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He wants to go and play in the Premier League and the Champions League. He doesn't, never has and never will think about SFC the way you do.

I would be tempted to play Archer on the right because everyone else who's has a go there this season has been shite. Fellows, Matsuki, Dobbin, Edozie all been poor. Quarshie at CB with Wood.

We’ve lost three influential players from the spine of our starting 11 - THB, Charles and Stewart - plus there’s a big Jander shaped hole in midfield too. Couple that with the calamity that is Stephens and Wood together and two attacking players that have yet to bed in and you’ve got a perfect storm of a squad in disarray. Using known flops like Edozie is another huge mistake. I think I said weeks back that keeping the unbeaten side from last season together will be important in maintaining momentum especially in light of Spygate. So far Spors has not replaced THB, Charles or Stewart with quality suitable replacements and that might be the defining factor for this season unless he’s got something remarkable up his sleeve. This is SR, so no-one is holding their breath. We’ll be lucky to reach top 8 playing like we did this evening.

I don't think Tonda wants to play Russball. But without THB, Charles, Jander and Downes you're left with too many habitual sideways and backwards passers. Unfortunately Bragg is a serial offender. Strengthen midfield and find a ball playing CB and a faster style of play will reemerge.

I write this from a good place, and I’d like to think an educated one as well. I’ve managed nearly 700 games and at the top end of non league football. Managed professionals, ex pros, analysyts, sports scientists, been in the hat for the first round draw etc etc. I’ve also attended every game since December (my last job) and I’ve fallen in love with this team and our manager. But… we’re on the cusp of it all going tits up. I’ll give you what I’ve seen and what i believe our issues are. Goalkeeper - I think it’s clear we’ve got a top one who is a big character, distribution has dropped off a cliff, and I think he doesn’t trust our back 4 without THB. Long isn’t good enough, clearly by how little he’s risked in cup games. That’s worry number (1). Defence - Bree - gets booked to often, doesn’t overlap his winger enough and looks a shadow of the lad who wanted to earn his big contract. Manager clearly doesn’t rate Mads Roerselv or however you spell it, so like last season he’ll be flogged and we have no depth. (Issue2) Wood & Stephens both good partners, reminds me of Claus when Svenson and Richards left look a fraction of the player without THB, have to sign a proper player... and replace 6/7 goals .. come on to that later oh and one that can start our build up (issue3). Like manning, Wellington is fine as back up, poor tonight though. Central midfield - Jander & Downes - top players can both run and look after the ball, nice balance between them. Matsuki I think when we’re chasing games late on can play in there, but not ideal. Can’t see Bragg being a player for a top team in the league. One paced, physically weak, doesn’t break lines and if we’ve got issue 3 of no THB we’re going to rely even more on our deeper midfielders to start building us up. We need a midfield player in the door like NOW. Can’t believe that signing Dobbin was seen as more of a priority than a midfield player. I think this is the biggest reason for our laboured start (issue4) Wide players - Scienza and Edozie from left is very good. Former is our best one, will get 10 goals and assists. Happy, I personally like Archer more from left than edozie presume he wants to play central and has bigger wages so edozie as back up is fine. Like Bree will want to earn a new deal so he’ll play hard. There is a player in there, not sure we’ll see it but I think he’s working hard as I said and offers bits from bench. Matsuki & Fellows - not got enough, huge huge issue. Both can only go one way, both are slow to cross, both are back up players for me, and Matsuki is ahead of fellows as at least he offers aerial ability and physicality. We have a forward in Larin that needs crosses, can remember goals from left being scored. Oxford & Blackburn but can’t remember any time when balls come in quick from right low and hard. (Issue5) 10s - Azaz - with Larin our best player. So clever, makes stuff happen, takes risks, our Bruno Fernandes. Doesn’t care if he gives it away 10 times, because he’ll find a pass for a goal. Dobbin - wrong profiling.. and this like mubamba worries me. Physically weak, quick enough, can finish but again we had archer - 9 million wasn’t needed to be spent here. Like Archer he’s a second striker not an azaz replacement. So again like Peretz and Bree we still have no back up for azaz. So prepare him to be flogged like a horse again (issue6) Forwards - Larin is top, losing Stewart was a travesty. I understand the fear of injuries but I can’t imagine at £30,000 per week for three years would be seen as wasted money ( 4 million quid ). When again we’ve signed Dobbin for 9 million. Muamba, has been profiled wrong to replace Larins mins. He’s poor back to goal, and like Peretz, Bree & Azaz we have no back up striker to play that role which is a travesty. (Issue7) The biggest issue though is with the data of the team, something that surely Saints internally have looked at. We need 80 goals this season minimum to get autos. You cannot get those numbers from this team. No matter how you play out the maths even in best case scenarios. Armstrong/Stewart - lost 22 goals THB - 6 Goals Charles - 5 goals ( plus cup ) Somehow we’ve got to replace 33 goals from our team… Larin can score 20 so he’ll take Armstrong’s. But making a case for 60 from the rest isn’t feasible. Scienza and Azaz will get 15-20 between them. We still need 40 goals from Matsuki, Fellows, Edozie, Divin, Downes, Jander, Dobbin. Based on last season and I’d imagine that both Divin and Dobbin are on reduced mins we’d be lucky to get half the amount from those guys. It’s hard to make a case for 40 goals. And the issue that our only goal scoring centre half is leaving. Manning can chip in so hopefully that continues. We have a lot of work to do in this last week, I’d even go as far to say that we need 4/5 players through the door and it feels massively unlikely. Centre half, an 8, a right winger and a forward … if I’m being greedy a big mobile centre half who can play RB as well as CB. Konsa type profile. The profiling is huge, we’ve signed two players this summer who don’t fit how we play. Dobbin as a 10 and Divin as a 9, so let’s hope spors gets the next ones right. Tonight was depressing. Onto Saturday.

