Other sides in the division will now have worked out that if you give our central midfield the runaround in the first half then it will expire in the second.
I'm gonna get dog's abuse for this ... Johnson should have played last night, Konsa is just not ready .. I suspect Slade will not pick Johnson to start as he (Slade) knows how unpopular Johnson is with the fans
Johnson should be above Lennon in the pecking order for Saturday if Pearce is unfit .. and we need major changes in midfield and attack .. Holmes central midfield behind Ajose and Magennis for a start .. recent timid, terrible selections must come to a halt .. however I do really fear that the current Valley atmosphere is not conducive to attacking, confident, perhaps arrogant displays of football from our players, opposition can sense this and take advantage
You'd hope that by only being concussion; Pearce should be back on Saturday as it will have been a week and a half since the incident @ Scunthorpe, yet agreed... Konsa was better on the floor with the ball but their No.12 was winning everything in the air against him (Even Bauer was just about winning headers against their forward line)
Bauer was dead on his legs 15 minutes from time and with even with half and hour left both he and Big Josh were getting picked off with every aerial ball - they were winning nothing. Bauer is clearly short of match fitness but all credit to him as he could easily have asked to come off as his quads tightened but he was determined to get the game time.
Bauer was the ONLY player who came out of that match with their reputation in tact whilst Ulvestad / Fox / Rudd / Magennis and MAYBE Solly can slightly how their heads high, everyone else on that pitch should take a good look in the mirror!!
I'd add Holmes to that list but otherwise yes absolutely.
I'm gonna get dog's abuse for this ... Johnson should have played last night, Konsa is just not ready .. I suspect Slade will not pick Johnson to start as he (Slade) knows how unpopular Johnson is with the fans
Johnson should be above Lennon in the pecking order for Saturday if Pearce is unfit .. and we need major changes in midfield and attack .. Holmes central midfield behind Ajose and Magennis for a start .. recent timid, terrible selections must come to a halt .. however I do really fear that the current Valley atmosphere is not conducive to attacking, confident, perhaps arrogant displays of football from our players, opposition can sense this and take advantage
You'd hope that by only being concussion; Pearce should be back on Saturday as it will have been a week and a half since the incident @ Scunthorpe, yet agreed... Konsa was better on the floor with the ball but their No.12 was winning everything in the air against him (Even Bauer was just about winning headers against their forward line)
Bauer was dead on his legs 15 minutes from time and with even with half and hour left both he and Big Josh were getting picked off with every aerial ball - they were winning nothing. Bauer is clearly short of match fitness but all credit to him as he could easily have asked to come off as his quads tightened but he was determined to get the game time.
Bauer was the ONLY player who came out of that match with their reputation in tact whilst Ulvestad / Fox / Rudd / Magennis and MAYBE Solly can slightly how their heads high, everyone else on that pitch should take a good look in the mirror!!
I'd add Holmes to that list but otherwise yes absolutely.
Mehhh not sure... He wasnt very effective last night yet I guess he kept going and not once tried to hide, I guess its the old statement that wingers (and we've seen plenty do it at Charlton) have their inconsistent days
Did want to launch something at him when he surrendered corner taking to Lookman though!!
A very big problem we have now is that it is hard to see how Slade could improve with the midfield he has available. They are all so slow they are incapable of pressing in the middle in case they get caught out. Crofts, Jackson, Foley and , it looks like, Ulverstad cannot be the central midfield of a team that wants to attack and press. There is no chance of fixing this until January now-as far as i know there are no young players in our squad who can play this role. Does anybody have any idea how this could be fixed in the short term?
Horrific performance. One of the worst performances i have ever seen. 2 q's: What has Slade got against playing Holmes/Lookman both from the start? We've played 10 games and its obvious to all they are our two only dangerous players. What do we practice in training? Constantly lumping it up from defence to Magennis to try and control? And the plan for our midfield to try and get second balls? 1-1 flattered us last night, Oldham deserved three points, missed two sitters. Useless
A very big problem we have now is that it is hard to see how Slade could improve with the midfield he has available. They are all so slow they are incapable of pressing in the middle in case they get caught out. Crofts, Jackson, Foley and , it looks like, Ulverstad cannot be the central midfield of a team that wants to attack and press. There is no chance of fixing this until January now-as far as i know there are no young players in our squad who can play this role. Does anybody have any idea how this could be fixed in the short term?
What about Mikhail Kennedy?
