Time's Up (23 Viewers)

[skybluecam]

I’m not saying he was a great player.

I’m saying that he never let his head drop, and give him a chance in the 93rd minute & he was likely to score, as he did a few times. I don’t see that ability to keep focussed and not lose confidence in our current strikers.

Yeah none of our current strikers have ever scored late goals in important matches have they

That 2-1 loss to Wolves last year still stings

 

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[Otis]

The only way it makes sense is Wilson wants to leave and he doesn't want details of an injury being made public.

Ah, that would at least make a bit of sense wouldn't it.

 

[SkyBlue_Bear83]

Next 7 fixtures looks pretty horrendous with Sheffield Utd, Burnley, Sunderland and Middlesbrough to play. Makes the QPR, Luton and Derby matches look like critical matches in the context of the season

 

[nicksar]

This is beyond weird “got to stop doing it” reads like he’s mocking someone.

View attachment 38963

Just had a quick search and players do have the right for any health or injury problems not to be made public.

 

[SlowerThanPlatt]

Just had a quick search and players do have the right for any health or injury problems not to be made public.

Yes and it may well be the case in this scenario but he says (I’ve) “got to stop doing it”

 

[Nick]

The barrel is getting scraped still. Some of the stuff being said defies logic.

 

[skybluecam]

This is beyond weird “got to stop doing it” reads like he’s mocking someone.

View attachment 38963

Sounds like it’s a new policy at the club. I could see reasoning for it.

Alternatively Wilson has asked for it not to be disclosed (which he legally has the right to, it being personal medical info).

 

[nicksar]

Yes and it may well be the case in this scenario but he says (I’ve) “got to stop doing it”

Yes he does, some weird stuff going on behind the scenes at the football club for sure

 

[MalcSB]

So when did the 5 year Premier Card come in to play? 2 or 3 seasons left. Robins et al made it clear it was not an immediate fix. I’m just as concerned as many. Perhaps not as concerned as some?

The Premier Package is nothing to do with it. I have one and it is / was (a) a gamble and (b) a hedge against increased ticket season ticket prices. This seasons freezing of ST prices has decreased the value of (b).

The sell included the " Dream Big, Aim High and Play Up" line and the hype when ST sales were launched - including Robins saying we were going to give it a go.

King said the club needed increased revenues to succeed - they have been delivered. If this season is one of non achievement but not relegation, ST sales will significantly decrease next season. I dread to think what would happen in the case of relegation.

 

[MalcSB]

Very well reasoned argument. I’d only add that without midfield reinforcements we’re going nowhere regardless of anything else in the side. Zero ability to unlock a defence without ohare palmer or hamer

Funny how important Palmer was now that he has gone.

 

[Sky Blue Goblin]

Yes he does, some weird stuff going on behind the scenes at the football club for sure

Maybe the club have just changed the policy from, tell us if you don’t want to share it versus we won’t share until you tell us it’s okay.

 

[MalcSB]

Let's not forget that alongside the aim of being in the play offs 3 years out of five the owner also said we would never be in a relegation struggle under his ownership... that's why Mark Robins will be in great danger of losing his job right now tbh.

It's funny how people forget these statements and say we weren't sold a vision.

 

[SlowerThanPlatt]

 

[curly_tom]

Reading some of this is so depressing. We have had a poor start to the season for sure. It's not great ad I really hope we improve starting tomorrow. But calls for Robins to be sacked are strange in my view. A club like ours needs stability and continuity. We will have some bad periods and some good ones. Had we won 2 of the games we've lost everyone would be fine. After the Blackburn game everyone was excited, that was 3 games ago. We should all calm down.

 

[Nick]

Reading some of this is so depressing. We have had a poor start to the season for sure. It's not great ad I really hope we improve starting tomorrow. But calls for Robins to be sacked are strange in my view. A club like ours needs stability and continuity. We will have some bad periods and some good ones. Had we won 2 of the games we've lost everyone would be fine. After the Blackburn game everyone was excited, that was 3 games ago. We should all calm down.

Had we won the first 10 games everybody would be different, we haven't though.

 

[MalcSB]

Reading some of this is so depressing. We have had a poor start to the season for sure. It's not great ad I really hope we improve starting tomorrow. But calls for Robins to be sacked are strange in my view. A club like ours needs stability and continuity. We will have some bad periods and some good ones. Had we won 2 of the games we've lost everyone would be fine. After the Blackburn game everyone was excited, that was 3 games ago. We should all calm down.

But we havent. That's the point. And there is no clue when the next win will come.Lose to QPR and we are in the bottom three with as near as blow it a quarter of the season gone. Bottom of the form table for the last 8 matches.

 

[Ring Of Steel]

But we havent. That's the point. And there is no clue when the next win will come.Lose to QPR and we are in the bottom three with as near as blow it a quarter of the season gone. Bottom of the form table for the last 8 matches.

there is a clue- the strikers need to start putting chances away. We are creating chances.

