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Comment | Southampton At Brentford The Damning Verdict
at 10:08:32
After their performances last season, RM had to give Smallbone and Armstrong a decent chance to show that they have improved and can cut it in this League. I suspect he's done that now and others will now start.
Bednarek and Bellis formed a great central defensive partnership last year. Bellis IS a leader but is stepping up a level and will need time to get up to speed. Bednarek is a good defender.
I agree that Ugochuckwu should play instead of Stephens as proper defensive midfielder but for the same reason as above Stephens needed to be given a chance. As well as picking the team and the tactics, RM also has a job to do in maintaining team morale and confidence.
I would personally like to see KWP playing at right back which is his natural position with maybe Charlie Taylor at LB. That would be harsh on Suguawara who's looked good but so be it.
Lallana and Dibbling both looked very good and will surely play more of a part going forward.
RM can see exactly what we can see and he's not stupid. If what he is doing seems like stubbornness, I think he deserves our patience. It came good last season after a very shaky start and maybe he is going to prove us all wrong again. |
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Comment | Southampton V Watford The FA Cup Replay Verdict
at 12:02:19
I agree about Mara. So many attacks in the first half came to a full stop with him at the edge of the area. Meghoma, who I thought was excellent, was more effective when attacking from those positions.
And I had only seconds earlier commented that Mara seemed to have moved more central when he scored his first.
His second goal is, I think, a contender for goal of the season at St Mary's. A lovely litte chip from within a crowd of players from Charles to get the ball to Dibbling and then he cleverly slowed down before accelerating away on his great run. And then a strike from Mara to let us understand why Martin has been quoted as saying he's the best finisher in the club.
Given the changed and largely inexperienced side, it wasn't that bad a thing to go in at 0-0 but the same team then steamrollered Watford in the second half.
All good. A great night. |
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Comment | Saints Need To Connect With Their Fans With Managerial Appointment
at 16:44:27
SR do not seem to understand the task at hand.
We are been sh*t for at least 2 1/2 seasons. We’re not used to winning or scoring and our Bestnote players will be losing.
This is a very lumbering oil tanker to turn around. We need a captain who has at least turned a club around before.
And if we think we’re going to pass our way to promotion, we’ve got a big surprise coming.
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Comment | Who Will Be The Next Southampton Manager ! A Surprise Candidate Emerges.
at 10:56:33
It's easy to say that sacking Hassnehutl was a mistake. It wasn't - the decline that has culminated in relegation started under his watch. He got us into the habit of losing and arguably it's his 'playbook' that has completely failed under Selles.
The mistake was in not appointing good enough replacements. |
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Comment | Ruben Selles ! A Good Man In The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time
at 09:39:57
The only reason Selles became a Premier League manager is because the Nathan Jones situation had become so toxic that the Club needed to bring some stability quickly and everyone seemed to like Selles.
Doing well in those first few games then cemented his position prematurely.
The whole season has been a series of errors:
Ralph should have been replaced in the summer.
Ralph should have been replaced earlier in the season.
Jone should not have been appointed.
Jones should have been sacked after the Forest game
Selles should have been sacked after Palace at home.
We should have bought a striker who we were actually going to play. |
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Comment | Southampton V Bournemouth The Verdict
at 10:19:09
For all those people still tempted by the idea that VAR is not the problem, it's the officials or the way it's being used, check out the Che Adams decisions.
He is very clearly level with the defenders. Until the introduction of VAR, he in onside.
With its microscope, VAR detected that his toe was slightly in front. (Something no human official could have spotted in a million years). So VAR ruled him off. The officials and the system worked perfectly.
But the position of Che's toe didn't stop him being level.
He was level. He was onside.
The rest of the game, I can't talk about!! |
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Comment | Southampton V Crystal Palace The Verdict
at 09:51:37
I personally think that it would be the final act of stupidity if the board don't try to get a new manager in for the last 7 games.
It is pretty obvious after the WH and Palace games that currently the team is going absolutely nowhere. They are completely out of goals and ideas.
And we are very very very lucky to still be in with a chance of survival. A new manager who knows how to attack and to win games - stranger things have happened! It's got to be worth a try.
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Comment | Southampton V Crystal Palace The Preview
at 10:56:17
Saintmark1976 is spot on. It's time to gamble PL. survival on Tall Pall.
We've tried everything else.
Plan A: Get the ball onto his head.
Plan B: Try to win free kicks on the edge of the area.
Plan C: See Plans A or B
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Comment | Southampton at West Ham United The Verdict
at 09:54:51
One of the problems is that we haven't been able to have very much consistency between our central defenders. Whenever it looks like a partnership or understanding is being built, one or. both get injured.
