It's not Sherwood!

[Legion]

It will be the fault of the players and the previous manager.

[Ron Manager]

It will be the fault of the players and the previous manager.

If Sherwood sorts this mess out in the short time he has to do it his stock in the football world will rise considerably.

[olaftab]

Sure his stock will rise if he does but if he does not there is no free pass for him. Again 13 games is enough time to finish a couple of places above team in 3rd bottom for a decent coach with this set of players. I think we all agreed on that when Lambert was here.

[Monty]

If we go down it will be everyone's fault, including Sherwood's, Lambert's, Lerner's, Fox's, the players', the tea lady's, the boot polisher's and Hercules the Lion's.

[Dave]

Sure his stock will rise if he does but if he does not there is no free pass for him. Again 13 games is enough time to finish a couple of places above team in 3rd bottom for a decent coach with this set of players. I think we all agreed on that when Lambert was here.

Precisely.

The accepted wisdom is that Lambert had this group of players playing far below they are capable of.

We need to finish above at least three of Leicester, Burnley, QPR, West Brom, Sunderland, Hull and Palace. Would anybody take the majority of any of their squads over the majority of ours? Hell, based on what we have seen them do before I wouldn't say that there is much between us and the likes of Stoke, Swansea and Newcastle.

If not, then we need somebody who can motivate and organise the players to do slightly better than three of them. If Sherwood can't do that (and personally, I think that he can) then he will take his fair portion of the blame.

[tomd2103]

Sure his stock will rise if he does but if he does not there is no free pass for him. Again 13 games is enough time to finish a couple of places above team in 3rd bottom for a decent coach with this set of players. I think we all agreed on that when Lambert was here.

Precisely.

The accepted wisdom is that Lambert had this group of players playing far below they are capable of.

We need to finish above at least three of Leicester, Burnley, QPR, West Brom, Sunderland, Hull and Palace. Would anybody take the majority of any of their squads over the majority of ours? Hell, based on what we have seen them do before I wouldn't say that there is much between us and the likes of Stoke, Swansea and Newcastle.

If not, then we need somebody who can motivate and organise the players to do slightly better than three of them. If Sherwood can't do that (and personally, I think that he can) then he will take his fair portion of the blame.

Franksy?

[Boz]

On paper, I thought that the team he put out last saturday was our best.  Of all the teams in the league, I'd say Stoke are about the worst he could've drawn first up.  Get Chelsea and the expectation is small.  Stoke are awkward and probably the best equipped to deal with long ball, a tactic I can understand Sherwood going with short term.

I'm not sure what Gabby was supposed to be doing.  He stuck out as somebody not comfortable or effective in that formation.  Away from home, play him, at home it's probably time for him to be a substitute.  Weimann is not good enough to play in the premier league.  His all round play is honest but very, very limited. 

Absolute priority for Sherwood is to (quickly) get Benteke's mind right.  Bollock him or put his arm around him.  Something.  Because we are absolutely going to be relegated unless he starts scoring goals.

I'll make my mind up after the Newcastle game as to whether we have any hope of staying up.  Stoke are an ugly anomaly.

This is a reasonable assessment IMO and to start blaming Sherwood after a single game where a player threw away a point is not justified yet. With confidence levels low, the next game is more crucial in how well the team is set up and who is selected to start. Newcastle is winnable but there has to be more shots on target than two a game and they don't all have to come from Benteke.

[Phil from the upper holte]

That in mind Dave, Newcastle looked terrible against City, maybe we can beat them

[Damo70]

Sure his stock will rise if he does but if he does not there is no free pass for him. Again 13 games is enough time to finish a couple of places above team in 3rd bottom for a decent coach with this set of players. I think we all agreed on that when Lambert was here.

Precisely.

The accepted wisdom is that Lambert had this group of players playing far below they are capable of.

We need to finish above at least three of Leicester, Burnley, QPR, West Brom, Sunderland, Hull and Palace. Would anybody take the majority of any of their squads over the majority of ours? Hell, based on what we have seen them do before I wouldn't say that there is much between us and the likes of Stoke, Swansea and Newcastle.

If not, then we need somebody who can motivate and organise the players to do slightly better than three of them. If Sherwood can't do that (and personally, I think that he can) then he will take his fair portion of the blame.

Franksy?

Sunderland - Cattermole is a liabliity due to his disciplinary record, Larsson is good for the odd good game and goal, Fletcher is a (very) poor man's Benteke, Adam Johnson looks an England player about four times a season. Defoe might have been worth a punt if he hadn't been so expensive wages wise.

QPR - Caulker and Austin might look better in better sides than QPR and us.

Burnley - Ings needs better service than we provide.

Leicester - I'd take Cambiasso. Ulloa was an expensive gamble.

Albion - Don't tell anyone but I actually think Chris Brunt is underrated.

Palace - I like Jedinak, Gayle and Zaha although I'm not sure Zaha is any better than Sinclair.

