Saint Fan CaM

That’s all true and the key issue will be the international duty inhibiting training this week. But he has to utilise the squad by using square pegs in square holes, otherwise what the hell is the point of these ‘squad’ players? I really do think he has to get brave, unless of course he’s seen something of concern in training to suggest THB is a duffer in waiting.

It’s just a shame if Charles is played at CB…it basically means we’ll have a lesser able defensive midfield with Downes and Smallbone being the obvious starters. He’s got to consider starting THB now.

Why are those two things mutually exclusive? Surely it’s possible to support the 11 on the pitch and then afterwards micro-analyse the goals conceded? It’s what football supporters do…weird not to really, especially on a football forum!

It’s not a case of blaming him for every conceded goal, but more about the evidence of his athleticism, movement and positioning, all of which are quite poor. That stats put him at or near bottom over all leagues. It’s baffling how anyone can dispute the facts. He’s just not good enough.

I agree that’s the case with Macca, but we’ve not really seen Lumley in action yet and frankly Baz is having such a torrid time I’d try every option. In an effort to improve our chances. If he’s really that bad one has to question the sanity of bringing him in.

I feel sorry for Baz. Young guy without the physical capacity to improve beyond where he is. Must be very frustrating for him and some what embarrassing that the Manager doesn’t take him out of the firing line. 😉

Generally agree, but it’s not as simple as just stepping up the tempo - that’s when mistakes can be made. It’s about taking the time to pick out the right pass, made easier because your teammates are moving and making themselves available. Then, when the time is right, change gear rapidly and move forward with intent and purpose. The ratio of slow build up to explosive attack is critical to success…too little and goals are not scored…too much and there’s more chance of turnovers. The main reason we got taken to the cleaners by Sunderland was because too many players were not reading the game, got caught upfield and left acres of space behind our defensive lines for their fast players to benefit from, plus there was little effort to press them in numbers meaning they had far too long to launch accurate long balls to advanced players. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it - the system’s fine if the players are competent to utilise it. I have doubts about a significant number of players being competent, whether that’s in body fitness or intellectual fitness and more worryingly without the capacity to improve through training (Holgate). On the plus side, there are players like SAA and the new young ex-City CB who while young, have time and ability on their side - if Martin has the courage to pick them and play them in their proper positions (Charles).

Yeah, our strongest line up, apart from Baz. I’d bet my house that’ll not happen…nothing is ever that simple for our Managers, but they must know better of course.

Let’s break that down. Players don’t care about results when they’re not good enough to win games of football. Well done Manning…well done. FFS, if I wanted this kind of spectator sport I’d just go watch the local 5 year olds have a kick about an “all inclusive, taking part that matters” game. Actually come to think of it, it might be more fun.

Mmm, not sure what else he could have said…pretty obvious statements really. However the one interesting nugget I thought was a pointed remark about how there’s now some fight and leadership in the team…i.e. did he mean to effectively take a swipe at JWP? To be fair he did say to expect us to lose sometimes, but I doubt he was expecting such a devastating result which clearly is embarrassing for all elements of the club including the supporters. I’d love there to be a part two interview following the Sunderland match!

Not sure he’s too bothered about attack either…it’s all about possession - if we’ve got the ball they can’t score and we may get lucky and find a way past 11 players. Trouble is our team is so fragile that unless the opposition are really poor, they allow 30% possession to convert into more goals than we can score and we end up with a disaster or an uphill battle at best.

That’s right…it was so marked how they moved the ball so much quicker and their passing accuracy was not that much worse than ours as far as I could tell. Their closing down in packs was consistently ruthless and clever in that the Ref let many challenges go that left our players on the ground complaining. It reminded me a little of early Ralphball. The only thing I’m not so agreed on is the comment that we have a great squad…I think it’s mediocre actually and let down by the undroppables - Bazunu, Manning and Bednarek. Add in Holgate who is rubbish and a system that doesn’t pressure the oppo goal enough and you’ve got a disaster in waiting. You hear about teams who use cohesive hard work to overcome skill - we’re the team those teams love to play. I don’t think Martin has figured that out yet.

Yeah, I was also one that stayed to the end of both 0-9 losses. I also seem to remember that lessons were supposedly learnt after those games too! I’m sure I’m not the only one who thought I’d never see a drubbing like that again, but the players did a bloody good job of trying on Saturday! IMO that’s symptomatic of trying to play a system that the squad is not good enough to deliver.

Excellent post - one of the best summaries I’ve seen on this forum.

The line up shown above is close to being optimal, but (a) I would give Lumley a try…”this is your chance lad” as Baz is shot and (b) it is essential that Martin re-thinks his tactics and messaging to the team in terms of pressing out of possession and not allowing both FB’s to be in advanced positions at the same time to counter turn-around breaks. Whatever, still think we’ll lose the game by two goals.

Add in Alcarez and it’s starting to look like a real balls up by Martin. No excuses.

Leicester have a blueprint to beat us and the players to deploy it. Let’s see if Martin is any good whatsoever by setting the team up to counter that. I have concern that he’ll keep trying to do the same thing. And continue to select Baz.

Where does one start to analyse that shit show? Most points already very well made, but for me there’s some key comments. 1. Martin is arguably the best Manager available to deploy the Pep type system at this level, so as it seems SFC are intent on utilising this system, where do we go if it still doesn’t work with Martin? He’ll be given a lot of rope before he’s hung out and I can foresee many more days not unlike yesterday unfortunately. 2. We’re trying to play like Pep’s Man City but with players that are of a lower quality in many aspects - their brain function, ball skill, fitness etc. Can it work? I’m very sceptical because so far I’m seeing a group of players struggling to deploy what’s being asked of them tactically. They’re just not good enough collectively to pass through the lines meaning easy turnovers and counter attacks which in turn can’t be defended. And importantly, opposition clubs have been given a clear blueprint on how to get at us and win. 3. Bazunu is not a Championship level keeper, let alone Prem. I read lots about his hands, but worse still he is not athletic enough to get to shots which should be bread and butter for a good keeper. It’s his legs which don’t get him anywhere near some of these long range shots. Plus his positional sense is poor too. A really bad decision to persist with him. Overall, I really fear for our season and I don’t mean in terms of promotion. No, I mean fundamentally the team mentality will start to erode very quickly if the key issues are not sorted now and it’s looking pretty damned screwed already. At this point based on the evidence before us, I predict we’ll be languishing lower mid-table by Christmas…about 14th…possibly worse. Martin and his team have a huge job on their hands to figure out how to make this system work.

Well he certainly makes a mockery out of the belief he’s a Prem player - he doesn’t look good enough for L2! Needs dropping to the bench and shackles placed around his ankles, but we all know RM will give him another chance against Leicester…oh sweet Jesus. 😳

Apologies - I meant year before. Although they were top six last season so obviously a team on the rise.

Downes just stands watching and Baz does a bad impression of a pro keeper. 5-0 to a team that were in L1 season before last. An extremely poor performance from Manager and his team. Sunderland wanted it more. Embarrassing doesn’t really cover it. 8/10 window…mmm?

By losing Tella we’ve lost balance in attack and Mara is NOT the answer. We need SAA to provide the pace otherwise every attack will be very slow and we’ll struggle to score all season.

Baz makes a 1 on 1 save to get picked next game.

I just don’t understand how they are so much better drilled than we are. They have had so much more space to break into. Alcarez on. Might I suggest it’s a bit late?

Oh goody - Aribo on. We’re going for the 4-0.