Fabrice29

He's currently playing his best and most consistent football since being here and for the first time he's trusted from the start on a regular basis. This idea he should "play to his strengths" and "be let off the leash" has only ever got him inconsistency from what I can tell. I think he should continue to be used in the way he is whilst developing an end product. Recycling the ball is a much better decision for the team than him running blindly up the field with everyone around him struggling A) to keep up and B) to know what he's going to do. It's also clearly better for him as well because he becomes unpredictable for defenders and it's getting him more game time.

Got away with it is such a naff and defeatist way of looking at it. The amount of times we did it and it was successful far outweighs the times we misplaced a pass and when it worked it worked well. Embrace those moments and enjoy them, the times it goes wrong take on the chin and encourage them to get the next attempt right. "Got away with it" just smacks of someone waiting in the crowd for it to go wrong so you can say "I told you".

I'd be shocked if Fraser doesn't start.

Except all the times he's said he's not happy about it of course.

Think it just hammered home the point that that type of game was one the squad suited because it was lots of off the ball work. The lack of invention in the team doesn’t really show itself in a game like that but give them a defence to break down and they were fucked.

I love that you’ve got annoyed at SR for a scenario you’ve made up in your head / imaginary crystal ball.

We’re 4th.

Also, the mental gymnastics you have to do to type in one line that the team is actively going against the managers preferences but then to write in the next he's a good man manager. That's impressive.

Right lads, well done on your 3-1 victory there, I see you actually did that thing I talked about publicly for weeks by scoring a second goal and being quicker on the ball but next week can we please go back to Russball and stop all that nonsense? Huh? Yes I've praised you in the media for doing it but no, the real aim here is the slow stuff that we shall forever term Russball.

Never find yourself agreeing with someone who uses the term Russball ffs

You’re a parody now.

Quite a few people parroting this. We don’t even know what we’ll be like in 4 games time let alone of end of the season or next if we do manage to get promoted. Feels odd to just be assuming this because if we do get promoted we’ll have to had sorted out our defence to some extent. As for the rest, you’re actually just repeating a lot of Martin himself. He brings up the frustration of changing when we go ahead a lot. It’s his job to sort it, I think give him the time to fix it. I think people really under estimating how long this season is. Things don’t have to be instant and it’s unrealistic to expect it to be so. Really think we need to come back to this next year at some stage.

Actually, it’s a club issue if/when it happens whereas deliberately taking a position to say ‘I told ya’ about something that hasn’t even begun yet, is a personality issue.

Man, try and enjoy the season rather than worry about a hypothetical one next season. That’s a you issue, not a RM one.

This idea that Martin wasn’t successful at Swansea because he didn’t get them promoted needs to stop. Also we’ve literally tweaked formations/systems this season already so that narrative is wrong as well.

How they getting on this year out of interest?

https://footystats.org/england/championship/xg got it here, it’s per game to be fair. I find the football entertaining, certainly much more entertaining than the last few years. Enjoy watching us dominate the ball rather than watching us set pressing traps all game and hope for quick break aways. That’s subjective to be fair but I find it as equally as surprising anyone is eager for yet another change. After how ever many years of crap, I still can’t fathom why fans think the issue is the manager.

Fwiw as you’ve mentioned stats we have the highest XG in the league. I think also the highest possession. The third most dribbles and third most shots in the league per game. This idea we don’t really create anything and have suddenly stopped our wide players running at people isn’t really true. There’s a few decent stat sites out there, footy stats and who scored for example that give some interesting reading.

It’s at 13.30

I’m yet to see any evidence to suggest this squad can make football be easy but hey, if everyone keeps saying it then it’s probably true.

Yes, I agree. Parts of this squad has found its level. Some are young and will grow but our experienced players have found it’s level and it’s currently 5th with 33 games left. We’re doing okay, things could go either way right now, but certainly no evidence to suggest we should be out of this league with ease. That would suggest we have a high number of PL level players which we know isn’t the case because when we were there we struggled for years.

Football is so easy when you know how. This lad on the internet has cracked it.

True, but other than THB and S Armstrong a while ago there’s nobody in our squad with a proven record of winning games on a regular basis at first team level so this idea that we should be entitled to and expectant of promotion out of this league with ease baffles me. I’m expecting promotion like the rest of you, but with ease? With this squad? Nah.

Yes Pep might be one of the greatest managers of all time and Southgate isn’t. Really proving your simple tag wrong there. Now stop replying to me until you can actually provide evidence of ‘We have a squad that any half decent, tactically aware manager would get us promoted with ease’ because all I see is a group of players that has consistently lost games of football for 3 years and with 4 managers in that time, the only one that has got them winning games on some level is this one. Oh and btw, you saying it over and over again doesn’t make it evidence.

Go on…