Fabrice Fernandes no.1 fan

Forgot Aribo even played for us, how has the signing gone quite that badly!

Lavia sitting, with the centre backs and the full back from whichever side we're not attacking down sitting a little bit to try and restrict a counter. Simple really in terms of tactics, but still something we somehow haven't seen all season

So you'd rather Nathan Jones got to pick the players who try and keep us up, than a full team of analysts and scouts?

What absolutely baffles me is how many times we have played an offside trap at these sorts of free-kicks this season, and had it very marginally either go for or against us, but persisted. It doesn't seem to be an effective way of defending, we don't clear the ball we just hope that everyone is offside and that our defence (who have been inept all year) suddenly learn to form a cohesive line. The best way to defend that sort of free kick is to try and have DCC be the man who gets his head to the ball, and get it clear, by actually defending the cross. Overall its shit. We're playing a tactic that doesn't work, with players who aren't good enough, and exposing an already weak goalkeeper in the process.

I'm taking this far too seriously but I've also thought about how I'd fit them in the team to make us better. Worrying how easy it is to improve areas of our team! I'd take Kenwyne Jones, Paul Jones and (finally living up to my username) the mighty Fabrice Fernandes. Our midfield, when set up as a three with JWP and Lavia sitting and Alcaraz pushing on should be good enough to do a job, and our back 4 doesn't look so bad with a keeper behind to organise them and save some shots. We obviously need actual goals so I'd play with KWP and Perraud overlapping (knowing JWP and Lavia are helping cover) and Sulemana and Fernandes both cutting in. Use Jones as a leggy target man up top who can actually finish and we might get the ball into the box and create things from open play. Jones KWP-ABK-Bednarek-Perraud JWP-Lavia-Alcaraz Fernandes-Jones-Sulemana. Other option is the obvious choices of Olivier Bernard, Quashie and Redknapp...

I'd give Livramento a few weeks and a B team game. He isn't going to keep us up but will rip up the championship if we can keep him (and KWP will probably go) so I'd focus on his long term recovery now.

Didn't realise Rendell was so young (google says 21). We've had a couple of other keepers around the squad this year with much more experience and she's kept them out of the first 11. Our scouting a couple of years back seems to have been very impressive with those two, Kendall, Griffiths and Collett.

Also worth noting that Crouch scored in his second appearance for us (both of the bench) and his goals per game has only really been bettered by Ings since we've been back in the PL. A striker like 04/05 Crouch would be keeping us up this season easily.

It does seem so without an injury to another defender. Selles seems to be picking one full-back and one centre back on the bench, so whoever out of KWP, Perraud and AMN isn't starting I would expect to see on the bench, and not Bree

Most commonly the vertical spaces along the pitch between an outside and inside defender, so between the full back and centre back in a back 4, and the wide and middle centre back in a back 3. Think where Long used to make most of his runs (although yes he was mostly offside) and Broja last season. A ball into the channels is quite a common term for a through ball into that space, where a striker is making their run.

People can analyse football if they particularly want to, you can just not engage with that side of things. Nothing wrong with turning a game on, watching it and then turning it off, or arriving at the stadium, having a drink and then watching the game before heading home. Same with this site, if you don't want to discuss statistics or trends then stick to the posts and threads about the elements of the sport you do like. Football is too large a sport for this approach at the level you're wanting to watch. Teams results can dictate where millions of pounds go, and managers can be out of a job and unemployed for a string of bad results. There is too much riding on the matches now to just not consider the consequences of playing a certain way. I suggest you find a non-league team to watch on the side, yes there is going to be stats and analysis, but it might be closer to what you want than Saints can provide at this point, so maybe follow them alongside that.

We could do with JWP being back to his dark arts, someone needs to tell him Fernandes is best mates with Zaha and that might do the trick Was it Stephens last season that wound him up? Can we have him back for one game to do that, doesn't seem to be ABK or Bednarek's style. Perhaps Perraud would wind him up?

