Forum
Thread

Alfie House on TE's press conference...
at 13:51 20 Jan 2026

"he's spot on about whatever is missing needing to come from within, some real "desire" to win..."

Yes, but how many times do we have to hear the same story? How many times will the players have "honest conversations" and then put the effort in for a few games, before reverting back to old habits again?

Mind you, if they are going to show up now and then, this week isn't a bad time to do it.

Forum
Reply

7 Managers since 2022
at 14:07 19 Jan 2026

Exactly right dirk. People on this site confuse having some good players with having a good squad.

A good squad is a good blend, like:

Youth and experience (we don't have enough experience)
Height and pace (we don't have enough height)
Physicality and skill (we don't have enough physicality)

You could have a squad made up of the 25 best tricky wingers in the world and it probably wouldn't win a game in the Championship.

Plus, there are some things which our recruitment team clearly don't think about at all, like mentality and grit. The mentality of many of our players absolutely stinks. They can turn it on when things are going their way, but when they have to dig in and fight they go AWOL.

The bottom line: this squad isn't good enough and any manager would struggle.

Forum
Reply

Where does the blame lie?
at 10:29 18 Jan 2026

It's not true to say that Ankersen isn't involved. As Solak told Alfie House in the summer, Ankersen is his personal advisor on football matters. When they were making the Tonda appointment, Ankersen was directly involved. The core group, including Ankersen, all attended the away game at QPR and they decided their plan in the days around that. Not saying that he is the only one making decisions, but he is definitely still involved. As Solak's personal advisor, he's not going to be completely ignored.

I think SR, Spors, the managers, the captain and the players all share the blame. As has been said elsewhere the whole culture seems wrong. Low standards are accepted. Ultimately that's down to SR, but the players set their own culture and many of them don't seem professional, committed or even seem to care enough. Throughout the season there have been too many times where they don't really seem up for it. Yesterday I would say Hull wanted it more.

Forum
Reply

Saints' inability to defend crosses
at 22:19 15 Jan 2026

One of the many reasons we need a centre forward is to help defend set pieces. When the opposition CBs trundle forward we have no one to mark them. We've conceded quite a few goals over the last few years because of this. Our CBs can't mark everyone and the midgets are useless. I think one of the reasons we keep playing 3 CBs is just to get some height in the team.

Forum
Reply

Edwards
at 15:38 9 Jan 2026

Tall Paul was not a great player but, with the little service he got, he showed he was clearly better than both Archer and AA who were nowhere near the level of the Prem. So we sold Tall Paul and kept Archer and AA. Go figure as the Yanks say.

Edwards may succeed at QPR if they give him some confidence, but he didn't look like a good buy to me. Too lightweight to succeed as a CB and probably doesn't have the legs to be a midfielder. If he was going to succeed in any position it was on the right of a back 3. It's the right thing to move him on. In this case I won't be criticising SR.

Forum
Reply

Centre forward.
at 13:49 11 Dec 2025

Yes we still need a centre forward. TE has done a great job with AA but he's achieved that by not playing him as a centre forward. He plays more like a false nine dropping into space in midfield. That's great but it won't always work. It didn't work against Millwall because they blocked off the passes into him in those positions.

There will be games (and times in games) when we need different options - someone who can hold the ball up with a CB on his back and someone who can win headers in a crowded box. The more teams suss us out, the more we will need this option.

Pep made it popular to play with a false nine, but he knows he needs the traditional qualities of a centre forward too. Same reason Barca play Lewandowski and same reason we still need a CF too.

Forum
Reply

Why we played so much better yesterday…
at 15:43 23 Nov 2025

Yeah, the "lesser extent" is what I'm talking about. I'm not saying others didn't press, I'm saying they weren't as committed as Charlton. Charlton went all-in on it as a tactic, not just picking the best moments like others have done. They committed lots of men forward leaving space behind and weren't as quick to drop back.

Forum
Reply

Why we played so much better yesterday…
at 14:15 23 Nov 2025

David, you may be right, I said that because that's what we've mostly seen so far in the Championship. There's not as much high pressing as there was last year in the Prem. Maybe the top teams like Coventry and Boro focus on pressing but it seems to me that the average championship side seems more interested in defending deep, or they press for shorter periods and if they don't get it back quickly, they drop back. I haven't gone to every game but the only other team this year that I remember doing what Charlton tried to do was Liverpool in the cup.

I doubt we'll score 5 again on Tuesday but 1-0 would actually be great and hopefully everyone will be even more positive afterwards. I'm looking forward to it for a change.

Forum
Reply

Why we played so much better yeserday…
at 11:19 23 Nov 2025

I wasn't commenting on how well he played or saying he didn't play well. The thread says that what Bragg did was a tactical change but it wasn't really, so I said "Bragg didn't really do anything different to what Downes often does". Bragg took on more of the holding role than Jander, but that's what Downes has often done (when he's actually played).

