Sheaf Saint

Why did he put his hand on Arma's back? It's a deliberate push, plain and simple.

That's a blatant push in the back. "Only a small contact" my arse.

And sure as eggs is eggs, the first time we get a chance to hit them on the break we end up passing it back to the CBs. I really fucking hate this style of play.

And brave. Don't forget brave. This is a horrific watch already.

Ryan Fraser At left back Up against Mo Salah. What could possibly go wrong? Is Russ trying to beat the 9-0 record or something? That is truly fucking astounding.

Having given this far more thought than necessary, I still can't decide which emoji reaction is most appropriate for this post.

Signal

Does that not just strengthen the argument that he isn't being utilised properly?

KWP. He was at his absolute best for us when he was given the freedom to make those marauding runs down the wing and cause havoc in opposition defences. But we don't see anywhere near enough of that from him these days because of Russ's 'play it safe' mentality. He's being shackled and doesn't look happy. Tall Paul. Proven goal-scorer throughout his career. Clearly gives opposition defenders nightmares in the few cameo appearances we've seen from him so far, but we don't play to his strengths because our slow, ponderous build-up play gives opposing teams too much time to organise themselves defensively and mark him effectively. In all his minutes so far this season, I think I can count on one hand the amount of times we've actually tried to cross the ball to him. BBD. Again, proven goal scorer in the Championship and has shown he is also capable of getting goals in the PL when employed as a traditional, physical centre forward. So what does Russ do? Sticks him out on the left wing where he looks completely lost because he has none of the attributes needed to be an effective winger. Fraser. I don't know what's going on with him/his form this season, but he has performed at a higher level in the PL in the past so clearly doesn't fit with your description of "basically doing as well as they have at any point in their career". Again, if he were given the chance to play and licence to actually run at defenders in the way that we know he can, he would cause problems and create openings. But Russ seems to prefer Manning in that position these days. ABK. OK so something weird has gone on behind the scenes, and I guess we'll never know the full truth of it, but the simple fact is we have a German international CB who has looked decent for us in the past (he was excellent for us before his shoulder injury), who says he is fit and ready to play but is being left out of the matchday squad completely. Maybe with Bednarek's injury he might get the chance to prove himself again, but I'm not holding my breath. Big Les. Clearly has talent and physical strength, but has really struggled in his recent appearances because he's being asked to play in a position that doesn't suit his strengths. Whether or not he will go on to be a successful PL player is still in doubt, but we'll never know until we play him in a position where we can get the best out of him. The famous Einstein quote about judging a fish by its ability to climb a tree springs to mind. And finally an honorary mention to the now departed Charly Alcaraz - who was genuinely the most exciting player I've seen in a Saints shirt in many years but was allowed to leave on the cheap because he was too unpredictable and wasn't suited to Russball due to taking too many risks in the final third.

It really is this simple. The squad has limitations, but we've got some good players whose strengths just aren't being utilised. I thought Ankersen was supposed to be all about data and analytics? Surely his spreadsheets must show that there is a clear discrepancy between the player metrics and the number of points we've got.

Wasn't someone on here a few years ago banging on about him being better than Harry Maguire?

First Saints player to score for England since SRL?

Make that £20m 😉

Manning coming on for ROI now.

Hopefully that will add another £10m to his price tag at the end of the season.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/nov/16/uk-cheeses-miss-out-on-international-prize-after-getting-stuck-in-customs Un-blessed are the cheese makers.

Just been to see Gladiator 2. If, like the ancient Romans, you love a bit of gratuitous violence with little to no realistic supporting storyline, then it'll be right up your street. It's good entertainment, but very contrived and borrows too much from the original film, so it's unlikely to win any awards for originality. Still a solid 7/10 though.

I don't think you understand how football contracts work. If Russ were to quit because he knew the club were lining up a replacement then he would literally be walking away from a fortune. He has a contract and if SR want to terminate that then, depending on the terms they agreed, they will have to pay him a very large sum of money to do so. If he were to resign then he gets nothing. You say everyone has their pride, but if you swap the d in that word for a c, it's still equally true, if not more so.

So it's just a coincidence that the two people you used as examples are trans, is it? What is it about Rachel Levine that you believe makes her unqualified for her role then?

So why did you choose someone who actually does appear (as aintforever has shown) to be very well qualified for the post she was appointed to as an example? Actually, don't answer that. Given your transparent dislike of trans people, it's pretty obvious really.

And I think you have also missed the point. When I first mentioned Hesgeth's history of political activism, I wasn't suggesting that alone should preclude him from becoming SecDef. I was merely pointing out that that appears to be the only reason he was chosen for the role, because his CV doesn't exactly shout "top government post" material.

Ah, so your post was just pure whataboutery then. Nobody said anything about Trump's picks being unique - just questionable. So who are they anyway?

I have no idea who these people are, so you'll have to be a little clearer about what point you are trying to make.

So Musk spending $130m on Trump's campaign was purely a sign of his honest intentions, and nothing whatsoever to do with buying his way into a position of immense power in the government with what is, to him, just pocket change. OK then. Not that I'm defending Oprah BTW. Can't stand the woman anyway, and in this case the guy has a point. Ostensibly supporting someone's election campaign while outrageously profiteering from it is really not a good look.

If he had been a General then perhaps his appointment wouldn't raise any eyebrows. But he only reached the rank of Major, and without wanting to belittle that achievement in itself, it's not exactly what you would call 'top brass' is it. Clearly it's his history of political activism, rather than his military career, that was the dominant factor in his selection.