Chez

is the first 15 this season better than the last 15 of last season? I don't know. But that seems like a reasonable thing to compare.

Agreed. It's bizarre how bad we are in second halves. That wasn't the case yesterday. We continued to play quite well, but that's unusual. I wonder if there is now an awareness at the club of this second half drop in standards and all the points dropped?

Yep, hacking it away/into the corners creates a panic and simply turns over possession. We should be keeping the ball, be composed, pass it and make them chase, but then again, JWP tried to keep the ball, passing it rather than hacking it down the line...and that was exactly what killed us. Not sure what the right tactic is, but we certainly are not the best at seeing a game out and burning ten minutes without offering much in the way of chances.

We ain't very good, and we lose a lot of games, but still better to watch than Puel's teams. That said, despite the budget constraints, there is no reason why we shouldn't want more. Being better than Puel should not be the limits to our aspirations. Lots of managers out there. Hope we are looking at a few and at least wondering if they might improve us if we make a change.

don't get me wrong, I am not defending Ralph, I am just saying that football managers are not conductors of a game. Their influence on proceeding is limited. Every goal and result is not entirely down to a manager. Tactics, instructions and subs have a bearing, but it is players that play the game. Are we too nice? McCarthy time wastes, we have defenders that foul and midfielders that take tactical yellows and forwards that make the most of physical contact. What are they not doing that you'd like to see more of?

Up the Sulphurites. With a bit of luck Town will get the chance to beat them twice a season from next season. Would have loved have been in Milton end cheering them onto a last minute victory, but was at the game at St Marys.

I should add that our players know how to time waste, earn cheap fouls, take the ball the corner flag etc. What they don't seem to be able to do at the death is keep the ball and go nowhere like they seem more than capable of at all other times during a game.

other than subs, not sure any manager can dictate what happens in the dying moments. By and large, a managers power to dictate what happens on the pitch is overestimated. All the handwaving and shouting is a load of bollocks, it's just pantomime that has given TV companies something extra to put on screen and help earn managers parity with player wages.

I should point out, he wasn't alone in making poor decisions near the end of the game. Livramento allowed the ball to run across him, thinking he had the pace to outrun his opponent, he didn't and fouled the guy giving them a great chance to cross int the box. Ely left with nowhere to go or pass to (Lyanco didnt help him- he was the closest man for some reason) when headed to the corner flag, losing the ball and leaving us exposed to the break. Lyanco shanking a hacked clearance...

Broja can play up top on his own, and maybe Tella and Redmond out wide. 4-3-3 with flying fullbacks. Diallo or S Armstrong in that middle. It's an option and Ralph has been willing to move away from 4-2-2-2 (I still have no idea how this works in practice - its a 4-4-2 isn't it?), so might happen.

yep, the time has come for us to start deploying Sunday league half time rituals. We can't really do any worse than we are currently.

he didn't really do anything after the injury occurred, so probably not much. Should have been subbed though.

maybe in the days prior to eh pass back rue change, but you can't play a keeper that cant kick ball due to injury these days. No chance. Madness.

terrible ball. Terrible decision. Can see what he was thinking, (and trying to keep the ball is no bad thing) but it was an error. I put that down to tiredness. Still bloody annoying though. Killed us.

selling Ings was a no brainer for the football business. Our financial model does not permit us to allow good players to walk for frees. Got to spend that money wisely though, and try to get maybe three out of four transfers right. Tough ask. I wonder what the league average is (almost impossible to calculate I suppose) in terms of `transfer success'.

the obvious alternative is to change formation and play three in the middle. Whether that improves results I don't know, but it would mean less space for JWP and Romeu to cover, so maybe less tiredness.

Hell yes. £46 for my match day ticket. Jesus that feels a lot to watch Saints vs Brighton. This, along with results, is why they don't sell out. Fans come and go, but a hell of a lot of regular fans have given up simply because the price is too high.

got to ask, could a new manager get more out of the players available to him and could a new manager identify and bring better players to the club using the same budget available. Are players actually underperforming or this is their level? Are tactics undermining results or covering up a lack of quality? Has the manager been responsible for bringing any of the players in? How much input from him? Where are the hidden gems from Germany?

what injury does Forster have by the way?

good point. The one thing you could say is that perhaps he was just so annoyed to miss out on the win that he lost his head. The interviews come so soon after the final whistle, he maybe hadn't composed himself. Not good though.

Heaton. It's a while since I heard his name. Isn't he 35+? Doesn't feel like our kind of signing. Interesting shout though.

it happened when he made the save stopping Maupay scoring. Not quite sure how close to the end that was. He didn't take a goal kick or hit long not long after - so it was obvious he had an issue. Whether management asked hi if he was OK or not I don't know. If they didn't its on them, if they did then its on McCarthy.

unless Chelsea's youth system ramp up over that period hasn't completely swept up all the talent.

was that the 0-5 game at home in the FA Cup? One of the worst top flight sides we have ever put out: Lewis Martina Stephens Gardo McQueen Hoj Reed Clasie Sims Long Isgrove Lewis looked massively out of his depth, but t was four years a ago, so hopefully he has matured. He'll get a bit more protection, but the Arsenal side will be better too.

Maybe Broja. The winner in the Leeds game, when we had lost our way a bit and the goal yesterday, that little touch of class to go past the defender (kind of like Ings used to do) give me hope that we can maybe score against the run of play at least. He caused Liverpool defenders a few issues too, so we could perhaps be a little more compact at the back and in midfield (more reserved possibly) and use him Tella and Redmond to hit teams on the break.