derry

I enjoyed that last night and Saturday. I had become totally disillusioned with our basic default style of play in recent seasons.The obsession with possession from the back and multi going nowhere slow ponderous build up leading to packed defences and no service for our attackers leaving us outnumbered and vulnerable to quick breaks, I thought it was garbage. Now playing 4-3-3 getting the ball forward quickly is so much more effective. Now causing defenders problems and leaving opponents struggling to get back and help. Especially a goalkeeper pinging accurate 60 yard balls into the opponents back four playing to Che Adams combative strengths with support arriving quickly. We caused Chelsea massive problems. Bednarek not playing was a big plus. Our defenders cleared immediately long if able or if any doubt into the stands. We are a different proposition this season long may it continue. Only 33% possession but more shots on target, more corners, more goals and chances leading to a good win against a top side.

RIP David, too young, what a player, understated but absolutely vital.

Football is a simple game overcomplicated by coaches with lesser teams trying to copy the more successful top teams. There is a very good reason this doesn't work, the superior quality and quantity of the expensive players in these teams against the poorer quality in the lower teams. Firstly we have to recognise this and stop trying to play in a way we can't immitate which doesn't work. Secondly we should go back to the 4-2-2-2 (4-4-2) game we are familiar with with important exceptions. Dispense with the possession for possession sake passing around at the back, it doesn't work and exposes us more than it achieves. pass the ball forwards quickly. Be less adventurous with the full backs, if one goes forward it needs JWP to fill in behind, Lavia is perfect as he is and the other full back stays defensive. That gives us a decent foundation. The other four players are attackers. Personally I'd like to see them try Adam Armstrong left and Joe Aribo right with Adams and Mara up front. The fundamental principal applies win the ball and get it to the forwards quickly, either a couple of passes forward, a long ball into space or over the top. These four can all get goals and Adams is a hard worker helping the others.We have to reward their runs so they need the ball quickly. If we lose the ball we press to get it back. Possession for it's own sake is nonsense. The team can then move forward, Bella-Kotcha and Salisu are raw but quick and robust defenders helped by three defensively minded full backs and midfielders would be less exposed. It is also the job of the four forwards to close down defenders quickly and try and win the ball back. Defenders have to realise that if forwards make runs then give them the ball immediately or at worst the opportunity to win it. If they don't the forwards will stop making the runs. Which is happening all the time with the rediculous backwards possession.

We were hanging in there after an hour albeit 1-2 but still in the game, then came the one most incompetent pieces of crap from a so called professional who can't get his head around putting his right boot through the ball and into the stand. He is so embarrassingly left footed that he hit the ball into an empty net under no pressure, an air shot and the goal wouldn't have happened. All the talk of improving him is rubbish, he should be practiceing using his right foot every day until it's natural, he obviously isn't. That killed the game along with the half acre behind Djenepo. It's all very well playing three centre backs but rediculous if the full backs are out of the game defensively and the other defenders get pulled out and exposed. For me A. Armstrong only plays if there are two more forwards. On his own not in the game. Lavia looks a decent holding link. The team needs a rethink. Full backs are defenders against top half sides not wingers. Aribo is an attacking midfielder as is S.Armstrong. Lavia but not with both Romeu amd JWP. As fot Valery, Stephens and Bednarek not good enough. That side today was a schizophrenic mess wide open to quick breaks.. The manager has to bear responsibility he set it up.

The Munich crash unfortunately was an accident waiting to happen. The circumstances conspired that day. The German investigation blamed the crew for ice on the wings. It has been proved since that the cause was slush on the runway. Very little was known at that time about the effect of slush on nosewheel aircraft as historically most aircraft had tailwheels after WW2. The two training Captain crew were unaware that when taking off in slush the drag on the nosewheel increased by the square of the speed. The faster the aircraft went the greater the drag until the aircraft reached the limit of its power and stopped accelerating. Too slow to take off and too late to stop the aircraft crashing off the end of the runway. The Captain was Captain Thain acting as co-pilot in the right hand seat, Captain Rayment was the designated co-pilot flying in the Captain's left hand seat and was killed. Both Captains were checked out to fly in either seat but BEA sacked the surviving pilot because he was the designated (rostered) Captain and should have been in the left hand seat. Although it was and as far as I know still is the practice to fly alternate flights and swop duties. Captains checked out in either seat usually opted to fly from the left seat. Captain Thain fought BEA for the rest of his life but died about ten years later. Another tragedy. Some years later my company bought BAC 1-11s and some of the Captains were to be checked out in both seats. I put the cat amongs the pigeons by refusing and as Chairman of the BALPA pilot's council and in accordance with our Pilot's contract refused the company permission to check out the pilots. I insisted the company inserted a clause into the operations manual that pilots could swop seats and the Captain occupying the left seat became the Commander and designated Captain of the flight. That meant the action taken against Captain Thain could not be repeated in our airline. Coincidentally the BALPA representative who represented Captain Thain at the subsequent enquiries was Captain Key who was killed in the Staines Trident crash in 1972.

