macca155

Can't believe those wages figures, if true he needs to look after himself and either get a new contract or push for a sale. I'm sure Roy Keane will be advising him. He is our best CB by a long long way and needs a decent salary. Football salaries are always a shock to us mere mortals, but these figures are over a very short period of time. By their mid 30s most footballers will have finished their contracts. A few get managerial or media jobs but only a few. What they earn during their playing days has io last a long time. Don't get me wrong, they are amazing figures and when someone like Aribo takes the piss it's really annoying, but they are the stars of the show, they bring in the punters, and generate shirt sales and income. Obviously for us at the moment we resent every penny but during more normal times its less of an issue.

Good win, don't care how the points come. Wins always boost confidence. Shea needs time, pulled out of several 50/50 tackles. Sunday isn't the game for him. Hopefully Bragg will be fit to provide an option. Jack led the team well and all the defenders put a shift in. Jander was MoTM for me, some superb interceptions. Sunday could be interesting. COYS

5 minutes to go and a very sparse crowd

Annoyed that Bragg is still out but at least it's a back 4. Agree with @Gloucester Saint Stephens will be needed on Sunday, he needs minutes. Just hope Stewart doesn't over do it.

This game is all about mental strength. Charles and Romeu should be nowhere near it. Shea needs to be protected and eased back in, and Romeu is finished. I'd leave Downes and Manning out, they will crumble. Same with Azaz. Stephens defo gives a shit so for all his faults, he needs to play. Bragg, Matsuki and Jander should be able to boss the midfield. I also think Archer has the needle at the moment, he's played enough big games not to be intimidated, and will relish the atmosphere. Home advantage is massive for them, as it should be. However they too are in trouble. Bishop has scored twice this season, no Murphy or Lang, and crucially no wingers to speak of. So the ace tactic of putting crosses in, won't be so easy for them. Fellows and Leo will give them the shits as will Robinson. A lot will depend on how robust the ref is. A defeat is on the cards obviously, but it certainly isn't a formality. Derby matches are always weird.

I've been scoffing and poo pooing any mention of relegation. My eyes were firmly on the play offs. Well no more scoffing from me. At 3.46pm on Saturday my poo pooing was firmly rammed down my throat. If you'll excuse the metaphor. I still think it can be avoided, but the club is certainly in mortal danger now. A defeat on Wednesday is pretty much a formality, I can't see a wily old fox like Wilder letting the opportunity pass. Sunday is harder to call. Home advantage and Saints on their knees, would suggest a devastating defeat. However derby games are weird, and they have their own demons. Nevertheless there's a scenario where they win and go above us ..... 😲 If SR don't realise they are in trouble now, just wait for that to happen. Hopefully Tonda's home truths (ha), will get a response, but we are in deep trouble.

I doubt it would take much to resign him. Make Orient an offer they can't refuse and Dom would be able to rejoin his home club. Doubt our board have that vision though

Well I'll be there, ever the optimist. Wilder will have his players kick our talent every which way to Wednesday. They'll press relentlessly, and look to expose the gaps at LB and RB. Play 4 3 3 to counter this and really get in their faces. Cards galore, don't let them settle. Purge the complacency and garbage football from the team, and get the crowd onside. Bree, THB, Wood and Wellington at the back. Bragg, Williams, and Jander in midfield. Up front whoever. They can all score if the ball gets to them. Anybody tippy tapping about gets hooked. Use the bench sensibly to maintain the intensity. Most importantly keep the initiative, boss the game. Won't happen as some wanker analysing the data will produce a power point advocating the opposite. You can hear it now, 'Stick to the vision be part of the project.'

I just remarked exactly this, to nobody in particular. Saints were garbage, Wolves look like a decent outfit. Just a bit unfortunate it would seem.

I don't like going after individual players, and I doubt Downes is a malign influence. He seems pretty quiet to me. Probably trying to maintain his fitness, which we know is an issue for him. Certainly doesn't seem to want to be here and probably looking for a move out asap. Jander and Bragg are way more visible and stronger in the tackle and would be my preferred partnership in midfield. However they need more support.

Whether Ballard would have forced his way into the 1st team is obviously unknown, but he clearly had potential, and letting him go was a foolish move. I said so at the time, as did many people. The caveat to that is that Dom may have pushed for the move, but considering the clubs investment in his recovery, I doubt that. A decent contract extension and a loan would have been the best solution. He was coming back from injury, and it would have been good to see whether he could hit form. Anyway he's probably better off away from the current shit show. It's brilliant to see him doing so well, maybe we'll buy him back at some point.

Another hatrick for Ballard, I could weep. What utter madness to sell him.

