• 30 Jan 2024, 11:14 p.m.

    I really think the points deduction is having big effect. Players, crowd, management know whatever we do we are likely down.

    (Out of interest when is the actual deduction amount known? Is it at a point when the panel will know how much to deduct to likely send us down?)

  • 30 Jan 2024, 11:33 p.m.

    Donny, give JRC his account back.

    I'm still not at all convinced we'll get a deduction at all.

  • 30 Jan 2024, 11:36 p.m.

    Really?

    We are a badly run small club, an easy target to allow the big clubs to avoid regulation and carry on doing what they like.

  • 30 Jan 2024, 11:40 p.m.

    Yes really. To counter your argument, giving us (and anyone else) a deduction creates precedent and makes their future PSR problems more punishable, not less so. The only clubs with an interest in avoiding relegation caused by us getting a deduction look like being Everton, who clearly aren't one of the ones you're talking about, Luton, Palace, Brentford and Fulham, all of whom are quite objectively speaking smaller clubs than us. Not to mention, none of these clubs have any say in the decision.

  • 31 Jan 2024, 12:16 a.m.

    They are all small clubs in the eyes of the Premier League. The only ones who aren't are the 6 that wanted to go to the European Super League.

    Those 6 need to be protected and maintained as big clubs. Who the other 14 small clubs are is irrelevant, they don't count.

    Those 6 will never have FFP issues.
    Any precedent is just a small club issue and makes sure small clubs stay small.

    It's not about who gets relegated, totally irrelevant. It's about stopping an independnet regulator being appointed who might do something to damage the big clubs. That cannot be allowed to happen. Sacrificing small clubs is seen as the way to prevent that.

  • 31 Jan 2024, 1:50 a.m.

    Eh, I fundamentally disagree with that belief in multiple ways. Not least because half the ownership groups in the league would love the government's proposal of an independent regulator, because as I have said on here before it's not even remotely independent and governments and their agents are incredibly easy to control with money. The Crouch Report recommendations would give the Middle Eastern and American ownership groups greater control over the sport and greater control over PSR, not less.

  • 31 Jan 2024, 5:56 a.m.

    Initial decision is by mid April. Appeal can take it beyond the end of the season.

  • 31 Jan 2024, 5:59 a.m.

    Apart from the last 10 minutes that was the dullest game I've been to in a long time. We ceded position and they were happy to play at walking pace.

    Amused by the strained efforts though to paint this as the 'dark days of Cooper'. It's almost as transparent as Nuno mentioning how good the fans were every 14 seconds in his post match interview. A backs to the wall, everyone in the trenches display needs complete buy-in and that wasn't last night, the fans knew this and the atmosphere was flat. This wasn't an out of sorts falling giant, Arsenal were at the top of their game and be it Nuno, Cooper, Megson or Clough not conceding in these games has to be the starting point. If we'd gone 2 up and then lost 3-2 I'd admit maybe that was Cooperball, this was the reality of being a small club against the big 6.

  • 31 Jan 2024, 7:43 a.m.

    It’s not just about mistakes with Turner though.

    Every other team, when they are being pressed, will eventually pass back to the keeper, who’ll change the angle by passing to a full back, centre half or midfielder. Turner does that sometimes but at least half time, he’ll either boot it forward for a 50/50 on the halfway line or just out for a throw in (not many, if any, of the latter last night, to be fair). It has a really detrimental effect on how we are able to play in possession.

  • 31 Jan 2024, 8:01 a.m.

    So why are they fighting against the idea so much?

    An internal regulator like now is easier to control than an external one isn't it?

  • 31 Jan 2024, 9:28 a.m.

    Odd game last night. Felt Nuno got the team and tactics wrong and that (plus awful individual errors) is what cost us.
    CHO and Yates should have started ahead of Montiel (Neco at RB) and Danilo, (instead of the wide players being a CM and RB) and then hook Wood, plus one of Domingues or CHO for Taiwo and Elanga with 30 to play.
    We defended very well first half, happy to let Arsenal have the ball in front of us and wide, (which tbf, is probably why Nuno started the wide players he did), but offered nothing going forward.
    Second half, we tried to be a bit more expansive and attacking and got caught.
    We needed a Paul McKenna-type in the ref's ear, managing the game, which Yates would have offered. (few incidents where MGW was miles away from the ref, when we needed the captain in his ear subtly influencing decisions). We might have got away with the first goal as the ref had stopped the game when Saka went down injured, but then Neco was down (and very slow to get up, not for the first time) and the ref allowed Arsenal to take a quick throw into where Neco should have been, and they scored - if we'd been in his ear earlier on, he might not have allowed the quick throw, but made them wait until Neco was up.
    Also being on at the ref may have made him hurry Arsenal up, as they were allowed to be so slow over every single set piece (right from kick off, not even just when they were ahead).
    Second goal, a howler from Montiel, who is good going forward, but a terrible defender.

  • 31 Jan 2024, 9:38 a.m.

    Agree with most of that, but I actually thought the plan was sound and working. We'd kept them quiet for over an hour and (I think) had just brought on CHO to try and do more going forwards. Stupid of Neco to lose focus at that point, but there should also have been better cover.

  • 31 Jan 2024, 9:47 a.m.

    Neco was on the floor having been tripped, wasn't he? But either way, the outfield players had still covered Jesus so that he was shooting from an impossible angle.

  • 31 Jan 2024, 10 a.m.

    I was sat right above that. Most annoying was that it looked like it should have been our throw.

  • 31 Jan 2024, 10:19 a.m.

    The plan was sound for 45 minutes if we were holding out for 0-0 (which I think was the plan in the first half). As soon as we tried to win the game, we got picked off.

  • 31 Jan 2024, 11:06 a.m.

    It obviously won't be credited as such but I think there's a fair chance the first goal was technically an own-goal. I'm not sure the shot was on target until it hit Turner's knee.