This Big Sam love in

[Duffers]

Our terrible December and January has cost us our PL status. Barring a handful of unexpected good results we were utterly rancid in that period. A mixture of the final days of Bilic and Allardyce taking too long to have the desired impact.

We’ve improved since but it’s all too late.

[Duffers]

It was an appalling start - if there's an opposite term for new manager bounce (come on board wags) then that was it.

Splat.

[Tom Joad]

I'm not beating myself up over having a slither of luck at last. Brighton were the lucky ones, awarded 2 penalties one of which was arguable and the other definitely shouldn't have been given. Of their other 2 chances, one was our keeper palming the ball out to their man and the other a free kick, rightfully disallowed. The fact they weren't good enough to win after having those chances is hardly BFS's fault. Like him or not, he is our manager so get behind the team.

[Dumbo]

Our form over the last 3 games would get us 63 points over a season...that would put us in 5th place last season

;-)

What about the 10 that came before that?

[Peachy]

I’m no lover of Allardyce, wasn’t massively in favour of his appointment but nor was I vehemently against it. By mid-January I was thinking it was turning into a disaster of Pardew-esque proportions. However since the window closed and he has been able to get his own players in and get some time on the training ground it would be ludicrous to deny that there has been a considerable improvement. The squad looks fitter, better organised and is showing the fight that was sorely lacking previously. We are still more than likely going down but at least now we seem to be going with a little bit of fight, all you can really ask for at this stage.

Were we lucky on Saturday? Undoubtedly. Have we been unlucky at various points this season? Also undoubtedly. Nature of the beast.

Good summary. If people say we haven't had luck you only have to look at all 3 of our wins this season.

Sheff Utd - We were absolutely battered and if it wasn't for SJ we'd have been spanked by at least a 6 goal margin!

Wolves - TBF we played OK but were awarded two penalties which on other days might not have been given.

Brighton - They missed two penalties and had a goal chalked of bizarrely.

[Fulham Fallout]

So we win a game and people moan. Only on this dump, or a s single or seal.

[HawkingsHalfpint]

Crikey. This dump.

For every ‘reach arounder’, there’s some wanker-fan secretly wanting him to fail. Yet the vast majority of us fall firmly into the middle somewhere, despite the frankly boring rhetoric at either extreme.

It took forever to get going, it’s odds-on too little too late, and the majority of damage was done last close-season. However, the improvement signs - too slow as they are - are clearly there.

As to whether he’s here or not (or deserves to be) next season, it’s still too early to say; and as pointless a debate at present as the irrelevance of debating Bilic every week; months after he’s gone.

It’s still only 2 wins so far, and whilst one of them wasn’t quite as jammy as the Sheff Utd one, it wasn’t far behind. The job is still there to earn, but we need a few more notches in the second-to-left column before I’ll be toasting his reign next season. Meanwhile, he’ll get credit and criticism where due from here. Just wish he was at good at point-scoring as some on here.