Watford 2 - Bolton Wanderers 1

24 points dropped from winning positions this season. Playing well?

Hard Facts : Coyle 10 games-W3 D2 L5 Points 11 . Philips 6 games - W2 D3 L1 Points 9. Freedman 13 games-W3 D5 L5 points 14. Worst results under Freedman, best under Philips. Games against the top 10 clubs, Coyle 4, Philips 3, Freedman 3. By far Philips was our best manager and Freedman our worst, worse than Coyle !. If you multiply Philips average result or 1.5 points per game x 19 games =29+ Coyles 11 = 40 points. I have to repeat the facts last 7 games only 1 win, 2 draws, 4 defeats, that is shocking. Philips also had the highest goals a game %. I belief we now have 14 midfielders on the books and only 5 strikers, even though we desperately need the latter seeing we cannot score more than one goal a game. Gartside and Freedman are failures, I mean true failures, results do not lie, the only thing that doesn't lie. Whoever says we cannot get relegated I recall Coyle said the same thing last season at this time, remember results under Freedman are the worst. Where is Gartside now ? will the chairman please issue a statement to the fans, noting that the manager he did not want has just led his team to an emphatic thrashing of Middlesborough.

Very telling stats there. Coyle needed to go but jiminho's record from the subs bench deserved a go at it. I agree DF must have thought he was inheriting a much stronger base than proved to be the case. But given his previous stats as a manager at Palace I don't really know why he was so wanted by PG. Would we get rid a la Blackburn and Berg? Or is that just stupid? I think DF has some good ideas and probably the right approach but his record isn't pretty and given his caution and tentative approach the revival we are looking for could be a very long way off . Given PG's statement about the absolute need to get promotion this year I think some comment now from him on our strategy at board level would be very welcome. I hope I'm being over critical and doom laden here but the facts speak for themselves. Decline is continuing and the fighting spirit we want is just not there. Realistically we are looking at building for next season one but DF and co need to make sure we don't go down. It is a real risk.

So it is all over, I think we have to accept that we will be in the Championship again next year (I refuse to think of the more likely alternative to the premiership next year).

everything comes down to results and results need a team who will attack with the ability to score goals. For that you need a manager who can structure his team and motivate them to play that way. Relegation is a real possibility yet again and Freedman has done nothing to prevent that, McCarthy has taken Ipswich above us, he has done everything expected of him, everything we believed he would have done for us, underlining the impact a good experienced manager can have on a team that is floundering that has lost all confidence. Getting a team to play well relies heavily on confidence both individually and collectively as a team, that is were the manager comes in, that is one of his primary roles, for that you need a confident manager - I dont think Freedman has that confidence or the fire in his belly to get the best out of our players. He has brought new lads in but has not started them, why? yesterday Reading played a 17 year old just arrived from Yeovil Town, staight into prem action. While Freedman fiddles his thumbs putting the same losing team out claiming the new lads are not fit - GARBAGE - the existing players have had their chances, the new guys should go in the team straight away, appeasing senior players ? forget it - this is survival. Gartside has some serious thinking to chew over, whoever is controlling our team is failing badly and we need a remedy, positive decisive action needs to be taken fast. All the teams at the top have goalscorers, Watford have 2 lads with 30 goals to their name, Burnley have a lad with 25 goals to his name, we have Eagles with 7 ! that sums it up, as I have said for months & months we need an attack that can put the ball in the net, we need confidence for that, nothing special, simply reproducing what the lads do every day in training - that comes down to the managers influence.

Another relegation battle lads.

Hey - next season could be division 1 , dont ever take anything for granted, we learned that last year. Everyone at the club must have their heads up their back ends, we are not a premiership team, we may in the near future not even be a championship club. Freedman is a disgrace - the new signings should be playing, they should have been out there at Watford. The recent goals from Sordell are a bonus, they should never be the only goals to be scored - what the hell are the other players doing ? You can pass the ball for 90 minutes and dominate all you like, without the goals you might as well lie down and whistle dixie. What happens during training ? does Freedman tell the lads 'don't worry your prem class, everything will change, carry on ' Why does he go on about the academy - he has bigger problems to concentrate on, like winning a game for starters. Maybe the academy is his level ? that would explain a great deal, move him down and bring Philips back in. I would hold training sessions every day, have two teams, 1st team and reserve team - 1st team attack against reserve defence and reserve attack against 1st team defence, tweak it each day and on the Friday whoever had performed the best that week would be in my 11 for the match Saturday, no names just log the numbers on each back, if it transpired the entire reserve team did best they would get the vote - no nonsense, no favourites, merit first and last. Looking at Managers, years ago under Roy McFarland we were dreadful one game, thrashed 4-0, after the game he stuck his head in the changing room and quietly said ' see you all on Tuesday at training' that was it ! Under Bruce, Todd, Allardyce, any bad below par performance was met with fire and extra training, simply not accepted or allowed. I have never previously witnessed a Bolton team that consistently struggles to score goals, this has been going on for near 2 years, it has to be confidence and style of play, it all comes back to the manager and that then leads to Gartside's door. Results are simply unacceptable, I expect to see a different team run out in the next game and I expect Freedman to be told he is on borrowed time - however, maybe Gartside is prepared to gamble our future once again in favour of his 'choosen one' like he did before.

