S-Clarke

Elyounoussi is an energetic and attacking player who likes to run at defenders with speed and power. He is also known for excellent dribbling skills which enable him to create chances for teammates from close range or from distance. In recent seasons he has developed a reputation as a clinical finisher inside the box. 🤣

Who the heck dreamt that list up? Is this based on 'International honours' or something? Shows what nonsense that all is really. Ings below Elyounoussi, Aribo above KWP - pointless site.

I thought he was awful and one of the main reasons why we were so shit. We looked much better once he was off the pitch.

If they truly want us to be Man City-lite, then they've also got that all wrong and we don't have the players for that. Strong midfielder in the middle, top centre forward up front, flexible 10's in a 3 behind the forward. We had Joe Aribo and Will Smallbone anchoring our midfield last night, with Adam Armstrong as our flexible 10.

Honestly that's all it is - basics! We are just trying to be clever in everything we do as if it's going to buy us an extra percentage or something. It's not. In this league we have more good players than the oppo, so we don't need to look for an extra percentage gain. Just play the best players in their natural positions and score goals in the white thing, and keep them out of the other white thing. Anything that goes on in between is irrelevant as the quality will come to the top.

To be honest it feels longer than that, more like 6 years - since the Puel days it has been pure misery at St Mary's. Bar a little purple patch during/after lockdown, it has been all the same. Some of that was down to a lack of investment, but once we had investment we got it all wrong and exasperated our issues. The club feels broken at the moment and apart from wanting to become Man City-lite and a shop for anyone who wants a player, I'm not sure what our plan is. As fans I think we've been great - packing out St Mary's this year, in the league below, after what we've had to endure. I don't know how some guys have coped going every week these past few years, I had a break last year and I somewhat wish I carried that on this year too!

It seems like it's just an approach for approaches sake at the moment, like you I'm not seeing any actual benefits in our general game on the back of trying this. In fact it gives us more issues, it's all very confusing. I feel like a broken record, but the basics is crying out here. We have enough good players who can pass the ball in positions they are comfortable in, so leave it as that. All this Man City wannabe crap isn't benefiting us and I don't see how it ever will. Just a vanity trip.

4 defeats on the bounce would be the death knell of any promotion push, by October - I was looking forward to this season, but it could be all over before Firework night at this rate. I think we'll win, the players know they have to or the gap just becomes too big (let's not ignore our minus goal difference on top of it all - everything is so miserable right now)

I've been totally with the squad opinions in recent years, as being the consistent theme of our issues - but let's be honest, since 2021 this is almost an entirely new 11. None of the old daemons should really apply in that sense. Character was supposedly added in the summer through Downes, THB, Manning, Fraser - not unproven kids, but experienced players. My concern is how Martin keeps saying that they went through this spell at MK Dons and Swansea, but they came good in the end - as if that should mean we don't have to worry. But both teams finished mid-table, so what is coming good about that exactly? Expectations are way higher here, we cannot afford and will not be allowed a building season - he has to sink or swim today, not tomorrow.

Latest I heard was another 6 or 7 games until he's being considered, which would take us up to end of Oct/Start of nov. So much for Sunderland having a game lined up for him in August.

I wouldn't have called that a sitter to be fair to him. Hit it straight at the keeper mind, but it wasn't a sitter by any means.

Harwood-Bellis isn't pants, he stopped us getting tanked by a few more goals tonight based on his positioning. He is the first name on the team sheet for me alongside Bednarek. Let them build a partnership. Manning, KWP full back. Charles and Downes in CM, Charly in AM/Rotating with Smallbone/Armstrong. Then wide with Sulemana and Edozie, rotating with Fraser/SAA. Adams up top/rotating with Stewart. Adam Armstrong and Aribo wouldn't even make the bench for me. It really shouldn't be rocket science for a manger if we can figure it out on a forum.

The grass was never greener as was warned. I'd have always stuck with Ralph, the last manager I felt the fan base had a real connection to and someone we could get behind. He was just stitched up with the striker situation.

Feels a bit like that. After what feels like so many years I'm desperate for a team to get behind and enjoy watching again. This football club has been a chore for what feels like a ridiculous period of time now, something has to break this cycle at some point. We've changed managers, spent stacks of money on players, new owners, coaches and just get the same. I have no idea what we do next. I'm totally at a loss with this club.

This is sadly true, we seem to put dark clouds over any player who comes here. As soon as they leave they look decent again. It used to be the other way around.

He'd be decent playing more advanced, but we're trying to play him deeper and he's hopeless in that role. His best spell at Stoke came when they were winning, as they had the basis of Pearson and Laurent behind him. As soon as one of those guys got injured and he had to slot into CM they went to shit.

I thought Manning would be decent for us, but he is as bad a player as I've seen play for us for many, many years - and we've had a few. I find it hard to believe he had PL suitors.

They're not cheap choices, we've had to pay out to Luton and Swansea decent sums of money for both Jones and Martin. We had to pay out Selles contract at Kobenhaven as well when he came in as a coach. That's not forgetting the tidy pay off's we've given Ralph and Jones in the midst of all this. They're not cheap appointments, and as we've seen SR aren't scared of spending money and investing, they are just absolutely totally and utterly hopeless at doing so.

I think a more clinical side with better quality up front would have finished us off. They had way better chances than we did.

Oh yeah without doubt, more balance and more solid in the middle with Charles. But why did we have to wait an hour for that. The game was a slog fest by that point as we'd allowed Ipswich to fall right into their gameplan.

He may well work hard, but he's useless on the ball as his touch is crap, and let's not even start on his inability to strike a ball. He is of no use to a team who want to win games.

an unused substitute, or squad filler to help put the cones away in the warm-down.

Meanwhile, Romeu was playing in the Champions League in the Camp Nou tonight. So pleased for him.

We'll have too much of an upheaval in January to maintain any momentum for that. KWP, Alcaraz, Sulemana, Adams and co will all be offski and we'll be looking for the 2024 versions of Wright, Makin and Powell. Lots to look forward to. I think we're here to stay for a very, very long time.

That's exactly it. People are just in love with Pep or Klopp and think they can create a mini-pep setup for themselves, but in reality Pep and Klopp are successful because they have fucking billions of pounds to spend. That's the crux of it! Like you say, play the best players in their natural positions. If you have enough good players in their natural positions then you will win games of football, and then you can pass the ball. Build a structure and then have a little tweak if you want, but we just seem like a Man City-lite vanity project and it's rather depressing.