Saint Fan CaM

76.4% possession and it’s 1-1 with QPR having one more shot in target than us. Consistently having THAT stat is going to kill any semblance of a decent season. Massive week of work needed from Wilcox.

What a bunch of numpties - it’s going to be the story of our season…score then let the opposition in with a quick reply. Idiots.

Fuck me Edozie scores!!!

Stephens in a bad way. Is this where our season ends? 😂😳

We’re back to having no goal threat with 22minutes played. But we’ve got 85% possession so everything is hunky dory.

Should have won this game…now 1-3 QPR.

Starting to feel like previous windows x10. I honestly don’t know how Martin can continue to be confident we’ll end up with a stronger squad…right now it still looks like a dogs breakfast without the tasty bits.

I think it’s becoming all too clear how urgently the club needs to cut its cloth - there’s no huge warchest waiting for Wilcox to blow. The squad is is so bloated with poor signings, if they continue to hang on they’ll be like lead weights around our proverbial ankles dragging us down into the murky depths. That’s why I’m surprised at the Holgate and to a lesser extent Fraser signings (if true)….they strike me as further mediocre squad players no better than some of the dross stinking out the place these last few months. There’s no indication (yet) that we’re signing 1st team starters to actually improve the team and there’s too many obstinate sub-quality players on the books still. In short, the signs are not positive, however if Che decides to stay then we may be OK.

If Piroe is definitely up in Leeds on a medical then it signals one of three things… a. Assuming he’s aware of our interest, he wants to join Leeds as they’ve actually put an offer in. b. He’s been made aware aware that we’re not selling Che and doesn’t fancy playing 2nd fiddle. c. We’re selling Che, but have another striker lined up that will deliver a better return (I.e. sell on fee) than Piroe. My moneys on this one.

You can put your house on him scoring against Saints at any point in the season regardless of where he ends up (unless he actually somehow does sign for us which is unlikely now it seems).

We’re not really. Until the Che deal gets sorted (or he stays) a Piroe deal will not be discussed and if a Che deal goes through last minute, we could be left holding the shitty end of the stick (i.e. Arma/Mara/Onoachu our strike options). Plus Leeds seem to be all over the deal with a £12m offer accepted allegedly, so our options are starting to get closed down.

Like Che?

Looks like Swansea have us over a barrel with a large tub of lube at hand with Wood and Piroe. No surprise really given our raid on their Management team and the nature of our transfer business (big pot from JWP and Lavia deals waiting to be raided).

Tick tock. Reckon there needs to be more outgoings before we see further players in. Risky strategy although with over a week to go, not critical. Yet. Get the feeling there’s a high probability that we’ll be left (again) with no decent striker when Che goes at the 11th hour on a last minute £15m bid from a desperate Everton. 🫣

To answer your question, yes we have started mixing up our passes more which let’s be honest is a big positive, although the offset to this is more tendency to pass out from the back, which sometimes provides a high pressing team with an opportunity to overrun our position and score (usually against the run of play).

I think it’s been plain to see we’ve been susceptible to being caught in possession. Did you not watch the 4-4 game and there are other examples?! Having said that, there may well be signs that it’s being put right and Downes may well be at least part of the answer to improving this part of our game.

No. That is all that needs to be said.

Not sure why a season in the Championship, albeit a good one, would make Tella think he’s proven himself a Prem Player? Far from it in fact if he were to look at the experiences of Che and Arma…hardly one-off examples. There’s no guarantees that the system he’s playing at Saints is going to bring him the same success, although the signs are looking good admittedly. He’s young enough to put in a good shift at his parent club this year….prove he’s consistently too good for the Championship and get to the promised land with Saints.

Of course there would be caveats that mean he would need to demonstrate performance levels higher than current starters. I suspect Bednarek’s international status places him high in the pecking order of a pretty mundane group of CB’s, despite the fact that a younger incumbent might actually be better.

Yep fair point, but if Swansea accept our offer and we approach the player we’ll have to tell him what playing time he might expect…will he be a starter or a bench player? As both Bednarek and Stephens must be considered senior players, you would think he would be told he’ll have a support role, but will that be enough to lure him? Unless of course JB wants out.

Yes that’s what I meant. The problem of course, as mentioned above, is that skills videos don’t show the howlers made once a game like the ones we’ve been used to from Bednarek and Stephens. I’ve always believed that a given CB pairing is stronger than the individuals alone if that makes sense. Bednarek and Stephens have had a chance to mould a good partnership, but I like many others have yet to be convinced by them when 3 of 4 goals can be shipped so easily in one game. I wonder if Martin would include Bednarek in the group of players who thought themselves better than they were, but currently he has very few options to chose from?

Looks like a baller - right on for RM’s system. At 6’ 2” he’s got some height and going on the video he’s not scared to jump either. Reckon he could be a good foil for Stephens, but would he play second fiddle to Bednarek as I can’t see Bednarek sitting on the bench in the Championship….he’ll be off which means we’ll not be any stronger overall at CB. Hope we get this guy…at £10m it looks like good business.

Read the article…Che features prominently.

Think the latest is that £15m has changed SFC’s mind and he’s off. Personally I’ve previously been one of those critical of Che but that’s when we were in the Prem under clueless Managers. He has shown over the last 3 matches that the Championship is the level where he can shine and for that reason his value to us off-sets his 1 year contract. That leaves a dilemma - is he a Championship striker at circa £15m value or a fledgling Prem striker at say £25m+? Probably somewhere in between, so to my mind we’ll have our pants pulled down if we sell him to Everton (who are desperate) for £15m up front or less. We should be setting his value at £20m…take it or leave it.

Mmm, if Che goes that’s going to mean less goal threat and we need to keep the momentum going…big plus when it comes to repairing the losing mentality of the last 3 seasons. If Tella goes then overall quality is diminished further - Edozie is not really ready to step into his shoes, although SAA could become the man if he gets the starts. A new striker ready to hit the ground running (sic) is going to be so important. Get Downes in for a start (unlikely) and the chances of a win go up. Overall not hugely confident the side is settled enough to produce consistent wins and losing our main goal threats is key. Think it’s 0-1 or 1-1 at best.