hislopsoffsideagain

I'm concerned about this as well. I find it extraordinary that the quality of applicant was so poor that we instead headhunted a guy who hasn't managed a club in 5 years, hasn't managed a Full Time club in 10 years, and who hasn't had any sort of managerial success in 13 years. The whole process stinks of 'politics' as stated here, or sheer laziness; do the board not realize that there are other options beyond reappointing former employees?

I'm going to cling to the positives: - Robbo got us promoted before - Ex-players such as Bobby Mann (in a Tell Him He's Pele interview) and Michael Fraser (in the Courier today) speak very highly of him - He must have plenty of decent contacts, which hopefully will result in some good signings; my own feeling is that being a good recruiter is more important at this level than being a good tactician. On the other hand, he's only managed one club in ten years - East Fife for 16 months - and none in 5 years. That raises concerns. The names that have been linked with this post have been hugely unimpressive - the focus on old boys such as Robbo and Sheerin suggest, frankly, laziness on the board's part. I find it hard to believe that there weren't any candidates outside our own 'old boys' circle or indeed beyond the usual names in Scottish football (Danny Lennon?!). It doesn't seem likely that outside applications were welcomed at all, and not just because Ossie Ardiles hasn't been linked. It's all dreadfully underwhelming.

We will have one fewer home game next season too - so the cost per game will actually be higher even though we've been relegated. In contrast, we dropped season ticket prices by £100 following relegation in 2009!!! Basically, this is a thinly disguised attempt at fleecing loyal fans, or 'mugs' as the rest of the world would call us.

Why, thank you very much sir.

Well, that was a kick in the teeth. We were well on top for the whole of the first half, and certainly looked the more likely to score (though that wasn't saying much) until Cole's moment of lunacy. And then the team went completely to pieces; St. Johnstone could have scored two more in injury time as we basically lay down and let them walk through us. It was humiliating. McCart, McNaughton, Mckay and Polworth (after he was brought on) can hold their heads high. The rest of them should be embarrassed by their poor performances and complete lack of fight. The three goals we conceded were all embarrassing - Fon Williams blundered for the first, a stupid penalty given away for the second and a third goal that St. Johnstone literally walked in to the net because all of our players had given up. Bad teams concede bad goals...and every week we seem to concede really bad goals. It's hard to fault Foran for his lineup because the first half display was very decent - though it was typical that the day we finally started with a target man was the day that we decided to pass the ball instead of hoof it - but he takes a decent amount of blame for the way we fell apart. We finished the game with three strikers and no right back in some sort of 3-3-3 formation because he decided to bring on Boden even though Cole had been sent off. I know other results mean we aren't completely doomed, but it sure feels that way. We need to start thinking about next season's Championship. If we can afford to, we need to change manager now - not to save us, not even Jock Stein could keep this lot up - but so the new guy has time to get us prepared properly for next season. There is no reason left to stick with Foran - 1 WIN IN 21!!! - apart from the cost of paying off the remaining years of his contract.

If Raven is struggling with injury, then we can just slot McNaughton in at right back. I'd drop Warren, to be honest. Our best defensive performance in recent weeks, when we beat Rangers, came with McCart and Laing as our CBs. Warren's had a poor season and his clumsy o.g. at Pittodrie is just his latest mishap. If we play 4-2-3-1. Polworth must play in the advanced midfield role. In turn, Draper must start in a more defensive role than he has done in recent home games - it in turn frees up Tansey to concentrate on starting attacks. However, if our intention is to just punt the ball long, we may as well go 4-4-2 and start Fisher alongside Mckay. However, Fisher's Courier interview today, where he complains about having been left out for months despite being fit, may not go down well with the manager. A few weeks back I saw St. Johnstone win in Dingwall. They pressed high up the pitch, and comfortably dealt with County's hoofball. In turn, they counter-attacked quickly and effectively, and deserved to win by a far more convincing scoreline than 2-1. I expect more of the same tomorrow, sadly.

