The fact of the matter is unless saints do something different on Saturday then they will get the same result as in the previous three games this season.

Long term readers of this site will know that one of my favourite sayings in football is "If you do the same things, then you get the same results" last season i was critical of our central defensive pairing, for most of the season many disagreed with me and told me how wrong I was, however most could not fail to notice the cracks widening in the final ten games when 13 goals conceded almost cost us promotion.

From the very end of last season, I harped on about the need for Premier quality central defenders along with width and pace out wide, as the summer wore on and these areas were not addressed I was very worried and sadly my worries came home to roost in the opening three games.

Although we still carried on strengthening in areas we didnt need to ie up front, right at the closure of the transfer window we made two crucial signings in Gaston Ramirez & Yoshida, now I like most have no real idea how these players will perform in the Premier league in that they have never played there before, but someone feels that they are value for the money we have paid, so the time to throw them in is now.

The fact of the matter is that like the tail end of last season, most of our goals were leaked through the centre of defence, so Yoshida has to be played at Arsenal assuming he is available, likewise Ramirez, we can keep on playing forwards on the left wing and to be blunt Lallana as great a player as he is, doesnt have the pace that we need down the flanks in the Premier..

Nigel Adkins reputation is now on the line, whoever is responsible for the transfer dealings or lack of them, the truth of the matter is that the buck stops at the managers door, Adkins clearly knew the weaknesses hence the attempts to plug the gaps three months ago to little avail, Adkins may feel he hasnt got the quality of signings that he hoped for, but this is what he has to work with.

Plainly Fonte & Hooiveld arent good enough as a central pairing, Adkins has to put in Yoshida and decide which of the two would best compliment him,  when the chips are down managers have to manage and make tough decisions, in some respects Adkins hasnt had many toughies to make so far but now he has, the finger pointed to him regarding his substitutions against Man Utd, now he has to get it right from the very start otherwise we could come unstuck, Nigel has to be brave and accept that if he does the same things at the back, then we will get the same results, the Premier league is an unforgiving division, we have already thrown away at least five points out of the first nine, now we need to do something different to get the first point on the board.    

Photo: Action Images

Sanguin added 14:01 - Sep 12 But who does Yoshida replace? I'm leaning towards Fonte but Hooiveld giving away two penalties in three games is an awful stat. We really should have stumped up the £6m for Scott Dann.
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allsaint added 14:18 - Sep 12 “Lallana as great a player as he is, doesnt have the pace that we need down the flanks in the Premier..” From what I have seen and heard about Ramirez, he is a very good player but not the quickest. Interesting to see where he fits in.
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tiptop added 14:29 - Sep 12 Well if its a case of 'keep doing the things you have always done..' in defence then: Yoshida. IN. Luke Shaw. Maybe (all depends on how Fox responds to his groin injection). Gazzaniga. Not yet. Our performance was good on the whole apart from the defensive errors from KD, JH and JF. Midfield and forwards were excellent so what will change in those areas or what system is going to be used? 4-3-3? And the rest? Ramirez? Is he going to start after playing 90mins Tues and flying back? He's vying for the same position as Lallana (central or left form what I read. If he can play right then JP may be pushed out. Is it possible GR will start on the bench? I reckon: KD NC Y JH DF JW-P MS SD JP RL AL

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AreYouSure added 14:37 - Sep 12 I think Fonte needs to be dropped. I'm think (and am hoping) that jos will be less likely to make rash decisions and will be more confident with a player who is captain for his country and appears to be more solid than Fonte. I also think that Fox does get caught out of position but he is an attacking full back so when he attacks, people should cover and having a better central defence pairing may see fox 'appear' a better player as he has made a mistake or two but players play to the standard around them!

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andoversaint added 14:43 - Sep 12 These opening fixtures were always going to be a nightmare, and we always start badly, and we're new to the division. Of course we have defensive issues, and I agree that Adkins made the wrong subsitutions against Utd, but I think the expectations also need to be realistic. Getting anything at Arsenal would be a massive bonus. Losing to City & Utd is surely to be expected. If we end up with 0 points after the first 4 games it wouldn't be great, but nor would it be a major cause for panic.

