Oisin

Largely agree - assuming a back 4, we’ll probably have Sanda as 5th choice, Wood 4, Stephens 3, Edwards 2 and either THB (preferred but unlikely), Jan (I’m done with him), ABK (please go) or AN Other as 1st choice. Shea Charles can also fill in as an emergency. LB we’ll have Wellington plus one of Manning, Taylor or Latinos (I think I’d prefer Taylor but think he’ll be off) RB for championship I reckon Sugawara would be fine and with Bree as cover we’d be good for this position but if the Italian rumours are true he’ll be gone and we’ll need a replacement. Shame as I think championship football would play to Suga’s attacking strengths and enable him to work on developing his defensive side; he’s just been far too exposed in a struggling side in this league. Either way I think the defence is fine for the championship without too much work. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the rest of the pitch.

Yeah, the French league is rubbish; just look at how their sides do in European competitions, especially in direct comparison with English premier league teams

Yeah, I get the feeling that this thread is a bit futile in the sense that the next manager is a done deal. I guess because of his situation at Wednesday and the financial implications of that on us we just have to be patient. But while there’s no news it does create space for a lot of noise so the speculation is to be expected. If it is Rohl as I suspect, that hopefully means Spurs can spend his time focusing on the squad overhaul. Beyond Shea Charles and Ronnie Edwards I can’t begin to guess who our starting 11 in August will be. Probably a good thing right now as I want rid of most, but it does mean there’s a lot to do.

You won’t have met Dalek, I assume

Agree with your assessment of RM but not sure you’re correct in Rohl being another philosophy manager. He does have a playing style it’s true, but so do most coaches (it’s also a style I like and I think most of us generally enjoyed under Ralph). However, Rohl is tactically flexible, having played 3 at the back, 4231 (mostly), and also 433 and 442. He seems able and prepared to flex to accommodate both what he has available and what the opposition or game situation dictates. He is absolutely not intransigent in the way both RM and IJ have been. The Wednesday fans love him and there’s a lot to like here - whether it happens and whether he’s successful if it does is clearly not guaranteed, but I’d be far more excited about him being appointed than I have been about any appointments since Ralph.

I’ve voted for Taylor as I couldn’t see any logic in signing a left back given the full back options we already had - at least for some of the others we in theory had a requirement for the position. That said I could have voted for almost any of them, and the equal spread of votes suggest many feel the same. Which kind of supports the overall assessment that this was an unmitigated fucking disaster. I mean, it couldn’t feasibly have been any worse. I hope everyone associated with this year’s recruitment has gone because they clearly have their head up their arses. I’m not a scout but five minutes told me Fraser and BBD didn’t have the legs for this league, Wood didn’t have the ability, Sugawara the defensive capabilities and almost all of the others didn’t manage the five minutes necessary to allow any opinion. Given how bad the players selected ahead of them are, these guys must be truly awful. I don’t blame the players themselves; the recruitment team and (one has to conclude RM had a say in some of these) the previous manager, however, totally fucked our already slim chances last summer. We’re the worst team ever mainly because we’ve combined the worst transfer window ever with two of the worst tactical set-ups I’ve ever seen. Sport Republic are horrific. Spors may end up being the long-dreamed of messiah but he needs to be because we need a miracle right now to sort this club out.

We haven’t seen Dibling tried at centre back yet. With IJ in charge I wouldn’t bother trying to guess what random way he chooses to set them up - just sit back and await the surprise of finding out Archer is a forward sweeper and Sully an enforcer.

Did you see that video from Stamford Bridge? And you have more time for Sully than Dibling? Wow. This whole thread seems very strange to me; lots of anger at a kid being less productive at the end of his first full season in football than at the start. Theres dozens of things to be angry about with saints this season - Diblings performance and attitude is pretty much at the bottom of the list. Not having a tactical set up to get the best out of him and Fernandes, our only 2 decent attacking footballers (despite only being kids) is far more worthy of criticism than their performances. As for attitude … the only 2 players busting a gut to get back v Chelsea? Yep, those same 2. He’s technically excellent, has a top attitude, has lots still to learn and yes, probably needs a manager to put their arm around him right now. I know that last fact will cause derision in some fans, especially given how much footballers earn, but it’s still true and he’s still just a kid. If we nurture him there is a 100 million player in there. Slag him off, undermine his confidence and pick on him versus 20+ other useless losers in the squad more worthy of your ire and he’ll continue to underperform, leave for nothing, and become someone else’s 100 million player.

He picked Bree and Aribo at centre back when there were other options available. And after that experiment proved to be a disaster he did exactly the same in the next game. With the same result. (Other examples of his coaching insanity can be provided if required) We were better last night … I still don’t want him anywhere near the club next season.

Apart from Sulemana who doesn’t deserve to wear the shirt, I’d say it’s probably our best possible lineup right now. Which speaks volumes because it’s pretty crap.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cz6dwwzn7vdo I doubt he’s off to Spurs

Also, there’s no way spurs are spending a combined £80m on a couple of kids. Both stories are just typical Spurs rumours designed to appease the fans by showing willing; I very much doubt there will be an end product for Spurs here

Sorry, who?

I do understand and largely sympathise with the sentiment but as others have said, playing only kids would be feeding them to lions - grossly unfair on those who’ve done nothing wrong and probably very damaging to their development. Im actually inclined to go the other way and force the senior pros and wantaways to play every second of this shit show in abject misery. We’re having to endure it, so should they

I wonder if he’s being uncharacteristically forthright because he knows we have someone lined up for next season? Easier to be vocal when you know any upset will only last 2 months maximum.