Holmes_and_Watson

Normally not hard at all, for all the points you mention. But what we want from an attacking midfielder is to not attack and to not be in midfield when he's the one having to race back from our own corners. 🙂 It adds a whole level of complexity, and no doubt frustration for Alcaraz.

I thought they were slowly building up their flagship club. It just turned out to be Goztepe and not us. 🙂

Foolishly, I thought the focus would be on how we defend them to keep goals out. But all the effort has instead gone into how we use our attacking ones to ensure we let goals in from those.

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Racing

I knew SR would take us back into European contention! Go Martin! 🙂 Forward thinking fans for a forward thinking club. 🙂

We didn’t see much of Baz’s passing skills on Saturday, just after he’d doen well in that department. If it’s something that’s changed, then we should be looking to bring in the one who at least has the most chance of saving a shot. We changed some things defensively. As Manning was brought in for the initial style, he’s now less suited for this. We got rid of a better left back (who admittedly wanted out after being messed around by the previous system) during the summer. Holgate had another nightmare moment. But I wonder just who was available for him to pass to, as our lines are miles apart at the wrong times in games. Since JWP’s departure, there’s a lot less of this high possession with intent football. Martin is right that there’s no intensity and passivity across our team. But he’s the one coaching them on passing, intensity and shape. If it can’t be implemented, then something else is going to have to change, or we’re going to be watching a lot of defeats. JWP covered multiple jobs in midfield. We only have Charles as a DM. Downes is more capable of direct link ups. Smallbone is better further forward, but not as a 10. He’s best at cycling the ball through a midfield bolstered by our two inverted fullbacks, and with support from another midfielder. With JWP he had someone who could give all that support. Without him, he does some things well, but can’t take control of a game or provide any direct attacking outlet as Stu or Alcaraz can. Up front we have a support striker with no one to support. Out wide we rotate a number of people, with Edozie being the only one so far looking to develop a blend of dribbling and shooting. AA offers us work rate and cover. He’s got lots of attributes that the rest of the team could do with. But he’s not a deep lying midfielder in a three. He’s not a wide player either. Another stuck in yet another system that’s not going to get the best out of him. Martin’s comment of “Then in the second half we were so on top, so in control…” borders on delusional. If that’s what his data is telling him, then it’s going to be a long time before it synchs with the reality on the pitch. Every team we’ve faced has looked more than capable of putting us to the sword. If they didn’t before, they all know now how to do it. Just as it was with Ralph’s teams. I agree with him that keeping the same mindset through the game is important. I agree with him, and the players, that you should have a working environment focused on development and support. There are multiple systems and approaches to achieving that. Results, in the end, do matter. I’d prefer any system over that of Selles’ involvement with us. Having at least the chance of getting a goal is better than watching us sit back waiting for the inevitable. But we have lots of comedy tactical moments. Things Martin is happy to persist with. As @Conivct Colony said, we’ve actually managed to go backwards, the more of his system he’s tried to put into place. I still want him to do well, and for things to turn around. That this was a backward step, to progress faster. But if it continues, it’s going to be a wasted season, when Dragan should have been expecting us to be in contention for going straight back up. SR telling him otherwise is just conning him.

Martin has made sure to say that he’s implementing a football philosophy that the club also want. He’s said this to defend his approach and to also divert calls for him to go at this stage. After all, if it’s what the club are fully committed too, we’d just get more of the same, seems to be the argument there. It’s going to take a fairly lengthy run of defeats for him to be one his way. He talks about blocks of games, so will be seeing out this one at least. He’s not wrong about SR’s approach either. - Get in players on cusp of breaking through, and sell for a profit. - Implement a consistent football style to support/ strengthen recruitment and development. - Be data driven in development and recruitment. A big one is their “results don’t matter”. It’s a project. It’s a philosophy to reach the above. If there’s data driven improvements, then eventually the results will go our way. With the large assumption that the data you’re using is worth anything when faced with real life football games. Before the season started, there were quotes talking about projects and development over results. They were around the time there were quotes about it not being a disaster not to go straight up, as a reset was needed. Only after I heard that, did I hear more direct “the aim is to go back up” comments. Often without a time frame. Sometimes a “soon as possible.” Not much in the area of “considering our resources and confidence in our recruitment/ system we will expect our new structure to deliver an immediate return.” Which is what the likes of Leicester and Leeds look to be aiming for. @Lighthouse made the good point that those two nearly stayed up, while we plummeted like a stone. Rather that reassess their philosophy, or wonder why we were so abject, we’ve even more closely aligned ourselves to a philosophy. It’s now closer to being a man city light, but without the talent, discipline, resources or will to succeed as they have. It’s another revolutionary footballing system, as if any of the traditional ones couldn’t possibly reach SR’s goals. Martin talked about changes in mentality. When we go one down, it’s scar tissue from previous regimes. These are scars shared by the fans, which he’s taken exception to, calling it out a couple of times. When we go one up “There was loads of anxiety in the crowd because we stole the ball a few times, we scored off stealing the ball, and then just went passive – didn’t look after the ball, didn’t hunt the ball after that. It’s not a conscious decision, so we have to really look at that, really work on that.” When their fans aren’t winning “their crowd really willing them on because they haven’t won yet." We’re apparently just critical, wouldn’t understand a process if it was delivered on a flowchart, and anxious based on previous trauma. Not because anyone, including all of our opponents, can see all the ways we set ourselves up to lose a game of football. Which is on Martin and SR more than it is on the players.