OR ... Botaka | Ulvestad | Holmes | Lookman
Its a Midfield that'll get over-ran if we're being attacked by Sheffield United but those are the games when we should be playing the likes of Crofts and Foley because we'll need their experience, yet against Oxford / Oldham the opposition is there for the taking.
By playing those four in midfield your surely making the opposition think twice about attacking in the first place because they'll leave gaps for all four of those players to exploit, instead by playing Crofts and Jackson we're saying: Come and have a go if your hard enough and teams are happily doing just that
I was there, one of the Valley 5000! Ive been going since '73/74, we were a third tier team back in those days and I can honestly say last night was the worst day watching Charlton that I can remember, the owners, the atmosphere, the players the tactics, everyone of the players barring Maginnes who tried and ran his socks off and held up when he could, Rudd, 'cos he didn't have much to do, and Konsa (good game), were an embarrassment, they should all be ashamed, no communication and they looked frightened, even the Big Fuckin German, from the players through to the manager, if this shower of shiite are pro footballers, then back in the day I would have walked into that team.
A few lowlights -
Lookman, his body language is negative, lets be honest he doesn't want to be here. Novak - cannot run Ulvestad - Premier league, you're 'avin laugh. Holmes - Just god awful Crofts - Ditto I could go on, but apathy is holding me back.
BUT for me why are they all so unfit, they looked like a pub team fitness wise.
I was numb with boredom. Why Lookman did not start i do not know. If this is the fare that RS teams are going to serve up I am going to bring a book! Atmosphere terrible, hardly surprising.
This is the lowest point for me. Drawing with Oldham at home is unacceptable and I'm struggling to understanding why we don't play with 2 wingers and actually attack these awful teams especially at home!
At best we have a mediocre squad, largely due to the financial restraints imposed on Brussell by You Know Who but compounded by a manager who hasn't set the world alight thus far.
We have to challenge the game plan of the gaffer from minute 1 to minutes 90+. We have to believe that his aim is to gain 3 points from every home game but his substitutions regularly mean that we question his "goal".
Teaching my grandmother to suck eggs wasn't something I planned to do but FFS, our midfield is sorely lacking in skill, pace, character & just about everything else you can think of. Sadly, even I have to believe that JJ's legs are best kept "on ice" in readiness for a last throw of the dice from the bench.
Why have a player on the bench & not bring him on who, basically is unknown to other L1 teams & who has given glimpses of what he COULD do to change a game ...and I don't mean Rojo.
I wonder what the team spirit is like behind the scenes - have the members bonded? Are they " a unit" ? Does the gaffer inspire confidence ? Is he inspirational ? SO many questions.
Finally, how many of us could have written the script tonight ?
If we can't beat teams like Oldham ( no offence meant) at The Valley then I see little hope for this season. We know as far as the squad is concerned, we have what we have until January. And as I'm sure others have pointed out before my post, if we sacked RS, who the hell would want to join our version of Ringling Brothers ? So, where do we go from here ?
More than ever, at this moment in time, I am numb. I didn't enjoy one minute of tonight's game...I was bored / disinterested/ distracted/ angry throughout the 90 minutes - something I don't believe I have ever felt at a Charlton match before & it breaks my heart to admit this.
Whatever it takes, WE HAVE TO GET OUR CLUB BACK before the disease that threatens its very existence becomes terminal. We are not yet at rock bottom but the speed & manner of our decline is frightening. Sadly, until we are rid of this toxic regime, I see no future.
" Just sell our club, our famous football club " !
Who could argue with your sentiments, Fanny.
The big question must be, even if RD and his circus did throw in the towel, who, in their right minds is going to buy this sinking ship?
So many folk feel the same as you and tonight I cannot express my frustration and anger in words but, for myself, I cannot see investors queuing up to take up the poisoned chalice. The fans should have or need to come up with something better than, 'Sell the Club and do one' - they need to attract a buyer and the way things are going, that will not be easy.
If you were a potential investor and you saw the way the Club has been brought to its knees by fans voting with their feet and killing revenue/income streams so aggressively and so early in the tenure of the owners, would you not be deeply concerned that the same might happen to you as the new owner?
There appears to be quite a few interested to buy. This is straight from both Duchatelet & Meire. The only question is that how much does Duchatelet try to claim in the price payment for all the many abysmal decisions made at the club. If there is a decent new owner willing to invest and run the club like adult, competent, professional grown ups then Charlton supporters will return. There is still great potential in the club. I miss my club & watching the football. I really don't care about watching Spurs in European Competition on BT Sport.
