Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread 17:06 - Apr 12 with 44124 views | stowmarketrange | My 1st ever attempt at starting one of these threads so hopefully it’s a good omen. If you’d said in October that these two teams would be either going for the playoffs,or fighting relegation,you’d be certifiable if you said that it would be us down the bottom of the league,fighting against the dreaded drop,but here we are. Is there enough life left in the tired old body of this qpr team to get enough points to stay in the championship?If you’d asked me that question at 5pm last Friday I would’ve said no,but after getting an unlikely point at the Hawthorns,who knows. My heart says that Hi Ho Queens Park Rangers will be blasting out of the tannoys at 5pm on Saturday.Or barely audible in the lower loft,but the head says a plucky 1-1 draw,and another point towards survival. Here’s to another 90+ minutes of the white knuckle ride of our season. Come on U R’ssss | | | | |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:32 - Apr 15 with 2526 views | traininvain | The sad thing is that I doubt this team could’ve done much worse without a manager over the past few months. I doubt there’s a scenario where we take fewer points by getting our best players on the pitch and not trying to be some kind of wet dream for 1990’s Wimbledon fans. The way we’re set up is handicapping a team that were already struggling. It’s actually accelerated the process and we look a lot worse now than we have at any point this season. Trying to play direct route one football with a squad assembled to play technical football the other way is just the latest offence by clueless management and owners. It’s not even Ainsworth’s fault, he’s got a lot wrong and isn’t the right man for the job. But whoever decided he was the right man for this squad in the precarious position it was facing is ultimately to blame. | | | |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:33 - Apr 15 with 2514 views | aston_hoop |
"What went wrong?" "Not a lot" Ok Gareth. | |
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Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:34 - Apr 15 with 2491 views | numptydumpty |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:10 - Apr 15 by JamesB1979 | Getting rid of Warburton and then getting rid of Critchley look like terrible decisions the more games he has in charge. |
As we all know the idiotic decision was getting rid of Warburton. A manager who would have us competing every championship season. Mid table at worst. Just scraping play offs at best. Many of us said it at the time and sadly all of us hate to be proved wrong but heads should roll for that decision alone. Critchley and Ainsworth both inherited spineless injury prone squad with a lack of fight and a extremely awful defence, a powder puff midfield and an attack that don't score goals. Add to this a goalkeeper that has become error prone as a Lumley. And now it's being done with no tactics whatsoever Hoof ball indeed is only good if you score goals and don't succeed. Fortunately there are six or seven teams equally as poor as ourselves but in recent times we been turned over by most of those also. | |
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Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:35 - Apr 15 with 2472 views | actonman | PP I get you’re sentiment and agree to a point regarding critchley but as pointed out , 7 or eight points clear of relegation and then nosediving losing to all the teams around and below us (very convincingly) while playing the worse football and tactics imaginable takes some defending | | | |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:38 - Apr 15 with 2434 views | traininvain |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:33 - Apr 15 by aston_hoop |
"What went wrong?" "Not a lot" Ok Gareth. |
‘Always in the game at 1-0, only a set play away…’ Yet you subbed Illias Chair. I was speechless at the time and it makes even less sense when you hear Ainsworth’s post match comments. I agree with GA’s assessment that a set piece was our most likely way of scoring today, mainly due to the way we were set up. So why take off pretty much the only player in our squad who’s capable of delivering a decent set piece or delivery into the box. [Post edited 15 Apr 2023 18:42]
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Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:40 - Apr 15 with 2420 views | ted_hendrix |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:33 - Apr 15 by aston_hoop |
"What went wrong?" "Not a lot" Ok Gareth. |
Lasted a minute, I honestly cant take anymore. Switched off after a minute. It'll be the same waffle after the next 3-0 loss. | |
| My Father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic. |
