kitch

Exactly what I thought. We defended for 6mins (against the league leaders, by the way) and DIDN'T concede. How many goals have we conceded twatting around with it at the back in 6mins?

I've never quoted myself before, but it's easier than writing it all out again.

I think we need change at the top as much as most fans (whether it's RM finally admitting that his approach needs a total rethink, or the board deciding someone else needs to take the reigns)... ...but the bloke's allowed a few days holiday occasionally, surely? This seems to be stretching a bit.

They'd expect to lose that game anyway. RM gets credit in the bank every time we 'compete' with a big club (Arsenal; City), play well and don't get thrashed. Ultimately we still lose, but it bangs the drum that there's a team in there. Then we play someone like Wolves, Leicester or Bournemouth where we could actually have a chance of getting a result if we play well and we don't show up, or are tactically bullied by them. Rinse & repeat.

He's not been a great signing, but I don't think that's his fault. He has the ability, but we're using him for roles he's not suited to. He came from a Rennes team that would have slapped ours silly, and Chelsea deemed him good enough. It's like going back in time and asking Wanyama to do what Morgan did. Never going to end well.

Agreed. Last two games I've seen him lose the ball (which is rare, but does happen) and then blow out of his arse trying to track back to cover it, ultimately being left for dead. Seems crazy to employ a legit no.10 as a 6. Yesterday, Cameron Archer got back before he did and dealt with the issue. I think Lallana's been a fine signing all things considered, but he's not a CDM/CM. We're still too light in that dept (as the injury to Downes shows).

Ah nuts, did they squeeze a point today? They were behind when I last looked.

Weird take for some, but my thought is that it's actually worse now than if we'd been spanked 5-0. Nobody expected us to come away with anything, so to have come away having given them a 'game' (an honourable defeat) leaves RM with a bit more credit in the bank, despite the fact that yet again we've come away with nil point. In the short term, an encouraging result albeit against a slightly-misfiring Citeh. In the long term, a stay of execution and our path for the season remains unchanged. Somehow only Wolves are currently worse than us, and they'll pull the trigger on GoN before we do with RM.

Your comments are making you sound a bit of a twat, in fairness. If the NL part of your u/n suggests you're from the Netherlands then maybe it's not something that you 'get'. It's something that the city of Southampton (incl. the club) and everyone in the land has directly benefitted from, so the majority of good people are more than willing to spend a few minutes of their year remembering what people gave up. Football is a long way down the pecking order, by comparison.

Gotta get Stephens in somehow.

Tenner says he's at Everton in the next 12 months.

What age does your team play at?

I don't think it's unrealisitic. Had a shit time at Chelsea, wants to rebuild his stock. We're a team very similar to Brighton, so the chances are decent that he could replicate the success he had there and use us as a stepping stone to something bigger in another couple of years or so doesn't seem outside the realm of plausability. I'm pretty sure he'd guide us to premier league survival. The England job is a spanner in the works, but all his has on his CV in english football is a good stint at Brighton and a poor run at a bigger club with higher expectations. Would any of the top 6 really have him high on their list? Utd might, but Utd is a bin fire, same as Chelsea was at the time he went there - to go there would be a disaster for him.

Do we know that for sure?

Another thing that worries me about waiting is that, right now, Graham Potter is literally there. I could be wrong, but I think he'd like to come here. If we wait too long, he'll end up at Everton or Wolves, or possibly even Leicester.

I quite like Russell Martin, as a guy. I enjoy his insights and his thoughts, and I think a Championship team with some decent ball-playing staff would enjoy a season with him. I really enjoyed last year, despite the feeling that I actually think we underachieved. Promotion papered over the cracks somewhat, but he came up with the goods when it mattered and I'm grateful to him for the memories. But as a PL manager, I've never been more certain than any other manager we've ever had that he will NOT turn this around. He's wedded to his ways, and his ways are suicidal with the level of club he manages in the league it finds itself in. If he had a stronger, lower league team, maybe. If he was managing Man City, maybe, but stick him at any bottom 6 club in the PL and it's a one-way ticket back to the Championship. His sacking is inevitable. I'll always be grateful to him, and I would LOVE to be completely wrong, but I fear I'm not. It's a case of when, not if.

He likely will if people start piling in on him early in the season.

Thinking about it more, it does seem strange not to play KWP on the wing in the positions either Fraser, BBD or Arma are frequently given. He's a better passer than them, faster, better technically, better under pressure etc? There must be reasons why they never try it, but I'd be interested as to what those are. Suga and KWP aren't miles apart in ability, and while KWP is probably the slightly stronger of the two, he doesn't want to stay - Yuki is the future. I get why he'd start over KWP. Taylor is a natural leftback, and while not outstanding, he seems pretty solid and offers natural balance. Again, I can see why he was favoured on the weekend. But what I don't get is why you wouldn't use Kyle's technical qualities higher up the pitch, especially when - as a full-back - his strengths lie in the attacking side of the game. He's clearly a step up from Fraser, or BBD etc. Like I say, got to be reasons for it, I'd just be interested as to what they were.

When they announced Martin Tyler was off I thought "Thank fuck for that!" And now, I'd have him back.

I've got a hunch it was part of the initial contract to commit to renegociate a better deal for RM and his staff if we were promoted. Just something I've wondered, not rooted in fact at all.

RM's already said Stewart's not ready to start, but he plans to bring him on during the game.

I like Jack Stephens, seems a good guy. Great character. Lower/mid-level Champsionship centre-back. Shouldn't be anywhere near a Premier League starting 11. Russell has hung his coat on the wrong door, but because he's also a good bloke (on the face of it), he doesn't want to take it off again. That's no good, he needs to be ruthless.

It's on Discovery+. You can get a month free subscription, watch it and cancel again to avoid wanky streams.

It's a level too-far for him, personally. AA, Stephens, Smallbone...possibly Aribo - none of them are consistently fast enough mentally. That's the thing I've noticed the most since going back up; How these same players don't get as much time to play as they used to, and, if they do lose possession, how much more likely you are to be punished. Less so with AA, because he failures don't tend to lead to concession; they lead to a missed chance. I believe that's what relegated us two years ago, and I reckon it'll be the same again if we rely on AA again. Nothing against the guy, he's a proven Championship-level striker, but I don't reckon I'm wrong when I say that's his ceiling. (I really hope I AM wrong, though!)

When you put it like this I don't see how anybody could possibly disagree with you, but in the heat and emotion of the day (when you've just watched ANOTHER loss), frustrations can get the better of, well, the best of us. I'm nigh-on certain that if the club held a SaintsWeb meeting, with all of us and Russell Martin, by the end 95% would back him. But after a game we've just lost? I like the guy, but even I've called for his head at times! It's only 3 games. Let's keep the positivity up (because it's much nicer supporting this club when it's not depressing and toxic) and reassess after a few more games to see what (if anything changes).