I would renew my season ticket in this instance of decent new owners in a heartbeat. I am sure many other Charlton supporters are in the same boat. I am not renewing whilst these incompetents serving up incomplete squads that produce rubbish, boring football are in place.
I would not doubt your knowledge but the point you make about the price RD will accept I see as the deal breaker - from the numbers quoted on here he would need to take a serious loss on his investment and previously I was given the impression he wanted the full investment back - sure you know more than me on this, anyway.
Not expecting wins because of our stature, the name of the club means nothing.
Expecting wins because the quality of our players, I like to think I'm quite knowledgeable about the opposition and the players that each squad has but other than Paul Green and Peter Clarke (ironically who got the assist and goal respectively) I didnt have a clue who any of the Oldham squad were
One note I will say in defence of the squad... How Oldham finished with eleven players is beyond me, how the Oldham player got away without even a yellow card after clearly twice kicking Ricky Holmes when he was on the floor is beyond me.
Maybe had the Referee done his job and given him a deserved red card then Oldham would have been forced to defend with just 10-players and the Free Kick that led to the goal may never have happened (the offending player didnt play a part in the free kick).
Ultimately though the Free Kick did happen and should have been dealt with
At best we have a mediocre squad, largely due to the financial restraints imposed on Brussell by You Know Who but compounded by a manager who hasn't set the world alight thus far.
We have to challenge the game plan of the gaffer from minute 1 to minutes 90+. We have to believe that his aim is to gain 3 points from every home game but his substitutions regularly mean that we question his "goal".
Teaching my grandmother to suck eggs wasn't something I planned to do but FFS, our midfield is sorely lacking in skill, pace, character & just about everything else you can think of. Sadly, even I have to believe that JJ's legs are best kept "on ice" in readiness for a last throw of the dice from the bench.
Why have a player on the bench & not bring him on who, basically is unknown to other L1 teams & who has given glimpses of what he COULD do to change a game ...and I don't mean Rojo.
I wonder what the team spirit is like behind the scenes - have the members bonded? Are they " a unit" ? Does the gaffer inspire confidence ? Is he inspirational ? SO many questions.
Finally, how many of us could have written the script tonight ?
If we can't beat teams like Oldham ( no offence meant) at The Valley then I see little hope for this season. We know as far as the squad is concerned, we have what we have until January. And as I'm sure others have pointed out before my post, if we sacked RS, who the hell would want to join our version of Ringling Brothers ? So, where do we go from here ?
More than ever, at this moment in time, I am numb. I didn't enjoy one minute of tonight's game...I was bored / disinterested/ distracted/ angry throughout the 90 minutes - something I don't believe I have ever felt at a Charlton match before & it breaks my heart to admit this.
Whatever it takes, WE HAVE TO GET OUR CLUB BACK before the disease that threatens its very existence becomes terminal. We are not yet at rock bottom but the speed & manner of our decline is frightening. Sadly, until we are rid of this toxic regime, I see no future.
" Just sell our club, our famous football club " !
Who could argue with your sentiments, Fanny.
The big question must be, even if RD and his circus did throw in the towel, who, in their right minds is going to buy this sinking ship?
So many folk feel the same as you and tonight I cannot express my frustration and anger in words but, for myself, I cannot see investors queuing up to take up the poisoned chalice. The fans should have or need to come up with something better than, 'Sell the Club and do one' - they need to attract a buyer and the way things are going, that will not be easy.
If you were a potential investor and you saw the way the Club has been brought to its knees by fans voting with their feet and killing revenue/income streams so aggressively and so early in the tenure of the owners, would you not be deeply concerned that the same might happen to you as the new owner?
There appears to be quite a few interested to buy. This is straight from both Duchatelet & Meire. The only question is that how much does Duchatelet try to claim in the price payment for all the many abysmal decisions made at the club. If there is a decent new owner willing to invest and run the club like adult, competent, professional grown ups then Charlton supporters will return. There is still great potential in the club. I miss my club & watching the football. I really don't care about watching Spurs in European Competition on BT Sport.
I would renew my season ticket in this instance of decent new owners in a heartbeat. I am sure many other Charlton supporters are in the same boat. I am not renewing whilst these incompetents serving up incomplete squads that produce rubbish, boring football are in place.
I would not doubt your knowledge but the point you make about the price RD will accept I see as the deal breaker - from the numbers quoted on here he would need to take a serious loss on his investment and previously I was given the impression he wanted the full investment back - sure you know more than me on this, anyway.
