Leave and become a publicist
Reunions aren't what they should be . Boxing day in Southampton.
- Thread starter The Blobster
- Start date
Well that lot of non-trying shithouses saw to it that Martin had a good smirk at our expense. They played with all the effort and intelligence of someone suffering a post Xmas hangover. Coventry is going to be difficult as well and I have no hope whatsoever of getting anything there. Even a draw is a long shot. I somehow almost wish for relegation just to financially punish those tosspot owners who've dragged us down to this. Thing is, even if they suffered a 50% loss on their investment, I guess they'd still be in profit given how much they've already bled out of the club. I try not to hate anything or anyone but I confess I do hate those liars almost as much as I do terrorists and the like. Just in a different way.
Yankee_Jack
Key Player
this and every other line-up card has Cullen as #9. When he certainly was not. Why is it the industry gets where Cullen has to play, it the Club doesn’t,
We effectively lost the game with the team selection. If Cullen is not good enough to start at #9, fair enough, but surely he’s not good enough to play this RM role when you have Cooper, Walsh and Congreve in the squad … and Humphreys at RB against a tricky winger.
Yankee_Jack
Key Player
There were highlights?
Yankee_Jack
Key Player
Sheehan’s post match comments were interesting. He realizes he has a character battle on his hands. At least he’s honest.
CroJack
Key Player
Much the same as I said in post #71. I'm not going to waste time discussing that debacle yesterday other than to add that the players disgust me with their lack of character and fight plus, in some cases, their appalling lack of ability. The basic stats sum up their shame in this match:
POSSESSION: 60-40 SHOTS: 11-4 OT: 9-1 CORNERS: 3-1 FOULS: 15-13 GOALS: 5-0
We need a new manager asap but which decent manager would want to coach this lot?
Yankee_Jack
Key Player
Perhaps they all had flashbacks or PTSD seeing him in the tactical area and reverted to the madness Martin had coached into them.
As I do this, I'm listening to pundits discussing Wayne Rooney's managerial career. The main point being made is that a club appoints a manager who is able to work with and mould/develop the existing ability and way of playing in the squad and NOT the other way round which is what we've been doing. We all know this makes sense but not the doughnuts at the Liberty.
Behindthegoal
Key Player
Sheehan knows what’s going wrong. The players surely were told today, so now they know. If they don’t get it right in the next match what is a new manager going to bring to the table?
Yankee_Jack
Key Player
You're going to have to see players like Allen, who got a yellow card for two quick FU fouls in the same play, assert locker room player power and kick those not wanting to contribute into gear. Grimes tries to lead by example, but frankly, and as others have pointed out, he's too quiet. Fulton needs to step up and be a force of personality as does Pato. Tymon as well. Sheehan is softly spoken in interviews; I wonder what he's like in the locker room post game. Any new manager is going to have to lay down the law and also rely on senior players to do their part.
CroJack
Key Player
I'd argue that it's managers and sporting directors who've dragged us down to this, not the owners.
If you sell a striker who scores or assists every 126 minutes (Morgan Whittaker) for £1m and buy a striker who takes 263 minutes to score or assist for almost £3m (Jerry Jates), then you are just plain stupid. Not to mention the fact that the former has a resale value of £20m and the latter is a money loser. It was Martin who didn't want to give a chance to Whittaker. He had a diamond right in front of his nose, and he cried like a baby "I want January reinforcements!" What a clown.
If, as a manager, you don't see the potential in a player like Gyokeres, or if you keep playing Cullen out of position, or if you insist on playing out from the back at all costs when you know your centre-backs and defensive midfielders don't have the pace to defend counter-attacks...
I can give you a million examples.
Yankee_Jack
Key Player
@CroJack ... re your point on Martin / Whittaker. The club recognized the Whittaker value, recalled him, and Martin had him sit on the bench. Martin got what he asked for in more ways than one. Don't forget the recalibrated look Martin carried on his face for over a week as the transfer window closed. It was that week, IMHO, that Club execs determined that Martin's contract was not going to be extended.
Although why Execs permitted Duffer to bring in Yates while letting Whittaker walk and pushed Thomas out on loan when he was highest performing forward in preseason is another matter.
Although why Execs permitted Duffer to bring in Yates while letting Whittaker walk and pushed Thomas out on loan when he was highest performing forward in preseason is another matter.
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Yes, I totally agree about the managers etc but the owners are the biggest factor imo. When they bought the club they assured us that more funds were available for player investment - from their own resources. We all saw them say so on TV. But what happened? They siphoned off circa £200 million from transfers and the paltry few quid they did allow for new players came from that money. They did not invest so much as a penny piece of their own money and, if anyone says they did, I'd like to see the evidence.
In short, we were never a football project for them. We were a cash cow that was to be milked for as much as possible to reward themselves and their investors. They broke a firm promise in respect of player investment and we have been paying the price ever since.
I see Soton had 675 passes to our 452. But here's the thing - they had 34 touches in our box to our 10 in theirs. I don't know how we stand regarding this particular stat compared to other teams for the season (perhaps @CroJack can find something) but logic dictates that the fewer touches you get in the oppo box, the less goals you're likely to score. And it doesn't matter who plays up front, just 10 touches usually isn't going to produce enough goals to win a game. We need more action in there and we need to get more bodies in the box. That's where the goalmouth is and goals win games.
Swansea are 17th for touches inside the opponents penalty area this season with 453, or 18.9 per game.
Southampton are the best with 742 / 30.9 per game.
Rotherham are the worst with 323 / 13.5 per game.
Given Swansea are also 17th in the table, and Rotherham are also last in the table, and Saints are close to the top in third, there appears to be some correlation between this metric and success in this division, which isn't very surprising.
Southampton are the best with 742 / 30.9 per game.
Rotherham are the worst with 323 / 13.5 per game.
Given Swansea are also 17th in the table, and Rotherham are also last in the table, and Saints are close to the top in third, there appears to be some correlation between this metric and success in this division, which isn't very surprising.