It doesn't seem to be a question of dosh or of managerial ability - in both these areas we're much better off than recent years but the crap results keep coming. We will spend more dosh on better players but are the reasons for our poor showing still going to be there?

Are we too soft on our team? not enough 'stick' shown to players who exist on a diet of carrots? After the Derby match we gave our guys a week off whereas Blackburn went on a training camp (just one example of a team with lesser assets than us but out-performing us on passion / results). Would a Taggart / Hughes put up with 70% effort / attitude??

Do we still have a drinking culture at the club? I read a year or so ago MCFC were known as one of the hardest drinking teams in the Prem. Bianchi chose his words carefully but seemed to hint at this when he bugged out.

Many recent performances have looked like our players were hungover / still on the beach.

Anyone have any thoughts on this (beyond buying more players)?

CTID

Predicting false dawns since August '07.

I'm not saying we should accept defeats, but for a team still in a transitional period (which we are, and probably will be next season as well), we've had a very acceptable season.

If our results had been mixed up, and not one half excellent, one half poor, then we would have less complaints...yet it still equates to the same kind of season.

From Manchester with love

Spot on. Some people are just hard to please

From Manchester with love

It seems we can't discuss anything about the team without the accusations flying around. I've been a blue for 35+ years so don't start slagging me for starting a discussion

Compared to last year obviously we're much better off, but given we now have an experienced manager and money to spend we should be. Compared to the first half of the season the current situation is a disgrace.

I give you a comparison and you say 'Sven wouldn't be soft' - how do you explain us being out-performed by lesser teams with players not as able as ours? It can't all be 'bad luck' - actually recently we've been lucky to scrape average results.

So players don't drink eh? Get real!! We have a drinking reputation - even among the prem (which is saying something). Seems to me the 'couldn't give a shit' attitude and consumption might just be related

Apart from blue-tinted views of 'we're ever so grateful just to be still here' why don't you look at the Villas, the Blackburns etc and ask why we aren't out-fighting them? We have bigger resources but fail where it matters (wigan, derby, B'ham, Bolton, etc etc).

If we can't be objective what's the point?

CTID

Length of time you've been a blue doesn't mean anything by the way, but of course you have a right to start a discussion. Which has been discussed. Don't be so defensive because you've found someone who disagrees.

Being soft has nothing to do with it, nor does lack of effort. I'd explain it with bad resutls leading to low confidence, and it's all just kind of gone wrong from there. There's no blue tinted glasses, i know we're shit at the moment, i just refuse to look for obscure excuses to explain it, when it can be explained by actually watching the games.

From Manchester with love

Predicting false dawns since August '07.

We're on a mission from God

we are quite the masters of that art

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How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?