So where do you think our match will be in the MOTD order tonight?

Firstly,

Dave - you are possibly right. Malky, for me, is not got enough courage for this league.

What a highly frustrating night.

Yes it's a point but I wouldn't have minded a point if we tried to give a go tonight, even a little a bit. The point was, the team didn't try, Malky didn't try.

No wonder a lot our fans are so apathetic towards football at the moment, we play so boringly.

how about championship highlights on saturday night.

to be fair, it is what i have always disliked about him. last christmas we had the league at our mercy and still rather than go out and win he set up a don't loose stall.

i went to a number of those away matches, spent loads and never came back with 3 points.

always thought he would never cut it in the premier league which is why i wanted him sacked before the season started.

he may stay and he may be our saviour, but i doubt it

Let's see what happens at Palace. The performance and his management were dire, but let's get some perspective here - we walked away with a point at one of the toughest away matches in the league.

I and many others said four points is the needed tally from these two fixtures. If we win at Palace with a good performance , then all is forgiven. However, if we set up as negatively as we did yesterday and settle for a point oncemore, then maybe ill have to think about turning my cloak.

The one thing I haven't gotten over - who only uses one sub , seriously? I get using two as it's wise to keep a spare one in case of an injury, but why the hell only use one? Complete lack of tactical direction.

Red614 wrote:Let's see what happens at Palace. The performance and his management were dire, but let's get some perspective here - we walked away with a point at one of the toughest away matches in the league.

I and many others said four points is the needed tally from these two fixtures. If we win at Palace with a good performance , then all is forgiven. However, if we set up as negatively as we did yesterday and settle for a point oncemore, then maybe ill have to think about turning my cloak.

The one thing I haven't gotten over - who only uses one sub , seriously? I get using two as it's wise to keep a spare one in case of an injury, but why the hell only use one? Complete lack of tactical direction.

We were never in danger of losing that match set up as we were, so no incentive for Malky to change anything. He wasn't interested in going for a win, just not to lose.

I don't buy into the theory that he feels pressured by Tan, so is looking to avoid losing at all costs. He has always set up his team like that.

At the end of the day he is in a win-win situation. He won't walk away at this point, but if he does lose a few and Tan feels he has to go, then West Ham will be patiently waiting for him as Allardyce's replacement.

There was a small danger - Assaidi was giving KTC a problem on our right. KTC had a really bad match by the way, he averaged a 44% pass accuracy and his too frequent bombs down the wing simply to boot it straight at a marker left Assaidi far too much space. The balls he put in never developed anything, but Crouch was always there or thereabouts.

Their defence and midfield however were surprisingly poor, and I think one simple change tactically could of turned everything - Noone on for Cowie, and have a word with KTC and tell him to stop bombing forward. Couple that with taking Whitts off and putting Cornelius alongside Campbell and give the left wing to Mutch (not his ideal position but he showed enough pace and ability to cover it well enough).

But alas, I am apparently more inventive than Malky was last night.

Red614 wrote:There was a small danger - Assaidi was giving KTC a problem on our right. KTC had a really bad match by the way, he averaged a 44% pass accuracy and his too frequent bombs down the wing simply to boot it straight at a marker left Assaidi far too much space. The balls he put in never developed anything, but Crouch was always there or thereabouts.

Their defence and midfield however were surprisingly poor, and I think one simple change tactically could of turned everything - Noone on for Cowie, and have a word with KTC and tell him to stop bombing forward. Couple that with taking Whitts off and putting Cornelius alongside Campbell and give the left wing to Mutch (not his ideal position but he showed enough pace and ability to cover it well enough).

But alas, I am apparently more inventive than Malky was last night.

I agree, but the fact is that Malky's priority is not to lose matches.  This was highlighted by the way we limped over the line last year, whilst all aound us self-destructed.  It's a risky tactic, as other teams won't always be as accommodating.

What is a crying shame to me is that we have a squad capable of playing excellent incisive football....they have shown it to some extent in every match (bar West Ham).  We are a far more skillful side than Stoke will ever be and can still go toe to toe with them in the physicality stakes.

I think, Red, you are slowly coming round to view things the same way that I do.........hardly surprising though, seeing as how we are one and the same person..............

Ironically I'm coming full circle, last year I was a massive critic when we went five or so games without a win and our lead was shrinking. Then not long after we had the trophy in our hands I handed Malky an official apology and backed him. He's done well so far this season in my opinion with just some minor blips. But now I'm wondering if they are blips afterall - it's hard to believe the team that played last night is the exact same team that ran Manchester United and Man City into the ground.

So yeah, don't hold your breath just yet, but I might owe you and DW an official apology too soon