Thetownend.com

The opponent:  Franchise FC

Ok, I will be the first to admit I have no particular love for Milton Keynes, not just the football club but the area in general doesn’t really do much for me. But it really is the founding and existence of the club that bothers me. “I did a deal that was wrong and the owners [of Wimbledon at the time) were wrong. I'm not proud of the way football came to Milton Keynes”. Those were the words spoken at the start of the year by the owner of Milton Keynes FC, Pete Winkelman.  Now Winkelman is an interesting character it must be said.  Its easy to for English Football fans to sling the accusation that US sports entities are nothing but franchises. They forget Milton Keynes FC if they do so, a club that cynically exploited the financial troubles of another to buy its way into the English Football League and move it 56 miles away. I know we all have our own opinions on the way Milton Keynes were formed, some don’t give a shit, and some do. For me, the only thing the Wimbledon of old and the current Milton Keynes share is empty seats, and that’s about it.

My first time travelling to Milton Keynes was when they turned out at the hockey stadium. The temporary seating was an odd set up, although free parking at the nearby McDonalds was a winner. The one thing I am sure that Milton Keynes did take from the old place to the new Stadium MK was the announcer that seems to enjoy hearing himself and his choice of music at decibels associated with that of a tornado taking off. The newish stadium is impressive in many ways, the way it came about not so impressive, Asda and IKEA had done a deal with the devil and I hope it comes back one day to bite them on their respective corporate arses.

There are many good things about Milton Keynes and a lot of specific statistics speaks volumes for how the town of a similar size to our own has gained a massive 41’000 in population in just 10 years! Like ourselves, Milton Keynes have applied unsuccessfully on several occasions to gain city status, and some 9 years ago John Prescott announced plans to double the population of Milton Keynes to some 440’000 by 2026. I would imagine in the last 9 years Lord Prescott managed to double the size of his waistline without any struggle. Milton Keynes is not awash with A List celebrities, the most recent famous folk being Olympic Gold medallist long jumping ginger Greg Rutherford, half decent golfer, Ian Poulter, Winkleman himself and everyone’s favourite English Table Tennis Champion, Andrew Baggaley.

What are they saying about us?

“...join Brentford in the deluded, annoying, arrogant type of fanbase list.

http://thetownend.com/index.php?topic=51199.0

If MK is a horrible place to go to then what the hell is Swindon? They charge more to sit in a shitty away end and the town is crap too. My dad has lived in MK and Swindon and he said there is no comparison. People in glass houses really shouldn't throw stones”.

http://www.concreteroundabout.co.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7411


Franchise Last 6 –  LWLWWD (currently 10th in League 1 on 61 points, having played 2 less games than the teams in 7th, 8th and 9th)

The Threat – Dean Bowditch currently leads the way this season with 12 goals, Ryan Lowe is a couple behind on 10. Izale McLeod is now back on the scene at Franchise, despite them already having a penalty taker.

The irrelevant stats – Franchise have played 21 of their 41 games at home so far this season with a decent enough record, having won 11, drawn 5 and lost 5. They have only failed to score at home 3 times so far this season and have kept 11 clean sheets. Interestingly, they score 26% of their goals between the 30 and 45th minutes.

Head to Head –  We have met on 14 occasions in their illustrious 9 year history, and we have won 6, drawn 3 and lost 5 times.

The Odds – It would seem the bookies just about fancy us to win this (as they often have in recent games.   Franchise 9/5    Draw 12/5    Swindon 7/5 (Sky Bet). I quite fancy a draw HT and Swindon Ft at 11/2 with Bet Victor.

The Son Says – A 1-0 victory awaits us.

The Prediction – I am going for a 2-1 away win with goals from A.Rooney and Darren Ward in front of 7’248 Franchisees, plus 710 travelling from Wiltshire and beyond.

And Finally – Milton Keynes is the name of one of the villages that were in the original designated area of the new "city" of Milton Keynes. This had the name Mideltone (middletown) in the Domesday Book and by 1422 the name of Kaynes had been added after the feudal family name Cahaignes.


COYR COYR COYR

We will win, 2-1

We have to beat them.

2-1 tonking, Williams and Rooney.

Your son has lost a bit of his positivity with the 1-0 prediction  :D
Great write up as ever, 2-1 win Collins and Flint

My pessimistic side says we will lose 2-0, my optimistic side says we will lose 1-0. So a draw for me 1-1.

I think this game could define our season. If we win it will set us up nicely for another tough game on Saturday, filled with confidence and an opportunity to cement our play off place. If we lose it could bring others into the equasation to challenge us for our spot in the play offs.

I think 0-0. We're reasonably tight but can't score at the moment.

'Swindon Town nil point' I'm afraid.

We'll lose to nil, i imagine

Not travelling tonight, I will not give that club a penny of my hard-earned cash - on the other hand my son and his girlfriend hope to go, but it is a "home" fixture for them as they live near MK than Swindon!!  Got my pessimistic hat on, 2-0 defeat . . . unless KMac decides to go with a 4-4-2 when we will lose 3-0!!

2-0 defeat.

Hoping to be proved wrong.

After the embarrasment of watching us play Doncaster in a bar in Turkey with a Donny Rovers fan, I can only see us losing this i'm afraid.

3-0 defeat, and we may get a shot on target tonight, but it wouldn't surprise me if we didn't!

0-2, Ward and Parrett.

711 travelling Town fans.

Doncaster aside, we've been playing alright, and i'll allow that for the pitch and wholesale changes in the side. We battered Notts C and Oldham but just didn't put them away. I have feeling tonight will be a night where we go out there with something to prove, and will win by 2 goals.

Would change it a bit tonight with Devera in left back, McCormack in the middle with Ferry. Roberts back on the left, with De Vita up front with Williams.

Before the Donny match I was confident we would make the playoffs and win them. I won't allow just one poor performance (against the league leaders I might add) change my mind. I prefer it when my knee doesn't jerk. 1-1, another valuable point toward making the top 6.

Another poor performance though and I fear it may be time to forget about promotion.

I also think Sheff U will lose tonight

Weird one really - if this had been 3 weeks ago I think we would have taken a minimum 1,500 -- now I can't see there being more than 750 !

A couple of us are going up later this afternoon - to see the Mighty Reds sneak a 2-1 win !!!

4

1-1-Ferry-1

2

Just get Ferry back in the middle and the rest will take care of itself.

My Mrs is originally from Milton Keynes and her Dad is a Dons season ticket holder, so this one was the first game I looked out for when the fixtures came out.
Hate to say it but I don’t think I will be the one with bragging rights at home after tonight.

2-0 defeat.

I thought Ian Poulter was from Hitchin.

Yeppers

Just can't see us winning.

Would be delighted with a point.

Not having a go but who did her dad support 10 years ago?

I hope we win, just can't see it happening.

The only hope that I cling to is that previous games this season when we have doubted the team going into a game have usually been met with a good performance.

There is no doubt that our last performance was one of the worst for some time, lets hope that tonight is a reaction to that.

I just hope we don't go there and try & hang on for a 0-0

I have asked him the same question and he said he followed football but wasn't a huge fan, but when Milton Keynes got a football team he just saw it as something to do on a Saturday.

Managed to swing it so I was working only a few miles down the road from MK today.  That’s effectively free transport to tonight’s game thanks to a taxpayers funded expense claim I’ll be submitting.

Don’t have great expectations tonight, I’ll take a point now.

1-1, Williams because he is so shit

That's my biggest fear, I hope we go for it.

Hope we actually play some recognised wide players as well. And put Ferry in the fucking middle!

If Ferry plays in the middle, and McCormack doesn't play at left back we might get something. Parrett to have 409 shots, none of which are on target.

I just hope KMac can show that he isn't afraid to change things. Something clearly wasn't working as it should have against Donny.

Get Ferry and Luongo in the middle of midfield. Roberts on one side and De Vita on the other. 2 up front also please.

As I posted elsewhere, Franchise will be scenting blood here, if they win, they'll be coming up right behind us for a PO spot.

Given our fixtures until the end of the season..for which it's difficult to see a win, apart from maybe Scunny, if they're already down, they have to fancy it.

So a draw would be very acceptable...but not achievable by playing for it. Big game for MacDonald tonight, screw it up and there are going to be a lot of unhappy fans.

You find it difficult to see us winning against Crewe or Stevenage?

