The downward spiral

[frantastic51]

Well, apart from the FA cup match that's 4 games on the trot where we were odds on to lose before the game even kicked-off. (Looking at it from a team selection perspective)
You may be aware that I hadn't renewed my season ticket. It wasn't because I had a vision of mediocrity but my friend deciding she'd had enough of a 160 mile round trip to each home match to watch mostly uninspired dross.

I've read all the postings on here and watched a lot of the matches when on TV and frankly the inevitable is happening when you don't strengthen your team at transfer time. Whose fault this is I do not know but I say to the directors and Sean, the fans deserve better than this.The soul-destroying stuff we have had to watch for the past few seasons has been tempered with the odd good performance which has kept us onside.

I can't say I've always agreed with team choices and definitely not the last minute substitutes but I have bowed to Sean's better knowledge on these things even though I've been watching football since long before he was born. However I have come to the conclusion that we've made enough money from the PL to build Barnfield and to do the ground improvements so far and that, my friends is job done.

So to the Championship we are headed, the good news being that there isn't any VAR, which in my opinion is ruining the beautiful game as we know it. That, and the feigned injuries and diving et al. Oh, and the ridiculous wages.

I suppose that Rigg may have a few aces up his sleeve as regards transfers in and that we may yet avoid the drop but it is looking increasingly unlikely.

I am sad that I mostly didn't enjoy last season's football, sadder still that we are in such a mess this season but the state of the world pales all this into insignificance. when I see all the money being wasted on Prima Donnas that would be better spent elsewhere then I'm resigned to the fact that my love-affair with football, after all these years, is over.

[FromTheDarkness]

I agree with you, but also fear the drop will not be a smooth decent. These players are no longer Championship players, the loss of Pope, Tarks, Mcneal at the very least are inevitable, and with the penny pinching and further wasted money on "cheap" deals... We will not even compete in the championship, for me it all comes down to the director and vision for the club.. they just want us to scrap staying up season after season for about 30mil net spend per year, problem we have is we now require about 7 players and the 30mil net spend cant scratch the surface.

[alfinyalcabo]

So,even though we are a few points above the relegation places and having a bad patch you are saying we are a division 1 club in the making..? We definitely need to get some points pretty soon though or it will be a struggle..

[ClaretinBudapest]

So,even though we are a few points above the relegation places and having a bad patch you are saying we are a division 1 club in the making..? We definitely need to get some points pretty soon though or it will be a struggle..

If you look at performances this season and even when we won matches in the past we were very unconvincing but now we are probably a mid table Championship side at best.If we lose Mcneal and Tarks then FTD`s remarks are not far off the mark.The team needs a serious overhaul if we want to compete and our failure to address that in previous transfer windows is now so apparent that it would take much more than £20-30 million to put things right.
There is not a cat in hells chance of our board spending that sort of dosh so in my opinion we will be back in the Championship next season.If that happens we will definitely not be a yo yo club because we would not be able to compete with the top 5-6 clubs in the Championship either with the current squad.

[FromTheDarkness]

There is a lot of money in the championship, looking at the league table interms of "big club" and "money" I would put us 8th above Preston, all the teams above have more money.. Competition in the championship as in play off position is hard its got a hell of a lot harder since we have been there, do not think we are a big club and its a breeze.. no way!

And just to share something that someone told me.
Burnley is the only town team in the Premier league, others are all citys.. funny how that correlates!

[Balanbam00]

For sure many fans are very upset.Yes we are in a free fall.But unlike many I would like to see some first steps made to improve the team.You may know my thoughts, but here again.We are giving the ball away too much!!! That is we do not control the game, the opposing team controls the game much more than we do. So for me, we are playing a stupid game of football! The style we are playing 'hoof' the ball up field is all wrong! It has been said that Pope now feels in a 'comfort zone', but so does S D !
Some point's are:
When Pope takes a goal kick,all our players go up into the opponents half. Even if our players get the ball ,they have 1-3 seconds,to do something with it ,but some fans have said, we are slow, no real skills etc. Then our solution is to open up the field more,to have 5-10 sec to control the ball and do something with it.'Open up the game'! .
The 2 backs have to stay on our goal line,not to advance. Pope must pass the ball to one of the Back line. That means an attacker is 10 yards away at least from our player and ball. If they want the ball come and get it! So the attacker must run 10 yards to attack our player,to get the ball. (Behind that attacker a hole or gap has now been created). Meanwhile the ball can be passed to Pope, he has the choice to pass to the other back,or to pass the ball where that hole or gap has been created. The Half-Back has now much time to do something, and more important, we control the game at this point and the ball is in our possession and we are attacking! ( Much better than hoofing the ball up field and with luck we can do something with it )You may say ,''but that's changing our game ,how we play!'' May I say in the year 1955 -57, Burnley played with a short corner ,simply our forwards were small,they found a solution! Let them try that, if it does not work ,then lets buy new players !
This we must try on the training ground,and perfect it,there is no scope to err!. Some may say, ''that's fancy stuff'' ,no its playing with logic. Of course, Pope can mix it ,by kicking up field ,once or twice ?

