WALK DMC

Interesting stat ? We've kept more clean sheets (3) in the handful of games that we've played 4 at the back than the 2 (Swansea/Millwall) clean sheets achieved with 5 at the back over nearly 25 games. The clean sheets with 4 at the back are the the two recent games v Stoke & Sheff U and the home game in September against Pompey. It does make you wonder why both Will & Tonda were so stubborn in giving it an extended go. Of course, it may be absolutely nothing to do with formation, just the fact that Mssrs Manning, Bazunu and Wood have been removed from the team ............

On the basis that they're unlikely to risk starting Stewart in quick succession, I'd assume that Cyle will start all our evening games and FA cup ties. So in the next 6 weeks, that would mean 3 evening games and 1 (or two if we get through) FA Cup matches. And as you say, he'll probably start coming on for Stewart after the hour in other games. That's a load more playing time than he has been getting in Holland. Let's just hope that he can make a decent contribution in all of those games. Plus of course, if Stewart picks up an injury the playing time could be significantly more.

Stewart is out of contract in the summer, so with his injury record there is a chance that we won't offer a new contract.

Don't forget the 3 play-off games 🙂

My favourite is when Stephens wins a header, but it goes straight into the air rather than away from goal. According to Opta, the percentage of ariel duels that our centre halves win are: Quarshie - 59% THB - 56% Wood - 46% Stephens - 43% A "very good " percentage in the Championship is around 70%+ won, good is around 60%+ won. As always, stats need to be used carefully, but these do seem to back up my own impression of our defence's ability to defend crosses. Strangely though, I'd probably prefer Jack to Quarshie for Sunday's game. I think even with his obvious limitations, some games call for experience and this is probably one of those matches.

Shame that this game isn't an evening kick off. This season, Saints have a points per game (PPG) of 2.3 for games played in the evening (w5, d1, l1), but have less than 1 PPG for those games played in the day (w4, d8, l9). If our evening matches form was across the season, we'd be 7 points clear at the top of the Championship ! Alternatively, we'd be in the bottom 3, if our day form was across the season. I think that this anomaly, is because we had quite a few evening games during Tonda's hot period when he first took over. Not sure that it means much, but I thought that it made a nice change to discussing XG.

I agree, however the team were clearly lacking in confidence, so if we can get a run going then I think further improvements will be seen. We've missed Charles so it will be a big plus to get him back. He has more height and physicality than our other midfield players and can even held to defend set pieces. I'm not blindly optimistic, but i thought that the performance yesterday was an improvement and if we'd taken one of our other chances it could have been relatively comfortable.

Robinson is still only 18 years old. And even when things aren't quite coming off, he still has a touch of class about him. Give him another year or two and he'll get more consistency.

This is a difficult window. We're probably going to be playing Championship football next season, although there is a chance that we could make the playoffs, but alternatively we could still get sucked into a relegation battle. Not knowing what league we'll definitely be playing in next season adds a further complexity to buys in January. Shopping in January means that the pool of available talent is small, the price a premium and what is the purpose of buying now ? Why spend on a forward that will cost more than in the summer, when we'll probably still be stuck in the Championship anyway ? We clearly need a physical forward who can hold the ball up and knock in a few goals. However, would it be better to wait until summer before finding a permanent solution, or alternatively bring someone in using the loan market which would be a low risk e.g. a young gun from a Premier reserve side, or (my preferred option) an experienced forward who isn't getting any younger but has seen it, done it and can lead a line for the next 4 months ? It is a difficult decision and as SR have demonstrated time and time again, their decision making in the transfer market has been found wanting time after time over the last few years. I'm not confident that we'll get a suitable replacement this January.

I nearly did make a comment about moving deckchairs on the titanic when I wrote that 😀 I think going to a back 4 for the last 20 minutes was a more significant change and actually thought that the team played better during that period. Just to be clear, I'm not saying that our centre halves are small, just that we have a lack of physicality across the whole team. By removing one of the centre halves we reduce our size/height further. As I said in my last paragraph, I believe that is a risk worth taking.

II don't think it is completely fair to say that he doesn't make in-game tactical switches. Against Millwall, he moved THB to the centre of the 3, with Wood on the right. I think that he wanted THB in the centre as he is the best passer of the three. At H-T he switched it again, so that THB remained in the centre, but Stephens moved to the right. In the last 20 minutes or so, Stephens moved to a position close to Right Back, with Fellows ahead of him. It was close to a back 4. I think our issue is that we have a very small team and the Centre halves are our only 3 tall/physical players. I suspect that he keeps with playing 3 centre halves because of this. Even with these three, we're pretty awful at defending set-pieces (even on Saturday we had a few moments that we got away with). I'm not defending Tonda - When he took over from Still, I thought that at last we'd at last consistently play a back 4. I was in despair for that first game v QPR when he trotted out a back 5 AND brought Bazunu back. We very rarely control a game for any length of time (even when we were winning his first few games). I'd like to have another midfielder so that we actually dominate the ball and play the game in the opponents half rather than spending long periods where our dodgy defence are under pressure. Again though, none of Downes, Bragg or Jander are physically imposing. I'd like to get a Victor Wanyama type to start bullying other teams. Shea Charles has been a loss as he is tall and physically strong and we've missed that. I just hope that he uses the Doncaster game to experiment with a back 4, with a proper right back (not Stephens ) and see if an extra man in midfield changes the dynamics on the pitch.

