesion and conceding more goals than i want to remember. I would rather us pass back than give possesion away.

We are doing fine, and no need to panic, sort out the off field issues and this team will fly.

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WTF?

How did this lack of professionalism under Laws lead us to finishes of 9th, 16th and 12th in the CCC, but the 10 fold increased professionalism leads us to relegation, followed by a sh*t pre season, followed by miserable performance after miserable performance in League 1 including being pumped silly by footballing titans like Brentford and outplayed in our own stadium by Bury and Orient.

The decline under Irvine has been frightening. How is he a perfectionist when his managerial record is 0 promotions and 1 relegation?

I have a lot of respect for AI, a decent man and a man who has really worked his nuts off at the club. I wish it had worked out for him, he kept us up and now we were back where we were under Laws in mid table in the CCC, possibly working towards a cheeky play off bid. However, the reality is very different and I cannot see us getting anywhere near the top 2 this season on evidence so far, which is a crime

I'm talking about behind the scenes with regards to perfectionism. Ask the players and backroom staff if you don't believe me. Compared to the last regime everything Alan and his team does is meticulous.

Laws led us to relegation. We were doomed as soon as Irvine took over. The fact we had an opportunity at the end of last season to stay up is a huge tribute to Alan's abilities as a manager. Laws did a reasonable job up for us up until he totally lost the plot. Which he did last season. He was responsible for players losing their confidence, creating a losing mentality at a crucial stage of the season, there were cliques in the dressing room, and the standards of some of the players were totally unacceptable.

Luckily Alan has been able to change a large number of the playing staff due to expired contracts this pre-season, and he has been able to bring in players of the right quality and mental attitude. Some of our players got an easy ride under Laws and that is something Irvine won't stand for. We have had a reduction in the wage bill and no money to spend on fees, yet IMO we still have a stronger squad than we did last season. That is tribute again to the work that Irvine has done pre-season.

A crime? We have no right to be top 2. Having a big ground, large crowds, and a better history than most teams counts for nothing. We have to earn the right to be there. Very few teams have gone down and come back up the following season. An automatic promotion challenge was always going to be to difficult but it is still achieveable. We are within touching distance and have been there or thereabouts all season so far. If that remains the case throughout the rest of the season we will have done very well.

There is a long way to go yet. The football at times may not be pretty but I am confident we will get there.

Edited by edinburghowl
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Guest pompyowl

stay - give him a chance. must stop using the manager as a scapegoat whenever we have a couple of bad games.

at end of the month when we are at the top or there abouts watch people shine to him

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STAY

How can he be properly judged when he's not had the resources?

Even then, we're fifth in the league for god's sake.

Surely the second highest wage bill in the division counts as sufficient resources.

I was impressed by the names of some of the players he brought in preseason, but eleven games in Irvine still has no idea of his best team. He continues to play Laws players in front of his own signings, including the Laurel and Hardy of midfield football - he even moved the player of the month out onto the wing to accomodate them. I've yet to see a team that is NOT as fit as us (including a couple from the division below).

The final straw for me was with 20+ minutes to go on Saturday against the third from bottom team and he decides to cling on to what we've got and go 4-5-1. Mind you, they are a very good team he says.

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Surely the second highest wage bill in the division counts as sufficient resources.

I was impressed by the names of some of the players he brought in preseason, but eleven games in Irvine still has no idea of his best team. He continues to play Laws players in front of his own signings, including the Laurel and Hardy of midfield football - he even moved the player of the month out onto the wing to accomodate them. I've yet to see a team that is NOT as fit as us (including a couple from the division below).

The final straw for me was with 20+ minutes to go on Saturday against the third from bottom team and he decides to cling on to what we've got and go 4-5-1. Mind you, they are a very good team he says.

I should have made it clearer but when I said resources I was taliking about last season - he's been getting flak in this thread for taking us down even though he had no money whatsoever to bring anyone in when he took over. Even then, I'm not convinced we have the second highest wage bill in League One but if anyone knows for certain I'll happily stand corrected.

As we stand, however he's done it, he's got us to fifth in the league despite all the poo in the boardroom, winding up orders and the negativity that hangs over Hillsborough like a toxic cloud. I totally agree that the football has been turgid at times, no-one could deny that, but give me that anyday ahead of playing pretty stuff and losing. If we have to grind out results so be it - give methe points anyday. Orient's manager said after Saturday's match that they've been playing really good football but are losing game after game. They're in the relegation zone.

Too many Wednesday fans seem to think we have the divine right to just turn up and play other so-called lesser teams off the park. 20 minutes into a game when thats not happening and our "supporters" start getting on the players backs. The same players are targetted week after week, is there any wonder players are 'hiding' or not wanting the ball. You can hear the groans all over the ground if a player dares to pass square or backwards so that we keep possession. The same fans then moan when we go direct!

AI said after the game on Saturday that he needed players who were mentally tough enough to play at Hillsborough. For me, thats code for "mentally tough enough to be rounded on by your own supporters if you misplace a pass". The Hillsborough crowd can / should be the best weapon we've got but all too often it's a millstone around our necks.

BTW, I remember a similar 'back him or sack him' poll when Trevor Francis was manager. We'd just finished 7th in the Premier League at the time.

