Charlie Wayman

Ich stimme dir zu

It's what he did or didn't do for the rest of his time on the pitch that matters. Every player makes one or two telling passes during a match.

At the arse-end of the season it is a bit nerdish to still be talking about team selections but for me Martin's persistence with Brooks is beyond me. With the exception of about two decent through ball passes he was invisible last night once again. Nor am I convinced about Aribo who seems to run out of gas and ideas after 30 mins in every match and is more of a liability after that until inevitably he gets subbed off. I did agree with MacCarthy's last minute call-up as sub for Baz, after all he has had to stand on the sidelines all season without a game whereas Lumley has featured in cup games. It was nice of Martin to recognise his hard work in training and support of Baz by awarding him a first team appearance in what is most likely his last season as a Saint. Lumley looked pretty hacked off at the decision but should understand that it is the togetherness of the team that matters most and Martin got this right. Optimists on here would have you believe that we stepped off the gas in the second half and just protected our lead, whereas in reality PNE pulled themselves together after the break and played with a lot more pride and commitment and we could not break them down. The freedom of the park that they offered us in the first half and which we exploited mercilessly obviously solicited a mighty b*ll*cking from their manager at half time and it obviously got a reaction. Having said that only rarely were they a threat on our goal. Not inconsequentially resting Downes after HT was a huge factor in our poorer second half performance as well. Without him we are often disjointed and aimless. This must be a worry. Anyway, a great result and big shout out especially for Adams, the Armstrong's and Manning in a performance where most excelled.

Same as normal then?

If we get promoted double his salary in fact triple his salary and keep him here come what may.

Common sense and years of experience says zero chance simply because Saints have to play both Leicester and Leeds on their home turves. No way will they beat both of those sides who are just as desperate as Saints to return to the PL.

Let's hope another warehouse doesn't catch alight and burn down on Tuesday. Also, why aren't the Saints band not marching in anymore? Is it because "When the Saints stand still" is more in keeping with our playing style these days? Nostalgic reunion for my Avatar.

Have you forgotten already the Adkins years? 😂

Jammy buggers, they didn't deserve to win today but they did and we all came home happy. Paper over the cracks and go again! Why the clown started Brooks again is beyond me but at least the penny had dropped by half time. Aribo has no stamina, he was blowing like a knackered race horse after thirty minutes. Great to see Jan back, hopefully we won't have to watch Jack trying to look brave and intelligent for much longer.

One step at a time.

Hoping Brooks doesn't start, he's been invisible in the last two matches. Give Edozie or Sulemana a chance.

I hope that people realise that "brave" is a euphemism for "foolish" or "stupid" in modern management speak.

Not sure you have really understood what I said.

That's a different question of course even though I agree with you.

There are many reasons for voting 'yes' or 'no' not on your list of options. I am no fan of the man but the problem with discussing his future is "who comes next?" That is a huge uncertainty especially for a small-ish club with limited expectations. The pool of talented managers who would be prepared to come here is very small; we are not going to attract nor indeed afford a new Poch or Koeman, Those days are well and truly behind us. So my vote is 'Keep him' for now even though he is not doing a particularly good job. Give him one more season to see what he makes of the PL or of a revamped squad in the Championship. That will also afford ample time to search for a replacement and avoid knee-jerk appointments if one is needed. A greater concern of mine is his apparent loyalty to his players and staff. Others may not concur but in my view we do not have an exceptionally talented squad for the division. The idea of the Saints being "the best team in the league" is an evident nonsense and Martin needs to disavow himself of this notion to make progress. He also needs to look closely at his coaching staff and effect changes where needed, e.g., our defensive weaknesses endlessly exposed by average and poor sides suggest strongly that our defensive coaches are crap. Loyalty must not blind the man to the obvious that some staff and some players are just not good enough. No reason why the old broom cannot sweep out the cobwebs.