Tommy Mulgrew

It’s not that we are a one-man team; the problem is that, in Downes’s absence, the manager prefers to play without a direct replacement for him (I.e. Charles) and selects Smallbone or Rothwell instead, neither of whom has a clue how to play as a 6, or even Stephens, who does but cannot. As a result, even a team that cannot otherwise score and had 12 absent injured waltzed through our midfield and penalty area and scored twice in a game in which we missed about a dozen decent chances. Most of us could see it but, for reasons unknown, Martin either cannot or chooses to turn a blind eye. Again and again and again. POH, above, has the right idea.

Probably not for Ireland, though, unless it is that Kelleher Ireland keeper from Liverhampton; he would do for our first-choice keeper (not that we would ever get him).

I am not aware how pre-match injuries and subs work but could the reason Macca started be this: Baz got injured in the warm-up; if Lumley replaced him we would have no keeper cover on the bench (Macca could not be added to the bench so soon before kickoff); if, by some dispensation that I know nothing about and with PNE’s agreement, Macca replaces Baz, we still have Lumley on the bench. That, plus Macca’s better pedigree, makes the decision a no-brainer. It worked well, anyway.

He played well but did not have much defending to do, the weakest part of his game - sadly for a defender - but he did well going forward. I did not like the way he launched himself high into the air and the PNE penalty area when one of their defenders clipped his heel; he should have stayed in his feet and done something constructive with the ball. Who knows, we might have scored.

He has not played in the Championship at all this season until now; so, last season. We played really well today, especially in the first half. A real team performance. Second half, not so well although we did not give PNE a sniff of a goal; 0.07 XG says it all. Many on here have lauded our 2nd half game management but Ipswich have a GD that is just two goals better than ours. I just hope that we do not regret not trying harder to get a fourth or even fifth goal. Onwards and upwards on Saturday!

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Swansea and Blackburn were in 2023; I’ll give you Wednesday, though. (I said “year” not “season”). Most of our wins seem to be by one or two goals except for those you mention and I merely wanted to say that I’d prefer a convincing and comprehensive victory to avoid too stressful a second half of the game. 4:0 and 5:0 are indeed comfortable, thnx.

Not merely the half-way line. It is even worse further back towards our goal. Better not to do it at all (ie regardless of the score) unless you want to take the piss out of the opposition in the dying embers of the game; and I do not especially like to see anyone do that. Or, for that matter, take the ball into the corner and try to stay there. Far better to pass around the team (minus goalkeeper) with purpose and keep the opposition pinned back in defence of their goal. Anyway, as for the Preston game, we should be positive from the beginning and try to improve our goal difference. It might just make a difference. And it would be good to win comfortably for once this year. Bednarek to start and Charles on the bench, along with Brooks and Rothwell.

The Leicester forum and the Leeds forum are interesting reads and the content is much the same as on here but with a lot of venom from many posters directed towards the manager; only a few on here imo want to get rid of RM regardless of what happens in the next few weeks. I did not see a poster with the same or similar degree of sanctimonious sermonising as the one we have on here; he or she seems to be truly unique. The feeling on both sites was that we will beat Leeds and Leicester. I was pleasantly surprised that Patrick Bumford gets a lot of stick from Leeds fans for being interested more in falling over to get a free kick or a penalty than in scoring and that Leicester fans do not seem to think that the repulsive Vardy is odds on to score against us. Both sets of fans reckon that their sides will contest the play-offs and not win promotion. People on here and on there need to cheer up.

I use Proton. The free version, which I have, used to give a choice of the Netherlands, USA or Japan as a free location but now gives only the former. It is good and I recommend it.

Does the new Sky deal mean that SaintsPlay streams for UK audiences stop but remain for foreign audiences? If so, a VPN will come in handy for those unable to attend our matches (assuming we stay in the Championship). Asking for a friend. 😉

Manning and Stephens both start; Bednarek remains on the bench; Bree joins him; we keep a clean sheet; Downes rested; Smallone at 6; Shea starts; Big Joe plays only one half; Brooks, Sulemana and Edozie have plenty of end product; Sully scores; Adams scores with his left (no, not foot, be realistic) arm; we get a penalty and, with both Armstrongs off the field, Bazunu fires it into the top right corner; he saves Watford’s penalty after THB punches their CF; we win 3:0; the top three drop more points; we play with real pace going forwards at least three times in each half; I am glad; all in front of four faces from our recent past (do Prado, Rickie, Nigel and Kevin -think about it -); RM is speechless in the after-match interview. At my age any fuck is a glad fuck, not a sad one. I wake up.

