CanadaSaint

I see two lifts - both serve the same purpose, but one is going down and the other is going up. Stuart Armstrong is in one of them, and Nathan Tella is in the other. I was sorry when Tella was loaned out because there’s a player in there, and I thought he’d benefit from watching SA close-up, every day. I’d certainly bring him back because SA is just not an impact player any more - but only if we don’t sign someone who would just keep Tella on the bench. In that case we’d be better letting him develop some more at Burnley.

FFFFFF FFFFFF SSSSSS

Yesterday’s gong show wasn’t down to having a relegation standard squad - I don’t think it is. As others have noted, many of the same players were performing at a far higher level until Ralph lost them with his bizarre mix of arrogance, obstinacy and tactical insanity. We definitely improved the squad in the Summer, although we failed to upgrade in the place that needed it most. What has sent my head spinning is the utter clusterfuck of a starting lineup that Jones selected yesterday. It’s causing people to write-off players who absolutely have to be part of the solution - because they have been good players and can be again, and because we don’t have either the money or the appeal to bring in real quality. Here’s the bizarre part. At this point, the person most likely to get Jones to see sense is not the person being well-paid to do it, the clueless Semmens, but his own father-in-law. Wrap your mind around that one. 🤣

That was always going to be a problem and I was shocked when they let him go. When he went, JWP's game went downhill big-time. A diabolical decision by the club. The only option I think we have is to play Lyanco there; Lavia is better a bit farther up. Lyanco's default tendency (watch him!) is to come out of the back to challenge that "Romeu space", which compromises our back line, so we might as well try playing him there. ABK and CC are better CDs (are they injured?), so Lyanco should either play the Romeo role or not play at all. This game was lost before kick off. Brighton are a good, balanced side, and players like Djenepo and Diallo - with neither a discernible role nor a discernible skillset - were always going to be chasing shadows. I like Perrault's positives and the fact that he's on his natural side, but game after game after game his failure to track back quickly is creating big problems. Jones's half time changes showed that he'd recognized his error, but after 40 days at the club he should never have made it in the first place.

You forgot an element. Man, it was fricking cold that night, but home advantage is home advantage 🤣: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR8jk8I_rWI

Maybe you should go back and sort out Hedge End rather than worry about San Francisco and New York. I hear they’ve lost a curry shop, so a man of your calibre might be able to put things straight. Unless you’re viewed as a “Deplorable” nutter there as well, or have something against curry shops - neither of which would surprise me at all. It’s been an awesome week, watching MAGA (and Trump’s family and empire) crumbling, seeing Elon Musk contemplating the loss of $44 billion, and discovering that the supremely misnamed Guided Missile is still shouting at a wall. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Firstly, if Jones was able to outline to our “Board” what he would do here, as Reddit-dude did, I can understand why they didn’t look much further - even though they must have known they’d get hammered for lack of ambition. Secondly, if we actually have a decent squad of players (which some of us believe - caveat on missing striker), Jones’s philosophy will liberate them - and probably pretty quickly. Same players, much better tune, far more enjoyable to watch. Thirdly, what a joy it was to read something so thoughtful, balanced and positive. He may not be a typical fan, but it was heartwarming to read something that didn’t have the sneering negativity and self entitlement that are commonplace on forums. Just reading that, from a Luton fan, explains why some folks think footy is much more enjoyable outside the PL. Thanks to him and good luck to them.

How difficult is it? There's a page where you can voice your opinion on whether you want Nathan Jones here. This is a WELCOME thread. If you want to post negative, manic depressive shit, and set yourself up for "I told you so" posts after the first bad result, go to the first one. If you want Jones - and therefore Saints - to succeed, use this one. It's not rocket science. Good luck Nathan. We're behind you. Well, most of us.

We don't need to be world beaters - we need to improve on the style-less dross Ralph has been serving up, which shouldn't be difficult. And I very much suspect that Ralph's reputation in the agent community is not good, so they'll steer their players away from us while he's here. The new guy would have one month and four winnable games to make us more appealing before the window closes. If he's already well regarded, that in itself would make us more attractive to potential signings. I'm not saying that I like that possible strategy, but that it may be much better than keeping Ralph or a knee-jerk hiring.

While we are, understandably, growing more anxious and impatient by the week, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that SR have a clear strategy in their minds. It could involve hanging on until the WC break, and bringing in a new manager who they may have already identified (perhaps even from a WC team, or one from the managerial shake-up that could happen when the WC managers become available). Then we would use the period between the end of the WC and the opening of the transfer window to establish a style, improve results, and make ourselves more attractive to potential January signings. We know from the Gakpo pursuit that some significant funds are available, but Ralph isn't exactly a magnet any more. Sure, it feels horribly risky from our side, but the SR people aren't idiots. They've been very successful, and they did that by taking calculated risks, and by playing the long game, not the short game. Some of the names being mentioned on here as potential Ralph replacements are far more risky than that strategy. Between now and the WC, we have Bournemouth (a), Arsenal (h), Palace (a), Newcastle (h) and Liverpool (a). Even if we only pick up a couple of points from those fixtures, I can't see us being cut adrift at the bottom. And I think we have the squad to go on a good run, given decent management.

