Sheaf Saint

Did anyone else clock the smug look he gave when, during his MOTD interview, he arrogantly dismissed the idea that the first goal yesterday encapsulated our season? The answer you're looking for Russ is yes, it absolutely does. Because literally anybody with any understanding of football can see that it does, and the only person that can't is you. Until recently, I was in the "don't dislike the bloke and want him to succeed" camp, but now I'm firmly in the "I despise this prick and want him out of our club immediately" category.

Russ fault.mp4

Not sure what your point is. I'm not trying to claim he's actually a decent keeper - I know full well how poor he is. You only need to look at the second goal today to realise how terrible he is. But... The pass he made to Fernandes before the first goal is 100% the result of the way he is being coached to play, therefore the tactics are just as much at fault as he is.

He never used to do that though. In the past he would have kicked it long and probably out of play, but at least that doesn't put us under immediate pressure. Rolling it short to a player inside our own box, when there are at least 4 opposition attackers bearing down on the defence is entirely a Russball thing.

I thought pens weren't given for handball if it deflected off another part of the body first? That's the reason why Matty Cash got away with literally handling the ball off the line at SMS a few years ago. Or have they changed the rules again?

That is just an utterly ridiculous goal to concede.

Oh Macca.

That's bizarre. Kelleher made no attempt to play the ball and wiped Arma out.

SKILLS from Tall Paul!

So having got ourselves back into it, we tried our best to give them another chance immediately.

That'll be Lallana out til the new year then.

What the actual fuck?

Enough now, seriously.

What the fuck was that free kick?

Why did he put his hand on Arma's back? It's a deliberate push, plain and simple.

That's a blatant push in the back. "Only a small contact" my arse.

And sure as eggs is eggs, the first time we get a chance to hit them on the break we end up passing it back to the CBs. I really fucking hate this style of play.

And brave. Don't forget brave. This is a horrific watch already.

Ryan Fraser At left back Up against Mo Salah. What could possibly go wrong? Is Russ trying to beat the 9-0 record or something? That is truly fucking astounding.

Having given this far more thought than necessary, I still can't decide which emoji reaction is most appropriate for this post.

Signal

Does that not just strengthen the argument that he isn't being utilised properly?

KWP. He was at his absolute best for us when he was given the freedom to make those marauding runs down the wing and cause havoc in opposition defences. But we don't see anywhere near enough of that from him these days because of Russ's 'play it safe' mentality. He's being shackled and doesn't look happy. Tall Paul. Proven goal-scorer throughout his career. Clearly gives opposition defenders nightmares in the few cameo appearances we've seen from him so far, but we don't play to his strengths because our slow, ponderous build-up play gives opposing teams too much time to organise themselves defensively and mark him effectively. In all his minutes so far this season, I think I can count on one hand the amount of times we've actually tried to cross the ball to him. BBD. Again, proven goal scorer in the Championship and has shown he is also capable of getting goals in the PL when employed as a traditional, physical centre forward. So what does Russ do? Sticks him out on the left wing where he looks completely lost because he has none of the attributes needed to be an effective winger. Fraser. I don't know what's going on with him/his form this season, but he has performed at a higher level in the PL in the past so clearly doesn't fit with your description of "basically doing as well as they have at any point in their career". Again, if he were given the chance to play and licence to actually run at defenders in the way that we know he can, he would cause problems and create openings. But Russ seems to prefer Manning in that position these days. ABK. OK so something weird has gone on behind the scenes, and I guess we'll never know the full truth of it, but the simple fact is we have a German international CB who has looked decent for us in the past (he was excellent for us before his shoulder injury), who says he is fit and ready to play but is being left out of the matchday squad completely. Maybe with Bednarek's injury he might get the chance to prove himself again, but I'm not holding my breath. Big Les. Clearly has talent and physical strength, but has really struggled in his recent appearances because he's being asked to play in a position that doesn't suit his strengths. Whether or not he will go on to be a successful PL player is still in doubt, but we'll never know until we play him in a position where we can get the best out of him. The famous Einstein quote about judging a fish by its ability to climb a tree springs to mind. And finally an honorary mention to the now departed Charly Alcaraz - who was genuinely the most exciting player I've seen in a Saints shirt in many years but was allowed to leave on the cheap because he was too unpredictable and wasn't suited to Russball due to taking too many risks in the final third.

It really is this simple. The squad has limitations, but we've got some good players whose strengths just aren't being utilised. I thought Ankersen was supposed to be all about data and analytics? Surely his spreadsheets must show that there is a clear discrepancy between the player metrics and the number of points we've got.