Wandy

They wont tolerate upper mid table? Yeah they will.

We were on their level in those games. Now there is a chasm between the two clubs. There is justified expectation to win the game.

Agree, the performances have been dreadful. What I mean is that the fanbase will tolerate that this season and put it down to a learning experience for the manager. But derby defeat won't be tolerated without savage criticism.

As long as we don't lose the derby I think the vast majority will tolerate a drop off into upper mid table this season. The Mackems beat us though and the criticism will be horribly ugly.

Eddie's got a bunch of lessons to learn from this season but it would be appalling to not give him all of this season and next to show his credentials. These rumours about Mourhino need to just fuck off and die. If that happens then the owners will have lost the plot already.

Just before my time of going to games. Remember watching it on the telly though.

Yep, in all of my 39 years following football their atmosphere has always been the most overrated. They were bored of success by the mid-80s, never mind what they are like these days. Having said that, in the last year or so when watching them on TV, I've thought that their singing has improved a bit. Their thread on match atmosphere is very similar to ours, but their daytripper problem seems to be a whole lot worse.... https://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=315738.13960 ...and it's a cautionary tale of what NUFC need to be warned to avoid, when we do make a decision on the future of our stadium.

Where did I say anything about him losing his job? Will say it again. Lose the derby and there will be savage criticism. And it will likely be deserved. Eddie needs to play the right team and have their heads in the right place. And thay means making sure nobody gets a stupid sending off. Obviously some things in a game will be out of the manager's control, like a bad decision from officials or a player having a moment of madness. But pretty much everything else is within his control. And this is an upper mid-table Championship team we are playing.

Under pressure as in being very heavily criticised. That's it, nothing more than that. But heavy criticism isn't something that Eddie has been anywhere near under his tenure. So if it happens, that would be a first of sorts. Absolutely incredible how some are playing down the derby. Its the biggest game of the season at this point and simply has to be won. Its a cup final that we will be massive favourites to win. And we have to. Its a huge test of the manager's ability to win a massive game that he is expected to.

I said under pressure, not in danger of losing his job. For me he gets another 18 months to prove his credentials and this season is a free hit for him, as long as he doesn’t lose the derby. If he does then he deserves a huge amount of criticism, unless the game is lost by something completely out of his hands.

Tonight is largely on him. Not just for the error, but he should have been sensible enough to not take the penalty. It was clear as day that his head was gone as he stepped up to take it. I love the lad but I’m seriously pissed off with him tonight. He needs a long break, for his own good.

If we lose this match then Eddie will be under serious pressure, and rightly so tbh. It will be unacceptable to lose this.

Real Madrid are the biggest club in the world. It's not even up for debate. Man U are arguably the second biggest though. But probably joint-second with Barcelona.

This was the banner they had planned. And they thought it was acceptable.

We had better make this count mind. No excuses for a defeat.

Er, aye that's what I meant. Lovely typo from me there. He might do a good job in the long run but you can't deny that his signings have been crap for the money spent.

For a start he says that Man Utd have "way more resources", which is completely untrue. The opposite is the case, in reality. Isn't it Man U fans who are dishing out the flack? Red Cafe seem to collectively want him gone now.

I imagine they don't even need to be a member. What a farce. edit ; actually a ST holder can only transfer to a member. But surely a member can pass a ticket on to a non-member then?

Absolutely mental. A member can transfer a home ticket to another member but a ST holder can't transfer an away ticket to a member. Makes zero sense.

Exactly. No wonder these touting sites can offer tickets. They probably have multiple memberships and are entering the ballot and flogging them on for a big mark-up.

Thanks for clarifying. I'm pretty surprised that it's allowed, as it is a massive touting gateway. I honestly thought the main reason was that the club wanted to know exactly who was inside the stadium. Why on earth are they so strict on away tickets then ffs? What a shit show that is.

A quick question around memberships & tickets....my mate has got a ticket for Saturday - currently residing in his Apple Wallet. He got it by via another member winning the ballot, who then sent the email to him with the link to add the ticket to wallet....which it did with no problem. I was amazed that this had happened, but will the e-ticket actually work at the turnstile? If so, then this is surely an easy way to get a ticket from someone else. But wasn't the whole e-ticketing brought in to stop this kind of thing happening?

Eddie will be given time, and deservedly so. He will be given at least another 18 months to prove his credentials. Going out of the CL this season isn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things. It truly was a free hit to get some valuable experience of playing at the highest level…something which we did remarkably well IMO. We’ve finished bottom but only based on some some fine margins. I’m not remotely bothered about missing out on the EL either. For this season it was correct to have an all-or-nothing approach to CL qualification. The next month is critical though. With players coming back we need to solidify a place in the top six and also absolutely MUST win the derby. Ideally we beat Chelsea too as a trophy win really needs to happen pretty soon to get the gigantic monkey off our back.

And yet some on here spout their shite that the derby coming up isn’t that important. Absolute bollocks.

Fair point. I don't know what the answer is then. Except maybe accept that away day atmospheres of old won't be coming back.