Premier League Match 21 - Brentford 3 Southampton 0

 

Yep.

No more cup games for a month, so now is the serious business of trying to get out of the Premier League bottom three. Last year we came to Brentford and what was essentially a dead rubber for us and we put in a horrific performance and lost 3-0 in the game where the crowd finally turned against Ralph Hasenhuttl en-masse.

Nathan Jones still isn’t winning himself any friends and there was some more strangeness on the Friday before the game when the starting 11 for the B team included Duje Caleta-Car, who the vast majority would include in our Premier League starting 11. Jones’ reasoning was that he needed minutes after missing one game through suspension and being left out by Jones for the semi-final at Newcastle. Ok then. Much more likely is that Jones needed a scapegoat and that first leg red card against Newcastle, which in fact you could argue, kept us in the game, is probably what’s going on here. Remember, Duje got his first yellow when he was covering out of left back because Jones didn’t pick one for that game.  The B Team also includes Mislav Orsic, which is also strange on the face of it.

He also put in the usual defence of his five at the back system, saying that we always score in that formation. This is actually bollocks but in true politician style, he told a great big dirty lie and before anyone could research it, the press conference ended.

Anyway, as he also said, it’s all about results in the Premier League from here on in and we need to get one today. It looks like our two deadline day signings, tall Paul Onuachu and Kamaldeen Sulemana are not going to be available unless their work permits come through at the last minute and then they can be included on the bench.

Just after Saints replaced Ralph with Nathan Jones, Brentford gave a new contract to Thomas Frank and they are still going from strength to strength and are currently eighth in the division. I seriously thought they would struggle this year with second season syndrome but they have been a revelation again and at the moment are in absolutely no danger of being involved anywhere near the bottom of the table at the end of the season. Fair play to them. The one cloud that is hanging over them is of course the suspension that Ivan Toney is going to inevitably get at some point for gambling breaches. Obviously, the full extent is not known as yet but precedence says that at some point, he’s going to get banned for between three and six months. Unless that verdict is handed down before lunchtime, he is going to be a major threat against us today. Brentford play three at the back in the main but they play it very well because they have the players that suit the system and they are very well drilled in playing that way. I have a feeling that if we go toe to toe and try and match them up today, that we will really struggle. They will be better at it than we will be. Simple.

One player who won’t be involved today is Jimmy-Jay Morgan, who carried out his threat to leave and departed to get closer to 1st team football by joining Chelsea. You couldn’t make it up really. He announced that he wanted to leave on the day of the first Carabao Cup semi-final and he actually left on the day of the second semi-final. He and his advisors probably wanted to bury the news but we see you Jimmy.  I also noticed that it was reported that we were getting between £3 and £6 million for him which is decent wedge for a kid who probably won’t make it and has certainly made it a lot more difficult for himself now.

It’s a shame but there you go and I’m sure the next time we hear of him will be when he’s out on loan to Vitesse Arnhem in about four years’ time. It will be interesting to watch the relative first team minutes that he and Dominic Ballard get over the next couple of seasons. It’s not really about minutes though is it? It’s about cash for the player and cash for the agents and probably inducements for the parents. Chelsea is such an ethical club after all.

Jones tombola has put Bednarek alongside Salisu in a back 4 and Diallo is preferred to Alcaraz in midfield.  Of the three attackers, one is Elyounoussi which is particularly amazing.  The work permits have clearly come through so Sulemana and Onuachu are on the bench.

Away we go and straight away you can see that Brentford know exactly what they’re supposed to be doing whereas we are somewhat random. Bednarek puts in a decent sliding tackle to win the ball off Mbeumo but we give it away and the ball eventually gets lifted over the defence to Wissa, who takes a touch round Bazunu before cracking it goalwards and hitting the angle of post and crossbar. Lucky.

It’s just waves of Brentford pressure and you have to admire the way they are all running off the ball and working for each other. Wissa gets into the penalty area on the left-hand side behind Bree and Bednarek before laying the ball square to Ivan Toney, whose effort is superbly blocked by Salisu.

In a change the usual direction of traffic, we win a corner on the left-hand side and JWP’s short corner is crossed in by Perraud and headed out and when it comes back in, JWP picks it up on the left-hand side deep in the penalty area and instead of shooting, tries to drill it across the goal which is a bad decision because it also relies on one of our other players being alive to the situation, which of course they aren’t.

It’s just a temporary reprieve though with the action reverting to the other end with Brentford pissing down our right-hand side and again Toney once more has a free shot teed up for him but once again, Salisu has to throw himself in the way to block it.

The Brentford pressure inevitably tells on 40 minutes as from a throw on the left they easily work a crossing position and Mbeumo chips in and Ben Mee is up from the back to attack the header in old school style and bury it past Baz to make it 1-0. I’m not even disappointed because it’s been coming and it was inevitable and it was just a matter of time.

