macca155

On top of everything else Saints are giving their closest relegation rivals, a morale boosting win.

Well that was entirely predictable. Wood instead of ABK, great decision Russell

2 points split 6 teams, obviously all is not lost. Manager needs to up his game quickly or we are in trouble. The recruitment defies belief. Cornett and Frazer add absolutely nothing we haven't already got. Just blocks SAA in my opinion. He has to play his best centre half (ABK) and sort out the left hand side. Stewart barely has Championship experience, bit unfair to shove him in the Prem straight off. He needs to fight with Onuachu for that position up front. Even with all that it's going to be tough but at least give it a go.

I noticed that too, Bendarek was loitering at times as well. As a unit the defence have definitely lost their shape, and that's on top of all the other frailties.

Well that was desperate, a lunchtime game and they run out of pies.... scandalous. No surprises in the game. Played well for 30 mins, Dibling looked excellent and obviously worried them. In future I suggest he takes his own penalties. However the problems were all down the left. KWP had zero cover from that wet fart Diaz, and Utd exploited that. Recruitment has been very poor. Archer, Diaz, Frazer, Edwards, Woods, Taylor, and Lallana add zero to the squad that we don't already have. Stephens and Bendarek are adequate cover to THB and ABK. Then they buy Cornett, why? The one position Saints have depth in with Sully and SAA. No way should Onuachu be frozen out either. Add pretty woeful tactics and there are no surprises in these defeats.

Now I like Jack and I fear fans fail to see his overall contribution. However I agree with this. ABK is a quality player and if he is with us then he needs to played. Just hope he can stay fit.

Oh come on that is straightforward bigotry towards a player. At the moment Saints are better with him on the pitch. That doesn't say a great deal about the other defenders but that's where we are at the moment.

You can have an opinion but it is fundamentally wrong. Jack at the moment is our most consistent defender (I am aware the bar is low). He is the one blocking, covering and doing the basics of defending. His passing and runs forward have at least created some chances, all of whom wasted. Is he Van Dyke, no of course not, has he made some errors .... a few yes, but the other defenders have made just as many and they don't bring anywhere near as much to the game in comparison. THB has had a rough time in the opening games, he'll survive and I'm sure will be a star for us, but he needs the consistency of Stephens and Bendarek alongside him at the moment. He probably isn't our future if the team beds in as a Premier League team, but he certainly isn't the main problem at the moment, frankly we need his experience as one of the few who has Premier League experience. The same goes for Ryan Frazer, he may not be as dynamic as Edosie and is really a solid Championship player but equally brings the sort of experience the team needs.

Nuno totally owned Martin at St Marys. Different level of manager from an in play strategy point of view. Russell has many attributes, I like him and really want him to do well. I'm sure he doesn't coach the players to give away goals. Probably as seething as we are at our start. Guess we'll see a response of some sort.

If Saints keep losing then RM is toast. No owner, no matter how indulgent, will tolerate that level of humiliation. He either adapts or back to the Championship he goes .... quicker than us. At the moment he's ok, 4 points split 11 teams. Plenty of time and opportunity to sort things out. He's earnt some credit and has a big squad to choose from. He certainly made his thoughts clear after the game. Everton (cup), Ipswich, Bournemouth and Leicester and Everton again, coming up. Need something out of those games. I guess that will be judgement day for him. Feels very similar to Adkins.

Agree with most of that. I'd keep Dibling on the bench still but bring him on early. PL managers aren't stupid, they'll know all about him. If he starts they'll ensure he is chopped down early and marked into ineffective positions. It happens every game in every team If he doesn't start but comes on for at least 30 minutes, they will have to adapt mid game. That is much harder. It's a shame Sulemana isn't firing. Players like that occupy defenders and give creators like Dibling space to play. Saints are just too predictable at the moment. Too easy to beat sadly. It will improve I'm sure

Irritating that the bookies putting us favs to be relegated are spot on so far. I guess the new signings need time to bed in. Brentford are a tidy outfit and deserved that win. I'm just annoyed Saints served it up to them on a plate. For all the ranting on here Stephens isn't the problem. Don't forget the last minute blocks he and JB put in all game. That defence was ruthlessly exposed by an inadequate midfield and a press Saints clearly couldn't cope with. RM needs to adjust his tactics to avoid a repeat. He needs to play ABK who is clearly better than both THB and JS. I guess we"ll see big Les in against Utd, that should make a difference. On the plus side Dibling, Ramsdale, and Fernandes were significant improvements. Our competitors for relegation are all in dirt with us, so need to panic yet.

Desperate, these tactics are ridiculous. Doesn't matter who you put in defence, none one can consistently play that way against the sort of press Brentford can impose.

Totally self inflicted, there is no need to keep fanning around like this. They aren't very good at it and it is pointless.

Channon going was sort of understandable as Saints were relegated. He was an England regular and needed to keep his place. Chivers was a massive shock. I had his sticker and everything . Gutted

Good to see Adam on Wednesday, I enjoyed that performance, lots of class there. He'll only come on for a few cameos the rest of the season I suspect but hopefully we can enjoy them nonetheless. His priority will be building his coaching credentials and good luck to him. I have never understood football fans getting all hissy and upset when a pro footballer chooses to take an offer of more money to work elsewhere. I got over that when those bastards at Spurs dumped Frank Saul on us for my hero at the time Martin Chivers. If I could cope with that I can cope with anything. If another employer offered to bung you £20k and double your salary, for the same job, I reckon most wouldn't take long to think about it. Especially if your effective working life ends at 35 if you are lucky. You really aren't going to care to much about those you leave behind. I would be like Hasta la vista baby, I've 20K in my pocket and a one way ticket to Rio.

Very much this. I suspect the club would have liked to have kept Jaydon but with Larios still on the books one of them had to go as the club need the cash. This is the consequence of keeping KWP.

ABK when fit (and bothered) is a class above all of our other centre halves. He seems to have more composure and surety of a pass than the others. That sort of timing and natural skill is a rare commodity. If he is here then he has to be used end of story. Problem is that he may not stay fit for very long and then RM has to bring a player back in, who is pretty peed off. Tough one

Everton away ... Memories not all good

These games are always useful to see who can step up. Great shift from Tyler Dibbling. Enjoy him the vultures will be circling. We aren't allowed nice things. Archer and ABK showed their class. They are Premier League players no doubt there. The squad is definitely starting to take shape.

This defence is desperate. ABK in fairness looks a class above but that was never in doubt

ABK is on ... Wow

Got to keep everything in perspective but great start. Really good goal for young Sam

Good grief what a shot Doff cap for that one

Bonkers view minutes