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Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:43 - Apr 15 with 2362 views | corse | Sacking Critchley was a big , huge, gigantic mistake. Rarely I have seen a manager who is as tactically inept as Ainsworth is. | | | |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:51 - Apr 15 with 2202 views | stainrods_elbow |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 17:39 - Apr 15 by Damo1962 | Maybe you should have a word with yourself...we have just lost 3- 0 at home again. I'll bet no matter who plays, or in whatever feckin formation they play...we won't be getting the points needed to survive. |
OK, you win if it makes you feel better, we'll all give up now because we're not good enough, eh? If you don't want to be a supporter, and, like Clive, are 'done' with the season now we're at the crucial business end of it, just do one and don't be one! [Post edited 15 Apr 2023 19:03]
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Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:52 - Apr 15 with 2216 views | Wilkinswatercarrier |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:27 - Apr 15 by paulparker | Critchley was out of his depth and a poor appointment Ainsworth is picking up the pieces of this total fcuk up , cast your memory back to 2001 and when Olly first got the gig , he was called Francis puppet and couldn’t buy a win either He then had the most turbulent pre season but still gave us a team to be proud of Ainsworth will come good, if your pointing the finger then point it at the board, DOF and the coaches who can never be sacked , they have caused this |
Sorry, but Ainsworth was only appointed to deflect criticism of the board etc. Ainsworth was never considered suitable for us, but we are struggling and low and behold he is appointed! His style of football is like Wimbledon in the 80s/90s, and I remember crowds of 8k turning up at HQ to watch that once a season in the old Div 1. Not buying the 'legend returns' line..... he will be gone in the summer regardless of the outcome. | | | |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:56 - Apr 15 with 2178 views | Damo1962 |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:51 - Apr 15 by stainrods_elbow | OK, you win if it makes you feel better, we'll all give up now because we're not good enough, eh? If you don't want to be a supporter, and, like Clive, are 'done' with the season now we're at the crucial business end of it, just do one and don't be one! [Post edited 15 Apr 2023 19:03]
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Give over you insufferable bore. | | | |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:57 - Apr 15 with 2163 views | traininvain |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:52 - Apr 15 by Wilkinswatercarrier | Sorry, but Ainsworth was only appointed to deflect criticism of the board etc. Ainsworth was never considered suitable for us, but we are struggling and low and behold he is appointed! His style of football is like Wimbledon in the 80s/90s, and I remember crowds of 8k turning up at HQ to watch that once a season in the old Div 1. Not buying the 'legend returns' line..... he will be gone in the summer regardless of the outcome. |
Imagine coming away from today’s game and still thinking that Critchley was the problem. The mental gymnastics is making me feel dizzy. | | | |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 19:01 - Apr 15 with 2101 views | bongo_king |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:34 - Apr 15 by numptydumpty | As we all know the idiotic decision was getting rid of Warburton. A manager who would have us competing every championship season. Mid table at worst. Just scraping play offs at best. Many of us said it at the time and sadly all of us hate to be proved wrong but heads should roll for that decision alone. Critchley and Ainsworth both inherited spineless injury prone squad with a lack of fight and a extremely awful defence, a powder puff midfield and an attack that don't score goals. Add to this a goalkeeper that has become error prone as a Lumley. And now it's being done with no tactics whatsoever Hoof ball indeed is only good if you score goals and don't succeed. Fortunately there are six or seven teams equally as poor as ourselves but in recent times we been turned over by most of those also. |
Bang on RE Warbs. Critchley and Ainsworth are both a consequence of that. RE Critchley, hindsight is of course 20:20, compared to the current situation it seems like a mistake to have dumped him. But think back, all signs were he'd effectively lost the dressing room. It was one of the few times I've ever felt a manager's position was not tenable. If we'd been quicker and replaced critchely with warnock , few would probably have complained. The mistakes were IMO 1. offering Critchley 3.5 years to start with; 2. bringing in Ainsworth and his complete u turn style in on 3.5 years when it needed someone who knows the league to get us to the end of the season. But of course sacking off a manager on a 3.5 year contract after 12 games doesn't leave you great options unless there is a jobless warnock kicking around. [Post edited 15 Apr 2023 19:03]
