coalman

Because they play at walking pace

We've got a really pacy forward in Archer. Need more balls for him to run onto

Can't fault his commitment though

This is not a game for the neutrals thus far

2-0 coyr

I agree with you we're a long way from the worst ever but it ain't pretty right now. Not sure whether playing some good stuff last season is relevant to that.

Obviously it's very flattering to be linked with a club like Manchester United. It shows how well regarded our approach is. But I've made it clear to the owners that I have unfinished business here.

Sounds about right. It's like someone had the bright idea "what our homepage needs is a chatbot" and that idea trickled down. Then they didn't give the person making the chatbot a clear brief or any kind of support but told them to do it on the cheap. Leading to them finding a hotel reservation chatbot and slapping some Saints branding on it. It keeps suggesting I type "GUEST SERVICES" for more help. The Saints chatbot really is our club in microcosm right now. Slow, ponderous and unable to answer the most basic questions put to it. Correction: the chatbot it's based on is used primarily for ticketing for sporting events and tourism agencies.

A little harsh on van Nistelrooy to lose the position after winning every single game and so the door closes on Russell Martin at Man Utd. I hear Sporting Lisbon are looking for a young progressive coach.

A lot of people expected me to be the first manager to get the sack

Let me quickly ask the chatbot...... Thinking.... Thinking.... Computer says I think you are looking for player information. I don’t have any information on that topic. If I misunderstood, please rephrase your question or reply with GUEST SERVICES for additional help. Which leads me to suspect we've repurposed a hotel reservation chatbot for our homepage which is an incredibly Saintsy thing to do.

I see the official homepage has a new ChatBot. I decided to ask some questions. It's less than helpful. why are Saints so bad at the moment? I didn't find specific details about the current performance of Southampton FC. However, the club is in a period of transition after their relegation from the Premier League in 2023. They appointed Russell Martin as the manager to guide a young team back to the top level, which can be a challenging process and may affect their performance. how well is Russell Martin doing as manager? I don't have a response for that at the moment. When are Saints going to win again? I don't have a response for that at the moment. How happy are Sports Republic with their investment? I didn't find specific information about how happy Sport Republic is with their investment in Southampton FC. However, Sport Republic acquired a controlling stake in the club on 4th January 2022. The club aims to achieve over 80% positive fan sentiment, indicating a focus on fan satisfaction and engagement, which might reflect positively on their investment strategy.

We also conceded 63 times last season in the league. This season if we were to extrapolate forward we'd score around 25 goals and concede around 80. Noting that's a very shonky prediction. Last season we got promoted and there were times where we looked incredible. When we came up against Liverpool's kids in the cup they beat us 3-0 despite us giving it a go with all the same failings we're seeing week in week out. What worked in the Championship doesn't seem to be working in the Premier League. The game is faster and teams have greater levels of intensity than the Championship and are more clinical so we get punished for a lot of things we got away with last season. Teams are much better without the ball than in the Championship because of the efforts that Guardiola and Klopp (and Ralph to be fair) put into their teams. What produced entertaining football in a lower league doesn't seem to be providing entertaining football this season. It's not a matter of what's changed. It's a matter of what needs to change. Also worth noting that Ralph's first couple of seasons produced some very entertaining stuff but, by the time he left was looking lifeless for long stretches as teams adapted to his tactics. We also failed to move it forwards with any urgency or play through the midfield. Under Martin last season we lost that press but gained more fluency in our passing. Now it seems we've lost the press and our passing is without a purpose. We rarely stretch play or break our opponents lines.

Getting ready for Martin's press conference today.

100% win record as well. It was those kinds of numbers that got Ole the job. Can't see the powers that be at Man United letting him go with that kind of record.

Liverpool's kids will be up for this one.

So we're in Russ's "I told you before, Lucy, call me bronco" phase right now?

Worst prize evah. I'm a big fan of playing Stephens in the hole. Admittedly it's a hole he's been pushed into so Martin can't find him to put him on the pitch.

Maybe Russell Martin is just a massive Pirates of the Caribbean fan? If it can happen to Michael Bolton it can happen to anyone. "This is the tale of captain Jack Stephens, defender so brave on the pitch so green, no matter the game he passes it sideways, he doesn't track back with attackers unseen..."

And so we come to the 10th league game of the season. Historically Everton have been something of a bogey team for Saints but they may be starting to feel the pressure of not wanting to be the team that breaks Southampton's non-winning run. A thumping win, and Saints might reach the heady heights of 18th in the table. The stakes couldn't be higher. Russell Martin will have a selection quandary after his team's dominant display against Stoke. Will he be able to fit Stephens back into a side that has actually won a game of football? Will Smallbone be fit? Whatever happens we can expect the usual pot pourri of a team selection enlivened by some truly creative second half substitutions. The good news is (for) Martin that he hasn't won the sack race this year so expect his confidence to skyrocket before the match particularly when coupled with Pep's gushing praise after Man City strolled past us 1-0 last weekend. Expect to hear more about both of these things in the press conference later this week. That is if he's still here. Man United may grow tired in their pursuit of hipster foreigner, Amorim, and go for the brave option of a Russball future. At the very least this is another chance for Martin to stake his claim to one of the top jobs in the game. As for the game itself, Everton have to wonder how they're going to break us down. Defensively we're difficult to come to terms with. On any given day we can gift chances either by suicidal possession, failing to track runners, inability to defend crosses, set-pieces or simply making the mistake of being caught upfield without 11 players behind the ball. A real conundrum for them coming into the game. At the other end their defenders are going to need to stay switched on. Nothing is going to happen in their half for large swathes of the game so they'll have to be alert for a Southampton player forgetting their coaching and attempting to hit a through ball. Admittedly, an attacking player that's been rotated in and out of the team so much that they've puked in the locker room. All in all it's got all the ingredients of a classic. A team we almost never beat. A manager who is more certain his ideology is the way forward with every passing breath against side that is starting to find its own feet this season. A nearly perfect losing start to the season against a team with the beginnings of league form. All that's for certain is Martin will still be there on Monday, win or lose.

Last night was a nearly complete Russell Martin performance. Dominated possession without creating much. Surrendered a lead and were lucky not to lose. Looked fragile when our opponents upped their intensity. Didn't mark the edge of the box for corners. Scraped by a mid table championship side. Just.

We're already up there with the worst starts to a Premier League season in history. https://theanalyst.com/2024/08/worst-starts-premier-league-season Crystal Palace lost seven on the bounce before winning one. Pompey lost seven on the bounce before drawing their next two. Both finished bottom.

“I’m happy we won," said Martin, who watched from the stands as he served a one-match touchline ban. "I walked into the dressing room and the players were a little bit flat, a bit frustrated with themselves that it ended up being so close and us winning the game so late, but I did remind them that they’ve won a game, we’re through in the cup and that was the aim at the start of the night. You think, Russ? You just nearly lost to Stoke at home, conceded a 2 goal lead limply again, couldn't turn possession into clear cut chances and scraped through and the players are are a bit "frustrated with themselves". Maybe they're frustrated with something else?

If anything this is a confidence eroding win.

Mark the edge of the box