AyeDubbleYoo

On balance, not right now.

Didn't realise Jonas got a blow in the ballsack... how dare they.

I was hoping he would start Ferguson and move Jonas over - was pleased he had faith in the young lad.

Agree with that. At the time they were on about sacking him they were in truly awful form. They've done well to get this close IMO. Doesn't that demonstrate that he should have been sacked though? They were in awful form, they kept him, they got relegated. (Obviously it's actually impossible to know)

I just think it was clear he wasn't going to turn it around, that's all. A new manager might have given them a boost and motivated the players enough to survive. Having faith in the manager is admirable, but only if he's the right man for the job.

Too likeable a bloke to be associated with that shower of shite club. But Ihe's not actually that good a manager that I thought he was at Chelsea, and it doesn't surprise me to see him relegate another club, even if the first one was the epitome of uphill battles. Can't imagine he's that inspiring like, seems to be an expert in failing gracefully. If he was in charge of my club I would be worried about how he would motivate the players.

Might have survived if they'd replaced him at Christmas IMO... bizarre decision by the owners.

One whose second name is Ameobi hopefully.

Good performance all round, especially with that team. Shola dropped off in the second half and I thought he should have been subbed instead of Loven, and Simpson was terrifying with his backing off at times, but other than that very very pleased. Special mention to the toon army as well, embarrassed Chelsea's fans from beginning to end. Hope that came across on TV, because it sounded like we were out singing them seriously at the ground.

Wow.

So we're deliberately trying to finish lower down the table, so it's easier to improve next season?

TBH I'm glad the club aren't making decisions based on whether we're likely to finish above Sunderland or not.

It was a very bad decision to scrap the reserves.

I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because it's his first season, if he repeats the same amount of bookings next season it's a problem.

FWIW, I thought the Pardew comment was pretty funny but I realise that rape itself is not funny.

Exactly. What is all this about Lampard on the left with Gerrard in midfield or vice versa just to have the two in the same side. Stuff that. Get a proper winger wide and drop one of the two. Same up top. Stuff having Gerrard playing off whoever, stick two forwards up there, get in two wingers and play attacking direct football. By direct don't confuse me with the long ball. Think Sir Bobby's NUFC direct. That's what we need and the next England manager needs to be chosen very carefully on that basis as someone who can pick the right players and play a system that said players know and can play and can play well. Me, I'd try and tempt Sir Alex Ferguson who I think could well retire his post at Man Utd should he win the Premier League and Champions League. Although he would probably want to make it 6 European Cup's to Liverpool's 5. I wouldn't agree with that. A lesson that we should have taken from the World Cup is that if you play a traditional two-winger 4-4-2 at that level, you're likely to be outnumbered in midfield and be chasing around after the ball. Putting too much reliance on wide men delivering crosses can also make you too predictable and too easy to stop. Our top club sides have adopted a more flexible approach, and we need to as well. Yeah, I'm not committed to 4-4-2 at all. I just mean that we need more of the all-action high-speed football that we're used to playing in the league and pick the players who can do that successfully.

Are any of those real people? What do you mean? Or am i a retard? Nah, bad joke, I read that list through and it just sounded like noise.

I wouldn't say he declined rapidly at all. He was clearly never fully fit in his second season. Also, when he played in the centre for a couple of games he was superb. Fair play, I don't remember it clearly TBH.

Aye. It was very distasteful. And very funny.

Are any of those real people?

Even Beye seemed to decline rapidly after his first season.

I don't think KK is a quitter as such, but I do think he is a perfectionist or idealist and other people would work through situations that he walks away from. Whether that's a good or bad thing I don't really know, obviously it's great to have principles but at the same time you can't expect everything to be perfect in a dirty business like football.

When I first saw Long come through into the team he looked a nothing player - thought he would never be anywhere near as good as Doyle. Right now he's unproven at a higher level, but he's young and I've got a feeling he could make it. Not saying I would spend big money on him, but if he gets into the Premier League I'd be interested to see how he does. He's got pace and great movement, and he's a good header for someone who's not that tall. Seems to have decent touch as well.

I was thinking of going actually, but I thought there was no chance of any tickets being left. Strange.