More training on passing needed.. Both teams could have won it today.. In this league it's all about the forwards.. U also relie far too much on the strength of your players & not on the finesse.. A total revamp is over due.. I hope it works out... Good luck for the rest of the season..

Thanks watford 1881. 2 great goals. If we had Vydra I think we might have won too! Amazed he wasn't stolen from you during the window.

Sick Sick Sick of yet another manager putting positive spins on lack lustre performances! Freedman is starting to irritate me as much as Coyle did near the end. I wish they would just button it instead of repeatedly talking crap!

Danfarn, agree with your comments. If you're not man enough to say it as it is to the reporters, what the hell is said behind closed doors - potentially even less ! ....on another point, looking at performance v Sunderland, then Everton, are we are actually at a turning point and need just 0.1% more to start a good run, or am I smoking the wrong stuff ?

Yes, considering that Burnley beat Millwall 0-2 away. We could only draw 1-1. Our goal was yet another game when we could not score from open play. One of our many failings at the moment. But we are only "inches" away from the "springboard" to our next win and moving up the table. Yeah right! I will still go to the game supporting the team and expecting to see a lot more passion and never say die attitude from the players and hopefully a 90 minute performance?

I can't believe that we have gone from the top half of the premier league to battling relagation in the championship. I know its happened to others but really with the squad we started the season with, even with the injuries we should have stormed it. Unfortunately neither Coyle or Freedman look to have the ability to get the players up for it. I thought we had turned a corner and with the new signings and returning players was looking forward to great end to the season but as other people have said there is no fight from some of these players and they don't look scared to go in losing. I think it would have been different if McCarthy had been given the job.

I should mention, while Gartside appears to have concentrated his efforts this season on reducing the wage bill, which may explain why Freedman was appointed - " yes I will go along with that and we will look at bringing young lads in on the cheap" whereas McCarthy probably told Gartside point blank - you wont get back in the prem by offering peanuts - you will only end up with monkeys. So Mr Gartside who knows everything about law and accounting obviously knows absolute shi-te about football and football management. Its a tragedy really as I feel with a solid experienced manager in charge and a proven hit man in attack our season could have been far different.

Just realised amongst all the doom and gloom we have a game in hand and if we win against Peterborough at home we could jump up 5 places. If we dont win then god knows what will happen.

we had the bulk of the possession against Watford but could not score, bar the penalty. Its all down to strikers and goals. Leicester snapped up Nugent when we completely ignored him - well we had SKD, look at them now - nothing to do with their midfield or defense, its the goals that lad is knocking in, he makes SKD look like an old shire horse, if it wasnt so bad it would be a laugh, an utter farce.

It would appear that luis saha has gone to a club in south africa. Another player who could have made a difference for not much money in the short term. We need a feel good factor at the club but at the moment none of the players are providing it. Signing someone like saha could have made a big difference. I hope medo makes a big difference but he ain't a goal scorer.

sarcasm aside, for clarity on the pitch our attack is toothless, goals dictate results, therefore the attack holds priority unless we expect midfield and defense to score our goals. Managers should always be judged on results, as results dictate our future more so than chairman/ manager relationships. Freedmans results to date are very poor and worse than expected, where as McCarthy has achieved what he generally does reflecting his abilities as a manager - I think that point is proved. Gartside has appointed and removed our managers for over a decade, nearly all his decisions have turned bad, his pre judgements have been worse - keeping faith with Coyle for too long, removing Philips assuming his inexperience was the key, bringing in Freedman who is equally inexperienced, removing Big Sam. All for reasons that ignored the principle managers are judged on results, Philips & Big Sam had the best results by far yet he removes them, even Megson had decent results, Coyle and Freedman by far the worst results yet they get his support. Results alone dictate our future, so why does Gartside continue to sing from a different hym sheet. If you remove or ignore all the personalities and judge our situation objectively, we have a poor attack, a poor manager and a poor chairman, these are the issues i voice my objections and concerns towards.

I fear you may have misjudged the tone of my previous post. I agree entirely with you that the attack is our biggest problem coupled with our managers cautious approach and I think that goes for not only everyone on here, but also for all the people who sit near me in the west stand!! My post was trying in vain to point out that you along with us can see the obvious and yet those paid to are incapable of doing so. And another thing, the chairman needs to earn his wages and tell us what's going on.

I like reading all your comments and opinions because somewhere, hidden in plain sight, is the answer to our problems. All I know for sure is, your comments keep me sane because this team/club is slowly killing me. I know I shouldn't care this much (I don't know why I do) but I can't help it. On a brighter note, in case you haven't seen it, check out Jan Gregus' goal from the friendly with City... World class!