Evangelos Marinakis And Co

[Jean_claude_killy]

I think you could find a myriad of posts in this forum, criticising the amount of foreign signings, a lack of backing in the market, a lack of squad depth, a lack of quality and a willingness to sack managers too soon.

Literally have done the opposite to all of those things in this window and have been criticised for all of them. You just can't win can you?

Time and place tho.... this is the first time in years we had a squad challenging for promotion....the response over the summer... to sign a whole new team. 
We all wanted stability with karanka and o'Neil... could definitely see the improvement under karanka... the response is to back a manager under a terrible terrible run of form who had given us out worst start in half a century.

Just feels a little backwards and maybe done because it's what fans have wanted in the past.

I appreciate we have got some good championship players in  this summer. I still say and will stand by the fact we didnt need 12 plus signings. On top of that we have some 30plus year olds on big contracts and are looking at a 32 year old winger. Our midfield is aging now and our strikers are already isolated.

I appreciate sabri got us to 7th... he should have been sacked after stoke but we were all willing to see if he had learnt and changed his approach.

God this club is frustrating sometimes.

It may well be our worst start in half a century but it is 3 games when all said and done; I can vividly remember Frank Clark losing 6 out of his first 14 league games and still getting promotion.

Granted, he did have some chap called Collymore playing for him, along with a number of other new players, but everyone kept their nerve and the team eventually gelled.

This is the best group of players we have had in many a year; they also need time to gel.

That's my point... it's not 3 games is it... 3 wins in 19. Relegation for since beating Blackburn in january.

People keep coming back to this 3 game thing. Our form has been poor for 9 months. Our performances, in general, poor for longer. Yes we finished 7th... but how many times did we come away from a game saying it's the sign of a good team to play bad or poor and win. Under sabri our performances have generally been poor with a few exceptions. It's just that now performances are matching results.

No doubt you will say it takes time to gel all the new signings... that may well be true but again my point was, despite having our best finish in a decade we decided to sign a whole new team. 

On top of that, playing the tactics we play, we will struggle regardless of playing staff.

We have done the right thing at the wrong time IMO.

If we had given karanka or o'Neil or even warbs this support and this squad as well as giving him time.... I believe we would have been in a better place.

The 3 wins in 19 statistic is meaningless; 8 of the players who played in the last game, 4 of whom were debutants, did not play for us last season.

It is totally bizarre to attribute blame for last season on to new players.

As for doing the right thing at the wrong time; Lamouchi was an eleventh hour appointment last season; he inherited a team with no attacking options and had to make do with what players he had.

The way we played last season was a direct result of that.

Karanka also had a high turn over of players; Even a pathological liar like Donald f*****g Trump could not claim Karanka had no support.

Regardless of what happens to Lamouchi, this is the best squad we have had at the Club for over 20 years.

We have had a short pre season; some players have only been at the Club a matter of days; the group as a whole needs time; and players get time, managers do not.

[Jacksbadhobbits]

I think you could find a myriad of posts in this forum, criticising the amount of foreign signings, a lack of backing in the market, a lack of squad depth, a lack of quality and a willingness to sack managers too soon.

Literally have done the opposite to all of those things in this window and have been criticised for all of them. You just can't win can you?

Time and place tho.... this is the first time in years we had a squad challenging for promotion....the response over the summer... to sign a whole new team. 
We all wanted stability with karanka and o'Neil... could definitely see the improvement under karanka... the response is to back a manager under a terrible terrible run of form who had given us out worst start in half a century.

Just feels a little backwards and maybe done because it's what fans have wanted in the past.

I appreciate we have got some good championship players in  this summer. I still say and will stand by the fact we didnt need 12 plus signings. On top of that we have some 30plus year olds on big contracts and are looking at a 32 year old winger. Our midfield is aging now and our strikers are already isolated.

I appreciate sabri got us to 7th... he should have been sacked after stoke but we were all willing to see if he had learnt and changed his approach.

God this club is frustrating sometimes.

