murphy

So we're on course for 59 points. Last year that would get you 15th place.

It would be interesting to see a stat for territory, for any of our games but I can't seem to find it. The point is that possession on its own is pretty meaningless if it's centre halves on the edge of their own third passing it around.

That is a good point. That squad should have been challenging at the upper end of the Championship, as we were at the beginning of the season. It is disgraceful that they got caught in a spiral and a team full of players with Premier League careers or players that had previously won the championship title got relegated. How that happened is another discussion but we have an almost entirely different squad of players now that should be bossing this league. I keep saying this, but for anyone that has any doubts that this manager sets us up to fail I would say please go and look at the kind of goals we are conceding.

Whilst the powers that be keep repeating the same mistakes, whilst there continues to be zero accountability at the club and whilst incompetence reigns, it is incumbent upon the fan base to hold the club to account themselves.

His.methods have already been proven not to work, one win in 16 for rock bottom Saints in the premier league. Drummed out of Glasgow after 17 games with half the win rate of his predecessor and it's all unravelling again here. How much more evidence is needed?

And 11 other clubs are closer. Can you not see patterns emerging? Can you not see Martin's tactics costing us goals or points every week. Have you not seen the track record? This is not a problem that will resolve itself given time.

It has crossed my mind whether this might have been a Rudkin masterstroke to appoint the biggest joke in football as manager and instantly the heat is redirected towards him rather than Rudkin.

To counter that I would just say look at the goals we are conceding. Look how wide open we are. That is a tactical choice and it is a Martin problem.

I don't think there would be a single club in this division that wouldn't swap their players for ours. It's so frustrating that we have the tools to do the job but we are being hindered by our own set up. I think it was @BigGibbo said it best in another thread - we are gifting the opposition chances that they aren't good enough to create by themselves

Yep, we had a bit of this last week. People seduced by the fact that he played for Belgium ( their fans hate him as much as we do) but forgetting how utterly dismal he has been for us because he hasn't played for a while. Some people will be getting misty eyed about Patson next.

The only enjoyment I get from football these days is looking out for Cov's result.

Stockport was the worst possible result for us. If we want to salvage this season we need Martin to crash and burn quickly so we can get a proper manager in and take the handbrake off.

Occums razor applies

If you are unsure whether Oxford was an outlier or a pattern just look at how their goals were scored. We were carved up due to Martin's tactics

You said "he isn't a bad player" (direct quote). I disagreed with you and said that he most certainly is a bad player. A bad player with a bad attitude, but a bad player nonetheless. Just my opinion which is as relevant or irrelevant as yours.

He most certainly is a bad player. A constant throughout our decline with three relegations under his belt. It is often the case on FT that a players reputation is improved by not playing. Let's not forget how bad he was.

And yet we can't give him away.

That kind of individual box to box brilliance would be coached out in Martin's possession style.

Tbf, I imagine Daka is not fit to lace Daka's boots. I bet he gets his mum to do it for him.

Russell Martin "One of the players asked me this week why i am so criticised outside of here, because obviously they see stuff, and i can't answer it." Really Russell? Did that really happen? Because that sounds like something straight out of the Trump play book. Eg "Some people are saying I'm the greatest president this country has ever had...blah blah blah" Those convenient unnamed 'other people'. In Russell's case instead of just wondering why his style is hated, he can invent a player that is incredulous at the criticism he's getting thereby giving weight to the idea that it's unjustified. Not buying it Russell. That never happened.

I called this as an away win as I thought Stockport might have the confidence to make the mistake of trying to play. Thats not the way to beat us. They should have studied the blueprint that allows lesser teams to turn us over.

Really?

His very tactics prevent this

Well Russell, let me enlighten you. I hate your football because it doesn't work, but aside from from the obvious, I hate it because it is horrible to watch. I remember Enzo likening his brand of possession football to a chess match. Well chess is not a spectator sport and compared to Russell, Enzo was a devil-may-care swashbuckler. I hate the cautious risk-averse way of trying to get up the pitch. Take the easy backward/sideways pass just to keep the ball rather than try to create something. It is cowardly. Keep the ball and the opposition can't hurt you. Well if you always take the safe option and you can't hurt the opposition either. It's like watching a blue sock in a washing machine going round and round on a slow cycle. I hate the ponderous slow walking football. Allowing the opposition to just sit in front of you and dig in. And yet, the cautious approach in attack becomes calamitous in defence. Pass it around your own box inviting the interception. It's a style that relies on being perfect. Beat the press and you have an overload from your own half which won't last because the opposition will be back in position by the time you get anywhere near their defensive third. Lose it and concede the softest of self-inflicted comedy goals. Football should get you out of your seat. It should be about excitement, pace and energy. Trying to get in behind not slowly sideways. Russball is not football.