malcolm waldron

Said the same thing last night after the game. Before it we were wondering which Championship lump would bully us this time - of course the answer was Sinclair Armstrong when he came on. I remember him from his QPR days back in 23/24 and while his career may have stalled, my god did he give Wood and THB something to worry about for the 2nd half. And we brought on Damian Downs.....

We say the same thing every home game walking over the bridge to the ground with Rickie staring back at us from the mural. What we would give to find the equivalent now from League 1.

Pretty much agree with everything there so I think we watched a similar game. My only comment is on 'dropping the 3 CBs'. Didn't we have 3 CBs and Fellows / Manning as wing backs - with Ryan F then replacing Fellows at HT.

But doesn't that assume Ramsdale was happy to stay? The summer feels a long time ago now but it was hardly a surprise he went back to the Premier League was it? The problem was that it was on loan and then we decided to do nothing about the position, I suspect, because we'd paid a fortune for Bazunu and were hoping he could play a lot and at least hold that value. Who knows, he might come good in his 4th season with us......

Wasn't there a fairly obvious corner (at least to me, sat at home watching on TV) given as a goalkick to Liverpool towards the end of the match??

But not used now is it? Anyways, back to football matters. Will he play 3 or 5 in defense tomorrow? 😉

Are you American? If so then fair enough....

I think this for me sums it all up completely. Watched him for the first time in a pre-season friendly (Villareal?) and what struck me initially was how physically small and unimposing he looked. That obviously hasn't changed and I suspect is a reason why so many goals fly in, because (a) he doesn't fill the strikers eye line and (b) when the shot or header does come in he can't reach far enough to deal with it. As many have said above, I viewed the unresolved summer GK situation as a true test of where our clear thinking and strategy was, and so far it doesn't look great (good save against Wrexham aside).

Plenty of people have expressed concerns over the manager, so I'll not add much to that one - other than to say in all 5 league games so far it's not clear (to me at least) what it is that he's trying to do. With the previous incumbent (RM I mean) you could clearly see the intent whether you liked it or not. But what really bothers me is that there was a long injury delay (15 mins in??) where Still could have used the opportunity to reset having got through the opening 10 minutes in a derby, got everyone calmed down and sorted out the space between players - and yet that time appeared to be wasted. He needs to get better - and quickly.

But surely Ryan has played for Bournemouth against us hasn't he......?? 😉

I've no issue with it too - it's exactly what Brighton and Brentford are doing, in fact their models are built on buying in cheap(er) young players, developing them and then selling on to the 'big 6' for a huge profit - and don't get me started on little Bournemouth. The problems occur, as we know all too well, when certain people (looking at you Les Reed) start to believe their own hype. 😠

Shannon (his parents are massive fans of the former windmilling, horse race loving Saints legend).

Let's face it we're not going to be buying a striker are we. We've already bought one and regardless of how he's looked (very average so far) I don't see the board sanctioning another one. What a difference a quality Championship goalkeeper and focal point striker (Ross Stewart??) would make.

I enjoy your posts H&W - and your era-defining user name! Genuine question - you post a lot, and with a fair bit of detail, about the Gers. Any reason? Second team?

Might have missed it earlier but is it on Sky Sports + tonight?

Far too sensible a post. I think it would land better in future if you used 'fella' or 'pal' at the end of a couple of the sentences.

But don't forget - we only got 12 points last season which means we're in no position to negotiate apparently.....

Does anyone care what Dawson thinks - nice bloke that he apparently is though. It's like asking Tim Sherwood for an opinion. Actually, I take that back - it's not as bad as that.

Have you not been following Luke Shaw's career - including that fairly brief spell where it all started?

Can we show Rangers fans the 90 minutes of Rotherham at home last time round for them to really appreciate the intricacies of what they can expect when the pride, bravery and process really kicks in in October.

Losing a home grown player to Everton. How depressing......

Would love that to happen and, if it did, say before the end of the week, anyone no whether Brooksy would be cup-tied for the Wrexham game as he's probably played a few mins in one of Bournemouths pre-season games.....

Was that the away game or the home one? Only asking as it felt like there were two Diblings last season - pre and post Christmas. I do remember he spent a lot of time defending in the home game and showed good positional awareness.

I think we're on the same wavelength. This season is looking a write-off already I think we'd all agree. While loads of other clubs are signing loads of really good players in all the important positions (don't ask me to name them - I haven't bothered checking), what are we doing - nothing apart from probably casting our eyes over Man City U-14s I'm fairly sure. How long has this Spors character been in position - three months now? In that case why didn't we sign loads of fantastic players three months ago? Exactly - because we can't get past those running the club like a cheap seaside B&B......

Fairly sure that Brooksy's yet to make an appearance at the Club World Championship and so by my reckoning he'll be free to come straight into the first XI for the first game of the season when he signs. I'm told a deal is very close - with Bazunu, Manning and Smallbone making the short trip along the M27. The only sticking point is how much we pay B'mouth to accept them.