derry

Would have to join through the EFL who only take the top two clubs in the National League who have three divisions. They probably start at Southern League level. Won't happen. 14 turkeys won't vote for Christmas.

621 passes, 3 shots on target. That's what you get playing five non scoring midfielders. The manager picks the team, it's a fact that we had the most non scoring matches last season whilst failing to score in 5 competitive games this season. We have scored one goal from play at home, two penalties and two away one from a centre back up for a corner. Making nearly four thousand passes and scoring three goals from play is total nonsense and proves that most of those passes were played with no attacking intent and were nearly all backwards and sideways. The manager is responsible and by leaving two strikers on the bench is proving worse than stupid. Long a goal every five games, Gabbiadini one every two games and Austin one every two games will get more goals, cause defences more problems and take pressure off our defenders than any of the tippy tappers for possession sake only midfielders we have posing as forwards. The manager has to change his selection and set up a team that includes the goal scorers rather than picking a numbers system that Brazil played in the 1970 World Cup Final albeit with Jairzino, Rivellino and Pele behind Tostao because it suited the players. Ours doesn't so change it. Citing that top teams play that way is stupidity because they all have players behind the striker that get goals regularly.

The manager just doesn't make any sense. Whilst rotating three non scorers behind one striker he says more strikers won't score more goals, if he believes that why are we seeing two and three strikers on to try and rescue a game. Madness is doing the same thing time after time and expecting a different result. Long works hard and did flick on a good ball to Yoshida for a spectacular goal. Would any of the so called forwards have scored that, no fear of that. Time to go with Long, Gabbiadini and Austin and go 4-3-3.

Long was a handful against MU, leave him there, because when Gabbiadini and Austin came on without Long there was no cohesion and they were ineffective. Long needs players to get up and anticipate the breaking ball that he creates, Tadic, Davis and Redmond haven't a clue how to do this and lack scoring instincts. Gabbiadini is a natural left sided player and a goal scorer play him there, play Austin who is only a goal scorer to get in and around the goal area looking for Long's knock downs, play Redmond, Tadic or Davis off the right to balance this. Go longer if necessary as over 3500 passes this season has produced two goals and two penalties. 61% possession against MU, 71% in the second half, no goals. As long as we play three inept forwards when it comes to goal scoring and one striker it will not bring goals. This manager keeps playing the same way hoping for a miracle, it isn't going to happen, just rotating three out of six who have no goal instinct. They might get the odd goal but that is nowhere near enough. We already have two competent midfielders in Romeu and Lamina, we don't need three more non scoring midfielders in positions that need a goal scoring instinct. I fear that it will be later rather than sooner before it finally sinks in that his one trick pony approach isn't working. Why throw on two strikers to try and score a goal with ten minutes left when his favoured system isn't capable of scoring. Play the strikers from the start.

He can play one striker, who, because of those behind, will struggle to get more than double figures. Then behind him three players out of the six or so candidates that have all proved totally inept when it comes to scoring regularly. All I can say is good luck with that and I just hope we achieve enough clean sheets coupled with the odd goal to get us enough points to stay up. I fear another manager stuck with a pet system without the three midfield players that can score their share of goals. When he gets desperate he throws on two strikers with fifteen minutes left to try and rescue points, too little too late. His comment about the top teams playing one striker makes little sense as it ignores the fact that all those teams have plenty of players other than strikers that regularly score whilst we have none. Nothing shown so far this season gives reason for optimism.

4-0 non existent defence with two international CBs, how does that work?

I said three or four of the six. As long as we continue doing that, we won't score enough goals with one isolated striker tearing his hair out. Two or three strikers plus a maximum of two of the six non scorers is what we are left with. I can see us descending into crisis through a lack of goals. We have failed to score in more games since the start of last season than any other team currently in the PL. Continuing to expect any of the six to suddenly start scoring regularly is stupidity or that the defensive players will make up the shortfall at set pieces.

Anybody mentioning any of Boufal, Redmond, JWP, Davis, Redmond and Tadic as a solution to our lack of goals is missing the point. They might each get an odd goal during the season from play but they won't score enough often enough. Only Austin and Gabbiadini have the ability to score enough goals and Long is the only player we have despite his very average one goal every five games that has the strength, pace and energy to rattle defences enough to get the best out of the other two. The manager was waffling away on Saturday but mentioned 'The Striker'. Jesus wept if he cant see the problem of one striker isolated by any combination of three or four of the six he is a basket case. He needs to get it sorted and quick. Supporters won't be half as patient this year having put up with the previous season with it's magnificent 46 points albeit with a losing cup final appearance, a cup we are already out of, knocked out by a Championship reserve team.

Not even as good as that, talking statistics because he scored in his first game against Man City. So it's 8 in 12703 since, every seventeen a half games still only two a season, pathetic. Bottled a lot more tackles though.

So that's what he was doing.

