Saint86

Hate to say it, but Saints need to let a couple more in here, might actually get rid of this dead rubber manager. Its grim, but thats where we are - we are going nowhere fast under him, and that in itself is severely damaging for the club's future. Eckert and the players have to refund the fans for this one - absolutely no excuses.

How's the results working out for you? I wonder, are you still standing by Eckert and attacking any saints fans who dared to raise any concerns with the standard of the performances? 🤔

The fans have to turn on them surely? We can't keep blaming the managers and give SR and easy out. They are atrocious owners. Totally out of their depth and clueless when it comes to football - they've spent millions and yet take the club backwards at almost every turn, and not just backwards, but presided over 2 absolutely horrific premier league relegations and the embarrassment of last season - we went a calendar year with only 1 league win ffs.. As for this seemingly nonsense enforcement of 5 at the back, it has got to end. No more of this. They've also gutted the scouting, academy, and coaching setups, the club's lost its identify and reputation, financially they've set the club back years.. and seemingly there is no way to escape their ownership bar administration and the risk of losing key infrastructure like the training ground or stadium etc. I fear Dark dark days are ahead. But after this, there can be no more excuses for SR. They are a cancer that is killing the club.

The issue is 5 at the back. 5 at the back is seemingly a mandate from SR (and i suspect Rasmus). SR have to go...

Too deep (again) and inviting pressure, then we go to sleep... i mean the state of our defending... 5 at the back... and this is what we do... like ffs...

Malanda having a great game at the back for boro.

Exactly this... As it stands, we're halfway through the season and our loanee Bereton Diaz is scoring for a team above us in the table. Anyone sat here trying to say that our squad is so bad that we should be below (or frankly anywhere near) Derby and Bereton Diaz in the table, needs to take a few minutes and realise the position they're arguing is absolute nonsense.

Well said Hypo.

I'm watching via the club website with blackmore's commentary. Honestly, he's an awful commentator. Misses obvious things, adds his nonsense takes and opinions like a blathering idiot, and frankly knows very very little about football. I didn't realise just how bad he is as a commentator until i started watching to his commentary. Its bad, really bad. The times where Tessem just choses not to say anything (to avoid making this obvious) do make me chuckle though 😄. Even basic stuff, like saying something is a foul or a dive when its not, lamenting players and being overly negative for not shooting or crossing etc., when actually they've done about as well as could be expected. If you listen to games via his commentary, you need to be aware that you're sadly getting his partisan and rather poorly informed take of the game's events.

Okay, this is much better - we're attacking and pushing up with the wing backs. This is the only way this formation works.

Azaz seems up for this at least.

Its both a crying shame and a good job that boro are shit

How deep can we go.... this is worse than Southgate for england ffs, i want to give him a chance but he uses every opportunity to come across as utterly tactically illiterate.

Well brace yourself, because we're going to win this and the cup game 😆

I think this isn't far wide of the mark. By all accounts the players wanted rid of still (or at least a significant set of players did). I would say it now looks like they've played to get a young manager the players like the job... and are now reverting to type under a manager that basically has no real authority over them. Its long been rumoured that we have a rotten dressing room, and sadly the same core group of players have never been moved on...

Tonda played 3-4-2-1 (which let's be honest regrets to a 5-2-2-1) with the u21s. Its mandated throughout the club. Seems most likely that Still (who wanted to play 4-2-3-1 but didn't) and tonda were instructed to play the same way with the first and B teams by the club when all things are considered. It's that or a previously successful manager (in Still) openly wanted to play a formation that he had the players for, but inexplicably didn't... Whilst the new "succession planning u21 coach" just happened to play the same formation that Still was reluctantly playing... Ralph was hardcore advocate of his 4-2-2-2 for pretty much his entire career until SR arrived at saints... then in they came and all of a sudden we changed to 5 at the back, and so it has largely continued. Selles did briefly try to revert back to the traditional 4-2-2-2 Ralph formation but to no avail. Jones was a 3-5-2 mananger. Juric core formation was also 3-4-2-1. Simon rusk played a 3-4-2-1 primarily, or a 5-4-1. The only real exception really was when Wilcox was here and appointed Martin, who was seemingly left alone to play "his way", and for all his flaws (of which there were many), the period playing 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 under martin was the only successful period under SR. Obviously then Wilcox left and Martin started adopting more 3-5-2 variants over last year's absolute car crash season 🤔.. Could all be pure fluke and coincidence, but it's a shite formation and we seem to be seeing an awful lot of it under SR.

If we don't get promoted, we won't be able to afford him regardless.

Had a good game today, and made a fantastic save near the end to keep us in it for a point 😛

Scienza with that little steal and run down the left then... 5 Millwall players back and only archer committed forward. Never going to carry much threat with such defensive tactics.

So start of 2026, who is supporting eckert as mananger and thinks he's the man to take us up?

So obvious to everyone, except perhaps rasmus and his data driven reinvention if football?

Need to bring Ralph back. It's the only way 😌

This. There has been enough noise and signs that strings are being pulled from afar. Need ankerson out of the club asap. Or do people still think it's a coincidence that we're playing 5 at the back?

He's shit. But I guess we wait for the clappers to slowly realise that (as always)...

Not likely under this Southgate clone.