I was thinking back to the Dowie era, and the present situation has many of the same characteristics. Dowie had too many players at his disposal, most of them midfielders, and never did work out his starting eleven. Expectations were high - we even had a loanee from Real Madrid. Our tactics were non-existent, and we were utterly predictable. So fearful of losing did he become that we played for a point away against Swansea when their keeper had been sent off, barely even having a shot. He was sacked for it. Sound familiar? I know it took a while for the situation to get sorted - but there are painful similarities to the present. Never thought I would pine for a return of Holloway, but at least we would attack, be honest, and play as a team. And it might even feel like fun again. | |