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Reply | Broja
at 14:27 8 May 2024
TimSaint is right. It's daft to blame him for being isolated. How was he doing that, hiding behind the corner flag?
He proved himself a PL level striker with us. He also showed he had it in international matches. That's why Chelsea wanted him back and were going to play him. He was just very unlucky with his injury. Now it's Catch 22 for him. He needs the game time to get back to his best, but he can't get the game time because he isn't at his best.
Still, there's a good chance of him overcoming a very bad injury and no doubt, a shock to his confidence. So I'd take him back in a nano second. |
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Reply | Oh Sh1t
at 11:27 5 May 2024
I agree with you - if we play the kind of tactics we have done all season. But yesterday we were far more compact, gave them less space and looked less vulnerable. I'm sure RM won't be happy with the possession stats, but f**k that. If we keep this up we will start to look like a side that is worthy of promotion. Then we can worry about the PL next year (hopefully, maybe). |
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Reply | Next season
at 10:30 4 May 2024
This is what I posted on another thread a few days ago:
They may not be playing that way at the moment for various reasons, but these are good enough for the PL, if nothing else then as squad players: KWP, THB, Jan B, FD, Fraser, Brooks, Carlos Alcaraz and Perraud.
That's a similar list to yours but you don't mention KWP and you include Aribo (you might be right about him).
The bottom line for me is that this season we've had the option to use a set of players who were good enough to be promoted but would need significant strengthening if we were to survive in the PL. Next year, when we'll probably still be in this league, we might not be as strong.
We had weaknesses in certain areas (GK, CF) but these players were still good enough to be promoted. The trouble is we played a system that exposed our defence and made it look weak and some players have gradually lost confidence, so they're not playing anywhere near their potential. |
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Reply | Rotherham’s keeper Johansson
at 11:27 3 May 2024
It's not going to happen with Rusty in charge though is it? Only goalkeepers who can play with their feet qualify for Rusty and a a goalkeeper who can both keep goal and play outfield would be bloody expensive and beyond our reach. So it'll be Baz and Baz lite for us.
Of course if we had a manager who wasn't so caught up in the latest football fad... |
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Reply | Let the farmer off?
at 11:22 3 May 2024
You can call in the police who will attend when they have finished filling in forms, but you must ensure that you ask them for their pronouns first so that you can describe them to the police without causing offence. |
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Reply | The case for sticking with Russell Martin
at 11:57 1 May 2024
You're right that the slow passing around isn't RM's first choice. He would prefer that we immediately pass it forward. But the point is, he only wants this so long as we retain possession. He doesn't want us to risk losing possession. If we're dominating the other team, we can move it quickly and not risk losing possession. But if we're playing a well drilled side, we can't.
This is a direct copy from Pep. The main difference is that City's players can break down a packed defence after moving the ball slowly up the field, we can't. With our standard of player, we need a manager who is prepared to take a few more risks with possession and move the ball quicker. |
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Reply | If only.
at 13:14 30 Apr 2024
This thread is my spiritual home. I've been saying "if only" about Saints for about half a century now. |
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Reply | Do we complain too much?
at 13:11 30 Apr 2024
I've been critical of RM all year, even while others were praising him, but I don't revel in the problems. I hate it. I find it all really f**king frustrating. Coming on here and moaning about it is partly just to get rid of the frustration. What we say on here makes absolutely no difference to anything or anyone except us. |
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Reply | Fans in a lose lose position?
at 12:55 30 Apr 2024
The less we spend on players, the less likely they are to be good in RM's system. You need quality players to play tippy tappy and quality players don't come cheap.
We would be better off if we decided on a different playing style and looked for players that can play that way. That's the way to find bargains. Of course we'd have to wave a sad farewell to Rusty, but I think could handle that. |
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Reply | Does anybody think Saints can get promoted this season?
at 12:59 28 Apr 2024
I don't think it's a problem having a lot of loanees. It puts them in the shop window so they want to play and do well. Burnley had a lot of loanees last year.