Hmmm. We've tried championship level. Is there not a facially hairy League One or Two manager, who has failed before, but who has even the most tenuous ties to Man City available?

Agree that whatever the situation with his dad is the key point there. And I hope whatever it is, works out for the lad. Behind that though was "There are things he knows he needs to do better. It’s about who you trust at this moment. Your all in with this side or not.” The "all in with this side or not" is connected to things he needs to do better and not the family situation. Alcaraz is a direct player, who may well not be best pleased at giving up a lot of his strengths to this tactic. I was going to say that whoever the manager is, there will be situations like this. But actually, that should be whoever the Saints manager is, there will be situations like this. A philosophy requires certain underlying things, that aren;t going to suit everyone. We've seen strikers (remember them?) wait and wait for passes, players switched between running at players and pass back and across at all times and on and on oover the last few years. The way we set up leaves acres of space. We're in trouble at our own attacking corners. And we're in trouble when we give the ball away as well. Alcaraz's direct running and passing comes with the risk that there's absolutely no cover behind him. Martin's passing game and structure is supposed to be the better option. Alcaraz is young, and may well be having to learn to conform to a system (and one with massive glaring gaps in it) that he doesn't enjoy. Fortunately, he doesn;t need langiage skills to see the haunted, disenchanted faces elsewhere in the dressing room. Lots of them have also had to give up independent thought, as they become robots to whatever system we fail to correcty implement.

Welcome To Dragan's Diary Monday: Take control of SR. Tuesday am: locate better club, but in financial peril. Tuesday pm: Buy club Wednesday 09:00 : Liquidate club. All coaching and player contracts terminated Wednesday 09:01: All coaching and playing staff signed for Saints. Wednesday 09:02: Pay up contracts of lots of Saints players and coaches. Thursday: Fly in new squad and staff Friday: Tactics and press conferences. Saturday: 3 points. Sunday: Deliver shredded copies of Rasmus' book to pet shop to line hamster cages. Sometimes, the simple solutions are best 🙂

Didn't you get your ticket to the Saints Fans Prememptive Strike match? No teams playing, but a wonderful 90mins (plus stoppage time for us to moan at the length of) of "you don't know what you're doing" "sacked in the morning" and various bits of targeted swearing at specific players, some of whom hadn't even signed. Not so.

Not to disrespect Leeds, but I just can't see it being anything other than 3 points for us. 🙂

Marxism

People where I am have staged weekly parades, with placards mocking Southampton like "9-0" front and "9-0 Again" on the back; "Fail to Succeed With Rasmus" and "Romeu Out" in a Saints shield front and "Romeu In" in a Barca shield on the back. The chanting along with finger pointing and laughing also isn't great. That might not be Saints related though 🙂 Of folk that are interested in football, there's a mix of :- - Sympathy as they believe we've got such a good recruitment policy. - Banter as we put together such shocking performances, and in such long runs too. - Disinterest beyond knowing the score, as they are plastic Premier League fans. - Their own clubs have plenty of issues, and they are as caught up in those, as we are in ours.

I can understand a 'keeper not saving all of these. Baz saves none of them. As soon as it was going towards that part of the goal, I thought it was in. Baz's distribution was a plus a game or two back. We seem to be doing a lot less of that since.

Martin was part of an abject Norwich defence. They also thought it was the bestest thing ever to play out from the back. They had success with it too, in the Championsip, because 1) they had 2 very useful attacking fulbacks 2) they had at least some cover when they gave it away 3) They had a plan of attack for getting rid of it when it left the full backs. 4) the other teams hadn't learned to counter it yet. 5) The fullbacks tried to attack with it. They didn;t run 5 yards, stop and be proud that they had started what they hoped was a 70 pass move. 6) They full backs did take up full back positions, rather than moving inside to no benefit whatsover. In the Premier League, they got hammered relentlessly doing the same thing. By the time they came back down the second time, other teams had moved on and could counter it easily. When at Norwich, Martin was part of some particularly cringeworthy interviews that had absolutely no bearing on the match he'd just been involved in. I don;t recall him mentioning "scar tissue" though, so he's learned that much. 🙂

Be brave guys and hopefully all our new scars can be hidden.

Baz out sharpish for that one. Nearly another one as they pass effortlessy through us.

He's done as well as anyone told that all the good things about hsi game can be jettisoned and he now has to play a new poistion that involves not getting involved in attacks and being nowhere near full back when he has to race back.

'Boro one up.. Carrock urging his players forward. The previous 90 mins... Martin urging his players side and back and now hands up in desperation.

Stu with a poor pass. But we've no one back and it's another race back. Martin lookign frustrated, but he's tellign tehm to set up like this. No one else. He knows what will happen when we give it away.

Nice from Edozie. Not scared of getting a shot in.

Normally , teams chasing a game are vulnerable on the break. We're vunerable to a break at any time during a game. But when we are chasing the game, it's somehow even worse. Could have been another easily there.