derry

I actually think he was ball watching.

Manager of Wolfsburg, today beat Red Bull Leipzig 5 - 1 away with 38% possession. I'd take some of that.

I'm not a referee but I think this flexible maybe/maybe not offside rule is a clusterfuck. I think the original rule was much more clearcut especially now there is VAR around. With the old rule Armstrong was a yard offside. None of this interpretation whether interfering rubbish.

I don't think the Keeper changed his foot position until after Archer's shot. Leads me to think Archer blindsided him and his whole focus was on the cross so wasn't distracted by Armstrong otherwise he may have moved to his left to cover Archer.

I thought the instruction to linesmen was to delay flagging offsides if there was a chance a goal might result. Sometimes the flag is raised when for offside immediately if it's early in a move. A reference to football rules / instructions to refereees would help, however everybody has an opinion. I'm not looking for opinions but would welcome precise rules.

From reports it seems the linesman flagged and the ref gave it. VAR then reviewed it. I'm querying if that should have happened.

I thought that the officials weren't suppose to make a decision if a goal goes in but wait for confirmation from VAR. If that's the case the officials jumped the gun and left VAR looking at overturning the onfield offside decision. In which case why didn't VAR ignore the premature onfield decision and adjudicate on the video.

I hate this five yard closest shepherding suedo press. I hate the use of arms and holding. What I want to see is physical effort, tackling hard and taking the ball. Not waving a foot and staying out of the firing line.

But he and everybody else could call them stupid. I can't help thinking that sooner rather than later he'll lose them to the realisation that they've been had.

Taking the logic of planning with less than a third of the season over that we are already relegated in order to get promotion next season that Martin is the manager to return us to the Premier League. Taking it a stage further at that point he should be sacked as he is out of his depth in the Premier League. Personally I think he should have been sacked already and a manager that can use what resources we have plus the transfer window to give it a good go in the last 26 matches. Martin's tactics are a busted flush.

Bill, this is a very good synopsis of what is wrong. Knowing your intelligence and abilities especially as you played for a team that I managed and the fact we have been friends ever since I think you've nailed this problem. I am tearing my hair out because we still have a chance of getting out of this with a more orthodox manager, With this pie in the sky ego we have no chance.

The problem is the manager. The suicidal short passing straitjacket the defence has to use is only part of the problem. It's what dictates the total shape and the positioning of our players. The slow short passing not only attracts the opposition to press, it draws our attackers and midfielders into our own half. The shape makes it innappropriate to then play long as we aren't set up with attackers tight up on the oppositions defenders and are just gifting them possession. If our keeper is going to play long as Pope does at Newcastle he needs targets up the field to hit who are then reinforced by the team rapidly moving forward with the exception of the back four who maintain the defence so any break or ball over the top is covered. Full backs required not wing backs. We can't play long with the present tactics and the opposition know it, neither can we continue with the suicidal play in our defensive third. The only solution as far as I'm concerned is get a manager that plays in a way that is more varied and frees the players up.

That defeat today is the consequence of his stupid possession at all costs. We made a few individual breaks that improved the result. We cannot improve until he goes and a more orthodox football manager devoid of this sort of stupidity is employed.

Our dire defending was down to Martin's stupidity, insisting on short passing in our own final third. He got the result his stupidity was asking for. the sooner he goes and takes his looney theory with him. These players are trying to play this alien way even though they know it's costing them dearly. We need to bring in a more orthodox manager to cut out the mistakes and get the best out of these players.

Three self inflicted goals. The first was one of the worst pieces of defending I've ever seen. The second was stupid defending leaving the keeper exposed to make a decision which he didn't make and ended nowhere. Sugawara was unlucky as he chested the ball onto his arm. Onuachu was playing well when taken out by Gakpo from behind. Armstrong and Dibling were good. Dibling especially. Fernandes played well. The back five did their best and McCarthy as a goalkeeper gave it a good go however his playing out from the back is suicidal as as the whole theory. The manager is the problem. We scored two goals on the break. This team is better than the manager he needs sacking before he can do any more damage. I'd like to add that our lack of a co-ordinated physical press is also an indictment of the manager's pie in the sky theory. A one trick pony I'm afraid.

The one thread that is constant in our play is the average slowness of our possession and the lack of pressure on the opposition because they are able to defend in numbers. The only way there can be improvement is for the tempo to be increased, transition quickly and break the opponents defensive lines. Does anybody in their right mind think for one second Martin will do that. We could wait for ever to see this present style improve into a workable system at this level. With Wolves winning again we are being cut adrift slowly but surely.

Liverpool sites calling his method "Arrogant and Naive"

The trouble is we aren't sucking the opposition in to create the space behind to break out. What the opponents are doing is massing behind the ball and due to the slowness of our recycling just retreating into a massed barrier we have neither the space or ability to breach. 7 goals for and 21 against says it all. It's just a con wasting two seasons and hopefully not many more.

If in the unlikely event that the people running the club are geniuses who see something nobody on this planet has seen in over a century of football to expect supporters to go and watch the unwatchable work in progress and pay is dishonest in the extreme. To sell it as competing in the Premier League is a scam. If they want to run it as a project then try and sell it to the supporters as such, accepting virtually losing every match, not competing and preparing to be relegated without trying to stay up. I don't buy that. Trying to sign players would be completely dishonest without admitting we and they aren't good enough, that'll work. What I see is unwatchable going nowhere garbage that the average player is unable to play at this level. Martin's project is fatally flawed because it doesn't work.

Total Garbage.

No he's got Russell Martin syndrome, playing in a garbage style and out of position. What's the point of buying players and playing them inappropriately.

I've just watched the U21s playing Wealdstone in the National League Cup. They lost 1-3 and scored a late goal from a corner. Exactly like the first team, total garbage. As an example, for the last minute and a half needing a goal we just recycled the ball including possibly three free kicks on the halfway line. "Hail Mary" time, everybody into the box, no fear, pass it sideways and back to the keeper and out to the full backs, etc, etc, never got over the halfway line, shades of Manchester City, the ball went back to our keeper then the full time whistle was blown. I think the players are playing by numbers and virtually brain dead. Much like the so called coaches. Can somebody invent another game this one is a scam.

However they have only lost five games as opposed to our nine and are out of the bottom three.

So no danger of a boot hitting you on the head or the tray of drinks hitting the wall after losing. Sod the love. Alex Ferguson wasn't successful with the love, they were bloody terrified of him. We need something different.