Can we Get to Wembley?.

[Neal]

No I don't think we will.But I will be at Bognor.

[RussianGull]

Chunky, agree with what you're saying mate.

Getting to Wembley seems to be Nicholson's focus, one final hurrah before he hangs up his boots, surely somewhat overdue. If that's what he wants then good luck to him and the team.

His appointment was lazy, his performances (admittedly from second hand sources) have been poor both on and off the pitch, yet he still picks himself ahead of others. Despite this, we have little choice but to support him and his (because surely they are now all 'his' players) players.

When relegation comes, it'll be a sad day but it won't be the end.

[Southampton Gull]

A massive climb down in expectations that's for sure, but there has to be clear separation between the "old" and "current" board. The reasons why our expectations have gone down the plug hole are not the fault of the likes of Dave Phillips or Steve Breed, they're the people who came in and have had to fight tooth and nail to keep this club running, they've suffered the consequences of the actions of those who went before, Bill Phillips knew very well the academy would have to close, did a great job of engineering the blame on the new board in my view, spending money the club didn't have and turning to Thea every point and turn to cover the losses they were racking up.

Both Phillips and Breed have been on the wrong end of some real dogs abuse, and deserve the upmost praise for keeping their dignity in tact, when they could easily have gone public told the harsh truth, airing some pretty dirty washing along the way, fair play to them for keeping their powder dry, in the same situation I wouldn't have done.

Spending £200k on a training of which a large percentage is still not fit for purpose today is one of reasons why our club is where it is now, the new board have had no other choice but to bring the club back into a position where it lives off it's income, it no doubt will take years to recover, but if us fans stop crying, and start getting behind the club, we'll get there a damn sight quicker.

What a cracking post, absolutely spot on.

[tomogull]

Chunky, agree with what you're saying mate. His appointment was lazy, his performances (admittedly from second hand sources) have been poor both on and off the pitch, yet he still picks himself ahead of others. Despite this, we have little choice but to support him and his (because surely they are now all 'his' players) players.
When relegation comes, it'll be a sad day but it won't be the end.

I might well be in the minority, but I happen to think Nico will prove to be good manager - if not with us, then with another club. Whether he was the right appointment for us at the time, or whether we could even afford anyone else, I don't know, but he did himself no favours by putting his name forward to manage a team that at best 'was going through a transition', at worst, 'was a total shambles'. In my opinion, it is not fair to say his performances on the pitch have been poor. He's done okay and formed a good partnership with Dan Butler in front of him. However, we now have more midfield cover and I think he'd be wise to take a step back and see what's happening from the touchline.

[Glostergull]

russian. and chunky. both of you show that you haven't really even seen how we play as admitedly you have heard from secondhand sources. come on and see us play for 3 games and then in all honesty that he is the weakest element. Nico has brought discipline to a team that previously had none. they need shipping out and we have bargain basement players in bar one or two. tell me who you would appoint as manager for the money that we can afford. bet you can't

[RussianGull]

russian. and chunky. both of you show that you haven't really even seen how we play as admitedly you have heard from secondhand sources. come on and see us play for 3 games and then in all honesty that he is the weakest element. Nico has brought discipline to a team that previously had none. they need shipping out and we have bargain basement players in bar one or two. tell me who you would appoint as manager for the money that we can afford. bet you can't

Gloster, I haven't been to many games this season, no. But I've listened to a lot of commentary read the match reports and watched the highlights and it often seems like we're weakest on our left side and invite attack after attack. Last couple of games he's not played and we've won, I'm not saying we've won because of this, but it is interesting. Since before Christmas people have been asking he drop himself and take up his spot on the bench as the manager, maybe it was ego or maybe it was lack of faith in outfield options to drop Dan Butler but you've got to admit in the last couple of games with Nico on the sidelines we've sounded a better team.

I'm not getting drawn into little games of who I would have appointed because you just can't win, we all wanted Hargreaves out but had he stayed we probably wouldn't've been in this pickle. Before him we had Knill who saved us from relegation and turned out to be woeful, now he's number 2 at high flying Northampton. Appointing a manager is an unenviable task, the board can never really win as I said in my previous post we can but support our manager, regardless of who he is and whether he's any good! Regarding appointing managers I saw this pop up on BBC sport this morning:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35649944

[Kit_robin]

On the subject of Nicholson it is undeniable that the team that has played the last two games is probably our strongest 11. But this isn't just because Nicholson has dropped himself, it's because he has brought in players like racchi, Allen, Rees and Ajala.

