Saint Fan CaM

Now at 48 minutes - I’m assuming that this time (given it’s 1pm), I should be able to see an order button.

Actually it’s all over the place. Back down to 1 hour 28 minutes now.

Yep and me. Very frustrating to have to go through the waiting room process to then find you can’t order. Then the waiting room time jumps from 1 hour 25 mins to 2 hours 15 minutes. I’m almost resigned to watching on TV now. 😏😩

True - I was there and agree it could have made a difference.

Nor me. And I can’t believe we’re only getting 36k tickets - we had 50k+ at the Johnstons Paint Trophy final! At this rate the chances of a ticket are receding rapidly.

Is VAR being used in this game?

Unfortunately I understand that Baz is very well thought of at the club and he’ll almost certainly be our no.1 still whatever the result of Sundays final. Shocking I know.

WTF? Just managed to get into the waiting room to be told I’ll be re-directed to the Soton FC website in 1hour 6 minutes!

Not certain I’ll be able to get ticket…fingers crossed.

Really good read - thanks

Been watching a bit too much ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ with The Turf if you ask me. Still, good idea to bring in tourists if they get the beer/food etc right.

The comment is more directed to RM and his starting team selection than Mara, who to be fair to the lad, can’t help not having a scooby about how to do anything resembling a threat on the opposition goal. 🙄

Some might say go for his standing left foot. I say just get both smashed early doors and watch him hobble all game.

Mara starts…we lose.

I heard recently that there’s a good chance the DoF position will not be replaced - certainly not if we don’t go up, so don’t expect significant appointments before the end of May.

Yep, a club that wants to remain lower half premier league by hiring has been players. He’s no good for the Prem now and not robust enough for the Championship IMO. If he wants to get into coaching then perhaps try that out in the lower leagues first and work his way up. I’m tired with Saints being the testing ground for ‘up and coming’ coaches and managers who don’t contribute success.

Who?

Err what? Baz is our best keeper?! How many goals have been scored against since Alex has been in goal - 1? We were leaking goals like no tomorrow with leaden legs Baz in goal…he’s certainly not the best and I would argue even Lumley is the better keeper. No, the reason Baz was played was to save the blushes of the person who recruited him!

The only reason I can see for Mara being played is the same reason Baz had such a long run - the club need him to be in the shop window ready for the summer sales (whether we get promoted or not). Nothing has changed - we’re still a club that needs to turn a profit on youngsters and keeping Mara even on the bench will not serve a purpose. So if Che or AA are not fit for Friday, expect to see Mara in the team ahead of Ross S. If we go 4 at the back then I would definitely chose Bree who is more likely to contain their attack then Manning who I thought looked leggy and positionally suspect (as usual). Brom seemed to target that side a fair bit knowing full well it’s our weaker side. I thought Aribo and Downes did a great job in midfield, although I would like to see a little more speed in transition to attack their box - I think they’ve got some suspect defenders but we didn’t exploit those weaknesses enough.

It was an acceptable performance and keeps us in the hunt for round two. Surprised no-one has mentioned the ugly gaping wound on AA’s cheek…it looked bad and I truly hope he’s not missing on Friday. Whatever the question, Mara is not the answer…he provides very little and I am very surprised that he gets the nod over Dibling or even Sully. Back five worked really well and Sky mentioned that KWP was like having another midfield attacker. Stephens needs to cut out the stupid risky long passes that gift possession in dangerous counter situations…a better team like Leeds or Norwich would have punished us. Thought Alex Mc was very good - Baz would not have got to the goal line save given his legs are made of lead. If RM gets it right in terms of recovery and finds a way of improving our goal threat on Friday we should be OK. But this is the play-offs with all its theatre and I can see it going to pens which will likely be the doing of us. 2-1 Saints.

Or if you’re a Saints supporter, more a case of receding into the distance and over the horizon outa sight? 😉

Will both semi legs be televised?

I think the key point here is SR have risked much on an immediate return to the Prem. Not achieving that will leave a huge hole in the finances that will need plugging somehow. Guess what the most liquid asset the club holds is?

Thing is, Martin was not inexperienced. He was known to have a particular style of management/coaching which suited the club strategy (remember, he was hired by Jason W), had Championship experience at a high level with Swansea and they spent money either keeping good players here (KWP) or bringing in good players (Downes, Fraser etc), meaning that in theory he should do better than his time at Swansea. He’s done that and to a large extent helped recover the terrible vibe around the club from last season by winning many more games. The problem he’s faced is there are 3-4 very strong other Managers/teams in the league also. I don’t think SR / Dragan have the funds to inject to maintain things as they stand - there will be what some will call a firesale in the summer with our best players gone to fund the debt. And unless there’s a buy-out we’ll be back where we were years ago pre-Markus playing largely kids, but don’t hold your breath for a saviour this time. I’m no Nostradamus but I’d hazard a guess that promotion is vital. Mind you, that still brings problems…where’s the money coming from to buy new players fit for the Prem?

I’m not claiming ITK status - don’t need to. Yes, I’ve been told by someone away from this forum our financial situation is not healthy without a return to the Prem. Players of Downes talent/pricing will likely be a pipe-dream if we don’t go up. The debts left by Goa are substantive apparently and need servicing due to crippling interest. If you think otherwise that’s fine.