Gloucester Saint

It is, one of the frequent fliers around here along with Butty Bach also by Wye Valley. The most local pub (four in our small town) did have their Hopfathers as a guest which flew out of the door. If you like HPA, you’d also enjoy Goffs Cheltenham Gold. Over the border in Worcestershire there’s also some quality stuff - Teme, Hop Shed, Brew 61, Bewdley amongst others. Planning to come to Soton later in the year once we’ve had the next stage of our house renovation done, to catch up with friends and family. Will check out some of my old haunts - Guide Dog, SW Arms - with some I’ve only been to a couple of times - Butchers Hook (loved it there), King Olaf’s (not been but friends love it) and Dancing Man (not been for a while). Heard the Platform open again after the fire. Family connection there.

https://www.perfectdraft.com/en-gb/perfect-draft-range/perfect-draft-kegs?page=6 Nice selection there, Ghost Ship would lovely on that although appreciate it’s not everyone’s favourite beer. It’s very strong but Triple Karmeleit is a stunning beer. Any of the Leffe range would be great too, the Winter one for Christmas. I quite like Club Tropicana from Tiny Rebel too, pops up sometimes around here as Newport not too far. And Old Pecuilar for something darker. Probably only lacking a good stout or porter, but I have to say I’m tempted….

Peter Bleksley has suggested ticketing it, which might be the compromise option. Not sure it needs to be moved to Hyde Park which would unnecessarily gentrify it, but certainly people coming to carnivals with for example stun guns is not normal or acceptable. You wouldn’t get those into Glastonbury. The Met cordon area is safe from what I gather but the edges of it can be more dangerous. Residents would get free entry and keep ticket costs modest but it would help beef up security and toileting to reduce residential defecation.

Beer Hawk had some Perfect Draft machines, not sure what they were like. We’ve got two GBG pubs near us, one is staffed by late teens and quality varies considerably, the other is very well kept but standard selection bar Wye Valley Butty Bach (quite common here but they do it well) of Pride, Doom Bar and 6X. The hotel/restaurant has the most interesting beers - Goffs Cheltenham Gold (excellent), Wye Valley HPA and a guest of Sharp’s Coaster (pale ale high 3% Abv) although they often have Bristol Beer Factory as guests. The other pub is also 15th century, Butcombe own it which is decent stuff. Round here, Cheltenham is a bit of beer hub with Deya (if you like IPAs and Pale Ale You’ll love their Steady Rolling Man), Clavell & Hind, Corinium, Goffs at nearby Winchcombe, Gloucester Brewery there which is fine stuff, and a clutch of top pubs and two beer shops/bars. Missus drove me on a tour of pubs and Cotswold breweries last year for my birthday - Fleece Inn at Breforton, North Cotswold, Hook Norton. Stroud brew good stuff and there’s some lively walks from their brewery tap. Nationally, Landlord is lovely, both the pale ale and dark, Dark Star Hophead pops up in Cheltenham sometimes and that’s a favourite too. What was RCH are in their third incarnation and favourites there include Old Slug Porter, Pitchfork pale ale and East St Cream strong bitter. Other favourite brewery is Hobsons in Shropshire, can see the Shropshire Hills around here in places (eg Cleeve Hill) - got some bottles of Twisted Spire, Postman’s Knock and Plum Porter for the winter. Moreton in Marsh beer festival in a couple of weeks,

Nigel also had a horrendous fixture list at the start. Granted, Wigan home was crap but City away, Arsenal away, Fergie’s Man U home etc. Arsenal away was awful but City away was a tremendous display and Man U home we were 2-1 up after 89 minutes. Rather different to this time so far.

It’s bit outside of the main city but the Fat Cat in Norwich is one of the best pubs I’ve been to. Kings Arms is great as well.

Even if the game was rubbish, it might be that you and your friends found a great pub on an away game. Or maybe your local does a great pint? I think some of the posters on here run bars or micropubs. My beers this weekend have been Badger Golden Glory and Brew 61 Grazing Girls

Next week the Grenfell enquiry will finally publish. None of the parties will escape criticism - rightly so - but pathetic that £400k - a drop in the ocean on the overall renovation budge - would have saved all of those lives. It should be a time for self-reflection on the obsession with de-regulation but you know it won’t be. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62305qx946o

And moving it quicker, and varying it. If you’re as slow as we are to recycle it, opponents pick that player as the trigger and press hard. We did it to teams effectively earlier on under Ralph so the club should know how to adapt.

Fine, and we will have to be patient anyway as the new players bed in. As Dark Munster has just posted, what must change more so than system and tactics is the needless pissing about between the centre backs. The centre backs have two jobs - stop the opposition getting clear shots/headers at Ramsdale and then find one of the midfielders with the ball to set moves going when we have the ball. You only pass to another CB when there’s nothing else on, and if the full backs spread out a bit and the CBs give themselves permission, sometimes finding AA/Cornet and BBD in space earlier sometimes to make it harder for the opposition to get set. As it is, we’re so predictable that we are getting trapped into our third and mistakes keep happening in volume. Hopefully Lallana is explaining to Russell or he’s worked it out himself. He should do as it’s rather obvious.

The centre backs are not midfielders, their first job is to stop the opposition and then look for where Flynn/Lesley/Fernandes are. If there’s an opportunity to get BBD or Cornet in on the counter to beat an effective press, great, try it. It might be time for the players after hearing today’s post match comments to play to their strengths and ignore all of the possession based dogma. Ditto the strikers, they are on the last shoulder types, release them with through balls and linking with the fbs. Slow laborious ball retention is torture for them. Bollocks to philosophies. Scout your opposition, and set-up in a way which maximises your chances. Even if it means building a wall around the goal for City. It worked during Project Restart! Luton gave it a go last year, fell short but we could live with that. But this looks like relegation by Christmas without a sea change in approach and he won’t last anywhere near that long unless he rips up the dogma.

