vectraman

Instead we went for George ‘cone stacker’ Long.

More worrying is that you, me and everyone else just knows that the Sports Republic gibbons will give him a contract extension. I can see us being stuck with Baz for years to come 😡🤬

You are spot on, the defence is and has been poor for several years. The individual players are ok as championship defenders. Collectively they are all over the place, terrible positionally, can’t stop a cross, can’t mark anyone consistently - which is unforgivable in the championship. Either they are not being coached properly, they are but they don’t listen, or the lack of on pitch organisation isn’t there and it’s every man for himself. We are crying out for a wise head in central defence to sort them out and organise them during the game. Should we go up this season, every single one of our defenders who played today would need replacing in the prem. THB is the only one who maybe could be coached to a better standard. In fact of the starting side today IMO, Jander, Scienza, Azaz and possibly THB are the only ones who would be good enough in the Prem. Add Fellows to that who was injured and the extent of the required rebuild is clear. Fast, strong, fit as butchers dogs players are required. We don’t have many of those currently.

well if we don’t go up, leaving it until next season on reduced parachute payments certainly won’t do us any favours….

Not his fault that Nathan Wood completely fucked it up.

Nathan Wood, step up and receive your completely shit defending award.

Nice Saints. Absolutely wank defending. Excellent 😖

From nowhere, a Manning goal…dodgy keeper moment!

So we get tired, but the opposition get more energetic second half 🤔 These are professional athletes - however tired we are, at least 6 of them have to play the full 90, weirdly, same for the opponents… Every game our second half performance is quite frankly crap. That isn’t acceptable or understandable by any metric. Either we aren’t fit enough, or our tactics aren’t right. Yes a win feels good after the last 16 months, but we need to be so much better second half. Whatever the question is, Joe Aribo is proving he is just not the answer either…

Been coming. Crap game management Tonda.

Why oh why do we do this every game? Brilliant first half, make subs and we give the opposition the advantage. Really wank game management again.

Have to say today, we look so dangerous. Fair play to you Tonda 👍

Anyone who doubts Adam Armstrong at this level 🙄🤣🤣🤣 he’s on for another ~25 goals this season

Leo you legend 🥇

Baggies have a terrible away record. We have hit good form - 4-0 Saints 🤞 Assume we won’t need to water the pitch tonight 😁😁

Looking forward to this - Scienza back is a huge bonus for us. A lot will depend on how Birmingham set up. We don’t like teams that play deep with the bus behind the ball, also didn’t enjoy Millwall’s quick press and suffocating midfield. It’ll be intriguing to see how we adapt and change as the games progresses. Good luck Tonda in your first official game as boss. My prediction - a tight scrappy 1-1 draw.

Name a manager who has never been sacked!!

My concern is we seem to be welded to 5 at the back. This leaves the team short in midfield and Saturday was an example where going to 4 defenders and bolstering midfield would have been sensible (to my I’m not a pro football manager mind). Fellows is a winger not a wingback, but he’s pressed into that square hole, I would just like a right back at right back (Roeslev), drop a CB (whoever) and Wellington at LB who is a better defender than Manning. Any team we are about to play will have seen how Millwall handled us, and will adopt a similar plan I suspect. Get in our faces and press us at the back, or just sit back, park the bus and hit us on the break. We reverted back to tippy tappy to me to you at the back Russ ball on Saturday, not sure if that was planned, just happened again, or was because we didn’t know what else to do! I’m intrigued to see how Tonda looks at the opposition on Saturday and what he does different. Brum are decent and will cause problems for us. Saturday will be a big test for him, as teams will now know not to let us have space to play into. A manager who will adapt formation and personnel (like Quarsie in for Stephens v Leicester) to counter the opposition and not stick rigidly to formations will get a lot more slack from me than a rigid, this is how we play (Russel Martin no flexibility) type.

Unmarked yet we have 5 at the back. We just can’t defend under pressure. Sadly Romeu with a piss challenge set them up.

Absolutely shit defending. THB with an almost disaster pass.

Millwall manager has done his homework on us. Not giving us any space to pass into.

Thank you. My feeling with Jack is that I don’t believe he, THB or Flynn Downes have been fully committed 100% behind Will Still. Certainly THB and Downes have been way off the standards that they can play at. Jack Stephens I don’t think has played too badly this season. What I have issue with is he has not at any point come out and backed Will Still, and apologised for poor team performances, which as captain I’d expect him to be doing. I don’t see him on the pitch driving the team on and encouraging more from them. It is this nondescript non committal attitude of not publicly backing Will Still, not openly accepting we have played poorly and stating he and the players have let everyone down and it isn’t acceptable and he will strive to improve it with the squad and not let the manager down. Minimum expectation as club captain. Never really got that from him. Why I believe he is part of the issue as a long term player here.

I sincerely hope all of this rumour is nonsense and a smokescreen for getting a decent experienced no nonsense manager in. Saints despite being a basket case to us fans is an attractive job, will pay well, and has great facilities. Any sub premier league level manager would want to be considered for this vacancy - to say there are no suitable candidates for a highly paid, excellent opportunity, in the whole world except (allegedly) Tonda who has no actual management experience of a professional league men’s team is mind meltingly complete bullshit. We absolutely MUST get a respected manager in, who isn’t mates with the team, isn’t being “heavily guided” by Sports Republic to tactics/formations/individual players who should be in the side. TE would be no more than a Sports Republic puppet. My own opinion, but until we bin off Jack Stephens, THB, Flynn Downes who I believe are poisonous to the team harmony, we will get nowhere. Sell them, erase Russel Martin from the team fabric and I believe the team will be all the better for it. If we end up with TE as manager, and suffer 5 at the back, safety first boring football, with Bazunu in goal, then for me I’m done with it. I’d rather have had Gary o’Neil as manager, despite his blue associations, all day long rather than a nobody who has managed nobody, and will have the respect of nobody in the dressing room. SR - get this appointment wrong, and you’ll have blown all of the fans patience and goodwill. Even on the Sainsweb site next manager vote TE got 5%. Says it all. The issue is the underlying player power that certain players clearly have. If you pander to these pussies you are basically selling out on any hope of progressing this season. They need a giant kick up the ass, not an easy life. Sort it, or ship out. You waste £7 million on a German unknown striker who is of no use whatsoever, that will get you pretty much any manager out there. I believe the issue is your leadership SR, your lack of understanding of the English game, and your pig headed ‘cleverness’ which most fans see as unbelievable smugness. Ball is in your court….don’t fuck this up please…

Looking at the realistic options on that list, I’m guessing Carrick is the most obvious? Assuming SR don’t go full SR and appoint Tonda…..

He may be on our fans list, but is he on the SR list? That is the crucial question! I hope he is - about time we got a ‘proper’ manager in.