I stuck with Ralph for as long as I could because his style, on the good days, was great to watch and very effective. I was blinded by the good days and by his "nice guy" facade, but gradually came to realize that he's arrogant, obstinate and disinterested in alternative views. I had a real sense of foreboding after the West Ham cup game, when Ralph - after picking a crazy starting lineup, seemed to view the freak result as confirmation that he knows everything and the fans know nothing. He hit 100 on the arrogance meter after that game. Under Ralph we were always quite bipolar - "when we were good we were very, very good, but when we were bad we were horrid". Increasingly, it was the latter. Now our style seems to be a ludicrous amalgam of the very things that made us horrid. We're back to shuffling the ball around sideways - at the back and in the middle, and it's utterly futile because we then end up hoofing it. And Ralph persists with starting lineups and formations that pretty much nobody on here would select. I was livid before the Everton game when I saw he'd broken up a CD duo that had been dovetailing well. How the hell can the squad dovetail when he keeps shifting shapes and roles? It has seemed clear for some time, from the outside, that there were issues behind the scenes. The smug, knowing grins exchanged between Ralph and Semmens at the forum suggested that they knew where the Mail leak had come from, and that reprisals would soon be taken. Again, Ralph saw it as validation of him. That grinning moment suggested, to me at least, that Semmens has been part of the problem and is unlikely to be part of the solution. That seems like a bleak picture, but if there's a club with the personnel to change things completely under new management, it's us. We have some very good players, but we will not see their best when they're just minions in Ralph's master plan - one that very few people at the club or in the seats are buying into.

Every weekend we’re there in person or watching on TV hoping to see something special. Of course, we want it to come from the side we support. Sometimes, though, it comes from the other side, but that doesn’t stop it from being special, and we stand there for a while in grudging admiration. The weekend postponements are a good way to pause for some well-earned admiration, grudging or not. I’m fine with that.

One of my favourites, too. There was a conspicuous Oriel-shaped gap when he didn't play, but we're working to address that. What will be much harder to replace is the example he set for those around him. There aren't many class acts in football these days but he was certainly one of them. My hope was that we'd keep him around so that he could take Lavia under his wing and pass on the importance of commitment and lifestyle. But not shooting. 🤣 There aren't many players who have left Saints over the years with as many well-wishes as Oriel will have in his backpack.

Do you think City would let him go to Spurs? I don’t.

Lots of 3-D domino games going on, so anything could happen. At least we’re in them.

The accomplishments since SR arrived have been amazing: Outline a sustainable business model for a club of our (current) size - CHECK Don’t place too much power in one set of hands - CHECK Strengthen the coaching team (move out the deadwood, rectify the manager’s weaknesses by introducing a team approach to decision-making) - CHECK Commit to a high-intensity style of play (our "identity") that utilizes our strengths and is hard to match (regardless of who we’re playing) – CHECK Increase squad quality and depth in all positions, ideally with young, high-potential players – CHECK Implement a talent acquisition model (and the staff to operate it) that allows us to quickly replace the players we inevitably lose to the big-spenders - CHECK Play the kind of football that gets St. Mary’s electrified and makes things much harder for opponents (and referees) - CHECK Who’d have thought that our most challenging issue this year would end up being the pitch? We seem well on the way to a tectonic shift. And not a Saudi in sight.

Fabulous result. Adams, ABK and JWP were heroic. Mo very impressive. So pleased for AA. The Lavia injury underscores the importance of keeping Romeu. We need to enjoy this kid while we’ve got him.

Well, that win should significantly help our recruitments efforts.

Gakpo seems like an exciting prospect but Maitland-Niles would be an excellent acquisition, too. Our starting lineup is much upgraded but it’s a long hard season, especially for the younger players. Having someone like AMN, who can play multiple positions, single-handedly gives us a big boost in depth. I really hope we can land him.

Are there more fixtures after the January window than before this year, because of the WC?

Completely agree. He’s become pretty reliable in the middle third, and he’s exciting in the front third, but he can look like a lost sheep in the defensive third - as he did today on United’s goal. He’s an unpredictable enigma who brings things that Elyanoussi can’t bring.

I can’t help but wonder if Broja developed a negative mindset when somebody in the dressing room got in his ear. He seemed all set and then things went pear-shaped. The smirks suggest that Ralph and Semmens know exactly who that was - and also the person behind the Mail leak. When shit like this happens inside a club, it’s seldom resolved with a public airing. More often, someone falls out of the squad selection reckoning. Just saying…

Diallo reminds me of some of the knobs in my car. I've had it for a few years and I'm still not sure what they do.

I think we have to be really careful here. ABK and Mara are both 20 and Lavia is 18. They look like outstanding talents but young players can lack the physical durability and mental fortitude that a gruelling PL season requires. We saw that with Tino. While I'm happy with our starting lineup I think we need to bear in mind that they're unlikely to be playing at their current standard all season - and we can't over-expose them, so we need to keep some older heads around. I hope we don't sell Adams, but if we let Romeu go we MUST sign Garner or someone similar; Diallo is too lightweight for me, and I'm still not sure what he's good at. There's also a good case for keeping Redmond, even if he's seldom a starter, and I have more faith in Lyanco than most on here. Selling Bednarek - not loaning him - could well be critical for the first half of our season.

It has been a while since we've had multiple options to freshen things up and apply tactical tweaks or even significant changes - largely (but not solely) because we haven't had the depth to do it. It has also been a while since we've felt any confidence that the coaching staff would a) recognize the need for those changes, b) implement them in a timely fashion, or c) implement them at all. It really helps if we don't have to use our substitutions to rectify errors in selecting the starting lineup. Ralph is looking like a much better coach for listening to those around him.