Fabrice29

Yesterdays biggest problem was our lack of attacking threat. No formation or team selection changes that and my evidence would be pretty much every other game this season we've probably cursed the lack of quality attacking players and yet we've played various different formations and selections. You're welcome to point to evidence to suggest anyone in our current squad could make us a bigger threat depending on where the manager places them on the pitch if you like but our top scorer in the PL this season having 3 goals would suggest you'll struggle to find it. I'm in no way defending yesterdays selection or tactics btw (i actually had a pop at them during the week and suggested maybe starting without a striker at home to Wolves wouldn't be popular much to somebody on here being equally as outraged by my suggestion) and nor am I defending this manager but I'm just beyond the point of thinking changing the manager again would be anything other than shifting the blame onto someone else for a short period.

I think whatever manager we bring in results will dictate the narrative around them. You can bring in someone ‘normal’ and 3 defeats later people will be finding a stick to beat them with, whether it be playing out the back, formation, players you pick or whatever else people stumble upon. I don’t think either of our managers this season have helped themselves but at some stage a grown up will have to come along and identify that over 2 seasons in the PL and 5 managers that maybe there is something different at play. If your players are quite clearly not good enough then the inevitable bad results will happen. If people are happy to live in a world where they think it’s as simple as ‘play 4 at the back, 3 in midfield, 2 wide players and a striker’ that would suddenly turn everyone happy then good for them but I’m not as deluded as that. Specifically we’ve got the worst strike force in the league and central to that seems to be a kid in his debut season and two guys who failed to help us last time we were in this league and one of whom barely helped when we were in a lesser league. Whatever simple/complex/genius/deluded formation you think we should deploy will always be hampered by that imo. Oh and btw ‘Playing a back 4, three central midfielders (one being Fernandes getting forward), 2 threatening wide players and a central striker would provide shape, numbers in midfield and a threat. We’d lose more than we’d win, we’d go down, but we’d at least make a game of it.’ We made a game of it yesterday, as we did last week and as we have done at various times this season under different managers, tactics and philosophy’s but guess what…our lack of goals and our ability to concede them with ease has let us down each time.

Fucking hell

You're probably right to be fair. 3 managers over 1 PL season is pretty dumb and I probably wont ever not think that.

There was people on here talking about the new manager being needed to make us more competitive and less of a laughing stock. Actively being pleased that Juric was a breath of fresh air and a taskmaster. Which all sounds wonderful until you lose games on a consistent basis and now he's clueless and guess what we're still a laughing stock and not any more competitive really. We might be slightly different but we're not really any better. I'm not a massive fan of this guy and I'm not going to launch a huge defence of the bloke but it's really easy to just call managers clueless, woeful, out of their depth etc and demand we appoint a 3rd one and 6th in two PL seasons but unless anyone can convince me anything changes I don't really see the point....?

Not like you to get something wrong fella. Read it again.

Of our top 11 appearance makers in the PL this season, 4 were relegated with us previously, 2 with someone else and 4 are in their first season in the PL. Downes is the other. That also doesn't include Onuachu or Sulemana who twice now have stupidly been relied upon to get us out of trouble.

We tried many more "different formations etc" under Martin this season than Juric btw. Started the season with 532, played 541 at times, played strikerless in one game at least, ended with 4 at the back against Spurs, played some games with wingers, some without. Martin had his stubborn concepts but they weren't to do with formations. It's why constant talk on here about formations and there being obvious team selections and formations that nobody has tried continues to be highly amusing.

He definitely did against Newcastle at the start of the season. Praising McCarthy but questioning why it went back to him in the first place. He did it other times too.

I can assure you that you haven’t 🤣. You’ve accused me of being various different people over the years, not really sure who most of them are but this current belief is the most exciting so I’m happy to let you crack on. It’s just you seem desperate to bring up laundry, Rohl and grassing stories all the time so this is your chance to spill the beans…

Except for all the times he actively called out our players for doing those very things of course.

Over the last two seasons in the PL we’ve tried 5 different managers with various systems, set ups, tactics or whatever else you want to call them. We’ve done it all with a core group of players who were either relegated with us or someone else prior to us or relatively new to the league altogether. I do find it amusing that anyone would think the actual answer is just ‘4 at the back and 2 dms’ but I also admire the simplicity of thought tbh, so fair play to you.

I appreciate you think I’m someone a lot more clued up than I am, I actually quite like it, but you do mention the same quips like this a lot. If it’s not this, it’s something about laundry or Rohl leaving under a cloud. You obviously don’t get the bites you crave and are desperate to tell everyone what you know so go on, I’ll do it, please sir, tell us all about the little fun itk stories you have…

Do you think people working for the club have been advised to go out and defend the manager they sacked a few months back? Or am I doing it wrong?

Yes, sorry 🤣 Man City have scored more goals than all 3 of those and will finish above at least two of those 3 this season. Im sorry people can’t grasp me enjoying last season. I’m more sorry you’re all convincing yourselves you couldn’t. I’m also sorry this season has been naff and that maybe I enjoyed us more earlier in the season than I do now. Hopefully we can win some games soon and you can try enjoy it when we do.

Well it’s a pointless question really but yes, I’d much rather watch us under Martin than this style. I’ve always wanted to watch a Saints team dominate the ball rather than try to be reactive to the opposition but again it’s subjective and winning games is the overall number 1 factor in enjoying the football obviously. There was nothing boring or predictable about us last season in my eyes, despite people insisting they didn’t enjoy it.

I’ll admit my opinions are subjective. My warnings that things might look different if we sack Martin but we’ll still lose a lot of games were right though. Now? Like I said, subjective.

Okay Mr ‘we’re never getting promoted under Martin’

Which is exactly my point. We’re not any better or any worse and talk of tactical decisions will always be silly in this case.

Yeah the only 1-0 win we’ve got this season is under the previous manager but otherwise cracking point.

I am quite satisfied that my idea of good football is much more enjoyable than the current tactical set up. It’s obviously subjective but watching us actually attempt to have an attacking plan and failing will always be preferable to not having an attacking plan and still failing. Our current manager is out there telling everyone he’d be chuffed with a 0-0 most weeks so if people prefer us doing that then good for them. I’d argue if we’re going to lose anyway then maybe trying to get the best out of players like Dibling for the short time we have him would be a bit more fun (which I suspect is getting shorter every week we ask him to play this way btw). But again, that’s subjective.

Haha Jesus. I was not starting a RM debate, other than having a pop back at the ‘your boy’ comment. I was merely pointing out that the idea we’ve suddenly cracked it tactically is amusing considering a) we lost b) we cannot play like that again next week because people will hate it and c) whatever magical system people think is the answer is inevitably not because there are much bigger issues/resolutions around than ‘play 4 at the back ffsssss it’s obvious omg!”

Yes that horrible idea of trying to play good football. Anyway, you’re right, it totally depends on results which is why I find tactical talk on here quite amusing because when we aren’t getting results all season there’s always an incredibly simple solution that’s obvious to anyone but the manager. But yes, a positive change/performance yesterday and more talk of ‘why didn’t we do that all season’ as we pick up another defeat which bizarrely we have done all season.

Well it doesn't really matter but "my boys reign of terror" got a 3-2 against Liverpool rather than 3-1 but anyway the point I'm making is dropping off "lesser teams" at home, like for example next week will not be popular.

Looking forward to us dropping a performance that has us facing 28 shots vs our 6 and only 28% possession next week against a lesser team and you giving it a thumbs up.