Crab Lungs

I’m still getting people in tracksuits on the pitch, taking my players out.

Quite agree. What a wimpy collective they must have been. No one with any balls to say ‘this isn’t good enough’. in other news, one man on his own from the FM community has fixed the UI lagging/fading issue .. http://sortitoutsi.net/content/74865/fm26-speedster-football-manager-26-patch-to-make-the-ui-go-as-fast-as-it-should

The UI is nice and presentable and you can get used to it over time but it’s still buggy and sometimes playing the game is a chore; click after click after click when in previous version it’d take one click. I’m assuming they want people to use the search function and bookmarks to negate that. That said, the match engine is far superior to the previous ones which in some ways, salvage some credibility for the game. Not sure how long I can stick it out for though; it’s missing so many features and lacks the immersion of previous games. The biggest issue for me is that I still feel detached from it all. I hope they introduce some of the data and information back into the game. SI had a lot of time to work on the next iteration (since 2020) and perhaps they felt pressured to release it for cash flow purposes but whoever was QA needs to hang their heads in shame. To release that in its state was unacceptable - perhaps its complacency and knowing they know have no direct challenger in the market which gives them the confidence that people will have to like it or lump it, per se. What they continually drop a bollock on is the lack of input from the community. The community is what has made previous versions immersive and fun. The logos, facepacks, skins, databases - they should really lean into that community more for help; there’s some amazing modders out there.

As I said previously. He has to go, this won’t get any better.

I wanted Will Still to work out but this hasn’t been good enough for a while. No discernible style of play, just a team of decent players stuck in 3rd gear. This league is dross (with the exception of Cov). It simply isn’t acceptable and won’t get better. He has to go. There’s a lot of people blaming the players. It’s not them. If you’re a manager, you’re accountable. Every team I’ve seen has looked fitter, better organised and more motivated. That’s on the manager. Our squad, with the exception of probably Leicester, is one of the best in the league, if not the best. Those signings we made are for once, not dross - they’re good players. A better manager would be getting a hell of a lot more out of them. It’s pathetic.

I’m still wondering what our style is because I see a lot of talented players monging around in 3rd gear, waiting for something to happen. I said to a mate last month this league is there for the taking, the only team I’ve been wowed by is Coventry.

Well, the first thing I did when I saw this was have a giggle. He absolutely reaped what he sowed there, especially with all the excuses he used. He looked very much like a guy who let the ferocity of managing Rangers and the spotlight of being with one of Glasgow’s big two get to him. Whilst egomaniacs like Rodgers can absorb the attention into their ego, Martin was fundamentally affected by it. When he talked about anxiety in the players, that was projection. The anxiety was in himself. Now the dust has settled somewhat, I am left with a truly baffling question. Did he underachieve with us? Actually, I genuinely think he did very well for us, in fact, probably gave us some of our best memories as fans. And despite his obsession with his vanity tactics, he did show that he can adapt when required in the Championship. The hybrid 3 at the back system he rolled out vs WBA and Leeds twice in particular does point to a manager who can organise his side. its the fragility of his ego that is stopping him becoming a genuinely good manager IMO. If only he were to realise that having that flexibility to change things is tactical nous and not a weakness. Popcorn at the ready for the next job…

The propaganda in that article is pathetic .

Fingers crossed we have!

I do agree. When people bang on about spending untold millions, it really irks me sometimes. Our fundamental problem - and it has been for a long time - has been actually identifying the likes of Johansson, Azaz, Rudoni etc when they’re sub-5m, not now when it’s bloody obvious. That said, Johansson was bloody obvious from the start. Oh no, not our recruitment team though. They know better. 😬 Thats on them - and has been for years, probably post-Koeman.

Kicked the ball whilst diving towards Lewis Baker for 0-1. Better keepers do better than that. I wonder how many points Johansson is worth to Stoke over a season…

Yeah, that’s all very well and sure, if a couple of close ones went in the dynamics of the game shift. The game for me just felt completely on their terms.

Stoke were the first proper test. We failed it. They literally bossed us, embarrassingly. I always felt the game was on their terms, pretty much. I see the issues are at many levels. Still no clear pattern of play; maybe that’s a good thing, but a lot of these players have had the autonomy coached out of them by Martin. We had opportunities, but no clinical edge - we’ve got a load of scuffers who get into the good positions. Fernandes and Charles dawdling on the ball and getting caught annoyed me. Also, too many misplaced passes. From everyone. Stoke are well organised and are not dour in any way… but honestly, the time wasting and gamesmanship was awful. Other thoughts: Bazunu is NOT good enough. We do not go up with him in goal. Stewart, Downs - I actually can’t see a point in them either. Armstrong is ok but NOT through the middle. Honorable mentions to Fraser, Robinson and Wood who really did try.

Rudoni and Spertysan.

I’d love him to stay but I can’t help but think if we had an option of keeping him or adding those two, overall, we’d be a lot stronger. Hello, Gio!!! ❤️👋🏼

Spertysan and Rudoni or Dibling? I know what I’d choose, if it were a choice.

Errrrrr… calm down. I’ve literally never had a pop of Sugawara on here before today. I actually like Sugawara and Welington. I actually think Sugawara has a lot to offer and in easier home games we’ll see alot more from both. The substitutions were the correct ones given the players he could have alternatively pulled off. I do agree Wrexham weren’t offering a lot but it was refreshing to say us sub our less impactful players for a change and go for it.

Not long watched it back. Whilst still no discernible patterns of play, one thing I do like about Still is he threw the kitchen sink at it. No trying to be clever, let’s just bombard the box and go on the law of averages - love it. Also - and I do understand the game dynamics and that we were chasing the game but he clearly recognised the starting fullbacks were not up to it defensively and hooked them. I think we’ll see a lot more of Bree and Manning at away games. Oh… and Sugawara’s defending for the Windass shot on the bar. Minging.

The two most minging things on that pitch was the ref and Edwards.

Can I just say. Moments…This is well deserved, despite being turgid all game. Wrexham offered nothing. If Bazunu didn’t make that save, done. Manning free kick gave us momentum… but to win it in dramatic style, it completely sets the tone now. It wipes away alot of the bad energy. our season could have gone either way on that Bazunu save and Manning goal.

The fact is he in tune with what Southampton fans enjoyed watching previously is huge for me.

This shit shouldn’t even come up. There will likely never be a level playing field where you can splice men and women into the same physical sport. Well, not unless the fellas up their soy intakes considerably. Let them have their success in their own category - and well done to them.

That was it. it was the term ‘chinaman’ - which I and I think many others were a bit surprised to discover was allegedly a slur back then. I said, iirc, that it was typical of Saints to find the only skint chinaman in China or something to that effect.

Yeah, I got accused of it. I was invited to explain my racism to his devastated family.

..