It's Reg, he was probably predicting we would lose most weeks last season.

Yep...Crewe are a decent side, who continue to make steady progress with a young team. They do give you a chance and wont park the bus...but having won the JPT, I think they'll have a strong finish to the season.

Stevenage have Westley back...after a terrible run, he'll turn them around, they will park the bus, along with other dubious tactics, just the sort of side we've not been able to do anything with at the CG this season.

Exactly the demographic Winkleman was after i suppose. Don't blame your Mrs' dad. Do blame Winkleman though.

I'd be happy with this, even if he shifts to it after half time/60 mins if 4-5-1 isn't working.

I'm worried De Vita's time at the club will end this summer as, despite being short of wide players, Kmac hasn't played him. I don't want to see De Vita go, I think he's a cracking player who, on his day, can really do the business.

We haven't even seen him played as a striker yet, and that's his natural position. What with how poor some of our first touches/finishing is atm, it'd surely be worth a shot?

This is very true, but I think the bloke is getting unfair stick (as is the new board)

There is nobody at the club currently who is responsible for
a) pulling funding suddenly, causing mass panic and then sale of our best player to a promotion rival at a knock down price just to keep the club from folding
b) voicing their discontent via the media, then setting arbitrary deadlines to have the situation resolved, adding to the overall uncertainty
c) walking away when those deadlines weren't met (outside the control of the club)

Given that we've had a mid-term change of owners and management and that the FL imposed embargo means we've missed out on several players who would've bolstered a promotion push (and arguably lost the previous manager because of it), it seems a little harsh to heap all of the blame at the feet of the new manager and his choice of formation.

Missing out this year would be annoying given the position we were in around Christmas, but given the circumstances it can't really be blamed on those in charge now, in my opinion.

As for tonight, 1-1 draw if we're lucky. They score first, we equalise from the spot.

Good points, well made. I've said from the outset, that MacDonald would need to be a miracle worker to get us up against the backdrop you've outlined and should be judged on his ability to keep us up next season, against a new backdrop of losing players and wage bill cutting. 

However,  it appears the average Town fan isn't likely to be as considered in their judgement as us. Another poor show tonight and the voices of discontent will get louder.

Sad but true.

I get the feeling that the financial circumstances aren't going to be as kind to the current manager as they were to the last one, and the fact that he hasn't got messianic levels of charisma will mean he gets far more stick than he deserves. I hope the current board back him over the longer term (unless he proves to be entirely incompetent, which I doubt), and he is able to develop a solid team of players in the way he did at Villa.

2-1 either way

Im going, not overly confident tbh and i think it will be very tough.

They score first we will lose, need a much better performance than donny as i felt i had completely wasted my money, not something i usually feel after footie even after a defeat

If our home record is anything to go by then i'd probably agree with him.

I thought that, perhaps he is finally starting to understand such optimism is dangerous :)

I can't make it tonight, was going to the original date but the cunts got through in the cup. Hoping we put in a decent shift tonight, I reckon we might nick a 1-0 win.

I think we'll get beat 2-0 by Franchi$e. I think 900 Town fans will make the trip and just a point that I hate these bastards!

Four home wins in the third division tonight.

I look forward to reading the comments section on the Adver site tonight.

2-0 to the Dons

0 shots on target.

Season defining game for me this. Got a feeling we'll shut up a lot of critics (fans) tonight with a resounding 2-1 win, Williams and Parrett. We've had one really crap performance and we've not won in a little while but we've still got a squad capable of taking us over the line.

It's just a question of whether the winning mentality is still there. We'll find out tonight.

MK have a massive wide pitch don't they? Could suit our expansive wing based game?

We'll stuff the franchise, don't worry

Fucking better do. 

2nd bit very unlikely. To put into perspective, Tranny played at doncaster saturday and did worse than us with 0 on target and 2 off target, Donny's defence going through a purple patch Is what I'm telling myself! Dongers arent as good as them at the back.

I have a good feeling about this 2-1 Swindon COYR

Can't see past the 4-5-1 and lack of goal threat. Going for a narrow low scoring defeat. God i'm depressed by the turn of on pitch events.

Would take a point but envisage a narrow defeat!!!

Gonna be a long night shift for me if we lose!

C'mon Town!

Yes, yes and yes

One up front again then  ::)

We are going to play for a 0-0 & concede a late goal at which time we will make 3 subs & play with Bedwell up front.

Team announced. What have de vita and Collins done to not feature regularly in the first 11?

Is Ferry wide right again!?

Don't get the line up, draw or lose = by by playoffs

No, quite like the team tonight, 3-2 to town coyr

Thank fuck for that.

Hopefully (not much hope), Parratt and Roberts out wide with Ferry and Luongo in the centre, Navorro just in front of the CB's.

Come on Town....a win would be massive for us....lets hope we give it a go.

Donny was the straw that broke the camels back for me in terms of going from ever the optimist in support of Kmac, to being a well and truly pissed off, pessimistic miserable cunt. In my opinion our performances have been steadily declining of late and the Donny game made me want to gouge my eyes out.

Given this, 1-0 to the Franchise scum, which is annoying more than most as I really really hate those cunts.

Please prove me wrong town, COYR

Confirmed on RW.  ;)

Can anyone explain to me who the fuck is playing on the other wing with Gary Roberts? We seem to have 4 central midfielders picked.

Franchise 1-3 Town - winning from going behind

Ferry, Collins (2) 702 away fans

I did. Parratt.

I'm amusing this is Kmac playing players out of position again, I can see nowhere that states he's ever played right mid for any length of time, but lets hope this one comes off. Better than Ferry there.

PLAY TWO UPFRONT FFS.

Don't worry, this is 3 up front when we have the ball  ::)

Course it is, just 2 of them are slow to join in...That said 4-5-1 will work sometimes.

What the fuck has RDV done to KMac, he's a better bet than the kids.

"It's not 4-5-1!!!"

[url width=450 height=353]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_60VD6aLP_3Y/TBpSfqp3zxI/AAAAAAAAADI/ZMmRPtZMlOk/s1600/paul-hart1.jpg[/url]

This photo actually makes me think it's 4-2-9-1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0tiNwOpZ68

Spot on...it smacks of us having to play the Spurs trio.....or we wouldn't have got them.

De Vita is quality and it is baffling that he isn't in the team.

I guess we're not contributing towards their wages as a result. Would fit in with Jed's not spend a penny policy  :)

This

We will prove how we can play great passing football and win a game tonight. COYR

I can't log into world.

Fucking great!

Has Miss Watts done a runner?

That's one of two accounts I use. Neither is working.

I'm using Miss Watts this evening.

Sam Morshead ‏@SamMorshead_SA 2m
Ferry is playing central. Parrett and Roberts wide supporting Williams

 :clap:

Says login attempts exceeded for me.  I am stuck in a Hotel in Salzburg, is anyone able to help with a cheeky PM?  ;)

Would live a cheeky PM here as well if anyone can help.

Miss Watts is struggling to handle the demand, she must be getting old never had a problem taking on multiple blokes at once before.

The other one is a legit account. I expect Berni the man uses his own account as well?

 :D

I can't listen to the game either but allow me to begin the evenings negativities with a moan about 4-5-1, MacDonut aka Har(t Mal)pas, Ferry wide right, world class players being left out of the team and we're going to get relegated. Let's all slit our wrists.

I assume the other one is the one I'm trying :)

Uh-ooooh. Fods could go...

few.....yellow.

Thank fork for that. Phew!

Thank god for that.  Had he gone, our season would have ended now.

Thank fuck

Can someone who can listen to the game keep us all updated as it seems a number of us are left in silence tonight

Let's keep the action flowing tonight boys, a lot of us are relying on the TEF tonight

EDIT: Or you can just do what Sonic said

fodders yellow card for handball outside area.

free kick on edge of area to mk

Not for one man it wouldn't...

[url width=205 height=264]http://www.f-linegk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/471315_231x264.jpg[/url]

deflection, corner

deliberate handball out the box but only a yellow?

BBC update has 2 shots on target for us.

Better than Donny already!   :)

goal kick.

if Fods knew he was out the box then he's a fucking spazoid

roberts volly............wide

Paul Benson just used the word protestation. What a man

Sam thinks Fods was very lucky to stay on the pitch.

