Fabrice29

Selles comments on Lavia resonated with me during that second half showing. Probably should/could have called out JWP as well. In games like that, especially the second half, you absolutely need one of your midfielders to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and get you some possession. Not helped by the attacking players obviously but both of those so sloppy on the ball and if you want to play for a top team then you need to show you can wrestle control of games back.

I’d be surprised if any/many of those leave. Diallo and Bednarek might find suitors but wages and prices are going to be a problem if we go down. It’s a bit of a myth that going down is a chance to completely reset personnel. Mentality changes should be the focus.

He’s leaving whatever happens and it’s been planned for a while.

This attitude is absolutely mental. Season isn’t a write off firstly, however bad it is. Secondly I don’t think throwing more inexperience into the team would be particularly helpful to the team. Thirdly anyone who watched yesterday would have seen a group under pressure at times, typified by some good last ditch defending, which is great for this groups learning but their results in the JPT (or whatever it is) show there is a level they have yet to reach. The exciting thing about the group for me is their is clearly of plenty of match winners in it, Dibling, Doyle and Ballard have all stepped up at times but yesterday showed periods where they were quiet and ineffective (Ballard particularly had to be moved wide to get him in the game) and at first team level that means they would be passengers for long periods, and that’s unfair on them in any situation let alone a relegation battle.

Who is starting the why aren't DCC and Orisic playing thread then? Or is that answered now?

The point I’m making is it doesn’t matter. The fundamental issues will still be the same until we have a manager who focuses on our patterns of play with the ball, which we haven’t had for a long time. Then you’ll need a squad who can cope with that, which we haven’t got. I quite liked the wing backs tbh. I think our best attacking wide players are Perraud and KWP so any excuse to get them higher works for me but we’ll have the same issues. They go beyond who we pick and the formation. Our best chance of getting out of this is picking up points against the better teams so I can see the logic from Selles in going back to what everyone knows and hopefully he sticks to a core group of players rather than changing every couple of games under the guise of resetting things every time. Who that core group is? Doesn’t matter.

Christ, Selles pinning up a bit of paper before the game with a 433 formation isn't the magic formula that will change everything. Sulemana and Edozie aren't suddenly going to whizz past players and stick the ball on a plate for a striker or shots into the top corner just because they've been told to play wide. JWP, Alcarez and Lavia aren't suddenly going to be breaking down defences with ease just because of how they are told to play in whatever variation of a 3 man midfield you would like. That's the same 3 who completely got the run around by 10 man Wolves by the way. Our back four isn't suddenly going to be immune to making mistakes just because the people around them are in different positions.

We've lost a stupid amount of games by 1 goal, lots 1-0 and some of those to the team 19th at the time, we've probably played various different set ups and players in each of them. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with how we're setting up, whatever formation or combination anyone comes up with will do okay one week and collapse the next, there is something fundamentally wrong with the ability and mentality in the squad however. As a side issue to this, I genuinely believe these next few games are a chance for us to pick up points. Our squad completely melts when playing anyone who puts the onus on us to break them down but seems to relish playing against teams who are proactive. Leicester, United, Spurs will all have to be proactive against us, I've no doubt we'll play better in these games than the Brentford game especially, whether or not we pick up wins is up in the air because clearly we're playing some quality players who can take the game away at any time, but we'll definitely up our game in these games and almost certainly melt in the less challenging games.

The idea that we've got a "best 11" is bizarre. Each week people come on here saying who should be picked, the formation etc, but it's all bollocks. There's no magic formula that means we suddenly click, there's nobody in our squad that hasn't been given a chance and that is being left out disgracefully, our whole squad is much of a muchness and 3 managers now are not picking the same players because of some conspiracy or trying to be clever or just to annoy you, it's because that's our squad and they have all made mistakes at the back and been pretty toothless going forward.

Bednarek and Bazunu both poor for the goal but bigger issue is once again creating and scoring from open play, that's what will cost us this season, especially against teams we have to break down. Mistakes at the back become bigger from the pressure built up by lack of quality at the other end. Would start Mara going forward as at least he's improved his hold up play lately. Get Sulemanu in the No 10 role instead.

This is evidently much nearer the truth rather than any conspiracy theory. DCC doesn't quite suite the high press system and isn't quite good enough on the ball to compensate. I suggested this at the start of January and got ridiculed . I feel he was bought in last minute as they hoped he could play a Vestegaard type role on the ball in a 3 but it's never quite clicked. Glimmers of hope when we retreated a little into a mid/lower block because he reads the game well but any manager tactically setting up to be a high pressing team will naturally look at the fact that for all their faults Bednarek, Salisu and ABK all statistically intercept much more than DCC because they are brave. I remember Ralph talking about younger defenders being easier to mould and get to go out their comfort zone than experienced ones and you can see that in our CB's. And Lyanco is just naturally a nutter. As for Orsic, find the fascination to get him into the team a bit odd bearing in mind that every time he has played he's barely kicked the ball and that's not an exaggeration by the way. I'm well aware the argument is to give him more chances but he's been out of his depth physically, technically and mentally every time he's played. Newcastle and Blackpool games he's been so off the boil it wouldn't do him, the team or any manager under pressure to get results any good continuing to play him. Let him get up to speed in training, if he can.

100%. We spent years buying players for a manager who prioritised off the ball qualities and it shows.

Identity back/Jones gone and all that bollocks but the reality is this group of players relish a challenge but absolutely bottle it when the onus is on them. Some favourable games coming up when we can continue to be reactive and will play proactive teams.

