Midfield_General

He said that about Bournemouth.

He's a man of extremes, is Russ. Can't just play out when it makes it sense to - let's do it literally every time. Can't just make a substitution - let's do four at once. Can't just have attacking options on the bench - let's have five strikers. No nuance or balance. Just shit or bust. It's weird.

Tall Paul on the bench. Interesting.

Agree 100%. The basics for any promoted side should be to build from the back and make yourself hard to score against and horrible to play against. Grind out some draws or nick a few 1-0s and then build from there. We're the absolute opposite of that. We're also actually quite well-stocked to play on the counter. Dibling, Archer and Cornet are all quick and can play off the shoulder. Lallana and Fernandes are both very capable of picking a pass from midfield and giving them something to run onto. We could be effective playing that way.

He did an interview with the Telegraph over the weekend as well, saying that he's ready to come back. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c749n4ej9nko Feels to me like some post-sacking contractual thing has just expired in the background and now he and his agent are keen to tout him around for the next decent Prem job. I still think he'll think he can do better than us / a relegation fight, and he'll have his eye on a club with more spending power and top-half / European potential, but none of those jobs are available at the moment, and if ours came up it would be interesting to see if he could be persuaded. I don't think it's out of the question, if he was promised a decent wedge to spend in January. Obviously I hope we win tonight, but it will be interesting to see what happens if we don't, especially if there aren't any obvious signs of improvement.

Yeah, whether Potter would get the United job or not, Ten Hag has to be a dead man walking now. That performance was absolutely abject. They aren't improving. God knows who'd be able to sort them out.

Sky have just announced that Potter is the studio guest for Bournemouth vs. Saints tomorrow night.

And Sky Sports announces that their guest in the studio for Bournemouth vs. Saints will be… Graham Potter! Interesting.

Man-for-man I'm not sure Ipswich have better players than us, but on that evidence they utilise them a lot better and play to their strengths. They're limited in ability, but they're well organised, well-coached, physical and always look to play forward. They muscled Villa out of that for long spells and made them uncomfortable. And that's a Villa side who were looking to go top. They may not not have any wins yet but they're grinding out hard-working draws, which not only gets points on the board but also builds confidence and provides a gritty platform to build on in a way that trying to play pretty football and then losing every week absolutely doesn't. Personally I don't think Delap is all that, he looks very much a blunt object. But he's big and strong, tough to knock off the ball, and they play to his strengths and get the ball into him in the positions he wants it in order to maximise the strengths of his game. In our system, we'd make him look like a fish up a tree. McKenna looks very much like a pragmatic manager who adapts his approach to wring the best out of what he has available. I'm not sure it will be enough to keep them up, but on that showing they're going to be competitive and will put up a fight. He's also clearly got a team who are really playing for him, they fought like hell in that game. That prick Morsy should have been sent off though, not sure how always seems to get away with it.

Some poor finishing by Ipswich though. Clarke should have scored that header, and Delap should have finished that 1-on-1. Two very good saves by Martinez in that half, although he should have stopped the goal. Can see someone getting sent off. Think Villa will win 1-3.

Great cross, proper striker’s header from Watkins. Good goal. 2-1 Villa.

1-1. Hilarious defending.

Ipswich 1-0 up. Delap. Poor from Martinez, should have stopped it.

Good effort. 6/10

Fraser and Cornet both play in that position

It’s Football Insider. End of.

Cole Palmer has scored four for Chelsea already and it's only half time. Incredible player.

Interesting story in the Guardian about Jamal Musiala, including his very early years in Southampton: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/sep/28/jamal-musiala-bayern-munich-english-german-leverkusen

Look at the beard on that. Can you imagine the meltdown if we appointed a hipster c*nt like him

The thing is though, we're not cut adrift at the bottom, nowhere near it. One win and we can go 14th. I don't think anyone will be cut adrift anytime soon either, because I can't see that any of the current bottom six are good enough to suddenly put a run together. We've only played five league games, and in my opinion there are some signs of improvement. The shape is looking better, the playing out is a bit less suicidal and we're now starting some of the more exciting players. Obviously the acid test is whether that improvement can continue and turn into results, and time will tell on that. I'd wait until we've played Bournemouth, Arsenal, Leicester, City, Everton and Wolves. I'd feel Russ has had a fair crack of the whip by then, and if we're still not competitive by then, then it's probably time for a change while there's still enough games left.

Not sure I agree with that. Ralph got pretty good support through some very poor periods and not one but two 9-0 hammerings. I actually thought our fanbase generally stuck with him remarkably well and didn’t turn toxic when it would have been very easy to. Jones was the wrong appointment from the start and no-one wanted him so he didn’t stand a chance. Selles inherited a pretty much sunk ship. For Martin, apart from online and threads like this, I think he’s still got most of the match-going crowd behind him. I still haven’t heard much booing at all, which after 1 point from 5 games and some pretty disappointing performances, doesn’t really suggest our fans are a total bunch of spoilt bitches. Online keyboard warriors are a different story, but I’d argue that that’s the same for almost all clubs.

Plus, in that example, it’s West Ham, whose fans aren’t exactly known for their patience and getting behind a struggling manager.

Re Potter: I'd say that West Ham will be looking at him if Lopetegui doesn't improve sharpish. Everton as well, if they get new owners in who want to put their stamp on the place and replace Dyche. Will be interesting to see what happens at Newcastle too. Rumours that Howe might walk as he can't work with Mitchell and his stock is high. If Carsley doesn't get the England job then I think Howe would take that, if offered, which it probably would be. So I can see Potter waiting with interest to see if the Newcastle job comes up, not that he'd necessarily get it. I bet we're sounding him out though, and I'd be surprised if he didn't at least engage with us on some level if we did. I personally want to stick with Martin and give him more time, but if he does go, I wouldn't rule Potter out completely. We’d probably need a bit of luck with timings and what else is available at the time, but if things aligned, then stranger things have happened.

From the horse's mouth, today: Former Chelsea manager Graham Potter says club football is more "rewarding" than international management as he considers his next job, 17 months on from the "frustration, anger and maybe bitterness" which followed his Stamford Bridge sacking. Speaking to the Telegraph, Potter said he has "felt ready to return for a little while" after he was dismissed following less than seven months in charge of Chelsea amid a "perfect storm" in April 2023. He was the Blues' first managerial appointment following Todd Boehly's takeover and oversaw a record £323m outlay in the 2023 January transfer window. "It still has to be the right thing, but I’m excited for it. I’m excited to hear what the opportunities are and I’ll take each one and judge it on its merits," Potter said. "International management is a different rhythm and there are pluses for that. It’s more intense when it’s on, but you’ve got a bit more breathing space in between. "It’s nothing that I’ve ruled out, but at the same time I do like the day-to-day bit of working with the players and being in at the club and trying to build and make a difference. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c749n4ej9nko

Ah, I see. I was at that game and I'm not sure I agree, but now I understand the point!