And I trust Sam.

is Beno the other commentator? i wish we'd kept him

Paul Benson making more sense in 15 minutes than Alan Mac in 90

very silly boy

Evidently, he tried to usher the ball back into his area when the MK player closed him down. He could have cleared with his legs but chose not to.

Updates people....

nothing to say really

no news is good news.

Apparently Parrett is tearing them a new one.

2 great attempts on target

free kick to mk. 25 yards from goal...........................claimed by fodders

That's open to debate, BUT it's assuming :smugfu:

benno talking a lot of sense

FIXED

also why has no one got connection?

Nothing really happening.

Benson saying that we're giving away silly free kicks.  That used to frustrate Paolo  :)

some nefarious individuals on here have been using the one account which no longer seems to work.

I don't think it was as clear cut "deliberate". Seems he could have kicked it but back peddled into his box and picked it up (which may or may not have been out the box), as opposed to deliberately making a decision to handle. Mind you, when they are called the keeper usually walks.

But isn't he shit compared to luououououongo?

[url width=450 height=253]http://www.lelcomedygold.com/img/rising-tifo.gif[/url]

from the Dortmund - Malaga game tonight.

maybe the Town End could get to work on one with KMac's head on a stick

Epic!

Malaga have just scored.

Well, we all know those that don't give a player/manager any time whatsoever.

That is weird.

First time I've heard McCormack's name mentioned.

Sam hasn't update in 13 minutes. Must be dull!

KMAC's head wouldn't fit in the town end

Sam Morshead ‏@SamMorshead_SA 43s
The game is still being played here, not to worry. Lots of possession football, not a lot of bite from either side.

Reporter from Sky described our play as 'colourful' - whatever the feck that means

LGE 1...is truly awfull at times.

Please let us sneak up............................please.

As echoed this very second by Benno "for all our good play we haven't created a chance..."

We in our boca number?

Brilliant choreography

He's racist

Byrne caught out of position.  Low shot cleared by McCormack for a corner, which was cleared.

Wise and Benson saying that although we've had alot of play, we're not creating any real chances.  Sounds familiar  :(

We had it in the net, ref gave it,  but the lino has his flag up.

Get the fuck in!

Dissalowed.

 :cunty: :cunty:

Goal ruled out despite being given by the ref. Linesman's a cock.

Sorry. Futbol24 flashed up that we'd scored  :badmood:

Ref being very kind to us for a change, shame about the lino.

Think we're all in red

Any stfc player logins?

Referee gave, but lino flagged for something!  Benson is incensed!

Those posts around the disallowed goal made me chuckle.

Not as nerve racking reading it.

Sam Morshead ‏@SamMorshead_SA 1m
Referee and linesman deliberate and decide no goal. Absolutely appalling decision

does that count as a shot on target?

Get in the queue

Bizarrely, the referee had been happy to give the goal before seeing his linesman's flag. Effectively assistant over-ruled him

yep

ooooh MK nearlly scored

Just, just got away with a mistake. McGloghlin (keeper) launched it, and suddenly MK were 1 -on -1, but Nevarro just did enough to get a block in.

Corner comes in, just wide.

donny 0 carlisle 1

Doncaster 1-0 down.

Cant log in to my OWN account.Earful in the morning!

How's it going Julie?

She is still a goer for me.

MK seem more threatening this last 10. Another half without a shot for us thus far, except the obvious one.

anyone want to pm me Julie's phone number

Whoa, whoa, Julie, if you love me truly...
Ooh, Baby, don't leave me, honey, don't grieve me...
Julie, never leave me, please don't decieve me...
Whoa, whoa Julie, if you love me truly...
To be, to be, to be, be your very own.

Benson saying that Macdonald needs to change it in the second half and bring on another attacking player if we're going to win this.  So it's not just the supporters who think 1 up front is a joke.

The BBC website is saying that we've had 6 shots !

Half time...

I wish I could be like Julie Watts

Da da da da da da da ........daaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

I wonder if Julie's fit

Really, i'm still playing at the moment

she is so gay and fancy free

Sam Morshead ‏@SamMorshead_SA 2m
One criticism is Town are a little too narrow, but Ferry making a difference in the middle. Luongo playing very well.

BUT HE'S PLAYING OUT WIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cunting lino about 40 yards away from incident is allowed to overrule the Ref who was 5 yards away and gave the goal.

Not sure if it was handball by Wes but should have been red as Ref gave it.

Macca and Bryne have been brilliant. They have saved Ward and Flint a few times who have been run ragged by the fella up front.

Parrett fucking useless again, no effort, giving the ball away when in decent positions, out of his depth. Ferry on the ball a lot more in the centre and influencing the play.

Been the better team but Franchise had decent chances, this could go either way but has the feeling of a 0-0

Parrett playing shit apparently. Again.

Much better than the Donny game.

Not sure if Wes was outside the box, but if he was it should have been Red.
Didn't look to be a foul for the goal, Lino waved his flag vigorously & gave the decision. Shame he wasn't like the one at the CG v Oldham & gave up after being ignored by the ref initially.

They look dangerous when they overload the wings, but we have been as good as them.

Massimo has been our best player so far. He certainly isn't afraid of a tackle.

Decent turnout as well, a lot more than 600

So we need to bring on collins for parrett and put luwongo out wide? Give it 10 mins and make the change.

Judging on recent management he'll give it about 37 and make a change.

second half underway

Logged in now. Woohoo

Still getting the cold shoulder from our Julie

How? Being used by 20 over weight, middle aged football fans at the same time and not getting paid for it?

excuse me, I'm not middle aged.

This

Seems like ages since we scored.

shit

 :bye: playoffs

We'll probably go 442 now. Why do we have to wait until we fall behind!

fucking shit

At least they scored early,  KMAC can play 2 strikers now

Shit sticks and cunt flaps.  :suicide:

Arse

 ::) ::)

This has not been a very fun couple of weeks.

Kmac is seriously some sort of cunt.

I wish I could bring myself to stop taking an interest until the start of next season but it cannot be done :'(

Make the fucking change for fucks sake

I think he meant more in terms of being a dull and simple lad. Cant tell water from champagne.

442 you fucking twat !!!!!!

And play the best fucking players.

[url width=163 height=197]http://i.imgur.com/ezhXWk4.gif[/url]

Attack is the best form of defence.

Going no where, fast.

Substitutions need to be made now,not in the 80th minute

would help if he wasn't at Bournemouth

Finally

de vita and collo

De Vita and Collins about to come on.  Shame we didn't start with them really.

4 4 2, 60 minutes too late!  

Going down the league fast :nod:

Sam Morshead ‏@SamMorshead_SA 1m
Collins and De Vita stripping down

 :clap:

[url width=250 height=187]http://www.artistinn.com/images/bruce_stripping_wallpaper_smallg.jpg[/url][url width=250 height=187]http://www.artistinn.com/images/bruce_stripping_wallpaper_smallg.jpg[/url]

 :suicide:

Sadly i think KMAC is out of his depth.

Got no problem the board given him a chance as it could have turned out an inspirational decision (it still may do).

But if he cant pick our best players and best formation when everyone else seems to agree its 442, we have problems.

Fucking dire

Thank fuck we're not in a relegation fight....

Shame we didn't start with them 3 weeks ago. Dog shite.

We will be next season if this cunt is in charge. He doesn't even have the Paul Hart defense that he inherited a bag of shite.

Its cheery on here now!

Where has the De Vita love come from all of a sudden? I thought the general consensus was that he was a very very average player. I've never been particularly impressed with him before, too inconsistent, drifts in and out of games and a rare performer.

He's changed too much at a time when all he needed to do was keep things going.

We haven't played 451 since Hart was here, so after the best part of 2 seasons playing 442 every week why change it?

Probably because he had success using this formation when in charge of Aston Villa under 5's

Relegation fight next season if this twat stays in charge.

Have I stumbled on to the thisis forum?

Yep, this lot are slitting their wrists.

So KMac not only refuses to let the 4-5-1 go even though it clearly doesn't work with our current squad but why is it game after game that he waits until we concede before making a subsitution. Doncaster he waited and waited until we conceded and again tonight. Stop disrupting the last 2 years work and grow a set and realise 4-4-2 is the way forward with this squad.

This season is going to peter out with a whimper.  Quite honestly we're on a complete downward spiral and I genuinely can't see us winning again this season.

I haven't sent my signed installment form back yet and I'm not sure I'm going to.  Like others, I'm starting to feel that Macdonald is not the man to take us anywhere.  I have no desire to watch a lone striker week after week and barely any chances.

