" It's about playing in the right areas and taking risks in the right areas." - translated as we'll be going more direct?

For many the game on Saturday will be the indicator to which way this season will ultimately end up

Being a football fan is so frustrating. Last season too was a rollercoaster. I good or bad run in this league mean you are never that far from the top or the bottom.

Let's start the process by playing our best keeper each week, and picking a right back at right back, and a right footed centre back at the centre right of defence. Seems logical to me.

We need to stop bigging up the opposition, saying how good they are and choosing same team week in week out. It's no good mm saying other teams are better than their place in the table. Get Bart, bru and bish back and drop those who are out of form.

Play a balanced midfield, rather than two holding players and then a massive gap for the opposition playmaker(s) to have free reign within.

We have been shipping goals since last January and all this season so far until MM changes personnel the problem will persist its no good keep talking about you cant make a silk purse out of a pigs ear although i believe MM thinks he can he will play virtually the same team on Saturday and IF we manage to scrape a win which we should he will say told you so i was right to stick with MY TEAM.

Personally don t think we have been hard to beat for quite some time , probably the whole of this year . MM 's best defensive record was with the team he inherited .
Promoted teams average about 40 goals conceded a season , we have let in nearly half of that in less than a quarter of the season , I cannot believe there is not a better keeper we could loan than what we have , look at the difference Henderson made when he came in

Heard this all before Tommy..time for you and your team mates to start putting the words into action.

Will be very interesting to see this weekend's starting line up.....?

A good place to start is by cutting out sloppy defending and poor decisions at the back. We're
also being found for lack of pace at the back...a lack of competition for places at the back doesn't help either. Mistakes continue to happen with no consequences to those who make them.

Agreed with muhrensleftfoot and lighteningboy, it's not rocket science. Play the best keeper we have, play the fact of a right back at right back and get the central defensive partnership sorted out. I also think Ryan Fraser's injury isn't a bad thing. As much as he is great he's not ours and Tommy Oar is, who looks a top aquistion, the next two months will be great game time for Mr.Oar.

Chambo to MM 'Boss you know I'm hopeless at RB, can't I have a go in the middle? If not for the sake of the team can you drop me to the bench please. Or how about letting me go to a league 1 or 2 team where I'll be better, and maybe take Douglas, Coke and Gerkin with me, and better still, will you come too'

Two factors hindering our progress, first, wrong back four, and secondly, the first factor is the cause of the second factor, playing TWO ANCHOR midfielders to compensate it!!!!
Sort this and unquestionably we will become competitive again.

Tommy Smith said “It's down to us to get back to what we do best." So that's it back to hoofball then.

...stop talking and start walking. All these quotes of '...we need to do better', start showing it on the pitch.

Completely agree muccletonjoe.
If we regress to those dross tactics then i think i'll have hit the end of my tether.

Fully agree Lightningboy. Words mean nothing. Very predictable and boring comments from Mr Smith.

Hands up all here that think Oar will start ahead of Tabb...MM does like to be blindly loyal everyone.

COYB

I back Mick all the way normally however we need to play chambers at centre half and maybe drop Berra as I feel he isn't the same player at the moment!

Parr at rb

I dont care if we hoof it at the moment as long as we win if berra and murphy can get back to their best then we will start winning games again. And bru instead of douglas in the middle

Agreed about Douglas just can't play him and skuse together

Easier said than done, it's not about want or effort, the balance of the side is simply wrong...

agree @surco - have we been hard to beat? we went through a spell last autumn/early winter where our record of consecutive wins/win percentage was good but other than that this year we have been 'quite easy to beat'.
I posted some stats last game out after the defeat against Blackburn that shows the longer Mick has been here the more goals we are shipping, we will be relatively easy to beat if Mick doesn't sort the RB position out and start to get some players performing to higher standards.

As much as it pains me to say it we are mid-table this season - similar to last but without the 27 goal striker.

Agree with Surco and Timmy H.

Think the players are starting to believe the hype and propaganda put out by the club and especially Mr Mc Carthy.

The players he puts out week after week just are not that good whereas two or three who most on here think should be playing regularly are excluded.

The teams style of play is very predictable and therefor easy to combat.Always 442,balls played long into the channels or hoofed upfield by either gk or backs.Preceded usually by balls played sideways or backwards in own half.Rarely do we see pass and move forward at speed to unsettle the opposition,or players being taken on(dribbling).Lack of pace evident especially at the back and midfield.

Like Jas I feel that some of the money received in transfer fees should have been spent buying a couple of players who their club still want,and not almost exclusively rejects.Yes occasionally a bargain,some improve with training under MM and TC;but I don't think you can rely solely on this to obtain promotion.

I know Roy Keane is much maligned on here to put it mildly;but the team he bequeathed to Paul Jewell was as follows.Tamas Priskin,Connor Wickham,Norris,Leadbitter,Sparky,Delaney,Healy,Edwards,Fulop,Scotland,McCauleyJack COlback,Darren O'Dea and Jamie Peters.Players on the bench against Arsenal included Tommy Smith and Luke Hyam .Tom Eastman (granddad)was also in the squad..

Four of these players are still plying their trade in the Premiership,and another four are still in the Championship;and this was five years ago.

My point is that RK hadn't the personal touch with players,but the personnel then are no worse in my opinion than we have now.Yes this was 5 years ago and Mick took over a team in worse position and worked miracles;but we have flatlined of late and it will be interesting to see if he is capable of getting us to the next level,which I doubt he can unless he actually spends money in January,and is a bit more flexible with his team selection and formations.