austsaint

You are rapidly earning the mantle of the Black Knight of the forum….and there’s a trickle of competition too. Thanks for the clarity.

It would be the looniest of looney tunes for SR to play if they (a) leave Martin in the job all season (b) green light him to manage Saints again in the Championship 25/26. There was a lot of noise made about the broken club we were when relegated in 2023 with 25 points , and the resultant “scar tissue” Martin inherited. What state is he going to leave the Club in? Surely the damage control needs attending to now, ( 2 or 3 games ago ideally). Make the change Sports Republic.

Needs to happen. Is not going to happen.

And only cost 90k from memory.

True, but he was bloody good by the time he went to Klopp.

Sadio I meant, not Sadie.🥴

You could probably say the same about Sadie Mane. Klopp got all the credit for turning him into one of the world’s best attackers yet he was already a class act; just needed the bigger stage.

That was my take too. On the surface it was a plucky performance; an honourable defeat, complete with praise from Pep. Scratch the surface though and it looked like Pep’s boys coasted to a win without getting out of third gear, even if our five-at-the-back defence dug in well most of the afternoon. it reinforced my view that that Saints have enough quality to still have a slim hope of staying up if the players are unshackled from Martin’s style of play. Fernandes, despite the one misplaced pass underlined what a gem we have on our hands. Dibling had moments in the first half but his substitution was justified - at 18 he might need resting after so many high pressure games. Harwood-Bellis and Downes were both impressive; Archer, operating on scraps, made several incisive runs and hit the woodwork with our one genuine chance. KWP and Ramsdale were up to standard and Airibo once again showed strength, touch and control in his cameo. Everton and Wolves await. 3 or 4 points a minimum pick up. Surely RM is shown the door otherwise.

There’s many reasons to doubt RM’s competence to manage in the Prem; but his continuing belief that Smallbone is a Prem midfielder ranks high up for me that he has to go.

Indeed. This is the Smallbone who had three abysmal performances in the first three matches of the season; is out injured for weeks and is then brought on by Martin to replace Saints best player on the day, Fernandes. Smallbone did not touch the ball; didn’t make a block, tackle or interception. He’s the player Martin said he’s happiest about when he’s on the pitch. For that remark and decision alone RM should be packing his bags.

I feel the same way. We are wasting time In maintaining the status quo with RM. There’s no guarantee a better manager can save us from the drop but it’s a change which has to be made and will give the Club a chance, if it’s done soon. There’s an inertia about SR decision making which we’ve seen before. Is it reluctance to take the financial hit of sacking Martin? Is Dragan getting the right advice from Andersen, Kraft and co? I can’t believe things can just meander until Nov./Dec. by which stage the bird may have flown. Can anyone seriously see RM managing Saints in the Championship next season?

If he said that he’s a dead man(ager) walking.

Not a bad time for a manager of Potter’s profile to take over. The Club’s at a low ebb and favourite to be relegated. Plenty of time to steady the ship and build some coherence, yet he wouldn’t be expected to work miracles. If we were relegated, he might fancy a project similar to Marco Silva with Fulham a few years back and bring Saints back to the Prem with an overhauled squad and a style and strategy which works.

In the unlikely event of us not reaching the final, is it a free cancellation?

Strongish?

Maybe them next 🤞. One plus with the “bloated” squad is being able to field a strong line up while resting the best X1.

Sorry to hear that Farmer. Dogs have been ever present in the lives of my four kids - through good times and rocky. All the best.

Nice preview though.

Amen to that…. No Diaz wide left. Was Liz Truss the PM in question?

Fair enough, all very reasonable points you make. In an ideal world I too prefer a FB on his natural side, and Taylor did a reasonable job defensively; would still prefer a Bertrand type (they don’t grow on trees) to give the side more attacking balance - particularly against the weaker sides like Ipswich. One thing most of us would agree upon is Sugawara’s playing well enough to keep his spot ahead of KWP. Does seem bizarre though to have a player of KWPs class sitting on the bench.

Well the Roller didn’t start yesterday but are you saying if the Roller does start it won’t be performing to usual levels?

Yes, Taylor wasn’t bad….far from it. It’s just when you’ve got a Rolls Royce in the garage, why bring the Toyota Corolla out of the car port.

Yes, no criticism of RM today for selection and tactics, although I would have preferred Cornet on instead of BBD or Stewart, both of whom look miles off the pace and quality needed - a damning fail of our striker recruitment. I also wonder about Taylor at LB. He was solid enough, but not once got forward, and did not deliver a cross for the entire 97 minutes. Maybe that was his role, but it meant we didn’t create much on our left hand side; a few efforts from Fraser - nothing from Diaz. In that sense we missed KWPs enterprise, even when playing out of position. I’m not sure the case for balance with a natural LB was justified today in giving up so much attacking and creative possibilities on the left side of the pitch. So much to like about the performance though. What more can be said about Dibling, a totally fearless display of dribbling, run, exquisite passes and a composed finish from the Lallana pass. He also tracked back well and helped defensively. His combination with Sugawara was great to watch - Sugawara has proven himself a worthy Prem RB, and along with Fernandes and Les Ugo, are the pats on the back for the recruiting staff as much as the striker/attacking recruits look like dismal mistakes. Having said that, Archer showed glimpses and created two gilt edged opportunities. Just needs the confidence boost of a goal or two. Some have doubted Downes at Prem level, yet I thought he once again proved he’s more than comfortable. Worked hard at both his holding and box to box responsibilities and covered at times for Lallana who while very good creatively, couldn’t offer the defensive midfield cover to Downes that Les Ugo can and did later in the game. THB was much improved today and it’s fair to say we looked better with the Bednarek/THB combination rather than Captain Jack. Gutting to concede so late. Ramsdale deserved a clean sheet today. t

That will do. I’m backing Ramsdale’s class to provide a clean sheet, with a second half Saints winner from the sub Cornet.

On a sliding scale of sledge quality, that one's skidding along at the base.