musesaint

We ought to win this but after our capitulation on Monday nothing is certain.

Martin and Russball are our main problems. The squad is better than our league position. If we don’t go up this season we will lose our best players and will struggle in 24/5. Martin loves to say “I take the blame for this and that “. He seems to wear cock ups as a badge of honour. If he was good enough he wouldn’t keep having to make these empty apologies.

Let’s be honest. With the squad we have we should be nailed on for automatic promotion. Martin is the problem - though he’s sufficiently arrogant that he will never admit that in a million years. Every time we get on top by pressing forward we fail to push home the advantage by reverting to tippy tappy Russball. I would love us to win at Wembley. But I can’t see that happening with the form clearly drifting away. Sadly no one is scared of us. The standard Russball tactics have been comprehensively absorbed and countered by every team we now play. No stability in team selection or game plan outside standard Russball .

Please no Che Adams

Why on earth does Russell Martin persist with Che Adams? He keeps starting him and he keeps failing to school goals. The few goals he has scored have come to him more or less on the goal line, where he even he can’t miss! Apart, of course, from today - where he managed to miss two completely open chances in exactly that position. Unacceptable. Shouldn’t start another game this season but be kept on the bench for exceptionally desperate times! And no - despite what some people say he doesn’t even hold the ball up very well.

After such a long break has Russball evolved on the training pitch?? Will we ever score from another free kick or, even more unlikely, a corner?? These and other questions may or may not be answered today.

Good. He also 100% nailed the shortcomings in Russ Ball after the Sunderland game

Some fans always want someone to hate.

We must win this just to stay in touch with those above us. Not an easy game. PNE in good form and just the type of team we find hard to play Russ Ball against.

The brilliant strategy of playing players in the positions where they should actually be playing! Will Russell dare the impossible ?? 😲

If we could take our chances and actually score goals we’d dominate this game. But how many chances did we squander last night? Unless and until we eliminate that massive weakness it’s Playoffs at best.

Sad news after a long and difficult battle.

Liverpool must be bricking themselves after yesterday’s shambles.

Martin has absolutely no plan B. He has utterly brainwashed the players into a one dimensional performance in every game. We seem incapable of any change in tactics and/or approach. Teams have their tactics against us nailed down from the kick off simply because we are so totally and utterly predictable. If you got points for spending games passing the ball ACROSS the pitch and tapping passes to each other in triangles to the far left and right of the goal (rather than actually putting the ball in the net) we’ve been promoted weeks ago. Playoffs at best. Probably lose to Hull at Wembley. Exodus of all our decent players inevitably follows.

Nothing less than a convincing win will be acceptable. Not sure we’ll get that though.

Wrong team from the start with too many unnecessary and very obvious weak links. Wrong set up. Wrong tactics Russell Martin seems to haven’t learnt nothing from the Bristol City result.

Never in doubt

Surely on recent performances Mara has done enough to justify a start? Emerging as a far better overall option than Adams?

Nothing less than a massive win is acceptable. At least 3-0 Saints

What a run for this team! All this winning is starting to get very unSaintly! Keep thinking I’m going to wake up and it’s all been a crazy dream.

Surely Che has got to get his shit together at some point?? I have a dream?

Leicester win. Then consolidate second place and do our best to hunt Leicester down. To win the league we must ideally win at least two of the three away games against Leicester, Ipswich and Leeds. We could feasibly do that but it’s still a very tall order given the fragility which we showed in the last 15 minutes of yesterday’s match. A second place league finish is totally realistic but winning the Championship is only possible if we pull off some key results against our main rivals. Obvious really.

2-1 Saints. We seem to be incapable of winning by more than one goal away.

Boring fixture but looking on the bright side an opportunity to progress - or just bomb out and focus on promotion win win situation

Win this. Beat Norwich. Record run.