v Cardiff City (a) 10/4/21 - Into the Valley(s)

[TheRoversReturn]

1 minute ago, DE. said:

If the players had turned on the manager we'd be getting hammered most weeks, as seen plenty of times elsewhere. This doesn't happen to us. It's wishful thinking to believe the players have turned on TM. I understand why people want to believe that, as TM is becoming more and more disliked, but I very much doubt that's the reality. The sad truth is more likely that the players we have aren't a great fit for the manager's "system", so even though they try it rarely works out. Frankly I'm not sure any group of players could be successful under modern day TM but that's another question entirely.  

I disagree with your premise in your first sentence so can't really follow you and agree with the rest of the post. Just because the players have no belief in their manager, are demotivated and lost does not mean they would "be getting hammered most weeks" as we still have a talented (albeit unbalanced) squad by championship standards. For that to happen, TM would not only have to have lost the players but they would have to be purposely not playing well, purposely getting hidings. Nobody's accusing them of throwing games or doing a Duffy and giving away three own goals in a couple of matches. 

The reality is that losing the players mean they don't have the fight to turn those close defeats into draws or even into close wins. It means they stagger on from one winless game to the next. It means that our losses are not just some bad days at the office, but an unremitting grind of a death spiral that now looks like this - 

That's what losing the players looks like, not a draw against a team who are on the beach themselves. A swallow doesn't make a summer and a draw at Cardiff doesn't make a team who are fighting for their manager when they're barely earning half a point a game over a whole THIRD of a season.

It's all about opinions though, so you can believe that Tony hasn't lost the dressing room. I think the above table means I believe that not only has he lost the players, but he lost them yonks ago...

[Hoochie Bloochie Mama]

Just now, Sparks Rover said:

Fair enough 👍 I like how you care so much...😄

You brought it up👍

[Paul Mellelieu]

Cardiff certainly didn't perform like a team on the beach.  They were dirty and niggly throughout.

[Tom]

Today’s result guarantees we finish on less points than last season

The season is a failure by any metric 

[bluebruce]

12 minutes ago, DE. said:

Perhaps, but then why have we gone on solid runs of form under him as well? It's not like we're constantly terrible, just intermittently so. I think a lot of it comes down to motivation, which Mowbray seems unable to keep high enough to retain the consistency we'd need to be promoted. The manager doesn't instil a winning mentality and doesn't bring in players with that mentality either. 

There is nothing intermittent about 8 points from 45. There's nothing 'perhaps' shit about constantly playing Gallagher wide and ignoring every single thing that doesn't work about our approach. It isn't just his mentality, but his tactics that have us in this mess. Teams figured us out with this approach after early successes, which involved a fair few opposition reds, and we haven't looked good or had a plan B since.

[roverandout]

Mowbray's post match interview 'yesh we cudda won der gaaame today. Scoring 2 goaaals ish worth 3 points. We haven't scoredsshh that many fer months sho thatsh shumthing to build on.

[yankfan]

10 minutes ago, West Yorks Rover said:

Have Preston got a new manager yet ?

Maybe we can ship them TM?  

[Hoochie Bloochie Mama]

Just now, West Yorks Rover said:

Have Preston got a new manager yet ?

No, caretaker in until the end of the season. 

[West Yorks Rover]

Crewe 0 Oxford 6

Pickering played the full game.

Let's hope he's better than the rest of his team mates.

[West Yorks Rover]

I wonder has any other manager used 5 subs in one go this season, some will say it was

a stroke of genius from Tone the moan.

We know of course, it was either, who cares couldn't give a toss or total desperation, take your pick.

[dallydally]

17 minutes ago, West Yorks Rover said:

Crewe 0 Oxford 6

Pickering played the full game.

Let's hope he's better than the rest of his team mates.

🤕🤕🤕🤕 Another stunning signing!

[Blue blood]

Just read the match report on BBC. One thing that struck me was the following phrase: "Blackburn, without a win in 7 games, remain in 17th."

