Lush Vlad

Aye. He’s a great actor if he’s not arsed. As he is still coaching from the sidelines and then when he is on the pitch. He carries on with his leadership role. I do think his legs have gone, mind. Which means he’s only going to be good in certain games and situations.

WTF?! He got racially abused on insta?

Why, out of interest? Do pro-athletes not get tired? Or more because people are just assuming they are?

Are we the only fans that do this? I watch Forest games when they all sing along at the start of each half or even Liverpool with the same and get a bit envious. Our chants are always like the Makina remix of the original

Brilliant first half. Outrageous from him for the first goal. Second was poor, I thought. But most the team dropped off second half. Felt he had the beating of Castagne every time down the outside. But gave him chances to get back to him with his touch or final decision. He also reverted back to cutting inside a lot. Which hasn’t had the same success this year and usually results in a blocked shot.

Obviously booing and properly abusing the players is far worse. There was no booing near me, mind. Most had left and the ones that stayed nobody seemed particularly arsed about much either way. The same as the previous 90 minutes. Not what I am saying at all about what people can and can’t do. You’re being facetious like you have been throughout this entirely pointless exchange. So I’ll duck out now. As you clearly have no issue with the crowd. I was merely pointing out various reasons as to why the atmosphere is so utterly terrible. But you got all upset and sensitive about it.

10 minutes to go yesterday. Loads went down at 35 mins. 3 mins stoppage time and all! Not sat in these seats since December 2023 and it seems to have gotten much worse since then if yesterday is anything to go by.

Why so sensitive? You’re the one having a paddy here. Aye. I was watching 100s of individuals the whole match. Although it is quite hard to watch the game when people are up and down for a piss, pint, pie every 5 minutes or just having a general chinwag along the row. Atmosphere like a morgue and nobody getting animated by much other than someone misplacing a pass or calling the ref a wanker. The usual two in front of me, lad and his son always get stuck in and seem to actually like the football, TBF.

I said to each their own? You’re being the sensitive one here getting het up about something I’ve posted. The entire thread is basically now about how shit the atmosphere is. The majority of people in the block I was in yesterday barely seemed to notice there was a game going on. It’s like it’s an afterthought or just a routine that doesn’t even interest people. As most in here keep saying. The match seems like something that is just going on in the background and not the main reason people attend.

People chatting utter shit for 90 minutes and not watching the game generates some noise, I suppose

I said the same. But I also thought Willock gave us a lot in attack. Kept popping up on the edge of the box and finding space unmarked. On another day he has a goal and an assist in his 30 minutes. But he somehow misses the ball from 5-6 yards out and Isak’s unlucky with his shot off the bar. Hard to legislate for a Premier League footballer not even connecting with the ball like that. But you could argue with how bad his cameos have been. That it is half expected and he shouldn’t be on in the first place.

Is it though? Probably paying him £200-250k a week. Unless Rashford suddenly decides he can be arsed again and puts some effort in. It seems like a bit of a waste and a big gamble. If he starts tearing it up again. You’d be worried about then paying £40m and a salary that would destroy the current wage structure. As he has so much previous form of seemingly downing tools and having a good season, followed by a terrible one. If he magically starts playing well. You’d have to question his character. Couldn’t be professional and try at his boyhood club on 350 bags of sand a week. But rocks up at Villa and decides he’s a footballer again. It’s a real shame what happened to him. Always rated him and thought he was going to be a top player.

2 weeks on that planet in Interstellar.

I mentioned this in another thread. But I can’t stand the cliche and thought process behind “you can’t change a winning team”.

Our second half performances are often a lot worse than the first. Earlier in the season perhaps not. Bournemouth we improved and the same at Wolves. Although that was a low bar! Forest was class, like you say. Sometimes we have earned that right and it is a bit of game management and a case of saving their legs, reducing risk, defending a lead etc. But when we go behind at home. We look utterly clueless and the second half showings are becoming a concern. Especially as we almost always get worse as a team after subs are made.

I thought we looked much better when he came on and we had some semblance of control and passing ability moving forward. Assuming he gave the foul away for the free kick and also looked partly to blame for Muniz getting so free. Would be all for it, TBH. As it does look like his legs have gone/he can’t be arsed defensively. But Tino has been up and down all season. Mainly down of late and whilst I appreciate we need to sell players for PSR purposes. Shifting most of our back ups in one window with no replacements seems a bit of a risk.