There were a few signs of life early in the second half, but ultimately we were hanging on at the end - three great saves from OFW kept us level. That's now 1 win from the last 18 league games, which is almost half a season's worth. Our tactics left us up against it from the word go. What manager thinks it is a good idea to play five of his starting eleven out of position - Raven, Brad Mckay, Laing, Draper and Cole (who is not an inverted winger, for the love of goodness). I'm sorry, but that's just idiocy. Laing was redundant as a defensive midfielder - Killie simply kept going wide and bypassing him, whilst he offered nothing in possession. We've been so much better in recent weeks with Draper playing deeper and offering a physical presence and proper protection, allowing Tansey to concentrate on getting on the ball and making things happen. Inexplicably, Foran played Draper further forward so we had no control in midfield at all. Thus the ball was just punted over Tansey's head again and again and again. That's even though Killie rarely pressed our centre-backs. Draper as a second striker just doesn't work. He's not that good in the air, nor is he particularly good at holding up the ball. Just because the guy is big doesn't mean he can play as a target man. Mckay is so isolated it's unreal. Either concentate on trying to dominate possession (which we would have done today with Polworth/Draper/Tansey as our midfield three) so he gets decent service, or play a proper target man alongside him. Ostracizing Alex Fisher at this point is a remarkable piece of self-harm on Foran's part. I refuse to believe that we couldn't compensate for Tremarco's absence more effectively than using three different players at left-back. Brad Mckay probably isn't good enough for this level in his best position (centre-back) but at right-back he's proven himself to be dreadful. Subbing him was an act of mercy. Foran showed his 'tactical genius' by switching the full-backs in the first half after Jones had roasted Mckay for the umpteenth time...only for Killie to immediately switch Jones to the other flank so he could skin him a few times more. Well, duh. It's incredible that Foran couldn't see that coming a mile off. We were lucky no more damage was done before Mckay was hooked. It's hard to know if its lack of confidence, or lack of faith in the plan (or both) but most of the players really didn't want to be on the ball today. I lost count of the number of times that our players chose to head or punt a ball away even with no opponent within 10 yards of them. We look like a team that has already been relegated, not one who still has a fighting chance of staying up.

This is our record after 23 games in our last seven seasons since we were last promoted. That's how grim this season's record is! P W D L F A PTS 2016-17 23 3 8 12 26 43 17 2015-16 23 7 8 8 30 32 29 2014-15 23 15 2 6 34 21 47 2013-14 23 11 5 7 29 21 38 2012-13 23 9 10 4 48 37 37 2011-12 23 7 4 12 30 40 25 2010-11 23 7 8 8 31 28 29 For the record, we have the same number of points (and a marginally better goal difference) than at this point in 2008-09, when we went down.

Agree with RiG's lineup, as long as he can still charge up and down the flanks like in our schooldays (only 16 years ago...) I can at least guarantee that my wrists will be stronger than OFW's. And I can't be any less commanding on crosses...

ARGUMENTS FOR KEEPING HIM He's a Caley Thistle man through and through Paying off his contract could cost us a fortune He's only been in charge 8 months and he's still learning the ropes He hasn't had a chance to gel Billy Mckay into the team Sacking a man with a young family is a pretty grim thing to do ARGUMENTS FOR BINNING HIM 12 league games without a win - the worst run in our entire history (before this the record was 9!) Beaten by every other Premiership team this season except Kilmarnock (who should have beaten us twice) Knocked out of the League Cup by League One opposition Seems to be tactically outwitted most weeks - teams have known for months that pressing high stops us keeping possession and pinning our full-backs deep denies us width, but nothing is ever done to counteract this Lack of defensive organization/shape - back four frequently sit far too deep, players get dragged out of position, midfield offers little/zero protection. What do they actually do in training? Vulnerability at set pieces - a problem all season, and no sign of improvement. Again, what do they actually do in training? Team selection often makes little sense and is rarely done with the opponent in mind. Several senior players walk into the team every week regardless of form. Tremarco excepted, they all seem to be playing well below their best, with Foran seemingly unable to get a good performance level out of them Frequently playing players out of position - Polworth/Cole on the wings, Vigurs in front of the back four being examples No sign whatsoever that things are going to improve in time to save us from the drop The next few fixtures - if you write off the Celtic cup tie, there is effectively a two week window after Saturday in which to get a new boss in. If we wait till after that Foran is on a hiding to nothing as the next 3 games are Hearts (A), Rangers (H) and Celtic (H). Can we afford to wait until winnable fixtures in mid-March before taking the plunge? Anything else I've missed?

