Saint Fan CaM

FFS…Aribo alongside Walcott up top. This Manager must have been given instructions to relegate us. I can’t think of any other reason why that line up has been chosen…it’s embarrassing. We’ll lose all day long.

Excellent post.

Absolutely spot b*ll*ck on! I've watched Ralph, Jones and Selles (and all their coaching teams) consistently fail to coach the squad in how to attack with speed and precision. There's a lack of confidence in many forward players, but that's likely caused by the very few opportunities being golden ones - i.e. fewer there are, the more pressure to score. There have been signs of good intent and skill - take the fairly recent Che lay-off to Alcarez in midfield who had the composure to run at a depleted defence and score a great goal. There are just not enough examples. But in the main the tip tap, passing backwards and sideways, working along narrow sidelines approach has been highly ineffective time and time again. JWP plays a huge part in this - there's a reason he's Captain and that's because he understands and executes the Managers instructions to slow play down. I've seen defenders ignore a pass to JWP likely because they know they'll just get it back again with an forward player closing them down. They try to play safe and still get caught out. And the really scary thing is that in the Championship these tactics will fail miserably too - perhaps even more so with the prospect of getting sucked into total collapse.

Yeah, not really feeling positive about the remainder of the season…it’s just an inevitable slip into the Championship without a fight. Like watching jelly slide off a plate onto floor, but less entertaining. It’s another must win game, so we’ll lose it with a lack of intensity and intent. No goal scorer to call on. Ely-no-usey and Walcott get a start…probably Diallo too. Not sure why I still care, but I do and will likely be glued to a screen somewhere shouting at unfathomable VAR decisions. 0-2 Palace.

Can’t get a decent signal on the phone, but just caught that we’ve gone one down. Game over.

Due to other commitments and a changed time for TV I’ll not be watching this one, but have to say I’m kind of pleased I’ll not be putting myself through the pain once again. City will win comfortably - the score doesn’t matter as we’re down anyway. The line up matters not a jot as Selles will inevitably pick Ely-no-usey and our most skilled players will be left on the bench. Prediction? 1-6. More of the same ineffective backwards and sideways bull.

Semmens and Rasmus unlikely to go, together...perhaps Rasmus gets the CEO role? The incoming guy from City will be Director of Football I expect....might be a turning point.

Largely agree with what you've said and yes, we'll likely find ourselves mid-table in the Championship. Yes, we have 3-4 players currently who would excel in the Championship, however even if we managed to keep hold of those players, would we still have a Manager who doesn't start them, opting for safety first? I'm not convinced it's going to be roses next season...in fact wouldn't be surprised to see us battling relegation again such is the lack of quality.

The stats would tell Rasmus that Selles is doing a better job than Nutjob Jones and Ralph. I think Selles has every chance of maintaining the role post summer. And to be honest that wouldn't bother me - the most pressing job in the summer will be to shift the cause of our demise in the underperforming players, starting with JWP who has persistently provided little in midfield or leadership. My list of exiting players this summer... Caballero, DCC, Lyanco, JWP, Diallo, Ely-no-usey, Djenepo, S Armstrong, A Armstrong, Orsic. Key players to keep hold of if possible...(the remainder I'm not too bothered about). KWP, Perraud, ABK, Salisu, Lavia, Alcarez, Che Replacements to be found in the B/youth team.

I’ve waited to post my thoughts - needed some time to rake over this latest of disappointments. The first realisation is that actually I’m not surprised - these sorts of performances have become the norm at Saints for some years. The quality of the team and the standard of coaching has decreased so significantly and two games into Selles tenure, it was clear there would be no change to our fortunes. Yes we’ve improved a little since he took over, but I think that’s been more to do with fresh blood rather than new ideas. I’m sorry to say I agree with those saying that JWP is not all that. He had the latest in a string of awful games where he capitulated midfield by passing backwards and sideways to attempt to maintain possession, falling into the trap of allowing West Ham to re-group and defend…something they do well. Our mode of attack is VERY slow and predictable most of the time, which inevitably leads to losing the ball with players committed high up the pitch. Sullemana is not the answer as he doesn’t know how to pass at the right time and ends up losing the ball. Alcarez is a good player, but given too little time to effect the game. Despite his lack of goals, Che is good at holding and laying off the ball - we missed his presence yesterday. I think the most disturbing thing is that we were worse than a not very good West Ham. We’re worse than most other teams in the league and the primary reason is our inept midfield and attack. It’s why we’re going to be relegated and rightly so - there is not enough there to keep us up. The persistence of starting players that cannot deliver goals is a massive fail. I’m not sure if I can stomach watching this shambles of a team for the remainder of the season…there’s so little enjoyment now.

