When did it go wrong?

we were robbed against watford at home..
leicester played us off the park..

we won some games that maybe we thought we wouldnt and we lost some games that maybe we didnt think we would..thatll happen in this division..


we then played at palace..the management and players were quite happy with a draw against ten men??????
all the cliches were used by all and sundry..
the "joy" at getting a point was probably the biggest pointer to what hoyle and grayson, and to an extent the players, truly thought about our chances this season..
no one went off the scale about two dismal draws at home over christmas, again all the cliches were rolled out..
The club is to ready to accept underperformances and gross lack of effort from the playing staff..They also seem to accept what appears to be a total lack of ideas or the ability to motivate from the management staff..
you can tell wether you have a "team" or not by the way they lose games... we fold to some tune, start arguing and whineging to the bench about minor knocks etc..
Its got "doom" written all over it.. We are the team in the bottom bit that wont just lose games we will get spanked, thereby losing any remaining confidence for the games against teams around us..
watford upped the pace and the effort in the second half on saturday, they took it very easy in the first, they stuffed us in the second 45 minutes..so much so they were able to cruise for the last 20 minutes, unacceptable and again embarrassing the supporters..

Southerns sending off is where it all went a bit t**s up for me, Larry then tinkered instead of sticking withthe formation, tactics and personnel,,, Should have just played Gerrard in Keefs position,, Same build, Same pace, Gets stuck in,,,,,,,, Southern aint been the same since.

Biggest single influence - BECKFORD - he's poison. He comes with one positive, his goals, and he hasn't delivered. He comes with loads of negatives - no effort, no interest outside the box, surly character, Vaughan's form has dropped of a cliff playing next to him. Grade A winker and Grayson is taking a huge gamble that his goals will keep us up (just like they got Leeds promoted when they didn't look a particularly good side). Huge gamble and failing miserably now.

There are other reasons - P Clarke a bit out of his depth at this level - Norwood loss of confidence - lack of squad depth - Vaughan's injuries. None come near to the huge impact og Beckford.

Before he signed - p7 w4 d2 l1 - 14 pts
Since he signed - p21 w4 d7 l10 - 19pts

I rest my case.

Leicester fan in peace.

Sorry guys we improved and gained consistancy once Beckford had gone.

It takes a while for his poison to spread, the Guy has an attitude problem and is not a team player

Give over,,, Show me some facts that state Beckford is a bad egg, Misdemeanours, Fall outs, Training ground punch ups, Late for training ????? Nah, You wont find any,, You just dont like him,,,,,,,,,,

I have to agree that Beckford is wrong for the team and I would personally take the bold step and drop him and put Novak in his place.

Yes we may still have to pay for him due to the loan SG paid for but if I were Novak I would be furious that he can get away with continually poor performances whilst I am warming the bench. Dropping Beckford would be a sign that form and effort is what matters, not being a "name". That means equally Peter Clarke has to go and I would put Bennett back in goal as Smithies will have no confidence now.

Its the only way back from the cliff edge right now and has to happen now and not wait a few games.

Personally I think Beckford's career is done. He didnt last in the PL, he could cope at a good Championship side in Leicester and he cant motivate himself for a lower Championship side so ultimately his mentality has ruined his chances.

I too would play Novak, but then I have been a fan since I first saw him come on as a substitute in a pre-season game against Newcastle United. For some time now, I have got the impression that there is a deal of snobbery from Town fans regarding the lad, in that he can’t be up to much because he came from non-league. He is raw, and he makes mistakes, but his plus points far outweigh the negative ones.

Prior to Beckford joining Town I had only seen him play once, at Everton against Town in the League Cup, when I seem to remember he came on as a substitute. I was quite keen on him coming to Town since he had a record of back-to-back 30+ goal seasons at Leeds, and he was joining the manager who was at Elland Road during those spells, so Grayson should know him well, both as a person and a player.

I remember when Beckford was knocking goals in for Leeds United there were quite a few less than complimentary comments about him and the team from Town fans on the old 606 board. Someone accused Leeds/Grayson of being one-dimensional in simply knocking the ball through to Beckford. As an advocate of the “whatever gets the job done/play to your strengths” philosophy in football, I considered this a somewhat banal comment.

Now I have seen Beckford play a few times, I reckon his first touch is very poor (far worse than the much-maligned Lee Novak), his distribution is practically non-existent (far worse than the much-maligned Lee Novak), his work rate is low (far worse than the much-maligned Lee Novak), he wins few headers (far less than the much-maligned Lee Novak), and he doesn’t contribute much to the defensive effort when it’s needed (far less than the much-maligned Lee Novak).

To put it bluntly, I am completely unoverawed by Jermain Beckford!

if beckford does not score he offers little else..

as town dont look like scoring very much we had better start by "defending" from the front and defending a bit further up the pitch all round..
the dropping back and sitting in is an unmitigated disaster..
we wont score many goals from here in so we had better get much harder to score against..
that means noval/vaughan and then alan lee with beckford in a very last 4th place..
its too easy to play the ball through us when the opposition always "start" their attacks 10 yards inside our half.. you have got to show some bottle and go and play/tackle/harry where the ball actually is, not wait to make last ditch tackles/blocks give away penalties/goals etc.. got to make their centre backs play more quickly and go longer or sideways etc..
maybe if we start winning the ball higher up the pitch a simple slide pass through for beckford might actually be on!!!!
Nothing wrong with longer balls into space turning the defenders but you have to chase it down and the whole team has to move up behind it..
simon you simply cant play beckford or clayton because they are old mates and you brought them here.. if they are not doing it or not doing enough they go on the bench..

"Nothing wrong with longer balls into space turning the defenders but you have to chase it down and the whole team has to move up behind it.."

We are on the same wavelength 38YEARS. I shout for that on numerous occasions when I am watching Town play.. unfortunately, the players don't take any notice.

Also I have told my grandson to do that when he plays, if he has little option, or his team's defence is struggling. He is a very good passer of a ball, unfortunately there are players in his team who can't pass a ball, there are those who don't understand the importance of passing the ball, and some who just won't pass the ball. Ring any bells?

we did it early on in the season//remember cardiff, 3 great chances in the game to score all from quick longer passes into space for runners who then played the ball into arfield in the box or on the edge of the box...unfortunately it was arfield on the end but you get my drift?
blackpool was a similar story and birmingham away...
we shoved up the pitch at home to burnley and derby and won both games comfortably without any particular defensive scares..
we got beat by a very good leicester team and the were robbed by watford, so what?? We were bound to lose some games but the re action to those games and the posh and millwall games to stop doing what we had been and to start dropping back and defending deep was a disaster which has been allowed to continue by grayson and his staff..
We sat in our own box at leicester and got totally thumped and we dropped off on saturday after doing ok in the first half and got thumped..it must be telling grayson something???
The biggest annoyance was the town midfield and back 4 running away from tom ince and allowing him to get to the edge of the box every single time he got hold of the ball, if he is going to"do you" better to get a challenge of some description in further out from goal???? if you need to knock him over do it near the half way line, take it in turns if neccessary, do you really want to win football matches????
We run away from where the ball is and stand and wait to be attacked and its ridiculous to watch..