The Newcastle forum makes interesting reading, they have a low opinion of Ramsdale. It's actually like reading this forum but substituting the word "Bazunu" for "Ramsdale". Aaron Ramsdale - Page 81 - Football - Newcastle-Online

WBA have lost their last 6 away games. They're certainly struggling at the moment.

I think that it is a fair point, and I would understand why Bragg would retain his place in the starting lineup. However Romeu brings something that too few of our players have which is outstanding pedigree and experience. It was only 10 months ago that Romeu was starting for Girona in the Champions League against AC Milan and Arsenal. While I agree that his legs were starting to go, Millwall away is not at the same level as he was playing just earlier this year. Nice decision for the Manager to have to make.

I watched them last night and although they made hard work of beating Sheff W, it was a comfortable win in the end. In a simple comparison with our performance at home to Sheff W, 3 weeks ago, they had double the shots at goal and double the XG that we had against the same opposition. They are still suffering from an injury crisis which has caused recent results to drop, without that I'm pretty sure that they would be sat in 2nd. We should treat them with respect. Plus, Saints have yet to beat any of the teams currently sitting in the top 9 of the Championship, so this is a good opportunity to demonstrate that the recent upturn in form is no fluke. I did think that their defence looked a little susceptible to quick breaks which has been a forte of Saints in the last couple of games. Looking forward to it ....

Viera appears to be Postecoglou in reverse, he starts well and then has a poor second season (see Nice/Palace/Genoa). I've always had a suspicion that some of these tough guy types (like Roy Keane) are often good in the short term, but that their aggressive style isn't as effective in the medium to long term. Even if that theory holds true, I wouldn't be totally against Viera as manager, I really feel that the team needs a short, sharp shock to the system and perhaps he could bring that to the club.

I think the thing that will put top clubs buying him is his age. He will be 28 years old next year, so very little resale value, plus you'd have to ask why hasn't he been a target for any other clubs in the past. If he continues to impress, that won't stop somebody coming in with an offer that we can't refuse, but it may deter immediate interest in the short term.

A very good call, but I can't see him dropping from managing a team towards the top of the Bundesliga in recent years to a relegation threated English team in the Championship. But he is available ....

I agree, but I think that the players that we have acquired are actually more suitable for 4-2-3-1, or 4-4-1-1 than 3 at the back.

Michael Carrick seems to be getting a load of support here. His managerial career has been pretty mediocre with 8th and 10th position finishes in his last two seasons in the Championship and a reputation for possession based football. I feel that we need a bigger character to transform the club and address the malaise of the last few years. Steven Gerrard did brilliantly at Rangers, but was unsuccessful at Villa and Saudi, so I'd be nervous about appointing him. If Brendon Rogers could be persuaded to join, I think that he'd be the right sort of character to sort things out and has a proven pedigree. He is unlikeable, but I'd actually see that as a positive (at least at the moment), as I think we need a strong, focused individual who will upset the applecart and get us out of this permanent rut that we seem to have been living in. In my view, Carrick would steady the ship, but wouldn't transform. Rogers could get us to the Premier league and stay there but would probably leave if things weren't too his liking or another opportunity was wafted in front of him. Gerrard is somewhere in the middle - it could work out and he could turn things around, but I certainly wouldn't be filled with confidence. None of the above are ideal, mid-season appointments are always fraught with danger as the pool of available and competent managers is always limited. Let's just hope that Sports Republic get it right......

I don't want to be picky (and clearly about to fail) or to ruin our good luck, but ......... McCarthy was in goal against WBA in the play-off semi which we won 3-1.

I think that the issue can be traced back to Still's obsession with 3 at the back. Rather than start 4 at the back, and push Edwards into DM, he used Finn Azaz as a DM. I think that Azaz will make a big contribution to Saints in the future, but only if they release his creative talent and play him as a 10 just behind the striker. Azaz as a DM was poor (with the odd exception including a fabulous through ball for one of Armstrong's misses), and Blackburn took control in the 2nd half. Still wanted to strengthen the DM area, which is why Stephens came on for Scienza and Azaz played further forward replacing him on the left wing. So, in practice it was a like for like replacement. The fact that it didn't work wasn't a huge surprise (has any one seen Stephens play well as DM ? ), but I actually think that Still had the right idea (strengthen midfield and try and regain control), he just picked the wrong player to put on (& take off). Lastly, is it me, or are Scienza's performances weaker in the 2nd half of games ? He always seems stronger in the first half of matches - I can't say that I have seen enough to be sure, but he could be a player that runs out of steam. However, I suspect that Still will think twice about taking him off in the future 🙂

A fairly reasoned response, although it's the last two paragraphs which are the ones that worry me. I'm absolutely fine with losing Will, but only if we have confidence that his successor will significantly improve what we have. Taking a knee jerk decision to appoint a Manager with a mediocre track record just because they are available (and there is usually a good reason why they are available!) may only perpetuate the downwards cycle that we find ourselves in. I'm not sure what the answer is, I've yet to see a name of an experienced Manager who could transform both the culture and performances of our club. Maybe someone like the unlikable Brendon Rogers, but I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't consider us anyway. I don't think that we will be relegated this season (famous last words), so we should take our time assessing the market - good Managers do come available during the season. Of course, I'm assuming that Sports Republic will make a good decision even when they take their time ..................

Additionally, we've not scored a goal in the first half of a home game since April (Fulham). And it is now around 372 days since we were leading a league game by more than a single goal (and even then we lost 😞 )

When Ralph came in, we'd gone 12 games without a win. He then proceeded to win 4 of the next 7, a very immediate impact.