Positives: we didn't collapse after conceding the early goal - we got deservedly level whilst well on top. the second goal came after our best bit of build-up play all day (which only came because King wandered infield into space) - and even then we only scored because their keeper made an error. And that's about it. Same old, same old for the most part. Conceding soft goals because of bad organization and individual errors. Doumbouya completely isolated whilst he was on the pitch (though Davies had him in his pocket anyway). Zero penetration due to the lack of pace in attack - mostly just sideways passes until we lose it or someone hoofs it. And panic stations at 2-1/3-1 down, where we start playing like 1980s Wimbledon, except without the charisma and the ability. County had done their homework. They were particularly keen for us to get Mckay on the ball, in the knowledge that he can't cross, whilst shutting down Tremarco on the other side. Boyce drifted in off the flank into the space behind Tremarco and caused us all sorts of trouble. In contrast we played exactly the same way we do every week, with no regard for the opposition's strengths or weaknesses. That's ten league games without a win for the first time since...er, ever in fact. It's the worst league run we've ever had in our entire history. Foran's post-match interview was just crazy. He heavily criticized the players both individually (he didn't name names, but made it quite clear he blamed Tansey for the first goal for not clearing at the near post and Meekings for the second for not showing Boyce wide) and collectively (no confidence, no fight, no grit, no energy). Then he decreed that a few weeks off for the winter break would fix everything, along with three new players. Firstly, he's damn lucky we have a winter break for the first time in years, and secondly, where does he think the money for three new players is coming from? He insists we're still going to finish top six. County fans in contrast think we're "going down, going down". I know which argument is evidence-based, and it's not our manager's.

It's been a bad season, and that might be the lowest point so far. Motherwell were hopeless, and yet we managed to be even more hopeless. We actually had the better of the first half, but Clay's wind-assisted goal changed the game completely. Suddenly we stopped trying to create chances by skill and instead spent the last 35 minutes punting high balls up the pitch. I've never seen so many long throws attempted in a game...even though they never work! It was like watching Sunday League football. Apart from Doran hitting the bar, the other efforts we had looked more impressive than they were because Samson, spooked out by OFW's blunder for their goal (and it was a blunder, he clearly misjudged it and thought it was going over), started punching balls he would have normally caught easily. Hard to pick out a decent performer - Tansey and Tremarco maybe? Vigurs' MOTM award was booed by the crowd, and was surely someone taking the mick. So here's where we're at - bottom of the table - nine games without a win - our longest run without a win in ten years - just one win in thirteen - more goals conceded than anyone else in the Premiership (only Stenhousemuir have conceded more in the SPFL) - one clean sheet in twenty league games - the lowest points total we've ever had in any division after this many games IN OUR ENTIRE HISTORY! - still conceding soft goals - still no decent shape when we don't have the ball (the midfield do an awful job of protecting the defence) - still playing players out of position (POLWORTH ON THE WING?!) When one puts it like that, perhaps it's time to panic? And am I the only one questioning whether our manager is up to the task? And how much it costs to pay off a four year contract?

Raven's definitely out. As are Horner and McNaughton of course. The back four picks itself, since McKay, Meekings, Warren and Tremarco are about the only defenders we have. I wonder if Foran will be tempted to start Fisher instead of Doumbouya, given he did well as a sub at Ibrox? I'd like to see Polworth in a central role too, probably alongside Tansey with Draper further forward. Not sure who should play wide in midfield. Cole has been the least bad of our attacking midfielders recently, but isn't really a wide player. Doran, King and Mulraney have been pretty poor recently. As tempting as it is to pick Vigurs, in the hope that he's up for it against a former club, I think he's been out of form for far too long. Bench please!

Playing Vigurs in that deep midfield role is suicidal and if Richie does it again I might cry. Ali Crawford will cause havoc if Vigurs is the one keeping an eye on him. The Courier says McKay and Raven might be available so fingers crossed. McKay has to come in at CB to free Draper up for midfield. If fit I'd rather have Raven at RB than Horner anyday. I'm not averse to Vigurs playing a more advanced midfield role like he did in our League Cup games, but it is critical that we get bodies forward to support Doumbouya. King has done next to nothing for weeks other than lose the ball and fall over, so surely Mulraney should get a shot? He has the pace to get up to Doumbouya quickly too. So my ideal lineup would be OFW - Raven, Meekings, McKay, Tremarco - Draper, Tansey - Doran, Vigurs, Mulraney - Doumbouya