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Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 19:01 - Apr 15 with 2062 views | stainrods_elbow |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:34 - Apr 15 by numptydumpty | As we all know the idiotic decision was getting rid of Warburton. A manager who would have us competing every championship season. Mid table at worst. Just scraping play offs at best. Many of us said it at the time and sadly all of us hate to be proved wrong but heads should roll for that decision alone. Critchley and Ainsworth both inherited spineless injury prone squad with a lack of fight and a extremely awful defence, a powder puff midfield and an attack that don't score goals. Add to this a goalkeeper that has become error prone as a Lumley. And now it's being done with no tactics whatsoever Hoof ball indeed is only good if you score goals and don't succeed. Fortunately there are six or seven teams equally as poor as ourselves but in recent times we been turned over by most of those also. |
If you think the wrong decision was getting rid of Warburton (and I note are another one who purports to speak for all of us rather than being brave and humble enough to just try to be an individual), you're as much of a numpty as your name suggests. MW presided over a dreadful run that went on for months, spouted cliche after ineffectual cliche in his insufferable post-match interviews, showed nothing to suggest he would bring us out of it, and was rightly not renewed. Sadly, though, the truth is the club has been on the slide for a year or more, and needs wholesale changes, if not a complete reset, right across the board. Probably including the Board! | |
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Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 19:03 - Apr 15 with 2069 views | BushRanger82 | Oh, well. Can't say that was entirely unexpected. Sadly. Norwich next. | | | |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 19:05 - Apr 15 with 2047 views | paulparker |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:35 - Apr 15 by actonman | PP I get you’re sentiment and agree to a point regarding critchley but as pointed out , 7 or eight points clear of relegation and then nosediving losing to all the teams around and below us (very convincingly) while playing the worse football and tactics imaginable takes some defending |
I said earlier mate that the team GA picked was terrible and the tactics were horrible Critchley was a terrible appointment he didn’t want to be here , GA does , the problem is he is trying to make chicken salad out of chicken Sh1t ,today was bad though but he is picking players who don’t want to be here and these players are on the board and DOF I’d give the purse strings to GA as he will get it right | |
| And Bowles is onside, Swinburne has come rushing out of his goal , what can Bowles do here , onto the left foot no, on to the right foot
That’s there that’s two, and that’s Bowles
Brian Moore
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Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 19:05 - Apr 15 with 2021 views | stainrods_elbow |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:56 - Apr 15 by Damo1962 | Give over you insufferable bore. |
O do shut up you tiresome non-event, and go and play somewhere else with your fellow unsupportive non-supporters. Pr*ck! | |
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Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 19:07 - Apr 15 with 2030 views | paulparker |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:34 - Apr 15 by numptydumpty | As we all know the idiotic decision was getting rid of Warburton. A manager who would have us competing every championship season. Mid table at worst. Just scraping play offs at best. Many of us said it at the time and sadly all of us hate to be proved wrong but heads should roll for that decision alone. Critchley and Ainsworth both inherited spineless injury prone squad with a lack of fight and a extremely awful defence, a powder puff midfield and an attack that don't score goals. Add to this a goalkeeper that has become error prone as a Lumley. And now it's being done with no tactics whatsoever Hoof ball indeed is only good if you score goals and don't succeed. Fortunately there are six or seven teams equally as poor as ourselves but in recent times we been turned over by most of those also. |
Competing for what exactly ??? Warburton fcuked it last year and wasted our money on crap loan signings we were no where near the play offs during his reign despite having some of the best attacking talent in the division | |
| And Bowles is onside, Swinburne has come rushing out of his goal , what can Bowles do here , onto the left foot no, on to the right foot
That’s there that’s two, and that’s Bowles
Brian Moore
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Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 19:10 - Apr 15 with 1993 views | E15Hoop |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:13 - Apr 15 by 1JD | Any word on Dunne the new right back? Totally found wanting as expected. Should never ever have been picked there in the first place. A shoddy tactical decision, along with the brain dead decision to play a 2-man centre midfield against their 3-man centre midfield, where we got overrun ALL sodding game. And STILL no tactical change was made in there. |