Forum
Reply

Why we played so much better yesterday…
at 11:10 23 Nov 2025

David, I'm glad you're positive, I am too. But what I was saying is that Charlton pressed us high up the pitch, but did it badly and we were able to pass through them (also because we did it very well). Yesterday at least, they didn't pack their defence, they pressed high up. I've no idea what they do normally, but yesterday they didn't pack their defence. That meant we could reach the space that Charlton had left behind when they were pressing (and as you rightly say AA dropped into). But that won't happen often. Not many teams will press us like that and if they do, they will probably now position a defensive midfielder to cut off the pass to AA.

We've actually been a good counter attacking team already this season. TE made our counter better, but that's not our main attacking problem. Our problem is when teams sit deep and don't press us, but rather quickly drop deep and have 2 banks of players camped on the edge of their penalty box. Then we won't get the kind of space that we were allowed yesterday and that's when we've struggled before. Then we can't run into space (which we're good at), instead we have to play short passes through their defence, or put crosses into 5'6" tall players which doesn't work.

Yesterday was great and we're no doubt improving, but not every game will be like that tactically. Maybe TE has a fix for when teams play a low block too, time will tell.

Forum
Reply

Why we played so much better yeserday…
at 09:53 23 Nov 2025

What you say is mainly true but is far from the whole story (and Bragg didn't really do anything different to what Downes often does). TE did improve things but what he did won't work in many of our games.

Charlton pressed pretty badly and left themselves open to the counter. There was masses of space for AA to operate in, he often didn't have a defender within 10 yards. That's when he thrives, but he won't get that often. In the 2nd half Charlton did a better job of cutting off our passing options. Other sides will watch the video and learn.

The true test for TE is when we have to face a team that sits deep and packs the defence. Then AA won't have space and we'll face the problem again of not having a true centre forward that can win a physical battle. Can he come up with a plan for those games?

TE has done well so far and will very likely get the job, but don't read too much into a few games, either good or bad.

Forum
Reply

Steve McClaren Resigns
at 14:45 22 Nov 2025

A reply that's up there with your normal standard Tony...

p.s. I suggest you don't ever ask Mourinho if he minds being remembered as a failure.

Forum
Reply

Charlton v Saints matchday thread...
at 14:42 22 Nov 2025

Really good performance. Charlton were surprisingly open in the first half but even so Saints did really well.

Looks nailed on for TE now. With the momentum they carry into the next couple of games, I can't see that performances can be bad enough to change minds at SR, particularly given the lack of other options. Here's hoping he can win the next 20 games too.

Forum
Reply

Steve McClaren Resigns
at 12:05 22 Nov 2025

Yeah, that's the difference between you and those who are looking to build a long term career out of it.

Forum
Reply

Steve McClaren Resigns
at 11:58 22 Nov 2025

You really think a man with an ego like Mourinho doesn't mind being seen as a failure?? You've obviously never come across anyone with an ego half the size of his. Unfortunately, I have.

Forum
Reply

Steve McClaren Resigns
at 22:52 19 Nov 2025

Wealthy men yes, but not a patch on how wealthy they would be if they have a full career manging at the top level. Also, just like players they don't only think about money. They want to work their way up from success to success and win some prizes. None of them want to be remembered as a failure. They want the glory too. Working at SFC under Banana Republic puts that career plan at risk.

Forum
Reply

Steve McClaren Resigns
at 17:20 19 Nov 2025

No one wants to be sacked unless they're 70 years old. No football manager wants to be paid off on a 3 year contract when it could ruin the rest of their 20 or 30 year career.

Forum
Reply

Steve McClaren Resigns
at 16:10 19 Nov 2025

I'm not saying that McClaren is the answer, but this shows how tricky the issue is, whichever way you try to solve it. In this case, yeah he's failed, but if we get an experienced manager then it will be someone who has failed along the way, unless it's someone who only has experience in the lower leagues.

If they only have experience in the lower leagues then there might be a good reason for that, but also do we want someone who only knows the lower leagues? Maybe yes, but that puts us at a disadvantage if we're ever promoted because then PL experience is vital. You could say just get promoted and then replace the manager but that's never going to happen, so the likelihood is we come straight back down again.

I think a lot of people are unrealistic about who we can get, apart from anything else because most managers won't fancy being sacked in 3 months time. Whichever way this goes I think the majority of people will be disappointed.

Forum
Reply

What division all 24 EFL Championship clubs really belong in
at 09:04 19 Nov 2025

That's 5 championship clubs that belong in the PL. So which 5 PL clubs don't belong there? How about the 3 bottom clubs West Ham, Forest and Wolves? No, all 3 of them belong in the PL more than the shower of sh1te in the championship (including us). Same is true for the other clubs in the PL.

The gap between us and the decently run clubs is widening all the time. Seems more and more that we are destined to be a mid table championship club after the parachute payments dry up.

Forum
Reply

Scotland V Denmark
at 17:43 18 Nov 2025

I hope Scotland batter Denmark.... until the 97th minute when Denmark equalise.

Please log in to use all the site's facilities

Ifonly

Site Scores

Prediction League:	0
TOTAL:	0