gio1saints

Both him and KWP played very well indeed. I like him playing with their #10 Paqueta who is a top top and very intelligent footballer will bring him along for sure. Mattie is a star player basically and destined to play for his country in big matches my belief.

He’s been a right cheeky toy! Getting the old Nicks and pulling a Huey like that. I reckon his troubles got into a right eight over all this!

What rumours?

It’s a good point. But strikers who can come good straight away in our league cost £20m plus in this market. £130m in the EPL! We recruited defenders and midfielders and wingers at great prices. I reckon the opportunity to bring in a proper ready forward can only be realised once BBD is gone ✅Edozie is gone Aribo is gone. AND more controversial - one from Archer Armstrong and Stewart gone too. Don’t see us buying Downs to loan him out. Can see a surprise leaver in the front line though. But if not they are probably plenty good enough anyways over the season. It’s a squad game not just best 11 and ours is probably the best as it is

That’s a good argument but - please hear this - By your own brand of logic - and to be consistent - in all the games we won or drew other than with Leeds you must also feel that his tactics DID work - because we got promoted right? The Job was not done just in the final match but also in every win/draw that enabled us to get to the Final. All the win/drawmatches count - or none of them count - as Martins tactical success. You cannot have him failing for 42 matches succeeding in just 3 - you know put it that way it’s obviously not so. So maybe without realising it, you have shown yourself to be someone with a deeper more holistic understanding of football than most! 😃

Calling someone a coward online from the safety of your computer desk miles away…😉Irony is lost on you.

Get your point totally valid. My explanation of why three CB’s is that Still worked out rather quickly our full backs cannot defend. They all fancy themselves as wingbacks. On the other hand we have 4/5 CB’s who know what there job is. Defend . Fairly easy decision to play 3 of them when the rest of the squad is still in transit I’d say. He may/ will change after the window IF we get a better defensive left back - though if Manning keeps scoring could be hard…

Fair point. I’d think he’d point to fuck ups by his keeper and other players who know better like Aaron words in partial defence but they are not running as hard as they should period or executing either. One theory is he’s not got the dressing room, unlike at SFC, and they are not all bought in. When he got us up they all knew we needed to change. But Rangers players may think they are top top and apart from Celtic it’s easy. What they really need - yes just my personal opinion as ever - is a root and branch clear out of that entitled attitude. RM is a good leader for that but as I said a long whiles back I don’t think he will be there long enough. Out before Xmas my exact words. But would be a shame. Scottish football is so incestuous it needs a major attitude upgrade!

I understand fully. I’ve an alternate viewpoint though. Decades of issue not ideological politics in UK and elsewhere has fostered a massive MEH everywhere Using your political issue based example Russell Martin is arguably the equivalent of Tony Benn - compared to Starner and Baddenoch. Those latter two will say anything to get a vote. And change opinion next day. And change again the next time it’s convenient. Russell says what he thinks. Don’t like it don’t like him- fine. Like him or hate there’s no trickery though - unlike the others. Who you going to trust?

It’s always been this. Witch burnings always well attended. Public hangings ditto. Roman emperors games. We may not admit it ( well apart from a bunch of keyboard hardjobs here) but we revel in others suffering sometimes. We all do it. With Russell I only feel compassion. Everybody and his dog hates him for his beliefs. He’s not a murderer or child molester. I’f everyone hates him because of what he believes in count me out. If anything I’m on his side every time if that’s the issue.

Do you have any beliefs that are non negotiable ? My personal view is that people are increasingly disenchanted by conviction-less ideas - and leaders. Politics great example. Black or white not endless shades if grey. FWIW I dont care so much about the football side of the discussion on Russell now he’s not our Manager. Now, this thread is more about human nature. I think it’s about the thirst for blood or revenge and is simply human nature. We are all ultimately flawed. Russell included. But he’s not grey and that’s at least one ✅ I give him.

Good Luck Russell. I hope the Universe gives you what you deserve today. Maybe you need to finally crash and burn today. Your Buddhist inspired footballing beliefs are either out of date or ahead of their time. Either way they are not working today - again. Most people criticising you have not the faintest clue about your character and personal approach to life, football and the universe. But if football catches up with your thinking - or vice versa - or you find the genius of being able to flexibly adapt to the circumstances - then I’m certain you will overcome. Just don’t be mediocre like 99.9% of your critics. Return from battle with your shield - or on it. The Spartan approach is still laudable in my eyes even if so many nowadays think it’s a principle to be mocked.

Who was our best winger then? BBD? Adam Armstrong ? Ross Stewart ?Still picked up a young Jay Robinson and he looks great - Still picked him and kept him. Evidence of learning. You appear to be on a one eyed mission to point out every flaw or mistake made by the manager and team. Shifting a load of players out and replacing them - and motivating them and showing them it does not have to be as shit as last year - especially from the 2nd worst team in EPL history - that’s a piece of cake right? That just works well from Day one and just gets better doesn’t it. In reality we appear to have assembled almost the right make up of squad give or take the known leavers and a couple joiners. Right now your attacks on him seem excessive.

