revolution saint

The whole VAR debate is misleading. VAR is just another way of applying the rules of the game. When it was entirely down to referees and linesmen people moaned about bad decisions and now that VAR is there to help out, people moan about bad decisions. Ultimately the application and interpretation is still down to opinion (in the case of VAR somebody with access to replays and multiple camera angles) - doesn't mean everyone will agree with the decision though. I'd hazard that we've had fewer bad decisions since VAR than we used to have. Gets my goat when people moan about VAR as if rules have been invented entirely around VAR when they haven't. So this means when you disagree then it's either because the rule probably needs changing, or you just disagree with the opinion of the person applying the rule - it's not VAR at fault though. Muppets like Carragher and Kamara don't help the debate. I've heard them asking for consistency and common sense in the same sentence - when you're that dumb you're never going to make a coherent argument.

Depends what the German rules are on immigration (outside the EU) but whatever they are, they aren't affected one bit by what we choose to impose here. I guess the argument would be that Sancho and others won't have to go abroad because the tighter rules would free up space for them at British clubs. I'm not that bothered about European competitions but I would imagine long term this will make the premier league less competitive in those competitions but in theory should benefit the National Teams. One thing I've never really liked are the rules that take into account the level of the country they play for or their club. Basically means if you manage to scout someone of talent outside of the Fifa top 50 countries or in one of the more obscure leagues then you'll have trouble getting a work permit. That's not really the players fault though and potentially penalises good scouting networks.

Fair play to everyone at the club - work they've put in deserves this. One of the great things is it's so difficult to pick a man of the match as virtually everyone had a blinder - harried, pressured, brave on the ball and helped out their team mates when needed. Exceptional team performance all round with almost total commitment and, as a fan, you can't ever ask for more than that. Special mention to Che Adams - have to confess I never quite thought he'd make it (and if you look through my posts I've said that). Hold my hands up - wrong! Guy is developing into a cross between Keegan and Mark Hughes with his energy and hold up play. Might never be as prolific as those two but offers a hell of a lot to us and a justified first name on the teamsheet. I've been thinking that if you look at a lot of our players it seems to take about a year before they really get to grips with what Ralph wants from them. Adams, Armstrong, Ings, Romeu, Ward-Prowse and a few others have really started to shine after a year. Some of that falls into the physical conditioning necessary to play the game he wants but also understanding the tactical aspects as well. No one else is going to be able to copy this style of play without putting serious work in which is great.

Indeed, brexiteers have never pretended to give a fuck about the working man.

Well you said the media output which includes TV news doesn't it? Perhaps you should be a bit more precise when you frame these things otherwise you're in danger of people taking you at your word. As I say, don't really want to get into the whole BBC bias. I don't think it is but it's a personal opinion and you couldn't really measure it even if you wanted to so I'm not going to convince you. Pretty effing obvious we don't have the equivalent of Hannity, Tucker Carlson or even Anderson Cooper on British TV let alone the BBC so in that respect TV output between the countries is not the same.

When it comes to TV news that, frankly, is rubbish. Both Fox and CNN rarely provide a dissenting voice or try to show the other side of the argument whereas all UK TV news invariably does. I'll grant you the print media is biased and obviously so but that doesn't apply to the TV channels. Of course if you're looking for bias then you're going to get it whether it exists or not but you only need to spend half an hour comparing any UK TV news output with both Fox and CNN to see that the two countries are not comparable. Indeed we even have ofcom there to ensure impartiality whereas the US abolished the fairness doctrine. Don't really want to get into a debate over bias in the BBC (again) but the assertion that we have comparable output in TV news is wrong.

