derry

EPL change the rules. 20 members no relegation therefore EFL no promotion.

On a humourous note, even at a sombre time like this. My son in law has just sent me a photograph he took at an Aldi this morning. A couple going into the shop wearing plastic shopping bags over their heads with eye slits cut. Whatever works for you.

Without the emergency services and the present restrictions regarding gatherings travelling etc the season can't be completed whatever Liverpool and the plethora of ex Liverpool pundits are lobbying for. Restrictions aren't going to get easier until this is over. I personally don't give a stuff about football and what vested interests want to happen, people are seriously ill and dying. Void the league and start a new season whenever the conditions allow normal life to resume. Football and what it wants really isn't important. When football eventually restarts all those alive will be thankful they got through this crisis unscathed.

As I thought, Isolation for 12 weeks for those with serious underlying illnesses. Still to be listed. Social distancing for everybody. Over 70s take additional care.

All emergency services will no longer support outside events so I think that's it as far as sport is concerned. Forget the self interest lives are being lost. Just void the season and start again whenever this is all through. I'm pretty sure the EPL etc won't be in a position to decide anything as it will be taken out of their hands.

If you had half a brain you'd be dangerous. The clue is in the mention of NI as there is no border also in my user name. It is likely there will be similar guidance for both the Republic and NI. If you got out more you might have understood that that is the way it is called in NI aka the six counties or even over the border.

It's all very well coming up with specific advice that most other countries aren't doing or even agreeing with, we can't even agree what is best in this country, Wales and Scotland are advising social distancing, as is the Republic, I haven't seen anything about NI. In the end I suspect it will be a request for social distancing alternatively a total hotspot lockdown leading to a total UK lockdown. I'm over 70, non smoker, as far as I know extremely healthy, virtually non drinker and have believed all my life that rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools. I will take necessary precautions, social distancing, etc. One of the issues is to do whatever is required to keep one's immune system as strong as possible, guess what? exercise is important, brisk walks etc. Sitting in a chair watching tv, doing nothing else is doing harm not good, Personally I think in the end it will be recommended guidelines for over 70s not isolation. I feel for those that are vulnerable with underlying illnesses and for those that have to help them. Up to now in this country all the deaths have occurred to people with serious underlying health problems. Everybody has to make their own decisions based on their circumstances what they do. And politicians have to get it right, having different solutions in our regions sends the wrong message and means draconian advice could well be ignored. The over 75 free TV licence issue is about to boil up again, it'll be interesting how the BBC/government deal with the fall out.

According to the experts the Covid 19 in the UK won't peak for another 10-14 weeks. that's mid June. I would think there is no possibility of the leagues continuing normally until say mid September. If the Leagues wanted to continue behind closed doors with a minimal staff present to complete the matches could be a remote possibility. The TV issue looks attractive to the fans but exposes even more people. There is no solution to members of teams being affected and other teams unaffected. Personally the only solution I can see is null and void the leagues. Pay out the available prize money on existing positions. No promotion, no relegation and just wait until the position clarifies itself as the pandemic unfolds. Start a new season with the same teams at some as yet undefined start date after the summer. Because the pandemic varies internationally I think there is a case for no club or country competition or matches until the following season. Domestic competitions only.

Valery deserves everything he gets for his poor judgement as he had plenty of time to clear rather than try and pull the ball down with Maxima bearing down on him. However the much bigger culprit is Stephens, who was ball watching and instead of dropping in behind Valery on the cover ended up with a too little too late lunge and didn't get there. When the ball was played up by Newcastle we had eight players picking up three one of them Maxima who set off from within the centre circle. Our defending was hopeless, Stephens had plenty of time to help Valery out and the other six could have picked up the other two runners. My point is I wouldn't destroy Valery now by dropping him, I'd give him another go. He won't be doing that again. What I would do is make the team watch that goal over and over again.

I don't disagree with your ambitions for the team, I'd love them to play like some of the top teams but it's impossible to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear and there lies the problem. I'm a pragmatist and believe that if the way they are trying to play isn't compatible with their abilities then play in a way that reduces the problems. We can't handle direct teams because of the way we try and play against them. Away we are fine because we reduce our defence possession and play most of our game in the opponents half whilst having plenty of cover at the back. I'm really advocating two things, pass it forward quickly and break the lines. If we are under pressure at the back put a strong foot through the ball. Liverpool often play the ball around at the back but they also have no compunction in belting the ball up front and often score that way. Another thing that inhibits us at the back is both our goalkeepers are dire when it comes to passing the ball. I reference McCarthy at WHU, no way should he have put JWP in trouble so he lost the ball for WHU's first goal. Gunn against Huddersfield last season another.

