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My thoughts on yesterday I wasn't surprised the midfield didn't quite work again when I heard Jander was out , you can't have a match day squad without a number 8 but fair play to the them they got it done Downes was great but I thought Matsuki ( the bloke behind me was calling him Matsui, wasn't that a cheap 80s hi-fi brand!) struggled, he was better than the Colchester game but it's not his position and it's knowing when to press ,when to drop etc he didn't seem to get it right at times, TBF to Tonda I can see why he started him as Bragg and Downes last week didn't work either but with Jander back and a Charles replacement in I'm we'll be fine in the middle I was furious with Jack last week but TBF he did well , Wood makes me a bit nervous at times , he can look clumsy and off balance but actually I thought his positioning was good ,he knows when to attack the ball and he's a player who'll make those brave blocks , Are Stephens and Wood good enough for the season ahead? It's probably one of them with a new signing alongside but TBF they were solid yesterday Scienza was totally ineffective yesterday, they doubled up on him at times , we didn't have THB hitting him early, hopefully he hasn't been found out ! Oh well makes it more likely we'll keep him , was that Gallagher that cleaned him btw I thought Azaz was a difference maker again, I love how he always scanning looking for.the killer pass and it was no suprise he played in Mubama form the winner YET the numoty behind me was slagging him off half the game So pleased for Mubama , City obviously rate him could be a great loan In the 2nd half what happened when Stoke had a chance that Peretz saved , where I was sat it looked weird like in slow mo and it trickled toward the net and I thought the stoke player was gonna tap it in but Peretz ended up with it ,it wasn't on the highlights either

So if we had to sell 2 high value players this summer to one cover shortfall in revenue and other to enable signings, and with Charles already gone, which other high value asset would you rather lose, THB or Jander?

No but seriously, do these players ever use their brains a bit or is slogging just a reaction that they can no longer control?

That was painful, but I’m hoping it’ll kick start a run like QPR game did last season. Both full backs nowhere near the level they were the second half of last season. Wood is ok when battling with a forward, but his distribution & touch when he’s got time on the ball is horrendous at the moment. Luckily Downes was excellent because Matski was poor in there. Leo, probably the worst performance I can recall him putting in. TF tried hard, but it’s still not clicking. Larin 2 in 2, looks bang on it and good finish from the young lad (and great to see him celebrating). Thought the penalty a bit harsh, but haven’t seen the reply. I don’t think he gives that at 1-1. I wouldn’t say we were lucky, but couldn’t have too many complaints had it ended up 1-1.

Should we have paid £40m each for Scienza and Azaz, in your opinion?

They're loving him up there..quote from one of his new LFC fans: 'Exactly! The thing people need to remember is that Brussell ball takes one element of the possession orientated game and just runs with it. Why invert one full back, surely 2 is twice as good. Why bother with 65% possession - 75% is exponentially better. You wont lose the ball in midfield if you retain it in defence and start your moves from there. Have loads of wingers (and dont let them play more than 60 minutes), and ensure they only recycle the ball through the middle. I hate this callout that 'we simply cant afford the team Martin needs'. His vision of the game has proven, time after time, to not work - and no budget will fix that. He is not some underappreciated genius just missing a slice of excellent recruitment. He is a massive fraud, and its an insult to football to even associate his version of the game with those who have made possession oriented systems work. Unless he adapts fast (and all evidence suggests he cant), his career is over. And i couldn't care less about him, i care about where we are at right now.' I agree it's weird how we are still talking about him down here but some of the crap that man inflicted on us, and the drivel that came out of his mouth still makes me shudder.

😂😂😂

The "Manning chasm" as it's called.

Can see why he was keen to come here and play with the likes of Azaz. Can understand what he was saying in his interview about coming somewhere that creates a lot of chances for its strikers. He is always moving across the line, making those dangerous 'out and in' runs and Azaz will pick those out as they become more accustomed. I'm sure he'll also be caught offside quite a bit but that's always part of the game when you play the way Mubama does He's clearly a natural finisher and by all accounts is a confident lad, which always seems to be half the battle with strikers. Considering he's only a week in that's about as good a start as he could've hoped for. Loved seeing him give it back to the Stokies who booed him onto the pitch and were chanting about him always being offside

I totally agree though it's probably great for the bigger clubs to deal with any club our size. We're simply not in a position to soak up a bid which unsettles a player. We're lacking ready made replacements and the strength in depth that would allow us to say no. Particularly when we need to get back up this season. A large part of that is the terrible business we did under the first few years of Sport Republic's reign. We brought on board a lot of players who are not adequate replacements who we are struggling to shift. We gambled on Ramsdale to keep us in the Premier League knowing full well we wouldn't be able to support his wages if we were relegated.

Yeah still think think we should only sell top players if it is for crazy money other wise your making it way to easy and it sets it up if teams come in and offer fair money for scienza and Jander they too will go…. Must be a dream dealing with us

The trouble is we also can't afford to hold onto a player and have them give 80% because their heart isn't in it. Better to get the money and have time to find a replacement who is committed to the cause. We also don't know what agreements were made with the players after Spygate - there was talk for a while of them suing the club so maybe agreements were made not to fight too hard to keep anyone who wanted to move on. This part of August is usually a shit time to be a Saints fan 😢

You’ve mentioned two of Jack Nicholson’s roles there; what about his role in Chinatown as a private investigator? Recommended…..he and Faye Dunaway are memorable. Also, Broken Flowers, with Bill Murray, where in a depressed state he sets off to visit a handful of ex girlfriends.

That’s the problem with us we are way to happy to let a player go for a fair price . Shouldn’t it be we only sell a important player if the buying team are paying Way over the top ?

Just the same, the space he gave Saints old boy Gallagher before he crossed for the Galbraith goal was way too casual. If we could combine the tight marking of Wellington with the attacking crosses and passes of Manning we’d have an excellent LB.

Agreed.

No, I think Villa are doing exactly what Benfica did, they have 2 or 3 targets and are casting the net to see which one they get a bite on. They may be screwed financially but if you get 50 million for a player one day to bid less than a club played for one of their players the following day is taking the piss.

All to do with FFP isn’t it. Piss take for them that they have qualified for the champions league two of the the last three years and won the Europa league but got to sell to buy whilst Spurs and Chelsea can spend £100s of millions

Someone will pay our valuation, or they won’t. Regardless. We need to strengthen at CB and CM.

Groundhog Day

Mates rates

Having watched all the Champ highlights from yesterday, I can say, with confidence, that Wolves are going to piss the league. Especially rubbish seeing Armstrong scoring a great goal for them. And Millwall will be second.

We need to stand firm. Problem is I don't think Villa are desperate to sign him so, from their view, it's taken it or leave it. Player now unsettled and this does us no favours.

Some wonderful films there. Green Mile is brilliant, but I'd forgotten Green Book which is superb.

I think Villa are more financially screwed than they appear to be letting on. They have lost Rogers, Tiliemans and Konsa. Likely Watkns too. For a club that is in the Champions League next season losing your best players is quite an achievement. Seems they are having trouble or don't want to meet our asking price.