sadoldgit

noilly

Coming back? I haven't been anywhere.

I am confused here Hypo because there is a Hypo that also posts on the other site which I thought was you? Any, to more important matters, it is not an exclusive club and anyone who supports Saints can join. I used to meet posters from another forum a few years back and it was good to meet people that I had only chatted too online. Not sure why you are getting so worked up about it but I would imagine that the meetings would be between people who have or do frequent(ed) both sites. Is that a bad thing?

It isn't outside the realms of possibility. Ronald Reagan, George Bush Jnr, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Governor of California. Yes, it is a scary prospect!

But aren't decent full backs supposed to be able to defend and attack nowadays - and at the very least defend? From what I have seen of Cedric I thought he was ok. Can we afford to have specialist players at the back (not that Yoshi is a specialist but don't say that too loudly as a certain other poster will take offence).

He hasn't played for a while though has he and if he is rushed back he could pick up another injury. He wasn't looking Premiership fit before his injury so it wouldn't hurt to give him more time to catch up. Bertrand was given a game with the under 21s. You would think he would have a run out with them before risked for the 1st team.

You really do need to stop calling people "simpletons" when they don't agree with you Sherlock. Apart from not being PC, it really does nothing for your own posting persona. It has nothing to do with finding a scapegoat, it is a fact that he does make more errors than most that lead to goals against. Even you admit that he is "liable for a good gaffe." Sorry but that really isn't good enough if you want to compete in the Premiership. I think most of us would be happy for him as a back up on the bench, but not as a regular starter.

Most teams have pacy players though don't they? It isn't so much about a high line but compressing the team so that the other team don't have room to play. There was a big gap left through the defence staying deep that United exploited. In the first half we gave them no room or time on the ball. If the defence stay deep then the rest of the team have to play deeper too.

falls

Maybe a bit early for him even on the bench?

Alpert

Now that would be playing a weakened team.

Yeah, no point in turning up.

I could see the logic of the decision although I didn't agree with it. If Cedric isn't going to get a game against pacy wingers why buy him? The whole point of playing full back is to nullify wingers who are generally, erm, fast. I think Ron is overthinking his team selections this year and wonder if the poor run in last season has anything to do with it? We look much better when we let other teams worry about us. Although United eventually went on to dominate a large chunk of the game, they were no where near as dynamic as we were in the first 20 or 30 minutes and they only dominated because we sat back and let them play. I'd like to see a settled back 4 of Cedic Fonte van Dijk Bertrand and then mess around with the midfield depending on tactics.

Yep, it is. I wish it were otherwise as he is clearly a lovely bloke with a good attitude, but he does make too many mistakes that lead to us conceding. No one is error free but he just seems to lose concentration more than most and bam - goal.

It is the sign of a good player. You would have expected that from the captain but Fonte seemed reluctant to push up.

Yoshi has a great attitude and is fine as a no4 CH on the bench but as you say, he is error prone and unfortunately most of his errors lead to goals against. I also agree that it was not an appalling performance, the stats show that we had enough of the game to have won it. For a long period we did sit too deeply but for the first 30 mins we were superb and we also finished very well. On another day we would have got a draw at least.

Indeed. Two matches played and his game has been forensically scrutinised and he has been judged as rubbish. Sunday's game was bizarre. Three shots on target and three goals. If we were that clinical we would be top of the league. The defence sat back too deeply but VVD was the only one trying to get them forward as far as I could see. Early days but he looks like he will be a quality signing for us.

It is not the first time Yoshida has played at full back and to be fair he has made howlers at CH too. I will eat my cat if he gets player of the season.

If that was the case why stay? He seems to be set to see his contract out. Why would you do that if you were not settled? Don't forget he has recently had surgery - perhaps that is playing him up?

Hero to zero already? he has only just managed to get Toby's replacement in and two key players haven't started the season yet. Give him time. There are plenty of clubs have a poor start and pick things up eventually.

Agreed but he is a young guy who cost a lot of money and the media and pundits are always looking for "the next big thing."

You are clearly much smarter than I am Sherlock so I will let you work that out for yourself.

He was the wrong side of the man so when he made his challenge the only place the ball was going was across the face of the goal. Basic law of defending - never play the ball across the face of the goal. Not as bad a mistake as the second but the bottom line is that he set up both goals for Martial. I don't know whether we ran out of steam after that great start, but the main reason we lost is because the defence decided to sit back too deeply allowing them to play through midfield. But even when they had a lot of the ball they didn't create much. The difference between top 4 teams and the rest is taking advantage when you get the chance. I was watching the game with a Manc supporter and said that we were going to struggle after not getting more goals in that hot opening spell (I also told him that Yoshi would probably gift them a goal before kick off - should have put some money on it). It is no shame to lose to Manchester United and there were plenty of signs that we will be ok this season. We haven't seen Clasie yet and Bertrand is due back soon. VVD has only played 2 games for us. Ron hasn't turned into a bad manager overnight. As someone else said we will probably have a few more bumpy games before we turn the corner but things will improve.

Seems to me that you need scapegoats too so welcome to the Simpleton club Sherlock.