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Saints 1-0 Everton - Match Thread

coalman

By coalman
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Jack

Jack

Posted
Posted

Honestly what’s this cunt’s obsession with Ryan Manning? 
 

Armstrong has been dreadful this season too, that’s far from our strongest XI IMO

  • Like 2
SNSUN

SNSUN

Posted
Posted

Too defensive but I guess shoehorn was to be expected. Little creativity there. If we were to field that in the Championship I wouldn't be disappointed but in the Prem, with one point from 9 games, against a team we effectively have to beat... nope.

It's getting harder to care whilst the board still back Martin. I really hope we can pull 3 points out the bag but that line up looks almost like we're playing for a draw. Which isn't good enough. 

Midfield_General

Midfield_General

Posted
Posted
  On 02/11/2024 at 13:54, Baird of the land said:

Assume stephens is playing lb?

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Manning LWB surely in a 5-3-2 / 3-5-2

 

                         Archer           Armstrong

                                  Fernandes

                          Downes     Lallana

Manning                                                     KWP

            Stephens      Bednarek     THB

                                 Ramsdale

  • Like 2
OttawaSaint

OttawaSaint

Posted
Posted
  On 02/11/2024 at 13:57, Toussaint said:

Has it finished? I’m still eating my pre match lunch , bugger!

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Hopefully you made this lunch.

Chef Russell Martin would have served up: Dry chicken with boiled potatoes, strawberry jam and microwaved Kraft slices on a housebrick attached to a piece of dental floss.

  • Haha 1
trousers

trousers

Posted
Posted

Surely there's something wrong with our fitness regime if one of our best players (Dibling) isn't deemed ready to start a game of football a whole week after playing just 45 minutes in a 'free hit' match...?

LGTL

LGTL

Posted
Posted (edited)
  On 02/11/2024 at 13:58, Lee On Solent Saint said:

He wanted to put his best team out against City, so he could lap up all of Pep's praise.

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Yep. That was the biggest game of the season for Russ and he got what he wanted. Which of course was 0 points. 

Utterly baffling how anyone can still want this arrogant prick in charge. 

Edited by LGTL
  • Like 2
SWLondon Saint

SWLondon Saint

Posted
Posted (edited)

It's the same team as for City but given Everton don't usually press as hard, expect it to look like a 4-3-3 as for Stoke when we're in possession with Stephens in the Bree position and Manning in place of Fraser / Cornet. Why? Who knows, Manning isn't particularly creative there but I guess it is defensively more sound?

I guess the theory on the right is AA can run around a lot and defend to let KWP attack on the overlap? As AA presents zero threat to take on and beat people, at least that was the case against Stoke.

Edited by SWLondon Saint
Clarity
Toussaint

Toussaint

Posted
Posted
  On 02/11/2024 at 14:01, OttawaSaint said:

Hopefully you made this lunch.

Chef Russell Martin would have served up: Dry chicken with boiled potatoes, strawberry jam and microwaved Kraft slices on a housebrick attached to a piece of dental floss.

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And told me it’s worthy of a Michelin star, but the judges just don’t understand what he is trying to do…

  • Haha 1
hypochondriac

hypochondriac

Posted
Posted
  On 02/11/2024 at 14:02, trousers said:

Surely there's something wrong with our fitness regime if one of our best players (Dibling) isn't deemed ready to start a game of football a whole week after playing just 45 minutes in a 'free hit' match...?

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Unless he's fit and he's dropped him for tactical reason? 

hypochondriac

hypochondriac

Posted
Posted
  On 02/11/2024 at 14:03, SWLondon Saint said:

It's the same team as for City but given Everton don't usually press as hard, expect it to look like a 4-3-3 as for Stoke in possession with Stephens in the Bree position and Manning in place of Fraser / Cornet. Why? Who knows, Manning isn't particularly creative there but I guess it is defensively more sound?