You've pretty much checkmated me on that one, JD. As it stands, I can't really give you much of an answer, except that I'm not sure that Laird would have made any difference on the first goal in particular, where we've got 3 men all going for the same ball and they all leave it to each other/get in each other's way. Then one pass from Coventry seems to take out half our team, none of whom seem capable/have the idea that it might be a good idea at least to try to stop Hamer, who just basically runs fast with the ball in a straight line right down the middle of the pitch. I'm guessing that the plan was to try to starve Hamer and Gyokeres of service, by keeping the ball behind them, which might have had a better chance of working if we'd kept the ball or won the second balls as well as we did against West Brom. The trouble with that as an idea is that both Hamer and Gyokeres don't have an issue with dropping back and grafting, and they both looked like they were challenging Usain Bolt for the 100m title, whilst we looked like we were stuck in treacle in one of those Loony Tune cartoons. As for the lack of a Plan B, well Johansen seemed to do that annoying thing of just sticking his hand in the air to appeal for anything that didn't go his way when he came on, particularly the third goal, which, again comes via a player who just runs right through us pretty much unopposed. I couldn't work out if the tactics got in the way this time, or if we were just woeful at carrying them out, and therefore a change of tactics would have simply meant we'd have been just as woeful but in a different way. | | | |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 19:17 - Apr 15 with 1928 views | stainrods_elbow | It's probably six of one and half a dozen of the other - woeful tactics and woeful performances. Ominously, GA seems to see we're too open yet he and Dobson can apparently do nothing about it. I sense if all his repetitive bluster to the camera about doubling down our work rate, which wasn't the problem today, is really just a defence against what he sees as the impending drop. | |
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Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 19:20 - Apr 15 with 1904 views | Damo1962 |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 19:05 - Apr 15 by stainrods_elbow | O do shut up you tiresome non-event, and go and play somewhere else with your fellow unsupportive non-supporters. Pr*ck! |
You really are a sad sack. When we do go down, knowing it will hurt you more than me...will ease my disappointment. | | | |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 19:40 - Apr 15 with 1767 views | 1JD |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 18:27 - Apr 15 by westy | Forgive me if I’m wrong but did you not state that the players pick the team and choose the tactics ala West Brom. So on that understanding it has nothing to do with the incompetence of GA right now but the sheer incababilties of the shower who wear the kit. Or the capabilities as on Monday. It can’t be both. Not having a dig just trying to understand. I’ve been a staunch supporter of GA but must admit those beliefs are being tested to the max right now. |
Never said the players pick the team so I’m not sure where that came from. What I did say is that Ainsworth inferred the players wanted to see some changes in the approach, during their 11-hour long team meeting (“the clear the air meeting”), to which he listened and implemented some kind of change in the West Brom game. And for which we were better for it. But today, whatever that was out the window, as it was back to hit and (no) hope. | | | |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 19:47 - Apr 15 with 1733 views | slmrstid | Wow. Just wow. I said a few days ago that if we won the three home games we'd stay up, and if we didn't we'd get what we deserve. I still stand by that, sadly it just looks like the latter will hold true rather than the former. Everyone was crap today. Everyone. Even Chair who I know fans love, but he was horrific. I'm with Clive - no-one in that squad deserves to stay in the summer after this past 18 months. I won't blame Ainsworth for anything, he's not been able to sign a single player and somehow pick up a team thats already been in freefall for over a year. I thought after the first game I saw against Blackpool we might be in trouble, then thought I might be wrong when we looked decent for a handful of games, but now... Jeez. I can't see us staying up now, and it will be everything the club deserves for the way its been run. "I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed." | | | |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 19:50 - Apr 15 with 1723 views | 1JD |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 19:10 - Apr 15 by E15Hoop | You've pretty much checkmated me on that one, JD. As it stands, I can't really give you much of an answer, except