He was out of full training yesterday, working on stretching and moving rather than running etc, I've heard the same that they'll find out more today and go from there

I think if Iheanacho scores when he played it straight to him to equalise, and then Souttar scores the winner when he doesn't get to the cross then he is out of the side in a lot of people's minds because his mistakes led to goals, but we were just immensely lucky in reality. For me, we aren't getting any benefit from Bazunu (his kicking and playing out from the back in a high line isn't helping us) so why not start with the best shot stopper of the three keepers we have, most likely McCarthy.

I don't think I hate football, but I am struggling with the first team. The players don't seem to be likeable, neither do the staff, and we're playing crap football constantly at the moment. I don't get to many games, maybe 4 or 5 a season, but I haven't seen the first team win a league game at home since December 2018, which is just deeply wrong. I'm finding the enjoyment this season in the women's team and their continued success and rise (their squad and ambition reminds me of the men's team when we were in league 1, winning trophies that in the grand scheme of thing aren't a big deal, but they clearly mean a lot to the players). I also seem to find more enjoyment in the players on loan, Tella at Burnley this season has been a triumph and I look out for the results for the teams in the lower leagues with a Saints player in the squad. We need to find a way to re-shape the squad with players who actually seem to care (and not in a ridiculous narcissistic way like Lyanco), who can actually play football that is even just occasionally enjoyable to watch, and aren't going to go missing when things get hard.

Never thought I'd be relieved to see Mccarthy's name so much! You'd hope that back 4 with Lavia in front should be keeping a clean sheet! Will be interesting to see what Orsic can do. Really glad to see Doyle and Ballard on the bench, both thoroughly deserved after the season's they've had

The correlation between us releasing that poster, and people googling "what channel number is itv4" must be pretty high now!

What gets me about our spending is that we seem to buy at the same level we have before. We struggle so much to buy players who are an obvious upgrade on what we already have. We've had so much turnover at centre back the last few years and yet we're still playing Bednarek. We've bought countless wingers but Elyounoussi and Armstrong are still starting. We bought Sulemana, an obvious upgrade on the wing, but we don't play him there, meaning so far is output is the same as we could expect from Adam Armstrong. Looking at that initial list, how many of those players have actually improved the starting 11 compared to last season. I'd say Lavia, and ABK at times. Some it is too early to tell, but we still can't seem to find any gems.

Larios is a bit of an odd one this season. I've heard rumours he's not very settled. Prefers speaking Spanish and has struggled with not playing consistently (partly due to injury). Hopefully we can find a way to keep him happy as with Livramento still out for a while it is good to have another option at full back. I never want to be in a position where JWP is filling in at full back ever again

Yes this is peak Saints for me recently. The Adidas one to me just looked like a Stoke shirt

He did play well, but one performance doesn't make him better than KWP so if fully fit, KWP comes back into the side for me. AMN has never looked good in midfield, it just doesn't suit him in our setup.

Admittedly this is about this season's kit not next years, but I really loved us having the white shorts and black socks against Chelsea compared to vice versa. Reminded me a lot of the sash kit from league one and looked the most "Saints" we have pretty much all season. Maybe we could wear that as the home kit for the rest of the year.

I think Sulemana will be key, he's clearly a quality ball carrier. Thought Enzo did well against him for chelsea because he didn't let him turn him and had the ability to push him towards the channels, but not sure the Leeds midfield and defence has the same quality. Would like to see what big Paul can do in the box, seems to be a good fit so far in hold up play.

It must help having a defence in front of you who seemed to want to help out (lots of blocks and last ditch tackles) rather than one where they just blame each other constantly). Some good saves, not the best keeping display we've seen but a much deserved clean sheet

Stuart's also been struggling with a groin/hip issue for a while as far as I've heard. Had surgery in Spain earlier in the year and it was seen as a success so may be back to a bit more of what we saw before, now.