Honestly, play Downes tomorrow, rest him on Saturday. With all due respect to Millwall, we should have enough to beat them without Downes.
Agreed but we really should have got cover here. Downes does seem to have a few issues from time to time.
Serious question from a Hull city supporter. Who are your key players? (I am not Liam Rosenior or part of the backroom team at Hull).
I would say that Walker-Peters has been the outstanding performer but tbh the whole squad has been fantastic since September and it's been a real team effort. Our biggest plus is the depth in quality and we must have the most goals from the bench this season.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Stephens get another start at LB but if Bree is fit he should play imo.
Without doubt you have quality in depth. I couldn't believe who you could bring on for the last ten/fifteen at our place and of course it worked for you. I am interested to see how Philogene fares against Walker-Peters.
On another point. I thought Russell Martin would spoil your season with his pass pass pass philosophy. It obviously works with better players. A good fit it seems.
Hull fan here, enjoyed the fish puns! Just hoping for a decent game, if we turn up all at the same time you'll have a game on your hands. If we don't it's likely your night.
Walker-Peters is our best player, but Downes is arguably our most important player. Both in and out of possession, Downes is vital to our style. (Watching Walker-Peters this season is a bit like when we would watch Van Dijk. A Saints player who should so clearly be playing way above our level, it's laughable. It's not a question of who our MOTM is each week, but rather who comes second.)
Who we can bring on now is even scarier, with the likes of Brooks, Rothwell, Sulemana, Mara etc all being bench players currently (I suspect Adams will claim back Mara's place up top for this one).
Please don't encourage the fish puns, There's a few on here who are a dab hand at them and then that's all you see for whole pages. Back to football, it's been a while since I've been to a game so I'm hoping that you'll flounder tomorrow and we will be herring plenty of cheering from us home fans
Good question ! I wonder what`s going on in Russ`s mind. At WBA, one of our most difficult away games, and on the back of a miserable defeat, he drops Manning and plays a right footed CB at LB in preference. (Stephens did very well I thought!). I hope it`s Stephens or Meghoma, at least until such time as Bree is ready again. But I think he`ll go with Manning again.
Don't tell Plum about the cheesy ones although with that name it could get a bit fruity and drive some posters bananas. The skin of which could describe tomorrow's game for the Saints.
Manning I think can be our LB in games we will dominate, particularly at home and against opposition with minimal attacking quality. But Hull is one of our toughest remaining home games on paper, and their strength seems to lie with the quality of their attacking wide players. I don’t much fancy Manning up against Philogene! Carvalho or Zaroury. Interestingly the Hull supporter on TSP who was previewing the game from the Hull perspective said that their flair players have struggled somewhat in recent games against lower placed sides due to their physicality, so playing us may be a welcome break from that perspective and could see the likes of Carvalho back at their best. Certainly not a side to take lightly, and if we don’t go into this game with the right intensity or commitment it could easily be one in which our excellent home form comes unstuck.
If I were Martin I’d probably move KWP to cover Philogene as he can play either side it seems and our LB options are probably the weak spot in the side. KWP on the L better than anyone else and KWP on the R better than anyone else.
Adam Armstrong is our main threat up front, but recently he's looked tired, and he doesn't always bring his shooting boots. Has missed some excellent chances and really should be out of sight in the goalscoring charts. Stuart Armstrong is our most creative midfielder. Downes is our best tackler. The latter might be injured for our game, which will be a big issue for us, as we have no replacement. KWP is our best defender, as others have said. We have a bit of an imbalance at the back though because our other full back, Manning, is a total liability. Any opposition manager worth his salt should focus on attacking Saints down that side. (Manning was dropped after the Bristol City game though so hopefully he won't be back in the side any time soon).