Heaven forbid anyone goes near that tonight.....

Sure feels like it

Nope but I can't imagine fans are happy with the current bottling job going on.

We're closer to 11th than 1st now.

i'm back, did i miss anything?.......

Good touch, okay delivery, wins a lot of corners and provides a goal threat from wide. He improved throughout Paolo's time here and was playing well when MacDonald came in and bombed him out to change formation.

What I find annoying is that he brings him on and switches to 442 when we go behind, basically admitting that is our best option for getting a goal. Well we need goals from the outset. It's been said before, but Paolo's teams always went for it, even if they didn't always get the win.

Crawley 1-0 up against sheff utd

Not in my eyes...brings a balance to the team and has composure.
Liable to bag a goal now and again also......i am all for team changes but we have been poor lately and he should be back in the team.

Another headed goal from an opposing CB and looking like another 1-0 away defeat.

That's pretty poor...

We got used to winning most weeks, and given the nature of our demise it's a bit hard to take. Still, at least we have a club to support. Bring back the embargo that was more fun.

We're losing and the majority of us should be on Thisis.

Fair enough, you have both seen far more of him than I have. The main argument against 4-4-2 for me is the fact we were always pretty much lop-sided with Ritchie playing out wide, without him we're reliant on Roberts and L Rooney, neither of whom are up to it. I don't think 4-5-1 is the answer either so not really sure where to go from there...

on a positive note I'm quite successfully managing to trim the number of people I follow on Twitter

We're 10 points behind 1st and 10 points ahead of 12th.

Which is poor considering we were top not so long ago.

Poor is an understatement.

This!

How many goals have we scored after he's made that change?

For all those saying KMac isn't picking the best players - maybe he is and they just aren't good enough? Possible Ritchie elevated this from being a mid table side.

MacDonald can only pick from what's there.

Bunch of cunts.

That is aimed at K Mac and everyone who keeps telling people like me that I'm a cunt.

He has UNQUESTIONABLY made us worse. How is it even possible to argue otherwise? Enlighten me.

well at least we wont be dropping down the league tonight!

Well, dare I say it but our previous manager did alright with these players, playing 442 and attacking teams but what did he know?

You could always follow me :eek:

It is all about confidence....for all his faults Paolo was very good at installing this.

When i see K Mac i see Danny Wilson......not slating them but they get bogged down with tactics and the such and when these fail they dont have option 2 which under Paolo was...........PASSION.

I'm concerned about next season because MacDonald is in a situation now where he can't win over the fans at all; if by some miracle we do get promoted, serious doubts will be raised over his abilities due to the fact we've scraped over the line and if we miss out - as is looking very likely - then he's failed to capitalise on a strong position.

I think he deserves a chance next season come what may but I feel like I'm in a very small minority right now.

and finally, this forum has become pretty fucking unbearable lately.

Crawley 2-0 against Sheff Utd

Donny 2-0 down

It's almost as though League One has said, "there you go Bournemouth, have fun in The Championship."

Nobody wants to get promoted out of this terrible division.

He did have the benefit of Matt Ritchie though. Maybe that's why he scarpered once MR got sold, he knew the rest of the players weren't good enough to get Paolo another promotion.

Why because some of us say what most people are thinking does that make this the adver forum ?? We've been poor for fucking weeks now and this idiot keeps playing 451. If you're happy to watch us fuck our season up then keep telling yourself it will work !

Game over. What absolute wank.

 :suicide:

2-0

FOR FUCKS SAKE CUNTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :badmood: :badmood: :badmood: :badmood: :badmood:

donny 0-2,not that it makes much difference to us!

We are this division.

We create more chances though, or at least apply more pressure. And with our profligate strike force Di Canio recognised that we needed to play the formation that created the most chances. The man was no idiot, he got his UEFA pro licence by finishing top of his class at Coverciano, he knows every formation under the sun, but he always went 442 with what we have.

The sale of Ritchie will cost us promotion. FACT.

Fucking hell, we could have had a whip round at a home game.  8000 people putting in £50 and we'd have collected the same as the paltry figure we sold him for.

There we go, it's over.  Fucking bullshit.

Added to that people who only pop up to say what a mong someone is or how the forum is so thisis are just as bad. If not worse

Harumph.

I'll just ban both of you, the forum will be a much better place for me.

Walsall should get 9 points from last 3 games

Franchise could easily get 12 points from last 4 games

Therefore we need to get 8 points from last 4 games.  Cant see it myself

Sadly can't disagree with any of that.

I'm willing to give KMac time, as it can't have been easy for anyone to pick up the pieces after the PDC but we are ending this season in a whimper. We have enough good attackers to play 4-4-2, why not give it a go instead of playing for goalless draws?

DV has said it but we are ending this season with a whimper. We should have gone for it, we have a big enough goal difference in hand.

So many of the top sides are struggling for wins-we are the same

One hopes that, as their seasons are effectively over, Crewe and Stevenage are 'already thinking of their holidays'.

Got my ticket for Sheffield Utd today........was looking forward to it :hmmm:

I hope not as those are the type of fixtures we've always struggled to win, regardless of manager!

Season over.

Not impressed at all.

Wonder if KMAC will got for a 1-4-6 formation against Sheff Utd on Sat.

Paolo Di Canio must be fucking laughing his head off right now

I personally can't stand people who stop watching us because we get relegated.

Getting the 10am train from Leicester and will be in Sheffield by 11...I know how I'm going to enjoy myself. :pint:

The Play-Offs feel like they would be some kind of cruel punishment for us right about now.

It's not over, it's just not looking very good at all.

Which wasn't the reason I stopped going but if I explained it all - no one would bother to read it....

I'm going to the Stevenage game. Looking forward to it!!

I want an all guns blazing bollocking of these motherfucking players. I want two strikers up front on Saturday from the off.

         Fods
Byrne   Flint  Ward   Macca
Roberts Ferry Nevarro Devita
         Collins   Williams

Its that fucking simple. It really is. If you want to dick around with formations, do it when you have your own players in to do it next season. This team has played 4-4-2 for 18 months under an extremely tough regime. Why fuck about with it, it didn't need changing.

End of fucking rant.

I have a story about Sheffield and the Incredible Halke....will reveal all tommorow!

This season can't end soon enough for me. I falling out of love with STFC.

Its grim but really dont see how it's season over with Sheff Utd losing at home tonight.We are 6th so not out of it.Dont see how we are going to raise it but it IS possible

FT. I predicted a 2-0 defeat so not a million miles away.

Sheff Utd game now monstrous if we are to get anything at all out of this season.

If we don't get promoted will you stop going?

I got laughed at a few weeks ago for saying I didn't think we'd win again at home this season.  I'd place money on that being the case now.

2 wins in 10 says it all and we can't fucking score.  It's 2010 all over again, but somehow feels worse  :(

Just left - first half we looked good without creating much

Second half - fucking awful !

I thought KMac would be good for us - steady the ship and all that

Unfortunately he looks like a man without a clue !

Mong. This is like thisis.











Not really, I concur and think I posted pretty much the same thing after the Doncaster game.

I'm going to put my house on KMAC coming out and say that if the ref never got over ruled by the linesman then it would have been a different result.....

What is it with the dull scottish accent aka Malpas and now KMAC, they need to motivate this team and show some bloody passion. Stop fucking around with the formation, you don't need to change it completely in order for us fans to take to you. All you had to do was continue the good work from the last 2 years. Instead 2 wins out of 9 and we are looking over our shoulders and expecting another defeat on Saturday.

Start playing to win the bloody game rather than sneak a 1-0. Play 4-4 fucking 2!

OK, I'm as frustrated as anyone that what was looking so bright at the New Year has turned so horrible.
But to blame this on the manager is gross over-simplification and that is why this thread felt a bit "thisis."

We weren't playing well during February (Tranmere excepted) so KMc hardly took over a team full of confidence.
We've been down to the bare bones with players and in a number of games not had the run of the green.
I don't subscribe to the theory that 442 is so much more positive than the 451 / 433 and if it was as simple as changing the formation I'm sure this would have been done.

I don't have any great expectations of how the season will finish but it's not over yet.

The real test will be what type of squad we can afford to assemble next season and I don't have good feelings about that.

