Sixer’s Sevens: SAFC 1 Chelsea 3. Into the drop zone

20 thoughts on “Sixer’s Sevens: SAFC 1 Chelsea 3. Into the drop zone”

1. I’m starting to wonder what the point of Martin O’Neill is Dave. I am in a minority wanting him out now but I won’t be in a fortnight’s time.

2. 2 simple questions I would love to ask MON:
   1) What has David Vaughan done to upset him? Everybody watching the game, except apparently the manager, can see that Larsson is useless in centre-mid. Now that he is not taking the free-kicks, how can anyone justify him getting picked ahead of a genuine centre-midfielder.
   2) What is the point of Louis Saha?

3. Moving Rose to CM looked like desperation, but boy didn’t it come off? I can’t decide if he could be a star there – in a similar way that Gareth Barry was after MoN moved him there similarly, or whether this just highlights how awful Larsson et al are there.

4. This is to Puskas you said we should support MON I think we have and still are supporting him but get your head out of the sand and smell the coffee we are terrible that’s the nicest thing i can say any outher manager would have been sacked last year never mind this year so don’t make me be sick Bruce was sacked for having a better record than MON I don’t know how much more the supporters can stay loyal as theirs no light at the end of the tunnel

5. “We should support him; he’s still the best we are going to get.”

   It’s not a case of not supporting him. It’s about recognising the fact that he’s failing. There’s a huge difference.

   Not sure that we should be galvanised because he doesn’t doubt himself. ITs the fact that we haven’t beaten anyone with 11 men since March that causes doubts.

   I really think we can get someone who can do better than that. If it isn’t the case can someone please confirm it? We can pull the ground down and build a Tescos in its place.

6. It’s interesting to watch MON’s post-match interview with one of the BBC clones who asks “Are you filled with self doubt?”. The answer was a definite “No”. We should support him; he’s still the best we are going to get.

7. I’ve already posted about the penalty being a killer, which it was.

   But I wasn’t in the ground and I don’t like making assumptions. So if anyone there would like to confirm my thoughts…

   Chelsea scored about 30 seconds after we gave them the ball, just outside their box…

   …once that happened they relaxed, he’ll the ball and waited for breaks, knowing our attack was weak and they could cope with what pressure we could exert…

   …while Torres contained our back four on his own..

   ..experienced, clinical, methodical, totally admirable from Benitez.

   (My handheld is giving grief. Hope this posts ok)

8. Well, there was a moment in the first half Alan, where Wickham attempted to put a defender under pressure on the edge of the box. He didn’t win the ball but this relatively insignificant increase in effort and trying to work the opposition was met with a crescendo of cheers from our fans who have remained loyal to the cause despite an appalling run of performances lacking in character, commitment, let alone sheer bloody effort.

   We had 30% of the possession in the first 15 minutes of a home game. It doesn’t matter how smart the likes of Mata and co are, there is no excuse for letting players run away from you. MONs selection today begged belief. He has insisted on playing both Cattermole and Colback together on so many occasions we only needed one of them. Denied of Cattermole he plays with Larsson as a holding midfield player.

   Yes, Larsson is going to get some stick for the penalty but it reminds me of a call that I heard from the terraces at Roker some thirty years ago when Gordon Chisholm was having a stinker (although in his regular defensive position), when somebody shouted “It’s not your fault son, it’s them that pick yer!”

9. I totally agree with you and this is what I have been saying for the last two months these players IE oshea Larson Cuellar Gardner Bardsley McLean Jhonson SESS want to take a long look in the Mirror and say to them selves did I really deserve to be paid for my effort to safc the last two months and they shud be paying safc to play they are a disgrace to the club money grabbing half hearted and no balls get out there and play with some passion in your hearts you lazy pigs…

10. CSB. This is increasingly like the McMenemy reign to me. Too many has beens in Saha, Cuellar, McFadden (why has he signed this guy and in what circumstances does he get to play?), O’Shea too.

    It’s the same sickening feeling I had back then, that it can’t really be as bad as it appears. It’s worse than it actually appears because so many of our fans are in complete denial. We are now in the drop zone and there’s no denying that. We are terrible. Arguably worse off than under Bruce. Players like Turner and Richardson sold. We are going down and even three points against Reading will not shake me from that belief. If we can’t get three points from that game then he needs to take a good look at himself on Wednesday morning although Ellis is probably taking a really serious look at things before that. I wonder if he’s talking to NQ about the state of things.