You cannot draw any conclusions about the squad this season on the back of 3 games. Not 19. Who was the first manager in years in getting us challenging for promotion. A manager who came in at the last minute and inherited an unbalanced squad put together by other managers. Karanka did not pull up any trees. He had more financial backing than any manager we have ever had. We went on a record run without scoring a goal and never even looked like a top 6 side. MON fell out with the players and results got worse under him. I don't think we should have sacked Warburton but I was in the minority. Sabri has shown more promise than any manager since Billy. Lockdown did effect some teams more than others. Millwall were poor without a very partisan home crowd behind them. We lost to Barnsley late on  but so did Brentford. We were in competition with Fullham Brentford WBA Swansea and Cardiff. They had more quality in depth in their squads which made a difference when teams were playing every few days. How can you judge this stronger squad Sabri has put together after just 3 league games.

[Uwantlee]

I think you could find a myriad of posts in this forum, criticising the amount of foreign signings, a lack of backing in the market, a lack of squad depth, a lack of quality and a willingness to sack managers too soon.

Literally have done the opposite to all of those things in this window and have been criticised for all of them. You just can't win can you?

Time and place tho.... this is the first time in years we had a squad challenging for promotion....the response over the summer... to sign a whole new team. 
We all wanted stability with karanka and o'Neil... could definitely see the improvement under karanka... the response is to back a manager under a terrible terrible run of form who had given us out worst start in half a century.

Just feels a little backwards and maybe done because it's what fans have wanted in the past.

I appreciate we have got some good championship players in  this summer. I still say and will stand by the fact we didnt need 12 plus signings. On top of that we have some 30plus year olds on big contracts and are looking at a 32 year old winger. Our midfield is aging now and our strikers are already isolated.

I appreciate sabri got us to 7th... he should have been sacked after stoke but we were all willing to see if he had learnt and changed his approach.

God this club is frustrating sometimes.

It may well be our worst start in half a century but it is 3 games when all said and done; I can vividly remember Frank Clark losing 6 out of his first 14 league games and still getting promotion.

Granted, he did have some chap called Collymore playing for him, along with a number of other new players, but everyone kept their nerve and the team eventually gelled.

This is the best group of players we have had in many a year; they also need time to gel.

That's my point... it's not 3 games is it... 3 wins in 19. Relegation for since beating Blackburn in january.

People keep coming back to this 3 game thing. Our form has been poor for 9 months. Our performances, in general, poor for longer. Yes we finished 7th... but how many times did we come away from a game saying it's the sign of a good team to play bad or poor and win. Under sabri our performances have generally been poor with a few exceptions. It's just that now performances are matching results.

No doubt you will say it takes time to gel all the new signings... that may well be true but again my point was, despite having our best finish in a decade we decided to sign a whole new team. 

On top of that, playing the tactics we play, we will struggle regardless of playing staff.

We have done the right thing at the wrong time IMO.

If we had given karanka or o'Neil or even warbs this support and this squad as well as giving him time.... I believe we would have been in a better place.

The 3 wins in 19 statistic is meaningless; 8 of the players who played in the last game, 4 of whom were debutants, did not play for us last season.

It is totally bizarre to attribute blame for last season on to new players.

As for doing the right thing at the wrong time; Lamouchi was an eleventh hour appointment last season; he inherited a team with no attacking options and had to make do with what players he had.

The way we played last season was a direct result of that.

Karanka also had a high turn over of players; Even a pathological liar like Donald f*****g Trump could not claim Karanka had no support.

Regardless of what happens to Lamouchi, this is the best squad we have had at the Club for over 20 years.

We have had a short pre season; some players have only been at the Club a matter of days; the group as a whole needs time; and players get time, managers do not.

Ffs.... at no point did I blame the players now for last season I am blaming the manager. The football is no different now to last season... different players same poor tactics. Yes it was the best finish in 10 years  so what. We were 1 point off 2nd in feb... we ended up dropping out completely. From the position we were in that is a failure. 

I never said karanka didn’t have the support... I alluded to the fact that the club should have done then what it has done this summer rather than spending money on expensive foreign players. The club should have given karanka the time rather than applying addition pressure especially when the football was better than it is now and we were making good progress.