You might be right, maybe we will be one of them but this idea that we’re already down is wrong, it’s bullshit, it’s simply not true. Again, lots of talk about what we need, and how we get there, but there is at the very least 3 other teams in a very similar situation. We might be the worst team in this league but with 16 games to go, there’s no way we should be sticking our hand up and saying ‘don’t worry about us guys, we’re done, you guys fight it out’. Simply writing off the idea that we can get 5 more points than the others is madness. The idea that Leeds, Everton and Bournemouth are all picking up 36 points is only slightly less crazy than us.

What we actually need is 1 more point than 3 others. 5 more points than Leeds for example over the next 16 games. You’re just assuming everyone else is getting to your magical 36 points. That involves Leeds getting 17 points or Everton or Bournemouth getting 18 more points. We’ve won the same amount of games than all of them this season. What, which I think my post explains, I find baffling is the idea that we’re already down. Not that we will go down, like I said, maybe we’re most likely to go down, but the idea that we just write this season off with 16 games to go is baffling.

I’m sorry but I don’t buy this at all. We’re 5 points off safety right now. If you want proof that teams in this league are utterly terrible then its being 5 points off safety despite having a goalkeeper who doesn’t save anything, strikers who don’t score goals, defenders unable to stop or defend crosses and a midfield that is dominated even when with a man advantage. We have 16 games remaining. That’s double what we just endured with Jones. Maybe we’re not good enough, maybe we will go down anyway, but it’s absolute bollocks that we’re already down and if Marsch does give us some organisation and the young players some structure and guidance then we have real chance of getting out of this. Seasons are decided with how you finish them, that goes for Champions and relegation. The points needed this season to stay up will be less than other seasons and somehow despite being utterly guff all season we’re still a small well timed run away from getting out of trouble. It’s baffling that people are just writing off 16 games as if they don’t have to sit through watching it every week and we’re planning for next year. If we go down this year, it’s not going to be some heroic end of the season and we all come out of it inspired by the future of the young players and manager, it’ll be a gruelling end to the season and we’ll look back on it as a chance missed because anyone who stays up over us, will be a piss poor side. Obviously that might happen of course, and yeah we look the most likely to go down right now, but 5 points off, 16 games to go, fuck this idea that we’re already down and certainly fuck this idea that we all just sit through these next 16 games looking for inspiration for next season.

I very much doubt they sit around and go ‘right, I chose the last one so you choose this one’. Especially as Semmens is off in the summer. Think it’s simply a case of a manager who they’ve admired previously being available. (And yes, contrary to popular belief, data/recruitment analysts who were at the club previously can admire the same people that Ankerson and his team admire too)

That Gnonto video getting praise is funny. It’s just someone being nice, hardly ground breaking stuff. The more interesting thing is why it took him so long to play the kid. Even Italy called him up before Leeds. Also, posts about how his credibility will help us if we’re in the Championship are deluded. He’s got 16 league games in charge plus cup games and we’re 4 points off safety. If we’re in the Championship next season then that’s double the amount of dross we’ve just been through with Jones and Marsch will have lost a lot of credibility with us, media and players. Anyway… appointment seems fine, it will suit the players better in the short term and hopefully we can gather some momentum at the most important part of the season. I think people under estimate how long we have left.

Throwback in style and going back to being a reactive team will suit the players. Although likely to be less DCC and Onauchu and more Bednarek, Moi and Che so good luck stomaching that. Do enjoy reading the odd ‘good for the Championship’ comment as if he gets anywhere near the start of next season if we’re relegated. This toxic fan base just saw off one guy after 8 games, nobody is surviving 16 if we’re down.

Shocked to hear Shearer is coming out with cliche nonsense that he has absolutely no evidence, knowledge or basis to back up. Not sure how in way what so ever a stat can represent how someone feels. Actually am shocked to hear anyone finds it interesting.

25/1 for the guy who has been suggested by the poster on this forum who called the Jones appointment way before anyone thought of it seems to be worth a fiver. Would he want it before the summer though?

This is correct and has been for a long time. Find it a little strange that Jones get's booed off the pitch today but the players, who once again absolutely bottled it, got a clap from parts of the ground whilst walking around. Maybe he goes this weekend, maybe it's the right decision but experienced players going missing and shitting themselves in big moments is costing us. JWP especially should be running the game against 10 men but was beaten to everything in midfield.

I’m not saying it’s a bad performance 😂 I’m saying that idea of just playing like that again is one I don’t think will go down well on Saturday. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the other 11 players on the pitch play a massive part in our performances and perception of performances. We have a squad that until this January was recruited for a manager who primarily focused on how we would set up without the ball. It makes us a very reactive team so when teams come to St Mary’s and put the onus on us, we struggle. Hopefully the new January signings help with that but let’s be honest, if we set up on Saturday to surrender the ball to Wolves, like we rightly did against City, it will take a maximum of 7 minutes before people are screaming to get stuck in, attack and push up. I just find it funny people seem to see the City game as a blueprint for going forward because they won’t stand for it against anyone else.

28% possession against City. Let’s see if people really want to see that performance again on Saturday because my hunch is people will not have the patience they had that night.

Those stats you’ve quoted don’t show how well Jones did at improving the team defensively. You’ll need to look into how they were doing before he went back to Luton and how much he improved them. Not compare them to other teams in the league. You want to see the improvement the manager can have on a specific group of players he’s working with and presumably want to see how well he did that immediately. He also mentioned set plays. I’ve no idea how those statistics stand up by the way but the ones you’ve quoted won’t be the ones he would have looked at if he was looking to find someone who was good at improving teams defensively.