An alternative view

[Omegstrat6]

Personally I don't normally jump on the "manager out" bandwagon so quickly but this time I truly believe that Val is not a good fit. Like many I was encouraged by his attitude at first and the teams early successes but have become increasingly disillusioned. We all know that we have a disinterested owner and little to no investment. We all know that this squad are far from the best we have had but we also know that they can and have done better. Yes, the players themselves must take some responsibility for poor performances but it is surely the managers job to get the best out of the resources available to him as it is in any walk of life and Val clearly is not achieving on this count. Team selection, tactics and motivational skills all seem increasingly questionable.

Honestly don't know who we could attract in his place but the definition of insanity is to keep on doing what you have been but expect different results. I am not suggesting that we are good enough to even make play offs with squad we have regardless of who is manager but can anyone see Val being the right one to rebuild over coming seasons and get us to at least play with more intent and ambition and-please!-a more entertaining style?

[mickd1961]

The only way Val can stay is if he defeats the player power that’s rancid in our squad.

In his position I would be ostracising the rebels and playing the kids.

The fans would really get behind our youngsters for a start.

He needs to send a message, at the moment he’s looking weak.

[baggiematt]

"We have by and large been on top in almost every game we have played this season, its the attacking side of our play that has really cost us".

Pretty much perfect appraisal.

I can understand that. But there's something about the priorities of the manager at the start of the season which has bothered me. He clearly planned for Dike to come in, in January which has been a risk that hasn't paid off. Basically, there was some money there and Val put all his eggs in one basket, at a point in the future. He bought in loan players like Mulumby that he doesn't really play that often. Clarke's been in on loan at the expense of Ajayi. Now Clarke's a good player but he's using loans to sign players marginally better than those replaced in low priority positions and yet he's got Phillips playing up top. Would a better manager have prioritised a second striker loan and freed Phillips up to play centre mid? Possibly.

Also, I don't know how much input a manager has on signings, but you would think he was part of the process. The guy Hugill scored 5 goals the term before and you would think he'd have picked up on this and said to go for someone else. We have very little pace in the side and no transfers have sought to address this.

This is all a bit hindsight for us, but a manager should be eating, living and breathing what the qualities of the team are and prioritise key positions to improve. We started the season with Phillips up top and a manager who had a plan to bring his replacement in, in January....that mistake is firmly on his shoulders.

[WBA123]

Personally I don't normally jump on the "manager out" bandwagon so quickly but this time I truly believe that Val is not a good fit. Like many I was encouraged by his attitude at first and the teams early successes but have become increasingly disillusioned. We all know that we have a disinterested owner and little to no investment. We all know that this squad are far from the best we have had but we also know that they can and have done better. Yes, the players themselves must take some responsibility for poor performances but it is surely the managers job to get the best out of the resources available to him as it is in any walk of life and Val clearly is not achieving on this count. Team selection, tactics and motivational skills all seem increasingly questionable.

Honestly don't know who we could attract in his place but the definition of insanity is to keep on doing what you have been but expect different results. I am not suggesting that we are good enough to even make play offs with squad we have regardless of who is manager but can anyone see Val being the right one to rebuild over coming seasons and get us to at least play with more intent and ambition and-please!-a more entertaining style?

I can still see Val being able to turn it around, yes. But if he's still here in 3 seasons time, we need to be in the Prem and be a horrible team to play against, which is what he wants us to be. It won't be pretty, it may be similar to what we had under Pulis. But fans can put up with that style of football when we play Man City and Liverpool, moreso than against Peterboro and Preston. He also seems a very strong character, his press conference today I thought he said a lot of things I wanted to hear.

[Barrera]

I have stuck with Val all season .... thinking he was a hostage to fortune with Lai at the helm. And to start off we did well - a fresh approach which got results. However the situation has deteriorated over the past three months. Yes we have been unlucky with a few injuries but the Preston game was the final straw for me. This so-called system is clearly not working and there is no flexibility in approach or as many have said no Plan B. Only a fool keeps trying the same thing over and over expecting a different result. The players are not bought in and he appears to have lost the dressing room. Even Mowatt - his disciple from Barnsley - was a shadow of his former self against Preston. So IMO he needs to go and quickly before it’s too late.

Who to bring in? Would have tried Hodgson ... but too late now. Who else? Colin is available - that would be fun. Brucey - maybe not a bad call. Nuno .... needs a way back after the Spurs debacle. There are available managers out there. Main problem I see is that Lai paid £2m to get Val and gave him a 4 year contract ... will be an expensive mistake to admit ...

The club needs a lift. Can’t see Val doing it now. Maybe Carroll will be a revelation who knows. But what we all know is the biggest lift would be Lai selling up ....