second now ..but for how long

[loyalroyal4life]

said it before that the team line up does need tinkering with but to come out and act as though we are in some sort of crisis just because we lost to swansea is a joke!!

we are 2nd, still believe wolves will falter (starting against us) with us moving into 1st place and brum and wolves battling for 2nd position!!

everyone knows we are PLAYING football that is way below standard of 05/06 but then again we all knew it was going to be tougher this time around!!

think with a supplementation of 2 players, a new pairing in the centre we will be fine

thinking give marek and cisse/harper a go in midfield. i would like to see bikey given a chance there too.

[Upper West Ginger]

think with a supplementation of 2 players, a new pairing in the centre we will be fine
thinking give marek and cisse/harper a go in midfield. i would like to see bikey given a chance there too.

I'm having difficulty imagining what a midfield pairing of Bikey and Marek would be like. I suspect it would be either utterly brilliant or complete rubbish (but definitely not boring and mediocre).

[Ian Royal]

think with a supplementation of 2 players, a new pairing in the centre we will be fine
thinking give marek and cisse/harper a go in midfield. i would like to see bikey given a chance there too.

I'm having difficulty imagining what a midfield pairing of Bikey and Marek would be like. I suspect it would be either utterly brilliant or complete rubbish (but definitely not boring and mediocre).

We could kiss goodbye any chance of being towards the top of the fair play league

[loyalroyal4life]

think with a supplementation of 2 players, a new pairing in the centre we will be fine
thinking give marek and cisse/harper a go in midfield. i would like to see bikey given a chance there too.

I'm having difficulty imagining what a midfield pairing of Bikey and Marek would be like. I suspect it would be either utterly brilliant or complete rubbish (but definitely not boring and mediocre).

true it could prove to go either way but tbh there is a need for a change in a centre and i think marek has spent long enough on the bench he must be raring to go. Bikey had a few poor games before his suspension/injury but I am sure he will come good.

[Deathy]

I don't think we'll finish 2nd, I have to be honest. Our squad is wafer (sp) thin. I think it's play-offs for us, but I'll take that!

[rabidbee]

How can harper and matejovsky be played the whole second half of the prem season, then we get relegated and bring in a worse player to replace matejovsky?

Because we're in a different league whereteams play a different style and consequently you need a different mix yourself.

also, Matejovsky is just plain sloppy. It's not simply that he tries more ambitious balls, he just gives it away a lot, and plays team-mates into trouble a lot. He's great at holding onto the ball, he can play wonderful passes, but overall he's a liability.

[Deathy]

How can harper and matejovsky be played the whole second half of the prem season, then we get relegated and bring in a worse player to replace matejovsky?

Because we're in a different league whereteams play a different style and consequently you need a different mix yourself.

also, Matejovsky is just plain sloppy. It's not simply that he tries more ambitious balls, he just gives it away a lot, and plays team-mates into trouble a lot. He's great at holding onto the ball, he can play wonderful passes, but overall he's a liability.

'greed. Should try him out right and see if he can whip a few crosses in. You'll also get some decent through balls for the guys tu run on to.

Or stick with Bambi. Work in progress and all that.

[loyalroyal4life]

How can harper and matejovsky be played the whole second half of the prem season, then we get relegated and bring in a worse player to replace matejovsky?

Because we're in a different league whereteams play a different style and consequently you need a different mix yourself.

also, Matejovsky is just plain sloppy. It's not simply that he tries more ambitious balls, he just gives it away a lot, and plays team-mates into trouble a lot. He's great at holding onto the ball, he can play wonderful passes, but overall he's a liability.

'greed. Should try him out right and see if he can whip a few crosses in. You'll also get some decent through balls for the guys tu run on to.

Or stick with Bambi. Work in progress and all that.

already tried marek on right, he was shit

[Doyler]

Guy Moussi looked good when we played forest, big and powerful, put the tackles in and has a shot on him too. Worth a punt? Lewis McGugan is worth a mention as well.

[Woodcote Royal]

Get cisse out, put matevosky in, I don't care if he's lightweight he can keep possession and we are more dangerous when he opens teams up trough the centre, we hardly ever score through the middle and he gives us another creative option.

After a decent post, what a shortsighted conclusion.

As I'm sure others have pointed out, our shortcomings in central midfield start with us being out numbered in this department against most sides and we tend to play better against the few (Wolves & Brum) who opt for 4-4-2.

If Steve Coppell has learnt one lesson since the summer it's that Harps and Marek is a non starter in this division. To keep the ball, it usually has to be won in the first place and these 2 are not going do that very often especially when they're out numbered.