McKenna best manager in the universe McKenna that we all wish we had here? Mckenna next manager of Man Utd? Surely not mans a genius. 😁 Sometimes temporary results and performances can obscure truths - highly respected goalie Johanssen gifting WBA victory yesterday and McKenna still can’t buy a win. It’s temporary. Both are still very good - as is Still and most his team - patience! .😂😇

Appears to have learned nothing is a bit harsh. Do you not think losing our FOUR best players : Ramsdale, Dibling, Fernandes and KWP plus arguably our best CB in Jan Bednarek, best winger in Kameldeen and most obvious target man in TP would have given him plenty homework in recent weeks? Every few days he’s had to cobble together a team- and tactics - accordingly to whoever he’s got available( or wants to be available, or who hasn’t developed a niggle..) It’s more fire fighting than squad development at this point. You are prepared to give him low marks for the performances delivered from that ill fitting jigsaw of a squad. Fair enough I agree. Think the cobbled together teams could have done better. Could have done worse too. But to infer he’s learned nothing is a stretch. I think he’s already learned plenty about what his players can and cannot do / and who he can rely on. One example is who he has excluded from match day squads (like BBD !) who he realises wants to give 100% (Ryan Fraser) - and how to elicit it - Who has recognised he must give immediate starting opportunity to (Jay and Mads) and who he should drop (like Armstrong ) to see if it works. Lastly for the first time as a Saints manager in recent history - he’s publicly said to our not scoring forwards that, essentially, if they want to play as a forward next week they must score or they will be replaced. The instant response to Archer hearing that was he scored yesterday. I’d say he taught Cam a good lesson myself. Some of that he learned some he already had. But the bloke is certainly not standing still learning nowt. Sorry for the pun! 😇

Good ideas. I’m sure Will assessed them all and maybe his heart not head made the decision- we all want Jay on the pitch after all! Jay being dropped then put back in at last minute must have had an impact on his inexperienced head. Slotting Taylor back in at LB and pushing Manning up into MF away from home was a viable - but less attacking alternative. Joe is going but he certainly would have had the experience and discipline to do what Will might have told him to do in MF also. Overall - Downes swop should have been as close to a like for like as possible. Lack of squad depth for his position may have cost us two points yesterday accordingly. Next week, with Jander onboard, we will have sorted that. I’ve got mixed feelings about Flynn Downes. One of them is he is one of the best if not the best in this league at doing what he does. But the other is that if Jander replaces him Saints will be about to enter a more direct service/ forward propelling midfield era - and that could be exciting after over two years plus of ball recycling…dilemma!

Because Saints are family to me. HTH.

Is it that obvious?

THB defends AND scores goals. Don’t sell THB. It’s a bad idea.

Now THIS is an example of buying a guy who won’t be a starter and probably cannot cut it in the EPl either. Ie like we used to do. Please swerve this Saints.

Maybe the Scienza bid was in a similar vein? Got a feeling that if and when Sam Joe and BBD go that one of those two might also just creep over the line. Unsure which would be better for us though. Morgan seems more of a direct goal scoring threat - an option instead of a current forward ( none of whom are consistently in brilliant form)albeit he comes from wide usually - whilst scienza for all his dead ball skills seems mainly an alternate wing based player to Ryan, Jay and Fellows - three already good and in form players.

You may well be right. But then again opinions are like acorns - only a few come to much. I thought new gk would be a challenger in waiting and hoped it would be. I knew we could not sign an immediate starter when we still have AARON on the books but I’d hoped for a bit more competition. So, my personal expectations were logically but not unreasonably high. Long does not hit that expectation but if true to form, when/if Baz is rested / injured/suspended and Alex gets a knock I’d bet Long plays a decent match for us - In the Carabao cup final v Chelsea where he saves 5 penalties to our 1 scored 3 missed 😆. It’s about that likely too.😇

Ahead of the signing I think the answer is 100% yes. After signing there was this grand denouement but, and the performances for saints in recent years should back this up - when a substitute goalie has had to step up he’s not done as bad as his previous critics would have you believe. Alex Mc in the playoffs a good example but two clean sheets in Carabao cup another. And that weird time when he was not even on the bench. Lumley did not appear totally bad on the few times he played either. So. Maybe low expectations are a good thing sometimes high expectations not such a good thing. I know certainly from a player sporting psychology perspective so much work takes place on lowering that extra layer of self imposed performance stress Fan expectation only feeds that.

Nicely put. Especially those two names you mentioned. The first name on the team sheet -and only certain starter for me today is MADS at RB. A month or two from now I hope we can add AZAZ , JANDER and FELLOWS to the default starters list. The other 7 can fight it out to show why they should start - beginning today with a goal or assist or a great general performance. Drop to a 6/10 performance when the minimum is 7/10 + and you will be sub next week basically.

This is true of every incoming transfer - fan expectation always super high. How often is that expectation justified on their debut? I think Aaron did well on debut but before that gotta go back to Rickie Lamberts double day after he joined! Moral of the story - do not expect him to be Messi. If he can run and kick a ball in the right direction without falling over and it does not go into Row z theres a fair chance he’s better than the player he replaced - so give him time.