[army88]

For sure many fans are very upset.Yes we are in a free fall.But unlike many I would like to see some first steps made to improve the team.You may know my thoughts, but here again.We are giving the ball away too much!!! That is we do not control the game, the opposing team controls the game much more than we do. So for me, we are playing a stupid game of football! The style we are playing 'hoof' the ball up field is all wrong! It has been said that Pope now feels in a 'comfort zone', but so does S D !
Some point's are:
When Pope takes a goal kick,all our players go up into the opponents half. Even if our players get the ball ,they have 1-3 seconds,to do something with it ,but some fans have said, we are slow, no real skills etc. Then our solution is to open up the field more,to have 5-10 sec to control the ball and do something with it.'Open up the game'! .
The 2 backs have to stay on our goal line,not to advance. Pope must pass the ball to one of the Back line. That means an attacker is 10 yards away at least from our player and ball. If they want the ball come and get it! So the attacker must run 10 yards to attack our player,to get the ball. (Behind that attacker a hole or gap has now been created). Meanwhile the ball can be passed to Pope, he has the choice to pass to the other back,or to pass the ball where that hole or gap has been created. The Half-Back has now much time to do something, and more important, we control the game at this point and the ball is in our possession and we are attacking! ( Much better than hoofing the ball up field and with luck we can do something with it )You may say ,''but that's changing our game ,how we play!'' May I say in the year 1955 -57, Burnley played with a short corner ,simply our forwards were small,they found a solution! Let them try that, if it does not work ,then lets buy new players !
This we must try on the training ground,and perfect it,there is no scope to err!. Some may say, ''that's fancy stuff'' ,no its playing with logic. Of course, Pope can mix it ,by kicking up field ,once or twice ?

All valid Balan

The only problem being that the players have no pace whatsoever and every team that comes has.

I’ve posted previously that defence is under pressure the whole time because midfield and wide is a real issue.

What people forget is that 2 seasons ago we had a reasonable competitive midfield but the they weren’t young then and they’ve got two more seasons of the best league in the world in their legs plus their bodies are two years older.

Add the above to the fact that we have players/ manager in capable of changing formation to try and stop the opposing side getting in front of us.

We have honest decent pros who have been ageing together and we haven’t addressed that we’ve just let it happen.

If I’m honest Balan I’m sick to death of it , it never changes and if we go 1-2 down we aren’t coming back from it ,

I completely buy into what you posted but to deliver it you will need firstly a different manager and or secondly different players.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Willan against Lowton.

Says it all really, we are out of our class.

[Balanbam00]

That penalty Willian vs Lowton.

I understand the rule states : ''If an offence involves contact it is penalised by a direct free kick or penalty kick.''

Correct me if I am wrong.

Yes, there was contact!
But ! Managers and players know the rule and a way to get a penalty is for the attacker to drag his foot into the leg of the defenders - Contact ! Resulting the Ref awarding a penalty.
But again,its part of Football's Drama school ,drag your foot into the defender! A Ref should know this, and know the difference between say Lawton crashing into Willian,or Willian dragging his foot into Lawton?
Yes it could be hard to see this, but here we have VAR, video showing different angles?
The result should have been. No penalty ,and a card being shown to Willian.
But football is a business, you constantly win - big prizes ,you loose ,almost nothing. You keep winning and the Manager keeps his job!

[army88]

There is a lot of money in the championship, looking at the league table interms of "big club" and "money" I would put us 8th above Preston, all the teams above have more money.. Competition in the championship as in play off position is hard its got a hell of a lot harder since we have been there, do not think we are a big club and its a breeze.. no way!

And just to share something that someone told me.
Burnley is the only town team in the Premier league, others are all citys.. funny how that correlates!

Bournemouth not a city - 3 times size of Burnley mind but not a city.