If Coppell wants Marek in his team, he's going to have to sacrifice a striker but I'd prefer he played a centre a half with some pace, making us less vulnerable through the centre, and accepted that our most skillful player is going to be limited to bit parts until we're promoted or he moves on.................as sad as that is.

It seems that, once again, Cisse is getting some unfair stick from certain quarters. He has more than earned his place this season with some vital contributions and, frankly, if had to pick a central midfielder to drop, I'm not sure it would be him.

[Woodcote Royal]

As ever, some will sink and some will swim should we return to the top flight but, for those still searching for a Sidwell replacement, IMHO, he remains the most likely candidate.

[riverroyal]

We could go third on Saturday . . . Blackpool play their re-arranged game with Birmingham on 24th January!

[rhroyal]

We lost on Saturday but there is still no doubt that we are one of the best three sides in this league, and I believe the fixture list suits us in the second half of this season. We'll finish in the top two in my view, and one bad performance and doesn't change things that much. If we react like we did after the Southampton loss we'll be absolutely fine - probably top by March. I think we are capable of reacting the right way again, we have an experienced squad and manager who know how to respond to these things.

[Ian Royal]

We could go third on Saturday . . . Blackpool play their re-arranged game with Birmingham on 24th January!

Lets worry about it when it happens. We might then beat Wolves be in second and only 2 points behind the leader. Ifs, mights, coulds and maybes are useless at this stage.

[Scarface]

It seems obvious the word has got round that 4-5-1 is the way to beat us, although unlike Watford you still need to be able to defend. But Coppell should know this, so he should be now coming up with methods to combat this and control possession ourselves for a change. I'm a firm believer in not changing formations (especially at home) and playing against 4-5-1 should allow us advantages on the pitch to exploit.

We need a shake up, so for me it's about time we:

Drop Harper who away from home has no impact on the game what so ever.
Bring in Bikey to come out with the ball and exploit only having one forward to mark.
When not in possession get Doyle or Hunt to drop deeper, this never happens and both stay routed to the half way line.
Sign a new right winger who is prepared to tuck in, tackle back and also keep possession. If anyone watched Kightly Saturday night, you'd see just how pathetic Kebe is. There is the odd game he fancies it, but I reckon if you look back he has far more shite games than good.

[SteveRoyal]

Our centre mid can't cope against a 5-man midfield. It's up to our management to sort that out

That's precisely it. If you stop our full backs coming forward, we don't score.

The bit about the full backs is correct. But we've beaten several teams who've played 5 in midfield. Most recently at the start of this month.

Coppell acknowledges this, here.

[Franchise FC]

Perhaps you should take a little time to suss out our rivals. You don't seem to have too much trouble with new techology. For someone who posts prolifically on an internet forum I'm bemused to see you don't appear to know how to operate a TV and watch the Championship on a Sunday morning. You must be at church. I apologise. I would invest a couple of quid in one of those video-recorder thingys if I was you. That way you could watch a television programme at your leisure after it has finished.

Showed all 90 minutes of the Birmingham game on that hour long programme did they? Do they show all 90 minutes of every Birmingham game on that programme? I am glad that a proven pundit like RWC has written Birmingham off. Our collective minds should be at rest.

One of my colleagues is a Blues fan and he was at the game on Saturday.

Apparently, RWC was absolutely spot on - Brum deserved nothing and Bowyer was poor at best.

[rabidbee]

Yeah, but a lot of our fans say we're utter gash and the team needs completely replacing, and yet we're second. and it isn't as if Blues fans don't have a reputation for being miserable bastards, is it?












TOTMFPYC!

[Rex]

I think though RB there are a lot of supporters who think we are a Premier league team only. The frustration out of some supporters is that by thinking we have a divine right to be in the Premier League, every game we lose becomes a mini crisis that is broken down into it's respective parts and a scape goat if naturally found!
The fact is that we are an aspiring Premier team who have not found the correct mixture of success and heavy investment that some teams use to try and stabilise this dream. The club has progressed massively and expectations are running high as a result. In a perverse way this is great that we, as supporters, are looking up instead of down.
We (the club), do it the honest way - of promoting players careers, developing them and letting them move on when their contract runs out or another team comes knocking with a fat wad. This might be tantamount to treason to some but that's football.
Obviously the Premier League to some is hallowed ground, and if we fail this season to gain the expected promotion then this could transmit to further vitriolic attacks from certain members of this board.

[bobby m's syrup]

Everyone seems focused on Brum or Wolves, but what about Cardiff, Preston and dare I say it Swansea? A good run by any of these teams, coupled with patchy form by any of the (un)holy trinity currently occupying top spots would see a very different look to the table by March.