Fat Lady isn't even gargling yet

[burnley007]

The fat lady is almost on to the chorus

We look doomed unfortunately

[Wile E Coyote]

bags of time left to get to safety, relax.

[ElectroClaret]

That oil protesting **** has basically put another nail in our coffin

We've hammered quite a few in ourselves.

[dsr]

That oil protesting **** has basically put another nail in our coffin

Was he protesting about oil? Hope they make him walk to prison then. Preferably Parkhurst!

[gawthorpe_view]

She's doing a few scales right now.

[BabylonClaret]

The last 2 weeks have been an utter disaster results wise for us and around us. It's co.pletely undone the decent ru we put together going into that.

Times running out and although a few wins could change it completely (look at how Newcastle morphed into a side that suddenly started winning from a complete and utter shambles) its getting much more difficult to stop the despondency and at the moment the momentum is not at Turf Moor.

Saturday's winner for Brentford was a huge hammer blow

[Andreshotboots]

The last 2 weeks have been an utter disaster results wise for us and around us. It's co.pletely undone the decent ru we put together going into that.

Times running out and although a few wins could change it completely (look at how Newcastle morphed into a side that suddenly started winning from a complete and utter shambles) its getting much more difficult to stop the despondency and at the moment the momentum is not at Turf Moor.

Saturday's winner for Brentford was a huge hammer blow

Don't think they could have been much worse but that's what can happen with teams who have creativity. Could you see us turning around a two goal deficit to win against ten men, or pushing, and creating a well worked winner like Everton did last night when they only had 10? Not a chance...we've had our opportunities to win games, and to hold onto leads when we've gone in front and we've blown it..

[bfcjg]

Tonsils are wobbling.

[Wokingclaret]

Her false teeth have been taken out

[BabylonClaret]

To be honest it feels like she's packing up her kit in the van after the last 2 weeks

[RalphCoatesComb]

If the likes of WEEDS, NEWCA$T£E and BENT-FORD can do it, so can we. Still 11 games to go ! COYC !

[bfcjg]

If the likes of WEEDS, NEWCA$T£E and BENT-FORD can do it, so can we. Still 11 games to go ! COYC !

Oh Ralph, come on, the maestro that was Ralph Coates had a comb over to disguise his bold top, we need one hell of a comb over to disguise our imminent relegation.

[RalphCoatesComb]

Oh Ralph, come on, the maestro that was Ralph Coates had a comb over to disguise his bold top, we need one hell of a comb over to disguise our imminent relegation.

And? We've been relegated before, and will be again. We need to get behind the team. IF we go down, let's go down with a fight, not a whimper.

If you remember Ralph, remember that HE WAS NEVER A QUITTER !

[boatshed bill]

If the likes of WEEDS, NEWCA$T£E and BENT-FORD can do it, so can we. Still 11 games to go ! COYC !

I'd be surprised if we win more than 3 games between now and the end of the season.

[Bin Ont Turf]

Someone shoot the fat f***er

(Don't worry, she's not real)

[bfcjg]

And? We've been relegated before, and will be again. We need to get behind the team. IF we go down, let's go down with a fight, not a whimper.

If you remember Ralph, remember that HE WAS NEVER A QUITTER !

Dyche would have had Ralph tracking back, protecting his full back, not crossing the half way line if the attack on the opposite side was only 5 yards across the halfway line.

[RalphCoatesComb]

Dyche would have had Ralph tracking back, protecting his full back, not crossing the half way line if the attack on the opposite side was only 5 yards across the halfway line.

He's here, he's there, he's every ******* where

[RalphCoatesComb]

I'd be surprised if we win more than 3 games between now and the end of the season.

I'll take that bet

[Quicknick]

33 points to play for.

[JohnDearyMe]

33 points to play for.

Funny when you put it like that. I sadly don't think I've ever been so sure of us getting relegated before with such a good chunk of the season left. Hope I'm proved wrong though

[JohnMac]

Last season Fulham had the media trying to portray a team that was far better than they actually were.

This season the media don't say very much about us, it's as if we don't exist. The punditry have by and large assumed we will pick up enough points because we have done it before.

The Fat Lady has probably never heard of Burnley

[Hibsclaret]

All to play for. Beat Everton and the bums will be squeaking louder at Everton and Leeds. Both of those teams were lucky this week but their luck may run out. Frank Lampard prancing around like a 5 year old with their last minute winner and Leeds getting yet another appalling decision from a referee and VAR.

