Sergei Gotsmanov

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If as a manager you have a track record with some pedigree when you are appointed then you will always have a louder voice when it comes to decision making.

The problem is not SR, who have demonstrated a willingness to spend money on the squad. It is the people advising them and making the decisions. Their first mistake was to sack all of the back room squad who were the ones like Kelvin Davis who actually cared about the club. They were the ones who created the culture at the club and let people know how proud they should be to wear a Saints shirt.

The trouble is that the people that run the club want to have a yes man so that they can be in control. We need a big figurehead who can command respect and get the best out of what is a talented squad!

I seem to remember that we took 4000 to Bucharest under Strachan. All of the local support could not believe it and said that Liverpool has taken a quarter of that the season or so before. It always irritates me when people go on about football being a religion in Newcastle. We get 30,000 every other week when we have won three games at home in the last year. We should be saluted.

I think they gambled on not getting a striker in when Che Adams scored two at Leicester thinking we had enough and underestimated the loss of Oriel Romeu. I liked Ralph even more after Adam Blackmore's comments on him.

Why can people not just say that we have a half decent player here. I think he looks classy with some flaws. He will only get better.

I would honestly say that I believe we would still be in the premier league were Ralph still in charge. He oozed professionalism.

I am in the same camp Trousers and would always back a manager. I like him as a person but its like having the team run by one of your mates. The defending has been shambolic yet no effort has been made to address it. Once again the club has been trying to be smart arses by appointing a young manager who we all know would either be no good and get sacked or would do well and leave anyway. Many of us knew we needed a big character at the helm, somebody who commanded respect and would have persuaded players to stay and fight for the cause. Somebody who had a point to prove and would not be head hunted by one of the big clubs if he did well. Dare I say it, in the Allardyce mould. The only encouraging factor is that I think the squad has enough ability to get promoted and if we did finally make the right appointment we would start winning.

Southgate has his favourites. He ignored Danny Ings when he was scoring 20 plus goals in an average team and he again chooses to ignore JWP.

I feel deeply uncomfortable about this possession football. We had 68% of the play yet lost 5-0. If we did get promoted we would be murdered in the premier league. The defence looks so vulnerable and yet we failed to score any goals. I think this is not about the quality of the defenders but more the strategy.

In fairness the warning signs were there against QPR and Norwich. Norwich looked like scoring every time they attacked. Probably a valuable wake up call.

On the Saintsweb forum even the pre-match band get told they are shit.

Last summer we should have thrown everything at keeping Broja. This summer we should have thrown everything at keeping JWP. He would have set an example for the other players and given us stability in choppy waters.

They are low end premier league and high end championship. What they add is intelligence and spirit to the dressing room.

Team morale is critical. Apart from the indicators that you mention do we get any feedback from ITK's as to how happy the dressing room is with the direction of the club? Has the mood shifted dramatically?

Why don't we come to terms with the fact that we have been relegated and accept that to get out of this division we need to build a team with spirit. Both Stephens and Bednarek at least seem to care.

9 goals and almost having broken Beckham's free kick record at just 28 years of age I would suggest is 'enough about him' for the premier league. We are going to really see how good he was when he is not with us.

Biased but spot on. I really do not buy into this leaving to win things. Being a local legend outweighs medals.

God I would get a bollocking if I woke my wife at 4.30am

I would suspect it was reward for being a good servant to the club. He wanted to return home and it might have soured the dressing room if they had not let him.

There is a milk product you can buy where they milk the cows at night when they have high levels of melatonin in their system. Its called night milk I think. Dietrich Mateschitz who founded Red Bull made his fortune on giving people a drink that gave them energy. Whoever can invent a drink that genuinely helps you fall asleep will make as much money.

My brother in law swears by CBD drops.

I am an amateur at appraising players and their contribution to the team but Stuart Armstrong is a class act. He takes the game to the opposition, he can score goals, is articulate, intelligent and a good role model within the club. The Celtic fans loved him and I think he could have a fantastic influence at this level. COVID may not have helped him but I bet Martin is delighted to have him about because he would always say something sensible. At some point we have to draw a line and say this is what we've got to work with lets go for it.