Disco Stu

The way I see it, Russell Martin is a "philosophy" manager. Kieran McKenna is a "pragmatism" manager. One is about producing football in ones own image and the other is about trying to get the best out of what's at your disposal even if it means straying from your ideals. That's not to say Russell is incapable of showing any pragmatism or McKenna doesn't have his own ideals. All the best managers are a hybrid of the two as you need an element of identity in order for everyone in the team to know their roles. That being said, I would put Russell at the extreme end of the philosophy spectrum. My issue isn't even about having more or less possession. Too often, we've looked like a team holding possession for possessions sake without showing enough attacking intent or moving the ball at any tempo to stretch play. We dominate possession whilst conceding more shots so it doesn't seem to help our attacking play or our defensive play. Our opponents this season have been noticeably faster and more direct on the ball compared to us. Forest being a great example of having 35% possession but having 23 shots to our 5 showing possession really doesn't matter at least in isolation. In fact, we've often looked better when we have deviated from our possession obsessed style and I wish Russell would do it more often.

That's what they've identified as the the best chance to grind out results against opponents so far this season sure. They have had an especially tough set of opening fixtures. That said, it's not always how they set up last season. They played that way to get results against the likes of us and Leicester, but they averaged 53% possession last season which is more than the likes of Norwich, West Brom and Middlesbrough suggesting they tried to dictate the game when they could but were equally happy to sit in on the counter when necessary. Ipswich games such as Middlesbrough, Norwich and even Leeds are good examples where they had 60% possession and nearly double the shots on goal. That pragmatism from McKenna is a huge factor in how they earned double promotion.

First couple of minutes about Russell Martin for anyone interested. Say what you like about Alex Crook but I think he's right about one thing. Ipswich will change the way they play dependant on the opponent to grind out results. We will play Russell's way regardless of whether it gets results.

Agreed. Likewise, it's equally unhelpful to speculate about ABK's character when we don't know all the facts. The only thing we do know is he's got the talent. Without knowing any more, the desired scenario should be that he is genuinely determined to help us this season and integrate himself back into the team. Let's hope that is the case and he earns an opportunity.

Presumably, Hoffenheim identified an issue, possibly something that will recur and may require surgery. Medicals are risk assessments so the idea he can play 30 minutes doesn't prove Hoffenhiem were wrong. We don't know the facts. Lets just hope that whilst he's here, our best centre back will earn Russell's favour and get back into the team.

I'm still of the opinion we need an up front pairing rather than putting Archer in the middle on his own. If we wanted to play a lone striker, we should have signed a genuine CF. Archer thrives more when he plays off another striker. He played off McBurnie last season and Akpom the year before that. It's unreasonable to expect him to hold the ball up the way Adams could. His strength supposedly lies in his finishing. Perhaps he can form a partnership with Brereton-Diaz?

That's the famed "Goodison Park factor" 😂

Cardiff wasn't a good day for our defenders especially given the quality of opposition. Wood looks indecisive on the ball and commits far too many fouls. He's probably our least mobile defender too. Edwards put in stronger performances in pre-season and proved he could spot a pass although I can't see either one putting much pressure on Bednarek, THB or Stephens this season. Shame ABK is out of the picture.

I would understand if he played Edwards but Wood is yet to have a good game even in pre-season. Wood didn't seem like the risk averse option to me.

He thought Nathan Wood would do a better job than Armel Bella-Kotchap? Based on performances I've seen so far, Wood should be behind Bella-Kotchap and Edwards.

If only one of those six took one on Saturday 😂

He certainly was.

He always was. It's just he's been anonymous.

Need Harwood-Bellis to make a good account of himself to keep Stephens out.

No point with Armstrong as our number 9. No idea what the plan is beyond "keep the ball".

😂

Going back at every opportunity

Three of those games were against Man City, Man United and Arsenal. We also managed 5 goals. There were things to be positive about. I've never been convinced by Martin. I'm one of those of the opinion we got promotion in spite of him not because of him. I haven't been calling for his head yet but everything I've seen so far suggests he can't organise a defense and his in-game management is poor in regards to the quadruple substitution this week and essentially the same with quick fire double subs in previous weeks. If we end the month on 0 points, then I'll be Martin out. Ipswich, with a tougher start, have made a much better account of themselves so far and I don't think it's because they have a better squad. I think they have a much better manager. It does make a difference.

Disastrous day so far.

He must be wondering what he's got himself into.

I'd add Sugawara and Bella-Kotchap to that. Bednarek is adequate for bottom half too I think. Problem is none of our strikers seem good enough although I'm not sure they're being utlised optimally either.

What's up with these triple and quadruple subs we've been making? It's too much change in one go. We lose cohesion every time we do it.

I'm just pleased Russell can now save face fielding a team without Stephens. His hand needed forcing as his pride would never let him do it otherwise. Reminiscent of the Stephens injury last season.

That wasn't a problem exclusive to the Brentford game. We've started every game with BBD wide left and Armstrong wide right without a focal point. I'm hopeful we'll start with Archer in the middle today.

Presumably that's a 4-3-3 with two wingers providing the width so we end up with 1 in the middle. If we wanted to do that, we would have signed a CF. We have nobody that's successfully played as a lone CF. Archer, BBD and Armstrong all thrive playing off somebody else. Ross Stewart is not somebody we can rely on this season after such a long outlay (plus he's never played at this level). I'm interested to know what formation Russell switched to when he switched to a back 4 against Brentford. Dibling and Fernandes seemed to be providing a lot of the wide support for our attacking fullbacks. It looked like a front two of Archer and BBD to me then.