Akachukwu was the one bright showing for Saints. Though a different style of midfielder he is going to put pressure on the limited Bragg for the 4th cm place in the squad - assuming Jander stays and Charles is replaced. Noticeable how the "form" of Bree and even Peretz seems to have dipped; likely Peretz' performances affected by THBs absence.

Feels pretty obvious to me that regarding a Charles replacement the club have certain players in mind who haven’t become available yet. If they can’t get them they’ll go for a loan I suspect. No point just getting bodies for the sake of it up until now.

What makes the difference?

We've just signed three strikers, we're not getting two more. Maybe one if DD, BBD and Archer all leave but even then it wouldn't be a given. I'd reasonably expect a CM, CB (two if JQ leaves), a backup goalkeeper and not much more else.

You can also see why THB is so important to us after WHU hammering. We are so different without THB. I would rather keeping our promotion. Hope than letting THB go.

We don't need a 25 goal a season striker to get promotion. What we need to do is sort out the midfield physicality so we can win the ball back, keep it and shield the defence. We also need to drop jack Stephens.

You can see why THB wants to leave after the WHU hammering.

Club said squad too big (34?) this week so sell 8 or 9 players and get 2 defenders 2 midfielders 2 proven goal scorers Now! Not at beginning of next season.

I dont think we can adapt to changes in games when teams counter or run direct rather than play the Saints slow build up predictable football. Our players are not physical enough or win enough headers, 50/50s dont get ein enough in midfield. A draw will be a great result as I think a win is out of our reach. We dont have a reliable defence we all agree about that so we need goals tgd other end but haven't brought in a natural goal scorer or even two. Where are the 18 to 25 goal a season forwards there not at Saints. We rely on 7 ot 9 goals from 8 different players at this. rate. Tonda's tactics are too predictable.

I'm not convinced that SFC had any interest in progressing any further in this competition,

I think I'll just file this under 'glad I was working this evening' and leave it at that.

Who gives a fuck about social media and what other clubs think. In case you forgot, we've been beat 9-0....twice. Piling on Tonda because we lost to West Ham in the League Cup is the definition of an overreaction. Lets see how we're looking at the end of the window

Just back from the game. It's almost midnight and I left the house at 6:30am this morning, did a full days work, rushed to St Marys, no dinner, no nothing, and was served up with that utter fucking shit show from both the club & players. Fucking humiliated by West Ham B side and their insufferable moronic fans. But frankly, our support was an embarrassment tonight, not helped by the absolute cretins at the club who got the ticket pricing completely wrong. I am bereft at the moment. I just saw a group of Saints players who just didn't give a shit. I am struggling to take one single positive from that game, and I have been a season ticket holder since 1992, so I have seen my fair share of crap Saints performances. Off to bed, fucking fuming.

Tough game. Thought they were pretty good when we played them at the start of the year. Draw probably wouldn't be a disaster.

Should have gone before 2nd SF. Its back fired and Saints will never get rid of the cheat table expecially with social media and 100 clubs reminding us of it each week.

Very nervous about this one. Millwall are very physical and able to impose themselves on opponents- really the thing we struggle to do for large sections of the match. We need to find a way to move the ball quicker and inject some urgency into our play. I would take a draw in this I think but I worry that it will be a demoralising loss and some panic might start to seep in. I'd like to see: Peretz Bree Wood Quarshie Manning Matsuki Downes Jander (feck knows if out) Scienza Azaz Larin

The Jander injury has really screwed us, and without Charles, exposed us. But...it does feel like there's something else going on, given the slow start. Spygste hangover? Inadequate pre-season?

I don't disagree. We must have known we would be losing Charles fairly early on this window. We must have known there was a chance we would be losing one of the others possibly. I'm surprised that we haven't got an alternative in already. A Charles replacement was much more of an urgent priority for us than further bolstering attacking midfield.

Fair enough... Although my interpretation of Tonda's quote will remain the same though 👍🏻

Your example is better than mine