AyeDubbleYoo

I don't agree, if we had the majority of our players fit for the season so far we would be comfortably in mid table. I was talking about the decline of the club over the last 5 years Well you're right then!

I don't agree, if we had the majority of our players fit for the season so far we would be comfortably in mid table. How often does that happen? The squad was blatantly weak as piss from the get-go and this sort of thing was always going to happen. The first XI is midtable material and the back-ups, in general, are utter dross. We knew this. You're probably right, but take away however-many first team players from any team in the league and they'd suffer immensely. I know the squad should be stronger, can't disagree with that.

I don't agree, if we had the majority of our players fit for the season so far we would be comfortably in mid table. Hughton period aside I have to agree. I don't mean we'd necessarily be safe season-on-season, but this year with the weird league I'd say we'd be about where Man City are now.

I don't agree, if we had the majority of our players fit for the season so far we would be comfortably in mid table.

I don't think it even matters that this is a derby anymore, any 3 points would be absolutely huge for us. If we were playing Stoke I'd be just as nervous... couldn't give a fuck that it's the mackems at the moment.

I think you might be right, we've been declining quite slowly but the boardroom situation combined with the injuries has just brought everything crashing down. If you could script the circumstances in which a club like us would get relegated, we're living it.

That reasoning for me to think that we may not be relegated just doesn't cut it anymore. I would usually think to myself 'we may be bad, but there are still a few worse teams than us'. But I seriously think we are now one of those teams that fans of say Pompey will think that they are better than so should be safe. I'll give us an 8.5 on the relegationometer, what a dire mess we are in. I'd put us at more than 50% to go down now, you're right, but that table means it can all change very quickly still. I'm not sure it will as we aren't picking up any points at the moment, but it could.

It's far too late to talk about whether or not we will sign anyone, backing the manager, who is rumoured to be coming or any of that. It's the 29th of January, we haven't done any decent business, that's looks like it's it.

Looking at the table, everyone from Hull downwards could easily go down this season. Of those 10 or so teams, Tottenham are the only ones who have real quality on paper... so should expect to get out of it eventually. I'm getting more and more worried, but I'm still hanging on to that.

I'd be gutted if Shay left at any price, the guy is one of the main reasons we aren't playing championship football already. City should be coughing up only slightly less than they'd need to get Cech or Reina.

NE5's basic point is fair enough, that to succeed in the premiership you do have to spend money. It's a lot more complicated than that though, you can easily spend without achieving lasting success (see our recent history) and put the club in jeopardy in the process. If it's not feasible to spend big, then it's not feasible. The accounts (and what most people suspected anyway) show that we are in a position where we need to be realistic about our standing and build for long-term success. That will obviously come with a restricted budget for first team spending.

I haven't got a clue what's going to happen to be honest, I am worried we start looking like the likeliest candidates to join West Brom and Stoke for the drop. I'm a natural optimist though, so I'll keep my head up as long as I can!

Obviously questions will be vetted but I still think it would be worthwhile submitting the questions to the Chronicle as it gives an indication of what supporters want do know and their genuine concerns for the club. They may even be able to discuss them off record with Llambias and perhaps something will start to sink in! Aye, fair point. For what it's worth I do hope there'll be a bit more honesty... but we've got to be realistic about what we expect the senior managers of any business to reveal to the public. At best whatever they say will be designed to calm the fans down.

Amazing the amount of people who have said either "let him rot in jail the dirty fucker", or "all these slags make it up, she's a dirty fucker". Worrying At least it's balanced I suppose!

Thing is, there's a limit to what the club can be expected to reveal and comment on in public? They obviously won't answer any questions along the lines of 'why are you offerring Kinnear a contract, he's shit', or 'how come Joe keeps spouting so much rubbish to the press?'. Just not going to happen.

I thought he might go off the rails eventually, leaving training camps without permission and getting involved in nightclub incidents, but I never thought it would happen so soon!

Maybe so, but even if that's true - being bad at the job he was brought in to do wouldn't suggest that he would then set about undermining Keegan and whatever else he's been accused of. I actually think he's done a decent job of indentifying young players.

Something that never seemed to happen, for whatever reason. Maybe their ideas of the 'the right price' where too far apart, or maybe Keegan forgot about this principle and wanted Ashley to spend big straight away. another theory going around is that he agreed with the "system" when he took the job in january, hoping he could later persuade ashley to spend big money in the summer but when this didnt happen, he quit. Definitely possible, I know I would have agreed to almost anything to get the job if I'd been in his shoes.

Arshavin is hilarious, the last window was funny enough but if he's still at Zenit come the end of this one it'll be class.

Keegan also said in that bit: Something that never seemed to happen, for whatever reason. Maybe their ideas of the 'the right price' where too far apart, or maybe Keegan forgot about this principle and wanted Ashley to spend big straight away.

Nobody with any sense would have put Kevin Keegan in charge of selecting players after he'd been out of the game for a few years. It was absolutely neccessary to put a system in place to ensure we didn't waste money like before.

Don't think what Hughton said means we're selling Given, he's just praising Harper as all coaches do to players who sign new contracts.

Fair enough. But who's to say that this didnt cross Keegans mind once he knew he was out of his depth? How was he ot of his depth? the seaon had started OK and the team seemed to be improving and if Dennis Wise is the DOF in charge of recruitment why does he never watch the first team to asses where we need to strengthen and the least said about Xisco and Nacho the better. If he (Wise) is contracted to staff the academy thne fine he's doing that but be more clear with roles and again if he's doing that he shouldn't be forcing 1st teamers on a manager be that Keegan, Kinnear or anyone else. But surely that's the whole argument, we've got nothing to suggest that he ever forced players on anyone. In fact we've got a lot of quotes saying the opposite.

I didn't even know he wore glasses.