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Not gonna lie, missed Brian last season. Would have much prefered him in the dressing room on the last game of the season. Would we have had a shot to stay up under him? Who knows... but we might have even been safe under him by then..

Stay for me though, some decent signings, and despite the second highest wage bill, many championship sides were knocking around for a few of our current players. Games are horrible to watch, agreed, Laws's set up at times were spot on and a pleasure to watch for many of us..

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Stability is key to sucess at a football club but im afraid by the week it gets harder to watch this club under Irvine we have nothing to inspire us under him,his signings have been safety first at best some poor and others strange to say the least we hardly ever test an oppposition keeper the players can't even control a ball or pass I did'nt think I would say this when Laws left but AI is as bad at least at times Laws motivated us after a bad run under Irvine we have been on a bad run for about the last 25 games t has reached the stage where I don't even want to go to Hillsborough because you know exactly what is about to happen(very little).

I've been appalled at some of our players touch and ball control...they bring it under control like it 's a helium balloon...

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Guest sheff_wed_fanatic

In my opinion Irvine should DEFINATELY stay!

If we look at the facts, last season it was Brian Laws who got us into the relegation mess that Irvine very nearly dug us out of. Irvine was only at Hillsborough for half of last season, and if our points total under Irvine was doubled then we would have been sitting comfortably in mid-table last year.

Onto this season. In the summer Irvine brought in nine new players, which he obviously thought were good enough to help the team win promotion, and I think we all agree these players are capable footballers. I agree that as yet we haven't set League One alight with beautiful passing and good football, however what we've got to take into account is that only 11 games have been played, and despite not playing our best football, we are sat in a play-off position and only two points from 2nd place. Despite being in such a promising position in the league table it seems us wednesdayites STILL are calling for Irvine to get the sack!! He hasn't even been at hillsborough a year yet! And it would be good if Irvine's critics asked themselves this - What has the vast amount of managerial changes over the last decade done for the club??

Because as of my reckoning these are the years where we have slumped year after year after year. The squad Irvine has assembled has hardly had time to gel yet either, we've only played 11 league games and it seems the Hillsborough faithful are wanting Arsenal-like football! Just give Alan Irvine time to prove his managerial quality (after all, look at what he achieved at Preston), and give the squad time to gel and become a team! It's just another typical Sheffield Wednesday fan's over reaction to an on-the-pitch situation that is not at all as bad as it seems.

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In my opinion Irvine should DEFINATELY stay!

If we look at the facts, last season it was Brian Laws who got us into the relegation mess that Irvine very nearly dug us out of. Irvine was only at Hillsborough for half of last season, and if our points total under Irvine was doubled then we would have been sitting comfortably in mid-table last year.

Onto this season. In the summer Irvine brought in nine new players, which he obviously thought were good enough to help the team win promotion, and I think we all agree these players are capable footballers. I agree that as yet we haven't set League One alight with beautiful passing and good football, however what we've got to take into account is that only 11 games have been played, and despite not playing our best football, we are sat in a play-off position and only two points from 2nd place. Despite being in such a promising position in the league table it seems us wednesdayites STILL are calling for Irvine to get the sack!! He hasn't even been at hillsborough a year yet! And it would be good if Irvine's critics asked themselves this - What has the vast amount of managerial changes over the last decade done for the club??

Because as of my reckoning these are the years where we have slumped year after year after year. The squad Irvine has assembled has hardly had time to gel yet either, we've only played 11 league games and it seems the Hillsborough faithful are wanting Arsenal-like football! Just give Alan Irvine time to prove his managerial quality (after all, look at what he achieved at Preston), and give the squad time to gel and become a team! It's just another typical Sheffield Wednesday fan's over reaction to an on-the-pitch situation that is not at all as bad as it seems.

good morning alan, forgive us if we're a lil bit tetchy at times, as vastly inferior sides who ought to be getting put away by us are week in week out giving us a game until the 90th+ minute, you keep playing laurel and hardy in midfield, and humping the ball to a small forward line (that's why it comes straight back)...we find it annoying that you only appear to see the negatives out there, ie; if we were playing the boys brigade 2nd. Xl, you would rate them as much of a threat as the 1970 brazilian side...and concede the midfield to them and hope to grimly hang on to the end...YOUR STYLE (NOT THE RIGHT WORD, I KNOW THAT???) OF PLAY IS UTTER SHI..(NO I'LL RISE ABOVE THAT)...LEAVES A LOT TO BE DESIRED, WE SHOULD HAVE HAD THE MAJORITY OF THIS LEAGUE CRAPPING ITSELF AT THE THOUGHT OF PLAYING US, INSTEAD THEIR SCOUT'S MUST BE GOING BACK SAYING "THEY GIVE YOU A RIGHT CHANCE"... IN THE ENTERTAINMENT AREA, THE CROWDS ARE FALLING DUE SIMPLY TO OUR CONSTANT REFUSAL TO PLAY OUR OPPONENTS AT FOOTBALL...THINK THIS OVER IF YOU GET A SPARE MINUTE OFF FROM WORRYING YOURSELF TO DEATH ABOUT YEOVIL...OR, BRADFORD PARK AVENUE, OR WHOEVER WE PLAY ...WHY WOULD THE SUPPORTERS OF ANY SIDE IN 5TH PLACE BE CALLING FOR YOUR HEAD AND ATTENDANCES FALLING AS THEY ARE...???????

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