Tbh, every team concedes goals and some from set pieces. The bigger thing for me is that in the 9 1-0 defeats, we haven't scored. If we were able to score 1 or 2 at the other end, one unfortunate game wouldn't be so fatal for us.
As for VAR. The guy was clearly level and onside. It's all very well saying that you agree with VAR in principle - but it's impossible to split the 'principle' from the practice. The system we have at the moment is completely useless and should be scrapped until they can come up with something that doesn't ruin the game. Nothing at all would be better than what we have at the moment. |
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Comment | Southampton V Brentford The Verdict
at 12:14:15
I enjoyed the game. I think we are showing good signs of improvement. It's never easy to break down a team that parks the bus - especially when your attacking threat is as weak as ours.
But the goal from the corner! The amount of time and space Norgaard had was ridiculous. Nobody was anywhere near him. He was able not only to flick the ball on but to flick it towards the goal too, so that Tony just had to nudge it over the line. Had any defender been putting any pressure on him, he might had flicked it on still but not with the same accuracy.
The one moment lost us the game. |
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Comment | Southampton Take A Big Leap Of Faith With Ruben Selles
at 12:31:20
The damage was done in the 8 PL games under Jones.
Selles feels like the right appointment at this time. And fair play to the club for rolling the dice with him early and ending the managerial chatter.
He seems to have the players very much on side. Good luck to him and let's see what he can do. |
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Comment | Watt View - Sulemana and Onuachu: It could be magic (if they play)
at 23:05:11
If only - you can spin it however you want. He was the boss. Why has he not been living and dying by his own philosophy to date??
It’s an excuse. Everything he said was an attempt to shift the responsibility for 3 Pts/21 to someone other than Nathan Jones.
When the real Nathan Jones please stands up, sure, let’s see how we do against Wolves.
Or are you giving the real Nathan Jones another 7 games to prove himself? Seems only fair - he’s one of the best coaches in Europe, but he’s not a miracle worker. |
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Comment | Watt View - Sulemana and Onuachu: It could be magic (if they play)
at 17:47:42
My Dad is 87 and not a Saints fan. Even he commented - re Jones‘ post-Match comments - that Jones was ‚talking in riddles‘.
Jones is just making excuses. Trying to make out that he‘s not really been in charge so far is pathetic. And the assumption, if that were the case, that he should be allowed more games to eventually do it ‚his way‘ is delusional.
He’s the manager. 3 points from 7 PL games under his watch. And the answer is more Nathan Jones?
I don’t think so.
He has crashed the bus. He needs to crawl away from the wreckage, get himself to a hospital and let the emergency services take over. |
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Comment | Southampton V Aston Villa The Preview
at 14:34:56
March 2022, we faced Villa away unbeaten in 5, having won the previous 2 and beaten Spurs and drawn with the two Manchesters in the three games before that.
We were flying...we crashed 4-0 at Villa Park and picked up only 5 more points during the rest of the season. It's when the rot really set in for Ralph.
I'm pretty confident that history is not going to repeat itself...
...but let's see...
Jones needs to find the consistency and progress that Ralph never could.
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Comment | Southampton V Manchester City The Carabao Cup Verdict
at 11:20:15
It was one of Saints' best performances in a long time. Two great goals, always in the game and on the front foot, and never really sitting back and soaking up wave after wave of Man City pressure, as has been the case in the past.
Nathan Jones is an idiosyncratic chap. His press conference comments in defence of himself have been pretty feisty and not the normal PR managed stuff that Premier League managers usually deliver. A lot of people - me included - have found it irritating. The on field performances were very poor against Brighton and Forest and it seemed like Jones was making excuses and playing the victim.
Well fair play to him. He said he had a plan, that he did know what he was doing that it was disrespectful to write him off so quickly. And he's now won two games this week and we are still in two cups that I thought we'd be knocked out off, and we've got two new players already.
He's proved he can manage a team to compete at this level. Couldn't have a bigger task. We'll see if he can do it consistently, but I think the fears that he is completely out of his depth have lessened a bit.
Feeling positive about the next game for the first time in a long time!
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Comment | Southampton V Manchester City The Carabao Cup Preview
at 11:37:15
As you say, Nick, at this stage we can't really do anything but try to keep the faith and hope for the best.
This was one trip too far for me this season but I am still looking forward to watching it this evening on the telly.
I guess by Sunday we'll know a bit more about the Nathan Jones project. Until then we just have to wish him well. |
| | DorsetIan
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