If we weren’t creating chances either, well then that’s a different & much more damning situation.

 

[Flying Fokker]

The Premier Package is nothing to do with it. I have one and it is / was (a) a gamble and (b) a hedge against increased ticket season ticket prices. This seasons freezing of ST prices has decreased the value of (b).

The sell included the " Dream Big, Aim High and Play Up" line and the hype when ST sales were launched - including Robins saying we were going to give it a go.

King said the club needed increased revenues to succeed - they have been delivered. If this season is one of non achievement but not relegation, ST sales will significantly decrease next season. I dread to think what would happen in the case of relegation.

The ST sales will go down for sure. There will be the opportunity for hiding behind the sofa TV matches.

King should know that. Fans vote with their feet. As with any season, If the product is sub standard they will not come.

 

[alfielloyd]

I'm not even staunch against his departure, simply pointing out the flaws in the arguments but you're beyond what's reasonable and won't see any other view. This isn't a black and white argument, but it's becoming petty and childish like the politics thread with clear sides drawn, so I'll make this my last post. Enjoy your irrational 'debating'.

From memory apart from beating a couple of sides who were relegated and a very decent win at home against Leeds our form from March 2024 has been abysmal, simply ignoring our form or suggesting it did not really matter is nonsense.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Talk of waiting till January to sign some leadership and experience, if indeed we sign anyone it will again be a prospect in his early 20s because Dougie wants profit rather than points.

 

[nicksar]

there is a clue- the strikers need to start putting chances away. We are creating chances.

If we weren’t creating chances either, well then that’s a different & much more damning situation.

I'm not in the sack Robins camp but I do think his job is very much on the line right now, he's doing and saying some really confusing things currently an example being after the Blackburn win he praised BTA for the best centre forward display he'd seen in a long time,two games later BTA is benched?... makes little sense to me, he's also standing motionless in the technical area throughout most games (which I can't get my head around tbh).
My take watching Saturday's game was that I was watching two poor teams in all honesty.... albeit we were unfortunate not to get a point from the game.
Only my opinion but player wise I think only Haji Wright (when in the correct frame of mind) is clearly a cut above the level but again Robins seemingly prefers others?.

 

[SlowerThanPlatt]

Talk of waiting till January to sign some leadership and experience, if indeed we sign anyone it will again be a prospect in his early 20s because Dougie wants profit rather than points.

I’ve been thinking what King’s slander name will be after SHITSU

 

[bukayosakamoto]

I normally am the first to wet the bed but has anyone seen the table ? This is the championship, within a few games we could easily be 11th or 12th. I think it's so strange to call for the sacking of a manager who is solely responsible for saving the club over the last 7 years.

 

[GaryJones]

Blimey - If we lose tomorrow and the Cardiff Portsmouth game is drawn we will be BOTTOM. How the hell have we found ourselves in this position?
Something is not right here and Doug King needs to get to the bottom of it - we cant keep hoping it gets better unless something fundamentally changes.

 

[Bigelvesy]

I normally am the first to wet the bed but has anyone seen the table ? This is the championship, within a few games we could easily be 11th or 12th. I think it's so strange to call for the sacking of a manager who is solely responsible for saving the club over the last 7 years.

Completely agree.
Stability is what the club and players need right now, there has been a significant, looking like overwhelming amount of change happen that has obviously unsettled things behind the scenes and thats being displayed on the pitch.
the absolute worst thing to do now would be to make that worse by sacking the epitome of stability in Robins, and being in a replacement, which will then trigger another period of upheaval and change.

We are not going to get relegated this year, and tbh i think Robins would walk if he believed that to be the case.

It is looking like a disappointing season from a promotion or playoff perspective, but thats the context with which we’re judging our current performance. That mentality is a huge leap forward for this club, that has been brought on by the change in ownership and the change of attitude being portrayed by the club.
Really important now not to take the step backwards by sacking the manager

 

[shmmeee]

Sounds like it’s a new policy at the club. I could see reasoning for it.

Alternatively Wilson has asked for it not to be disclosed (which he legally has the right to, it being personal medical info).

Could be me being cynical but I feel someone’s been on a training course and now is going around looking for GDPR breaches and it’s one of the most poorly understood pieces of legislation since the Health and Safety Act.

 

[Briles]

Could be me being cynical but I feel someone’s been on a training course and now is going around looking for GDPR breaches and it’s one of the most poorly understood pieces of legislation since the Health and Safety Act.

Which is silly really given how simple the guidelines are

 

[stupot07]

I think there’s a bit more to it than just Viveash on its own- like I say, last season Wright & Simms were scoring, whereas this season the xg table clearly shows that our inability to finish is costing us very dearly. It’s not so much of a leap to suggest that if we were scoring then this debate would not be happening- an underwhelming start but not a total disaster. There’s also the question of these personal issues which I don’t want to start digging into as it’s just speculation tbh.

so I’m not arguing with you, but again I don’t think it’s as simple as just one thing, a few things have happened all at once. None are unfixable, and I feel Robins has more than earned the chance to fix them- hence my position.

