derry

The clockwork mouse yet again. It's obviously his work rate, pace and power added to his tactical nous, goal a game dead ball delivery, unbeatable in the air and frightening in the tackle. Undroppable obviously.

Peter East. I found him really good. Cut his teeth on local football.

That's how Lallana was playing at the time, not long after that he played against Norwich at SMS, Worked his socks off, tracked his opponent and really never looked back. He obviously was well advised by somebody. He was in danger of becoming a peripheral player unless he upped his game. The rest is history.

I'm not anti Romeu but he's lost his way, He's not playing anything in midfield, all over the show, needs to reset and sit in front of the back four. I don't rate the ball watching Stephens as a center back but it's high time we tried him as a holding midfielder, his passing is better than Romeu. we just can't carry on with the present way of playing with JWP playing every second. He has to go to up the tempo. Throws are another issue, instead of waiting for somebody to take it, first to the ball takes it to nearest player immediately everybody else keeps moving. At the moment when ever and where ever we get a throw everything stops.

Again, it is the players but that's not the end of it. To get a team that is greater than the sum of the parts it needs blending, It's like building a house with the footings on top of the walls so to speak. There is no shape, how could there be with three center backs that show no conception of playing as a three. The full backs wrongly selected. The clockwork mouse in midfield doing nothing just living for the dead ball situation which he exploits once in a blue moon. Shapeless midfield with no bite or perceptive passing ability, Up front, I feel sorry for them living off scraps but still capable of keeping us in the game. The Squad is what it is. Ralph needs to grasp the problem and rework the shape and try and get players into positions where they are comfortable and can blend with the natural shape. You can't pick a team just using the shape you have to look at what the players can do, then put them into a shape that gets their natural best out of them and complements their colleagues. Personally I think Macarthy Valery Bednarek Yoshida Bertrand, Stephens, Ings and Armstrong, Boufal Adams Djenepo. would be a start. I think they could play a lot better than the shot away out of position pedestrian team Ralph is selecting.

That's a given, It's the way his teams are supposed to play. He needs to identify players that can fit in, JWP out is a first must or whatever he does won't work.

Personally, despite being a season ticket holder, I was fed up with the way we were playing and have been playing since Koeman left, After the Bournemouth game I took a break. I missed Leicester and Everton but watched both games live. Watching on TV gives less of a wide view but with replays gives a better view of what just happened. When Ralph came he sounded like another Pochettino. That might be the case however we haven't seen any evidence yet. He can however sort this present squad out. It's slow buildup and it's obsession with possession leads all the way back to Puel he needs to sort that immediately. How, immediately leave out JWP because he is obsessed with possession, Saturday 35 passes 86% completion, No shots from play, NO TACKLES FFS, Poor corners, slow and no forward runs, I rest my case there. Play Valery and Bertrand with two center backs with Stephens as a holding midfielder with a brief to pass forward quickly. Armstrong maybe Hojbjerg (I'm really tempted by the hardworking Ings and make him Captain) in midfield then three from Ings, Djenepo, Redmond, Boufal, Adams, Long, Obefemi. Why would I be tempted by Ings in midfield. He works his socks off, isn't the quickest up front but has a nose for goals and makes good runs and perceptive passes. He can tackle. Ideal for running in behind and breaking the defensive line from midfield. Armstrong likewise. Hoijbjerg runs and chases but his passing is woeful, Again if Ings and Armstrong were breaking out of midfield with Adams up front and two of Djenepo, Boufal and Redmond it would give us pace and the ability to press the opposition. The instruction has to be always pass the ball forward, or hit the corners for the forwards to chase it down if nothing obvious, play a high tempo and cut out the comfort zone passing. Lose the ball swarm to get it back. In a word fundamentally change the way we play and put in the players that buy into it. It isn't beyond the wit of man to get it done, doing nothing isn't an option. Anybody who thinks it is needs to go.

I'm not sure he is that committed. Last season he was left out of the squad, he left St Mary's at just before 2.30 jumped into a car and drove off South. He ran across in front of our car. Obviously not interested enough to stay and support his team that is making him a multi millionaire.