Fods
Byrne   Devera Ward   Macca
Roberts Ferry Luongo Devita
         A Rooney   Williams

Sheff Utd are just as shit as us, thank god I'm working, as 0-0 written all over it. Not over but will be a struggle, need some sort of spark, what I dont know though.

Again...this sums everything up i think...

http://www.youtube.com/v/N5p27Lr8y2s?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0

I was always prepared to give Jed and co. the benefit of the doubt, but I now think they made the wrong decision in their choice of manager.  The bloke is a twat and cannot see that we were playing wonderful footy with a 4-4-2, thrashing sides.  We've still got the same attacking force (minus Ritchie), yes the midfield/defence is a bit different but he want to tinker with it and has royally fucked up big time.  When we heard about the sale and who too, I told one of my mates it would all end in tears, never for a moment thinking that it would come true!!!

  
I have said that about 35 times out of the last forty seasons.....yet i am still yakking on here... :shrug: :shrug:

I got crucified when K Mac was appointed for saying I was gutted.

DMR in Right Again shock :toocool:

You were gutted because you'd never heard of him.
 

:nod:

It feels worse because at Xmas we were nailed on to win the league!!

Is this what it feels like to support the Pox?

Its a fair point, we've doubled the gap to 7th since he took over:)

I've missed one season in the last 23, seen some crap, but the way Black forked us over has really curbed my enthusiasm for Town (I still got a ST for next season  :D).

They never ever get this close.

That would be far worse I would Imagine.

Blimey, I'm out of here before it kicks off further, or before any other fucking idiots start spouting "I told you so"

Thrown it away, thanks to various fuck ups... hugely disappointing.

actually its quite strange. I've kind of expected the end of the season to Peter out so not really surprised or overly bothered about tonight's loss.

Kind of waiting for the season to end now.

Disappointed after the early season promise, but as I posted before, I just don't think we were cut out for promotion and I'm happy with just staying in the division after only being promoted back into it this season.

That's a bit like getting Cheryl Cole into your bed and she fucks off before you get her knickers off and saying never mind I'd only have prematured anyway. The point is the opportunity was there.

And you don't know when you will next get Cheryl Cole into your bed.

[url width=420 height=315]http://img.pandawhale.com/36243-slow-clap-citizen-kane-orson-w-jpBA.gif[/url]

.    

Exactly

Massive amount of love for the manager and the board on the texts.

I'm not sure how they are going to turn it around tbh.  I don't ever remember hearing such negativity in such a short space of time.

I'm not disagreeing Dave, it's hugely disappointing and who knows when we'll get the chance again. But I think its more like we did try and prematured before getting her knickers off. I'm just still trying to find a positive in all of this I guess. Glass half full and all that.

Listening to people on RS saying the board chose "the cheap option",makes me wonder who did they think we could afford?

At least it's something for the wank bank.

Fans have turned on him quicker than Hart and it won't make a difference if he leads us to a glorious play-off final victory now because it'll be Paolo's success and not his. Too many will doubt his abilities ahead of next season whatever division we're in. It's extremely rare for a manager to win fans over once they've lost them.

By playing players in their right positions and going back to a 4-4-2 formation. Think most fans wouldn't have minded losing to donny if we gave it a go and tried to win the game. The only good thing he has done so far was changing the formation to 4-4-2 against Yeovil. Surprise surprise we won 2-0

Going to be interesting on Saturday.

that and the fact people seem to have an almost clairvoyant knowledge of the salaries at STFC.

Loved the text that said it could be worse, we could be the Pox.

Someone just suggested we approach Martin O'Neill.

^^^This^^^

we played Ritchie out of position for ages, worked fine!

It's so fucking obvious to everyone except the tool who picks the team. Was he brought in to make sure we dont go up?

Just to add, I don't think K-Mac is necessarily a Malpas or a Heart, may be wrong.

yes

Fuck me KMac sounds as inspiring as gordon fucking brown

League 1 player of the year Ritchie. He had the ability to cope.

yeah... wasn't entirely serious.

he said bollocks-im warming to him

That's a bit far fetched. I can see why there could be an accusation of being a cheap option. I can see why people may think he was done a favour by Jed. But deliberately brought in to prevent us going up. No.
---
Um, k-mac said bollocks on the radio.

Sorry, sense of humour failure at the moment.

Yeah, I like that.  Hope he says cock or tits on Saturday.

What did he say bollocks about?  I bet Chris Wise got in a right flap!

Yes, he said 'flaps' too

Kmac

[url width=500 height=281]http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8sbnm2iZz1rthbk4.gif[/url]

Just home, not read the thread but we played ok in the first half without looking threatening.

But as soon as we concede a goal you just know we are fucked as we just cannot score a goal.

We can argue all we want about formations, but you have to play a formation that suits the players & I don't think we are.

I have to say I can't see us winning another game this season, unless we are already out if play off contention by the last game, when we will probably win 5-0 at Scunthorpe.

It was said elsewhere that all we really required was a manager with experience, just on a short-term contract to keep everything on course and hopefully promotion, then see what transpired at the end of the season.

What we appear to have is a well respected coach but one who is not a "manager" in a million years and appears to have changed the way we were playing to our detriment.

Got to say as well that his after match comments and total disregard (apparently) for travelling fans does not make me warm to him at all.

Horrible feeling that we are going to miss out completely and although I have renewed my season ticket am not full of optimism at this present time.

 :no:

It all seems to have a Malpas/Hart feel about it. I worry for us next season if this is the sort of thing we have to look forward to.

I wonder what Jed and Co would think if we fail to even make the top 6?

Elephant in the room time


That Italian fella wasn't bad was he

We'll probably never know given their fantastic communication skills.

Nor was Matt Ritchie. We lost more than just PDC in January.

Fucking hate losing to this sorry excuse of a football club. Would rather lose to Oxford (controversial but at least they deserve to exist- in the non leagues)

Yep, fucking plastic club stealing wankers each & every one of them

Fascist

If we fail to make the play-offs, MacDonald should be sacked on the spot! No excuses!!

We won't make the play offs

People just need to accept that and take drugs and shit

Spot on (both counts)

Should Jed and the new board shoulder some of the blame if we fail to make the play-offs as well? I think they should. The embargo cost us massively. If it was sorted quicker maybe MacDonald would have had more time to bring in some decent players.

Anyone want some Codeine ?

Fucking good shit

I love KMac xxxxxxxxxxxxx

On the other hand, he was the only one stupid enough to buy the club without due diligence. Thanks to Black's impossible deadline we may have been thrown out the league altogether if we'd gone into administration. The future under the current board frightens me but I thank them for giving us a club to support in the short term.

I've just got back and reopened the thread from where I left earlier and this is the first new post I read.

Oh dear.

First half we played decent, kept the ball and played nice football, the disallowed goal looked a joke, clearly Williams beat the keeper to the ball and there was barely a touch on the defender. Second half changed, it was quiet for the first ten minutes then we conceded a silly goal and then couldn't get a hold of the game again. Changed to 442 but didn't help as the Spurs loanes seemed to be struggling with fitness which left large gaps in midfield.

Feel sorry for KMac, his short spell so far has been blighted with injuries and being force to play 3 relatively inexperienced youngsters. He's made mistakes though, no need to change a working system now. In the summer maybe, but not when you join a team which all you have to do to get us over the edge. Disappointing night in all.

Also what was their keeper doing? Have banter with away fans, that's fine, but he seemed to have a personal vendetta against us.

This him?

Ian McLoughlin ‏@Ianmcloughlin16 29m
Sorry for any offence I caused to the Swindon supporters tonight. In the heat of the moment I reacted unprofessionally & I apologise.
Retweeted by Sam Morshead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7hEqCdAwjs

Well that was fucking epic woeful.

Once again a team was there for the taking.

We looked slow, poor.....argghh shit!

We will be lucky to make the playoffs at this rate....

It's shit...glad I have the excuse not to go on Saturday....

Season is over people prepare for more of the same next August!

Keeper might be in trouble, I enjoyed his piss take at the warm up but his V signs and middle fingers were a bit much.....still.....if we had won nobody would of given a fuck I suppose!

Yea, when he saved or caught the ball and landed on the floor he would turn and give us the middle finger. It was strange.

Play-offs at best now.

Sparks gone.

