spyinthesky

To be fair Russ totally avoided making eye contact with him when he went off.

I expected a walloping tonight and was unfortunately bang on the money. We started off well but then got undone by two poor goals, down to Lumley. However he made some decent saves after and we were fortunate that the woodwork and some poor finishing from Chelsea prevented a massacre. Playing out from the back just doesnt work for us as we dont have the right calibre of player. My ratings, for what they are worth: LUMLEY - 6/10 First goal was down to him whilst the second was forced upon him by the Managers insistence in playing out from the back> To his credit he made some decent saves BREE - 6/10 Reasonable performance especially when down to 10 men. WOOD - 5.5/10 Steady performance defensively but not confident with the ball at his feet. STEPHEN - 0/10 Speaks for itself KWP - 7/10 Excellent going forward and put in his usual 100% performance. Will be missed next season. Some team will get a bargain Free Transfer. ARIBO - 7/10 Thought he had one of his better games and in the right place to score his goal. FRASER - 5/10 He ran around a bit but created little. MANNING - 6.5/10 One of the many Championship level players in the squad bur have to give him credit for keeping going and making a goal preventing tackle in the second half. FERNANDES - 7.5/10 Thought he was our stand out player. Very decent display and another who wont be around next season. ARMSTRONG - 5.5/10 Another Championship level player out of his depth tonight. ARCHER - 6.5/10 Did OK but let himself down in the first half by getting forward well and dithered in the Chelsea box and a\ decent chance was missed. SUBS None of them added anything to the game. However I have to say that Brereton Diaz looked like someone who had won a competition and was awarded the opportunity to get on the field of play for a few minutes. He was that bad. Apart from Fernandez and KWP most of the team will be with us in the Championship next season. Mid table at best I reckon unless a better Manager can be appointed and the recruitment of new players/loans is improved.

Big disappointment as he seemed a decent addition to the squad. Did Chelsea pay a big fee to sign him from Rennes(?) If so, just as well as our talent spotters didnt recommend shelling out a tidy sum to sign him up.

Looking back on his career he has been pretty poor at times then seems to hit a high spot when he scores goals and becomes rated highly. Hopefully he is able to able to peak at some stage during his time here.

Not sure if this has been mentioned in earlier posts but does anyone think that Lallana could have had a straight red for the first half tackle for which he received a yellow and probably injured himself in the process?

One of the (many) strange things that I noticed on Sunday was McCarthy playing a goal kicj a matter of inches to Downes who then boots the ball upfield. Surely McCarthy could have done that himself. Also the annoying 'tactic' of directing throw ins and often free kicks back towards our own goal rather than forward.

Concern to me is that we will still have a weaker squad than the two sides that are relegated with us and the likelihood is that there will be fairly strong and settled Championship teams who just miss out on promotion plus the expectation that Wrexham and Birmingham will be promoted with strong support and money behind them. Still hopefully we will win more than we lose

2 weeks away every fortnight!!

Surprised to see that Dom is back fit again. Should have passed the ball to a fellow player. Not the RussBall way, I'm afraid

Didnt that enthusiastic Brexit supporter make a speech some years ago about Cheese and Pork markets and how it was a 'DISGRACE' that the UK was not competitive. A campaign was then started to make the UK 'Grate Again' as a cheese exporter. That seems to have gone well.

Out of interest what are the arrangements for away fans at Cup Games?

Apparently Brighton are reportedly sacking all their scouting team and relying on AI to identify players. Would be a worthwhile option to get them here particularly if they can identify players who can pass the football forward.

Ah well, it makes no difference to our relegation certainty but means we are likely to concede more goals and prejudice our target of obtaining 15 points. I dislocated two fingers playing the soccer ball game and was told a dislocation took more time to heal than a fracture but, of course, I was treated by the NHS not by specialists that the club pay for.

