I'd rather have Martin than Still.

[benjii]

12 hours ago, ErwinK1961 said:

Weird thread, but then it’s SaintsWeb so I guess not.

The guy is managing with one arm tied behind his back at the moment. We’ve got an 18 year old as our only creative outlet, we are desperately short of creative options.

Stoke looked like a settled team that have been managed by a very good manager for 9 months. Thomas and Manheouf would walk into our team at the moment. Yet despite that, we still created enough chances to win today. 

The guy needs time with a settled squad and hopefully we will start to see some improvement in performances and patterns of play.

Mental.

He's got Fernandes and Armstrong. He's got Fraser, he's got Robinson. He could keep Edozie if he wanted.

Poor Saints with such awful options.

[benjii]

8 hours ago, SW11_Saint said:

The revisionism is astounding, as is writing off a young manager, with a deficient squad, after just three games. Get a grip…

Go and tell the other managers in the Championship we've got a "deficient squad". They'd laugh you back to the dinlow farm.

[benjii]

Some ways our deficient Championship squad that is doomed to failure because it's so shit unless we sign more forwards could line up:

 

                        Baz

Capn/Mads THB Quarshie Well/Mann

              Charles   Fernandes        

Armstrong      Robinson        Fraser   

                   Downs/Stewart

 

                         Baz  

Capn/Mads THB Quarshie Well Man

Fraser   Charles Fernandes Robinson

              Stewart   Armstrong

 

                      Baz

        THB     Capn   Quarshie     

Mads   Charles  Downes Man/Fraser

                      Fernandes

          Stewart    Armstrong/Archer

 

So deficient! The man has no chance without some of Stoke or Coventry or Middlesbrough's players.

And that's without even mentioning Edwards, who seems to have been coached from being one of the best CBs in the league to a fucking disaster zone in the space of one pre-season.

Honestly, excuses about having the "wrong" players are fucking pathetic, especially as he is also being praised for being a pragmatist who isn't wedded to a system.

Absolutely laughable.

 

 

[AlexLaw76]

That is the bit I find odd, not being able to play 4231/433

Why?

I get he wants new wide players in, but for 2-3 games, it is not possible to play Fraser, Robinson and / or Armstrong as wide players… even against Northampton?

is it not possible  to do something else other than play 3 at the back and Armstrong as the lone striker?

the answer is clearly yes to the above, BTW

very poor show from Still given his own words

Edited 6 hours ago by AlexLaw76

[ErwinK1961]

44 minutes ago, benjii said:

Mental.

He's got Fernandes and Armstrong. He's got Fraser, he's got Robinson. He could keep Edozie if he wanted.

Poor Saints with such awful options.

So where are all the creative options then? Fernandes is unlikely to be here in a weeks time and he isn’t a creative midfielder. 

Edozie wants to leave, hence why he’s not playing.

Armstrong, lol.

 

[Pamplemousse]

I'll wait until we lose 4 in a row including a 5-0 defeat before writing off Still and wanting Martin back.

Oh hang on, that actually did happen in the Championship under Martin. And we still went up...

He had a far better squad. We need a complete overhaul on the playing side. That's the issue.

Edited 6 hours ago by Pamplemousse

[benjii]

Just now, ErwinK1961 said:

So where are all the creative options then? Fernandes is unlikely to be here in a weeks time and he isn’t a creative midfielder. 

Edozie wants to leave, hence why he’s not playing.

Armstrong, lol.

 

I listed 5 players that have a proven track record of goals and assists in the division or, where they don't, are players with massive potential. Smallbone was also excellent as an attacking midfielder last time we were in the division but seems to have been jettisoned (or is he injured?). 

I'm not surprised Edozie wants to leave seeing the shite we are serving up.

Honestly, do you think we couldn't have maximised our options more in these 4 matches?

And, on top of that, our defending has been utter garbage.

[ErwinK1961]

4 minutes ago, benjii said:

I listed 5 players that have a proven track record of goals and assists in the division or, where they don't, are players with massive potential. Smallbone was also excellent as an attacking midfielder last time we were in the division but seems to have been jettisoned (or is he injured?). 

I'm not surprised Edozie wants to leave seeing the shite we are serving up.

Honestly, do you think we couldn't have maximised our options more in these 4 matches?

And, on top of that, our defending has been utter garbage.

You listed 5 players, two of which aren’t likely to be here next week and one who is 18 years old playing his first full season in men’s football (and seems to like falling over all the time).

Fernandes was crap yesterday and it wasn’t happening for Robinson - what options did we have on the bench to change the game? 2 beanpole strikers who are utterly gash at the moment. Not one option on the bench who could come on and unlock a defence. (Smallbone is injured).

I’m not saying it’s brilliant right now, I agree the defence has been crap in the main. Though I guess not a huge surprise given it’s mainly the same personnel that have shown they cannot defend for the last two seasons (and beyond for one of them).

