Midfield_General

Same formation and line-up as Man Utd with THB for Stephens. Play as directly and at the same pace and tempo as the first 35 mins vs Man Utd, for 90 mins. Take our chances when we get them. Don’t switch off at the back. Don't let heads go down if we do concede first. Get the ball to Dibling as much as possible. Don’t let Archer take any penalties. Do that and we’ll be fine. 3-1 Saints and the season starts here. COYR.

Ah, good old Football Insider. The stalwart of tier 5 bullshit literally made up for clicks.

I admire your general optimism here but literally every manager, player, pundit and fan who's paying attention knows exactly how we play and, seemingly, exactly how to counter it. When a random fan on a messageboard can specify two days before a match what's going to happen in it and get every aspect spot on, almost to the minute, the element of surprise is one thing that we absolutely don't have, with anyone, whether we've played them recently or not. I've got a feeling we'll beat Ipswich though. I'm feeling 3-1, driven by a virtuoso Dibling performance that the media instantly jump on to all agree how perfect he'd be for Liverpool.

Let’s also not rewrite history to make out that ABK coming in would instantly transform us defensively. Last time round he started 24 games in the league. We lost 15 of them, conceding 46 goals in the process - an average of 1.91 goals conceded per game he started. The 14 league games he didn’t play in, we lost 10 of them, conceding 26 goals - an average of 1.85 goals per game. So last time round we conceded fewer goals in the games when he wasn’t playing. Of course goals conceded aren’t just down to one person and there are loads of other factors, but quite aside from whatever non-footballing reasons there might be for RM not to pick him, any idea that him coming into the side automatically makes us better defensively just isn’t supported by the facts.

He’s contracted to us until 2026 and we had a fee agreed with Hoffenheim in August to sell him for a reported €15m / £12.8m. It only didn’t happen because he failed their medical, which the club seemed surprised by and they subsequently made a point of playing him in the Cardiff cup game the following week just to prove he was fit to play. So he’s a circa €15m asset and his ability is enough for other clubs to still want him, so I suspect the plan is just to keep him fit in the background and then have another go at selling him in January, and I would have thought someone would take him then at that price.

I don't disagree with you on principle, but it's pretty difficult to say whether it's justified or not without knowing exactly what he's done. There are loads of examples of players in all sports who had the ability, but where that on it's own wasn't enough to trump the negative effect they had on the team in other ways. In rugby the All Blacks talk about the No Dickheads rule - it doesn't matter how good you are, no-one's bigger than the team, and if you're not felt to be working together towards the same goal as everyone else, you're not getting picked. The other players actually have a big say in that, and help to enforce it. Alex Ferguson used to dump otherwise excellent players all the time if they stepped outside the rules he had set for what he expected from his players in terms of behaviour and attitude towards the team. The point is that in a team sport there's a lot more to whether you deserve to get picked for that team or not than simply how good you are at the sport in question, especially at the elite level. But as I say, as we don't know what he's done (or is meant to have done), it's very hard to make a judgment as to whether the response is justified or not, and those saying 'just pick him whatever' are misunderstanding how the dynamics work in team sport.

I think you're barking up the wrong tree there. It's pretty obviously nothing to do with his footballing ability or whether he fits Martin's system. He's a full German international who got picked for a World Cup squad, he's obviously good enough and Martin will obviously be able to see that as well as any of us can. He's just pissed a bunch of people off to the extent that they're done with him and they don't want him around. You can agree or disagree with whether that's them cutting their nose off to spite their face, but that's what's happened. It's entirely personal, and nothing to do with RM's 'way', systems or anything else to do with his actual playing ability.

Exactly. Say what you like about Martin, but it seems pretty clear that he places a high value on what he perceives as 'character'. He talks about showing loyalty a lot, and obviously expects that back, however that might be interpreted. Whatever's happened behind the scenes with ABK, it's pretty obvious that he's lost the trust of whichever staff were around at that time, and who are still there now advising Martin. The only reason he brought him on in the Cardiff cup game was in response to his failed medical at Hoffenheim the week before, to show other clubs that he was physically fit in order to try and sell him before the window closed. He hasn't so much as made the bench in any other game. That suggests he's at least seventh choice as a CB option behind Bednarek, Stephens, THB, Wood, Edwards and probably Taylor. One way or another he has royally pissed on his chips, and while it seems very unlikely we'll ever know what he actually did in order to debate whether it merits this treatment or not, for as long as Martin's in charge, rightly or wrongly, he's done here.