Hull - I think Dawson and Huddlestone would improve our team.

[berneboy]

If we go down it will be everyone's fault, including Sherwood's, Lambert's, Lerner's, Fox's, the players', the tea lady's, the boot polisher's and Hercules the Lion's.

I'm impressed with the punctuation! Unless there are two boot polishers ...
Mind you, there were nearly two Lamberts.

[DeKuip]

It will be the fault of the players and the previous manager.

It will also be very much the fault of the current manager. He was offered and accepted the job with a third of the season left and us being only one point below the safety line.
The choice of formation and tactics on Saturday was his fault, and an embarrassment.
Ultimately though the blame for all of this mess lies at the door of those who choose and appoint our managers.

[Dave]

Sure his stock will rise if he does but if he does not there is no free pass for him. Again 13 games is enough time to finish a couple of places above team in 3rd bottom for a decent coach with this set of players. I think we all agreed on that when Lambert was here.

Precisely.

The accepted wisdom is that Lambert had this group of players playing far below they are capable of.

We need to finish above at least three of Leicester, Burnley, QPR, West Brom, Sunderland, Hull and Palace. Would anybody take the majority of any of their squads over the majority of ours? Hell, based on what we have seen them do before I wouldn't say that there is much between us and the likes of Stoke, Swansea and Newcastle.

If not, then we need somebody who can motivate and organise the players to do slightly better than three of them. If Sherwood can't do that (and personally, I think that he can) then he will take his fair portion of the blame.

Franksy?

Sunderland - Cattermole is a liabliity due to his disciplinary record, Larsson is good for the odd good game and goal, Fletcher is a (very) poor man's Benteke, Adam Johnson looks an England player about four times a season. Defoe might have been worth a punt if he hadn't been so expensive wages wise.

QPR - Caulker and Austin might look better in better sides than QPR and us.

Burnley - Ings needs better service than we provide.

Leicester - I'd take Cambiasso. Ulloa was an expensive gamble.

Albion - Don't tell anyone but I actually think Chris Brunt is underrated.

Palace - I like Jedinak, Gayle and Zaha although I'm not sure Zaha is any better than Sinclair.

Hull - I think Dawson and Huddlestone would improve our team.

Quite - there are a smattering of decent players from all of them - Jedinak, Lescott, Austin, Fer (were he not crocked) and Kramaric probably being the standouts.

None of them have a goalkeeper as good as Guzan, none of them have a striker as good as Benteke or an all-round midfielder as good as Delph. That the last manager had most of them playing like League One players was completely his fault, but if the new manager keeps them playing like League One players for the rest of the season then that'll be his fault.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

If we go down it will be Sherwood's fault. He took the challenge on and if he has any nous as a coach and motivator he should be able to get enough from 13 games to keep us up.

No it won't, it will also be the fact that we'd only managed 12 goals before he turned up.

It will to a large extent be the players fault, they are the ones not scoring and letting in soft goals. Obviously the manager takes a lot of responsibility for how a team prepares and the side he puts out but once they cross the line they are the ones playing the game and the ones not delivering.

Absolutely, the only problem is, as we saw on Saturday, when the manager's instructions give the players little chance of delivering, don't be surprised when they fail. I'm still struggling to understand what went through Sherwood's head, as I'm sure were most of the players. It's all well and good saying that once they cross the line it's in their hands but he needs to give them at least a fighting chance of delivering.

[Monty]

Also, people may say 'oh, it's too soon for him to have turned it around already', but that's not what they were saying after the Leicester match. I actually give him some real credit for that win, as we were obviously more direct and energetic in the second half, and this is clearly part of his tactical plan. The problem is he followed it up by changing the shape to one which we don't really have the players to play, and went even more direct against a team even more suited to mopping it all up easily. He has to take both credit and blame - it can't just be one and not the other.

[supertom]

Also, people may say 'oh, it's too soon for him to have turned it around already', but that's not what they were saying after the Leicester match. I actually give him some real credit for that win, as we were obviously more direct and energetic in the second half, and this is clearly part of his tactical plan. The problem is he followed it up by changing the shape to one which we don't really have the players to play, and went even more direct against a team even more suited to mopping it all up easily. He has to take both credit and blame - it can't just be one and not the other.

Indeed. Pulis and Pardew have already gone to new clubs and had instant turnarounds. Sherwood's speciality is supposed to motivation and getting the best out of players, so hopefully in the next 4 games we'll see a few wins. Granted inheriting a team that scored 12 goals in 25 games without a league win since the beginning of December is a hell of a task. In the very short term we just need a bit of luck, and players to reign in any moronic flashes of stupidity like Vlaar. We need a result ASAP. Beyond that Sherwood needs to get an idea of what his best side is, or best system. Given the woeful form of the vast majority all season and questionable ability of many, that's pretty hard.

He'll certainly have to take a little of the blame if we go down. That said I wouldn't be turfing Sherwood in the summer by any means. He's got to be given the chance of getting us up (if it comes to that).