I’ll point again to the sheer number of poor performances under sabri that we cam out with points and said it’s the sign of a good team.. Leeds Away, Charlton away, reading home and away, Luton home, blackburn home and away, Preston home, Barnsley home, Millwall away... each of these games were very poor and we came out with points... it was only a matter of time until the results matched the performance. Oh and I was at each and every one of those games and many more last season. And just so I am not completely one sided... there were also good performances that got good results... qpr away, Fulham away, Brentford home and away, Leeds home, Luton away... good games good results... but also add to that games like Wigan away, Millwall home, Huddersfield away where the results actually did match the performances.

I get that some people are keen for sabri to stay but I say it as I see it. Sabri has to go he is the problem. Even the new players has displayed displeasure at his tactics and changes.


Yet again tho you have alluded to the fact we finished 7th and it’s the best finish in years... why the fook do we need 14 new players then. Why destroy a team that was pushing. Yes replace the lost players and add 2 or 3 quality players. Can you remember what happened when we dismantled Paul harts team. Not saying this is the same but it can’t be good replacing the majority of the squad especially one that was close to promotion.

Also... how long do people really suggest we give sabri. 5 game? 10 games? The sooner we get rid the sooner someone can come in and pick this group of players up. Leave it 10games and the season could be over.

[Uwantlee]

I think you could find a myriad of posts in this forum, criticising the amount of foreign signings, a lack of backing in the market, a lack of squad depth, a lack of quality and a willingness to sack managers too soon.

Literally have done the opposite to all of those things in this window and have been criticised for all of them. You just can't win can you?

Time and place tho.... this is the first time in years we had a squad challenging for promotion....the response over the summer... to sign a whole new team. 
We all wanted stability with karanka and o'Neil... could definitely see the improvement under karanka... the response is to back a manager under a terrible terrible run of form who had given us out worst start in half a century.

Just feels a little backwards and maybe done because it's what fans have wanted in the past.

I appreciate we have got some good championship players in  this summer. I still say and will stand by the fact we didnt need 12 plus signings. On top of that we have some 30plus year olds on big contracts and are looking at a 32 year old winger. Our midfield is aging now and our strikers are already isolated.

I appreciate sabri got us to 7th... he should have been sacked after stoke but we were all willing to see if he had learnt and changed his approach.

God this club is frustrating sometimes.

You cannot draw any conclusions about the squad this season on the back of 3 games. Not 19. Who was the first manager in years in getting us challenging for promotion. A manager who came in at the last minute and inherited an unbalanced squad put together by other managers. Karanka did not pull up any trees. He had more financial backing than any manager we have ever had. We went on a record run without scoring a goal and never even looked like a top 6 side. MON fell out with the players and results got worse under him. I don't think we should have sacked Warburton but I was in the minority. Sabri has shown more promise than any manager since Billy. Lockdown did effect some teams more than others. Millwall were poor without a very partisan home crowd behind them. We lost to Barnsley late on  but so did Brentford. We were in competition with Fullham Brentford WBA Swansea and Cardiff. They had more quality in depth in their squads which made a difference when teams were playing every few days. How can you judge this stronger squad Sabri has put together after just 3 league games.

Not judging the squad.. have said the squad is better... judging the manager. The performances are the same due to the negative tactics and the fact that it is very easy to play against.

Appreciated that karanka had money spent... on Mendez players not karanka players. Simply said if karanka had got this team we would be far better off. Style of football better suited to this squad and more importantly the league. West Brom, Leeds, Fulham didn’t get promoted playing 6 defensive players and hoping to protect 1 goal leads.

Yes these other teams had better depth but the problem is that sabri never changed tactic despite missing players. Other teams changed shape and outlook based on the squad available... we just ploughed on regardless.

[Sabricadabra]

I’d love to have seen what Karanka could get out of this group of players.

[wassy04]

I think you could find a myriad of posts in this forum, criticising the amount of foreign signings, a lack of backing in the market, a lack of squad depth, a lack of quality and a willingness to sack managers too soon.

Literally have done the opposite to all of those things in this window and have been criticised for all of them. You just can't win can you?

Time and place tho.... this is the first time in years we had a squad challenging for promotion....the response over the summer... to sign a whole new team. 
We all wanted stability with karanka and o'Neil... could definitely see the improvement under karanka... the response is to back a manager under a terrible terrible run of form who had given us out worst start in half a century.

