Graffito

No Bale.

It took them a few minutes to plug the telly in so the ref could watch it.

West Ham, looking to have their beer, Sky TV and VIP “hostess” provision costs met by the taxpayer. “We’re seeking no more than we’re entitled to under the contract - yet we’re being portrayed as the bad guys.” https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/mar/25/said-and-done-football-diary-west-ham-fifa?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

What you have quoted doesn’t say the change has been imposed by the PL.

His confidence is rock bottom. Good management by Hughes imo to show confidence in him by keeping him on.

I agree with this. I enjoy possession football but you have to have the quality to turn it into wins. Without that you are destined to draw or lose. You are easy to play against for teams that sit back and hit on the break and will generally lose to possession teams who have better quality on the ball.

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/16084358.COMMENT__Hughes_fits_the_bill/ “Survival is all that truly matters to Saints right now and Hughes is one of a few bosses equipped to deliver this. The remaining eight league games are everything. Everything else, including the FA Cup, can be discounted.” Agree Hughes is the obvious appointment. Don’t agree the above. “survival is all that matters” makes it sound like we’re dead if we get relegated. There’s life outside the PL. “Everything else including the fa cup can be discounted”. Sorry but no. 4500 at Wigan and many thousands want Saints to go through. No more capitulation like at Newcastle.

https://talksport.com/football/every-premier-league-clubs-cheapest-season-ticket-revealed-and-ranked-180313275348?p=16 Maybe I should look at Championship ST prices but being optimistic. Man City looks good value at £299, though I suspect they’re in the gods. Huddersfield an incredible £100. Arsenal and Tottenham ridiculous. Bournemouth marginally higher than ours but most are probably paying concessionary rates for the elderly.

After the excitement of last night reality dawns- Mark Hughes. For a club that sees itself as strategic this must be painful. He may just keep us up but would they even consider him if we weren’t desperate?

This was the worst. Heads have dropped before but players giving up. Unbelievable. Two sides with very similar match stats. Saints probably with more quality in the side. One team came out fired up and the other like frightened rabbits. The players have a lot to answer for but it’s up to the manager to get them going and he can’t do it. If ever there was a match which demonstrated the difference a decent manager can make this was it.

No COC and no balls.

But with 9 games left you need to take into account the opposition and their respective records home and away. At home we have a realistic chance of beating Bournemouth, and I think we will. Can we really expect anything from Chelsea and Man City? Only if they are on the beach or are resting for Europe.

The look on Benitez’s face is saying “How did I end up with this dipstick”

All teams get more points at home than away. In relative terms you have a point with Everton and Leicester, West Ham less so, Newcastle not really. Saturday’s match represents arguably our best opportunity for 3 points. http://www.soccerstats.com/homeaway.asp?league=england

It seems counterintuitive but there are studies which appear to show that while playing at home is generally an advantage (obviously so), crowd size and atmosphere are not significant factors. Other studies have shown that a vociferous and aggressive crowd can influence referees. Perhaps this bias will improve with VAR. In the meantime maybe we should be targeting refs. In any case if there is any marginal benefit in motivating players and refs, and any negative impact (e.g. a tension producing atmosphere like at St Mary’s) in not doing so, we should take it. A good atmosphere makes for a more enjoyable experience anyway. Sadly it doesn’t suit everyone. There was the women in front of me at the Emirates a few seasons ago who complained, I kid you not, that I was giving her a headache.

Tadic was crowded out in the centre. Stoke frequently had 5 at the back and were compact. Contrary to many I think he can be effective as a 10 but one quality he lacks is mobility. It was right to replace him and could have been hooked earlier.

Surely the same is true of most bare statistics, e.g pass completion which tells us nothing about quality of pass. That doesn’t alter the fact that he compares favourably with peers in winning aerial duels.

Sims played on the right. Then he was taken off allowing Redmond...etc Redmond did more than ok.

Appear to be two trains an hour out of Waterloo. Oddly 35 and 39 past the hour.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/mar/01/premier-league-relegation-who-survive-drop-championship?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other Three of five have us down here. One of them makes the point that Man City could be on the beach or otherwise focused on Champions League by the time we play them. Also, Stoke v Swansea on the final day looks like a big one. With a lot more fight and determination from the players and a bit of luck we won’t be going into the final day needing points. We can then recruit a decent manager without delay and improve the squad.

Thanks. Bit the bullet and forked out.

As expected, the cost of rail tickets from London has rocketed since the draw was made. Not that it changes anything but anyone know why they waited to advise date and time until the first of the replays had been played?

Dyche was highly critical of the ref in his after match comments. For some reason he left off his list of failings that the ref failed to spot Barnes handled the ball into the net for Burnley’s “goal”.

It’s not rubbish at all. The manager has been too cautious and I think also he has failed to get the most from the team but if you cannot see deficiencies in that team then you are myopic beyond belief. We have singularly failed to replace quality sold with the same level of quality.

You may be right about 442. What about 352? Extra aerial presence at the back in Yoshida. E becomes 5 when defending. Gets our fullbacks forward, especially Bertrand who puts in a good cross. Gives the option of two up front. The Carrillo/Gabbiadini link- up for the goal could be a combo.