Ex Lion Tamer

There's always one team that goes on a horrendous run and finds themselves in the mix. Could be Brentford this time I feel

I might be wrong but I thought we slowed up before the end of the first half against Brighton

I'm also 40 and definitely well past my prime!

Yep, bang on, this guy is legit

I suppose the issue with your third strategy is the blitz wouldn't be as effective in the second half, because the players would already have 45 minutes in their legs

The goal at 0:10

Frankly I can't remember, but I'd say that it's easier to kick a ball coming at you than a stationary one. Plus in open play it's easier to make sure a defender comes for a short pass or make sure players simply don't pass back to the keeper

I can't explain the mechanics but I've definitely seen it several times before where a keeper can't take his own kicks but is otherwise able to play on

Yes he should have

Have to say that 40 is pretty old, I hope he's still got it. He's good with his feet if I remember rightly, so will fit with the style Ralph wants to play

McCarthy would have to go down and obtain the referee's permission for the physio to come on. I'm a bit more inclined to your point about a senior player stepping in, JWP has clearly had a total mare in those few minutes. But I'd also give some benefit of the doubt for decisions made in the heat of the moment. Ultimately, it's on McCarthy for playing on while injured

Are coaching staff allowed out of the technical area?

It was a shocking display. The rational part of me wants to believe that it all evens out over the season but it does very much seem like we are getting a raw deal this season, game after game

Managers have to make a judgement on which players can take a public slating and which can't. If Ralph feels that McCarthy can a) take it, and b) needs a kick up the arse, then it's fair enough. I note that he didn't call out JWP. It did feel like a bit of an emotional reaction though.

Rodgers is overrated IMO. Liverpool went stale with him after a couple of seasons too

What if we sign a keeper in January - won't we start doing quite a lot better points-wise and everything is rosy?

👀

This season was always going to be a slow-and-steady-wins-the-race job, frustrating as it is. We lost a striker who was world class when fit, and invested the money in building squad depth rather than someone of equivalent ability. That means we shouldn't collapse when we get a few injuries (helped by a less hectic fixture schedule), but it does mean we're finding it harder to score goals and get the three-pointers on the board

We have a stronger squad this year with actual depth at full back so *hopefully* we won't implode in the same way. In fact we might get some surprise results when mid table teams have nothing to play for

Exactly

Thanks. Decent enough options then

Can anyone think of any examples of emergency loans in this league and who the teams managed to get in?

Grab an extra goal in the first half and we win this game. That's what's so tantalising - it feels like we're so close to being a good side. With a clinical striker and a better keeper we'd be a mid table team. As it is, it is hard to defend but I've certainly seen far worse Saints sides. Today doesn't bear comparison to the way the relegation side kept panicking and dropping points

Duffy and Bissouma both got let off blatant yellow cards

Maybe we wouldn't be good enough to do that. It's easy to assume the alternative would be better