Just feels a little backwards and maybe done because it's what fans have wanted in the past.

I appreciate we have got some good championship players in  this summer. I still say and will stand by the fact we didnt need 12 plus signings. On top of that we have some 30plus year olds on big contracts and are looking at a 32 year old winger. Our midfield is aging now and our strikers are already isolated.

I appreciate sabri got us to 7th... he should have been sacked after stoke but we were all willing to see if he had learnt and changed his approach.

God this club is frustrating sometimes.

I'm sorry maybe you've been saying all last season we had a great team with loads of depth, maybe you were happy with Da Costa and Tyler as backup strikers? Bong as backup LB? Yates as backup Dm, he's never been criticised. Diakhaby backup winger? Dawson/benalouane backup CB, assume you were happy with that? Sabri overachieved with that bang average team we had. How many of last season's squad gets in the promoted teams aside from Cash? A fit Sow/Lolley maybe (although not seen those for a while) that's about it I'd say. 

I get you don't like Sabri, fine whatever. Although your version of stability is essentially a manager that continues to be successful without every going through a bad patch.

[Uwantlee]

I think you could find a myriad of posts in this forum, criticising the amount of foreign signings, a lack of backing in the market, a lack of squad depth, a lack of quality and a willingness to sack managers too soon.

Literally have done the opposite to all of those things in this window and have been criticised for all of them. You just can't win can you?

Time and place tho.... this is the first time in years we had a squad challenging for promotion....the response over the summer... to sign a whole new team. 
We all wanted stability with karanka and o'Neil... could definitely see the improvement under karanka... the response is to back a manager under a terrible terrible run of form who had given us out worst start in half a century.

Just feels a little backwards and maybe done because it's what fans have wanted in the past.

I appreciate we have got some good championship players in  this summer. I still say and will stand by the fact we didnt need 12 plus signings. On top of that we have some 30plus year olds on big contracts and are looking at a 32 year old winger. Our midfield is aging now and our strikers are already isolated.

I appreciate sabri got us to 7th... he should have been sacked after stoke but we were all willing to see if he had learnt and changed his approach.

God this club is frustrating sometimes.

I'm sorry maybe you've been saying all last season we had a great team with loads of depth, maybe you were happy with Da Costa and Tyler as backup strikers? Bong as backup LB? Yates as backup Dm, he's never been criticised. Diakhaby backup winger? Dawson/benalouane backup CB, assume you were happy with that? Sabri overachieved with that bang average team we had. How many of last season's squad gets in the promoted teams aside from Cash? A fit Sow/Lolley maybe (although not seen those for a while) that's about it I'd say. 

I get you don't like Sabri, fine whatever. Although your version of stability is essentially a manager that continues to be successful without every going through a bad patch.

Ok if you want to be Like that then that’s fine... however, I don’t think a bad patch consists of half a season.

I really hope you are right and sabri is the man to move us forward. Also... never said I didn’t like sabri. Think he’s a great bloke but Just out of time here.

As for last seasons squad I other teams... yeah of course cash. But also grabban, Lolley, riberio, Worrall (wanted by prem teams). 

Stability is something we all want... but at what cost. Do we stick with a manager just for stabilities sake??? If you are happy watching this each week then fine but you can’t stick with a manager who isn’t getting results, hasn’t for a while now, just because you want stability. Bollocks. I would have liked karanka to stay... didn’t happen... even warbs was harshly treated. O’Neill had a better record than sabri before being sacked. But it’s fine let’s stick with this one because stability is what we need more than anything else... 

Regarding signing players... no one wanted diakhaby or bong. But 14 signings (after Cafu and a supposed winger) is fooking stupid. And I am happy with daws as a back up yes. With the squad we had last year a think a replacement for Watson and cash, a backup striker, winger and sow backup would have done it. Riberio was good last season don’t need to sell, Silva and carv are being forced out the latter without being given a real opportunity in a team suited to him. Yates is decent as backup. Our squad wasn’t far off. 

Again, I’d be more than happy for sabri to sort it and get us up... not seeing any evidence that this is going to happen.

