frastheowl

Football fans are all about supporting your club through thick and thin, the good times and the bad. But any sane mind must surely accept, that even for the most avid of football fan, sitting and watching your team get beat EVERY SINGLE WEEK, is tough going. For me, the fans have done their bit over the last month...they've demonstrated their power in forcing out a rogue owner who took them for granted, and then turned up and saved the short term future of the club when called upon. Turning up and sitting in the freezing cold watching us getting d!<ked every week is too much for some...and I completely get it. I'll be honest, I'm a ST holder, I haven't missed a home game this season...but if the matches won't be a priority for me between now and the end of the season. If there's anything else that clashes, where I'd ordinarily choose the match, I won't be from now on. There's nothing gratifying watching something you love get humiliated every single game.

He played in a central midfield three today...and had his best game of the season, perhaps we've stumbled across a new position for him.

There can be a hangover which spills into new seasons when teams struggle for results every week. And it's an absolute certainty that these results will continue throughout the season. The players mentally will be done long before the end of the season (I think many are very close to the brink at the moment tbh), and so it's something that could be a real issue for us next season. However, what will help is the fact that pretty much the entirety of the squad is out of contract...and those that we might want to keep, won't entertain playing in League One. We'll be forced into a complete, from top-to-bottom rebuild. So that hangover will hopefully be minimised by lots of fresh blood, and a recruitment strategy that ensured we get the right blend of experience and youth.

I think there's a player in McNeil. Technically very good, just needs to find some consistency. Hopefully, if he gets a good run of games between now and the end of the season, we could give him a great opportunity to become a key player next season. Cadamarteri however, I'm beginning to have serious doubts about. I don't think he's any better a player than when he first burst onto the scene...in fact, I think he's regressed, but he now doesn't seem to play with the naive confidence he had initially. Yes, he's physically bulked up, but his all round play has too many flaws in it at the minute. The chance he missed today was poor...not because he missed it per se, but because he never looked like he was going to score. So I'd like to think McNeil could become a important player for us (not convinced he'll be top scorer however), but Cadamarteri needs to get himself back on track pronto (which fingers crossed he will), otherwise, it might be time to move him on if the right offer comes along again.

The depressing fact is, that is as good as it gets today. We played with a real tempo, pressed with a high intensity and created some fantastic chances. Scored two great goals, missed three golden opportunities...But we will always concede chances, and the opposition will always have more quality, more options and more legs late on in games. I enjoyed today, despite the inevitability of another defeat against yet another very ordinary opposition (had we just kept the core of the squad from last season, I genuinely think we'd have had half a chance of a playoff push this season). The players look done with it all...at the end of the game, the demoralising impact it is having on them is clear to see...there's only so long you can keep going out there, giving it your absolute all, but getting nothing in return. I think there's a very real possibility (especially as it now seems ever more likely that any change of ownership will happen after the transfer window is shut) that we finish the season on minus points. It's going to be one helluva slog until April.

We don't even play a front two...that's part of the problem. We play a 5-2-3, which leaves Ugbo (or Cadamateri) completely isolated. Lowe & Ingelsson don't get close enough too them, and the gap between those and the midfield is far too big. It leaves Bannan (35 years old!) and Valery (a right back) completely exposed. Yet Pedersen continues to persevere with this starting set-up, despite continually struggling to get hold of games with it. I know he can only work with the tools he's got...but something has to change. Personally, I'd flip to a back four and go 4-2-3-1, which allows Ugbo or McNeill to play in the 10, and gets some support for Cadamarteri (or Ugbo). But if he's set up staying with a back five, then he has to solidify the midfield, pack it and go 5-3-2. Either way, sticking with the 5-2-3 is just going to continue to frustrate.

Thanks, didn't realise that. I must admit, I was a bit perplexed by the absence of nearly 10,000 fans six months apart.

You say that, but there's been plenty of Derby's in the not too distant past where it hasn't even been close to a sell out. The 0-0 draw at Hillsborough in 2001 had an attendance of only 29,000 with huge areas of the North empty (that came only six months after the 2-1 defeat, where there was 38,500 fans there). The Owusu game in 2002 was watched by barely 27,000. Both of those games were at this level, and although we weren't blessed with the greatest squad, it was far more competitive than the current situation we find ourselves in. To get near selling this out, given the points deduction and certainty of relegation is a fantastic effort. Whether we like it or not, there's a not insignificant amount of Wednesday fans that will only attend when things are going well.

If we can sign one, it'll be Liam Cooper, who'll be a solid addition providing much needed know-how this season, and also will be more than capable next season in League One. If we're allowed a second, I reckon it'll be Andy Rinomhota. We were after him two seasons ago, but he joined Rotherham instead. Only 28, versatile midfield that can play a 6 or an 8, and would give us some legs in central areas.

Good explanation of the process going forward. Good news, that it seems like there's a very viable deal to be done by somebody... Bad news...I can't see Chansiri walking away from what he's owed, at a lesser rate than other creditors. I can see him kicking and screaming his way to court, dragging the ordeal out for another month or two.

Can only echo this. I was saying before the Boro, just how well the @SWFC Trust has managed this whole situation. I genuinely don't think they've put a foot wrong. I know the amount of hours some of those members have put in, and that should not be forgotten by any Wednesdayite. So as much as today is a relief and a massive step in the right direction for all of us...however, I think it'll feel just that little more special for those who have worked so diligently over the past three or four months.

Sounds great... But given we have a IT system that doesn't allow us to distribute a match ticket a ST holder cannot attend to somebody, despite it appearing as an option on the site, I don't think we have a hope in hell of establishing something like the above, until something changes dramatically from an operations point of view.

I heard no boos or negative comments or grumbles. Just complete respect and admiration for those willing to go that step beyond. I think it'll only begin to start a regular invasion, as more fans will feel confident that the chance of punishment is unlikely. I wonder how much it cost the club in financing the extra steward presence today...if nothing else, that's win alone.

I don't think it'll ever happen, and the commitment to try and keep the wheels turning is nothing but commendable by the players and the staff, amidst continual disrespect from the owner. But, I think it's time for the @SWFC Trust to sit down and have a full and frank meeting with Bannan and the players, and ask them to help the cause now. Whether that being strikes, walk-offs, holding banners/wearing shirts pre-game or just coming out and speaking in the media asking for Chansiri to do the right thing. Just something. The players and the staff can't continue to bury their heads in the sand and think "we just need to do our job." There's a near 160 year old institution at stake here. Those solely running about, giving it their all and getting beat, as commendable as it is, isn't doing the situation any favours at present.