From the kickoff we belt it down the left and lose the ball and Da Silva picks up in midfield, walks through a powder-puff challenge and chips a lovely ball over Bree with the outside of his left foot to Wissa.  In comes the pull back and Mbeumo taps into an empty net. Two goals in a minute. Wankers. Also totally summing up our lack of regard for possession.  Our kick off and we just boot it away, 15 seconds later, goal.

Half-time and it’s time for the new guys with Tall Paul Onuachu coming on along with Kamaldeen Sulemana. They are replacing the painfully shit Diallo and Elyounoussi.  Diallo must be heading for some sort of record for the player subbed most often at half time.  The two new guys combine straight away with Onuachu knocking the ball on to Sulemana, who cuts in from the left wing and daisy cuts a shot which is easily pouched by David Raya.

It doesn’t take long before Jones goes to the bench again and decides to bring on Theo Walcott for Sam Edozie and Charly Alcaraz for Romeo Lavia, which means that JWP is now playing as the sole defensive midfielder in a 4-4-2 formation.

The one man defence that is Salisu is in operation again as a free kick is clipped into Toney, who spins and hammers in another go bound effort which Salisu clears off the line from behind the goalkeeper. We have a chance of our own from our next free kick.  As it comes in from JWP on the right, Raya flaps at it and it comes out Theo Walcott just to the left of the penalty spot and his side footed effort is on target but blocked easily enough. The ball is cleared down our end of the pitch and Baz belts it downfield for Tall Paul to flick on and Walcott is clean through but his chip is blocked by Raya on the edge of the box. It goes up in the air where Adams heads it with his eyes shut but it drops wide of the open goal.

That’s it as far as we’re concerned but there’s still enough time for Brentford to build up again and work a crossing opportunity on our right and when it comes in, Saints are all playing fucking statues in the middle but Jensen isn’t and heads it easily past Baz and into the net for our standard 3-0 defeat at Brentford. Pathetic. Bree didn’t stop the cross and the other three defenders were all just stood there watching.

What is it about coming to Brentford but just makes us put in the most pitiful, shambolic, pathetic performances. Yes, Brentford are a bloody good side, a model club and have a great manager. We on the other hand…

Sport Republic this week, very firmly placed the ball in Nathan Jones court.  By signing the players that we have signed in January and in the summer they have given Jones everything that he could have wanted and there are no excuses anymore.  He can’t blame the squad and he can’t say that he hasn’t had time.  He can’t say a lot of things but yet he does.  At various points in his post-match interviews, he blamed the fact that he had been influenced by outside noise, then he said he hadn’t been influenced by outside noise, then he blamed the fans, seemed to blame Sport Republic for the players that he had been given and inherited. Then he took it all back before blaming everybody else again. So many contradictions it was absolutely fucking ridiculous.  

Best in Europe for xBullshit and xBlamingEveryOtherFucker

He also said that he compromised his football beliefs, I think the implication here was that the players hated his ‘boot it up in the floodlights’ shite and he also said that he wasn’t going to compromise any more and why should he because after all, his metrics and stats made him one of the best managers in Europe.  Yeah, I remember Luton making waves on the European stage you deluded prick – he does have a very high xB (expected Bullshit) rating though, I’ll give him that.  So, Plan A from here on in then – look forward to that.  For avoidance of any doubt – the Nottingham Forest home game is his Plan A.  Remember – he didn’t see anything wrong with that performance.

Good managers have to have a clear thought process and they have to have a clear idea about what has gone wrong during games and you have to understand where you went wrong so you can learn from your mistakes and correct it.  He has none of these things.  I still can’t believe that he’s here… It’s like when I think about how the fucking hell Donald Trump became President of America or Liz Truss became Prime Minister… It’s exactly the same with Nathan Jones… How the fuck did he get to be a Premier League manager? It’s like that thing about the Post Tortoise. It’s very clearly a tortoise on a post but how the fuck did it get there and it has absolutely no idea what to do now it's there.

Jones just proved today once again that he is completely out of his depth. If he is listening to outside noise that does not come from his immediate coaching group, then that’s not a terribly good look. If he is not learning from his mistakes then that is not a terribly good luck either. Basically, there is no way you can dress this up to be anything but his fault. Just from today - I have questions… And my best guess at the answers.

Question 1 – why is Duje Caleta-Car, our best central defender playing in the B Team, a day before a vital Premier League game?

I suspect this is because Jones tried to make him a scapegoat for the Newcastle home game for getting done for the goal. Maybe if Jones had picked a left back then he wouldn’t of had to have been over on the wing.  Also, I’ve heard that Duje is quite vocal at calling out bullshit so I imagine there has been a bit of a clash there and it seems personal.  Also, today we were playing Brentford who are very strong on getting crosses in and scoring with headers so surely you either focus on stopping crosses or focus on winning headers.  If you’re going for the second option, then surely you want your best header of a ball at centre back.

Question 2 – why is Janny B now considered one of our best two central defenders?