You both are right on the money. Maybe centre back isn't his position. I think he has the makings of a holding midfielder in front of proper centre backs, Neither JWP or PEH actually fill that roll but roam all over the place. Really only Bednarek can be considered as Danso hasn't showed, Vestergaard is a cluster****. If we are going to improve we need a couple of uncompromising, ruthless good in the air centre backs, ball playing optional.

I looked at Newcastle's goal on Sky news I couldn't believe that we had eight players picking up three opponents. It looked like we were 3-3-2 with Valery on the right and two centre backs in the middle the ball was launched and Maxima was still in the centre circle, Initially Valery was under no pressure but tried to control the ball, Maxima and the two other kept moving, Valery was dispossessed and Stephens was too late in making a challenge. What really annoyed me was Stephens standing like a statue ball watching and leaving Valery uncovered and still failed to move until Valery had lost the ball. Any decent centre back should immediately the ball was played towards Valery have moved right and behind Valery to cover him whilst the others picked up the runners. Had he done this instead of a desperate late lunge he would have probably cleared the danger at least forcing Maxima away from goal. He regularly gets caught ball watching, cosmetically pretty on the ball but a **** poor defender.

Utopia is great but even the players you mention regularly get caught out. Change the players for ones that can play that way but we can't afford to do that. We are short at the back in skill terms and particularly in pace and power both on the ground and in the air. We've had the money but wasted north of £100m on donkeys. We certainly aren't either smart enough or ruthless enough. I don't want to come out of SMS feeling the way I have after winning very few matches over the last four seasons watching inflated meaningless possession passing going nowhere and being mugged. I don't want victims like Valery losing games, I'd sooner see it in the back of the stand. Your last sentence sums it up for me and that isn't the back four interpassing sideways and backwards pulling us out of shape. It's how we get results away, win the ball quick pass to midfield or forward, quick movement to break the lines and create chances. Stephens 40yd chip to Ings against Spurs in the league was what I'm looking for. He had the time, but closed down smash it out of danger. A couple of seasons ago we were desperate at Everton for a win 1-0 up seconds left. Bertrand gets caught on the ball and rolls it upfield, pass to Davies who scored end of game, back of the stand, game over, a good win. Last week against WHU, McCarthy passes it short to JWP out right, quickly closed down so passes it down the line WH pick it up maybe three passes and we're one down. McCarthy kicks long no problem, or JWP puts his foot through it no danger. We've done similar things on numerous occasions and paid the penalty. Pretty doesn't cut it when in the bottom half of the table.

Personally I think we have a massive attitude problem at the back. The coaching staff need to take a hard look at themselves. In game after game in the Premier a lot of teams think the short passing working out of the ball is the way to go which is utter nonsense. Yesterday for example Bournemouth did it twice lost the ball as a result and surrendered two goals. Mid table clubs have mid table defenders not MC or Barcelona etc so stop trying to play that way we just don't have the players. All our defenders assume that they can control the ball, beat opponents, pass it around. they can until they are challenged, then we are in trouble. It's high time they were forced to accept their limitations. Firstly pass it forward out of the danger zone alternatively smash it down the field, danger over. the last thing they should be trying to do is pull a ball down under pressure with an opponent on the way. I don't blame Valery or the others because it's up to the coaches to batter it out of them. Yesterday it required the anywhere ball which would have solved the problem immediately. Valery only did what he's been trained to do. We should be training the defenders to clear the ball into the next district when there is danger. OK if there is no pressure, play a pass but we have to be ruthless in defence at the moment because we defend like pussies. Yesterday at least three time we were breaking Newcastle's midfield and the player with the ball was body checked out of it. Once the refereee didn't give it although the check was made as another movement as the ball was past. that showed a ruthlessness we haven't got. All the top sides do it to stop attacks early. We need to get ruthless, physical and uncompromising when defending. We don't need to play football at the back because it gets us into trouble.

Personally I think the majority viewing a successful club wouldn't care.

