Saint Fan CaM

You may well be right about Stephens - he is after all just one of the products of SR’s inept management of the footballing side of the business. He can’t help the fact that he’s been thrust into the spotlight of Captaining collectively a group of individuals that are not capable of operating as a team at the level expected given the cost of the squad. Like the successive Managers he’s worked for, he can’t be held responsible for the strategic and tactical mismanagement we've witnessed. He’s just an employee way out of his depth. So, it’s no good telling supporters they’re wrong blaming Stephens (or any other player) - they don’t pay to witness SFC management get decisions wrong time and time again - they pay to watch a decent football side…to see a cohesive team on the pitch. So when that doesn’t happen it’s the players on the pitch who will get blamed - that’s part and parcel of football. Stephens accepted the CB job - accepted the Captaincy - and must accept that the current state of affairs at SFC is completely unacceptable and he is partly culpable. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

I don’t believe there’s one single neat reason things are so bad, but the reasons are co-dependent. 1. Successive failure to sustain squad quality over many seasons, while…. 2. Mandating successive Managers to adopt a specific method of play (possession football), while… 3. Recruiting and selecting players that are sub-standard in terms of the mandated method(s) of play, while… 4. Attempting to coach players who fail to deliver sustained performance levels because they’re simply not good enough, which in turn leads to player discontent and mutiny against the Manager of the moment. Thats my take on the shambles. Every single one of those issues needs to be addressed to get us out of the rut we’re in and the evidence strongly suggests SR/Spors/SFC Management have no ability to sort things out. With all of those issues outstanding, the only reason for replacing Tonda in my view is if he cannot get a song out of a team that has shed the likes of Stephens, Wood, Bazunu, Manning, Downes, Stewart and Archer.

Of course it is - nothing was changed until the 85th minute. Even then he brought on two strikers who have had the square root of fuck all match minutes this season and have scored how many goals between them? The midfield was still being overrun anyway so it was all a pretty pointless exercise.

Boro look like they’ve got a man more than Saints. Total dominance.

Yeah on 85 minutes too. It’ll make not a jot of a difference.

4-0 thanks to crisp packet hands dropping an easy save. Cunt.

3-0. First through Bazunu. Second two through Manning. Utter shite players.

Interesting to watch back the Downes shot. He and Jander were stood deep between the centre circle and the oppo box when the ball came across and so they had to run 20 yards to get to the ball to shoot. If one of them had stayed back and one waited just outside the box the shot could have been taken prior to the defence resetting, which might have given Downes the goal. They stay back because we’re so light in midfield.

Fellows misses an absolute sitter!

We’re starting to turn the screw. Have to say Quarshie has made some superb tackles and passes.

Great chance missed by Downes

It’s all Boro. No answer from Saints.

Manning goes missing once again - Quarshie saved him

WTF is Manning doing? Completely absconds his duty as a left back.

My word our defence is a shambles.

Boro look a good tidy side - can’t see us keeping a clean sheet.

Manning - you absolute arse - ALWAYS without fail passes back to Bazunu. He is such as coward of a player.

Fuck me, Manning stopped a cross.

The Boro guy who’s injured is taking an age to get off the pitch, then from the corner Saints lose the ball and suddenly Boro break with 10 men. Where’s the freaking defence again?!

Does the Middlesbrough stadium have under pitch heating? If not I can see a postponement on the cards.

Yes, someone beat you to it above. If the player is not ‘remotely close’ to being a part of our first team it begs the question why he’s an employee of the club. Presumably as a favour for his Dad. This seems a somewhat strange aspect of the clubs football operation - a small point, but perhaps indicative of the unfocused shambles at senior management level we’ve been witnessing for years under SR.

Saw that Kelv Davis’ son is returning to Saints following loan. Is he a striker?

Of course they do - it ensures the key performance metric for the spreadsheets is possession % is high.

Got family with us so the chances are I’ll not be watching. I still care about results and want things to turn around, but I have zero confidence they will. Not only has Tonda’s methods to get us to play better been found out, but the insistence on a rigid back 5 (3 CB’s) is completely stifling attacking intent and increasing risk in defensive situations. The crying shame is that while we don’t have the competency for the high % possession passing around at the back and conversely we DO have high competency in the forward line in Jander, Scienza, Robinson, Fellows, Azaz, AA, Matzuki and even Archer if he was utilised properly. Our tactics therefore are at odds with the competencies within the squad - it’s so fucking frustrating to witness, but even more so when you realise that a change of Manager will not change the new ‘Southampton way’. We’re stuck with this crap until Dragan either sells up or he ditches SR…both highly unlikely.

I posted the below in the match thread, hence the reason I voted ‘yes’. Not because I believe wholeheartedly in Tonda’s ability, but because I truly believe the Manager is not the problem as such…they’re all being forced into constraining the team with the formation/possession philosophy. Two observations watching that debacle… 1. It is as clear as day that SR/Spors are dictating possession based football, with the defensive line involved substantially in any build-up play. 2. The ‘5 at the back’-–is used a consequence of our defenders not being good enough to consistently delivering observation no.1. A change of Manager will not sort out the above. No self-respecting Manager will work under the conditions offered by SR, hence the ‘yes men’ like RM, Still and Eckhert will continue to struggle. The team bar Manning, Stephens and a missing CF is good enough for a top 6 finish, but that will only happen if SR/Spors take the shackles off.