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Reply | Southampton Summer Signings The Initial Verdict
at 23:49 5 Jan 2025
Seems fair.
Think i'd have Charlie Taylor and Archer in the OK/not seen enough category. Archer has shown more good moments than most.
And, this is controversial, I'm really not sure how good Fernades is. But no less than OK.
Sugawara's bubble has properly burst. |
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Reply | Harwood Bellis not good enough to play ctr back in Premier lge
at 17:42 5 Jan 2025
It was always going to be an open question as to whether these two could step up and I think that a lot of people got carried away with thinking that it was vital that we signed them up for this year.
With Downes, I was always concerned that West Ham had let him go and I did wonder whether they knew something about his PL abilities.
Likewise with Bellis. We had nothing to go on to judge whether he could step up.
FWIW I think that both of them are good enough to play at PL level but I agree that they need to work alongside better players, and they aren't good enough to carry a team at this level.
The more frustrating one is Armstrong. We knew from the last time around that his Championship form doesn't translate to PL level and yet we didn't learn from that.
The biggest disappointment, however, has been Sugawara. After encouraging signs in the first few games this season, he has turned out to be a complete liability. The penalty he gave away for Liverpool's winner was criminal, as was his header for Brentford's 5th and his complete inability to cover the right side of defence for their 2nd and 4th goals. |
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Reply | Russell Martin must feel as though he’s won the Euro Lottery
at 16:29 5 Jan 2025
We should have beaten West Ham and we were in front against Palace.
(Even yesterday we were in the game until the two rounds of subs. Particularly, Sugawara coming on seems to have opened up our right side like a tin of beans.)
It is far from fanciful to think that we could have won two of the last three games.
In which case we'd now have 12 points.
Add the two points dropped against Ipswich at home and we'd be on 14 - the same as Leicester and two points from safety.
The squad is not strong but we didn't need to be doing quite so disastrously.
Martin and now Juric are responsible for quite how poor we have been.
It would be interesting to know whether Cooper was ever in the mix. Can't really see why he would have turned us down. |
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Reply | The best thing we can do
at 09:59 5 Jan 2025
I fear that we may be in Nathan Jones territory with Juric, in which case he shouldn’t be given more than 8 games either.
And as for trying to give support, it’s very hard to get behind a team that is performing quite so incompetently, and fans expressing their frustration is one thing that can influence Board members who are at the game.
I am weighing up whether to go to the next home game. It’s too frustrating and absolutely no fun. Even my pre-match food was sh!t yesterday. |
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Reply | Brentford Game Matchday Thread
at 22:14 4 Jan 2025
I hadn’t read that post but as it happens I was in Corals before the game checking the odds on Paul getting two goals.
11-1
F*ck that, I thought. I was expecting 25s+ for a guy who’s never scored, and this was before the team was even announced.
Now that I think back, I’m not sure what I was thinking even contemplating the idea, but I’ll ask the nurse later when she comes round with my bedtime meds. |
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Reply | Russell Martin must feel as though he’s won the Euro Lottery
at 22:04 4 Jan 2025
Reasons to think that Juric might be another dud:
1. Played 3 lost 3
2. Playing with no discernible style
3. Odd team selection today
4. Losing 0-5 to a team with an awful away record
5. He was appointed by the geniuses that gave us Nathan Jones and Russell Martin
Reasons not too
1. We looked better for 45 mins against West Ham |
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Reply | Had enough now
at 21:55 4 Jan 2025
it’s unwatchable at the moment.
I couldn’t believe it when we conceded a last minute goal from the edge of the area for a second time against Leicester.
And I can’t believe we’ve been hammered again 0-5 at home so soon after Spurs.
Today reminded me of watching a Nathan Jones team play. Absolutely no idea. |
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Reply | Is there anything positive about SFC at the moment?
at 13:11 2 Jan 2025
I like your optimism Dirk. But I don't take too much from the fact that others seem able to do what we can't.
Certainly, SFC could and should be in the same position are Forest, Fulham, Brighton, Bournemouth but since Gao took over it has felt like we were travelling in the opposite direction.
It doesn't have to be like this. But we didn't have to appoint Nathan Jones, we didn't have to give RM at least 7 games more than he deserved and the Jury is still out on whether Juric can do any better. |
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Reply | Is there anything positive about SFC at the moment?
at 12:37 2 Jan 2025
Simply answer is 'no'.
