SambaMaverick

Another goal this morning, tidy finish https://x.com/GoalsXtra/status/1840359866545606964?t=AxnvZ9-yhT-ykwf33nwbew&s=19

Is that the same sport where teams tank on purpose in the hopes of getting a better draft pick for the following season?

I know what you mean, but it's not a great argument. Too long in the Championship and the club would slowly disintegrate, especially one of our size. The Premier League is tough but the blueprint at the moment is you have to get up, invest wisely, be hard to beat for two or three seasons and then start to reinvent yourself and make a big push with three or four seasons of money behind you. We've tried to rip that up and launch straight into playing terrorball from day dot. Fulham and Bournemouth are great examples of how to do it right, and I hope they get their day in the sun in Europe - which unfortunately looks like the limit of what is possible at the moment.

There can't have been by the end, surely. I knew his days were numbered after Boxing Day, but I understood a lot of people wanted to give him a chance. Some people just seem oblivious to the fact that people have watched their team for decades might actually know what they're talking about.

Yeah, I'd be happy with seven points from that lot. Ambitious, but that's just what we need to have a chance. But what if we'd started even worse (hard to see how that's possible) and there was this charity game on the slate? Hard to see how that wouldn't enter the thought process in the boardroom and just comes across as incredibly naive.

Just seen there's a Russell Martin XI charity match at SMS in three weeks. What sort of club backs themselves into a corner like that? Odd.

I thought we played ok today. Another day (maybe with Che instead of Archer up front), we'd have won easily. That being said, it was the most anti-Martin performance I can remember. Long balls, balls being played straight into the centre-forward, proper 'chase that' balls over defender's heads. We played forward with a decent zip 50% of the time thanks to Fernandes, Sugawara and Dibling, which is a big improvement on the usual 10%. It was a basketball match at times, which Martin has said he really hates because there is no 'control'. For all his posturing about having a strict style, no plan B because it means you don't believe in plan A, etc etc - he played today to win at all costs because his arse is on the line. That's what he should've been doing from day dot in this league. Build your system in block by block, don't just chuck it like shit at a wall and see what sticks. Hopefully he's similarly pragmatic against Bournemouth or his time is up.

Not sure what two shit passes you're even talking about but even without the McCarthy clusterfuck, we COULD have one point from four games. The Brentford and Forest losses were absolutely 100% down to tactics from RM.

And a lot of excuses making up yours, so there we go

We would've been dicked by United regardless and Newcastle would've turned us over without the red. How do you explain away the Brentford and Forest performances?

Even the penos are boring

That 30 seconds of pissing about at the back was just ridiculous

Just lumping it up to three tiny forwards It's shite

What on earth has he done, we must be paying him well

There'll be no battle at this rate, don't worry

Bet he smashes em in and gives it all the biggun no look panenka shit in training That's the problem with mental midgets like this guy, we've got half a team of them

An experienced football man would bin him off week one

Cornet and Ross looked like competition winners, so did BBD in the most part Archer- missing a penalty as a striker is a joke Lallana looked like he just wanted to get a highlight reel of kicking United to score brownie points with Liverpool Couldn't really see the goals so can't pass judgement on the defending but second half they were all scared of their own shadow Fernandes mustard, Lesley good but faded Didn't lay a glove on them after 2-0 because Russ has one speed and doesn't know how to change gear

Thanks for Wembley but your days are numbered pal He's just not at the level I'm glad because his football is shite and he's a smug fuck

Just get him in the sodding team. He's more likely to make something happen than Armstrong

Even Van Dijk would be exposed time and again in our setup. That's why I find this talk of formations and fours and fives a bit wearing - the way RM is currently playing in the Premier League won't work and never will, even if we had Man City's side.

He is risen

They'll turn us over anyway because they've got superior quality up front and we give the opposition at least two golden chances a game

I've had my wallet searched when going into a club quite regularly, wouldn't have bothered me too much if they asked on Saturday. Questioning the amount of cash is a bid odd though.