that I'm not sure that Laird would have made any difference on the first goal in particular, where we've got 3 men all going for the same ball and they all leave it to each other/get in each other's way. Then one pass from Coventry seems to take out half our team, none of whom seem capable/have the idea that it might be a good idea at least to try to stop Hamer, who just basically runs fast with the ball in a straight line right down the middle of the pitch. I'm guessing that the plan was to try to starve Hamer and Gyokeres of service, by keeping the ball behind them, which might have had a better chance of working if we'd kept the ball or won the second balls as well as we did against West Brom. The trouble with that as an idea is that both Hamer and Gyokeres don't have an issue with dropping back and grafting, and they both looked like they were challenging Usain Bolt for the 100m title, whilst we looked like we were stuck in treacle in one of those Loony Tune cartoons. As for the lack of a Plan B, well Johansen seemed to do that annoying thing of just sticking his hand in the air to appeal for anything that didn't go his way when he came on, particularly the third goal, which, again comes via a player who just runs right through us pretty much unopposed. I couldn't work out if the tactics got in the way this time, or if we were just woeful at carrying them out, and therefore a change of tactics would have simply meant we'd have been just as woeful but in a different way. |
The thing is E15 is any manager worth their salt should have watched our videos and seen that centre midfield has been a massive weakness this season. They should of noted that Iroegbunam, Johansen, and Dozzell, can ONLY play in a 3-man midfield, because of significant defensive deficiencies, yet on the contrary all three seem to continually get picked in a 2-man midfield, with poor Field trying to do the job of two men, and failing not through any fault of his own. Only Beale recognised this, and it’s no surprise he saw a lot more success than both Critchley and Ainsworth. Playing any of these in a 2-man midfield, as Ainsworth did today, and especially against a 3-man midfield is just an incredibly poor set up from the very first whistle, and a recipe for defeat. We were totally overrun in there. Lose the midfield, lose the game. | | | |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 19:57 - Apr 15 with 2397 views | slmrstid |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 19:50 - Apr 15 by 1JD | The thing is E15 is any manager worth their salt should have watched our videos and seen that centre midfield has been a massive weakness this season. They should of noted that Iroegbunam, Johansen, and Dozzell, can ONLY play in a 3-man midfield, because of significant defensive deficiencies, yet on the contrary all three seem to continually get picked in a 2-man midfield, with poor Field trying to do the job of two men, and failing not through any fault of his own. Only Beale recognised this, and it’s no surprise he saw a lot more success than both Critchley and Ainsworth. Playing any of these in a 2-man midfield, as Ainsworth did today, and especially against a 3-man midfield is just an incredibly poor set up from the very first whistle, and a recipe for defeat. We were totally overrun in there. Lose the midfield, lose the game. |
Lose the midfield, lose the game, you are absolutely right. I'm not sure I buy the "so and so can only play in a 3 etc". Not so much because as fans we ultimately don't really have a clue, because we don't see what goes on in the background, but I just feel if it was genuinely true you have no business being a professional footballer at that level to be so one dimensional. Although to be fair given how badly they are failing at this level that may hold some truth... | | | |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 20:00 - Apr 15 with 2377 views | distortR |
Is the sky blue? Coventry match thread on 19:50 - Apr 15 by 1JD | The thing is E15 is any manager worth their salt should have watched our videos and seen that centre midfield has been a massive weakness this season. They should of noted that Iroegbunam, Johansen, and Dozzell, can ONLY play in a 3-man midfield, because of significant defensive deficiencies, yet on the contrary all three seem to continually get picked in a 2-man midfield, with poor Field trying to do the job of two men, and failing not through any fault of his own. Only Beale recognised this, and it’s no surprise he saw a lot more success than both Critchley and Ainsworth. Playing any of these in a 2-man midfield, as Ainsworth did today, and especially against a 3-man midfield is just an incredibly poor set up from the very first whistle, and a recipe for defeat. We were totally overrun in there. Lose the midfield, lose the game. |
I thought Amos was dire last week, but he gave us 'legs', apparently (Against an immobile team). Surely, in his absence, Aoraha could do a job - couldn't be any worse in his passing or lightweight in his tackling. | | | |
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