We seem to be aping Tranmere crashing and burning...........yes injuries have affected us, but the formation change has led to our loss of form. At least ferry played in centre midfield tonight where he had more impact, but RDV or Luke Rooney should have been brought on much sooner for Parrett who had little impact and did too much tippy tappy with no success (but I didnt agree with the cheering / booing when he was subbed)
Since KMAC has arrived the teams fitness has dropped, our good defensive record gone out the window and promotion form replaced by mid table / relegation form....... PDC was not all milk and honey, but his legacy is falling apart  before our eyes and one of our best players Matt Ritchie looks very likely to be playing Championship with Bournemuff next season.

Not happy after watching another defeat at the Franchise.

Also was there a number for away fans, seemed to be around a 1000, but couldn't really tell.

Utter shite - lets be honest here, our real promotion hopes went with Di Canio.

I found their keeper amusing.

No fight, no want and no hope! It's really unbelievable to watch the team under PdC to that of KMac, not entirely sure what has gone on...the system doesn't work and the players aren't firing as they were earlier on in the season! Not sure what else to say, other than the spark has quite clearly gone! So very disappointed and a massive opportunity missed!

1200 away fans tonight, deserved better than that!

Can't arsed to read back at the moment but I assume there has been loads of formation talk. I would prefer we stuck to 4-4-2 but just for the record we were much better tonight with the 4-5-1/4-3-3 thingy. Decent first half and should have been going in 1 up if it wasn't for a weak ref, clear goal for Williams.

We were utter complete wank when we switched to 4-4-2, no creativity, dodgy at the back as Ward/Flint were exposed with no Navarro protecting. We obviously had to switch as it we were chasing it.  If the Ref wasn't a tosspiece first half we would have probably held on or got a point from the  "goal that should have been" with a 4-5-1 structure

Thought first half we played alright despite not creating too many chances. Ferry and loungo looked decent in the middle and were playing some.decent football. Williams goal should have stood which would have changed the game massively. Thought Roberts looked lively as well subway surprised when he was taken off in the second half.

Second half was utter shite, as soon as they scored we fell apart and did not look like scoring at all and the gaps in midfield were ridiculous at times, ferry seemed to be charging around everywhere covering for people! De vita looked tidy when he came on and i want him to start on Saturday. Lots of chants of 442 today from a lot of people in the crowd. I personally thought the formation was alright in the first half and we played well.

Parrett should not play on Saturday. He tries the spectacular every bloody time and it never comes off. I also thought he shirked a few tackles and wasn't overly fussed and was out of position far too many times. Was not impressed in the slightest with him!

Good number of town fans there tonight, must have been around 1000 or so and wad good to see ferry back in the middle! Played well. Officials were shite as usual and the keeper took it a bit far. All for banter etc but he took it too far (some of our fans reaction to it was hilarious)

Not looking forward to the trip to sheffield

Oh yea I forgot

Parrett was utter shite yet again.  Even his embarrassing dive early second was half hearted and lazy, shameful behaviour.  He can fuck off back to Spurs, useless cunt

Fair play to their keeper I say. With all those window lickers at the front giving it the big-I-am I'd have given the same reaction he did.

Fuck me, this is already getting depressing; with the crowd chanting 4-4-2 at the manager, people shouting 'send him back to Villa, we don't want him here' and anger spilling over near the touchline (admittedly directed at the pantomime villain goalie, but the general atmosphere still brought back memories of Paul Hart).

Except for Ferry moving back to the middle (my God is he better than anyone else we have at CM - why is he overlooked manager after manager?) all the same mistakes were made, and all the same concerns remain; particularly, as many have already noted, continuing to persist with trying to enforce a formation change on the team late into the season when all we needed was someone to steady the ship and keep the ball rolling on the tactics of his predecessor.

Luango did well first half but looked dead on his feet second. Ward, Flint and Mcormack seem to be in a perpetual state of argument about whoever was at fault for the last defensive error. Williams now attacks the ball with the conviction of a china doll. Only real positive was the performance of Byrne, but he's about 4 foot 8 and the ball sails over his head with the clearance of a jet-liner over an oompa-loompa.

I will have my final say on Dean Parrett.

They say there's a fine line between tragedy and comedy, and you won't see many better examples than today at MK with him thinking he was getting an appreciative ovation as he left the pitch when the fans started clapping after his number came up.

I don't think I have ever seen a more deluded footballer at town: delusional about his skill and ability, delusional about the relative strength of those skills and abilities compared to other players at this level, delusional about the amount of effort he needs to put in to become a footballer and earn his keep as a professional.

If he had put in that performance under Di Canio he would have been taken off after 25 minutes and never heard from again (actually after his performance against Doncaster that would have probably already happened). How K-Mac thought him worthy of a starting berth, and how more worryingly thought there were two players who deserved to be subbed off before him. :eek: Well, I don't even know what to say about that.

You've got a long way to go son. Take a look at your club-mate John Bostock if you want an example of how things can go wrong for a footballer when they think they have the world at their feet. And he was three times the player you are.

Did our manager really say this afterwards?


:Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

Superb!
 

Wow. Painful reading is this thread. Not going to well at the moment is it.

The only good thing about this season at the moment is the fact Bristol City currently look more fucked that Katie Price.

Of course its savable, but everything about us just seems to have stalled.

Looks as if we are going downhill faster than Franz Klammer

I hope we havent got a deal with Spurs to play em...that would be a disaster!

Hmmm. I was cautiously optimistic when KMac was appointed, thinking he'd just do his best to continue with some kind of momentum and at least steer us into the POs. Unfortunately it has been becoming harder and harder not to lose patience - at least at first it seemed as if we were playing reasonably well and quite "unlucky" in our draws/defeats. Now we aren't even doing that.
I understand all the arguments that it "isn't his team", he came in at a really awkward time, blah blah blah, and I have been repeating these to myself in a mantra-like fashion over the past few weeks to stop the inevitable wave of panic from washing over me as we slide down the table. But, really, although there are certain mitigating circumstances, is our new manager exempt from blame? For every excuse, I can think of another thing he's got wrong - and it certainly seems that, among other things, an over-keenness to put his own stamp on the team, at the worst possible time, is costing us dearly.

Unfortunately, considering all that's gone on this season, I'm not sure he was the right choice any more. And I don't think I really want to see him here next season either. If he is, good luck to him - I won't kick up a fuss unless things go wrong after he's done things his way for a bit - but I certainly have more than a few doubts about him. It seems like (and I'm not just referring to the manager now) the club is returning to quiet mediocrity.

I wouldn't have believed it if someone had told me back in August how things would turn out this season...

I was being hugely ironic and seemed to have been proved correct sadly.

For me, it seemed a simple task to keep a decent(ish) group of players on course for promotion, but maybe I assumed wrong. Initially, I thought we played some decent passing football under MacDonald, creating chances, and looking like we might stay there or thereabouts. Unfortunately, it seems the longer he has been in charge, the less creative we've become (not necessarily down to formation), and maybe those early games were still benefiting from the 18 months under Di Canio?

I have no issue with a manager stamping his style on a team, but the longer this continues, the more i think the constant use of players out of position to fit his preferred formation is misguided. The formation will only work with the right players, and KMac needs to admit this now and think about recruiting the specialists needed during the summer before making the transition.

I don't think we'll make the playoffs, and right now our performances don't deserve to. KMac needs to learn a lot about management in L1 quickly, otherwise a poor August/September next season ear could leave us struggling, and him out of a job. We've already lost our winning mentality as I don't think he's demanded the results we should be capable of getting - aiming for draws and whatnot is what got us relegated under Wilson (if anyone can remember the leaked whiteboard picture during our relegation season!)

Its interesting to read that we looked reasonable playing 4-5-1 but utter shite when playing 4-4-2.

Fans chanting '4-4-2' is pretty embarrassing really thought isn't it? Seems that everyone is a manager these days?

It is a results business though and barring a fluky last minute win over Coventry and a good away win at Yeovil, results under KMac have been pretty shit overall. Throwing a novice manager in at this stage of the season sadly isn't working. Seems like there are elements of good performanced in some matches, but overall, its a bit of a D- so far.

Would we be doing better if we still had Ritchie? Would KMAC be getting the grief he is if we still had Ritchie?

Every comment that we were playing well under 451 has been qualified with the phrase "without creating much" or some variant thereof. And that's the problem, because as Paolo knew and as every fan with eyes can see, we need to create a lot of chances to score goals. We are not a team that can sit and hold a game at 0-0, knowing that we can hit on the counter and score from one of two or three chances created. We need 10 chances to score a goal. And if the new formation is supposed to sure up what was once the tightest defence in the league then, well, that hasn't worked either.

