The person that I feel most sorry for is Javi Gracia after last weekend’s debacle.

The continuation of the knee-jerk reaction of the board’s policy of hiring and firing (which admittedly has worked in the past to keep the club up) was in my view harsh in this instance, totally confirmed by the Man City result.

Gracia was going through a bad run but still had the support of the players, which clearly was not the case with Marco Silva.

So the principal problem that Flores has now in my view is that Doucoure and Pereira, who both wanted to leave in the close-season, have stayed at the club, and the comparison is employees staying in a job to which they are not fully committed.

So what Flores has to do is to reignite the desire and belief of the players, which I thought had returned with a vengeance in the second half against Arsenal, but which will now be an uphill struggle as an 8-0 drubbing is highly traumatic.

From what I gather it wasn’t just that Man City were good - just that we were terrible.

Unless Flores can pick up the pieces quickly now (and I’m not sure he can), the Championship beckons, and the board’s policy will be in tatters.

I so hope for the sake of all our loyal fans that I’m proved wrong.

Neil Frais

Hazeldene Drive, Pinner