You tell em Bobby: This is a depressing result for me, and I have no sympathy for my team

-- Anonymous, November 29, 2000

Answers

The rest:

"This result is hurting me so much, and I hope it hurts them. "It's a very disappointing result and hurts more than the defeat by Birmingham last season. "I have to compliment them. They wanted it badly - more than us -and their front two were a bit of handful throughout the game." Even so Robson felt his team should have given the hosts more to do. He added: "We could have made it harder for them and we did not work all over the pitch. We were poor when we didn't have the ball and allowed them to have possession too easily. "They gave us problems from corners. They scored their goal from a free header, and we did not clear the ball out of the box for the winner. We lost the game on set plays, and that has made me very angry."

-- Anonymous, November 29, 2000

So what are ye gann de aboot it, bonnie lad?

I'm sorry, but YBR is the manager. The buck stops with him. Either he fixes it by motivating his players, something TDO and TSM couldn't do or by replaing them with ones who are up for the job. Or he should resign if he isn't given the resources or can't motivate them.

It's been mentioned on another thread, and it has been bothering me for a while. Why do players, who on the face of it are relatively talented, just not perform as a team, yet other less skillful players blend more naturally into a team? You can't blame the players alone for that.

So what is it? Is it the coach? I hardly think so, as he has a tremendous repuation and experience of building teams under very trying conditions.

Is it the staff? I can't comment, as I haven't enough experience of who is there.

Or is it the board? There are many who would jump to this conclusion, but it that the case? Do the board meddle in dressing room afairs? I'd be surprised, as I'm sure YBR wouldn't stand for it.

So is it just an NUFC culture? I'm sure many of us have worked in businesses where things just go on as they always have done. It takes a strong person at the top to fix it. And I don't think we've necesarily had that type of person since SJH departed.

So many questions - please help me find the answers.

-- Anonymous, November 29, 2000

I think Bobby is as clueless as we are on how to turn this around. Do any of you think there's some sort of preference to play the senior players even if they are off-form or injured?

I asked this because we seem to play Barton, Speed, Lee and Shearer every chance we get and sad to say it's not panning out well. But the main grouse is that they will be in the team come Saturday so doesn't that strike you as odd seeing as how they aren't performing and all.

Honestly, do we really, I mean, REALLY, need them for every single match? Will we lose without them seniors guiding our way?

Seems to me we are already doing fine in the gutless display department and losing to really need them holding the other players hands.

Heck right now I would be very happy if we field a team of youngsters and a packed midfield fighting for every single ball against the Villans and coming away with a 0-0 draw.

-- Anonymous, November 29, 2000

Oops! Maybe I posted on the wrong thread. Oh well, life is not exactly peachy at the moment so tough.

-- Anonymous, November 29, 2000

I think the problem with Bobby is that he couldn't have anticipated the bad luck we've had and has no money to do anything about it.

-- Anonymous, November 30, 2000

Bobby has obviously bought Acuna and Bassedas to play in the centre so why not give them a chance. Drop Speed and Lee.

We cover Lee in a black and white blanket too often. He's getting on now and not many players can play top level football at his age in central midfield. I'm afraid we have to play Shearer, take the captaincy off him though.

The other one, oh yes Barton mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

-- Anonymous, November 30, 2000