Of course it's not all MacDonald's fault because everything that could have gone wrong at this club since Christmas and New Year has, but in light of that it's hard not to feel that the new manager shouldn't have attempted to at least give the players a sense of continuity on the pitch.

If we still had Ritchie then Black would have presumably not sold up or the takeover might not have been so drawn out and there's every chance Di Canio would still be here.

MacDonald's job should have been to ensure continuity but it seems that we're lacking that in every sense right now, unsurprising given that we've had wholesale changes in the backroom staff and in the boardroom too.

Agreed x100

Results have been poor overall, although I would argue the Coventry win wasn't fluky, we dominated them for the whole game.

Also worth bearing in mind KMac has been in charge for a very tough stretch - trips to Yeovil (unbeaten at home in 8 before we went) Doncaster, Brentford and Milton Keynes (3rd best home record in the league) would have been tough even with PdC and Ritchie still here.

That doesn't excuse the poor performances and results at home, but I didn't hear people calling for Paolo's head after we dropped points at home to Orient, Colchester, Coventry and Scunny within a six week period earlier in the season...

Probably because we also picked up four league wins and beat a team from a higher division in the cup during that same period.

Yeah was going to point that out as well..
Of course their are "excuses" for Kmac, or to be fair,genuine problems that he has had to overcome.. but ultimately it seems pretty clear to me that he isn't good enough to manage STFC and we could even be in trouble next season if we keep hold of him too long.

Don't forget that it took Paolo a while for us to get going when he took over. We didn't exactly start off the League 2 campaign in style and it looked like we had made a bum choice.

I believe that continuity will pay off given patience (I know Football fans have none). We have to accept that this season has been ruined by the board takeover/embargo/Matt Ritchie sale/PDC leaving shenanigans and any play-off activity now is a bonus.

Next season, KMac can shape his team with his own ideas, his own pre-season, his own players etc. Calling for the manager to leave now is lunacy, are we Blackburn Rovers who change their manager every 10 games?

Its disappointing, but lets support the player and manager for the remaining matches and see what happens. We were spoiled a little under PDC, we have to remember that.

Also worth pointing out (as I think Bogus Dave did on twitter this morning) that it isn't just Ritchie we're missing.

For people saying about how we were tearing teams apart over Christmas we've lost nearly half that side. Devera was out with injury for an extended period, Thompson is now out for the season, and Hollands, Ritchie and Martin have all left the club.

I don't think anyone is calling for him to be sacked with four games to go, just pointing out flaws in his tenure thus far.

Paolo did take time to get everything to click (although there were enough obvious positives for plenty of people on here to back us for the title when we were out at 25-1), but then the start of a new season, and especially off the back of such an abject previous season, is the right time to try to impose a new system or new approach on a team… while there is margin for error.

It may have been appropriate in March if something obviously needed fixing upon his arrival, but it didn't, the club just needed to keep going in the same direction, get over the line, and then reappraise in the summer.

Difference is PDC came in to a freshly relegated club with only 8 first team players still on the books. Of course it would take a while for him to get things settled.
Kmac joined a side top of the table, with good players, and has turned us into lower mid table standard at best.

You don't spend much time on social media then?

Of course, no one is saying the situation is entirely MacDonald's fault. The club has been a disaster area since Black withdrew all funding and threatened to throw us on the scrap heap, and as a result the squad is certainly weaker (Hollands, in particular, is much missed).

It may be that MacDonald can build his own squad, find some more clinical strikers, and apply his brand of patient possession football successfully next season. It will probably be good to watch if he does. But the conclusion of this season, with a transfer embargo denying him the opportunity to bring any new players in, wasn't the right time to try those ideas out.

But hey, it's only my opinion, and I'm hardly Arrigo Sacchi.

He had a whole pre-season.

Thankfully not by the sound of it. To clarify, <b>I</b> am not calling for MacDonald to be sacked with four games to go!

The 4-5-1 has made us stronger in CM but undoubtedly worse in defence and attack. Since those are the two fundamentals of football it's not really a good trade-off at the moment.

Under the old 4-4-2 we used to pretty much bypass the CM altogether and play balls from defence into the channels where there was always a winger/ one of the two strikers to hold it up then get down the outside of their fullback.

This was where most of our attacking threat came from.

Now when we find ourself in good positions there's no outlet down the flanks and everything has to be forced through the centre. You're basically reliant on a miracle defence splitting pass or a defensive error from a long ball, combined with the equal miracle of Williams actually putting the ball in the back of the net at the end of it.

The loss of form in defence is harder to explain, except to say the ball is in our third of the pitch a lot more than it used to be and our defence is under a much more sustained period of pressure, without the relief of any notable attacks to swing momentum back against the opposition.

The final concern: fatigue. We faded badly in the second half. The players may well claim they're doing the same amount of training as they used to, just in less time, but the evidence is starting to count against that theory from what we're seeing on the pitch.

I think blaming everything in kmac is stupid. There are a number of reasons we aint tearing this league up. The loss of Richie is the biggest factor imo.

Last night was really shite.

Such a bad atmosphere around at the moment, all the confidence has gone and the fans are very quickly losing any faith.

We have lost our spark, the players just seem un-interested. Although, we did have decent spells of possession last night, we never really had that final ball. Williams just looks drained of all confidence, and i'm not convinced that Parrett is a professional footballer.

I have no problem with KMAC playing 451 or 433 or whatever the fuck you want to call it, I just wish he would play players in the correct position.

The ref was a cunt, we should have had a goal and who knows what would have happened then. Their goalie was a complete wanker as well, there is nothing wrong with a bit of 'banter' but he was just a stuck up cunt.

I really do hate the ground and the town as a whole, horrible place. Town fans were decent in terms of number but fucking horrific in noise.

Can't see us in the play offs i'm afraid. It's a shame to see another promising season go to shit. Ah well, that's the joy's of supporting Swindon!

I caught up with some of the Football League show which I had recorded when on holiday. It was the same weekend that we drew with Oldham (great Overhead by Rooney!!). Bournemouth beat Colchester away (I think) and for some reason even though they only won 1-0 they showed a number of highlights. Almost all of Bournemouth's attacks came from or through MR on the right wing. Him not being here is a massive loss, Bournemouth have got themselves a bargain there sadly.

I caught his two goals from the weekend, it's like seeing your ex out with a new bloke. It was painful.

Oh, just one point - regardless of formation, or how un-threatening we are up front, our defence is pretty shocking at the moment. We've never been too prolific under Di Canio, but we rarely conceded. At the moment, we are conceding weak, sloppy goals, and that needs to stop. However, with injuries and players off form, that is probably costing us more than misfiring strikers (which we've had all season)

Could do with Devera coming back in as he's a very good CB - better than Flint.

Not a surprise the defence is suffering tho. Thompson has been so good, he's worth nearly two defenders! We've now got a positionally suspect PL lightweight at RB and a CM come CB, come Left back.

We used to be a team that wasted a cartload of chances every game. At least we're not giving our striker so many opportunities to embarrass himself now.

On the plus side, I have woken up today and the world didn't end while I was sleeping.

I'd rather be often depressed and disappointed, but always interested, supporting Swindon than bored to death supporting someone like Leyton Orient or Oldham Athletic. At least it's never dull here  :beers:

Seeing how this season has gone, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s another twist and Bournemouth bottle it, and either w@nky yeovil or brentford make it.

The loss of Ritchie is one reason....but the loss of Di Canio is the biggest loss.

But i agree...the abuse that K Mac is getting is pretty shit i reckon..he is only a rookie.

Paolo took a while to get going i seem to remember,

Di canio saw this coming i'm sure. He knew we needed bolstering and quit because of it. That bolstering has not happened and our biggest match winning asset is gone too. The reason we are struggling is because the players aint good enough to push us over the line. If Richie was still here and the players were brought in that Di canio wanted we would be top of the league. It would of cost money for sure but what price do you put on promotion?

I'm behing Kmac as he is no fool. Most of this he can do nothing about.

He can stop putting round pegs in square holes.

Which goes back to Richie not being here. That's one hole he wouldn't have to fill.

Roberts and RDV can fill in on the wings. And what the bloody hell has happened to Luke Rooney?

Nobody can replace Ritchie's quality, granted.

