Long LOL

3

Everton aside we have shown a general improvement this season without actually setting the world alight but today’s performance was right back to the ineffectual displays during the second half of last season. Hopefully it was a blip but the huge worry, as Ralph pointed out, is despite getting ourselves in good attacking positions, we constantly make the wrong decisions hence the lack of goals.

12

We have improved at the back but that wasn't hard we've been crap. Problem is he's obsessed with having two defensive CM's hence no forward movement especially with a player as negative (and crap) as Prowsey.

2

I thought Elyounoussi was really disappointing today, he got the ball in some really good positions but then looked totally clueless. He couldn’t pick a killer pass or get a decent shot off.

We need to attack with pace (which we have in abundance), that would favour both Armstrong and Adams, yet we have slow build ups that give the opposition time to get men behind the ball and then we end up passing it round the edge of the box with no clear site of goal. Very frustrating but not terminal.

12

I thought Elyounoussi was really disappointing today, he got the ball in some really good positions but then looked totally clueless. He couldn’t pick a killer pass or get a decent shot off.

We need to attack with pace (which we have in abundance), that would favour both Armstrong and Adams, yet we have slow build ups that give the opposition time to get men behind the ball and then we end up passing it round the edge of the box with no clear site of goal. Very frustrating but not terminal.

0

2 misfiring sides. Match was settled by an individual piece of skill from a top class striker. Yes Salisu and Bednarak made a hash of it, but the problem today was really in our attack.

Usual goodish performance in the first half, opposition score and then we create nothing. We've all seen it.

Too slow and hesitant to get forward or take a shot. If our defence is supposedly 'championship', based on the performance today, I shudder to think what our attack is - League 1?

Armstrong is supposedly the fastest player in the premiership. Why aren't we using that skill to make fast breaks? Subs weren't great today, Djenepo or rather Boufal 2.0 all tricks but no end product, Broja came on and vanished and why Shane Long over Tella?

Salisu and Tino look good, KWP out of position, Romeu, Eli and JWP took steps backwards. Redmond has his moments, it was an offside goal tho. Adams lots of huff and puff but no houses coming down.

Our attack look as if they have just met each other. A bit more composure and familiarity needs to happen fast.

COYR

10

I ended up giving the ref the highest mark - says it all really.

3

The team doesn't want to play. It was all over their faces. Ralph "Wiggan" Hasentgotaclue HAS to go. We were sloppy in every area, we wouldn't shoot on goal, dispossessed to easily and made to look amateur.

He has had so many seasons to get this sorted (no wonder we lose players to average Villa).. no wins this season, worst team 2nd half of last, 2x 9NIl thumping and yet people still say he is fantastic and needs a chance...WTF.. if I was as bad in my job as he is his, I wouldn't have a job... its simple.

-1

This dismal performnace is where all the bravado and big talk about having imporved the squad has come home to roost and has to get examined more critically.

Two players for each position? I don't think so. We've got 3 rightbacks and 1 left back (KWP isn't a LB as today showed in spades). With Stephens out we essentially have 2 CBs ready to play. For RH's two CM positions we have 3 players. Attacking midfield and striker it's all a rag bag with a lot of contenders but very little quality. But in the end on the day we bring on Shane Long when we need a goal, the lie about squad depth is laid bare. It's bad enough that Redmond gets to start pretty much every week, but bringing Long on is not just stupid, it's incomprehensibly stupid.

The sheer horror of the team's stats is getting worse and worse every week. Under Ralph we have won only 4 of our last 27 games---that's to say we've gained only 12pts out the last 81 possible pts by actually winning. This calendar year we've earned 21 points. Even leaving aside the two 9 goal drubbings, who can seriously make a case for this manager after so long?

I suspect even SFC sees the horror and I bet that the decision on him is going to come down to financial planning....at what point do we lose less by firing him than by getting relegated, is probably the calculus.

3

All the people calling for Ralph to go are just soo pathetic and plastic! I mean for starters looking at our first 6 games we’ve had, most realistic saints fans would’ve expected like 5 points (4 against Newcastle and Wolves with a win and the other as a draw, and another point off of West Ham or Everton) which is only 1 point more than what we’ve got so far, which is certainly not something you sack a manager over!

Then also you’ve gotta look at the players at his disposal as our defence has been really decent this season, it’s just our strike force hasn’t been getting anything even though they’ve been getting the chances. This isn’t down to Ralph as he gets no investment whatsoever so can’t get decent PL quality strikers, like the likes of Villa, West game, Leicester etc can during the winter transfer market.
I mean if we don’t have a win by October, then yeah maybe you can start to look at Ralph, as 3 of the 4 league games we should arguably win, but even then when you get bugger all investment off of Gao, there’s not a lot that managers can do.

3