Saint Fan CaM

Well said. The issue is not about passing out from the back - most teams do that. It’s about the speed in which we transition from the two CB’s given that often the full-backs are ahead of the CB’s waiting to receive the ball, so if there’s a turn over in the next phase into midfield we get caught napping and the speed/skill in which many teams are able to capitalise ends in a goal. This is exacerbated even more if we’re behind because Russ expects the team to calm the game down and attempt even more possession. Rinse repeat. And of course the speed that we transition out of defence is linked with the number of times we get the ball into a position that allows a shot through fewer than 11 opposition players - hence the lack of shooting opportunities.

Honestly, you have got to wonder why more clubs don’t employ managers that employ such spectacularly incisive tactics - he’s a fucking genius! Actually…in truth…he’s shown once again, in an even more convincing way (if that were possible), that he’s a raving fraud who has no idea what to do to win or draw a game of football. Yep - Russ will keep on raising the bar of ineptitude. Everything points to him being humiliated once again on Sunday and sadly ‘Pool will not need to break a sweat to make our team look like strangers (once again). And who’s for betting the bench will defy logic too - it’ll be five at the back starting with a highly defensive possession based strategy, then after they’ve scored two he’ll panic and bring on three strikers to get aggressive and score goals. Genius. Rant over. COYS!

Calling @gio1saints: needed to decipher the above. 😉

Yep it really is. I knew he was pals with a selected few, but I had no idea he was so close in personality to Nathan Jones. What is it with Rasmus - is he choosing these nut jobs deliberately using selection criteria scribbled on a grubby sheet of bog paper?

I concur with this. It’s incredibly sad to know how good that team/management combo was compared to where we are now. If the club had supported Koeman and kept the impetus, just think what we may have achieved.

Thing is, our defence should be made up consistently of our best defenders… KWP/Suga, Taylor, ABK, KWP/Bree. If Russ had got that combo working together earlier I reckon we’d have a good solid defence. As it is he still persists with his favourites, playing players out of position and switching them around, so no wonder it’s a shambles. Whatever, L’Pool are still going to spank us 5 or 6 to nil.

@gio1saints has this utopian woke view of the Saints footballing World - don’t worry it’ll all come good in the end…if we embrace failure, we can all eventually enjoy it. The perverse inverse of some new age pre-school ‘mumsy’ PE teacher telling the kids it’s the taking part that counts because they don’t want the kids to experience the upset of not winning. The problem of course is RM’s journey of self discovery in failure didn’t start at Saints - he did a pretty poor job of implementing the ‘learning and improving through failure’ ethos at Swansea too. He’s had a good innings to get it right, but the higher his exposure in pro football the worse his mantra stands up. Of course his and the clubs position will improve to an extent when he finally relegates us back to the Championship (assuming we don’t lose our best players and manage to offload the dross in the squad too). Break it to fix it again. While the rest of the footballing World organically just gets better. However for me all of that is somewhat of an irrelevance for the most part. I just don’t enjoy watching the boring style of football we play now and don’t get particularly excited in anticipation of Saints playing - it’s as simple as that.

To break them. Obvs. (C) Wankerson

How do we know Brightons successes have been despite their (now) ex-scouts?

Agree with most here - can’t see us getting 10 points, let alone 20. And as the season stretches on the team will become less motivated and will be expecting to lose. I can see some embarrassing thumpings coming our way. RM will find it more difficult to move players around trying to find the perfect fit to his system, effectively blaming the players but also blaming the officials and anything else except himself.

Absolutely this. Like any successful business operating at the highest level there needs to be a significant degree of competency in that particular arena. It’s been clear since the Kat L decided to sell off the lions share of her Fathers legacy, the clubs management team have stumbled from one fuck up to another piling dept upon dept leaving the finances in a terrible position. It's little wonder there is no appetite to throw good money after bad sacking RM…they’re desperately clinging hold of the hope it will all come good in the end. I think now it’s most supporters opinion, based on the abject failures we’ve seen so far and his record with previous clubs, it won’t.

The psychology of the squad must be rock bottom right now - do they honestly believe deep down that they will win another game again this season? Do they care that they will be a part of the worst team in EPL history, with little chance of that dubious honour ever being eradicated?

I’m at a loss as to why 10% of the respondents are advocating keeping Martin. Is this because they’re unsure of who might replace him? Or because it’s impractical for SR to sack him financially? Surely it’s not because he’s got the team performing to the best of its ability??? The results (and particularly the turnarounds such as Leicester) tell me he’s not got control of the situation - he’s way out of his depth and most importantly, his football is boring and is unquestionably failing to achieve anything except break all the wrong records. Yes, remarkably we’re still in touch with 17th place, but there’s absolutely nothing in Russball - NOTHING - to suggest that we will drag ourselves off the bottom of the table let alone be better than the next worst three teams in the league.

I just want someone ITK to come on here and tell me Russ the fraudulent will be or has been sacked. I’m getting nothing from watching this shit. And I’ll never spend another £ going to watch this poor excuse of a ‘system’. Did I mention Martin out NOW!

Martin out. Shame but it’s not working and it never will. Russ brings on two attackers because he thinks that’ll get us goals. It won’t.

Aribo gets clattered with an ankle cracking tackle high boot - result no card. Fucking Ref is diabolical.

Our front line players are so far apart they are effectively ineffective.

There we go. Ref shit…Wolves shoot…Wolves score. Simple game really.

We’ll not get anything from this except a snooze fest of passing across the back line. Wolves will score again on the break - it’s Russball law.

And growing a pair and putting a strong tackle in … total bottle job.

So can most the opposition players

But we won’t - most time will be spent in our half.

So Wolves player clatters Manning not allowing a quick throw in and he gets away without a yellow. If that’s not fucking awful reffing and bias I don’t know what is.

Well this is looking a bit shit. Missed their goal. Honestly think a better Manager makes this team better.

Plus might I add that Bree has shown himself very capable and worthy of a starting place.