I wonder what Fox News position was on George W Bush or Reagan? Both capable of forgetting names and appearing senile. To be honest I don't think many sensible people would say Biden is the best Democrat to be president - but he is the one with the best chance of beating Trump and getting elected. He's inoffensive and doesn't give people a reason not to vote for him - you can tell this because Trump and the rest of the republican party have reverted to the tried and trusted tactic of calling him a radical left socialist. What a joke. I hope that if/when Biden does get elected and if they manage to control both houses (all of which seems likely) then they do make Puerta Rica and Washington DC states. Republicans have and will use any trick in the book to get (and retain) power - they have no shame and so it's time the Democrats did the same. Incidentally on the subject of Fox News and CNN - both partisan to the point of being propaganda. Admittedly CNN is a bit more clever about it but very tiresome when you're looking for a genuine unbiased view.

Walcott would be backup to Armstrong and I guess he could probably do that role fairly well. Ralph has said previously that Armstrong struggles with too many games in short periods so it kind of makes sense from a squad point of view but it's a disappointing loan if it happens. It's also a bit of a rebuke to anyone thinking Smallbone was the answer - clearly not if this is Ralph's thinking.

Chelsea want to use RLC as a makeweight in a deal to get Declan Rice but WHAM don't want to sell Rice and risk a riot. Whatever happens though Chelsea need to offload him at least for the season as there's little chance he'll get much time on the pitch with them. They're in the same position we are with Carillo, Hoedt and Boufal. Expect the price/cost of loan and wages to become affordable the later it gets in the window. I've always liked RLC as a player and think he could definitely improve the team however I'd be wary of his injury record and whether he's the type of player that is willing to close down and be the first line of defence. Definitely a class player (or at least was). Same goes for Rashica - brilliant little player and Werder Bremen were hoping he would be gone by now because they need the cash. Villa are probably out of the race to sign him now that they've got Barkley. RB Leipzig were thought to be interested but have signed Hee-Chan Hwang from Salzburg so might be out of the race now so, again, there could be a chance that Bremen might be flexible on a price. These are the types of deals Semmens were talking about when he talked about players that wouldn't otherwise be possible becoming more affordable and if you think about it there's lots of players in the attacking midfield area that could become affordable: off the top of my head RLC, Rashica, Cantwell, Brooks, Ntcham (I'm not suggesting any of these will happen but their clubs will probably be hoping they're not around by the end of the window). Arsenal are another club with the likes of Nelson and Rowe-Smith that need to be playing top level 1st team football. Personally I really like what I've seen of Rowe-Smith and think he would probably be a better bet than RLC and might be more of a possibility of a permanent move either now or at the end of a loan agreement. Obviously I've no idea of our finances and it appears that we're struggling to raise cash but if we've been keeping our powder dry and hoping for a big deal at the end of the window then there's bargains to be had.

Hi Lord D! Is she a remainer in the same sense Julian Lewis is? It's confusing innit - I'm not sure if remainer is a term you use to describe someone you disagree with or an actual remainer?

Loads of interesting things about Trump testing positive: Effectively gives him just over two weeks of active campaigning before the election (assuming he recovers well). Does that help or hinder him? Americans are patriotic - will he get some kind of boost in the polls because of sympathy? If he's not seriously ill will this encourage Trump supporting people who doubt the severity of the illness anyway to further ignore restrictions? How do the democrats play this? Attacking a bloke who is seriously ill rarely goes down well. If Trump doesn't have a serious reaction and he's left in isolation with just his phone and twitter for company then how deranged and mad will his tweets become?

As opposed to the tired, boring and sad guff you come out with perpetually? Know when to stop mate - this ITK "joke" is so thin it's transparent. You're like one of those comedians who has one joke or punchline and tries to make it last a lifetime. It's really tiresome and boring so please try and come up with some new material.

Problem from my point of view is that Dan Sheldon appears to be thinking he should be writing for an audience that doesn’t follow saints particularly closely. Most of his articles are full of stuff already in the public domain or discussed on here/social media. It’s either that or he’s paid by word and padding the article like a desperate undergraduate writing a dissertation. To be fair it must be hard finding information not already out there but he needs to do more tactical analysis and be more opinionated (and be prepared to back it up)

Great - we can sew up the double barrelled surname championship by the end of the month if we can get RLC. Definitely a great player assuming the injuries are a thing of the past. Was always impressed with him whenever I've seen him play.