There’s one man you can bank on for calmness and professionalism for the next few weeks and that our Sean. Absolutely head and shoulders above the other managers in the dogfight. That will prove to be the difference in the end.

[beddie]

All to play for. Beat Everton and the bums will be squeaking louder at Everton and Leeds. Both of those teams were lucky this week but their luck may run out. Frank Lampard prancing around like a 5 year old with their last minute winner and Leeds getting yet another appalling decision from a referee and VAR.

There’s one man you can bank on for calmness and professionalism for the next few weeks and that our Sean. Absolutely head and shoulders above the other managers in the dogfight. That will prove to be the difference in the end.

Hibs. Which var decision do you mean, if it involves the Harrison goal I couldn’t see anything wrong with it, unless I’ve missed something.

[Hibsclaret]

The sending off that changed the whole match and basically gave them 3 points

[bumba]

All to play for. Beat Everton and the bums will be squeaking louder at Everton and Leeds. Both of those teams were lucky this week but their luck may run out. Frank Lampard prancing around like a 5 year old with their last minute winner and Leeds getting yet another appalling decision from a referee and VAR.

There’s one man you can bank on for calmness and professionalism for the next few weeks and that our Sean. Absolutely head and shoulders above the other managers in the dogfight. That will prove to be the difference in the end.

Normally I'd agree, looking at the fixtures to play between us and Everton we could quite easily take a lot more points than them BUT performances and lack of change to tactics/style over the past 18 months when we've been on an awful run doesn't bode for much belief

[Hibsclaret]

The last 18 months are irrelevant when we’ve recently beaten Brighton and Spurs. We are always capable of winning games particularly when we absolutely need to under this manager

[ClaretMov]

Hibsclaret we needed to beat Brentford, Leicester, Watford, Newcastle etc etc etc

[bobinho]

Hibs. Which var decision do you mean, if it involves the Harrison goal I couldn’t see anything wrong with it, unless I’ve missed something.

Maybe, like me, he thought there was more than a passing glance of an offside in their goal. In fact, watching it replayed on the screen I would’ve bet serious money it would’ve been chalked off. The wolves defender ended up in the goalmouth…. I was always of the opinion that meant the player was off the pitch meaning any forward pass had players offside.

Wasn’t to be though…. I’m sure the decision was correct. I see all sorts of daft decisions that have me shouting at the tellybox, only to have it explained why handball isn’t handball anymore, or why he is/isn’t offside because the captain is wearing rainbow laces.

Anyway, it’s been fun. I have particularly enjoyed watching us defend like lions against some of the big boys and giving them a bloody nose, but it looks like this was a season too far.

[Elizabeth]

There’s not a lot you can do about injuries to key defenders but there is something you can do about poor team selection.
Still time left yet to return to the ‘Brighton, Spurs week’ form , but it is running out and for me boils down to how much confidence people have in the manager

[expoultryboy]

The difference now if we go down Ralph , is we're in a rather sticky financial situation .

[mdd2]

This season is almost a reverse of the 61-62 season where fixture congestion did for us
We have had a recent run of 8 games in 28 days and now we are having 6 games over 22 days with one of the smallest squads in the league
We will look back on these games where we lost it IMO. The mini revival we saw seems to have ended. The straw that broke our back will be this congestion of fixtures and a small ageing squad

[dsr]

Maybe, like me, he thought there was more than a passing glance of an offside in their goal. In fact, watching it replayed on the screen I would’ve bet serious money it would’ve been chalked off. The wolves defender ended up in the goalmouth…. I was always of the opinion that meant the player was off the pitch meaning any forward pass had players offside.

Wasn’t to be though…. I’m sure the decision was correct. I see all sorts of daft decisions that have me shouting at the tellybox, only to have it explained why handball isn’t handball anymore, or why he is/isn’t offside because the captain is wearing rainbow laces.

Anyway, it’s been fun. I have particularly enjoyed watching us defend like lions against some of the big boys and giving them a bloody nose, but it looks like this was a season too far.

A defender who has gone off the field (other than with permission) behind the goalline is counted as being on the goalline. You can't play someone offside by stepping off the field, accidentally or deliberately. (They might make an exception for someone who has crashed over the touchline and is receiving treatment while play goes on, but not for someone who just happens to have rolled that way in a split second of action.)

[dsr]

This season is almost a reverse of the 61-62 season where fixture congestion did for us
We have had a recent run of 8 games in 28 days and now we are having 6 games over 22 days with one of the smallest squads in the league
We will look back on these games where we lost it IMO. The mini revival we saw seems to have ended. The straw that broke our back will be this congestion of fixtures and a small ageing squad

Put another way, we've just had a week off, and in the next 5 weeks we have 4 weekend games and 2 midweek games. Having to play two midweek fixtures in a month, does not constitute fixture congestion.