A comment on one of the pop up sites. Very raw but will learn from Saint's experienced defenders, Bednarek and Salisu etc. There was I thinking that they were the problem. 22 BL games only. What we need is a couple of mature leaders, solid defenders and ball winners both on the deck and in the air. No slowcoaches please.

The club wouldn't need a work permit to loan him out overseas. Signed subject to a work permit.

I see we've signed Mateuz Lis and applied for a work permit. McCarthy could even be relegated to third choice in due course.

Fred Kiernan Eire caps 1951/52 born Dublin played 132 matches for Saints. Can't get much more Irish than that.

Fred Kiernan, Irish international goalkeeper Southampton 1951 to 1956, 132 appearances. Born 1919 Dublin, Died in Southampton 1981 aged 62. I remember his speciality, he could catch balls one handed.

That was a very competent display. A credit to the club and a good entertaining watch.

The culprit has finally admitted his stupidity. Ralf says he insists on his goalkeepers playing out short from the back. Man City and Liverpool opted to play that way so they shelled out megabucks for two world class Brazilian goalkeepers comfortable with the ball at their feet. We on the other hand insist that our goalkeepers with poor passing ability who are totally uncomfortable playing short especially McCarthy who is hopeless because he does it irrespective of the risk, at least Forster clears his lines if any risk. To make matters worse the defenders who receive the ball are also poor on the ball. All our opponents have worked us out the poorer sides back off and hit us on the break, the better sides press us and we give the ball away. We should not be playing that sort of game unless we have players confident on the ball and able to play good forward passes as available. Lyanco looked the most effective defender last night because he didn't get involved in the attempted tippy tappy which invariably lost us possession after a couple of aimless passes. If Ralf can't see this or worse insists on continuing to play this way he will get us relegated. That is not how we played when we were dominating matches and winning. It is how we have played in every losing series.

We need to play to our limitations. We are not Manchester City. Stop aimless possession from the back and get the defenders to get the ball forward quickly and keep a solid back four with Romeu holding. Everybody else attacks the ball. We keep numbers at the back, press hard from the front and first and foremost become hard to beat. Watching Bednarek and Salisu uncomfortably tippy tappying and eventually chipping the ball forward to nobody in particular or passing back to Forster frustrates the hell out of me.. We had 60% possession yesterday and most of that was five yard tippy tappying in our own half. The more possession we have the worse the performance and final result. The quicker we get the ball forward the fewer defenders the forwards have to contend with. Yesterday it was mostly ten defenders because we were so ponderous and slow. Possession at our level doesn't equate with success.

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Another short passing static high possession shambles. WTF is Hasenhuttl doing to allow this to occur or doesn't he see it. We were just chasing scraps against a packed defence because we had taken so long to get the ball forward and allowed them all to get goal side. There were passengers out there today, Bednerak, Diallo. Redmond, Elyanoussi for starters. I lost count of the number of attempted failed tackles consisting mostly waving a leg as a gesture. This is just another similar failed unwatchable performance that is absolutely predictable and has become the norm. JWP pretty much sets the template for the negative keep ball, Christan Eriksen he isn't. If we get a good offer we should take it. As long as he is in midfield indulging in passing sideways and backwards we are just treading water. We need to break this particular mould and bring in players that can play faster and harder.

The website is still down but the apps are all working.