For one reason or another (injury, cup tied, signed at different times) the last two games have been the first time they're all available - and nicho did the right thing in dropping himself.

Before that however, I think he was right to play. Not because he's brilliant (he often got beaten, although he wasn't as bad as some people say), but because playing himself and butler was a stronger combination than playing butler at left back and, say, Sam Chaney in midfield. Other than Chaney he would have had to play a centre half or hancox in midfield.

He played because overal the team was stronger with butler in midfield. Now we have better midfielders the best left back is playing at left back. Pretty simple really.

[Modgull]

On the subject of Nicholson it is undeniable that the team that has played the last two games is probably our strongest 11. But this isn't just because Nicholson has dropped himself, it's because he has brought in players like racchi, Allen, Rees and Ajala.

For one reason or another (injury, cup tied, signed at different times) the last two games have been the first time they're all available - and nicho did the right thing in dropping himself.

Before that however, I think he was right to play. Not because he's brilliant (he often got beaten, although he wasn't as bad as some people say), but because playing himself and butler was a stronger combination than playing butler at left back and, say, Sam Chaney in midfield. Other than Chaney he would have had to play a centre half or hancox in midfield.

He played because overal the team was stronger with butler in midfield. Now we have better midfielders the best left back is playing at left back. Pretty simple really.

Yes this has always been my take on Nicho's involvement on the field. Those who said it was a vanity thing were just blinkered and some of the more vehement comments were totally uncalled for.

[Glostergull]

I would be so unbelievably happy if that scenario happens, I want TUFC to succeed. However I dont feel we will stay up with Nicholson in charge and I was very vocal about that even before he was appointed when rumours were flying around.

If he proves me wrong then great and I will swallow humble pie and admit I was wrong. Does either staying up, winning the FA trophy or both automatically mean we should keep him on with out looking at other options though.

The worst thing about having him is the fact he insists on picking himself in the starting line up and doesnt look like deservedly sitting some games out anytime soon. I can understand it in the trophy where the squad doesnt have many options but there could be a much stronger line up in the league without him. You only have to look around the internet to see each week the supporters prefered line ups and Nicholson rarely features in any of them. To pick yourself and put yourself ahead of the teams real needs and to the detriment of the team is negligent, egotistical, vain, delusional, selfish and very poor.

Will that be with custard or Raspberry sauce.. I can do brandy sauce as a special for a small consideration if asked lol.

[brucie]

What a shame we couldn't have the excellent Mr Tisdale from up the road who celebrated his 500th game in charge in the week. Now there is a proper football manager. And what about that hat he wore against Liverpool. Now that's class. Compare that to the garb that Hargreaves turned out in.
That's why Mr Tisdale has a job in football and Hargreaves is selling medical supplies.

[Southampton Gull]

He's done a marvellous job for them but the majority of City fans would rather he left, strange.........................

[chardie]

On the subject of Nicholson it is undeniable that the team that has played the last two games is probably our strongest 11. But this isn't just because Nicholson has dropped himself, it's because he has brought in players like racchi, Allen, Rees and Ajala.

For one reason or another (injury, cup tied, signed at different times) the last two games have been the first time they're all available - and nicho did the right thing in dropping himself.

Before that however, I think he was right to play. Not because he's brilliant (he often got beaten, although he wasn't as bad as some people say), but because playing himself and butler was a stronger combination than playing butler at left back and, say, Sam Chaney in midfield. Other than Chaney he would have had to play a centre half or hancox in midfield.

He played because overal the team was stronger with butler in midfield. Now we have better midfielders the best left back is playing at left back. Pretty simple really.

[tomogull]

He's done a marvellous job for them but the majority of City fans would rather he left, strange.........................

Yep - as they say SG, it's a funny ol' game ...... They've also got Steve Perryman who I've got huge respect for.

[SteveDeckchair]

Back on topic. No.

[tomogull]

Back on topic. No.

I agree with Steve ......