Will we finish higher than last season?

[CroydonCaptainJack]

We have to hope this was just an off day. As S Mc says it won't be the last time we play badly and let's face it, is the nature of this division. Look how bad Boro looked yet they are eight points above us and in the play off positions. I was one of those that thought IH did ok but I feel much happier with S Mc and if you had told me after the first four games we would be where we are I would have snapped you hand off.

[Tarbie]

Fair dos tarbs but "get everyone back into the team!" out of everyone our only players luongo lol, this is a point ivebeen making macs become too reliant on players that are on loan, time to rely on our own.

So loan players don't count when we are considering our injury list then mate? They certainly seem to count when it comes to goals scored and points on the board. Seems like strange logic to me!

[YoungR1]

We're missing the main players who got us going after the first 4 games. We don't have the strength in depth to cover the loss of Cameron, Hemed or Rangel and without their experience and leadership we are struggling. Add Luongo to that too . Don't see it as anything major, just a blip. Once they are back we'll improve again. Sometimes even the greatest managers can't make wine out of water. Still haven't forgotten that staying up was our main priority at the start of the season so we're doing ok and no need to panic yet Mr Mainwairing's! You R's!

[Pinkie]

So loan players don't count when we are considering our injury list then mate? They certainly seem to count when it comes to goals scored and points on the board. Seems like strange logic to me!

What im saying is of our own players we`ve only got luongo out atm & if you can call hall out, point is at the end of the season just maybe we sign non of these loans, just feel macs been too reliant on them, if they all dont get signed up wheres that leave us, apart from needing some more loans in.

And why is it all ok now for mac tostruggle cos we havnt got these 3 players back, yet ollie never had them and still did ok i know its only been a bad run of a couple of games so we will pick up again anyway.

[Tarbie]

What im saying is of our own players we`ve only got luongo out atm & if you can call hall out, point is at the end of the season just maybe we sign non of these loans, just feel macs been too reliant on them, if they all dont get signed up wheres that leave us, apart from needing some more loans in.

And why is it all ok now for mac tostruggle cos we havnt got these 3 players back, yet ollie never had them and still did ok i know its only been a bad run of a couple of games so we will pick up again anyway.

I'm sure MacLaren would also love not to be so reliant on loan players mate. Hardly his fault though, you can blame that on Tony Fernandes and Phil Beard for years of ludicrous spending, leading to the restrictions we are operating under this season. If anything you should be commending Steve MacLaren for taking the job on despite these restrictions, rather than critiscising the fact that he has only been able to bring in loans this season.

[Hitman34]

why is it all ok now for mac tostruggle cos we havnt got these 3 players back, yet ollie never had them and still did ok i know its only been a bad run of a couple of games so we will pick up again anyway.

its ok because St Steve has not taken us on runs of 6 losses on the trot, countless losses away from home and he has had more clean sheets in the first 20 games than knobhead for the whole of last season.

Personally think Steve deserves credit for stopping last seasons rot and pushing us on.

Two defeats in the last 8, 5 defeats in the last 3 and half months. think he is doing bloody well with ffp strangling the club presently.

As for knobhead, no way would wells, rangel or hemed would have joined us on loan if he was manager.
It would have been another relegation battle me thinks.

[FurtiveFox]

Problem with comparing Holloway to SM, which this has come down to, is that Ollie was beyond hopeless until someone either had a word about his pet formation or effectively took over. Up until the last third last season was mainly garbage.

SM is with us because he can't get a job at a higher level. Ollie is not employed as a football manager as presumably he can't even get a job at League One level. That says it all about how they are viewed in the football world.

Overall, barring first four games, SM has done pretty well for us.

[dogsrrs]

Yes but not by a lot

[Abseits]

I think just by dint of winning at Forest and wining in 3rd round of cup Mr McClaren has bettered Olly's last stint by 452%.

[Stanley]

Hypothetical BUT....had Rangel, Cameron, Hemed and Luongo not been injured/lost, who reckons we'd be sitting in the top 6 now?

[acricketer]

We are now sitting mid table at 13th place with 39 points.

Last season we finished 16th with 56 points.

We are presently 4 points ahead of last seasons position. Will we finish higher than last season or end up with a pretty similar position as under Holloway?

There are seemingly numerous improvements this year, but I think it is most realistic that we will end up only marginally higher than last season. I am happily taking a mid table finish, but given the fact we have prioritized loan players over youth players I think the real progress in terms of points and league table position is more modest than all the positive McClaren posts indicate.

I am very happy with McClaren, despite todays result, but I refuse to accept that he is producing significantly better results than Holloway. The table does not lie.

Yes

[Shepherds Mush]

Hypothetical BUT....had Rangel, Cameron, Hemed and Luongo not been injured/lost, who reckons we'd be sitting in the top 6 now?

Doubt it personally. Would have picke up an added 5 points max (beat Reading and draw Preston perhaps)

[Stanley]

Doubt it personally. Would have picke up an added 5 points max (beat Reading and draw Preston perhaps)

Ifs and buts Mush.....agree about Reading but confident we'd have beaten Preston and got a draw at Sheff Utd too.

[hal9thou]

I wasn't a fan of Ollie as a manager, and that was before he was even signed up. I didn't want him and I said so.

However, as I also kept saying while tearing what was left of my hair out last season, Ollie did not appoint himself. Someone thought it was a great idea.

We are still suffering the consequences of really awful boardroom performance in recent years and there is a long way to go to redeem that.

[Pinkie]

I wasn't a fan of Ollie as a manager, and that was before he was even signed up. I didn't want him and I said so.

However, as I also kept saying while tearing what was left of my hair out last season, Ollie did not appoint himself. Someone thought it was a great idea.

We are still suffering the consequences of really awful boardroom performance in recent years and there is a long way to go to redeem that.

Again what a load of rubbish, wether you like ollie or not he got us back on our feet and players playing with abit of pride for the shirt, you certainly couldnt say that about jimmy floyd, he was truelly shocking, the team was totally deflated and no confidence whatsoever.