qwertyell

Think the manager said it could be 24 hours, could be 8 weeks - they just don't know. The trouble with shoulder dislocations - and Theo Walcott and Charlie Austin can testify - is often once it's happened the first time, a weakness remains and makes it prone to popping out repeatedly. Surgery then becomes the only remedy - and the recovery period is months. Really hope it's just a freak one off.

Well, he's had the supposed "first 10 games" of the season to prove himself that people seemed to think he was being afforded. 8 points, bottom three, and absolutely abysmal football - I suppose in a way he has proven himself. How much longer?

Maitland-Niles is not a winger. Arsenal fans will tell you he was rubbish when briefly tried there - they've been having the same conversations about him for years as we have: what is he? Where does he play? He's nothing. A Callum Chambers sort of footballer, who can fill in unremarkably in a few positions without being very good at any of them.

Jon Dahl Tommasen, because he's Danish? Vincent Kompany, because we're obsessed with Man City? Nigel Pearson, because we were too scared not to?

Rats/sinking ships? Glad the club are "furious". At least that suggests someone there is still semi engaged. Might wake the board up.

He turned 19 a couple of weeks ago. I know we've got a pretty ropy record with ACL recoveries, but two years is a bit pessimistic.

Fuck. Was really excited to follow his progress this season. Thought he had a shot at making the first team. Contract up in the summer as well. Gutted for him.

Blaming? No. Could he have done better on a couple? Absolutely. Would McCarthy have escaped criticism? Not a chance.

Why? He's the most expensive goalkeeper in our history and all evidence thus far suggests he's really nothing special. Hasn't saved a single thing that wasn't meat and drink for a keeper at any level, and has otherwise looked quite easy to score against. Arguably at fault for match losing goals against Villa, Wolves and Everton - and Leicester's goal in a game we actually won. I genuinely think we'd have had pretty much the same results this season with Forster or McCarthy in net. Possibly even better, as Forster's sheer girth might've intervened in a way that the relatively diminutive Bazunu can't. I don't see why people shouldn't state the obvious, regardless of his "potential" - he's been, to be extremely generous, average. And he has a terrible habit (seen on Man City's 1st and possibly 4th goals) of falling backwards and trying to save with his feet where a lateral dive is in order, limiting the ground he can over. Cancelo's goal in particular should never have gone in from that distance at that angle - it wasn't even in the corner, but Bazunu's weight was all wrong and he essentially flopped out the way. I'd love to have been impressed by him and shouting his name from the rooftops. But I just don't see it. The similarities with Gunny are striking - a keeper who on the face of it seems to be doing okay, not too many major clangers, but just doesn't seem to provide much of an obstacle to the opposition scoring. Even a wheelie bin can stop shots that are straight at it.

It's the inertia that is killing us. Doing nothing and hoping things will somehow work themselves out is how Homer Simpson approaches problems.

Very decent manager - we could do a lot worse.

How much longer are we going to keep drifting aimlessly, putting off the inevitable? The club need to take charge and act decisively. Completely rudderless at the moment.

Work permit issues meant it was a non starter. Looks like Leicester are going to be able to sign him in January, though, because he's now playing enough to meet the criteria. Bazunu is no better than what we already had. No presence.

Maybe we went in for the pair of them in the summer, but Thorup opted to stay on with Copenhagen at that time. Maybe.

This is another consideration - lots of managers will want to bring in their own coaching team. But having revamped the coaching set up a over the summer, Saints probably aren't about to do so again a few months into the season. The new guy is going to have to be able to work with what we've already got in place. Having a pre-existing relationship with his old assistant Selles might just tip the scales in his favour.

If only we were as good as mediocre these days - that would be a step forward.

Useless show pony couldn't even score against Bournemouth. We'll be fine, I'm sure...

We drew with City home and away last season, as mad as that sounds with a defence that shipped 70 goals. Conceded 1 across the 2 games. It's the kind of "nothing to lose" game we tend to do surprisingly well in.

Do people not watch any other matches apart from Saints'? Maitland-Niles has never been a holding midfielder in the Romeu mold. Never will be. It's bizarre that so many seem to think he's come in to do that role. If he's most like anyone, it's Diallo - with all the same weaknesses. Fine in a three, with someone else holding the fort so he can run forward. But he's not breaking up play, winning tackles, putting his body on the line to defend. Not his game at all. He's just cheap cover we brought in to fill a couple of positions in a pinch, in spite of not being special in any of them. If he's starting more than 10 matches this season, something's gone terribly wrong.

Lavia got injured, and our genius squad planning never thought we might need more than one midfielder who can actually tackle. Games are won and lost in the midfield - and we don't have one. Letting Romeu leave was monumentally dim. Amateur hour.

Yeah, that's him. Pops up in training pictures now and again. Vokins was assumed a write off when the club sent a 22 year old who held his own in the SPL last season on loan to a non league side this season.

Going to be ugly in the midfield for us again, I fear. Gueye, Onana, Iwobi are a physical and technical trio that we don't match up well against - especially if we go with a two.

And Jeremi "JRod 2.0" Rodriguez (19). Not sure about Tom Davies' new comic character, though. Bit racially insensitive.

We're in the Pellegrino phase now, where the club knows deep down that the manager's a broken flush, but will keep looking for any excuse to kick the can down the road and avoid making a decision (and a hefty pay off). No chance he's sacked after a draw. That would be seen as a positive step forward. He's going to be here until the WC no matter what. Maybe longer. Whether our season will be salvageable by the time the board finally act is the big question.

He departed a while ago - for "personal reasons" - after just three months in the job. Just got hired as set piece coach by Vasco da Gama in Brazil. Perhaps his "personal reasons" were wanting to live in Brazil.