[bobinho]

This season is almost a reverse of the 61-62 season where fixture congestion did for us
We have had a recent run of 8 games in 28 days and now we are having 6 games over 22 days with one of the smallest squads in the league
We will look back on these games where we lost it IMO. The mini revival we saw seems to have ended. The straw that broke our back will be this congestion of fixtures and a small ageing squad

Three wins all season so far is what’s broken our back. That’s relegation form, and it would take Houdini, Copperfield and Blaine combined to get us anywhere near escaping the drop.

What we have left can hardly be described as congestion. Busy? Yeah, a little, but it’s not congestion, and I fail to see how games we haven’t yet played can be blamed for our (probable) relegation.

[elwaclaret]

She’s reaching for the Listerine now… we need to see a lot more of the Burnley that played Spurs than our regular levels this season to put this right now.

[NRC]

Assuming we get beat by City, I don’t see us being any worse off than we are now. In fact, it’s probably all marginal gains after April 2nd/3rd

[bobinho]

She’s reaching for the Listerine now… we need to see a lot more of the Burnley that played Spurs than our regular levels this season to put this right now.

Agree. But only one man can do anything about that. Question is…. Will he? We know he’s stubborn, so will he see it as a U turn by making the changes back into the side and tactics that worked so well for those three games?

[claretandbluesky]

We have to be brave and experiment otherwise we’re down.

[superdimitri]

Where are we going to make some cash from selling players in the future? As time goes on we generally have signed players older and older. Supposed McNeil, Tarkowski and Pope leave in the summer that leaves us only with Collins that we may make any kind of money on.. and even that's not guaranteed.

[Jakubclaret]

We have to be brave and experiment otherwise we’re down.

At this stage we do because we’ve got absolutely nothing to lose by going gung ho the defensive pragmatic framework just won’t get us the victories we need, I’d rather us have a go even if we get walloped than try & sit back & sneak something.

[expoultryboy]

You really think Sean can/will experiment ?

[tiger76]

Where are we going to make some cash from selling players in the future? As time goes on we generally have signed players older and older. Supposed McNeil, Tarkowski and Pope leave in the summer that leaves us only with Collins that we may make any kind of money on.. and even that's not guaranteed.

Hopefully in the summer we'll recruit a fair number of younger players with the potential to improve. and really we'll need to if we want to ensure we'll have saleable assets down the line.

And assuming we are in the Championship this approach should be easier, I totally agree we've allowed the squad to age over the past several windows, and now that policy is sadly coming home to roost big time.

One advantage is we have a lot of the older guys OOC this summer, so I sincerely hope we decide to let most of them leave, and that the scouts are busy at work identifying viable targets.

[bobinho]

I don’t….

[Nonayforever]

All to play for. Beat Everton and the bums will be squeaking louder at Everton and Leeds. Both of those teams were lucky this week but their luck may run out. Frank Lampard prancing around like a 5 year old with their last minute winner and Leeds getting yet another appalling decision from a referee and VAR.

There’s one man you can bank on for calmness and professionalism for the next few weeks and that our Sean. Absolutely head and shoulders above the other managers in the dogfight. That will prove to be the difference in the end.

Speaking to a very well informed Everton fan this morning and they are definitely squeaking. He is convinced that 3rd spot is between them and ourselves. His obvious downer is Lampard, no experience in a dogfight and IS pannicking. Good players just not performing / gelling and throwing the towel in when behind.

[CrosspoolClarets]

What amazes me is how fans of both us and Everton have thrown in the towel already.

They beat us, they are not far off OK.

We beat them and unless they do something unexpected against West Ham (A) or Man Utd (H) we go above them by beating Norwich (we may not beat Norwich, but most others have). Then even after that Everton have a harder run in.

All to play for still.

[bfcjg]

STOP PRESS !!!!!
The fat old wobbler has left stage left to get a lozenge,possible laryngitis,concert could be delayed or cancelled.

[bfcjg]

She's back on stage singing 4 more years for Dyche.

[durhamclaret]

The fat lady is now choking

[Goobs]

Can't see any way we survive now. A draw and it was still possible. But now I think we implode.

[BabylonClaret]

Nah. We are down now. Running out of games and 4 points adrift is too much. 1 wasn't really enough either we needed 3 to keep the pressure on.

Two spawny goals goals did for us this weekend (the Pukki one was not critical).