The current season has been a joke. 1 win. Very few goals. And being forced to watch 15 games of a suicidal brand of football.
And long term there is little to cheer about. I really enjoyed the first 45 minutes against West Ham. Thought we at least showed some fight - saw plenty of attacking to get me off my seat. But 135 minutes later and I am feeling pretty flat again.
We have a Board that either has no interest in SFC (too many other clubs in the republic getting their attention) or it has absolutely no idea. They were given a get out of jail free card with the playoff win but they have blown that in the space of 6 months.
The season we were last relegated there were three promoted teams in the PL. Fulham, Bournemouth and Forest. Not only did they all manage to survive above us that season, but they now sit 3rd , 7th and 8th in the PL.
This season did not have to be like this.
The future is bleak. |
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Reply | 2024 - the year for Saints
at 13:38 31 Dec 2024
Since 1 Jan 2022 - the last three years - we've played 38 Premier League games at St Mary's and won only 7 of them.
5 of these were in 2022
We saw one PL win in 2023 - 1-0 v Leicester - and one PL win in 20204 - 1-0 v Everton.
2025 ? Please don't talk to me about 2025.... |
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Thread | In praise of Tall Paul
at 11:34 27 Dec 2024
The guy deserves massive credit for his performance yesterday.
Sure, he didn't score, but for his first attempt he was rugby tackled by the WH defender just as he was heading the ball - a clear pen for me - one header only just missed the far post and a third required a great save from Fabianski.
And he was in the box in the right place to get on the end of those balls, just as he was in the right place in the box in space right at the end when Dibbling should have passed to him.
Add to that that he was getting on the end of most of the goal kicks, not static, waiting to see where the ball was going and then running to meet it, often collecting the ball on his chest before laying it off.
And he was holding up the ball with his feet too.
And he put a massive shift in.
And he was encouraging the crowd.
Yes, some of his passes aren't as accurate as they could be, and yes he can be a bit clumsy. But show me someone who's 6ft 7 who isn't.
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Reply | At last Tall Paul gets a start.
at 09:54 27 Dec 2024
Just watched the highlights.
For the first headed chance Paul had (from the lovely KWP cross from the byline) the West Ham player simply ran into him like he was playing American Football. No attempt to get anywhere near the ball. Clear pen for me.
On the same subject, if Bellis had concentrated more on jumping that on stopping the jump for their goal, that flick on might not have happened. |
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Reply | Frustrating
at 07:22 27 Dec 2024
Paul didn’t score but at least we were getting in the box and having chances.
How many ‘no shots on target’ games have we had recently?!
This was so much better.
Paul has scored everywhere else he’s played. He will for us too.
We were unlucky yesterday. Didn’t deserve to lose. |
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Reply | Merry Christmas
at 11:37 25 Dec 2024
Merry Christmas to you and yours, and to all on here. |
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Thread | Up Front
at 13:45 23 Dec 2024
We showed yesterday that when we cut out the suicidal passing we can keep a clean sheet.
Martin-ball was certainly responsible for so many errors and points dropped, but maybe playing like that could have been justified if we're been more able to convert possession into goals.
Now that Martin is gone and we seem more able to play with some measure of pragmatism, getting the ball into the net is still going to be our biggest issue.
Armstrong, Fraser, Brereton-Diaz and Cornet don't look like to me they are now up to it at this level.
Archer and Dibbling are, and we just don't know about Tall Pall. I think if he gets a goal and we work out how to feed him, he might be able to succeed but maybe not.
Likewise Sullemana - is there a player in there that we haven't seen yet?
But, even so, our attacking needs strengthened and re-vamping in January for us to have any chance of staying up.
Anyone got any thoughts on who we might be able to get?
And what about Smallbone? He was able to thread some lovely passes in the play-off games. We've not seen much of that from anyone else. |
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Reply | Ramsdale & KWP back against Fulham
at 17:47 22 Dec 2024
Adam Armstrong is a good lad and a great Saint, but he doesn’t cut it as a PL striker.
Didn’t last time. Doesn’t this time around.
It’s a pity. Would love him to succeed but we should sell him to a Championship team in January.
We should build a team around Tall Paul up front, or sell him too in Jan. Think the new guy will decide this quickly.
Better times ahead. |
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Reply | Ramsdale & KWP back against Fulham
at 17:17 22 Dec 2024
This.
Both games this week have shown how things might have been this season without Martin’s stubborn tactical stupidity. |
| | DorsetIan
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