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VeloSaint added 14:46 - Sep 12 Have Yoshida or Ramirez even had a single training session with the squad? I don't think so and chances are the first time they will meet their team mates will be tomorrow, assuming they've flown in today. Have they got international clearance to play is another question. I wouldn't be surprised to see neither start.
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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 14:52 - Sep 12 In the long run, I expect Ramirez will play right wing. Ramirez isn't a guarenteed starter against Arsenal, its much more likely that he'll make his full debut at home against Villa. Same with Yoshida. They both might only get one training session with thier new team mates before the Arsenal game, which is not enough time to form any sort of understanding. Its also possible that Lambert won't start at Arsenal. Adkins might use the same tactic as Man City away and use Lambert as an impact sub. Mayuka might get a start and play 50-60 minutes. My predicted line-up v Arsenal is: KD NC JF JH DF JWP MS SD JP EW AL Also, I don't think Scott Dann was the answer Saints are looking for. He's been relegated twice from the Premiership which doesn't bode well. And as for Lallana playing on the wing; he might not have the pace of Aaron Lennon or Theo Walcott, but he IS pretty quick and what he lacks in blistering pace he more than makes up with his superb touch and dribbling skills. He's been best for us when playing on the left wing.

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vectis added 15:00 - Sep 12 I would be surprised if either Ramirez or Yoshida start against Arse. I would expect Ramirez to be thrown in at some point, but not start. I don't think Yohsida will get a start until he has trained with the team and played alongside Jos and then Fonte and even Seaborne and then Stephens so NA can assess the best partnership. I could be wrong...if NA thinks he is all that, then he will play against the Arse. I dont think there is anything much between Jos and Fonte in terms of ability or mistake-making, but my bet would be on Jos being the one dropped to the bench. A thought though - Maya Yoshida is a confident and talented player...a goal-scoring Central Defender at that! lol...but he is still only 24...Expecting him to be our saviour at the back is quite a lot of responsibility to be put on his shoulders. He cost 2mil not 20mil. He might end up being the bargain of the season, but he is gonna need time to adapt I expect. Hope not too long. Hell, having said all that I would love it if he was man of the match against Arsenal. :) Team for this weekend? I predict: K Davis Clyne Fonte Yoshida(maybe) Fox S.Davis Schneiderlin Lallana Puncheon Lambert Mayuka Bench: Gazzaniga, Hooiveld(or yoshida), Richardson, Ward-Prowse, Ramirez, Rodriguez, Lee. No Guly? Er....

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vectis added 15:04 - Sep 12 Do I need to add that of course Ramirez will start every game he is fit for after this match...I'm just not sure he will be thrown in straight away having never trained with his teammates.
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Whatsforpud added 16:15 - Sep 12 The thing with our established CB pairing is that one is right footed, and the other left footed, which, when they first came together, was seen as a plus. With which foot does Yoshida favour? Will this be a factor in who he would play with? It does seem bizarre that we have so many attacking players, that we gave one away (Sharp), but have little choice in defence.

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tiptop added 16:24 - Sep 12 Good point about man city tactics. Could then expect Guly to start up front and SRL on the bench!!omg.
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Fordy added 20:11 - Sep 12 I don't understand all the people saying Yoshida and Ramirrez won't start because they haven't trained with the others. I seem to recall Jos being signed on the Thursday or Friday and starting on the Saturday. I would say Yoshida is almost 100% certain to start because we so desperately need him. Ramirez is a slightly different matter. His game for Uraguary was half a day later than Japan's so potentially he may get back a day after Yoshida and it will be down to NA to see if he is ready. He also had a much tougher game than Yoshida. I think he might be on the bench, and it might give Puncheon another chance to build on his excellent display against Man Utd.