Ronald's right hand man with Holland.

I think I'd take them away for a week in tents cooking their own food and doing the Lympestone RM obstacle and training regime every day. It might not make them better footballers but by God they wouldn't want to go back there any time soon. If money and persuasion won't cut it, the fear of the pain might.

JWP, made 35 passes, 86% completion backwards and sideways five yard passes FFS, Made NO tackles, For God's sake how did he manage that with the amount of time Everton were attacking. One Shot, a ****ing free kick. His corners were poor and lacked control. I'm not an analyst, the club must be ignoring what anybody who watches him can see, he is a liability. He is a big part of the problem bringing the defence into play to pass sideways and backwards.

Not a bad shout, has something about him. Why not go the whole hog and play him in midfield alongside Armstrong in front of Stephens with three from Djenepo, Adams, Redmond and Boufal up front. Compared to the last four games it couldn't be worse and give us some balance and attacking pace.

I've just checked the rules and Bertrand will be available for the Arsenal game provided he is fit. Yellow cards only are competition specific whilst Red cards are covered by all three competitions. So MC twice and Everton completes his three match suspension. Now pick a proper team, no excuses.

Until January it is what it is. So where do we go from here. IMO break it all down to basics so start from scratch. Firstly identify those with character and a bit of pace. Macarthy in goal is easy. Bertrand at left back is a no brainer, Bednarak, Yoshida, Danso, Stephens, Vestergaard, two of them have got to play. Personally Valery at Right back. We need a holding midfielder not a Romeu all over the place type. Stephens maybe as he could be a defensive playmaker that can play balls over defenders out to the wings. Either Romeu or Hojbjerg could play in midfield with Armstrong. Up front three from Ings, Djenepo, Redmond, Boufal, Adams, Obafemi, Long. Maybe try Ings, Adams and Djenepo with Redmond and Boufal as alternatives. I know it's clutching at straws but that gives me something like. Macarthy, Valery Bednarak Yoshida or Danso Bertrand, Stephens, Armstrong Hojbjerg or Romeu, Djenepo Adams Ings. Not ideal but a lot better than the bizarre selections lately. Danso could be an alternative to Stephens but I've not seen enough of him to form an opinion either way. Romeu isn't a holding midfielder he needs a partner because he roams around. That's not to say he couldn't discipline himself to hold. Any other suggestions. I hate what JWP does in slowing everything down. This team has to be aggressive, high tempo and get the ball up front quickly with runners from midfield getting into the box. I'd be interested in any better suggestions.

Ralph gave JWP the captaincy, he is the biggest problem we have, if Ralph can't see it then get rid of him, because until he does or he goes we are useless as long as JWP is in midfield..

This season and especially today we have been putting out teams with no balance and no idea. It's easy to see why there is no team there. What the hell were we trying to do surrendering and just backing off No pressing except for the front two. One of the biggest culprits is JWP, he only comes alive when the ball is dead. The original clockwork mouse, no pace no strength and worst of all no idea. His is the slow pace that infects the rest of the team. Stephens, good control on the ball but gets us into all sorts of trouble looking for possession based short passes so gets closed down or releases the ball for it to be lost. Play forwards, get the ball up front quickly, that is for all the players. We have plenty of runners if they are used properly. Romeu, JWP and Hojbjerg are going to relegate us playing so slowly with the back five and a failure to press from the middle. Sixty odd games at home and 15/16 wins that is woeful. Time to get the crowd going, press hard all over, high tempo and a percentage of route one from the back four when the opponents are goal side, put the ball behind the defenders early when there is room. Playing slowly just allows the opponents defenders to close down and leaves no space for runners or passes but exposing our defenders to counter attack because of the space behind and between our defenders as the midfield and wing backs have been sucked in. We have to play a proper team and forget shoehorning whoever into positions that are alien to them. Play a LB at LB, a RB at RB, 2 CBs, A proper holding midfielder sitting in front of the back four as a playmaker in possession playing quick balls through the opponents (Stephens could do it if he moved the ball straight away up to the forwards.), two midfielders and three quick attackers. Stop experimenting and play high tempo.