If you buy a car and proceed to smash it into a wall, it does not retian its value. If RD had got Charlton promoted, he would get much more than his investment back. As he has got us relegated, what can he seriously expect?
Can't fault Russell on the substitutions last night as IMO he replaced the correct players with the right subs. Keeping Holmes on with Lookman, taking Jacko the Spectator out and Crofts who was having a mare. I could find issue with the timings but I'm more worried about the lack of any attacking intent no matter who made up the 11. We were inept. Solly rarely crossed the half way line. Novak dropped into midfield it seemed 2nd half. Seriously..... Going 4-5-1 at home to Oldham to preserve a 1-0 lead??? Beyond parody!!
I'm gonna get dog's abuse for this ... Johnson should have played last night, Konsa is just not ready .. I suspect Slade will not pick Johnson to start as he (Slade) knows how unpopular Johnson is with the fans
Johnson should be above Lennon in the pecking order for Saturday if Pearce is unfit .. and we need major changes in midfield and attack .. Holmes central midfield behind Ajose and Magennis for a start .. recent timid, terrible selections must come to a halt .. however I do really fear that the current Valley atmosphere is not conducive to attacking, confident, perhaps arrogant displays of football from our players, opposition can sense this and take advantage
A lot of regime apologists have been banging on about how much better and more positive the atmosphere is at the Valley this season, while the match day protests have been in abeyance. truth is the atmosphere is driven by the performances, chances, excitement and results.
At best we have a mediocre squad, largely due to the financial restraints imposed on Brussell by You Know Who but compounded by a manager who hasn't set the world alight thus far.
We have to challenge the game plan of the gaffer from minute 1 to minutes 90+. We have to believe that his aim is to gain 3 points from every home game but his substitutions regularly mean that we question his "goal".
Teaching my grandmother to suck eggs wasn't something I planned to do but FFS, our midfield is sorely lacking in skill, pace, character & just about everything else you can think of. Sadly, even I have to believe that JJ's legs are best kept "on ice" in readiness for a last throw of the dice from the bench.
Why have a player on the bench & not bring him on who, basically is unknown to other L1 teams & who has given glimpses of what he COULD do to change a game ...and I don't mean Rojo.
I wonder what the team spirit is like behind the scenes - have the members bonded? Are they " a unit" ? Does the gaffer inspire confidence ? Is he inspirational ? SO many questions.
Finally, how many of us could have written the script tonight ?
If we can't beat teams like Oldham ( no offence meant) at The Valley then I see little hope for this season. We know as far as the squad is concerned, we have what we have until January. And as I'm sure others have pointed out before my post, if we sacked RS, who the hell would want to join our version of Ringling Brothers ? So, where do we go from here ?
More than ever, at this moment in time, I am numb. I didn't enjoy one minute of tonight's game...I was bored / disinterested/ distracted/ angry throughout the 90 minutes - something I don't believe I have ever felt at a Charlton match before & it breaks my heart to admit this.
Whatever it takes, WE HAVE TO GET OUR CLUB BACK before the disease that threatens its very existence becomes terminal. We are not yet at rock bottom but the speed & manner of our decline is frightening. Sadly, until we are rid of this toxic regime, I see no future.
" Just sell our club, our famous football club " !
Who could argue with your sentiments, Fanny.
The big question must be, even if RD and his circus did throw in the towel, who, in their right minds is going to buy this sinking ship?
So many folk feel the same as you and tonight I cannot express my frustration and anger in words but, for myself, I cannot see investors queuing up to take up the poisoned chalice. The fans should have or need to come up with something better than, 'Sell the Club and do one' - they need to attract a buyer and the way things are going, that will not be easy.
If you were a potential investor and you saw the way the Club has been brought to its knees by fans voting with their feet and killing revenue/income streams so aggressively and so early in the tenure of the owners, would you not be deeply concerned that the same might happen to you as the new owner?
There appears to be quite a few interested to buy. This is straight from both Duchatelet & Meire. The only question is that how much does Duchatelet try to claim in the price payment for all the many abysmal decisions made at the club. If there is a decent new owner willing to invest and run the club like adult, competent, professional grown ups then Charlton supporters will return. There is still great potential in the club. I miss my club & watching the football. I really don't care about watching Spurs in European Competition on BT Sport.