[Sabricadabra]

We finished 7th, which was an overachievement for a club of our means. Obviously the ‘half season bad patch’ wasn’t so bad.

[Jacksbadhobbits]

We finished 7th, which was an overachievement for a club of our means. Obviously the ‘half season bad patch’ wasn’t so bad.

Would any other club in the country sack their manager three games into a new season after achieving their highest league position in 7 years. How ludicrous.

[Sabricadabra]

We finished 7th, which was an overachievement for a club of our means. Obviously the ‘half season bad patch’ wasn’t so bad.

Would any other club in the country sack their manager three games into a new season after achieving their highest league position in 7 years. How ludicrous.

I agree.

[ThePromisedLand]

How many would sack their manager after 3 wins from 19?

Lies, damn lies & statistics.

Hope he stays - but!

[wassy04]

I think you could find a myriad of posts in this forum, criticising the amount of foreign signings, a lack of backing in the market, a lack of squad depth, a lack of quality and a willingness to sack managers too soon.

Literally have done the opposite to all of those things in this window and have been criticised for all of them. You just can't win can you?

Time and place tho.... this is the first time in years we had a squad challenging for promotion....the response over the summer... to sign a whole new team. 
We all wanted stability with karanka and o'Neil... could definitely see the improvement under karanka... the response is to back a manager under a terrible terrible run of form who had given us out worst start in half a century.

Just feels a little backwards and maybe done because it's what fans have wanted in the past.

I appreciate we have got some good championship players in  this summer. I still say and will stand by the fact we didnt need 12 plus signings. On top of that we have some 30plus year olds on big contracts and are looking at a 32 year old winger. Our midfield is aging now and our strikers are already isolated.

I appreciate sabri got us to 7th... he should have been sacked after stoke but we were all willing to see if he had learnt and changed his approach.

God this club is frustrating sometimes.

I'm sorry maybe you've been saying all last season we had a great team with loads of depth, maybe you were happy with Da Costa and Tyler as backup strikers? Bong as backup LB? Yates as backup Dm, he's never been criticised. Diakhaby backup winger? Dawson/benalouane backup CB, assume you were happy with that? Sabri overachieved with that bang average team we had. How many of last season's squad gets in the promoted teams aside from Cash? A fit Sow/Lolley maybe (although not seen those for a while) that's about it I'd say. 

I get you don't like Sabri, fine whatever. Although your version of stability is essentially a manager that continues to be successful without every going through a bad patch.

Ok if you want to be Like that then that’s fine... however, I don’t think a bad patch consists of half a season.

I really hope you are right and sabri is the man to move us forward. Also... never said I didn’t like sabri. Think he’s a great bloke but Just out of time here.

As for last seasons squad I other teams... yeah of course cash. But also grabban, Lolley, riberio, Worrall (wanted by prem teams). 

Stability is something we all want... but at what cost. Do we stick with a manager just for stabilities sake??? If you are happy watching this each week then fine but you can’t stick with a manager who isn’t getting results, hasn’t for a while now, just because you want stability. Bollocks. I would have liked karanka to stay... didn’t happen... even warbs was harshly treated. O’Neill had a better record than sabri before being sacked. But it’s fine let’s stick with this one because stability is what we need more than anything else... 

Regarding signing players... no one wanted diakhaby or bong. But 14 signings (after Cafu and a supposed winger) is fooking stupid. And I am happy with daws as a back up yes. With the squad we had last year a think a replacement for Watson and cash, a backup striker, winger and sow backup would have done it. Riberio was good last season don’t need to sell, Silva and carv are being forced out the latter without being given a real opportunity in a team suited to him. Yates is decent as backup. Our squad wasn’t far off. 

Again, I’d be more than happy for sabri to sort it and get us up... not seeing any evidence that this is going to happen.

So you don't think Freeman was worth signing then? Or mckenna? Or a player like Arter?  I could find plenty of examples of people that did. 

Having a third keeper in the squad is going to make literally no difference whatsoever. Neither is a random backup DM, Riberio situation is odd and clearly something going on there but we def needed a backup to replace Bong. Long term all these signings might have a negative financial impact but we have a better team, this is good.