Ex Lion Tamer

Martin has us on an 18 game by picking the "gaffer's boys" rather than the best players. OR I think he wants Stephens' leadership qualities in the team but agree the it isn't working

To be honest I think Martin's comments were a bit disrespectful, but respect has to be earned. We need to be real about the fact that regardless of party leanings, Sunak has been degrading the role of PM and politics just like Johnson. The above is just the most obvious example. Here's some more: https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2023/12/19/sunak-may-have-undermined-trust-with-claims-to-have-reduced-debt--watchdog/ https://fullfact.org/news/claire-coutinho-labour-meat-tax/ https://news.sky.com/story/tories-urged-to-delete-social-media-labour-attack-post-featuring-swearing-bbc-newsreader-13025141

That goal saving challenge at the back was a fantastic moment. I thought Edwards defended pretty well against him at times though

Tasty: I do think those away games we have left against the big teams will be tricky. I'd back us to get draws in some of them though and hold our ground

Stephens shouldn't be playing full back. I will die on the hill

It may have created an opportunity that time but if you keep kicking it long then most of the time it will come straight back, pinning us down in our own half. What he should have done with hindsight is pass to his full back. It was that simple

Not wanting to sugar coat it too much as it was pretty awful, but the calculation is that playing out from the back gains us more goals than it concedes, even if it does look really stupid when it goes wrong

Watch Adams' movement for the goal, terrific stuff https://x.com/SaintsExtra/status/1740816452402209157?s=20

I don't think Baz lets that goal in if we don't have the two goal cushion

We've created a ton of chances in that first half. The goal will come. There may have been periods of "walking football" but they've generally been followed by a chance. Slow, slow, fast. Ready to pounce

But if we'd sacked him when they said we should, he would never have had the chance to turn it around

I haven't particularly paid attention to this tactic with our full backs but my general understanding has always been that a narrow defence is the best way to park the bus and stop goals? Let the opposition have the flanks where they can't score and then deal with anything that comes into the centre

In the spirit of bringing ourselves back down to earth after a great win, there's three issues that I am worried about: 1) jack Stephens should not be playing at fullback 2) we will not find things as easy when teams come to defend against us. We may well find ourselves playing "sideways football" as we struggle to break teams down 3) related to that, we still need a clinical "fox in the box" striker to break the deadlock against tough teams

It was never about defending him to the hilt. No one can have known with certainty that he would have been a success, just as no one could have known he would be a failure. The point is that things can change in football and unless the circumstances are extreme, you can't judge a manager after 8 games or whatever it was. It's about understanding that football is unpredictable and that we need to have some humility about our understanding of it

Interesting figures. Doesn't it say that we are actually almost exactly hitting our xg? Which surprises me as I thought we were lacking a clinical striker and not taking our chances. Turns out we're converting averagely well

Championship is his level IMO. Good to see him finding some form

Ipswich are being opened up by Leicester at will. I don't think they are getting automatic promotion

Credit to whoever played in Fraser though

In all seriousness, there won't be too many teams that come to play like Swansea did. We can expect other opponents to park the bus, forcing us into Russ' preferred crab-style football

Ipswich are shipping goals now. 19 in the last 12. The wobble is on (cue victory over Leicester)

Was that the usual commentator on Saints player? Seemed like he'd been at the sherry with his comments on goals one and three. Clockwork mouse wtf

Not sure how long we can keep starting him on the bench

Bit of a sentimental pick that I think

Honestly, Mara has got something if we persist