I would renew my season ticket in this instance of decent new owners in a heartbeat. I am sure many other Charlton supporters are in the same boat. I am not renewing whilst these incompetents serving up incomplete squads that produce rubbish, boring football are in place.
I would not doubt your knowledge but the point you make about the price RD will accept I see as the deal breaker - from the numbers quoted on here he would need to take a serious loss on his investment and previously I was given the impression he wanted the full investment back - sure you know more than me on this, anyway.
If you buy a car and proceed to smash it into a wall, it does not retian its value. If RD had got Charlton promoted, he would get much more than his investment back. As he has got us relegated, what can he seriously expect?
Which is fair comment but doesn't solve the current problem that the Club is now on its knees and balancing precariously on the edge of a precipice. It was like a Ghost town at The Valley last night.
Hopefully an improvement on the field after last night's kick up the pants will bring some much-needed feel good factor.
The squad we had last year was good enough to have survived in the Championship - take away the huge injury crisis and the Karel Fraeye debacle and we might well have been much higher up the table.
Jackson on the wing? I wasn't there nor will I be for any game in the foreseeable future, but surely Slade has more tactical nous than to put Jackson on the wing in a young speedy league?
If c) would genuinely love to know the reason for your calm, optimistic outlook. For the life of me I can see nothing but a bleak future unless Duchatelet takes a loss on his investment and sells up.
Steward I was talking to said the club was cutting back on everything at present - closing the bars at 7:15 was further evidence of the club's mismanagement.
But I thought the "match day experience" was important to RD for his vision? How does closing bars enhance it?
From a football point of view Johnson should have played, as Konsa while full of promise is starting to be found out, especially against the more physical strikers in this league
What RJ did was terrible, but Slade also got it wrong, with that mealy apology for him. He should have made RJ do a filmed personal apology, showing real regret, even an interview with Cawley or Louis to at least made it look as if he was sorry.
Without that, it looks like RJ doesn't care about what he said
Four years ago, Doncaster Rovers, without wages or an owner, came to The Valley and were 3-0 up within 28 minutes. We were saved by the weather and the ref: abandoned at half-time. Chris Powell has learned since then: never play one single striker, especially at home.
Everyone should tap in YouTube for the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and the play-off final replay at St Andrews. I was there: we had lost plenty of games in those seasons, yet still after 42 we had fire, zip, and wit. Cunning, energy and bravado. Look again at the free-kick that sunk Leeds: Gritty running over the ball firmly placed, another feinting to the right - the stadium fell silent - and then the curve that Peter Shirtliff nodded in, to send us into delirium and Yorkshire to despair.
Now, we rarely get forward. Since Kermorgant, a free kick is slammed against the wall, or ricocheted with luck, then shanked from seven yards out, spiralling in to Row Z.
Our current players are oblivious. Oblivious of anything apart from cars, tattoos, computer games and fake-tanned girlfriends. After England's familiar debacle in the Euros, Chris Waddle said: "These players are plugged into their little earphones, in their own little worlds. If they were alone in the centre of Paris, they wouldn't know how to order a cab to get back to the hotel."
When Slade first clapped eyes on our players at Sparrows Lane, he remarked publicly about the speed with which they zoomed off without training. He was right to be worried. There was a vignette posted recently: our players toddling along the tunnel to get changed before the game, each plugged in to Natalie Imbruglia.
Where is the team-building? The players' own determination to win? Utterly absent. If we played Donny Rovers again tomorrow - we would lose yet again.
Comments
Did want to launch something at him when he surrendered corner taking to Lookman though!!
There is no chance of fixing this until January now-as far as i know there are no young players in our squad who can play this role.
Does anybody have any idea how this could be fixed in the short term?
2 q's: What has Slade got against playing Holmes/Lookman both from the start? We've played 10 games and its obvious to all they are our two only dangerous players.
What do we practice in training? Constantly lumping it up from defence to Magennis to try and control? And the plan for our midfield to try and get second balls?
1-1 flattered us last night, Oldham deserved three points, missed two sitters.
Useless
OR ... Botaka | Ulvestad | Holmes | Lookman
Its a Midfield that'll get over-ran if we're being attacked by Sheffield United but those are the games when we should be playing the likes of Crofts and Foley because we'll need their experience, yet against Oxford / Oldham the opposition is there for the taking.
By playing those four in midfield your surely making the opposition think twice about attacking in the first place because they'll leave gaps for all four of those players to exploit, instead by playing Crofts and Jackson we're saying: Come and have a go if your hard enough and teams are happily doing just that
We saw nothing of the ball for the last 10-mins!!