But.. if you’re right and King wants that particular model maybe it’s all irrelevant and he won’t get the time, who knows. I hope not

He doesn't know what his best team is, we chop and change every games, like you say last season Simms and Wright were scoring, and I've said this before they have only started 3 games together all season. 3 of a possible 13 games. How are they supposed to get their spark back if they aren't playing together and are playing with someone different every other week?.

Can't start Wright because he's been on international duty, but Lati comes straight in, despite not getting back into country to Thursday.

 

[MalcSB]

He doesn't know what his best team is, we chop and change every games, like you say last season Simms and Wright were scoring, and I've said this before they have only started 3 games together all season. 3 of a possible 13 games. How are they supposed to get their spark back if they aren't playing together and are playing with someone different every other week?.

Can't start Wright because he's been on international duty, but Lati comes straight in, despite not getting back into country to Thursday.

Perhaps an indicator of different players character, motivation and resolve.

 

[skybluecam]

I think there’s a bit more to it than just Viveash on its own- like I say, last season Wright & Simms were scoring, whereas this season the xg table clearly shows that our inability to finish is costing us very dearly. It’s not so much of a leap to suggest that if we were scoring then this debate would not be happening- an underwhelming start but not a total disaster. There’s also the question of these personal issues which I don’t want to start digging into as it’s just speculation tbh.

so I’m not arguing with you, but again I don’t think it’s as simple as just one thing, a few things have happened all at once. None are unfixable, and I feel Robins has more than earned the chance to fix them- hence my position.

But.. if you’re right and King wants that particular model maybe it’s all irrelevant and he won’t get the time, who knows. I hope not.

Wright has 3 goals from 3.2 xG and Simms 1 from 1.7. They’re hardly having stinkers, odd to single them out in this way.

We’re changing things around so much it’s ridiculous. Wright/Simms/Sakamoto only got a handful of games together at the start of the season and since then out front line has looked like this:

Bassette - Simms
Wright - BTA - EMC
Wright - BTA - Sakamoto*
EMC - Simms - MVE
Wright - Bassette - BTA
EMC - Simms - MVE

That amount of change cannot be good for the team.

 

[Boicey]

He doesn't know what his best team is, we chop and change every games, like you say last season Simms and Wright were scoring, and I've said this before they have only started 3 games together all season. 3 of a possible 13 games. How are they supposed to get their spark back if they aren't playing together and are playing with someone different every other week?.

Can't start Wright because he's been on international duty, but Lati comes straight in, despite not getting back into country to Thursday.

It's hardly like Simms and Wright had a great partnership last season. In fact I think they only rarely played together.
Imo Wright has quality, but is a bit of a luxury player given his work rate and lack of engine. I'd still play him though. Simms has huge confidence issues, but is also very limited in his capability. Someone has to lay it on a plate for him and we don't have players who can do that. Norman or BTA are better options.

 

[Frostie]

Maybe the club have just changed the policy from, tell us if you don’t want to share it versus we won’t share until you tell us it’s okay.

It was the same with Sakamoto last season.

 

[djr8369]

I don’t think enough weight has been given to Robins suffering a bereavement. If he’s not at it and firing on all cylinders, combined with changes behind the scenes and new people bedding in, it could be enough to cause the bad run.

As others have said, we don’t know who would come in and if they would make a positive impact. Sure, it works for some teams but not all.

The pressure from fans will change nothing. The players and the staff know they need to start winning. A half cut angry bloke shouting abuse from the stands isn’t going to motivate them. Next few months could be a tough watch but hang in there. I think Robins will walk if he thinks it’s the right time.

 

[Earlsdon_Skyblue1]

I don't want him gone, but on the current trajectory he is on borrowed time. I can also understand anyone that does want a change, and this condescending attitude towards those that do is a bit bizarre. We're all entitled to an opinion and at the moment things are shite.

Robins is making errors certainly, but for me it's still the players that should be getting the brunt of the criticism, and it seems like a lot of it is going disproportionately towards just about everything else.

I would give him until after January and let him do whatever is necessary in the winter transfer market to make some changes. I wouldn't be opposed to letting some bigger names go that haven't been performing in order to recruit some strength and balance in the right places.

 

[stupot07]

It's hardly like Simms and Wright had a great partnership last season. In fact I think they only rarely played together.
Imo Wright has quality, but is a bit of a luxury player given his work rate and lack of engine. I'd still play him though. Simms has huge confidence issues, but is also very limited in his capability. Someone has to lay it on a plate for him and we don't have players who can do that. Norman or BTA are better options.

They played in the same starting line up 20 times this calendar year.

Won 9
Drew 3
Lost 8

Bassette is raw, and BTA has never been a more than 1 in 4 / 10 goals a season player.

The Wright - Simms - Sakamoto front 3 has to be given a run of 8-10 games. They are our best front 3.