Galway saint

classic bazanu

what position is stephen’s playing ? he’s just been our most advanced player

we’re not going up automatically but i’m interested to see how we do here as ipswich are the sort of team who could tear us a new one with their counter attacking pace down the wings and our propensity for leaving massive gaps behind the FBs hopefully fraser starts and puts them on the back foot - he’s such an important player for us

he persists because he cost us £20million plus and we are hoping at some point he will come good so we don’t have to write off the investment. its the same reason he persists with Bazunu despite his failings we really have bought some mediocre players; it’s the loans that have saved us but they won’t be here next year if we don’t go up, albeit am optimistic Fraser will stay regardless.

‘ok’ is about right. it’s a valid question about what Russball can achieve. in his defence he hasn’t been given a proper striker at number 9 but i feel this season is his best chance as next will be a very different team. i dont see why we can’t win the play offs but our form since February has been very ordinary. when was the last time we had proper control in a game ? maybe west brom. it’s crazy really given the amount of possession but it reflects the fact that we are very vulnerable without the ball. maybe that’s down to the 4-3-3 he plays.

I agree with a lot this. He‘s far too dogmatic if we go up his approach will see us getting walloped and if we don’t go up I can’t see him doing better next year with a weaker squad his sides concede too many goals and don’t capitalise on the enormous possession they enjoy

we are out of it after today to have any chance we would need to stop conceding goals and we show no signs of doing so

ipswich have won so that’s that. no team has a right to automatic promotion and this season is exceptional but to not even be in the mix for the last 8 games or so is pretty shit

we have lots of possession but concede far too many goals so that tells it’s own story. we are poor without the ball and RM doesn’t appear able to improve that

what about if we go up and they sack him ? what can we infer from that ?

Average goals conceded during RM’s managerial career : Mk dons : 1.40 swansea : 1.49 Saints :1.32 So not much difference really despite having much better players to work with. I agree he seems to view this as a price worth paying for the possession based game. Major difference from his previous teams is goals scored is now 2 per game

it’s so dreary watching them. how can a team with foden, rice and bellingham be so flat and unimaginative. he’s had two years since the WC to find a replacement for Maguire yet we are heading into the euros with him still playing the stockport v mk dons game was more engaging

some great advice there my tip would not to leave massive gaps behind our full backs when they counter attack at pace down the wings

80% ball retention and our goals conceded suggests we need to be a lot better without the ball

you can take all this tactical crap and set fire to it. what will get us through will be bravery and not just any old bravery but bravery on the ball. the sort of bravery that means you refuse to hit the acres of space behind the opposition as they press us high in our own half but instead pass it sideways and backwards to your teammate putting the team under enormous pressure until we inevitably concede. if we are brave enough we will win the play offs and if we aren’t brave enough we won’t but whatever happens, I’m sure RM will be ready go again next season to make sure we are even braver. all this bravery crap reminds of peter cooke on clive anderson impersonating graham taylor talking about ‘motivation, motivation, motivation, the three Ms’.

Obviously we are conceding far too many goals so it’s up to RM to make us far more difficult to score against. A settled back four or KWP, THB, JB and Bree would be a good start so let’s get it bedded in time for the play offs and fingers crossed fraser is back and firing

We will need to beat one of Leicester, Leeds or Ipswich to go up via play offs. Not impossible by any stretch but we can’t continue to play the same way we have been as teams have worked us out.

I just can’t see he’s been ‘very good’. His distribution is decent but as a goalkeeper he remains very ordinary. I’d say he’s league one or two level. All that’s changed from last season is that we are now a big fish in a small pond and therefore he is less exposed. He’s still got the same problems, shot stopping down to his left, poor positioning and the fact he just doesn’t make enough saves.

He made the point that when sunderland were pressing us in numbers high up the pitch at the beginning of the second half we didn’t exploit the space in behind and go long but instead continue to pass sideways and backwards inviting the pressure and playing in no man’s land between the 18 yard box and half way.

If we go up he will be No 1 and if we don’t go up he will be No 1. No one will sign him from the premier league because he’s not good enough and he’s not so bad we would buy somebody else to replace him particularly given how much we spent on him and how much time has been invested in him. he will probably be here for years to come which will please some and not others !

all personal opinions are inevitably subjective but yes you’re quite clear in that you don’t think this sort of analysis tells us anything worthwhile. i think the fact he regularly appears towards the bottom of this type of table reflects the fact he simply doesn’t make enough saves, but I agree it’s not the whole story. perhaps Bazanu can be a really good keeper and still appear regularly at the bottom of this sort of table but when I look at that table it just reinforces my opinion that he doesn’t make enough saves and rarely wins points for us. to be clear he couldn’t do anything about the goals yesterday.

but so do other teams and who concede more goals so that’s no answer to why he appears at the bottom of this particular table

i like the podcast - they have developed a good rapport between them and have views worth listening to. I enjoyed the episode about rotherham and the hotel stay. didnt realise blackmore is a villa fan

5 goals conceded against two poor sides tells us its own story. we’re not beating the better sides if we continue like this. I’m losing a bit of faith in RM. We win these games because we have much better players and the team is clearly less than the sum of its parts. I wish he’d ditch the aimless passing crap in our own half but he’s not going to

he’s grown on me he was laying into the aimless passing around at the back. you can sense the frustration is building with RM and the fact that the team is clearly less than the sum of its parts