Injuries haven't helped - with McNaughton, Raven and McKay missing we were pretty much down to our 4th choice RB at Dens Park. But the rest of the back four was our first choice lineup, so I think that excuse only works so much. Our central midfield has been rancid this season. Playing Vigurs in a deeper role is suicidal from a defensive perspective. He can't tackle (apart from his frequent cynical fouls), and he doesn't bother to track opposing players. Tansey hasn't offered his defence much more protection; his form has been poor and he's playing like a guy who wishes he was at Aberdeen. And when Draper plays in front of the back four, good teams pass the ball round him so he can't use his physical presence. What worries me just as much is that our centre backs are struggling. Meekings hasn't been at his best this season. Worse, Warren has been really poor. At Dundee his failure to close down or back off Wighton properly meant that he got away a shot that OFW couldn't see. Last week he gave away a stupid penalty with uncharacteristic clumsiness. And in general he's struggled in the air against big forwards, an area in which he's usually been dominant. It might be a blip in form, but it might be the start of an inexorable decline.

First things first, we didn't deserve anything from that. Foran was right to say we were second best all over the park. Doumbouya was fantastic. He took his goal really well and his link up play was excellent. He was consistently let down by his teammates. OFW was also superb, making several good stops. One save from a Considine header was outrageous. Everyone else was poor at best. Special mentions for King (who kept losing the ball and then falling over) and Vigurs (who let the opposing midfield run past him all day and whose set pieces all went straight to the keeper). That said, the ref was a joke. He let the Aberdeen defenders foul Doumbouya again and again, gave the Dons soft free kicks all day and disgracefully ignored Shinnie's hack on Mckay which should have been a red card. He did also bottle sending Vigurs off. All in all, not a good day.

I have blogged about the figures here - http://nareystoepoker.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/scottish-premiership-wages-201617.html The editor of the survey was kind enough to reply to my emailed queries and give more of an explanation of how they came up with the numbers.

It would be a stretch to say we were brilliant, but we didn't need to be. We probably won't have an easier league game all season. Dundee were woeful. As a few folk have said, we did take our foot off the gas after the second goal, but I never really felt we were in danger. Perhaps if OFW hadn't saved well from Kerr, it might have been very different, but our back four looked pretty comfortable to me. At half-time I was moaning about the Draper-Polworth switch. Shows what I know. Oh, and Doumbouya was terrific. Bullied their centre-halves magnificently.

Owain Fon Williams A terrific match. I felt at half-time that we were really hard done by after an outstanding performance, but in truth we had no answer to Celtic after the break. Fon Williams was absolutely amazing, and to nick a point in that fashion was just tremendous. Hard to fault anyone's performance today. I don't think anyone else in this league could live with Celtic when they play like they did in the second half, so I've no complaints about our difficulties defending. I felt sorry for Polworth; many a right sided midfielder will be torn apart by Kieran Tierney this season. The boy's better than most wingers. What a hit by King as well. It's great to have had two reasons to jump around like a lunatic in celebration - one amazing goal and one last-ditch equalizer. A great afternoon's entertainment.

It is worth remembering that Yogi always loathed talking to the press - he knew he wasn't very good at it, and often came across badly - especially when printed ad verbatim. So I'm tempted to give him the benefit of the doubt with the Foran comments. That being said, his claims that his departure was nothing to do with the budget are rubbish. He clearly tried to talk his way to the sack at the end of last season - his repeated comments to the press about money were no accident and made his position untenable. This interview is little else other than him advertising himself for a new job, claiming that anything that went wrong at the club was someone else's fault.

