Harry_SFC

I'd be shocked if it was S.Armstrong. His movement off the ball yesterday was outstanding and quite rightly Martin rates him highly. Overall he gives us more than Alcaraz and if anyone does drop out, I'm sure it would be him. We can't think about ceilings, we need the here and now.

To be fair Birmingham's set up was perfect for what we wanted to do. It was neither here nor there. They made it very easy for us.

Agreed. Blatant penalty. The Brum attacker heads it first, Bazunu misses the ball and clatters into the back of him. The offside was a very tight call for the lino and im sure we will have a few of those against us.

Sorry I've not been his biggest fan to date but there's no way Martin wants us to play slow ponderous football. After the Preston game he said he wanted us to be "braver" with the ball and take more risks. I presume this means passing the ball quicker and to players who might have opposition around them. It's a tricky style to implement unless you've got top players.

He's noticeably improved on the ball as well (despite the poor pass against Preston)

I'll believe it when I see it

Ipswich seem to be grinding out the wins. Sounds like Plymouth deserve at least a draw today.

To be fair he joined them having barely played a pre season game and then got a serious ankle injury.

There are a few who I think have an agenda against Martin. However I think the majority like him and really want him to succeed here, it's just that his style is hard to implement and leaves us vulnerable to counter attacks. Against Preston we were slow and lazy in possession. Today was the total opposite. If we can play like that for the rest of the season I'm sure most of the fans will love him.

Yep, he was poor at Preston but let's not forget he hasn't played many senior games at all. They can't all turn out like Lavia but I think he will end up being pretty decent.

KWP was good but he was mainly at fault for their goal. Downes was MOTM by a mile for me.

Yep, Bree barely got forward but we didn't need him to. It all goes through KWP. In terms of defending, it's quite clear that he's better than Manning in that respect.

That's because it's everything to do with having the ball. So much so that we don't have a clue what to do when we don't have it. I'd be shocked if there are any defensive drills in training. Selles concentrated too much on being good "off the ball" so we're crap when we had it. Now we have the opposite. Where's the balance!?

He is so defensive about these tactics. Almost as defensive as Nathan Jones, look how that turned out. I wouldn't care if the tactics were working, if there were clear signs of improvement or if we were being unlucky in games. At least then he could back it up.

One thing I was thinking about the other day, how often do we get it into the strikers feet (Adams)? He's actually pretty good with the ball at his feet. Surely it would be good to play it into him now and again and get the wide players making runs off him? Or is that too simple for Martinball?

Bazunu; KWP, Bednarek, THB, Manning; Downes, Smallbone, S.Armstrong; Sulemena, Alcaraz, A.Armstrong. Don't rate Smallbone myself but Charles put in a poor display last night. Big game for Alcaraz, he needs to find some form. Wouldn't be against Fraser starting though - a goal and assist (sort of) in the last couple of games. Let's hope THB is fit.

Players like Edozie and Sulemena are struggling a bit with these tactics. We know Sulemena is lightning quick, and on most occasions beats his full back. Granted his crossing needs to improve but he generally just seem to be playing so deep. The goal he scored at home to Liverpool last season would never happen under Martin because he'd be told to turn around and pass back. I've said before that I'm certainly not against a possession based style but I also think we need to mix it up a little. We have quick players in the forward areas, why not play to their strengths now and again?

Unless you're Leicester or Ipswich then I wouldn't take anything from the table at this stage. Sunderland were 4th a few games ago, now they are mid table.

Adams has gone off the boil completely since the transfer window closed, that is obvious. I don't think he's a bad player at all, his head just isn't in it and it's massive problem because we've got sod all else. We've seen Adam Armstrong up top and he's useless in that position.

Yeah, I was trying to get at that someone better than just a mediocre manager would have us closer to the top two, just worded it badly.

What are we thinking? Do we actually stick Baz up top? Because I would genuinely rather see him up there than Mara or Che at this moment in time. Mara just put in one of the worst substitute displays I think I've ever seen. Alcaraz is not a CF and has been poor lately. Adam Armstrong has proven he struggles up top on his own. Not sure what else there is. Another complete cock up by the recruitment team concerning a striker.

The striker issue is out of his hands, granted. The terrible organisation/lack of structure through the side is down to him, though.

This in a nutshell. I think any half competent manager would have us in the play offs at this point in time. He's a middle of the road manager, nothing more, nothing less.

In fact I think I was being kind on Mara. At least a fan from the crowd would move around a bit.

Honestly it's like Mara has just been plucked out of the crowd and been asked to have a go.