    • I don’t think it quite as bad as the disaster that was Lawrie. The table is still very tight a win on Tuesday will push us up to just below halfway(ish).

      I agree that there are too many journeymen in the squad and that on the whole without Cattermole they lack the will to win and the conviction that they are responsible.

      MON can only pick what he has, yes he should have prioritised certain players in the summer, but I don’t remember too many complaining when we signed Johnston.

      I think it has even come as a shock to MON just how poor we are, the defeatism in the team and lack of fight is gut wrenching. We have too many who have been through it all before (Larsson, Gardner etc) for them to make a fight of it. We need players to keep their head not slide in ridiculously like Larsson.

      Three points on Tuesday will bring a stay of executuion (at least from the media) but we need reinforcements in January. The unhappy truth is that we will not get anybody else of MON calibre. Yes we are struggling right now but with key reinforcements that may just be enough.Really right now there is no alternative, we have to keep the (blind) faith.

11. What is worrying me CSB is not whether funds are made available so much as whether a)he actually has the nous to make the signings we need and the potents for that are not good, and b) whether the sorts of players we desperately need are going to sign for a club down amongst the dead men. If we are bottom, then nobody of any use will come to us. It’s that simple.

    • I don’t diagree Jeremy, and like you I am becoming increasingly convinced that it may all be over shortly (no pun intended) if a) we have not already identified the players we need and b) they have them on a pre -agreement.

      Tuesday night is a must win game and the win must be comprehensive because if the players do not stand up and be counted for this game then they never will MON.

12. I would like to no what these coaches and players are doing in training because they are not fetching on the pitch Bardsley has gone back over in the last six month his control is zero oshea terrible the big boot all the time Jhonson try to beat ten men all the time SESS runing around the pitch like a chicken with no head on Larson no pace can’t tackle now the good points Gardner try’s hard Whickam put himself about and Rose different class to the rest if fletcher is fit for tues I hope he plays whicham up front with him and let SESS have a free role I think this game is the make or break for MON if we lose against reading he will resign or Ellis will sack him so its D Day on Tuesday for MON..

13. Not by any stretch of the imagination good enough, you can’t gift sides like Chelsea three goals and expect to get anything out of the game.

    Big pressure now for Tuesday night, god knows what Mr Short is thinking……if there are no funds made available in January then the writing may well be on the wall.

14. I’ve had my head in the sand (unfortunately not Saharan M Salut) as regards relegation. It couldn’t happen. Well, the head is now firmly back in the clear air. We CAN and most probably WILL go down unless there is a radical upturn in results, starting on Tuesday. Listening to Barnes and Benno at work made for a depressing afternoon. On a positive note, congratulations to the fans. I was expecting a crescendo of boos at full time, but was pleasantly suprised to hear the fans had applauded the team’s efforts. Best fans by a million miles, now we need a team in the same vein…AND SOON.

    • I’m the same Eric but it’s a real possibility now. If it happens it will be like 2003 all over again, it won’t bring sadness, but anger.

15. Aye John; Larsson should be “cast………… ” well something or other.

    Who gave that post a thumbs down?

16. We lost a game we would expect to lose but we could quite easily have been 3-0 down after less than 6 minutes had it not been for magnificent Mignolet.

    This result can not possibly be looked at in isolation as it was simply a continuation of abominable defending that cost us at Carrow Road and cost us again. Three errors and three goals conceded today.

    Since the Reading game was postponed an element within our support have looked to that postponement as an “excuse” for our lack of points. The struggle to overcome Wigan, the dire display against the likes of Villa, and Boro suggest that they may well be off the mark. We are in dire straits.

    Steve McManaman was saying that we need a strong centre half. We had a canny one in Michael Turner but he was sold. He also thinks we need a centre forward and a decent midfield player. Same sort of stuff that the majority of us have recognised since O’Neill was appointed.

    Talented players in those departments will surely be lining up to join a side with one foot in the Championship come New Years Day.

    Ellis Short’s face said it all during the first half. He can see his hopes and investment disappearing fast down the toilet. Anything less than three points in the week and someone else will be doing the wheeling and dealing in the window. He’ll be getting his cards before that.

17. I thought the penalty was ridiculous – not that it was given but that Larsson tried to win the ball. That moment killed it for us. Larsson should be castigated ( which is not quite the word I want to use….)

    But then what do I, a deluded northerner (see Ted’s postings on another strand), know about football?

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