Our progress (2 Viewers)

SBT said:

Not really, no. We finished nine points off, we spent very little time (if any?) in the top six. I expected more if I’m honest.

Click to expand...

We spent very little time there when we made it too. I think being in touching distance with a few games to go counts personally. Even if not that’s 1/2 years he’s not made it.

SBT said:

The cup run was extremely fortunate and ultimately consisted of one win that you wouldn’t have expected us to get. Everyone apparently hates me for pointing it out but you have to take the emotion of a cup run out of the equation when you’re assessing the manager and squad.

I can appreciate the extent of the turnover from losing/replacing Vik and Gus, and it’s why I wasn’t too upset with finishing 9th (obviously the cup fun helped too). It’s why I wasn’t calling for Robins to go either. But we were running out of excuses by November of this year.

Click to expand...

And yet in 30 years we’ve never been so fortunate. You can say we should win all those games, but let’s be honest we’ve gone out to the likes of Sutton and Wrexham before so it’s not a gimme like you’re making out.

Brighton Sky Blue said:

There are too many players in there who can't perform consistently and go missing during games. It doesn't matter who the manager is if the problem of them being easy to crack is still there.

Stronger characters are needed on the pitch to help the less experienced ones through matches. For example it seemed like once they had a man sent off we got confused and didn't know how to play against 10 men. Bizarrely it might have been easier to stick against 11

Click to expand...

let’s get it right once and for all. Last season we started as badly as we started this season.

After that poor start we went on a brilliant run of form, then got to the Fa Cup Semi final, and after that it fizzled out, but we still finished 9th which I think I’m right in saying is the third best finish we’ve had in the Championship.

This is not a totally different squad to the one from last season, and right from the start lots of people were identifying that what was needed was an ‘experienced head’ on the field.

This squad is not the distrastrous bunch of misfits you are portraying them to be. They are not going to be flirting with relegation- even the way we’re playing now we are not in the infamous ‘relegation battle’. It needs some chopping and changing, but it doesn’t need a massive overhaul.

We can all see that something is not right, however I don’t believe its the case that this squad is absolute garbage- ability-wise anyway.

What's wrong with people?

Our squad isn't good enough. Other teams have worked us out. Frail at the back. Without Wright or EMC we've got no spark going forward. We've got no proper leaders on the pitch. What we do have is players needing someone to take the game by the scruff of the neck and organise everything.

Without this it doesn't matter who our manager is. He can make plans but without a leader on the pitch nothing will change. The other teams just sit back and wait for a mistake knowing that they have a good chance of scoring when they get a chance.

sotvtoday said:

I think Frank has steadied the ship hasn't he?
12 points from 8 games.
Unbeaten in 3. with only 1 goal conceded.
He has been without Wright for all those games and EMC for the last couple.
Hopefully a few good signings to come in this window.

Click to expand...

We had a comparable points tally from Robins’ last 8 games and that’s without the “gimme’s” Lampard has had against bottom of the league Plymouth and second bottom (10 men) Cardiff.

We need to give Lampard time but to suggest he has improved us at this stage is looking for things that aren’t there.

Lamps said:

What's wrong with people?

Our squad isn't good enough. Other teams have worked us out. Frail at the back. Without Wright or EMC we've got no spark going forward. We've got no proper leaders on the pitch. What we do have is players needing someone to take the game by the scruff of the neck and organise everything.

Without this it doesn't matter who our manager is. He can make plans but without a leader on the pitch nothing will change. The other teams just sit back and wait for a mistake knowing that they have a good chance of scoring when they get a chance.

Click to expand...

On your bit about 'other teams have worked us out'...I always find that an interesting take so this isn't a dig at you as you're not the first to say it.

But why is it that every team can figure us out...do we ever figure other teams out?!

sotvtoday said:

I think Frank has steadied the ship hasn't he?
12 points from 8 games.
Unbeaten in 3. with only 1 goal conceded.
He has been without Wright for all those games and EMC for the last couple.
Hopefully a few good signings to come in this window.

Click to expand...

The degree to which you view it as steadied I guess depends on how on tilt you think it was. I don't think we are going down now but I never did. Unbeaten in 3 is quite a generous way of looking at the last 2 games in particular and only 1 game before that we were absolutely thumped by relegation threatened Portsmouth.

4 wins from the first 14 - we all agreed was disappointing. We have won 3 in the 11 games since (2 of those wins against the bottom club (at the time) the other against Millwall who have won 1 in 10). Norwich away, Bristol City home and Blackburn away to round out the 14 then Watford, Swansea and Leeds - we need to win more than just the gimmies like Plymouth and 10 man Cardiff. Norwich aren't in great form - a win there and we will all feel much better about things.

skybluecam said:

Leicester had 10 men for 45 mins…

Click to expand...

The mighty Cardiff had 10 for 35 earlier this week, we scored zero times as opposed to three versus Leicester

skybluecam said:

Frank’s start has been average. Results OK, underlying stats good, worrying inconsistency at times (Portsmouth, Cardiff).

The chance to get anything this season is close to slipping away.

It’s now about whether he can use the next two transfer windows to mould the squad to his ideas and make us a top 6 outfit.

Click to expand...

If all it took to make a top six side was transfer spend we’d be PL already.

Skyblueweeman said:

On your bit about 'other teams have worked us out'...I always find that an interesting take so this isn't a dig at you as you're not the first to say it.

But why is it that every team can figure us out...do we ever figure other teams out?!

Click to expand...

We seem to work out teams like Middlesbrough and Sunderland.

All teams have to do against us is sit back and wait for a mistake then hit us on the break. We're good at mistakes.