Stop it. At least until after Saturday, when we play … Watford. 🤐

Leicester v Saints and Leeds v Saints are going to be terribly boring if all they say is true. A bit like what we say on here, not all that seems to be so really is so. I am looking forward to the former game, less so to the latter. Who can tell what the future might bring? Think positive!

David: “I am in my sixth decade as a Saints fan…”. A mere stripling, then. I’ll now pretend to be Strangely Brown: the unbeaten run was not unimpressive, it was undeniably impressive but some posters questioned the slow, laborious and sideways and backwards nature of almost all of our play, wanting a more-than-once-in-a-blue-moon quick and incisive way to the opposition’s goal, especially in injury time when we were chasing a winner or an equaliser, and the tendency of our usual left-back (and, less often, right-back) to play invariably in the middle of the pitch, thus gifting acres of space for the opposition winger/full-back to run uninterrupted into our penalty area; simply put, saw things that could easily be done to make us more difficult to play against, but RM was not to be moved from what seemed his preferred way of playing. It now seems he, too, is fed-up with a lack of pace going forward and with too many timid backward passes in stead of through/over the top balls for attackers to run on to. Here’s hoping for a positive response from the team tonight and thereafter. I am forever an optimist, despite following Saints for longer than DavidinSweden’s lifespan.

Nike one!

RM had talks with Brighton during the international break according to Football Transfers. https://www.footballtransfers.com/en/transfer-news/tag/exclusive-newsnow/exclusive-transfer-news-brighton-russell-martin-roberto-de-zerbi-jacque-talbot Could explain a few recent things, including his strange comments earlier today.

Death by a thousand passes so far, with us just as likely to die as Blackburn.

Which is why I and several others have consistently called him out for insisting that our FBs, especially Manning, play close to the middle of the pitch instead of marking their wingers and closing the latter down thus preventing unhurried crosses onto our penalty area.

The save from Salah v Liverpool last year. I think it was voted the EPL save of the week/month. It showed he had anticipation, speed and bravery in racing out towards the edge of our penalty area to smother the shot, knowing he would probably get one or two boots in his face.

No; sorry that I did not express myself more clearly: the THB at RB problem was before the Ipswich game.

When on song we are great to watch and that applies as much to our usual slick but not-getting-anywhere-fast passing game as to yesterday’s unusual quick, incisive passing-led goals. The trouble is that we do the former 99% of the time and the latter 1% of the time. And we do the former 99% of the time in our half and our penalty area. Inevitably we lose the ball sometimes and, instead of our DMs and defenders setting themselves in a solid defensive formation, our fullbacks play tucked into the middle of the pitch, leaving huge gaps that opponents’ wingers and fullbacks can exploit. Most goals we concede come from that; yesterday we saw two examples of it (maybe even three - I can’t remember enough of the build-up to the second goal) and the Middlesbrough game was similar. Even in our unbeaten run we exhibited the same weakness but managed to outscore most teams or at least get a draw. Now we face better opponents who are fired up to achieve promotion or avoid relegation our frailty is exposed more starkly. If we stop gifting space in No-Mannings Land and on the RHS as well, we shall be more difficult to score against, even with Stephens playing. Unless RM sorts out our defensive shape we won’t succeed in our efforts to get back to the EPL. What is needed is for our DOF to emphasise that as an imperative or else… . Oh we seem not to have a DOF! The Board should let rip at RM in no uncertain terms. I agree dropping KWP was disastrous and playing THB out of position was wrong. And the other points above about strange subbing decisions. But IMO the main problem is the wrong defensive shape. The rigid adherence to our way of setting up and style of play makes it worse. The red and white future is not looking as bright at present as it should do with our squad of players, who are easily good enough to achieve promotion.

No mention of his goalkeeping heroics for us, against Newcastle IIRC. https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/dexter-blackstock-the-ex-southampton-man-now-making-serious-money/

Yes, and we have discussed it at length on here before. The trouble is that we seem to suffer the defensive disadvantages of that system, especially on our left-hand side, without gaining any of the advantages. Some would say that other teams do the opposite. I could not possibly comment.

Blimey, legs almost as spindly as Peter Crouch’s.