Collymore

This commentary team on Sky sound like they've been dragged out the pub.

Carranza looks like he's carrying a lead weight around his waste and has never seen a football before. Can't believe Lorenz Hutchinson can be any worse.

Carranza has done nothing but that's twice as much as Daka.

First thought I had too. I wonder if she was against BC Game and ultimately left her job because of the ethics. Now Top has taken her role it seemingly is the first thing he has sorted. Let's not forget there were prison sentences being mentioned at one point over the use of this sponsor! I'm just guessing here and filling in massive gaps of course but the more time that passes the more of an uneasy feeling I get with Top.

Just to add - Marti was asked in an interview (well into the season) out of all the games so far which game would he say resembles the way he wants to play and the best he's seen us. He mentioned Fiorentina as his game!

Nonsense. It's Rudder's private jet he uses for scouting missions. Apparently he likes to ride in the cockpit and there's always confusion when the pilots are asking for left or right Rudder.

Think that's his style.

No but teams playing us will see us as a massive scalp so rocking up to the KP and picking up a point is a result.

Yeah but with our wage bill we should be walking the league whether you like it or not.

If you're an opposition coach you'd be licking your lips playing us wouldn't you? Basically take out wingers out of the game and that's all our attacking threat gone. I think playing away we'll get more points this season because teams like Swansea will feel pressure to play their own way at home which is going to play into our own hands. I hope Marti can learn to mix it up at home.

25/26?

Marti needs to work on movement in the box when we get the ball on the wings. Normally Fatawu has already bolted and no one seems to be in the box at times but I've noticed when Monga gets into a decent position he often plays blind passes that are often blocked or don't come off. He has the ability to get onto the edge of the 18yard box at the side with will, so at this point there should be really structured play trained with universal understanding from the attacking players.

We're getting to Akinbyi ripping off his shirt levels of a scene when/if he bags next!

Should have said Nigel Pearson in all fairness.

Was just thinking the same.

That's a fair assessment and I understand there are some positives, but a fairly balanced, perhaps almost optimistic post like yours isn't what winds me up!

He needs to be taken away from the rest in training and just practice the basics.

Typical Foxestalk this. People wading into this thread with an absolute baseless love for Marti like he's the second coming of Sir Alex. Why can't people accept that he has underperformed in certain areas. Why does it have to be "he's doing a great job" and "everyone should show him love" no he's not and no we shouldn't. He deserves some praise for yesterday's performance, the best we've had so far and actually for the first time looked like the team he has been sprouting on about. We actually were still attacking and going for a fourth goal. However, there have been too many red flags with his team selection and style of play so far. One swallow doesn't make a summer but it's certainly promising and hopefully we're moving in the right direction.

That Marti master class video went into detail on the way he likes to play and you can see signs of us trying to execute but it looks ineffective to me. For example, a lot of his play seems to depend on moving the ball quickly to the other side of the pitch which throws the oppositions structure out. I've seen us trying this but it's so slow and telegraphed. Sometimes they're slow floated balls too which need bto be brought down on the chest by the winger where the opposition have had time for a picnic. He then also wants these complex triangles to support the wingers where sometimes the fullback is supporting, sometimes the midfielder and sometimes the attacker with players interchaning position! In reality though the wingers usually get the ball and are completely isolated having to then do it all themselves - hence why I think we have seen Fatawu flourish more and Mavadadi struggle. Thomas isn't helping Mav either as he just hasn't got any attacking idea whatsoever. I do see JJ trying to support Mavadadi more, so maybe Marti is tweaking it so Mavadadi is getting more support. However, it's easy for the opposition at times as they can double up on our isolated wingers and it seems like all of our attacking threat is nullified. Then it brings us to Soumare. A massive issue in midfield. Cov basically let him have the ball and he wasn't pressed at all and it meant we slowed right down and they encouraged him to move the ball to our left where the opposition press Thomas and Mavadidi relentlessly. When we do manage to shift it quickly Fatawu seems to have acres of space because opposition is hoping to have won the ball from left so have set themselves up for this. I think we're too easy to play at the moment. We have this mentality "we play this way" and we think we'll still be better than you but any opposition coach could figure out how to tame us easily as there are too many weak links. Replacing Thomas and Soumare would be a start I think, maybe Choudhury at RB and moving Ricardo into midfield to replace Soumare. Obviously Victor would be a natural choice to replace Thomas and even though he also has his limitations he always seemed to be able to support the wingers better IMO. Getting Nelson in as a LCB could help too on that left.

How can you say that when we haven't even seen Carranza play?

Well Skipp started again and BDCR now seems a head of Monga. Worrying.

The football has been honking under him apart from the odd glimpse here and and there. Everything he talked about being his philosophy hasn't materialised. The jury is still massively out on Marti IMO, he talks a good game but he's making some absolute ridiculous player choices. Him talking about Skipp and BCDR being his favourites is massively worrying.

It's on BBC Sounds. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0m299fs?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

A bit of a side not but has anyone else noticed that the seats at the KP seem to have faded quite a bit? They're not that deeper blue they were in the past. I remember this happening at Sunderland when they got relegated, where the seats would be on TV they were painted fresh red then all the seats out of camera shot were really faded and it made it really noticeable.