[Maddix]

Lavery stays at the blue pigs

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/31695207

[St Charles Owl]

Lets hope he can get a few goals and help Chezzie knock the blunts out of the playoffs!!

[Thurnscoe_OWL]

they play each other at s2 last game of the season.

Could he possibly ... ? Would we be happy with that or would we rather them lose at Wembley again?

[St Charles Owl]

Personally I would prefer to see them miss out completely!!! At some point the law of averages state that they will win one of them, so on that basis lets just see them mis them completely!!

[Thurnscoe_OWL]

this is a 90 year streak How many attempts at new Wembley? 6/7?

[Owlkev71]

Holloway out at Millwall, no surprise there.

Neil Harris to take charge rest of the season.

[Southeyowl]

knew I should have had a tenner on him to be next one gone!

[Thurnscoe_OWL]

hope they go on a run and catch the mini pigs now

[madsteve]

I think we probably all agree that it is all about next season now so I thought it would be interesting to see how we compare against the teams we might be playing next season so I have worked out a League Table of results for this season, ignoring matches against the three teams that will clearly be relegated (Blackpool, Wigan & Millwall) as this should be a better guide as to how we are likely to perform next season.

Played Points
1. Derby 33 62
2. Middlesbrough 31 55
3. Brentford 33 55
4. Watford 32 54
5. Bournemouth 31 53
6. Wolves 32 52
7. Norwich 30 49
8. Ipswich 31 48
9. Nottm F 30 44
10. Charlton 32 40
11. Blackburn 30 39
12. Huddersfield 31 39
13. Leeds 31 38
14. Cardiff 32 38
15. Birmingham 30 37
16. Fulham 32 36
17. Brighton 31 36
18. Bolton 32 34
19. Reading 30 33
20. WEDNESDAY 30 33
21. Rotherham 31 29
22. Millwall 33 27
23. Wigan 32 24
24. Blackpool 32 19

This table shows that when you take out results against the teams that will be in L1 next season, only Rotherham are below us in the table. This table unfortunately is a better guide as to how we will fare next season than the actual league table (unless something changes) & lets us know where we are. We consistently beat the three terrible sides but perform well below average against the rest of the Championship sides.

Our new owner should not be misled by our current league position. Our football has been dire this season and 11 goals in 18 home matches is a clear indication of where we are. Some fans will ignore this because they want to be bullish about our chances next season. So do I but we need major changes if we are going to compete anywhere near the Playoffs next season. In fact, I believe that with SG as manager, we are likely to be a bottom half team even if he is given millions to spend.

The reason is pretty clear to me. SG insists on playing a rigid 442, which works against the worst sides because our players are so much better but it falls down against the rest of the teams in this division. So although I believe we have players good enough for a top ten finish, we are underachieving due to poor tactics. It is a bit like Man City in the PL this season. They have the best players by a distance which means they can win regularly against the poorest sides but playing 442, they struggle against the top six sides and in the Champions League.

SG seems reluctant to change. In fact he actually said in a recent RS interview proudly that he is a 442 man. "I was brought up on 442 & that is the way my teams play." Sadly for him, the game has moved on & 442 sides are the easiest to beat or at least stifle. Hence our terrible home record (only Millwall & Wigan have won less at home).

My message to our new owner is that he needs to replace SG and bring in a more progressive manager or coach. It is with a heavy heart because SG has done a sound job, taking over when we were in the bottom three and guiding us to safety. He is also a personable guy & I think it is fair to say that everyone likes him. Unfortunately, he hasn't got what it takes to get us to the PL and with the new PL TV deal kicking in soon, we need to get there sooner rather than later.

This season has been a wasted season in my eyes. We have further improved our squad but have shown very little overall improvement in performances. While our improved defensive displays are welcomed, our impotence in midfield & attack shows that we haven't the tactics to win enough matches, except against the weakest teams (and we won't be playing them next year).

I don't want another season to be wasted by giving SG a chance because either he is a nice guy or he deserves it for keeping us up last season. We are no longer a Club that should be happy with mid table. We have an ambitious new owner, who has the finances to enable us to compete at the top of the Championship. We need to have a Manager, who is the equal of the best in the division so that our ambition of a return to the PL can be realised.

[Thurnscoe_OWL]

This season we should be happy at being mid-table because of the targets set out pre-season. The owners have come in too late to affect anything this season too heavily.
Next season (should the owner show more ambition pre-season) we obviously should not be happy with less than play offs