Patches O Houlihan

For the last 25 minutes of the match this was pretty much the pattern. Coventry were pinned in. Fellows and Scienza and sometimes Manning feeding from the wings. Archer and Arma looking for scraps. THB recycling the ball, feeding Fellows and Azaz and then charging into the box if a header was on. There was no real space for intricate passes because Coventry were so defensive. Another creative player in the THB spot would arguably tread on the toes of Azaz and Fellows. In my opinion we were better to have that physical aerial presence able to pop into the box and then return to recycling and defensive/turn over duties. Does Oriel, Fraser, Bragg, Aribo, or Robinson do that any better? Maybe Robinson does, but he would have to settle into the game and there are 20 mins left. Whilst he can head the ball and does have some presence, probably not as much as THB. Please give me your reasoned argument for why this is clearly wrong "playing 3 at the back", assuming that Jander needed to be subbed for a fitness reason.

Did it coincide with Welington getting fouled and not getting it given - then chasing back, making a fair (ish) tackle and giving away a foul? If so maybe he just lost a little confidence to play that far forward when he's not quite up to match sharpness after injury and playing on the wrong side?

You wanted him to hide his Wood. Wood up front - a tactic likely to work in Coventry I've heard

So you'd sub off THB (on a yellow) and loose his aerial threat, combatively and occasional ability to play a good forward ball in exchange for: Aribo to phone it in Fraser to turn and play it backwards Romeu to try to regain match fitness There might have been a temptation to bring Robinson on, but we've seen endlessly this season that bring on a whole bench full of second tier attackers does nothing for us. We'd already brought on Fellows and Archer who didn't contribute much. They are down to 10 men, they are going to pack the box and defend. We are mostly likely to score from a corner or Scienza being bulldozed over again and a free kick sent in for one of our big solid headers of the ball (that will be the CBs then)

Also Jander has looked tired and a little off it recently, and may be carrying an injury we don't know about

I was got quite frustrated with some of Downes' short sighted passing when Scienza or Azaz was free

Archer came on (and was useless). Fellows came on and hoofed it up into the air for their keeper and CBs Who on the bench would have been more likely to score a goal in a packed box than Wood/Quashie/THB? Where is that game changing sub, when actually the most threat we showed was from the CBs at set pieces, including our only goal??!! #dinloweb

Who on the bench who didn't come on would have improved the team?! Robinson maybe? But who are you taking off? Azaz, Scienza? THB when he is playing as our threat in the box? Every game under Tonda the game has gone more downhill the more subs are brought on. #dinloweb

We swapped Jander for Archer, who then played as a striker. It was 2 CBs and THB playing in midfield otherwise it would have been just Downes on his tod in the middle. Some of our fans calling out Wood for being thick as mince, but we have plenty of 'seasoned football experts' who cannot see even the most simple of tactical changes and adjustments. #dinloweb

Maybe that's why we "played a back 5" second half - actually it was Wood and Quashie at the back - THB played midfield and got into the box for crosses. Remember we are a team of midgets. We cannot afford to take off our tall, solid good headers of the ball when we know they will be packing their box to defend and every shot from a twinkle toes will have to go through a mass of bodies.

Who the f..k are these one eyed muppets on comms?!!

Our front four; Arma, Scienza, Azaz, Fellows. That has to be one of the strongest attacking groups in the league right now, possibly in the last few years if they can keep the pace of the last seven games. There is a massive drop off currently behind these guys. The more they tire, and the more of them you take off, the less of a threat we present, and the more pressure gets put on the defence. I think it's that simple. If you ask Scienza and Fellows to pace themselves for a whole match I don't think you see the first half play we've been seeing.