Could he have played a 4 atb instead of 5, I would say so and that’s something I’d like to see. But that being said, if Downes doesn’t think he’s Xavi and if he and Ross Stewart remembered how to head a football we’d have won.

He needs time, he’s only had three league games and the windows not even closed yet. If it’s still like this in October then probably time to panic.

[AlexLaw76]

2 minutes ago, ErwinK1961 said:

You listed 5 players, two of which aren’t likely to be here next week and one who is 18 years old playing his first full season in men’s football (and seems to like falling over all the time).

 

So?

[ErwinK1961]

22 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

So?

So what?

Edozie wants to leave, hence why he’s not playing.

Fernandes played yday and was generally shite.

[Gloucester Saint]

9 hours ago, warsash saint said:

Only on Saintsweb!!!

 

About the manager - yes I agree. Far too soon, had a stinker yesterday and Robins took him to the cleaners, but it’s one game.

About the club, DoF and SR board? No, far too soft for too long. There should have been protests and boycotts some time ago. They are now under enormous pressure to transform the first XI in a solitary week.

Tick tock.

[egg]

1 hour ago, benjii said:

Some ways our deficient Championship squad that is doomed to failure because it's so shit unless we sign more forwards could line up:

 

                        Baz

Capn/Mads THB Quarshie Well/Mann

              Charles   Fernandes        

Armstrong      Robinson        Fraser   

                   Downs/Stewart

 

                         Baz  

Capn/Mads THB Quarshie Well Man

Fraser   Charles Fernandes Robinson

              Stewart   Armstrong

 

                      Baz

        THB     Capn   Quarshie     

Mads   Charles  Downes Man/Fraser

                      Fernandes

          Stewart    Armstrong/Archer

 

So deficient! The man has no chance without some of Stoke or Coventry or Middlesbrough's players.

And that's without even mentioning Edwards, who seems to have been coached from being one of the best CBs in the league to a fucking disaster zone in the space of one pre-season.

Honestly, excuses about having the "wrong" players are fucking pathetic, especially as he is also being praised for being a pragmatist who isn't wedded to a system.

Absolutely laughable.

 

 

Every one of those suggestions would lose the midfield. Fernandes plus Charles with Robinson dropping in is a shocker in particular. Also, any CB pairing with Quarshie in a 4 would get battered. 

Your suggestions show that Still doesn't have the right players.

The squad isn't right, although I agree that starting AA through the middle on his own was/is stupid. 

[egg]

54 minutes ago, benjii said:

I listed 5 players that have a proven track record of goals and assists in the division or, where they don't, are players with massive potential. Smallbone was also excellent as an attacking midfielder last time we were in the division but seems to have been jettisoned (or is he injured?). 

I'm not surprised Edozie wants to leave seeing the shite we are serving up.

Honestly, do you think we couldn't have maximised our options more in these 4 matches?

And, on top of that, our defending has been utter garbage.

If we played Smallbone this forum would go into meltdown. Personally, I like the lad, and I'd play him in a midfield 3, but he's far too lightweight to play as one of the 2 in a 4231. How do you suggest Smallbone be accomodated? 

I'm not sure when Edozie became the answer. Stepovers then nowt is his calling card. 

[benjii]

1 hour ago, egg said:

Every one of those suggestions would lose the midfield. Fernandes plus Charles with Robinson dropping in is a shocker in particular. Also, any CB pairing with Quarshie in a 4 would get battered. 

Your suggestions show that Still doesn't have the right players.

The squad isn't right, although I agree that starting AA through the middle on his own was/is stupid. 

Haha, mental. 

We're not playing against Busquets and Xavi or Modric and Kroos. 

And swap Quarshie for Edwards or Wood if you like.

[egg]

56 minutes ago, benjii said:

Haha, mental. 

We're not playing against Busquets and Xavi or Modric and Kroos. 

And swap Quarshie for Edwards or Wood if you like.

Mental is thinking that a midfield of Charles, Fernandes and Robinson would be an improvement on a midfield of Charles, Downes and Fernandes. Sure, we've been crap, but let's be sensible. 

[benjii]

2 hours ago, egg said:

Mental is thinking that a midfield of Charles, Fernandes and Robinson would be an improvement on a midfield of Charles, Downes and Fernandes. Sure, we've been crap, but let's be sensible. 

Its 4231, Robinson isn't in central midfield. If you like, swap him out and play Downes.

If you think we have to have 3 central midfielders for some reason, in the Championship against mostly inferior squads (which Still has never done in any of his matches yet) then we could have Charles, Downes and Fernandes behind a front 3 of Fraser/Armstrong, Stewart/Downs and Robinson/Fraser.

The point remains the same: the argument that Still is somehow hamstrung and has to play the crappy formation and line up he's played so far is plainly wrong.

[benjii]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/cr4e55kg93lt

 

Lol