The board have decided to back Graham Potter, which means we’re hearing the same excuses wheeled out.
Many of them are valid, but none of them can excuse some of the things we’re seeing on the pitch.
A Reddit user posted a clip from Saturday’s game, showing a sped up sequence where we try to win the ball back from 20th placed Southampton.
They’re able to move the ball back to front and side to side without issue, as our pressing is so ragged and lacking in co-ordination. As the video title puts it, it’s “actually embarrassing.”
You can see the sequence in the clip embedded here:
To press you must be near the opponent likely to receive the ball from a teammate, otherwise you can’t press.
To attack you must drift away from opponents so these are two somewhat conflicting requirements.
It all amounts to good running off the ball.
In this video clip all goes wrong.