derry

I sometimes flew Saints teams to matches like Norwich and a pre season friendly in Amsterdam. Lawrie got a Peter East History of Saints signed by everybody including Keegan etc. Often saw Saints players at airports.

Friendly with Ian White played with him at Stoneham. George O'Brien, Chris Nicholl, Dave Merrington, at Wellow, Played with David Peach the day after he had a snip. We laughed our way round as he was walking like a jockey. Ball and Keegan at Stoneham.

Dean Saunders then at Liverpool at Manchester. I was flying a full aircraft to Orlando, annoyingly we had some late passengers. Dean Saunders and family entourage. They thought they were VIPs. His mother in law was kicking off because they thought their seats were reserved so checked in late and weren't sitting together. I told the handling agent to tell them to either sit where they were allocated or get off. I didn't believe in delaying nervous passengers who'd made the effort to be early. They sat down but were a bloody entitled nuisance most of the flight. About an hour out I got a request for Dean Saunders to sit in one of the jump seats for the landing. My response was tell him to F*** off. I don't think they repeated it.

Over the years I carried or met lots of interesting people.

Flacid. passive garbage. Martin gave us the method. The players are complicit. Walking and passing. Rediculous.

Personally, I'm sick and tired of a succession of dickheads that consider themselves football genii all with a inflexible different way of playing. No wonder the players are lacking direction and confidence. What is needed is a common sense football man without a pet theory that looks at the squad, then picks teams that get the best out of the players and form the best team, balance and blend. Defenders defend, full backs defend, centre backs attack the aerial threat. Midfielders get stuck in and support mobile quick physically strong forwards. All the players playing in their best positions and make us difficult and unpleasanr to play against. It's not rocket science.

That was a gormless shambles. I personally think the manager is an idiot. What is needed is a manager that believes all the defenders defend. We had three full backs creating precisely nothing and no idea how to defend. We need a couple of centre backs that go for the headers. I'd like to see us ditch the various formations tried and play 4-4-2  with two strikers. Now is the chance to unload all the superficial players and bring in some gritty, uncompromising characters.

Personally I think Juric doesn't have a clue about playing in the Premier League. What happens when selections are made on assessments in training? Chaos. Smallbone, uncompetitive, players fitted in out of position. Three centrebacks on the bench at Chelsea, selected one centreback plus a reserve fullback and a midfielder as a back three playing man to man marking.  Any half decent manager will just get his attackers to take the defenders for a walk which creates chaos and holes at the back. Two kamikaze full backs often in no position to defend. Team selection with no balance or blend. When defending getting on the wrong side of attackers, facing the wrong way and unable to see the ball and mark goalside. And so on and so on. It's a shambles.

With due respect to the different opinions regarding the continuous debacle we are witnessing on a weekly basis. This manager is an idiot. Anybody who thinks sticking square pegs in round holes every week is competent is deluded. The mere fact that Juric like Martin is wedded to a one trick pony system and is shoehorning unsuitable players into vital positions says it all. 

We have a decent enough goalkeeper but the vital back line is totally disorganised. The recent three with only one centre back is a disaster. We need to go to a back four with two centre backs. We have two reasonable full backs that should be made to primarily defend instead of playing like kamikaze wingers.  We lack discipline and organisation in defence and that needs to be sorted.

Personally after watching all the different formation I can't see anything better or more natural for our players than a simple 4-4-2. The set up recently has been a total clusterfuck. Bree and Aribo with one centreback in a back three and Smallbone in midfield. Smallbone has no conception of workrate, won't tackle and doesn't know how to defend, example last night abysmally wrongsided for the headed goal. In the circumstances Fernandes with Downes in the middle would be better with Dibling and Sulemana wide and Onuachu and Archer up front. 

The players are unable to play naturally as both Juric and Martin insist on playing their way. Watching ABK following Neto and leaving a bloody great hole at the back was stupidity beyond belief. Man marking at set pieces certainly but not the way we are doing it.

I've known some experienced professional footballers in the past, I was impressed by their knowledge and their streetwise attitude. Watching the team today I got the distinct impression that they were doing what they were told to do but like the spectators believed it was garbage consequently we got our comeuppence. Better to draw a line under this season dump Juric and his coaches and let us finish the season with a sensible balanced set up run by the coaches. Instructed to pick a balanced team based on solid defence and only play players in their best positions. We're going to be relegated so nothing to lose now.

Another rediculous team selection. Rediculous 100% man to man marking that allowed Brighton to pull our markers all over the field. No shape, no balance, no blend. Martin's obsession anchored us to the bottom and Juric's completely different obsession with three defenders, including one centreback, one full back and one midfielder. The man is a rich idiot. For God's sake we need a proper manager that is flexible not obsessed and picks the best balanced team available without sticking square pegs in round holes. Plays a proper defensive back four, two centrebacks and two defensive full backs. FFS Smallbone again.

3 minutes ago, The Kraken said:

Yes we know that Dave. The chat was originally about Fox in championship. Pretty sure literally nobody thinks Fox was good enough to keep his place in the premier league.

I got that but agreed somewhat with Beatlesaint's comments that drew the "utter rubbish" response. Another player that was unable to bridge the Championship to Premier gap. I felt he wasn't a good defender but attackwise had a good left foot who was exposed after promotion.

It's obvious I was taking it to after promotion2012/13 as both Saints and WBA were in the Premier League. It wasn't until Shaw was introduced at left back that we started to get a grip at the back. Fox then went on loan to Notts Forest.

16 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Utter nonsense. 

Our revival didn't start until Nigel Adkins brought in Shaw against WBA and he nailed down that position.