There is a current Saintsplayer thread just down the page a little. I have just checked, the Saintsplayer website isn't working but IPTV Smarters, IPTV Stream and the Samsung TV app Nanomid Player are all working./

All the Premier matches were on. I watched Saints without problem. Strangely the match labels on the EPL channel had not been updated and were showing last weeks lables. I just counted the matches and found the three Saints labels without any problem. There is obviously some problem as the website is down and no updates. The apps are working fine. I've sent them an email and unusually haven't had a reply. Only time will tell.

That second half was garbage that's not saying that the first half was that good. We had just over 30% possession but playing it forward and attacking without a multitude of sideways and backwards five yard passes made us look reasonably solid and comfortable. After half time we reverted to our default losing system of passing slowly backwards and sideways. We gave the ball away or were caught in possession time after time. Broja pulled out and let the CP player easily pass him leading to Zaha's goal. It was comfortable for Palace at the back and they were able to play quick balls to their forwards who caused us all sorts of problems and because of the quick balls we were regularly out of shape and overloaded as we had slowly pushed up and left acres of space clear. I would have thought Chelsea would have taught them a lesson but it obviously hasn't. We do not have clever ball players at the back who can pass incisively, we have clodhoppers who dither and just pass without aim or meaning but purely to get rid of the hot potato to anybody. As long as we indulge in this so called suedo possession we are just going to surrender matches. The management change players but appear to have no idea that it is the way we play that is causing us to lose far too many games,

It looks like the site is down. However the apps are working, I've just tried QPR v Sheff Utd and it's working fine. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Massive result. Playing only one up front and nine behind the ball makes it very difficult to find the lone attacker. We didn't fanny about at the back today, any doubt the foot went through the ball, Valery forgot a couple of times and was dispossessed causing a couple of problems. Forster was a proper barrier and played long instead of trying to pass short. There are three statistics to bear in mind 24% possession, 1 goal and a clean sheet, three points. Two recent games 68% and 62% possession both lost. A shout out for Bednarek for his well taken goal. Now we need to build on that result.

Fundamentally there was a massive problem because Elyanoussi didn't engage, press, or get involved. He hardly got out of a stroll and just stood off. He should have been the first off the pitch not Romeu. If we are going to play teams playing like Chelsea we have to change our approach. Balance is vital and that means KWP on the right and Perrauld on the left. Since he was injured Liveramento's performances have fallen off a cliff. Bednarek lacks pace so pushing up is fatal, Salisu is obscenely left sided so getting caught dwelling on the ball on the right side was an accident waiting to happen. When we had the ball we fiddled and lost it. The back four need to stop passing it around, none of them are good ball players or passers so recycling just plays into the oppositions press. In the end Forster is forced to hit it long so win the ball and hit it through the centre backs and give our front runners the chance to harry and win the ball. We would have relieved many situations yesterday if the defenders had immediately put their boot through the ball it would have allowed the defence to stay compact and given 50/50 balls into the Chelsea end. Since we started again to try and pass the ball at the back we haven't won a game. For me it's horses for courses not a one style fits all approach. How would Chelsea have fared against two midfielders holding and a back four not forced to push up. Certainly not as well as the acres of space we gifted them.

At last the walking football exposed for what it is, Garbage. The defence and midfield were so slow trying to play possession go nowhere slow motion passing and losing possession. Chelsea have exploited it by pressing and quick clever breaks pulling the defenders all over the place. How the hell did Elyanoussi stay on the field. What a slowcoach. Liveramento looks lost. Well played Forster.

63%possession, Villa and Newcastle 62% and 68%, three losses, 2 goals for and 8 against, This was again a total tactical shambles. Playing this way in three successive almost identical on the break losses helped by the inevitable mess for the first goal is management stupidity. I say inevitable because it is, the two centrbacks and Forster are no ball players and sooner or later we were going to concede playing short passes under pressure. We unsuccessfully played the same way many times in the last few years. It is not the way to play against packed defences because playing this way causes an organised packed defence to form.. If Bednarek had a clear forward pass he would still pass to Salisu or Forster. The defenders need to win the ball and pass the ball up to the front as quickly as possible. Sticking everybody but Bednarek and Salisu into the final third is kamikaze stupidity and happens because everybody is being sucked in by the painfully slow play, backwards and sideways all the way from the back. We will not win matches against teams that are comfortable and happy to let us fanny about at the back and play slowly then hit us outnumbered on the break.

I contacted them. They are working on a problem. I did find that the Samsung Nanomid App is working ok.