Onauchu nearly gifting them a penalty by waving his fucking arms about like stupid goon. He’s absolutely rubbish too…destined never to score in a Saints shirt.

Rubbish. They’ve scored a good goal and dominated the ball. At the very least. We don’t look a threat. They are far better.

Anyone who thinks this poor, poor team has any chance of staying up is living in lah lah land. Totally outclassed by a much better team who are In themselves, rubbish.

Mara is beyond shit. Would struggle to get into a L1 team.

Have we actually had a shot on goal? This is just awful. The Ref is shite too. Massive job to be done by Selles at half-time.

Well my stream is as shite as the team. If ever there was a performance to typify why we’re down, it’s this one.

Anything other than a win will continue to make me and all the betting fraternity believe that we’ll be relegated. With 10 games to play and at least 4 wins needed to survive, the significance of this one cannot be underestimated in the slightest…a win throws down the gauntlet and puts pressure on the other teams. It is our cup final. Unfortunately the last two years suggests a capitulation is on the cards which is going to be very difficult to stomach. Let’s hope Selles really is the difference for the teams mindset, our players put everything on the line on the pitch and the SMS faithful roar us to a victorious win. COYS!

Thank goodness someone has some common sense! Can’t imagine Selles telling the team “look lads, we don’t need three points here…settle for the draw as we can beat City”! 🤣🤣🤣

It was a great fun day out and we deservedly won. Funnily enough, just this yesterday I was turning out the spare bedroom and found the match day scarf and flag! The fact Markus was there to enjoy it was extra special. The team was just that - unified with the fans. The CB pairing of Fonte and Jaidi was really too good for the league we were in, as was Lambert, Lallana and even Antonio albeit a raw talent but one that had clear signs of skill and strength. There were other gems in the team too in relation to our position. Happy memories, spoilt by the dismantling job Reed did.

I think he was already injured (cracked ribs) but took pain killing injections to play the international. Whether or not he'll be allowed to do that for Saints is doubtful but possible I suppose, even to get onto the bench. It's likely to be DCC and Lyanco starting as I read Salisu has a problem too.

No it's not - if you want us in the Championship next season. We'll not be mathematically down thanks to the weirdness of the league this year, but this really is as much a must win game as you're ever likely to get. We're running out of time to catch-up and this would provide that opportunity.

I’ve done the stadium tour, but it’s good to hear and see the background detail…thanks for posting. I followed the links to the other episodes too.

Nothing will happen. The PL is rife with fixing and other irregularities to favour the ‘big’ clubs. Not that I consider Everton a big club as such, but there’ll be a contingent of influential people in the EFL and PL that will work to ensure Everton don’t suffer.

I understand the frustration with Bednarek, however the same could be said for ABK and Salisu - inconsistent performances and that’s likely due partly to the high number of changes to the pairing made. Bednarek has had some unfortunate moments in games, but the fact is he’s an experienced senior international and I think that’s why successive Managers have stuck with him. Selles knows that the best chance he has to get out of the relegation zone is to rely on his most experienced players - hence Walcott coming back into the frame and Ely-no-usey finding himself a regular starter.

It's not just about the individuals though - it's about how they work together as a pairing, the time they spend together playing in a specific system with specific tactics, the time they spend playing Premiership level games. Then there's the prospect of only having Lyanco on the bench. Hope they're fantastic because there's a very good chance they will be our CB pairing for the remainder of the season and instrumental in keeping us up or not. There's a reason they've not been selected over Bednarek and ABK - why do you think that is?