1 minute ago, Football Special said:

Devon is our catchment area as @Turkish will inform you, I'm sure there's more than that. 

Andrew Watson in Launceston

The first half was reminiscent of RM, The second goal was typical of Pre - Juric period. As was the third goal on Thursday. We are suffering from the early season and the manager unable to differentiate between the useless and the useful. We were better with four at the back and a target man up field. Bednarek needs to stop tippy tappy crap in our own half. Sugawara and Bree doesn't work on the right also KWP on the left. Downes was the worst I've seen him. Archer and Armstrong were hopeless.

We've got to use the assets we've got. KWP on the right, Bednarek, THB, Ugochukwu, Aribo, Fernandes, Onuachu and Sulemana. We blew the first half and the match with the starting lineup. Stick Onuachu up front with Sulemana and maybe Archer and feed them with crosses and early through balls. Cut out the playing it out from the back. Play long to Onuachu it rattles the opposition. 

He needs his own players to step up to the plate and inundate him with through balls behind the defenders or give him the ball quickly in his own half. How he was expected to play under the previous regimes when his pace was really negated by the ball going sideways or backwards was more an example of their stupidity than Sulemana's useless contribution.

The only way to use his pace is get him one on one or the ball in behind the defenders not expecting him to be part of a build up. If that's what you desire don't pick him.  Juric gets it. Hopefully he also now gets Smallbone.

When Dibling went off the last thing we needed was Smallbone, a strolling ball recycler. What we needed then was an aggressive attacker to shake up and disrupt the opposition. Smallbone allowed the MU midfield the time and space to pick us apart and get the ball out wide. KWP failed abysmally marking Amad. He needed to get up him rather than stand off and back off. Amad needed to be thinking he's going to get a clattering not all the time to be comfortable.

That last goal was a mental aberration. Ramsdale, with two minutes left in the game and needing an equaliser had to launch it long left. Passing short was sheer stupidity. There is still a residue from the previous style. Downes had the opening to put Sulemana away but ignored it and opted for possession. Sulemana was our ace in the hole but we ignored him once Smallbone came on. Once Utd were pressing forward we needed more balls in behind them not pretty patterns.  

I think this lot need an old fashioned boot camp. Run them ragged and frighten them head on. Get the fitness up, make it painfully literally, obvious that the worse they play the harder they work. The Message will soon get home. Clear out the trouble makers. 

1 hour ago, miserableoldgit said:

There were quite a few on here that wanted us to sign BBD......although they are quiet now, so I am not sure that most fans opinions really count for that much.....

He's been used appallingly, never as a central striker by an idiot manager that should have been called out months ago, obsessed by a meaningless tactic of thousands of passes in our penalty area. I still would like to see how he plays maybe alongside Onuachu. His record with Blackburn and Sheffield Utd will attract teams looking for a striker. Not having to play backwards and sideways will help him.

1 hour ago, Bakovnetski said:

He is only fast without the ball, as far as I can see has no chance of keeping it 

Absolutely true. When I was coaching, one of the players was a recently retired Olympic sprinter. As a youngster he had played representative football. In a couple of set up sessions I proved to him that dribbling the ball he was really hardly quicker than any other player. I then got him  playing out of his own half, either receiving the ball then knocking it twenty yards past the defender. He was lightning quick so immediately left him for dead, three touches later the two central defenders were dragged out and he was in at the byeline playing the ball back across the edge of the penalty area to the incoming forwards. The other way was the midfielders and defenders playing the ball diagonally towards the corner where his pace again took the same three defenders out of the game. That is the only way Sulemana would be effective. He's not as quick but still very quick.

Alternatively playing high centrally as he did two years ago in the last match of the season when scoring twice against Liverpool. Personally i'd like to see how he does given a go alongside Onuachu.

Like Onuachu we have just wasted his lightning pace. When was the last time we played a decent through ball in front of him, never. He has to be played in on the break, If he's expected to face his own goal then turn and attack a consolidated defence he's wasting his time. I think the only way we can use him is to bring him in alongside Onuachu and out of the way of the wing backs. Quicker than Armstrong and Archer and stronger than Archer. They might make a pair. Power plus pace.

Personally I Thought Ugochukwu looks the part. Sugawara really messed up shanking the ball for the corner that led to the goal then played Bowen onside., thats not the first time he's messed up in that position recently. Downs seems off his game. Fernandes was good.

I thought Aribo was hopeless because he is so left footed he is continually passing backwards we just don't need that. He just kills the momentum. Onuachu all round had a good game as did KWP. The centre backs were ok but reverted to square passing too often. Wood has spent too much time under Martin and needs to get with the new direct system.

Overall this was much more like it. If we had played like this from the start of the season we wouldn't be in this position. We wasted half the season playing the crappy possession nonsense. Sulemana looks lively and might be better alongside Onuachu rather than Armstrong or Archer.

4 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

I thought that was szmodics. Could be wrong though. 

So could I.

On 22/12/2024 at 22:13, hypochondriac said:

We had a bid accepted for Delap and he chose Ipswich because they wanted him more. I don't believe it was to do with money. 

Apparently he's a big Ed Sheeran fan and big Ipswich fan Sheeran came in and talked to him about Ipswich so he signed there.

Nobody is saying ABK should automatically get into the team however if fit I defy anybody to say he's not worth a place on the bench. Potentially our best centre back but has to deserve a place and show by his attitude that he wants to play.

He is what we need. Aggressive and going to give it his best shot. It would be unique to see him pull it off and would be probably our greatest achievement however unlikely. If he gives the players a lift we could run it close.

Manning's biggest problem is his over reliance on his left foot which unless he is already facing outwards makes him turn back inside and pass backwards which for me is a major impediment.