On the JWP subject, I've seen him miss tackles, not tackle, lose his mark, not pick anybody up, pass it five yards to marked colleague, ignore most forward passes, ignore runners and pass it to a defender, fail to track at all, waves his arms around like Stephen Davis. Too slow, too weak and wins nothing in the air. Nearly always at fault somewhere when we concede. I'm pretty sure he would be the opponents first pick in our team selection. Until we get rid of him we have no chance of quick breaks and utilising any pace we have up front. He is the real impediment in a pedestrian midfield.

Shades of the first team it really is slow.

I watched Aberdeen v Celtic today. Elyanoussi had a decent game, hand in two goals plus one for himself well taken. His movement in a free role from the left was excellent, he was always looking for space and played some very good forward passes and was always looking for space in the penalty area. His tight control and perception was good. He is a far better footballer than JWP. Celtic are obviously being sensible in playing him in a way that allows him to play to his strengths. He isn't the strongest but did cover when he had to, being used as a playmaker was ideal. We paid a lot of money for him but just shoehorned him into a poor side expecting him to cope with our system. He didn't so we got nothing out of him which was in retrospect to be expected. I thought like many others that he was lightweight rubbish, I can now say I was wrong. There is a clever footballer in there. He is a better footballer than anybody in our midfield especially the mythical clockwork mouse. We ignored his strengths and tried to make him something he isn't.

He has to take the bull by the horns and reset. Firstly his own philosophy, get rid of this safety first selection with two attackers all it does is invite teams to attack. Drop JWP and Vestergaard both too slow and in JWP's case a totally negative passer. Go to a back four. One central holding midfielder, two attacking midfielders and three forwards. Armstrong and Boufal, Djenepo, Ings, Redmond, Adams etc. Do it on Tuesday in the cup. I can see him selecting the back four that finished last night. Questions, could Stephens or Danso be tried as a disciplined holding midfielder, Romeu deoesn't hold he plays as a midfielder and often leaves gaps, Hojbjerg the same. Could Hojbjerg be one of the attacking midfielders.IMO Romeu needs to be more disciplined and hold in front of the CBs. Most of all the team needs balance and blend, No more JWP at CM, RM, LWB, RWB, he is ****ing hopeless. For me 4-1-2-3, High tempo, cut out the possession obsession and get the ball up to the forwards either one ball or a number but cut out the backwards and sideways. Backing off, not pressing, leaving the opponents free resulted in last nights fiasco. As it is I've had it with SMS. I have a season ticket but I decided after the trash produced against Bournemouth and Chelsea I decided I wasn't going last night. JWP sums up Saints for me at the moment, lots of bull****, mythical delivery, slow, weak and negative. I will say that historically, poor defences with goal scoring forwards do better than poor defences with few forwards.

With every game like this hammering, it needs to be a lot worse then there will have to be an investigation and a reaction.

Rediculous management. Bertrand off, JWP to left back FFS, then swopped with Valery. Only one decision to make if keeping three CBs JWP OFF, Danso to left back. JWP has no pace, vision, skill and football intelligence he has to be left out. PEH is physical, no football brain and gives the ball away. Those two are killing the midfield with their negative play.

I'm not even going to bother going. Watching JWP etc going sideways and backwards and him and Vestergaard looking like they are running in treacle has sucked the enjoyment out of it. It doesn't much resemble football. Forward players making runs and being ignored, defenders passing it around and getting caught out, even the very best teams put their foot through the ball if in danger. We desperately need a player in the middle that controls the game similar in style to Modric etc not a headless chicken or two like JWP and PEH.

I go with this. If I remember correctly going back over 60 years we were the only ones to sing the Saints go marching in. Days of rattles and 2-4-6-8 long gone.

I personally have a scepticism for all this analytics because it's not working. Throw ins are still awful, movement is almost non existent, shooting is terrible, defending set pieces is appalling. Hardly any of the players have shown any improvement over the years and we have bought some real crap for a lot of money. Bin the computers and employ people that know football and can recognise a footballer by their performances on the field or lack of.