In my opinion Marseille was a bit 'meh' but the Anderlecht game was special, especially as the Referee was a prize cock. All looking good until Jim Steele made a mistake and Anderlecht scored the away goal to win the tie. Best atmosphere I can remember at The Dell was the 1963 replay v Nottm Forest when we came back from 3-0 down with 12 mins to go and draw 3-3

I really, really wanted Russell Martin to be successful. However a stubborness in his tactics and the relatively poor scouting system has ended up with us supporters having to put up with our worse ever season in the Premiership and the possibility of a slow decline in the Championship next year. The only positive, hopefully, is that we dont suffer the same problems as we had under Rupert Lowe and the 'Go Wilde' ownership prior to Marcus Liebherr coming to the rescue. For my sins I am in for the long haul but not relishing my attachment to the Saints atm.

I dont think we would bearing in mind we had relatively strong sides out against weakened Cardiff and Stoke teams and only sneaked through at the death with late goals and conceding five goals. We should be able to recall Shea Charles who seems to be doing Ok at Sheff Weds. The two relegated clubs are likely to be stronger than us so it it would be the playoffs again. Also I very much doubt that Ramsdale, THB and Dibling would fetch more than £60m tops. It will all depend on a decent striker and a new Manager with a completely playing philosophy.

Our relatively comfortable life since the 1960's is likely to change for the worse going forward. The conflicts in Ukraine, Asia, Middle East and even a re-run of the Falklands conflict will adversely affect our lives. Once a relatively powerful country the UK has many economic challenges, along with a population that has become 'soft' with a significant number of 'newer' members of the population at least neutral in their view of the country. There are also many who see the major challenge in the world is pollution/climate change. Of course the UK is not alone in this, as Western Europe as a whole, faces similar challenges. I think we are facing significant challenges going forward and a Trump Govt will add to the problems. All this at a time following Saints is enough to want many of us to turn to drink, or religion!!!

But we seem to be building up quite a catalogue of yellow cards

I have never been a fan of sacking Managers as the consequences of replacing Ralph, Jones and Selles hasnt gone too well. We all were reasonably buoyant after the Wembley win but sensible enough to realise that without a top goalkeeper (tick) an upgrade in midfield (Fernandes, semi tick) a top rated striker (failed miserably) and a change in tactics (no chance), life in the Prem would be a real challenge. All that said, even a card carrying pessimist as myself, who has been through regular episodes of relegation threats, didnt expect things to be as bad as they are now. When I think back Swansea fans did warn us of Russell Martins shortcomings. All we can hope for now is that the club can prepare us well for life back in the Championship by appointing a Manager who can actually move the ball forward rather than sideways and backwards, endeavour to keep those players who can be useful in the lower division, maximise transfer revenue from players who are of interest to Prem teams and improve scouting which really needs to identify and find a proper goalscoring striker who is not permanently injured.

They will be OK and the odds on their relegation are lower than ours However Saturdays game v a poor Preston team may provide a clue

Any one know who were are likely to lose in the near future from an accumulation of yellow cards the team seem to be suffering from each game

Looking back on the game, I still have the feeling of delight in actually winning three Prem points for the first time in 20 plus games but reflect on the fact that fortune smiled on us yesterday. Probably a draw would have been a fair result and it could easily have been another disappointing defeat. Bothe sides will continue to struggle this season. My ratings, for what they are worth are as follows: Ramsdale 9 Some terrific saves KWP 8 Yet another top display from one of our consistently good players Manning 6 Provides an actual left footed option on the left and put in one excellent cross. Played too many passes backwards Downes 7 Provided energy and ball recycling in midfield. Improved performance THB 7 Solid defensive game Bednerak 7 Ditto Capt Jack 6 A few misplaced passes that potentially caused problems Arma 6.5 An fairly average game but made his run into the box and took his gaol well. Fernandes 8 Very decent performance from a young man destined to do well in the game. A combination of skill and energy. Archer 6 One difficult chance for him to score. Didnt seem to cause too many problems for Evertons defence otherwise Lallana 6.5 As ever, neat and tidy but never going to play the full game. Lost the ball once in a tricky position. Dibling 6.5 Made an immediate impression and possibly worth a higher rating. Unfortunately he seems to get booked regularly for holding which he needs to improve upon. Aribo 6 Did one or two good things and a couple of not so good. However more positive than negative Sugawara 6.5 Cross for the goal was spot on. Other Subs Not rated.

Ive got one of those badges!!!!!