Midfield_General

The book I'm Not Really Here, the autobiography of the former Man City and England under-21 striker Paul Lake, who sustained an ACL which ultimately ended his career, tells a very powerful story of how a serious injury can impact a professional in ways that go a long way beyond football. Often cited as one of, if not the best, footballer's autobiographies ever written. https://www.waterstones.com/book/im-not-really-here/paul-lake/9780099553250

Hopefully Mourinho, and it backfires spectacularly and hilariously

Juric has been playing a 3-4-1-2 so you would think he'd be perfect for the '1', basically the creative 10 role just behind the strikers*. He started Dibling there yesterday but Dibling for Lallana in that position seems an obvious sub to make after 60 mins or so. If he gets the ball there he can drift out to either side in more of a free role, look to be creative and pull the defence out of position, and not have to run or tackle too much. (* I use this term loosely)

The sad fact is that in today’s game paying £20k, £30k or £40k a week and paying £18m - £22m transfer fees generally buys you fuck all at PL level. It’s mental but it’s true. It looks a lot on paper but we’ve paid championship money to buy championship standard players. Add in being managed by an average championship manager until 2 weeks ago and it’s not hard to see why we are where we are.

Literally string can't cohesive a together sentence

Dowie sounds like he's having a stroke

Hmmmm, tough choice that

Yan D'Owie on co-comms, which is disappointing

Not only that, but according to national media reports, the sacking still came us such a surprise to the rest of the SR board that they hadn’t even lined up or sounded out any possible replacements. They literally only started the process from scratch after RM was sacked. These are the people who are meant to be running the club. It should be their only focus. Absolute fucking jokers.

Yeah that makes sense. The subbing off of Sulemana after 15 mins, the signs he was making to the players that looked to read as ‘you’ve just got me fired’, the running off down the tunnel while the game was still on - it all stacks up. Imagine going into a game you’ve been told you need to get something out of to save your job, then being 0-5 down, at home, before it’s even half time.

Wasn’t the rumour that Dragan watched the carnage of the first half against Spurs and put the call in at half-time, or possibly just before? No idea how much truth there is in that but it was such a clusterfuck that I can totally believe his patience snapped, and if the word had got to RM then it would explain why he bolted down the tunnel before HT while the game was still on, which was pretty strange behaviour.

Jesus. I can see him sitting it out for a fair while on our dollar then. Fantastic.

When was he contracted until (i.e. when are we paying him until)?

David Gold, Frankincense Lampard and Thomas Myrrh?

Merry Christmas fellow Saints. Wishing you all a compact defensive shape, faster transitions and three points against West Ham

All very fair points and I don’t disagree at all. I just can’t accept that Ryan Manning has any place in a premier league football team. But then neither do McCarthy, Lumley, Sulemana, Armstrong and plenty of others who’ve been playing, and that’s one of the reasons we are where we are.

Drop Manning, Put KWP on the left and Suga at RWB and I still maintain that that side isn’t that bad. There are obviously no goals in it at this level, but it’s not ‘6 points from 17 games bad’, certainly. Keep it tight as per Fulham, eke out a 1-0 from somewhere, get a little bit of confidence and belief starting to show, and maybe we can have a decent second half of the season.

The main difference was that despite playing poorly (because we're a poor side), we were still in the game with 80 mins on the clock because we hadn't gifted them a few goals to see us out of it by half time. We could easily have nicked something from those corners at the end, despite not deserving it. Everyone knows that if you set up to defend competently, you always have a chance at getting something out of a game, whether you deserve it or not. But that basic concept is something that Martin has apparently never understood, because he doesn't believe in outdated concepts like 'grinding out results to get your team points'. It's such an utterly bizarre mindset. Thank god he's gone.

AZ Alkscaar (Tissue)

Well that was shit, but we got a point, as opposed to how it usually goes where it’s shit but we don’t get a point. So that’s a step forward.

Ref now blocks off Lesley’s run with a perfectly timed body check Jesus Christ

This ref is a fucking joke

He certainly looks like a jockey, but probably not the kind you meant

Highly topical Ali G fancy dress in the away end there. Who does that

Suga was good when he came on against Liverpool. Looked like the player we bought, who we saw pre-season, bombing on on the overlap and getting crosses in, before Russball completely stymied the strengths of his natural game and made him look ineffective. Not entirely convinced by him defensively yet, but I'm excited to see more of him going forward, as it could give us another attacking option that we desperately need.