Mick

The only 2 clubs you mention as having had stable management are Everton and to a lesser extent Blackburn, the other 5 have changed managers quite often recently and Blackburn would have got rid of Souness if we hadn't bailed them out. Sacking the manager isn't the problem, employing the wrong one is. Get the right manager in and you don't have to get rid of him.

I'm sure that 50,000 getting behind the team would give then a huge lift, I just don't think 50,000 performing seals would make the slightest difference when things are like they are now. I think 50,000 performing seals would send out the wrong message to the people who can make a difference, negativity from the fans at times is needed. Without it we would still have Souness or Roeder and that wouldn't have done us any good. When things are going better then the fans will get behind the team, when we're cocking things up like we are now then I think we'd do our selves no favours if we appeared to be happy the way things are going. Some people will always find a reason to moan when things are going OK but we’ve got to live with that because they’ll give the club a greater spending power when it comes to bringing in new players.

50,000 idiots who don't deserve what? Shit football, you're right.

Mine's Lager, no idea about yours.

Rob Lee once said Boro was too far North.

I've been embarrassed by our fans three times that I can think of, once when some mong thought it would be funny to throw a petrol bomb into the away supporters, the other was a team which were about to finish 5th in the league walking around a St James' which was half empty, the other was the team that finished 14th being cheered around an almost full St James'. I don't agree about us becoming a laughing stock because of the crowd reaction yesterday but I guess I'll find out on Tuesday when I'm down South.

Frustration builds in the supporters and I think it's understandable no matter how bad it looks, most reporters seemed to understand that, even if they are just looking to stir shit at times.

I think since Bobby Robson was sacked we've had teams that have underperformed. We've rarely had a team that has over produced on the field for more than a few minutes. You can look at most teams and at some stage they'll have performed as well as or better than expected. I think our club is a good club to manage for the right person, we've proven that with Keegan and Robson, we've also proven that the wrong manager will not get it right in the time given to him, I also think that it's up to the manager regarding how long he gets because the fans will stick with a manager if they believe in him. To believe in a manager we need to see something in him that tells us things are going to get better, no matter how bad they are now. If I could see something in Allardyce that suggested that we were developing as a team and moving forward then I’d support him totally, no matter what he was doing at the time. For instance, if he had decided that kids were the way forward and was going with them then I’d back him. If he was playing a first 11 that was developing an understanding as a team, I’d back him. If he’d just arrived and was working with someone else’s players, I’d back him. If we were playing good football but struggling for consistency, I’d back him but we’re doing none of that. The problems are almost the same every week and going on about the same things is becoming boring but it's got to be said. As the crowd correctly let him know yesterday, he doesn’t know what he’s doing and while a manager fumbles from one cock-up to the next he’s not getting my backing. I can’t back a manager who I have no faith in and I find it hard to understand these people who think a man who has offered nothing should be given longer than this season without him showing anything. Allardyce says he needs 5 years, if he wants that 5 years then he’s got to be prepared to show us why we should invest that length of time in him, he can’t ask for blind faith and up to now, that’s all he’s given us to judge him on. If Allardyce went tomorrow who could we hope to attract to the club that would be better than sticking with Allardyce? If we waited until the summer would we have a better chance of attracting somebody to take the club forwards?

Bastard.

The bloke mentioned as being top of your list to replace Benitez springs to mind. You played well yesterday and nobody is knocking that, I don't understand why you have to be so defensive about yesterday.

I noticed Butt having a go at Geremi, the only problem with Butt having to shout at him is the lost opportunity through the delayed reaction. Was that the time when Butt ran into a couple of Liverpool players and within seconds we were under pressure again?

Exactly right and I think he's close to the point when he'll no longer be able to motivate the players no matter what he does. I think he's at a crossroads with his managerial career here and he needs to do something soon, while it's still possible.

At least he tried, some of his passing was poor though.

Butt was our best player when?

This league has too many poor teams in it to have to worry about relegation, even if we did lose to a team that is arguably the worst to ever play in the Premier League.

The worst thing for me is that almost every team selection is predictably poor and we've all been able to see the players become drained of the little confidence they had picked up from the wins at home. Why do football managers have to over complicate a simple game?

I'll give Allardyce 3 games to lift the players if that is the case, if he can't do it soon then he'll have lost them. He needs to get stuck into them to try and motivate them, then he needs to go back to basics and play his best 11 in every game, injuries permitting.

If keeping him until the summer brought a better manager in then I'd go with it, I'd rather do that if it avoided making the wrong decision now as long as we're in no danger of relegation.

Make your own mind up from these quotes: “I’m not looking to bring in a new chairman or anything. There’s a couple of senior people I think we need to add to help the management of the club, which will make life a little easier. “It would enable me to move up to a slightly higher level in terms of strategy, but at the moment I’m getting down into the detail of lots of things, which is a healthy thing for me to do, to understand what needs to be done. Because over time I’d hope to be able to get a bit more management in there as well.”

He hasn't got a very good record here, we have rarely looked good even when winning. Managers have to earn the right to stability, sacking managers all of the time isn't going to get us anywhere until we appoint the right manager. Then he'll earn himself time and be given the stability. It's no good keeping a manager for the sake of stability if he's not up to the job and at this time it looks like Allardyce isn't up to it. We're 14 games into the season, don't forget Arsenal reserves in the League Cup. Allardyce has had more than enough time to have been able to stick with a settled side but he doesn't know how to use his players to get the best out of them and the players clearly don't know what's expected of them, the players look lost and that's down to him. How do you know the players respect him? We were told the same about Souness and Roeder, should we have kept them? Allardyce has brought in 9 players who he wanted and were willing to come yet he doesn't know how to use the players that he wanted. As for the best start in 11 years, so what? We played poor teams and the way you start doesn't matter in the slightest it's where you finish that matters. Sir Bobby has at least 3 out of 5 poor starts and finished well, once high enough to qualify for the CL. What matters is what happens on the pitch, if he's that good with his back room staff and has got 9 of his own players, why is he doing so badly? What makes you think the players he brought in were cover type of players? We virtually needed a whole new defence so I don't see how you could class those players as being brought in as cover, two of our most expensive signings were midfielders although one also plays up front but has played mainly in midfield, I don't think we were in a position to spend £12 million on two players if they're only here as cover. Who was Barton and Smith brought into cover? In fact who were the 9 players brought into cover? Did we pay £6 million for Enrique so that he could come in to cover Babayaro? Did we pay £2 million for Beye to come in to cover Carr? Most of the players who were brought in were done so to go into the team, few came as cover. Wow, so he uses tactics? If the tactiscs that he uses are wrong and so far they have been then that's a negative and no reason to keep him. If Allardyce is using tactics then I could see an argument that Souness and Roeder also used them even if the outcome was the same. It might be good to you but it's no good for the team if those 90% of fans are right and he's wrong. I hope that if you have more then they're better than the ones you highlighted. How do you know what controls me when I post? For your information, I hardly ever read any newspapers but I'll make the decision as to what I do read.

I'm yet to see a valid reason to keep him. He got rid of Keyring and Titus. He did well to get so much for Dyer but Bramble going was a decision which had already been made before he came. who's he ? Allardyce.

I'm yet to see a valid reason to keep him. He got rid of Keyring and Titus. He did well to get so much for Dyer but Bramble going was a decision which had already been made before he came.

I can only guess that you've aimed that at me, what have I missed?

I'm yet to see a valid reason to keep him.