Now whilst this is factually correct, what it does for fans of other clubs, armchair fans etc. is minimize how bad our run is. Sure, without a win in 7 is still bad but it's nowhere near as bad as one win in 15. Basically the stat halves how dire TM and we have been of late. No wonder people think he is a good guy doing a good job if this is how things are reported. 

[davulsukur]

40 minutes ago, Richard Oakley said:

I should be concerned about more teams below us. Of the teams below us only Birmingham won. Rotherham ought to have - bad news for us. One more defeat for Wycombe and we can't finish bottom. 2 more defeats for Wednesday and the lowest we can finish is 22nd. Swansea could be bad news for both those teams this week.

Big week for us next week as Rotherham start to play catch up with a game on Tuesday and then another on Thursday.

 

[Tormund]

2 minutes ago, Blue blood said:

Just read the match report on BBC. One thing that struck me was the following phrase: "Blackburn, without a win in 7 games, remain in 17th."

Now whilst this is factually correct, what it does for fans of other clubs, armchair fans etc. is minimize how bad our run is. Sure, without a win in 7 is still bad but it's nowhere near as bad as one win in 15. Basically the stat halves how dire TM and we have been of late. No wonder people think he is a good guy doing a good job if this is how things are reported. 

It’s frustrating to say the least. It’s always been the case when we’ve struggled. They only know half of the story.

[Richard Oakley]

2 minutes ago, davulsukur said:

Big week for us next week as Rotherham start to play catch up with a game on Tuesday and then another on Thursday.

 

Indeed, three home games against QPR, Coventry and Birmingham (week Sunday). We've an easy home game against Derby next Saturday ...

Edited April 10, 2021 by Richard Oakley

[Mattyblue]

3 minutes ago, Richard Oakley said:

Indeed, thee home games against 

Four consecutive home games against QPR, Coventry, Birmingham and Boro. Certainly a big chance to close the gap on the pack with those fixtures...

Edited April 10, 2021 by Mattyblue

[Waggy76]

43 minutes ago, booth said:

I'm calling it, we're finishing 20th place.

It's then reported that he did well to keep us up.

Mowbray staying on for another season.

Relegation next season

All the hallmarks of Kean's season..

[Richard Oakley]

Just now, Mattyblue said:

Three consecutive home games against QPR, Coventry and Birmingham. Certainly a big chance to close the gap on the pack with those fixtures...

I hit submit too soon, lol

[West Yorks Rover]

2 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Four consecutive home games against QPR, Coventry, Birmingham and Boro. Certainly a big chance to close the gap on the pack with those fixtures...

QPR and Brum in pretty good form atm though.

[matt83]

1 minute ago, West Yorks Rover said:

QPR and Brum in pretty good form atm though.

I was only just thinking the same 

 

[DE.]

Why would Cardiff have been 'on the beach' when at the start of play today they were within 7 points of 6th with 6 games to go? Unlikely that they could get themselves into the playoffs but not impossible. 

Obviously drawing against us makes it almost impossible now for them to get there, but today was actually a pretty big game for Cardiff insofar as keeping themselves in contention was concerned. They should be absolutely gutted to have thrown away a lead twice against the team with the worst form in the league, at home, having played worse than that team throughout most of the match. 

[Sparks Rover]

46 minutes ago, Hoochie Bloochie Mama said:

You brought it up👍

Not with you, but no matter..well done.

[Mattyblue]

2 minutes ago, West Yorks Rover said:

QPR and Brum in pretty good form atm though.

It’s the Championship, certainly in with a chance of picking up a couple of wins out of those four, they do and it blows the whole thing wide open.

Edited April 10, 2021 by Mattyblue

[Blue blood]

 Brum will be overtaking us soon. Which given how poor they were and how weak their team is it's another sign of TMs ineptness. 

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

10 minutes ago, Richard Oakley said:

Indeed, three home games against QPR, Coventry and Birmingham (week Sunday). We've an easy home game against Derby next Saturday ...

We don't do easy Richard!