saintant

We don't have the players who are fit enough or clever enough to play any of these modern alternative systems so I'd go for a simple 433. That way we get good numbers in midfield and have three up front. Then tell the team to come flying out the blocks in every game and get in the faces of the opponents. Show some passion and grit. Keep the passing crisp and every player should be constantly on the move making himself available. There are wide open spaces to be found on a football pitch so get players moving into them - play between the lines. Transition the ball quickly and get players up in support of the forwards. Get crosses into the box for Tall Paul and also shoot on sight. Introduce the shit-house style that every other team uses including fouls to break up opposition attacks, time wasting (if we're ahead of course), feigning injuries if we're under the cosh and getting in the ref's ear. Get defenders marking opponents - none of this zonal crap. Give the crowd something to get behind in the home games. As for team selection I'd go with; Baz KWP ABK Salisu Perraud JWP Lavia Alcaraz Sulemana Onuachu Adams

Same as the square root of fuck all I think.

I wasn't arguing the merits of what he can and can't afford to spend on a football club - merely trying to establish whether billionaire status makes one massively wealthy and I'd have thought it does. Could be wrong of course.

I must have been watching different games because I remember Tadic beating many opponents through tricks and feints - yeah, he wasn't physically the strongest but he had enough skill to make up for that.

Isn't Dragan a billionaire? Does that not class as being massively wealthy these days? Blimey!

Why should our strikers be asked to create and score goals out of nothing? Surely the proper approach is to pass and move in build up play, get the ball forward efficiently and quickly and try to create opportunities for the strikers. It's a team game not defence and attack as separate units. This is one of the reasons our strikers don't score - they are starved of decent service.

Our managers really have to stop picking this guy. We have far better options so give them a chance - it's not as though any one of them will do worse than Elyounoussi.

Nice to see the cheating Geordies 2-0 down at half-time.

We didn't fly out of the blocks from the first whistle. Rarely does a team like us that does not start fast win a game of football - have seen it time and time again. We always do better when we consciously make a fast start.

Just watched the goal again. As the play develops from the corner we have plenty of players in the box. A gap develops between the Leeds player who emerges from the corner and our next defender who is Bednarek. At this point Bednarek should be fully aware he has team mates covering the box so, as nearest man, it was his job to rush out and confront the ball carrier and fill the empty space. Instead, for reasons only known to himself, he chose to retain his position, stand like a statue right in Bazunu's eyeline and turn sideways. Had he done his job and confronted the guy cutting in from the corner I doubt Leeds would even have got a shot away never mind score a soft goal.

SR have shown themselves to be clueless especially the snake oil salesman Ankersen. I'm pretty sure there would have been better options when the club was for sale but Semmens had a vested interest and this mob probably suited his needs the most.

Just seen a pig fly right past my window.

He doesn't even adopt an athletic stance or show any urgency. Meekly stands upright, shuffles side on thus making himself as small as possible and lets it all go on around him. I hope Ruben Selles read the riot act to him in the dressing room and, even more, I hope to never see him in a Saints shirt again - wishful thinking I suspect.

You could put a dustbin in his place and it would be in the correct position now and again. It would contribute and create as much as he does too. He wouldn't get in any other team in the Premier league and probably not many in the Championship. He offers zero in practically every element or attribute that a competent attacking midfielder should score highly on. Nobody can convince me he is more useful than Alcaraz and KWP could certainly do a much better job in his position. Like the majority of our fans I am completely baffled as to why our managers continue to pick him.

Shocking all round but why isn't Bednarek launching himself to block instead of turning side on to make himself as small as possible - madness. Bazunu should do better but Bednarek hinders rather than helps.

The sad thing is Bednarek will almost certainly be in the starting line up again next week.

I didn't watch the game but it's easy to judge just how poor we were from the comments in this thread. After last week's brilliant win and talk of a very good week in training it is very disappointing that we couldn't even give a poor Leeds side, without a win since November, a decent game. Ruben Selles looked the real deal last week yet this week we return to square one - it's the life of a Saints fan in recent years I'm afraid - too many false dawns. I'd never play Bednarek again because he continues to make the same mistake of standing right on top of his goalkeeper in his line of sight and failing to charge out to block a shot - he's done it time and time again. Poor as we played it was a scrappy one nil win from Leeds so the sad fact is we clearly didn't need to do very much to have beaten them. As I said previously I'd have taken 3 points from Chelsea and Leeds away but only with a decent performance today and we didn't get it so relegation seems inevitable. I'm sure we'll hear the usual after match platitudes but today was just nowhere near good enough against a relegation rival.

If we did we'd have missed it.

Leeds haven't won since November so along comes an obliging team to gift them 3 points.

I'd have taken 3 points from Chelsea and Leeds away but seems this has been an awful performance.

Janny B always stands in fron of the keeper....it's why he scores so many own goals.

Not watching as not a fan of streams. Sounds like we've been very poor and changes will be needed at half time if we are to get anything from this game. From what I read on here Moi and Stu have been really ineffective so I'd swap them for KWP and Alcaraz. The good news is that it's level at half time but the feeling I get is that Leeds are the likely winners unless we up our game by a long way and start giving them more to worry about. Has the feel of a scrappy 1-0 defeat with nothing to take out of it. Hope Ruben can lift them at half time because we need to be offering more against a Leeds side who last won in November.

If Ruben out foxes his fellow compatriot Gracia tomorrow it will cement the feelings we all had after his impact last week. This is a huge game and a win will build incredible momentum and confidence because we'll find ourselves so much closer to a shot at surviving and might even be outside the bottom 3. It's sure to be a nervy one for both sides and I'm hoping Ruben will have our players more relaxed than theirs. The first goal is going to be key along with being the team to settle quickest and get out the blocks.

This is all flaky shit. For a start neither their boffins nor any computer would be clever enough to factor in shock results and there will be some for us and all other relegation rivals. As an easy example the boffins and computer would not have predicted we'd beat Chelsea last week. A pointless exercise but interesting to a small degree I guess.

The 'slightly fortuitous' win against a Chelsea side in bad form was achieved by a Southampton team in terrible form masterminded by a guy who had been in full charge for under a week. None of us know how Ruben will do but I can see the logic in giving him the job until the end of the season. He does give off positive vibes but the proof will be in performances and results. We still have a mountain to climb and, if he manages to avoid relegation he'll have done a fantastic job and will be offered a decent contract. The big mistake made by the board and owners and, in particular Ankersen, was obviously appointing Nathan Jones - that decision will be shown to have had huge consequences if we don't beat the drop.