Ive been going since '73/74, we were a third tier team back in those days and I can honestly say last night was the worst day watching Charlton that I can remember, the owners, the atmosphere, the players the tactics, everyone of the players barring Maginnes who tried and ran his socks off and held up when he could, Rudd, 'cos he didn't have much to do, and Konsa (good game), were an embarrassment, they should all be ashamed, no communication and they looked frightened, even the Big Fuckin German, from the players through to the manager, if this shower of shiite are pro footballers, then back in the day I would have walked into that team.
A few lowlights -
Lookman, his body language is negative, lets be honest he doesn't want to be here.
Novak - cannot run
Ulvestad - Premier league, you're 'avin laugh.
Holmes - Just god awful
Crofts - Ditto
I could go on, but apathy is holding me back.
BUT for me why are they all so unfit, they looked like a pub team fitness wise.
Slade can do one.
Atmosphere terrible, hardly surprising.
londonnewsonline.co.uk/6938/charlton-striker-magennis-oldham-worst-performance-well-stick-together/
Expecting wins because the quality of our players, I like to think I'm quite knowledgeable about the opposition and the players that each squad has but other than Paul Green and Peter Clarke (ironically who got the assist and goal respectively) I didnt have a clue who any of the Oldham squad were
Maybe had the Referee done his job and given him a deserved red card then Oldham would have been forced to defend with just 10-players and the Free Kick that led to the goal may never have happened (the offending player didnt play a part in the free kick).
Ultimately though the Free Kick did happen and should have been dealt with
We're not going to win without playing the best players in the right positions.
I had said we should go with the following vs Oldham: Instead we went weak again:
Solly | Bauer | Konsa| Fox
Holmes | Ulvestad | Crofts| Jackson
Novak | Magennis
Instead of attacking changes we made the following:
Solly | Bauer | Konsa| Fox
Holmes | Ulvestad | Foley (63)| Lookman (63)
Ajose (87)| Magennis
These subs are the wrong one's to be making, I do agree with the timing of the first two but they were the wrong players.
Lookman should have come on for Novak.
Foley should have been Botaka coming on for Jackson.
In my opinion unless we go all out for goals this weekend, we're gonna get stuffed.
Solly | Bauer | Texeira | Fox
Crofts
Holmes | | Botaka
Ulvestad
Lookman | Magennis
It was like a Ghost town at The Valley last night.
Hopefully an improvement on the field after last night's kick up the pants will bring some much-needed feel good factor.
The squad we had last year was good enough to have survived in the Championship - take away the huge injury crisis and the Karel Fraeye debacle and we might well have been much higher up the table.
a) still pissed?
b) on a wind up?
c) serious?
If c) would genuinely love to know the reason for your calm, optimistic outlook. For the life of me I can see nothing but a bleak future unless Duchatelet takes a loss on his investment and sells up.
What RJ did was terrible, but Slade also got it wrong, with that mealy apology for him. He should have made RJ do a filmed personal apology, showing real regret, even an interview with Cawley or Louis to at least made it look as if he was sorry.
Without that, it looks like RJ doesn't care about what he said
Everyone should tap in YouTube for the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and the play-off final replay at St Andrews. I was there: we had lost plenty of games in those seasons, yet still after 42 we had fire, zip, and wit. Cunning, energy and bravado. Look again at the free-kick that sunk Leeds: Gritty running over the ball firmly placed, another feinting to the right - the stadium fell silent - and then the curve that Peter Shirtliff nodded in, to send us into delirium and Yorkshire to despair.
Now, we rarely get forward. Since Kermorgant, a free kick is slammed against the wall, or ricocheted with luck, then shanked from seven yards out, spiralling in to Row Z.
Our current players are oblivious. Oblivious of anything apart from cars, tattoos, computer games and fake-tanned girlfriends. After England's familiar debacle in the Euros, Chris Waddle said: "These players are plugged into their little earphones, in their own little worlds. If they were alone in the centre of Paris, they wouldn't know how to order a cab to get back to the hotel."
When Slade first clapped eyes on our players at Sparrows Lane, he remarked publicly about the speed with which they zoomed off without training. He was right to be worried. There was a vignette posted recently: our players toddling along the tunnel to get changed before the game, each plugged in to Natalie Imbruglia.
Where is the team-building? The players' own determination to win? Utterly absent. If we played Donny Rovers again tomorrow - we would lose yet again.