Ha ha Leicester again

Selling Ballard seems a bizarre move. The lad clearly knows where the goal is. Once he recovered from his injuries he was on fire for the U21s. Instead of wasting money on Downs, he was the ideal person to have on the bench as backup to Armstrong and Archer. He'd have taken his chance when it came, I'm sure of that. Good luck to him, I fear we are going to regret his sale

So that's either Jelart at CB or .... whisper it quietly, 4 at the back, and a new goalie. What is this wizardry Sudden scrambling to find a stream

We've all seen how the Jan window works. Mainly clubs manoeuvring for the summer transfer window. No club is selling a striker in form. They are pretty rare, and if a club has one they will either want big money or aren't selling. Saints could pounce on a L1 forward in form, someone like Dom Ballard for example ☹️ Leave it ....... However, Saints are scoring goals, just not enough to compensate for the porous defence. I'd prefer they focus on a solid CB who can command the area. If they sort out the defence, the play offs will be an easy reach.

You beat me to it, way too slow to be a midfielder. They all have to be box to box athletic machines these days. A half decent forward would ghost past him at ease. It's a good sale for all concern. Hopefully he'll get more game time at QPR, and realise his potential. Good luck to him.

I liked Edwards, and he certainly didn't get enough game time. However his performances have been pretty underwhelming. A good move for him but he's probably destined to be Championship level defender. Hopefully the club have a heavyweight replacement lined up. Is it worth waiting in to see .....

Downs being sent on loan, is just SR trying to avoid issues with an increasingly hostile fan base. He was finished here anyway. I bet he doesn't play much and they'll send him on another loan in the summer. Flim flam pieces starting to appear in social media, from players, about needing to stick together. That's PR trying to negate Alfie's tweet. They'll be more, but moving players on from decent salaries isn't easy. They'll only see the negativity from fans drop a bit, if they make key signings in crucial positions, and change the ridiculous system. Watching with breath not baited

100% this, on the pitch, years of conditioning, and the fact that 30K are watching you, means they perform as best they can. They know no other way. As you say off the pitch, it's a very different picture.

No way is there going to be a new manager this season. Mainly because it will reflect badly on SR, and they'll avoid that at all costs. In addition nobody decent is coming here with such a toxic dressing room. Interesting that Alfie has spilled the beans a bit on a player clique. Good luck with your interviews from now on. I doubt it as a clear cut as we think. Contracts are ending soon for some, plus for many of them, even if they do get promotion, they won't be part of the Prem team. That must be pretty demotivating. Nevertheless they are pros, and I always think they give 100% on the pitch. For whatever reason that hasn't been enough. System, talent, football intelligence, fan pressure, or good old fashioned bad luck. There are many reasons, but fans just see it as shit. I fear we must endure this for a while yet.

You may be right but I think your observation that the forwards care starved of service is 'nail on head'. If the defence falls back and starts fannying about, the midfield has to drop back as well. Thus we can all see the huge gaps between defence and the forwards. Attacks appear to rely on either Scienza, Fellows, or Robinson picking up the ball in midfield, and going on a mazy run for 50 yards. Either that or a hopeful 40 yard pass from THB. Not even LeGod himself could sustain that. No other team plays that way, it's ridiculous. When Azaz acts a pivot, playing intelligent passes either wide or through the defence. Armstrong, Archer, and Scienza score for fun. Other teams know this and force us back to frustrate him. So frustrating

Brentford like Brighton, and possibly Bournemouth, have the balls to sell a top player, and rely on their ability to recruit another. It's the only model that works for smaller clubs. In fairness Saints have done that part reasonably well. Some healthy profits on players. However they've kept huge gaps/weaknesses on the pitch. Mainly in defence, and the coaching staff have been terrible. Classic house of cards.

It won't be as clear cut as suggested. They'll be a set vision influencing, appointments and overall strategy. Tonda will be working within that. Classic senior management, set the parameters, but keep a distance to avoid being tarnished by failure. However, they'll be one hell of an inquest at Marchwood today. SR aren't stupid, they know the heat is on them. Particularly with a likely horror show at FP coming up. Tonda is probably safe until the end of the season. Hopefully SR react to the recent debacle's and give him more latitude. The problems are all in defence really. Buy/loan a goalkeeper, and experienced defenders, then Tonda might just stand a chance.

Oh sweet Jesus, just landed, having a week away, and I've just seen the score. What on earth is going on. I know we all have our own culprits, pretty unanimous on some, but they aren't that bad. That is a truly disgraceful performance. Major shift in attitude required. Goalkeeper required asap, but also a DoF to act as overlord to Tonda. He isn't coping clearly. This is just panic stations. I shudder to think what Pompey will do to us on their manor. They are almost as shite as Saints, but they'll expose the weaknesses just like everyone else. I suspect SR are sharpening the knives before this reflects on them.