The thing that worries me is next season!!  Regardless of where we finish this season I cannot see us being good enough to win the po's.  What will happen to our attendances if we continue to play like we have done for the last few games, revenue down and players sold will be the answer I fear.  Our season tickets are already purchased but if we have to endure a season of boring one-striker- only games then a potential disaster is looming.

I would argue that, within the lower leagues, it's hard to envisage what will happen next season as squads can change so dramatically over the summer months.

Some big hitters could potentially find themselves in L1 next season - Wolves? Blackburn? Even Huddersfield.

This is/was our best chance.

Bit of salt in the wound that Benson was commentating on BBC Wiltshire last night.

Don't understand the love-in for Benson. We are not creating enough chances which is the problem.

Strange, as he looked like a decent option from the bench in KMac's first few games.

15 shots yesterday. 12 on target.

That's above average for us and more than MK had.

And not a single threatening one among them.

All the more reason for a striker that knows where the back of the net is, such as Benson.

So if he was here, you'd have him over Williams?

No. I'd have him as well as Williams.

What Jay said. Or if we must choose only one up front, I'd have Williams elsewhere such as on the wing.

But would they be played together? I think not.

Bbc has it at 13 with 7 on target.

Either way it certainly didn't feel like we had that many shots, i can think of a tame header and the one the keeper fucked up and that's it.

Did not look like scoring in the slightest, no creativity.

They could make a perfect foil for each other I reckon.

This, Roberts has actually looked best when being played on the right. Ritchie's loss doesn't excuse the lopsidedness and general shitness of the teams he puts out.

I think Benson and Williams would be a cracking front two, Williams is all the pace with no finishing, that's where Benson comes in.

I thought the perfectly timed introduction of Luke Rooney at Coventry won us the game.

Our current formation is '4-5-1'...

Benson is the round peg for the round hole in that situation.

If this is KMac's way then I suspect he'll bring in more players that fit that style over the summer.

I really don't get the wankfest over Benson.  He didn't cut it at the beginning of the season here and he wasn't prolific at Portsmouth on loan. Why people are making out he could have been our saviour is beyond me. A threadbare squad, best player sold on the cheap, a manager who espoused loyalty fucking off, an owner who got bored of his new toy and did a runner, Holland being injured and going back to his parent club and a stikeforce that need 20 chances to score a single fucking goal are the main reasons we're struggling. 
Ok, MacDonald's made mistakes,  but to blame our implosion solely on him is blinkered in the extreme.
Benson..... fuck me.

Players are always better when they're out of the side....back in late November, you said you'd be happy with consolidation. I wonder if you'd regard where we are at the moment as such?

What worries me most about MacDonald is that in the 2nd half of games we have looked worse than in the 1st.

Many fine points, the one I'm going to comment on is the Benson one - it's always the same, and probably at every other club. If x wasn't injured/loan/shit, he'd solve all our problems. We've seen it with Luke Rooney this season and even Alan Connell. It's just an expression of hope.b

But then I don't understand how Collins gets such an easy ride for really not being much of a footballer and yet costing rather a lot of money.

Yes. Yes Yes Yes

And Hollands-we're missing him too

Is it just me,or did his "celebration" seem half-hearted?

Players come and players go... but Ritchie's exit still 'hurts', you know, in that football way.

It says something about how bad the Doncaster performance was, when last nights pathetic effort was still miles better.

Not sure how Luongo is getting plenty of praise for last night, bar one good run to set up donkey Collins I thought he was wasteful in possession and offered very little. Not as bad as Parrett, of course - why were we aiming every goal kick at him when he doesn't even attempt to challenge for a header?

If you could combine Thompsons defensive abilities with Byrne's quality on the ball then you would have one cracking right back.

I'm just like most fans I think, overly optimistic when things are going well, miserable as fuck when they're not. If it wasn't for the fact we we're right up there at one point, a top half finish in our 1st season back in League 1, most would be satisfied.  If only they never raised our expectations.......

Watch how he celebrated against Bury  :bye:

Cunt  :smugfu:

 :nod:

To steal a John Cleese quote from Clockwise: "It's not the despair, LauraHerthab. I can take the despair. It's the hope I can't stand."

...and even when the going was good, we rarely had the opportunity to truly enjoy it.

Presumably with the exception of the two games where we've won it in the second half (Coventry and Yeovil) and against Oldham when we secured a point in the second half.

The Coventry away match, Luke Rooney came on and had a great impact and set up the winner - since then he has been rarely if at all used and the ineffective De Vita preferred ahead of him. Baffling.

Not really, RDV is a better player in my eyes. Quite why he (or Rooney if you prefer) have been benched and a couple of the Spurs lads walk straight in is what baffles me.

Think when everybody is going on about players being knackered and we need reinforcements, which is why the umbongo needs to go, it would be perverse in the extreme to get said perceived reinforcements and not use them.

Signing those three loan players have caused havoc!!

Bring back Mr Embargo.

Not really, we needed cover which they are - see Byrne for Thompson. We also needed quality to strengthen which we didn't get.

But presumablty that costs...see Bradley Wright-Phillips has scored for Brentford tonight at Crewe, if they can hang on they move into a strong position for auto.

Yes it costs. No I don't see evidence of the same budget being available either.

Looking back, that M'bargo fella wasn't half decent.

Brentford home and hosed now at 2-0...

:Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

Paolo's exit hurts far more than Ritchie's does. Let's be honest here.

Disagree. Sure, Paolo going was something that was more shocking at the time, but I think we'll be ruing Ritchie's exit for far longer. If you think how many extra crosses would have come in, how many extra players would be used to mark him up and keep him out of the game, leaving room for others. And let's not forget the goals rescuing a tricky situation.

I honestly think he was that important to our team that his loss is the reason for our steady decline.

This is an extremely average squad, Paolo was the one who made an average bunch of players into a good team. Ritchie is a big loss but all players are replaceable, it's just a shame due to the timing of his exit and the situation we weren't able to bring in a decent replacement.

I personally think its lack of squad depth that cost us. Look at the squad at its peak, look at it now. We are shy Ritchie, Bostock, Hollands, McCeverly and Thompson.

However I do feel we have shot ourselves in the foot by not making the most of what we had left, changing the system and playing three kids.

Fact is, we could have kept 4-4-2 and Paolo and still ended in this 'mess'. I don't think so but...

There were plenty on here, who stated they'd be happy to see PdC go, because of his management by hand grenade...incomprehensible post match rants and falling out with players. What they wanted is a MacDonald, who deals in management talk cliches and is asssiduous in praising players publically however shit they've been.

Of course, most of these now want him out  :)

....and most of them are fucking stupid.

With Di Canio we had 11 good players, we lost Ritchie we still had 11 good players. Without Di Canio we now have 11 average players.

Just as well these fans didn't force the board to sack Di Canio then and he walked on his own.

See, we can all go round in circles.

DV is the voice of reason again.

No. Dv is the voice of repetitive droning. di Canio's gone, get over it girls.

When we next get a competent manager then I will let it go.

you'll probably be waiting for Di Canio to be reappointed then

My checklist is

-Charisma
-Non-Scottish
-Managerial experience

Not really asking for a lot.

Good job you weren't around when Macari was appointed then.

Thank god the club didn't listen to your advice before appointing Macari then.

He would have fallen foul of two of your criteria.

However, based on them Paul Hart would be a better bet (he just missed out on the Charisma front)

Snap

You wouldn't have appointed PDC then, he didn't meet your requirements

Whether Di Canio was still here, at another club or dead - he was still a bloody good manager that we miss and will spend years thinking 'what if'

Say what you like about his style of management - but the fact is no matter how he did it, he got the best out of our players - most of which are far from talented enough to be top end L1 players.

It's a different age today, his ilk of manager won't be part of the new breed. I've always wondered why there are so many Scottish managers? Genuine question, there seems to be a very high proportion of Scottish managers in the English game.

I'm on about appointing PDC's successor, we needed someone who fulfilled those 3 criteria.

Charisma - to give the club a lift in the final run in
Managerial experience - pretty vital for the situation we found ourselves in.
Non-Scottish - I'm sick to death of dour Scottish managers.

Can you explain what the fuck you mean? 'His ilk'?

Old school Scottish manager.

Do people not say ilk anymore?

I say elk now and again.

Idioms for ilk:

of that ilk, (in Scotland) of the same family name or place. of the same class or kind.