S-Clarke

That's the key thing with him - his touch is just inept, I've never seen a pro player with as poor a touch as him. He's a hit and run merchant, throw him down the channels and he'll chase the ball. For a club priding it's self on becoming the next Man City/Barcelona that seems an incredibly basic player to have as part of it.

It's like working in the public sector, rewarded and promoted for failure. I imagine there is a new contract on the horizon for him as well.

Another guy who has done well elsewhere, notably Brentford and was lauded for what he did there, who ultimately fails here. It's a recurring theme now and I'm bored of it.

Absolutely, I wouldn't even just say it's the playing side which needs to get back to basics, it's the club as a whole. There doesn't seem to be a single element at this club which functions well these days. We bring in proven people from elsewhere and they fail, we try again, they fail again - there is something deep and fundamentally broken and I'm at a loss as to how to fix it. Going back to basics on a footballing side is a good start, but there is so much more wrong here it's impossible to know where to start. It looks to me as if SR are totally in over their heads if I'm honest.

None of what they have done has helped a single jot, but it was all pretty toxic even before they came in - let's not forget that.

We came down with Leicester and Leeds as level-pegging, but it's pretty obvious that they're now both levels above us whilst we've regressed to Championship fodder in record time. Well done to all involved in that. Must be a trophy to win there.

When we were relegated, myself and a few others were of the strong belief that we needed an experienced head to guide us through. It was going to be a summer of immence change and we needed someone in place who is used to that and is able to manage the egos, unhappy players and all that malarky which goes on. We didn't need someone who is everyone's mate. These players need guidance from experienced people, the club is bereft of any experience. This summer was not the time to play with the vanity project again. It was pretty simple. All of this philosophy bollocks is so overdone. You build a football team to win games, by hook or by crook. We just seem to be someone's experiment and I've totally and utterly fallen out of love with it all. People were saying it will be good to get relegated and have a reset - but if we got the decisions wrong post relegation it would end up being a miserable existence, and that is exactly what is happening. We may turn it around, sure, but any hope of a fun promotion season are all but gone - so what is there to look forward to in this cesspit of a league now?

He's another player we've managed to make worse. He should get out of here whilst he's still young enough to recover from our toxicity.

There is always one of the 3 relegated teams who become a bit of a car crash, sadly that is us - it shouldn't be in any way, but it is. To be 11 points behind the top 2 at this early stage is nothing short of horrendous. We had a decent start, but it's moved quite quickly into a catastrophic first 7 games. 15th in the Championship with a -7 goal difference is the thing of nightmares. I have no idea what is wrong with this club. The team put out today looked better, but we just don't know how to play football. Take any of those players out of our team and put them in another side and they'll be able to play football again - guaranteed. There is something toxic at this club and it's been the case for many years. I'm losing the will to live with it all now. Not sure where it stops, but we're on a pretty nasty slope right now and I'm sure Leeds are going to have good fun next weekend.

Pray tell - who plays up top if Che isn't in the side as you want?

We'll probably be proven wrong with the performance, but that looks a much better team and a much better potential shape. Smallbone more advanced, with two deeper CM's behind him. THB and Bednarek in CB. Harsh on Edozie, but defensively in the last few games, right at the start of the games, he has been inept. He's a threat in an attacking sense, but if he keeps switching off covering then it's all a bit pointless.

Only weekday evening games are on the Red Button.

I agree, I thought we looked better as soon as he went off. He's too lazy to play in such an important position. Someone else mentioned it, but he's a luxury player. He'd look good in sides who dominate and win every game, but in sides where it's not as straight forward and you lack strength/midfield options, then he is just pointless.

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.