I suspect this is just because of belligerence. No one was positive about Bednarek coming back to the club so Jones is deciding that somehow picking Bednarek makes him some sort of managerial genius who sees things that other people don’t see. Jones says he wants aggressive defenders, yet Bednarek is the biggest soft arse out of every central defender that we have. He is the least aggressive, the most passive, and shows the least leadership skills.

Question 3 - why is Mislav Orsic playing in the same B team game as Caleta-Car and can’t even get on the bench against Brentford, yet there is a place for Theo Walcott who has not done a fucking thing for two years?

I really don’t get it. The only thing I can think of is that Jones is known throughout his career for not particularly liking wingers. Maybe he didn’t want Orsic to be signed and sees him as a player that he has been saddled with.  Yes, Orsic has not look great in the games that he’s played so far but this is 34-year-old Theo Walcott we are talking about. A player who was only ever any good because he could run and now he can’t really do that.

Question 4 – why is Adam Armstrong given minutes on the pitch when he has about three goals in two seasons?

I suspect the answer is because Jones sees a bit of himself in Adam Armstrong – did well in the Championship and is desperately trying to prove he’s good enough in the Premier League. Newsflash. Neither Adam Armstrong or Nathan Jones are good enough for the Premier League.

Question 5 - why is Moi Elyounoussi picked as one of the attackers when he has absolutely nothing to the attacking output of the team. Adding to that – he’s also clearly playing with an injury.  Orsic, the player brought in to play that position on the left of the attack because of all the goals and assists he provided at previous clubs, played for the B team yesterday.  

Simply, I put this down to Elyounoussi working hard and doing what he’s told to do defensively but I don’t think he has a goal or an assist for over a year and yet he is picked to be one of the three attacking players in our line-up.  Stuart Armstrong has been left out because he’s carrying an injury but the same doesn’t apply for Elyounoussi.  He really isn’t important enough a player to make him play through an injury.

As I said - these five questions are just from today. These are the things where I just cannot see any logic in the decision-making.

So, we have a manager who can’t be trusted to talk to the press, can’t be trusted to do a Fans Forum, slags his players, bosses and clubs fans and that’s even before you get to the fact that he’s presided over 1 win and 6 defeats in 7 games in the League.  No amount of leaving out the Liverpool game and including wins against League 1 sides in the cup can hide the issue here.

New Lads Wondering What the Fuck They've Done

Forgetting Jones for a second (if only it was that easy), on the pitch today we were shite. The only surprise was it took us 40 minutes to go behind as we offered absolutely nothing upfront and the only reason we did get to 40 minutes was because Salisu was practically defending on his own, prevented two certain goals. One goal brought two and the second half was a little bit like the Newcastle game a few days ago when Brentford were happy with the scoreline as it was and let us have the ball and we didn’t really have much idea despite the introduction of Sulemana and Onuachu.

It’s too early to judge but Sulemana looked like he was exactly what it says on the tin. A pacey winger who can take people on and he will be fun to watch. The question will be over the end product which will make him a bit like Sam Edozie.

Stating the obvious - Onuachu is the proverbial Big Man Up Front. He flicked on a couple of balls well and created a chance for Walcott but it was remarkable to me how difficult we found it to find a 6 foot 7 bloke with a cross.  He did look at a bit awkward as you’d expect but he will get better as he adapts and most importantly, we adapt to him.  He is what he is and he’s not going to be versatile with loads of strings to his bow. Onuachu’s presence highlighted that the crossing in from the wings was largely pathetic. James Bree doesn’t seem to be able to kick the ball hard enough to get it into the box at a decent height and Perraud and even JWP were mainly crossing the ball behind whatever striker they were aiming at.

Our midfield largely got overrun with Diallo giving the ball away regularly and Lavia struggling to dictate the tempo of the game. You know who he needs alongside him, Oriol Romeu.  The defence in the main was disorganised and all over the shop.  All three goals came from pull backs or crosses down our right-hand side and generally it’s the old achilles heel of letting crosses come into the box.  Our defensive midfield players and full backs just don’t do the job of stopping crosses effectively and Jones of course left out our most aggressive defender (Lyanco) and our best defender in the air (Caleta-Car), which I’m sure he will take full responsibility for. Ha Ha Ha.

There’s not a lot else to say really. We turned up, we were shit, we got stuffed and now we are bottom of the league with only Bournemouth for company. There were a couple of wins today for our relegation rivals and it will only take a couple more weeks like that and we will be cut drift.

Cutting adrift is something that Sport Republic of course need to do with Nathan Jones. We have reached last chance saloon again in my opinion so there may well be another Manchester City type miracle next week at home to Wolves but if it was down to me, I wouldn’t even give him the chance. I would be all in favour of getting rid and giving Ruben Selles the rains for that game and getting a new manager in as soon as possible afterwards.  We have genuinely reached the point where a change couldn’t make it any worse.  As it stands, we are the worst team in the league, with the worst manager in the league and we are exactly where we deserve to be on the table which never lies and you don’t have to be a clairvoyant to know that we are 100% going down if Jones stays in charge.