They may not be playing that way at the moment for various reasons, but these are good enough for the PL, if nothing else then as squad players: KWP, THB, Jan B, FD, Fraser, Brooks, Carlos Alcaraz and Perraud. |
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Reply | Desperate Tories - or tactical masterstroke?
at 10:09 27 Apr 2024
Keir Starmer has launched his first major policy initiative to take the nation's attention away from Tory policies. He said:
"(Coventry's goal) is a really well-worked goal, and it is ruled out because there is what, a toenail of difference between the attacker and the defender? Don’t tell me a toenail gives you an advantage in football. I would change the offside rule. I would not change VAR. I would change the offside rule to make it more beneficial for the attacking team.”
If Rishi now comes out with a policy to change VAR there will be clear blue water between Labour and the Tories. This could be where the election is won and lost. |
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Reply | Southampton V Stoke City The Preview
at 12:22 26 Apr 2024
I agree with Nick on this. Psychology is so important and it's easy for it to be undermined. Players want to know where they stand. If they're not picked, why? If they're dropped, why? I get the feeling with all the chopping and changing the players have lost a bit of faith in the manager.
Going back to comments about Ralph, I think this was fundamental to the problems. Not chopping and changing so much but RH lost some of his enthusiasm and I'm sure this was picked up by the players. They then lost that edge, the few percent that are critical to results. Ex players and pundits have been saying that Klopp made a big mistake in announcing his retirement. RH made that mistake in Feb 22. He said he planned to stay on until 2024 and "I hope I have the strength to go through with it". Not very inspiring for the players. They need 110% commitment to perform (particularly in RH's pressing system). 99% isn't good enough. |
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Reply | Man. City
at 09:32 26 Apr 2024
They do have a right to expect to beat us. Maybe not God given, but money given. Ever since players won their Bosman rights, league placings are very strongly predicted by how much a club spends on wages. Arsenal's revenues are three times as high as ours (2023 figures). Three times! They should expect to beat us regularly at home, not every time but regularly. I don't think that's arrogant, just realistic. That's just the way football is these days.
In the same year, our revenues were 6 times as high as Cardiff's and are probably still much higher, so we should expect to beat them. If we don't go up our revenues will start to look more like Cardiff's and a very long way from Arsenal's. |
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Reply | Drop KWP too much of a liability
at 18:37 25 Apr 2024
I agree with a lot of that, but you yourself are advocating the kind of radical change that you caution against. You want 3-4-3 (I think). Ok but that's a different way of playing than RM's 4-3-3. Also, it may not solve the problem. A traditional problem with playing 3 at the back is the space behind the wing backs. The system really depends on those 2 as they have to cover the whole length of the pitch. It needs 2 good wing backs and I don't think we've got them.
There's no single best formation, but if you've got a defensive problem in the full back areas then the usual way to solve it is with more support from midfield and that is best provided by a 442 or 4222 shape. But that's not going to happen because that's not RM's way. He's a very "brave" coach (although with a slow build up) and that can be a good thing against weaker sides, but when he's up against wingers like Leicester's, or anyone who breaks quickly, it leaves us very open. |
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Reply | Penny for the thoughts of Joe Lumley
at 16:02 25 Apr 2024
Now you're not even making sense. Who is this someone I used to bash every week?
Look, if your theory is correct (big if) then Lumley wasn't told about it and that created a problem. That's down to RM. Or are you now saying that RM was prevented from telling Lumley (the conspiracy deepens)? |
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Reply | Penny for the thoughts of Joe Lumley
at 14:44 25 Apr 2024
"There is of course the chance Lumley was already aware of this and his supposed reaction was embarrassment that there would be speculation about him staying the sub keeper/the chance he had not told family about this arrangement."
Really? So it's down to Lumley hiding the truth from his family and friends? Sounds like you are grasping at straws. It's infinitely more likely that he was not told about this arrangement (if it existed at all) and there is no reason why that should have been allowed to happen. Piss poor management, as I say, and was always likely to happen (I know you say that RM could have solved the problem of a training injury to Baz by telling more lies, but I don't believe it for a minute. People can see through lies and distrust breeds disunity).
The players don't look keen to play for this manager now and I suspect that treating badly, like he's done with Lumley, is one of the reasons. |
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Reply | Ex playere No.96 coming back?
at 13:52 25 Apr 2024
Not for me. If we're promoted and had bags of money thrown at us by the owners then maybe we could afford some luxury players (hey' let's bring in another 8 lightweight midfielders) but that's not going to happen. Our priorities are: GK, THB replacement, FD replacement, CF to help carry Ross Stewart off the pitch. |
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