Newcastle Council own St James Park. All a buyer would be getting for the £400m ish is a training ground and the assets of a football club in mid table.

Jim Ratcliffe Ineos has a box at Chelsea. Tried to buy it a while back as he's a fan. In a newspaper article some time ago.

Nothing

Nothing on OS. Looks like a misprint on Sky because then they started to show Guardiola on at 1.30 pm

Showing on Sky Sports News currently. I wonder what that's about because it's usually a Thursday before a Saturday match.

That was a shambles. Every time we chicken out and try and pass the ball around at the back we pull ourselves out of shape, lose our high tempo, no press and expose the centre backs to breaks. We had 66% possession, probably less than 30% was any use the rest was one of the main reasons we lost. Most of the time we just turned the forwards into static spectators who had no idea what was going to happen next but that we were going to pass it around slowly until we lost it and were exposed to the break. McCarthy back to passing out was a lot of the problem. First goal an ill advised pass to JWP instantly pressed instead of putting his foot through it, passed weakly up the line gave it away and a few passes later we picked it out of the net. His Prima Ballerina impression for the second goal was in Ralph's words "an absolute joke". McCarthy hasn't a clue and should just kick it long because firstly it would stop our back four passing it around and secondly we wouldn't be giving the ball away in dangerous areas. Smallbone links up well but just contributed to the slow possession. He is neat and tidy but not combative in the slightest. We missed JWP in the middle and together with a full back should have made us stronger. Our goal was all that is good direct from the back, three players run and quick passing forward and Obefemi scores. Nearly every game we lose and most home games are ruined by the nonsensical possession at the back. Just cut it out, high tempo pressing and quickly get the ball up to the forwards is the way we win matches. That should be the Southampton way. I think we should have peppered the WHU back line with early balls and forced them to defend at the same time leaving four back to shut down any clearances. and certainly be a lot more ruthless than we are.

That was a shambles. We had 66% possession, probably three quarters of it five yard passes in our own half. McCarthy is just plain stupid. He was directly at fault for the first two goals. He was back to his kamikazi passing out as opposed to his direct play last week. His pass to JWP was rediculous, quickly closed down, played a nothing ball up the line instead of putting his foot through it a couple of passes and it's in our net. The second was a pussy like lack of determination by McCarthy It was his ball all day except he went for it like a prima ballerina and was knocked off it. The third goal was another Bednarek bullied by Antonio. If teams are going to put it about then they have to be expecting to be mercilessly clattered not half heartedly challenged. WHU were more aggressive the whole game and we let them. Smallbone was a major problem today. He failed to physically challenge and apart from a few forward balls he played sideways and backwards. along with the back four that pinned us in our own half. We were giving the ball away regularly after a dozen or more passes and then taken apart on the counter. If we don't stop this possession based negative rubbish and get back to attacking immediately we win the ball as we did with our goal, Bednarek forward for once to Bertrand, to Armstrong breaking, to JWP overlapping pull back to Obefemi. Dynamic, one touch, direct. The defenders and the keeper need to play the passes immediately forward, once we go sideways we are in the mire.

Best to go to the site and read the information.

I've had it for a while now it's the best I've come across. Firstly the cost go to www.saintsplayer.com there are a variety of subscriptions from a free 24 hr trial (no sport) to a year £70. I don't know how much but it does a multi room subscription as well. My son has it on two smart tvs. The service is brilliant. I have it on a windows laptop and a Samsung smart tv. The laptop accesses either through the premium player usually 1, or the IPTV Smarters app. The reception is brilliant and the coverage is enormous. for example on a Sat every, Premier, Championship, League 1 and 2 matches. I kid you not. Other than football it literally has hundreds of tv stations, thousands of movies, similar to Prime/Netflix, hundreds of series etc. The smart tv works from either Samsung the nanomid app or other smart tvs IPTV Smarters app. I use the nanomid app which is Sky HD quality with no buffering at all. It also works on every type of games receivers, phones, ipads etc, android tablets/phones. SP supply random user name, password and URL to access the preferred service. There is a contact on the home page and they come back very quickly. I am really impressed with it.

"if Frazer can do a deal with Southampton" They buy him cheap and we pay a lump of his contract so they can cut price him. We should bring him back and only if he can't win his place, on present form he could, we should sell him to the highest bidder.