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redandwhitedee added 22:07 - Sep 12 Yoshida could also play in front of the 2 cb's.. But I expect fonte to make way. Kd Nc yosh jh ls Schneid davis Jwp Punch Ramirez lallana Lambert
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Fordy added 22:17 - Sep 12 @redandwhitedee I know it's going to be tough against Arsenal but I don't think we'll get away with playing 12 players. I think we'll play something similar but either Punch/Ramirez. I think NA may settle for AL in the front three against the tougher teams or away and back in the middle three at home.
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Fordy added 22:17 - Sep 12 @redandwhitedee I know it's going to be tough against Arsenal but I don't think we'll get away with playing 12 players. I think we'll play something similar but either Punch/Ramirez. I think NA may settle for AL in the front three against the tougher teams or away and back in the middle three at home.
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Chappers added 00:34 - Sep 13 Totally agree with you Nick, but am I the only person in the world that thinks Kelvin is not good enough? seriously, the Man U game exposed him for what he is, good shot stopper, but his distribution could've cost us 2 goals & he really should've done better with the 3rd, OK he saved a penalty, but let's face it, it was probably the easiest Penalty he's ever faced....... Mark my words, Kelvin is & never has been good enough for the Prem, much respect to the man for what he did in the lower leagues, but that's a totally different game., Nige got the tactics wrong vs Man U & should've shut the game down at 2-1 instead of trying to beat them 5-1 with 10 mins to go, I really hope he's learned from that, but even if he has, KD will be our undoing this season....

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thingummy added 01:35 - Sep 13 Adkins under pressure ? I dont think so. The subs may not have worked out but he has done a great job and he has my confidence Let's enjoy the games. we have some really good attacking players even if, as in days of old, the defending is, frankly, comical at times. I would agree that JF is the one most needing, shall we call it, competition but hopefully Yosh is the answer. I confess that I wish we had done what WGS did and brought in a paul williams type character to help us out (rather than a paul telfer type!) I dont like the defensive mistakes but it's not being able to close out a game that worries me most - it's a terrible habit and one we have to break No panic - we are playing top sides adn are in the game, playing good football In Nigel I trust

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bstokesaint added 13:13 - Sep 13 I'm with Andover and Thingummy. The negativity from some fans at the moment is quite frightening. Yeah, we're the team that have just achieved back-to-back promotions, playing with the large part the same team, at two levels of difficulty higher, three if you include our recent Champions League opponents. We got ourselves into winning positions against last year's Premier League champions and runners-up and just missed out on both occasions. We've been exposed in certain areas of the pitch and we must deal with that, and I'm sure the manager will. He's not under pressure at all. That quite frankly is cr@p. Realistically any Saints fans at the start of the season would have predicted three points maximum. Anyone who says otherwise is fooling no-one. We’re playing one of the weaker Arsenal sides of recent seasons this Saturday and if we play how we did against the Manchester sides what’s to stop us nicking a 0-1 win and levelling up our expectations at the four games played mark? I’m not sure that anyone has noticed that we’ve had rather a few managers in recent years, but it’s hardly a surprise if a manager new to the Premier League is under fire after one of the toughest starts anyone could have expected to have. We need consistency in the management team, and with the players on the pitch. That doesn’t come from wholesale changes the second things start going wrong. I’ve said it before, but I’d be horrified if we went down the West Ham or QPR route. We’re trying to build a team and club for future success and this involves patience. There’s a lot of talent at Southampton and I’m sure the manager will get the balance right. I’m certainly not going to talk about him being under pressure until we’ve played a few of our ‘easier’ fixtures. I’m not saying I’m happy with no points, but I’m extremely proud of how we’ve played and deserve some appreciation from the fans.

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Iceberg added 15:44 - Sep 13 Yoshida for Fonte. Hoover is better than Fonte and he scores goals too.
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StChristophe added 18:35 - Sep 13 Agree with bstokesaint, lets keep things in perspective; regardless of who plays on Saturday and the result, the management deserves 100% support. Maybe to soon for the new boys (or not) but whoever plays is already more experienced, so let's relax, enjoy the game and see where we are at the end of the year...
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1teeminants added 20:41 - Sep 13 Yoshida in for Fonte, Ramirez in for puncheon, Shaw in for Fox.
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