I guess the theory on the right is AA can run around a lot and defend to let KWP attack on the overlap? As AA presents zero threat to take on and beat people, at least that was the case against Stoke.

Expand  

Fraser isn't fit apparently which may be why. I wouldn't play Cornet after Tuesday. 

SWLondon Saint

SWLondon Saint

Posted
Posted
  On 02/11/2024 at 14:02, trousers said:

Surely there's something wrong with our fitness regime if one of our best players (Dibling) isn't deemed ready to start a game of football a whole week after playing just 45 minutes in a 'free hit' match...?

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Don't forget Dibling is only 18 - he's not fully grown and his body likely can't cope with PL intensity matches week in week out. Having him come off the bench is sensible tbf

  • Like 4
Sheaf Saint

Sheaf Saint

Posted
Posted

So....

5 at the back, in a home game against another poor team with a woeful away record. Just so we can shoehorn Stephens in somehow.

Dibling dropped.

Is that supposed to be Arma and Archer as a front two? If it is then surely they are too similar to one another to be effective in that combination. If not then RM might be trying to be really clever again somehow by baffling everyone.

Sugawara has been one of our best players so far this season but has been inexplicably dropped.

Sulemana and Cornet have made sub appearances lately but don't even make the bench today, replaced by the hopeless BBD and the raw and inexperienced SAA. But no actual wingers starting who could exploit Everton's weakness at RB. We, however, have two RBs on the bench.

It's almost like Russ doesn't actually want to try and win this game.

 

OttawaSaint

OttawaSaint

Posted
Posted
  On 02/11/2024 at 14:04, hypochondriac said:

Fraser isn't fit apparently which may be why. I wouldn't play Cornet after Tuesday. 

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Not many of our players are fit.

In Les' first match I saw him blowing out of his arse after half an hour but put that down to him getting up to speed. But he's still not fit. That's troubling.

  • Like 2
SWLondon Saint

SWLondon Saint

Posted
Posted
  On 02/11/2024 at 14:04, hypochondriac said:

Fraser isn't fit apparently which may be why. I wouldn't play Cornet after Tuesday. 

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Fraser has looked completely rubbish the whole season tbh. I guess he doesn't trust Sam AA there or Archer with Tall Paul up front which would be my answers, but he does love Manning and Cap'n Jack so this is the most sensible way to Shoehorn them in.

LuckyNumber7

LuckyNumber7

Posted
Posted
  On 02/11/2024 at 14:02, trousers said:

Surely there's something wrong with our fitness regime if one of our best players (Dibling) isn't deemed ready to start a game of football a whole week after playing just 45 minutes in a 'free hit' match...?

Expand  

More likely Dibling hasn't been great and looked a bit jaded the last few games, and is a good asset to have coming off the bench in the second half? Makes sense imo.

With 5 subs allowed these days, the starting lineup is less important. It's a squad game.

  • Like 2
trousers

trousers

Posted
Posted (edited)
  On 02/11/2024 at 14:06, SWLondon Saint said:

Don't forget Dibling is only 18 - he's not fully grown and his body likely can't cope with PL intensity matches week in week out. Having him come off the bench is sensible tbf

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Fair point, but he's only played 45 minutes of football in the last 13 days... And if you're going to bench him, do it Vs Man City, not Everton, surely?

Edited by trousers
Lone ranger

Lone ranger

Posted
Posted

Some on here are trying to wind down the RM obsession and that’s good. He’s just another human being like any of us and should receive respect and love….

However if we deal with facts rather than people the reality is we are bottom of the league with one point, the worst ever by a whole succession of metrics. On the other hand we are second only to Man City in terms of possession and passing. Simple conclusion must be that unless you have players of the calibre of Man City the style of football is totally incompatible with success in the Prem. Further supporting evidence is Burnley FC 2023-4. You don’t have to call RM all those horrible obscenities that now litter this forum. He has said that he is committed totally to his methodology so we must accept that we are going to lose most of not all our PL matches and be relegated. That acceptance brings peace and a reduction of stress. Of course our players might suddenly be transformed into £50m stars but as we continue to buy numerous players in the £5-10m bracket (Why?)  that just won’t happen. 
Hope despite all the contrary evidence we can actually get a point today!