Obviously I'm a lot happier than I was a fortnight ago! We were particularly excellent in the first half hour, creating several chances and playing through the opposing midfield at will. Not sure why St Johnstone left Murray Davidson on the bench; without his running, they didn't press us at all. Vigurs was running the show in the first half. Frustratingly we didn't get the goal we deserved though, partly because of the outstanding Alan Mannus and partly because of some poor finishing. When Davidson came on at half-time, the game became far more even and I wouldn't say we were especially on top when we scored. The goal reminded me of the one Falkirk scored against us in the Cup Final - a terrific free kick delivery from the by-line and a crashing header at the back post. It was no less than Ross Draper deserved - he was terrific and might have had a hat-trick but for Mannus. The way we sat in after that was alarming though. Sure, St J made some attacking switches, but suddenly we were playing with 10 men within 25 yards of our own goal. The visitors were getting a lot of joy down our left flank before Foster scored - Billy King just wasn't tracking him when he crept forward. Cracking finish, though. Credit to Richie for the subs he made though - I'm not sure it was a gung-ho "I want to win this" attitude, rather more a feeling that bringing on more forwards would force us to abandon the defensive mindset we'd ended up in. The two up worked really well in the circumstances and we were unlucky not to have scored before Meekings forced in the winner from a stramash that would have made Arthur Montford proud. Lots of positives - I thought our back four played really well, and the workrate and attitude of the team was top drawer. The major concern has still got to be up front - who's our best option? Fisher's linkup play was very good early doors, but he spurned one really good chance and I thought his touch was more erratic after that. I thought Shaughnessy dominated him in the air a bit too. But he gives us a much more direct option than Boden (who was really bright off the bench). Doumbouya? Too early to say. He looks clumsy as anything, but I thought that of Ofere too, and he turned out alright. Still bottom, but hopefully onwards and upwards from here on in.

If you weren't at the match, don't let the scoreline fool you into thinking this was a close game. 3-2 flattered us; if County had won by three or four there would have been little to complain about. Other than the abysmal performance, of course... We looked completely unprepared for this game. County always press us high up the pitch right at the start..yet we didn't seem to have anticipated this at all. We barely got out of our own half in the first quarter of the game, because we kept giving the ball away or having to punt aimless long balls. All of the goals we conceded were dreadful in their own way. We may as well have not had any defenders on the park at the first goal. Gardyne was allowed lots of space and time to cross and Boyce was inexplicably unmarked about eight yards out. McNaughton had been marking him, yet ended up about three yards away from him and miles underneath the ball. The second goal might have been prevented had we not taken so long over substituting McNaughton (who took ages to limp off) that we had to play with 10 men. It was a great first touch and finish by Boyce, mind, but if we'd not been playing a defender short it probably would have been preventable. Despite the fact that McNaughton clearly couldn't continue, Foran didn't bother summoning Horner for a good minute or two afterward. Amateurish. For what it's worth, Raven (who Gardyne had on toast in the opening 15 mins) was a far better centre-back than McNaughton. The third goal, the obligatory soft-goal-conceded-from-a-set-piece (three games in a row now!) was completely deflating, coming right at the start of the second half. The long punt forward hung in the air for aeons. Any half-decent keeper, and most lousy ones, would have come for it and claimed it. Fon Williams stayed rooted to his line. Worryingly, Warren was beaten remarkably easily in the air by Boyce. Earlier, Fon Williams handled outside his box, but the ref played advantage and County inexplicably missed with the goal gaping. Had it not been for the advantage, the keeper might have seen red instead of the subsequent yellow. As for us, it sounds like our first goal was extremely fortunate, as County fans (and a few ICT ones) are saying the ref blew his whistle for an apparent finfringement before Boden scored, only to change his mind after the ball went in and he'd spoken to his linesman. The County players were absolutely incensed. The second was a great hit by Draper, but apart from a goalline clearance from Cikos shortly after, we didn't really look like scoring. Lots and lots and lots to worry about. The body language from the players was terrible. It was striking that, during stoppages from injuries, the County players were receiving instruction and encouragement from their bench, whilst our management team stood with arms folded and our players wandered away from each other with hands on hips and heads down. No-one looked like they wanted the ball except Boden, who rarely got it within about ten yards of where he was, and Tremarco, who was the only other player worth a pass mark. We had four very decent midfielders on the pitch - Draper, Tansey, Polworth and Vigurs - all of whom were really poor in possession. Anyone watching that fiasco could make the mistake of thinking that we had a rookie manager who was way out of his depth...

I had to remind myself at half time that "it's only Arbroath", so that I didn't get too carried away. By that point we had scored four, hit the bar twice, and missed an open goal. We understandably took our foot off the gas after the break, but regardless that was a stunning display of attacking football. Lots of plaudits for Mulraney, and rightly so. His pace is terrifying. He's clearly not the finished product, and I think there will be a lot of games this season where he drives us round the bend, but you could say that about any young winger. He's clearly got the tools, and there's a bit of Jonny Hayes about his style. If we can polish him, he'll be a diamond. Really impressed by Boden's off the ball movement. It was great to see that whenever he or Mulraney got the ball wide, three midfielders (and often Tremarco!) were haring into the box. That never happened much last season. Vigurs in particular looks fitter than ever. Only two disappointments - that Tremarco didn't get a hat-trick and that we didn't see Doran on the pitch.

