In advance sorry if I ramble.
In less than a year we have had four different managers, seven since the prem years. All were backed by the board and now we have a squad full of disenchanted not interested players that have been assembled over the years by these different managers. That's seven different philosophies, seven different training regimes. Different players being frozen out at various times and all this leading to a general confusion about the place a lethargy and a total loss of identity around the club.
Each season a squad needs to be refreshed, but that really needs to be on a one in one out basis in reality, but for clubs like us that's difficult because of the money we have to offer in wages to get them to come. When the player doesn't work out we're stuck with him, even if clubs want him because they can't afford his wages. This then fills a squad place and we are strangled financially by all those wages on our bill.
Too many managers all buying their own players killed Villa and Sunderland and now it seems we are this seasons basket case.
Remember this is not Roy's squad, he bought none of these players in. We have a good 14 or so, but after that nothing. The squad is filled up by players we don't want and ones who are only here to now pick up their money. We can slag them all we want, but we'd all do the same if it was us.
Last night was always likely to happen. We are all bought up being told players need games to be match fit, match sharp. They need games to get an understanding with each other, form partnerships. Last night we threw 11 players together who had none of this and lets face facts, many knew they were only playing in this because they are not in the managers first team plans. Subconsciously that must affect them? How can we be surprised what happened, happened? The ones on the fringes of the first team have no chance to shine if 6 or more players are just not at the races. It all fell into place in last nights debacle and once the wonder goal went in the confidence was gone and it just got worse. Mentally many are shot.
Goals like their third change matches, yet we appear to have no one that can strike a ball cleanly at the club, mentally we are choking on a weekly basis. We start most games playing nice football, even last night, but unable to take advantage because we choke in front of goal on a regular basis. Then the first strike by the opposition goes in and heads drop and it happens all over again.
The club has totally lost its identity and if we don't pick up a couple of wins soon the rift between players and fans will be irreparable, the Souare incident was a very bad sign and then it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Who wants to do well for a bunch of fans who constantly abuse you? Who wants to support players that seem to not care?
Personally, I believe the players do care, but when confidence is gone players become reactive, not proactive, they just play safe, sideways and backwards and it just starts to look like they aren't trying, always on the back foot. The crowd reacts and it all goes s*** shaped again.
I don't run a club, so don't understand how things work, but if we want to have any chance of bringing in the right players to stay up we will have to pay off contracts to free up places. Yes it's expensive, but cheap compared to going down, surely?
Till January we have to win our home games to have any chance. So that means we need atmospheres like against Chelsea. So it really has a lot to do with us now.
Again, sorry for this unplanned,unstructured ramble.

Frank was certainly a surprise. Surprise SP thought he was suitable.

Not everybody favoured Sean Dyche when we were looking for a manager in the summer, but there was plenty of support for him on this site, the media thought he was just the man, and I imagine he would have bitten off SP's hand if he'd been offered the job. But SP had a grand vision, which didn't embrace hiring a bald man with a squeaky voice, who'd spent most of his career in the lower reaches of football and was managing a team based in some former mill town on the Lancashire moors...........and who is now one of the favourites to manage Everton.

I know this is a useless and futile post, but I don't speak just with the benefit of hindsight. It's what was staring us in the face as a good outcome, and SP bungled it. I'm just so annoyed.

Sorry, that's just management spiel. Barring some kind of world class performance these players knew they won't be playing on Saturday. Makes the decision to play PvA an interesting one.

I understand the sentiment, but exactly who's vision should he be following then? Surely all of us would follow our vision, rightly or wrongly. SP screwed up, but I'd rather he screwed up his way rather than do it trying to pander to other people's ideas and vision.
Dyche was never in for the job as far as I know and why do people think he would have wanted it?
I'm more pissed off that SP didn't address the keeper and forward issue. These were fixable and obvious problems and to ignore them was negligent.

People have suggested that the likes of Pulis and Big Sam left us because of Parish and the general set up at the club but I don't buy that. Pulis is proven to be a nasty piece of work and Big Sam??? Well, one day we'll find out why he left.