They need the ball in front of them or into feet. There’s no Che or Pelle type second striker who Ings fed off when we went more direct, and all of the laboured possession gives them little chance to lose their markers. AA didn’t have a good time last time out and missed a sitter today but he thrives on through balls. And we only get the chance to play those by competing in midfield, moving the game there and breaking down the opposition and recycling well. Defenders defend. We won’t be a pressing team like under Ralph but have to maximise what we have. Luton were always in games for the bulk of last season, and this squad is better than they had.

I hope you are right, let’s see.

You’re probably right, unless we keep conceding like a sieve and losing the midfield. Needs a couple of wins though to get even that far, Nigel beat Villa and even Gray beat Boro and someone else, Hughes won at Palace. Hard to see where those are coming from, whereas under Hughes had a few draws and Nigel had a horrible fixture list but really great effort at City, pushed Fergie’s Utd all the way, fans staunchly behind him. It’s like PL v League One at the moment, and not even decent League One. He has to find a way of moving the game up the pitch and beating the press to give our centre halves a chance so we can get a foothold in games.

SR will act if this goes on much beyond the next 3 games, whatever they’ve said over the summer in the glow of Wembley. I like Russell but if he doesn’t think they won’t be like any other owner then he’s naive. It’s a results business, not a process business. They won’t sack him for a relegation but having invested in the squad, they’ll want to see us at least as positive and having a go as Luton did last season. If he sticks with walking passing triangles between the centre backs and Smallbone/Stephens/Aribo as immovable objects then Lallana will be interim manager by October.

Often happens. The CBs we are utilising aren’t doing well but the intense pressure from being the main resource of possession in the face of strong, quick PL presses isn’t helping them. Nor did the manager pushing them under bus today Nathan Jones style. Whether we use ABK or not, the most important change is their core job becomes 1) stopping the opposition getting shots and crosses at Ramsdale and 2) either finding Flynn/Lesley/Fernandes or if the space is very squeezed, and the wing backs too narrow, seeing if BBD or Cornet are on for an out ball to get a counter attack going and create breathing space. If sides then drop off as a result, then they can drive forward themselves a bit more like Stephens did sometimes for Ralph.

Bella Kochcrap

Still needs extending longer term if he’s willing.

An interesting parallel from our last top flight return is Jason Puncheon. Didn’t have the best reputation behaviourally and a lot of people on here didn’t want him re-integrated with the squad which had won double promotions whilst he was out on loan including in the PL for Blackpool. Brave from Nigel, who was big on behaviour, but it worked as he scored vital goals at QPR, Sunderland and home to City, and worked his socks off. Got his reward with a dream move to Palace near where he grew up for a decent fee and left on good terms with fans and club.

Very different playing careers. Russell’s is very good but Kompany is a world icon. Burnley fans were still in awe despite the results. Saints fans have had Lawrie, Ronald, Poch, a very effective and popular Nigel Adkins and WGS in recent memory. Russell won’t get that time. He has to adapt.

Add in Lesley and I’m with you. Aribo is a handy squad option at the level, good with the ball but you simply cannot live with PL midfields full stop with him and Smallbone. Flynn can’t cover those two, he has his own battles to win at this level and he can’t be facing 2 or 3 on. Will needs to bulk up like Drew Surman did to play in the top flight after Mick McCarthy sorted him out because Saints were in too much a mess at the time to do it. Gym work intensively, protein diet, once he’s bossing u23 games first minute to ninety then he’s ready for the first team squad. The days of Ian Ormendroyd and Ian Olney as skinny rakes in the top flight are long gone. He’s up against elite athletes in a kid’s body. Got the technical ability but so easy to push him off the ball and directly cost us a game last week. Crouch was tall and rangy but could handle the physical side. Will looks like Tyro u11s at the moment playing in the Wessex League.

To be clear, I’m not saying ‘Martin out’, but ‘Russell, this isn’t anywhere near working and the tempo and patterns of play need to be varied far more than the first three games’. Opponents can see the game plan from the coach leaving the M3. Set each line up and formation to win each game.

That won’t last long if we don’t start at least competing next game onwards and the slow triangles at the back don’t cease. Jones didn’t get long with SR and Russell is no different. Credit for last season but if Ranieri could be sacked the season after winning the title, anything can happen.

I get it and my emotions are similar but the optics with players we’ve just signed would be terrible and reminding me of signing Onachu and sacking Jones and Carrillo/Pellegrino. SR do need a serious chat with him about the tempo of play upping considerably now they have funded the CMs to do it and cutting out the defensive passing triangles or I think his job would be rightly at risk if he doesn’t make a serious attempt to adapt. We’re relegation favourites for a reason but we are going to break Derby’s low points record if the manager won’t adapt to the needs of the PL and the club, so even with moderate expectations, there has to be clear improvement in competitiveness and a much changed starting line up for the next few games featuring the new players. As home fans, we might need to reinforce that by being really encouraging positive and pragmatic play, but slow hand clapping the passing triangles. We will get some clog from the manager but it doesn’t matter.

The manager needs to actually select them if they’re going to help up the tempo and stop the Pellegrino type Barclays walking pensioner football. He will have Cornet available so let’s see him replace AA, and no excuse for seeing Will and Aribo starting the next game.