Yes, try something different. What we are doing, recycling three or four of those five week after week isn't working and won't work. We didn't have any blend or balance. What we have got is a lot of midfielders with no goals, no pace, no strength, easily bullied and incapable of winning matches. Nine games out of the last eleven failed to score and don't look like scoring. Lemina has been put forward by the manager as a box to box midfielder whilst Hojbjerg hasn't been given a chance. As for a load of centre backs and holding midfielders, VVD and Hoedt who Reed says has been bought to play alongside VVD are the only two centre backs mentioned and Romeu is the only specialist holding midfielder. If we don't come up with regular goals and playing four of those five won't get them, we are going to lose a lot of games against any team that manages to score against us unless we get our goal scorers onto the pitch together. It's no good throwing Long and Austin on in desperation and taking Gabbiadini off and expecting them to save or win the game with fifteen minutes left.

Stupidity is doing the same thing time after time and hoping for a different result. It's down to the manager, four lightweight non scoring non competitive playmakers won't win matches. Replace JWP with Tadic, more of the same. Replace Gabbiadini with Long, FFS bring Long on and take a lightweight off. JWP, Davis, Boufal, Redmond, Tadic haven't scored goals, won't score goals so leave them out, recycling them expecting goals is stupidity. Time for the manager to earn his millions, stop recycling 4-2-3-1 and think out a formation that get's the goal scorers on the field and put the energetic high tempo Long up with them. Get VVD back in alongside Hoedt, and Lamina next to Romeu. I don't care whether it turns out to be 4-3-3, 4-4-2, 4-3-1-2, or any other combination, all I want is to see the players complementing each other and a balanced team with pace and strength unlike the turgid crap served up today. And as predicted the cow's arse had a pain free day again.

Looking at the same non goal scorers being endlessly recycled with the expectation they might fluke a goal between them is depressing. Unless Gabbiadini pulls a rabbit out of the hat, the referee intervenes or a defender scores I fear the cow's arse yet again will escape punishment. Sooner or later unless the incumbents suddenly find their shooting boots, Pellegrino is going to have to explore different tactics.

I want to see 100% from VVD. great defending, towering headers then I'll support him 100%. If he falls short and doesn't give his all he'll get it point blank.

I saw enough to think we have bought ourselves a big strong defender that has a good left foot and passes well. Not particularly quick but could be valuable in both boxes for set pieces especially if we get VVD back with him.

I personally think that the reason there were no bids from the clubs that could afford to bid, was that they were all in the tap up club. Therefore not only Liverpool but the others were going to face the wrath of SFC and the possibility of a transfer ban which LFC had a close shave with. Until SFC invited bids nobody could put a bid in without exposing themselves to possible sanction. All they could do, use their pet publications, pundits and ex players to keep pushing VVD into trying to force an exit which only hacked off SFC even more.

Tell him we won't even consider selling him until he plays a full season, if everything is satisfactory we might then consider selling him. If we say we won't sell a player then he won't be sold. If he wants a transfer he will have to do two things reintegrate, do his best for the team and earn the club's consideration of his request, and forget about ever being sold to Liverpool because we won't do business with them. If he acts like a child tell him he won't play until such time as the above conditions are met, don't even mention January or Liverpool. As an aside we could offer to put a £200m buyout clause in his contract increasing each year with transfer fee inflation of those fees paid by the top four teams in France, Spain, Germany and Italy.

What a knob, VVD leaves Staplewood in his own car.

I think it's hilarious, LFC are now like a big hitting heavyweight boxer with a glass jaw. You could almost see the other top clubs paying us to keep VVD from going to LFC, Not that we would sell to them any way because of their behaviour. LFC have really messed up by doing it all wrong and alienating SFC. Now get him playing after confirming he's going nowhere unless he knuckles down and certainly not in January and not to LFC.

Clutching at straws, it's the hope that kills you.

What 'attacking minded midfielders' that don't score and couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo. You're right about their defensive qualities.

As he's not for sale I'd expect Les and co to take a day off tomorrow or be unavailable. That would really stop any moves. "Sorry sir, they will all be in tomorrow, would you like to leave a message":lol:.

My take on it is that all the potential bidders were implicated in talking to the player and agent but LFC jumped the gun and had to apologise and back off whilst the others are now sitting on eggshells because Saints won't sell but if anybody pushes it the **** will hit the fan with the Premier league. Consequently until Saints back down and more importantly invite clubs to bid, tapgate hangs over all of them. Looks like a stand off, we won't sell and the clubs can't bid without facing consequences. Finally we won't sell to Liverpool. I hope we put VVD back in his box and have the foresight to categorically rule him out of the January window whilst blackballing Liverpool FC in the future because of the behaviour.

So we continue to play the once in a blue moon scorers. No thank you.

I just don't get why people are continuing to put forward the same players time after time, just shuffling the pack but producing no goals. Doing the same thing time after time and expecting a different result is stupidity. We need to change the formation and maybe play the three strikers together with Long leading the line and the two goal scorers playing off him. Romeu and Lamina plus one in midfield. The problem is that Davis, JWP, Tadic, Redmond, Boufal etc freeze when presented with chances, would rather pass than shoot or run, and really don't want to miss. Tadic and his approach to penalties as opposed to Austin's clinical finishing.