A great result which certainly couldn't have been predicted after 45 minutes...or even after 59! The first half was reminiscent of much of our season - lots of possession and barely any clearcut chances. Dundee played on the break and had five decent opportunities, all of which they spurned. Storey's goal came from a wonderful Polworth pass in behind, the first piece of quality we'd come up with in the final third. It was a great finish, showing composure even as the keeper forced him wide. It sounds from the postmatch interview like we're working hard to convince him to stay, which would be terrific. The decision immediately afterward to replace Storey with Foran was bizarre...but I suppose the outcome justified it! Foran's lovely front post flick laid on Devine to bundle home a second, and then immediately afterward Drapes mugged Nick Ross 20 yards from goal and killed the game off with a fine finish. The pen came after some great skill by Polly, who was our best player today. I think Draper suggested to Raven that he should take it, but Raven seemed to shake his head. I don't think Foran was giving the ball up in a hurry anyway! For those who weren't there, it's worth pointing out that Dundee looked so much more likely to score at 0-0. But it's a great result and a great way to finish the season. It may have a very positive effect on season ticket renewals too...

Still feeling really fed up about last night's performance. It's hard to find many redeeming features. Draper was easily our best player, if only because he looked like he gave a damn. I also thought Tremarco was decent enough. The rest of them were really pretty dreadful. Our problem all season has been giving away soft goals, mostly because of losing possession in our own half. Lo and behold, Warren gave Polworth a hospital ball, he was immediately robbed of possession, and a few seconds later we're behind. It was a great goal by Murray, but it was still a dreadful goal to give away. It was no surprise that we dominated possession for the rest of the half...and no surprise that we barely created any chances. Storey screwed up a one-on-one (on a rare occasion that he wasn't offside), and had an effort from distance that was well saved. That was about it. Ironically, United's second goal came from the sort of flowing attacking move that we're not capable of. Fon Williams should have done far better with the first effort than pushing it straight into the centre of the six yard box; the defending afterward reminded me of Sensible Soccer when you desperately press the 'tackle' button and all your defenders go sliding and running past the ball instead of kicking it. The booing at half-time was the worst I'd heard from our support since Brewster's end days. The third goal was another defensive disaster. Meekings was caught up field, and nobody bothered to cover him. Devine really should cut out the square ball, but gets caught ball watching as Ofere peels to the backpost. If Devine just stays tight to Ofere, then he gets to the ball first - but it's the sort of mental error that Devine has made in every game this season. From that kickoff, there was a distinct feel about the players of "f*** this passing crap, lets just have a go", and we went and scored a couple. Any hope of a comeback evaporated as soon as we brought on Foran to hobble around up front for the last 15 minutes. With Storey moved wide, United could play a high line and deny us space. On the rare occasions we did get the ball wide, the crossing was just the pits - not surprising when most of it was coming from Josh Meekings, a central defender playing out of position. The only chance we created against 10 men came from the free-kick after Morris was sent off. The substitutions were ridiculous. Danny Williams didn't look like he'd been told where he should play. Ryan Williams, meanwhile, looks no more fit than when he arrived 3 months ago. It's hard to know how much to blame Yogi. He picked the same team that demolished Partick, yet most of them let him down badly. Polworth's head dropped after his involvement in the opening goal (though as soon as he scored and got a confidence boost he got subbed!). Tansey was dreadful, particularly in terms of covering his defenders - he's not been the same player since the Deadline Day fiasco. Roberts was barely involved till he scored; Mutombo was barely involved at all. Storey's inability to stay onside suggests a lack of concentration on his part. On the other hand, we keep making the same mistakes as we did at the start of the season. We still persist with Meekings at right-back and Devine in central defence, even though Meekings is the best centre-back we have and Devine has less positional sense than a wheelie-bin. The refusal to play Raven now stinks of Yogi being stubborn with the supporters. And the substitutions are always dreadful (this may be because our substitutes are dreadful). "We dominated the game", the manager says, as if passing the ball around your own half of the field constitutes 'domination'. When the third United goal went in, I heard a lot of folk around me shouting at the dugout - people who I've not heard shout anything negative for years. The last time that happened, Brewster was in the dugout. We've been crap at home most of the season, and I think everybody is pretty fed up with it.