Entire day wiped out for me with the travel. Pretty sure I got a speeding ticket on the way home. Couldn’t sleep until 12. 8 month old awake a few times in the night. Then up at 6. Useless cunts could have made all of that not matter one bit But no. Fortress St James’ is becoming more like a sand castle after the tide has started to come in.

To each their own and all that. But why even bother going to the match. If all you want to do is have a chat with your mates and a catch up? Seems absolutely mental to me.

Also this. We’ve become expectant and a bit entitled under Howe. Feels like we turn up for these games not getting behind them from the off. Expecting something to happen and the team and the ground are flat from the get go. Feels like there’s a perceived lack of jeopardy somehow. Big games everyone is up for it from the players to the fans. Or like for all the years we were shit. We often had relegation 6 pointers. So the pressure was on and the crowd often fired up. Feels like the players can take some of the blame in games like this. We seem so much slower and leggy against so called ‘smaller’ sides and the stands are often a reflection of what you’re seeing on the pitch. But at the same time. It just doesn’t seem like we are actively helping the team much. If anything, with the negativity, anxiety or just pure silence. We’re probably helping the away team. Not hard for them to settle in when they can come to the famous SJP and quiet the crowd down inside 5-10 minutes. EDIT - *Feels like

Dreadful in the Leazes. 4 blokes behind me sat having a natter like a load of old birds in a hair salon. Not even talking about football or paying attention. Mutes across the board in most the other seats. One lad didn’t seem to know where his seat was. Changed 2-3 times and was more interested in his sausage roll Mass exodus on 35 minutes to go for a pint and a piss. So they all missed Murphy’s goal. Honestly, why fucking bother?! I’d missed coming up for games. But I think I missed the city more. I know the result and performance doesn’t help. But it’s not enjoyable at all. I’d say I’d stick to aways. But that’s hard enough now with the ticket changes.

After today. Not particularly confident of CL at all. Europa we have a great chance. Our home form against mid-table sort of sides and the performances to boot have been worrying. The next 3 league games are brutal. Almost feels like we have more chance of a result against City than we do at home to Forest. As mental as that sounds. I think they’ll cause us no end of bother with their counters and something feels massively off in a lot of our home games somehow. Everything is flat. From collective and individual performances to the sleepy crowd.

His physicality has boiled over into stupidity the last few games or so. Some of his challenges are ridiculous and totally unnecessary. Like he is never even getting there to stop an attack or commit a snide foul. But he just barrels into people anyway. I love the bloke and you don’t want to curb his aggression too much. But it would be good if he was rotated more in certain games. Seems to start every game he is available. Even when half fit, out of form or against a team where his skillset doesn’t suit.

I’m not saying he does think like this. But ‘why change a winning team’ is one of my football pet hates. Feels massively amateur and a lower league way of thinking. Like every game and team you face are not the same. Plus the players are not necessarily fine to go for 70-80-90 minutes every week or twice a week. At the minute. It seems the subs aren’t contributing and seem massively out of form. But they have no chance of playing themselves into form. As they’re not getting meaningful minutes or any starts. Joelinton will be banned soon and Willock or Miley will probably come in. Maybe even Longstaff as he’s more trusted. One is out of form. The other two have barely played for what, the last 6 weeks or so?

They would regularly let Burn have the ball under no pressure. Then try and shut off passing lanes, get tight to Bruno, Hall etc. Then they would press Schar quite a bit when he got the ball. Smith-Rowe would do that. Jimenez, who was brilliant BTW. Would just loiter near Burn waiting for scraps. Becoming a bit of a theme. Bournemouth did similar. They were trying to isolate Burn out of position and win second balls. Just like at their place and all. Either Botman gets a shot for certain games or Howe needs to find a way round it. EDIT: Agree with the above post, though. For Arsenal, I’d play Botman and Burn because of their long balls and set pieces. They were superb in the first leg.

Would have him back in against Set Piece FC. As Dubravka gets a bit lost under high balls IMO and despite everyone moaning about his punching. Pope is one of the best in the league statistically against crosses. But then it is a massive game to chuck him back in and he wasn’t having a good season before the injury. So seeing as he didn’t start today to get back into it. I can’t see him starting.