It’s a subjective opinion but Smallbone is not way above league 1 standard. Did nothing today and needs to improve on his stamina and mentality. I’m all for giving youth a chance but so far Smallbone hasn’t taken his chances.

I can't imagine Ralph does really want to keep him - he's not even 2nd choice for his position. Djenepo, Smallbone and even Long are more likely to get on the pitch in front of him and that was the case for most of last season. If Ralph wanted him and rated him higher then he would have got more minutes last season - only way I can see him staying is if the offers are so poor that it's just not worth it.

First off, I'm a fan of Boufal - I think he's got more talent than probably most of the squad but it's pretty obvious that he doesn't have a (long term) future at Saints and it's very unlikely he'll ever be considered a first team player next season. If that's the case then all he's doing is blocking the path from the youth team to the first team. To be honest I'm not sure about Smallbone but if Boufal is holding back his development then there's not much point in keeping Boufal. Different if he were integral to the first team but he's not. Sadly it's one of those transfers that hasn't worked out and if we can get some money for a player that isn't going to get many minutes and is going to leave for free at the end of the season anyway then we may as well take it.

You can clearly tell his left leg is shorter than his right leg in that picture. We've been had yet again. Makes you wonder why we don't do proper scouting but at least we now know why we're looking for another CB.

Cheers for finding this - looks a much more likely kind of target than Ntcham. He seems to tick most of the boxes Ralph would want and is a good long passer so that fits in with the ethos of getting the ball forward quickly. Can also play CB which is handy. For all those conspiracy nuts out there - AZ Alkmaar have Billy Beane (moneyball fella) as an advisor - that's the same Billy Beane who is involved in a consortium looking to buy a premier league club. Probably nothing in it but you never know. Coincidence or is IT happening? Anyway, on the face of it exactly the kind of player we should be looking at but having said that the guy has been linked with a ton of clubs so probably just an over active agent or bored journo.

I would be really surprised if we went for Ntcham - just doesn't look like the kind of player Ralph would be interested in. If anything he looks more like another Lemina type - talented and ambitious but without the workrate to match those aspirations. I guess a new challenge could reignite him though. Other thing is he's a much more forward thinking type of midfielder so he'd probably fit in better in one of the "ten" roles but again would need to get used to running a fair bit more and closing down - could work if Armstrong drops back into midfield but why change something that's working? I reckon whoever we bring in will be more along the lines of Mangala - pretty unknown but willing to work hard and somebody that Ralph feels he can develop.

Aluko and Smith have both been pretty bland and don’t really have much to say apart from the blindingly obvious which is very much like the Jamies, Redknapp and Carragher. Don’t mind Morrison, Dublin or Richards either but if anyone needed to go it was Jeff Stelling. Bloke used to be good but has obviously started to believe his own hype. All his moaning about VAR was tiresome, predictable, boring and in most cases plain wrong.

To make an obvious point stats only tell you what they've done and not what they will do. Inevitably Ralph would give him different instructions, he would have different options, different players around him etc etc. They're not a bad indicator when it comes to tackling etc but not too wise to base a judgement on stats alone. Not that I know eff all about McKennie anyway.

Yeah, funnily enough I was doing some work on this last week. Work for a pretty large employer and sickness has dropped to 50% of what it was pre-lockdown and the pretty much the only sickness being recorded is long term stuff. As for Hancock - what planet is he on? You could spend a lifetime listing the contradictions and inaccuracies of his position, although to be fair, his position will probably shift soon so there wouldn't be much point.

I subscribed to "The Athletic" last week on the £2.50 a month deal. Been impressed so far and Carl's articles were very decent - informative and added something other than just regurgitation of the usual crap on the web. If I'm honest then Dan's two so far have been a bit bland - didn't reveal anything I didn't already know and neither did he venture an opinion which made me think. Hopefully gets better soon though.

You clever fella. Must have an ology