I think when we need to take Scienza and another attacker off we need to be able to switch to a different formation that accepts that we will play in a different style. Arma's deep runs to collect the ball and set up breaks were clearly communicated to WBA players at half time. Besides Fellows and Scienza being heavily marked, there seemed to always be someone muscling Arma from behind as he dropped back for the ball in the second half. Cam Archer hasn't learned to do the Arma drop deep yet, and is generally not as good at pressing or reading back passes to put pressure on their defence. We should stick with Robinson, but there is clearly a drop off in quality when he comes on which is fair enough being in mind his age/experience/ current value. Hopefully in a week or two with a couple of key players returning we could have a few more options First half same as usual: Baz THB. Wood Stephens/Quashie Fellows Downes Jander Manning Azaz Scienza Arma From 65 mins after establishing a lead start moving towards this: Baz THB Wood Stephens/Quashie Mads Downes Jander. Welington Charles Archer Stewart Also: Robinson, Romeu, Matski, Bragg, New Striker in Jan This formation has our two more defensive minded FBs, plus a different type of attack to keep their defenders thinking, and a more solid central midfield. Of course we wouldn't always finish the game like this, they'd be variations. But you'd like to hope we could keep Ross fit if he's only playing 25-30 mins per match. Jander and Charles are capable of playing clever through balls for Archer who can play off the shoulder effectively. THB would need to continue to roam forward to offer support, and has been known to play a good long ball forward for Stewart. Wellington and Mads are both much better at stopping crosses coming in. Whilst I could see a benefit in going 433 I suspect we'd end up confusing our centre backs more than shoring things up.

Can I ask which app you use?

Leo's free kick record in 2025 is better than Manning's never mind Armas. Someone at the club needs to go and look at his history or maybe just have a chat with him!

If Jelert goes then maybe a PL loan of an attacking right wing back so that Fellows could be AMR cover and can also get a break from pegging it up and down our right wing. Have a look for a striker but keep our powder dry if there isn't a clear win (assuming Ross is back properly fit) If he isn't then maybe loan a target man so we can keep opponents guessing in crucial end of season games or in the playoffs. In the last week of the transfer window get an answer from Ramsdale out as to whether he would come back if we were PL again based on the latest circumstances. If not then definitely get a keeper. See if there are any PL loan keepers available.

Big Vesty looks ruined 😁😁😁

Reminiscent of our Swiss nipper at Man U...

To the tune of Rio by Duran Duran. His name is Leo - and he’s dancing past your man He’ll twist, and turn, and shoot - and take apart your plan And when he plays, he’ll really show the Saints - ‘we can’ Leo Leo, celebrate with the Northam Stand [repeat] Note: Northam can be swapped for which ever stand the singer is sat in, or we can use Away when we're not at home

I guarantee you that at least one of the four will be 😉

That was only the second game they have lost at The Valley in 2025. We had only seen that many home wins in the same period. I suspect that might have an influence on the halftime vibe 😉

Playing around at the back to beat the press was the key to most of the goals - Jander's particularly. Clearly there is some residual memory of Russball for our defensive unit, and he did get them to be on average pretty good at that playing style in the Championship. The problem was when it didn't go well. What makes it better than under Russ is that the players now seem to be allowed to play it long, or chip it forward if they feel under pressure and want to play it safe - it felt like they knew they would get a bollocking for doing that under Russ. It's not going to be very helpful against teams that will play a low block against us - as most teams in the league now will after that performance. After a dispiriting 13 minutes with so many gilt edged chances missed that was a lovely 20 minute spell of total football. More please.

26 minute interview with Leo by the club. Clearly they are trying to get onside with the fans. But at the same time this is a great story. Following Saints can grind you down, but hearing about the soap opera that has been his life might remind you that there are lots of reasons why we follow this club - not just for wins. Hearing the story in detail explains why we see him play how he does on the pitch. I'm hoping that his positive energy, and Oriel's steadying professional outlook will combine to improve the atmosphere in the dressing room. We have a few talented players. It would be crap if we ended up losing them before we had seen them shine properly. I've been a fan since the first time we were linked and I watched one of his videos. He will get bought by West Ham/Wolves/Leicester/Leeds at the end of the season unless we get promoted. So we ought to enjoy him while he is here. COYR

Maybe that's the plan?! They'll keep Tonda until he loses two consecutive matches. Then appoint Lallana as interim to get the new manager bounce again. We'll keep working through the staff roster, until we get to Doris the tea lady who it turns out is a rockstar at Football Manager.