Oldandtired

On another note I see this is coming back again after the shorter style…

Pretty sure they won’t. Their bottom line is the amount of season tickets they sold, the 31 plus thousand of us suckers who turned up yesterday and the millions they got for winning the lottery of promotion. It’s apparent that they don’t care what happens on the pitch.

Shifting the focus away from the defensive cockups for a moment the other thing about the style of play inflicted on the team is for the most part just how ponderous the buildup and transition is. As witnessed a couple of times yesterday we have the players who can shift the ball and transition quickly but in the main Russball doesn't allow for that.

I've come to the conclusion that Fabrice's real name is Richard. Think about it...

The blessed Aaron has had a few near misses trying Russballsup inside the box too this season

I think you mean even if he has lost a leg...

One thing I did mean to say which I found a bit incongruous about today was the fact that given the weather we've had they watered the pitch at halftime.

The corruption lies in the bias shown towards the top teams. There is so much spotlight, punditry (or horseshittery if you like), discussion, navel searching directed to the top teams that even the smallest puff of a fart given against these teams will cause huge waves in the media. So refs, being almost human so I’m told, don’t like to give decisions against these teams for fear of rocking the boat…whereas decisions, good or bad, against the little teams go almost unnoticed.

… after fannying about the Russballsup way and gifting them the first.

Because it’s not a game anymore at professional level, it’s big business.

At the very worst we’d only have 4 less points…

I prefer Russballsup.

But how do you quantify progress and development in our case? As has been pointed out possession statistics are ok, even if in my opinion most of that possession is meaningless as it leads to nothing. So more goals, more points, only losing by the odd goal rather than two or three or more? Or, as most including me seem to want, a change in playing style perhaps leading to a more attack minded formula leading to more goal attempts? I’m intrigued as to how you think we can progress and develop when the manager is adamant he will not change our style of play. This style is not working and as has been painfully obvious on numerous occasions this season is so easy to play against. If you stay in the same place that is not progress or development, that is stagnation. So given the manager’s unwillingness to adapt or change how can we progress with our current style of play? And an afterthought, I’m not convinced that it will go so well for us in the Chanpionship next season when the almost inevitable happens and we go down and the unthinkable happens and RM is still the manager. We were starting to get found out at the end of last season before winning the lottery, unfortunately no reason to think that will change next time. edit…won’t go so well in the Championship either as well as the Chanpionship…

He won’t look promising after Martin’s got his mitts on him.

I see it like this. Imagine the captain of the Titanic, instead of being given not much warning of icebergs ahead he's given enough warning to steer clear of them if he alters course. But no, this captain is adamant that his course is the only true path despite the fact that this path can only end in catastrophe. I give you Capt Russell Martin, and that's why I dislike him.

You’re dead right, there is so much wrong with this, starting with how the hell are we going to get that with Martin in charge?

What’s that buzzword in political circles….levelling up. As ye sow, so shall ye reap matey.

Once upon a time in a galaxy far away this would've been the sort of game that I would've really looked forward to, we probably lose but we'd give it a right old go. Now I'm going to take my sofa so I can hide behind it, very apprehensive as to how we will approach it.

Only in your head, which as your posts keep on proving is a very strange place indeed.

Let’s be honest about it…Russballsup would turn Messi into Stephens and Ronaldo into Manning, it’s that bad.

We generate a few for the opposing team.

Ah, but it’s the way we’ve reached a new level of crapness that counts. You just don’t understand….Russball(s ups) rock.

Three words which absolutely sum up our manager, our board, our whole philosophy this season and the thousands of twats like me suckered into buying a season ticket.

What if your principles are demonstrably wrong? In the business (it’s not sport any more) of elite football surely you have aims and targets. Those targets are usually results, not who can be top of the aimlessly keeping hold of the ball statistics or whatever RM prides himself on. He has chosen a job and profession. His principles are not working in that job and profession. In any job I don’t think that sticking to principles which are detrimental to the organisation you work for would be tolerated. Why should Southampton football club be any different? They seem to be, and I really don’t understand it.