When did you realise we were down??

[mushRTID]

When we sold Billy? The derby and millwall double header?

For me its after the Leeds away disaster, proved to me this team had no b*llocks.

[Akinfenwa]

20th August - Derby (A) - 0-3

[RoversAlias]

Coventry defeat at home in October. Though I predicted it at the start of the season I didn't expect it to be in the manner it has.

[I-was-there1976]

when a conference manager took over from a Championship manager but i had a bet before the season on relegation. Last seasons finish and a shite close season set the bells ringing

[drfc1951]

When O driscoll was still here in August.

[Barmby Rover]

When we could only draw with a poor Peterborough side.

[RedJ]

Brum t'other neet.

[Pintolager]

O'Driscoll's last match at Reading when we lost 0-2. We were awful. As someone has said further up, it makes it worse with what has happened at the club since the match I mention.

[pubteam]

When we failed to sign a goalkeeper, a decent centre half and a striker in the summer.

[Standanista]

Throwing away 5 points against Leeds and Peterborough.

[Wellred]

When we didn't get rid of the manager at the end of last season.

[glosterred]

Got to admit that I feared the worse when we did not substantially improve the squad after an atrocious run in the last half of last season.

[danrover82]

When the board decided to get their money back on Billy before leaving us well and truely in the 5hit with no real help for Diouf and not giving the Gaffer any coin to spend!

[donnyroversfc]

I THOUGHT we'd be relegated at the beginning of the season (before a ball was even kicked). I KNEW we was down the second it came out that McKay was involved with the club.

Only ONE man was always gunna profit from this 'strategy' and had nothing to lose, and it wasn't John Ryan.

[VixDRFC]

Coventry defeat at home in October. Though I predicted it at the start of the season I didn't expect it to be in the manner it has.

Errrr we drew that one

For me it was after Burnley and Watford away after Christmas

[Dimples-D]

When the players were doing their 'lap of shame' after the final home game last season, I said to my mate \"Do you think we are just delaying it for a year?\"  So I think maybe that is my answer.

[Chris]

When Dean Saunders strolled into town I lost all confidence.

[hoolahoop]

When Dean Saunders strolled into town I lost all confidence.

Prior to the above Burnley (A) on Boxing Day, why the fook did we employ this fella to manage our great club ?
Tbf it was only a matter of time before we ran out of money and others ran out of patience with what was happening with the ''stategy'', DS and McKay.........I mean directors , players and supporters here. It was a ticking time bomb and it's now exploded in our faces. :cry:

[RoversAlias]

Coventry defeat at home in October. Though I predicted it at the start of the season I didn't expect it to be in the manner it has.

Errrr we drew that one

So we did . Guess it just felt like defeat! I remember watching that game and thinking \"no way do these two teams survive at the end of the season\" and it has been very rare for either side to be above the dotted line since.

[donnygreenjeans]

Whe we appointed Saunders and Mckay

[inSODwetrust]

Hate to say it, but, Burnley away, Boxing Day!

[rovinrover52]

Reading Away, Just strolled around like a walk in the park

[The Red Baron]

I thought we would be relegated before a ball was kicked so I can't say it was a surprise. But would we really have done any worse if we'd never gone down the McKay/ Saunders route? I doubt it.

I take it those who think SO'D should have left at the end of last season will agree that Saunders needs to go at the end of this?

[wilts rover]

20th August - Derby (A) - 0-3

yes, I went away from that game thinking, there aren't 3 worse teams in the division, although it was the away defeat at Bristol City when I was pretty sure we down

[wilts rover]

I thought we would be relegated before a ball was kicked so I can't say it was a surprise. But would we really have done any worse if we'd never gone down the McKay/ Saunders route? I doubt it.

I take it those who think SO'D should have left at the end of last season will agree that Saunders needs to go at the end of this?

Well he took over with the team at the bottom of the League with 1 point, having just lost away at Reading without having a shot on target - no way would those players, playing like that have got another 31 points. We are paying the price for 2 years of poor recruitment - not just the past 6 months.

[Donnybax]

I feared relegation when that welsh idiot was appointed. After the Leeds and Barnsley shambles i was pretty sure.

[steve@dcfd]

When JR, and the board failed to sign Paul Green, Richie Wellens, Matt Mills, Jason Shackell and Gareth Roberts. When we failed to bring in a striker in the first year to add the goals. With the decline of support due to lack of quality  and putting prices at the same time what did we expect. The problem with Sean at that time he was honourable man who would not publically say a wrong word against the board and try his best with money he was given. He should have had some of Deans qualities and complain all the time. The board brought in Billy, it was a sprat to catch a mackerel, the board hoped we would get more season ticket holders it did not work. So this season John said we would bring in six players to get us in the top half, but he could not do that because Billy said he did not want to move in the summer. The three million could not be spent. So Seanstarted the season fighting an up hill battle,, after some home truths John sacked him and handed the rains to Dean with a new strategy. But it's failed John you and you board failed. Why because you have allowed your best players to leave over the last four years, you have tried to make bold statements but they have proved over this time to be with out substance. So we are down what are the club going to do to stop our predicated  decline even further.

[GM-MarkB]

When players like Richie Wellens were allowed to leave with no suitable replacements waiting in the wings, I was pretty sure that the club had reached it's potential by climbing to the heady heights of the Championship. All the spin about one day reaching the Premiership was complete b*****ks to be honest.

They say there is a gulf between the PL and CCC and they are right. But the gulf is just as big between the CCC and League 1 too. A complete failure to invest in the playing squad over the last couple of seasons has lead to this point in time.

Finishing 12th in 2009/10 with 60 points should have been the catalyst to say 'You know what, we've had 2 seasons here now where we've shown we can live at this level...what can we achieve with a little investment ?'. But alas none was forthcoming when all around, season after season, seek to better what they have.

Which brings us back to that old chestnut....just why was Terry Bramall brought on board ? Sadly, as we all now know, it wasn't for his love of football

[jmt]

The day we signed Billy! From that day onwards I had a feeling Sean was no longer in control.

[BigH]

Good points Steve. Perhaps not Roberts who was/is past his sell by date but add in one B Sharp and you can see that we have let too many good players go and tried (and failed) to replace them on the cheap.

Where once there was Richie Wellens we now have Paul Keegan/Fabian Robert/John Oster. Where once there was Matt Mills, we now have Adam Lockwood. I could go on...

As Tommy Docherty once said, if you sign too many Third division players you end up playing in the Third division, And so it has proved. Today was a classic illustration of the gap between a proper Championship side and a L1 (and I hate to say this, perhaps a L2) side. It was like a cup tie where we were poor little Donny going into the lions den.

It pains me to say it but we deserve to go down. We were 'down' before this season started. We brought in Spurr and Bennett in the hope that they would perform miracles. They haven't and we haven't.

Out of the last four seasons I can honestly say that I've only really enjoyed one where we've been able to properly compete. That was our second season in this division. The rest have just been tripe to be honest, although we had a  purple patch in the first season that was great fun.

We came, we saw, we didn't really like the prospect of having to shell out shedloads to compete. Time to regroup, forget the dream, ditch the Osters and Piquionnes of this world and get a team of hungry kids who want play, like the feel of hitting the back of the net and let's get some excitement going.