Match Day Thread Saints v Stoke Sponsored by Richard Osman, Alexander Armstrong and Joe Rothwell

Not sure about the RM bit but otherwise

 

Tbf, I’m too fat to wear the shirt

 

Float like a bee, sting like a butterfly?

 

Being full of sh*te does not make you a bad person, just means you're full of it. He's not hurt anyone, or causing me terrible woes, he's just a bit of a twit, but that statement is all about him and how great he is if the club, or manager, we presume, would let him 'pick dem locks' and it has been pointed out on here the evidence presented so far would say otherwise.

Personally, I think it is a team game, so you win as a team and lose as a team and being a professional footballer, again presumably in the game from a very young age, you should be able to play the way you are trained for and asked to.

I can remember being asked to play certain ways in Southampton Senior 2 so I did and I understand that despite being really crap at football.

Well if his potential and ability to change games on his own is so great, he's got possibly three games to prove it, three games to weave into that box and score magnificent winners. Let's see what he does.

 

Disappointing
Well done to KWP, Edozie, Fraser for the effort they put in
Downes replacing Charles highlighted the gap in their respective abilities
Mara?
We’ve broken THB

 

How exciting, our very own Eric Cantona?

 

3 defeats on the trot & 8 goals conceded without reply (since the Cardiff equaliser).

 

Someone at Saints thought he was a good player, to pay 22 million for him. Someone in Ghana thinks he is good enough to play for the National team.
Someone at Saints thinks he should be told not to play his natural game and be a cog in a mechanical system.
Someone is wrong. Who I wonder?
Before anyone jumps in, this is not supposed to be lyrical prose and I am not called Eric.

 

Probably everyone’s wrong, but he’s the one claiming on social media that he’s the Ghanaian Messi, so he wins the prize for most deluded imo.

 

One thing I will say is Edozie runs at his man time after time. So are we saying he’s been told he’s allowed to, but Sulemana has been told to stop and pass back? Edozie might have poor end product a lot of the time, the defender might win the ball off him a lot of the time, but he keeps on going and doesn’t let his head drop. Thought he looked rusty yesterday and low on confidence, he got taken out a fair few times too. But he kept on going and improved as the game went on to the point where anything good we did, including multiple good chances (that we then weakly squandered), were created by him. He was playing wrong side too. Based on recent performances by our wingers he’s my starter on the left for the play offs with AArma right and Che middle. Fraser as impact sub when Edozie tires. Give Sulemana the Leeds game as a final chance to throw his name into the equation.

For lack of options, I’d probably go Downes, Smallbone and Aribo playing the Stu role in midfield.

 

Annoying thing is, Sulemana will probably score a hat-trick or something to prove a point (like against Liverpool) just when we don't need it, then will revert to being ****.

 

Hard to argue with any of this.

I agree with all of it. I assume Martin will do something completely different though. Probably a pivot of rothwell/brooks with stephens at 10 or something

 

I would still try one my time (vs Leeds) with Brooks playing a more central role, but this time with Che and Downes. His new role yesterday was far from a success, but I found it difficult to pass judgement when he was doing so in a weakened team. We're a completely different team without Che and Downes.

If it doesn't work, then I totally agree with you about going to with Smallbone and Aribo (to join Downes) in the play-offs.

 

All fair points but I would say, similar to another reply, no one is all right and no one is all wrong here, perhaps he should be allowed to play in a more free role but like or not (I don't for the record) Saints are now playing in a certain way so it is probably best to try and help that system, try to get it to work, and he is the only one saying, 'I'm so great you are wasting me, let me free, I should play my way' and if he says that it sort of appears he is saying 'work your team and tactics around me'.

Personally, I don't like that.

Having written more on here than I have in the last three years I am more than happy to concede I could be wrong and he will prove it to us. It is not the first time I have spoken out of my posterior.

 

Sulemana is atrocious. The fact he’s our record signing is hilarious.

Even more hilarious is how much we paid for Mara. We would be much better off if we’d kept ****ing Redmond and Djenepo than these two clowns. They’re both awful.

Shows how far our recruitment team have fallen.

Both need a loan to league one or below for a season and to play every week at a lower level. The fact we signed them for the premier league… LOL

 

Some teams would have probably won that match with the work Edozie was putting in. Most impressed with his attitude yesterday.

 

I don’t buy the whole “not the right kind of player” or “not playing the right system for him”. If he was truly a great player he would still produce something under Martin in the championship.

Can you imagine Le Tiss or Mane producing nothing over a season because the manager didn’t base the team around them. You take on players and pass the ball or shoot. If you’re good at doing that you should be able to do that playing under Pulis or Pep.

 

Do you remember how bad Mane was in his first half season/season with us? I’m sure he was called a Sunday league player on here and embarrassing signing etc

 

I vaguely remember him taking a few months to really hit form. A quick look on Wikipedia reveals he got 2 assists in his first 2 games, scored his first goal in the 8-0 against Sunderland and scored the only goal in a win against stoke 1 week later (mid October). Dec and Jan he really hit form.

I’d hardly say that he was awful. And that’s the PL not championship.

Edit: 10 goals in 32 games for his first season

 

I don’t think Sulemana is anywhere near as bad as some people seem to think, and I don’t think he’s anywhere near as good as he seems to think.