Holmes_and_Watson

Run

Following a particularly abject, gutless performance where even the Norwich manager didn't want to show his face, Martin trotted out a series of empty platitudes and clichés. Anyone who had been watching them for a while would have realised how meaningless his words were, wondering about the disconnect between what he was saying and the reality of their performances. So, a lot like some of the rubbish we've heard from our club since the weekend. They'll really like Martin.

Anonymous

Absorb

If you find the "almost" dropping out of that sentence, let us know. We've got some highlights to show you. Well, lowlights really... 🙂

To get second place in the Championship over the last 10 years, you need on average 90 (89.6) points. Along the way an average 73 (73.4) goals is required, and an average goal difference of +34 (34.3) Projecting Selles’ performance across a Premier league season would see not even get half of the average goals required. His goals against (considering he was brought in to help Ralph improve defensively, hasn’t really worked either) With the same players, we should score more at a lower level. But would we score over double what we’re scoring now? Selles’ has been unable or unwilling to alter glaring flaws in his tactics and team selection. Additionally, our tactic of being compact, hoping our opponent doesn’t finish the chances we’re going to give them, and hope it falls for us centrally for a break, is miles away from the teams that dominate and get promoted from that division. Our other tactic of overcommitting with no output, only to get picked off, doesn’t bear thinking about. I’ve seen absolutely nothing to suggest he’s the guy to get us promoted. That’s even taking into account that he’s dealing with some dreadful recruitment/ transfer policy decisions from above that blighted his predecessors. Even if we actually learn from the numerous recruitment mistakes, I couldn’t see him setting out a team to win enough points for us to go back up. If he comes out and says “thankfully, we can recruit the players *I* want over the summer, to get away from the rubbish we’ve had to serve up,” then I’ll have another think.

Nathan on Sky. It was a learning curve. But, he felt that, had he got enough results to get a little more time, he would have improved. Didn;t want to be drawn into any headline making, such as "would he have kept them up?" He's presumably on there as he's available for clubs looking for a fresh, front footed, aggressive approach from a manager who helped the start of a successful championship campaign with Luton. If you can think of a club in, or going into, that division looking for such a manager, please contact Nathan. https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11700/12880318/nathan-jones-admits-southampton-spell-was-a-huge-learning-curve-after-three-month-reign

“We have fought tirelessly as a club throughout the season” and “managers, our players, our staff … for battling to the end to keep the Saints in the top tier.” Nonsense. Utterly inept, unwilling/incapable of learning form glaring errors throughout the season. And that extends to Rasmus all the way down. “But the Premier League is the most competitive league in the world and our results were simply not good enough to stay there.” Not good enough due to incompetence, from the top down, not because the league was just too tough for us. The club should have been all too aware of their many failings as the season unfolded. They should have been looking for quite some time to address the flaws in their ownership model, the tactics, recruitment and deficiencies in the team. Anyone who is genuinely only starting now, can be among the first out the door.

Infiltrate

Meanwhile, in Rasmus' zoom meeting... "So, Mr Cleverbollocks, or may I call you Johnny? Thank you. So, Johnny, we're keen to have someone committed to front footedness, aggression and MS excel. While, I have to say that you being fictional is just the sort of tough life barrier I like to see, it's important that you, like all our previous clever appointments, can work with our top defensive coach, Mr Selles. Excuse me one moment, I have to wave off half our squad from my tower of self delusion window.. bye JWP..." 🙂

Tactic

Even on your poor/ not what we needed list there are a few who you say could find their level next season, so may also have the potential to be good. And that's the genius of SR. Other clubs buy players in an endless, desperate attempt to cling on for survival. SR identify the players they can make a profit on, and adjust the league they are in accordingly. So much cleverer! 🙂

AMN is supposed to be able to play as an attacking (because he can't defend) full back or as a central midfielder. As mentioned, having seen another team try it out, and with someone in our team supposedly suitable, we're good to go. We get some defensive solidity combined with more presence in the middle to 1) stop them and 2) kick start our fairly rubbish attack. Tactical genius. But that's when Selles should have put his football manager type spreadsheets away, and looked at reality. He was never going to be mobile enough against the Forest attack. He's not mobile enough, if away from his defence role, against any attack with decent pace. And, has been shown, he offers nothing as a defensive midfielder. When he came in, I thought he might be able to at least fo a job there. But far from it. He's slightly better just having the defensive duties. But Selles didn't put him out to do that and we were caught out time and again. He did put together a succession of 4 decent passes from deep at one point, sowing some good vision. It's just finding a place where he can do that without being a liability. That's probably a scam attacking central midfielder. But we don't set up with him in mind for that role. It also showed that if we wanted deeper delivery, and a more solid defence, then that's exactly what Bree was brought in for.

If only Hummel didn't have all those downward arrows on them. It might adversely impact the team...oh... 🙂 Hopefully, it will be less Bold and Brave and more Capable and Winning.

Soldier

Caught a bit of a Selles interview... The question that made me laugh was along the lines of "Do you think you've seen enough of the club, to want to stay?" Hopefully, this won't be an issue shortly.

Don't let worry creep in. Remember, Bold is Brave! 🙂

Ball

I remember Tuchel explaining and dismantling RalphBall in a post match interview. GIbbs-White said their plan was to press. But because we were retaining posession early on, they looked to just sit back a little, and then catch us on the break. Sure enough, we had a little flurry of looking like we could attack, but it was really Forest just dropiing back, to be a little more compact, while biding their time. We over extend and get done. Simple and we got suckered., even though we would surely know about the pace of the likes of Johnson. It's seeing how naive we are here, that makes sense of our managers consistently continuing with broken tactics for the rest of the season. They simply have no answers at all, and you wonder about the rigour of the process to bring them/ keep them at the club.

A team picked up at the Transfer Warehouse Wholesalers deservedly beat us home and away this season. We were horrendous in the first, and caved in lots of areas for this one too. AMN has been shown to be pants in defensive midfield and only a little better as a full back. So, giving him the option to switch between the two was only going to end in disaster. He wasn;t up to the task, and put pressure on centre halves, of whom ABK was clearly nowhere near up to it either. We scored a good goal. But it was one of those that comes along for us when all the planets in the sky align. We offered nothing as coherent for the rest of the game. JWP finally got a couple of decent corenrs in, and you wonder what we've been practicing all season in that department. Forest won most of the physical battles, and had more flair and pace in Johnson and Gibbs-White than we had in our entire team. they spent £190m to buy in two squads of players. We spend £140m to enhance the one we had and got it badly wrong in a number of key areas. We had a couple of bright spells, but we generally flatter to deceive, by either getting no advantage from any of them, or looking better because our opponents are already ahead and are dropping back. Once again we grab a narrow defeat, whcih has been teh story of our whole season, witho no one capable from recruitment, coaching or playing staff, of improving it. Someone posted today that Selles had said that outr biggest drawback is that we had defenders who can;t defend. He was already brought in to help fix that, when that comment was made, and has done nothing to fix it in his time as manager. We're not good enough to keep teams out, and have a disatrous transfer policy which brought in nothing to improve us in attack. So, there's no way of relieving that defensive pressure either. Dismal from top to bottom.

Edozie just had to gt it in the middle. Instead, he does what he always does and tries to take a man on.

2 goals more in 2 mins! C'Mon Saints!!!

JWP!!!!!

didn;t see much in that.

Penalty!?