  • Haha 2
SWLondon Saint

SWLondon Saint

Posted
Posted

Also, no idea why BBD is on the bench. I was vaguely optimistic for him at the start of the season but he has looked completely lost out there on the left. He seems to be OK battling defenders physically and is a pro shithouser so funnily enough I think he could do a job in the middle, but we've never seen him anywhere other than our in no man's land on the left...

Midfield_General

Midfield_General

Posted
Posted

One thing that line-up shows is that he's still nowhere nearer knowing what his best formation, first XI or bench are. 

Aribo performs consistently well and gets dropped. 

Armstrong does nothing and gets to start.

Dibling is our best player across the season and gets dropped. 

BBD does absolutely nothing ever but still gets a place on the bench. 

Taylor is left out of the squad completely. 

Manning is somehow now deemed a starter. 

How the players are supposed to find coherence and consistency when it's a different side every week is beyond me. 

  • Like 5
bpsaint

bpsaint

Posted
Posted

No real surprises are there, just a lack of consistency with the squad and formation. 

Im not the biggest fan of Stephens but let’s be fair, Bednarek is trash in this league but seems to escape the anger of our fans, and so far THB has looked nothing but a decent Championship player.

SWLondon Saint

SWLondon Saint

Posted
Posted
  On 02/11/2024 at 14:10, Lone ranger said:

However if we deal with facts rather than people the reality is we are bottom of the league with one point, the worst ever by a whole succession of metrics. On the other hand we are second only to Man City in terms of possession and passing. Simple conclusion must be that unless you have players of the calibre of Man City the style of football is totally incompatible with success in the Prem. Further supporting evidence is Burnley FC 2023-4. You don’t have to call RM all those horrible obscenities that now litter this forum. He has said that he is committed totally to his methodology so we must accept that we are going to lose most of not all our PL matches and be relegated. That acceptance brings peace and a reduction of stress. Of course our players might suddenly be transformed into £50m stars but as we continue to buy numerous players in the £5-10m bracket (Why?)  that just won’t happen. 

Hope despite all the contrary evidence we can actually get a point today!

Expand  

It's not just the players, we also don't play anything like City. Our line is nowhere near as high, and we don't counter press like they do when they lose the ball. They play direct long passes a LOT more than we do too. Also, their defensive organisation is superb, Pep drops people who don't do their defensive jobs. Basically if you gave RM the City team he would still concede an absolute shit ton of goals.

  • Like 1
Winnersaint

Winnersaint

Posted
Posted
  On 02/11/2024 at 14:12, SWLondon Saint said:

Also, no idea why BBD is on the bench. I was vaguely optimistic for him at the start of the season but he has looked completely lost out there on the left. He seems to be OK battling defenders physically and is a pro shithouser so funnily enough I think he could do a job in the middle, but we've never seen him anywhere other than our in no man's land on the left...

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He probably thinks he's a new player now he's had a haircut and no longer looks like a wild Chilean from  the Andes.

  • Lighthouse changed the title to Saints vs Everton - Match Thread
LGTL

LGTL

Posted
Posted

I actually have it on pretty decent authority that Martin has these two games. In other words, Martin will be gone by the international break. 

  • Like 2
hypochondriac

hypochondriac

Posted
Posted
  On 02/11/2024 at 14:09, SWLondon Saint said:

Fraser has looked completely rubbish the whole season tbh. I guess he doesn't trust Sam AA there or Archer with Tall Paul up front which would be my answers, but he does love Manning and Cap'n Jack so this is the most sensible way to Shoehorn them in.

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I'd 100% have Sam A A in there. Sam lm, Dibling RM with Lallana and Fernandes in the middle is a potentially brilliant team. 

  • Like 1

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