Disco Stu

Why did he think he was a cunt though? For time wasting like every other goalkeeper that comes to St. Mary's does? He wasn't even the worst we've seen this season. I had sympathy when Wayne Bridge didn't want to shake John Terry's hand. Now that was justified and the reason was clear. He's representing a professional football club in the capacity of first team manager. If you're going to make a statement on the pitch and snub your opponent in front of the cameras, you better make sure it isn't for some petty reason. Strikes me as someone that can't keep a level head.

I think that's very generous. He has the 3rd (some might argue 2nd) best squad in the league sitting in 4th. Of course there are other factors at play and there are certainly facets of his management he's done very well in like man management and implementing his methods for instance (although personally I think his football philosophy is fundamentally flawed). I would argue Leeds started the season equally as unsettled as us (new manager and losing players but, unlike us, without decent fees) so while it's a valid point to make, it isn't true to say we were the only unsettled side going for promotion at the start of the season. You could argue he's settled the ship and he deserves praise for that but I would categorise that as a minimum expectation. Do I see what he's done as an over-achievement? Not really.

Honestly, I hate to see it. Do you ever earn the right to be petulant? If, as some say, you must earn your respect, Russell certainly lost some acting the way he did when he had the chance to show a bit of grace. When teams time waste, the only one to point the finger at is the referee allowing it to happen. Not only that, Goalkeepers have been wasting time against us all season. The only difference compared to when Huddersfield did it for instance is that this time we lost. "Hating to lose" is not justification for refusing to shake your opponents hand. Let's suppose he decided, for some reason, that this was the game he was going to snub the goalkeeper for wasting time and it had nothing to do with anything else. We're not exactly squeaky clean ourselves. I'm sure other managers weren't keen on our cheating, Edozie and Mara constant diving for instance but the other teams managers still led by example and shook their hand's at the end. Lastly, we're operating in a different stratosphere to Millwall financially. Once things have been made fair for clubs off the pitch, then maybe we have a right to complain about shithousery and time wasting on it. It was only last season we encouraged it when we went away to the top sides in the Prem. Until then, we deal with it and realise we started Saturdays game with all the advantages. Russell needs to get his head out his arse.

Oh dear. Top 2 looking beyond reach now. Who has confidence this team will turn up for the play-offs?

"He hits it too clean" 🙃

Good team. Concerning regarding Downes though.

Their two away games are derbies so I don't see them as foregone conclusions. Ultimately though, we can't afford any more defeats if we want to leave it to the last game of the season which probably isn't realistic.

He reverted back to KWP and Manning pushing high and narrow, leaving Rothwell totally exposed as it he isn't a DM that can sweep up and cover the spaces. Without Downes, leaving Stephens back with Bednarek and Hardwood-Bellis when out of possession kept us pretty solid against West Brom. Reverting back to the system that didn't work against Bristol City is what lost us the game today. Leaving such talent and experience on the bench struck me as arrogant. Aribo and Brooks especially were both dominant last game so to keep them on the bench was an odd decision. It was like the second half against West Brom didn't happen. We were playing strong opposition today that are in potent form since their January arrivals. You play your strongest players in top of table clashes.

That Liverpool game is a pain in the arse.

Pretty damaging that. Russell really dropped a bollock with that lineup. That Rothwell miss at the start was a pivotal moment. Really poor today and Hull asbolutely deserved winners. So disappointing, it feels like Russell has thrown the match.

That free-kick was a joke.

Not even Che thought he was going to score with that shot.

Noticed a lot of players slipping tonight. KWP looks in a lot of pain.

Well and truly outplayed. Where's Aribo? Where's Brooks? And why have we reverted back to the system that failed against Bristol? Without Downes, Stephens providing extra cover without the ball seemed the next best thing. We're getting ripped to shreds again tonight. We'll be playing this lot in the playoffs and I'm not looking forward to it.

Crap from Russell tonight. That lineup shows lessons not learned.

This has been really poor.

He found the solution against West Brom ffs. Why switch back?

Rothwell doesn't shoot with his left foot and now we're 0-1 down. FFS.

Should have been out of sight first half hour but I'm pleased we've kept ourselves in the the driving seat for second. We looked shaky again without Downes but it was a deserved win in the end. Two good goals and and a clean sheet so got to be happy with that!

No Downes no party.

"Leaking". Must have pressed space before the N and it corrected to leaky. I wasn't going to bother correcting it because I didn't think it was that hard to decipher but I'll edit it just for you 😘

Sorting out the defending should be the priority. We can't keep leaking goals if we want to stay in the race for top 2. Clean sheet please!

This will hurt the goal difference. Very concerning performance. Reminiscent of Prem Southampton without Romeu. We don't function without Downes and it was a mistake to not sign an adequate backup. If £12m Charles can't do it, it was a poor use of resources.

Game over. We never turned up.

Not sure if reliable or if already mentioned but better Juventus than Forest. We stand a better chance of getting him back!