Need to show we can keep a clean sheet. Need to show we can score goals. Ipswich at home should be the perfect opportunity to do both. Should be.

Yes I can see the Northam taking to that

I'd have that but with Lallana and Fernandes swapped round so Lallana is playing off the left, with KWP and Suga under instructions to get forward on the overlap to provide the width. Cornet on for Dibling and Fraser on for Lallana when they tire in the second half. BBD just doesn't look starting quality to me, especially not wide left where we've got options who are better with the ball at their feet, better at picking a pass, more intelligent and just generally look like more cultured footballers who suit our system more effectively. I'd drop him to the bench and consider either him or Stewart as the option to bring on more centrally in the second half if it's not happening for Archer. Need to find a way to scratch out three points here by hook or by crook, because if we don't I think the knives will be sharpening for RM. I also think he knows this, going from a couple of his recent post-match comments. I think we'll do it. Couple of early goals to calm everyone down and then olé it for the rest of the game to secure those sweet, sweet 83% possession stats. 2-0 Saints. COYR.

He said it right at the end of the press conference on Saturday as well. Was finishing an answer about what might happen to the squad in January, and signed off with "If I stay in the job that long", without a smile. Whether someone's said something to him, or he's just really feeling it, underneath all the bluster he's obviously highly conscious of that risk.

Dinamo Zagreb were 3-2 down to Bayern after 56 minutes, ended up losing 9-2. Impressive.

Lallana off for Fernandes.

We didn't though did we. We scored a header from a cross.

Sky Sports giving us 77% possession and zero 'clear cut chances'. Bit of an odd stat, given we've scored, but quite representative of the feel of it generally.

Half time. Armstrong getting very little service but generally looking utterly ineffective down the middle, yet again. A spectator, barely touched the ball. I wonder how many times they need to see it before they finally accept he can't effect the game as a no. 9 against any half-decent opposition. Pretty weak for the goal. Macca missed the cross then we got beaten to two headers. THB should have done better. Great delivery from Taylor for the equalizer; good header from THB. Lallana showing a few little flashes of quality, decent feet and one of the few looking for a forward pass. Wood having a physical battle with Beto and doing OK, but looks clumsy. Bree giving the ball away a fair bit under little pressure. Fraser looking lively when he gets the ball but lacking quality with his delivery. Generally lots of the usual sideways and backwards possession with little point to it. Very little real attacking threat from open play. Overall, seen worse but pretty damn average all round.

Your obsession with Russell's looks is very odd. Presumably you're much better looking than him?

'Leonardus'.

Just watched the Man Utd post-match press conference in full and the very last line was interesting. RM was giving an answer about the size of the squad, talking about how they were handling it and how there would need to be a reassessment in January, and at the end he signed off with "I'll have to stay in the job for that long first". He didn't say it with much of a smile either. Even if it was just a throwaway line, it shows he's clearly feeling the pressure. There was some talk that the contract extension meant that he may have been given assurances that he'd be allowed to stay in the job if we went down, to bring us back up, but I don't think someone who has had that sort of reassurance makes a comment like that. He comes across as quite bolshy sometimes (although, in my opinion, nothing he said in that press conference was particularly aggressive or out of order), but I don't think he's under any illusions as to the expectations and the likely consequences of falling short of them, even this early on. He knows his job's at risk already.

Play the same team in the same formation, swapping in THB for the suspended Stephens if ABK is still persona non grata. Leave everything else the same. We need to find a consistent first team and shape and they need to learn how to play together and win together. We’ll never do that if we’re chopping and changing from match to match. Let’s see if the same team can build on what they did for the first 35 mins on Saturday, by converting chances, cutting out defensive mistakes and doing it for 90 mins. This is a great opportunity to play without the pressure of PL points at stake and get the feeling back of winning against PL-level opposition. We’re not in a position to piss that away by putting out an experimental or reserve team. We need to go into the Ipswich game with some confidence off the back of a win, not feeling even lower after another demoralising defeat.

Onuachu isn’t getting called up, under any circumstances. He’s as far away from being a Martin player as it’s possible to be. Unless we have a major, major injury crisis he’s not even making the bench.

The Championship

Absolute screamer. What a goal.

Calvert-Lewin spunks a one-on-one with all the time in the world, then Watkins equalises for 2-2. 58 mins. Everton are going to find a way to lose this.