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Comment | Virgil Van Dijk Signs For Koeman's Agent
at 08:16:51
There is only one way to extend or break the cycle.
At some point the club has to say no and show signs of building around a talented core.
On a personal note I'm struggling to get my son along as regularly. He finds it soul destroying seeing favourite players leave all the time i know that is part of football, but the pace and volume is tough to take without eroding that sense of identity with the team.
For the record, I like Puel. I like the rotation - he has produced consistently decent performances out of the squad and they do get the formation. And Sims and McQueen have been great. Our issue is solely finishing and being progressive. He is an intelligent bloke, so let's give him time. Plus he says thing like dribbling without lucidity. 🙂 |
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Comment | Saints Fans Not keen On Eddie Howe To Succeed Ronald Koeman.
at 12:46:53
i really like Eddie Howe. Considered, intelligent, forward thinking, and I can see how he could fit in well with the way the club is run. But I also agree with many of the comments above.
However, one observation - a good chunk of us Saints fans were a little disparaging for both the Adkins and Pochettino announcements. In hindsight they were both rather shrewd appointments. Same with Koeman - he wasn't a name on the normal manager merry-go-round lists a couple of years back. They've certainly earned my trust to appoint the right person this time round. |
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Comment | Player Review 2015/16 ! Kelvin Davis
at 10:06:29
He got player of the season and made the team of the season two years in a row. He had offers when we were relegated and going into administration and he stayed loyal. In the meantime he is recognised as contributing massively to the team cohesion and linking the dressing room to the management, and has therefore contributed in other ways to our year on year improvement.
But yes, I'm also more confident in Forster's command of the area on crosses! |
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Comment | Saints V Crystal Palace The Verdict
at 12:40:01
Thought the game looked like one of those days at first, with a lot of closing down. They seemed to be targeting Fonte. The first goal changed the game and it became a lot more open.
Next season will be interesting. The only two teams that have been consistent this season have been Leicester and Aston Villa. Everyone else seems capable of beating anyone on their day. If we can get the consistency from the second half of the season throughout next year then we could be a definite force.
Then again, as my nan used to say, "should ifs and ands be pots and pans there'd be no need for tinkers". |
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Comment | Part 1 Doesn't Go Our Way !
at 15:42:58
Actually, Nick is right - a West Ham loss or draw would work, as our GD would improve with a win. |
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Comment | Part 1 Doesn't Go Our Way !
at 15:41:45
@SaintsGeorge If Man U had drawn or won then they would have been on 64 or 66 points - and we can only get to 63 with a win against Palace.
For us to get to 5th then we need to win. We also need both Man U and West Ham to lose their final matches, and for Liverpool to fail to get maximum points from their remaining two games.
On the negative side, we can end up 8th even if we do win. None of this is in our hands. |
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Comment | Part 1 Doesn't Go Our Way !
at 10:05:27
That was the only result that would give us a chance of 5th place. Staying positive!! |
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Comment | Saints Can Win Last Two Games And Make History
at 14:44:10
When those "big" teams play us I actually feel more confident. I think we are better when we counter attack and stretch.
Too many games this season have been a struggle because either a) we break to slowly, rather than incisively as we did on Sunday or b) the opposition is set up themselves to defend and break. |
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Comment | Saints Can Win Last Two Games And Make History
at 14:44:09
When those "big" teams play us I actually feel more confident. I think we are better when we counter attack and stretch.
Too many games this season have been a struggle because either a) we break to slowly, rather than incisively as we did on Sunday or b) the opposition is set up themselves to defend and break. |
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Comment | Saints Have An Advantage A Year On !
at 13:26:10
I think that the new additions are looking pretty healthy. VVD, Soares, Clasie and Romeu all quality additions, and they are all getting stronger week by week. Cuco is a useful squad player, and that screamer was worth £1m by itself. Juanmi is still young and may well adjust to the English game. He obviously has skill and potential. And Charlie Austin's red and white. And we offloaded some heavy costs in the last year as well.
So all in all, last summer's work was pretty damn good. |
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Comment | Saints European Ambitions Dented By City and Spurs FA Cup Exits
at 09:35:42
I'd be happy to get rid of the League Cup. Get rid of the Europa League, and replace it with the Cup Winners Cup again. Straight knockout competition. Personally I would like to see the Champions League revert to the older shorter format as well.
That would make the number of games more practical for those competing across the board. And then the Premier League could revert to 22 teams. |
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Comment | West Ham United Targeting Sadio Mane ! But Why ?
at 11:58:30
One of those unpredictable players that can make a real difference. Doesn't consistently produce, but when he does he is unplayable.
As for the £60m number, wasn't that based on dodgy internet sites adding the cost of wages (over the supposed contract term) on top of the transfer fee? |
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Comment | Saints At Manchester United The Verdict
at 10:54:13
Good write up. I liked "the United faithless". They come across as very critical. One thing I like about Saints is that when we force a pass rather than play it safe, we don't get on the players' backs if it doesn't come off. United are a little too easy to defend against at the moment as they play the obvious percentage pass too often. We were guilty of that not so long ago. Playing Long has changed that.
On the wages front, you don't want wages to be the reason that they play for you - you can think of a couple of expensive flops who fall into that category - but you also don't want it to be the reason they don't want to join or the reason for them to leave. Hunger for success should come from somewhere else, or the recruitment team haven't got the right sort of player for our squad. |
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Comment | Saints V West Bromwich Albion The Verdict
at 16:47:38
Given that Koeman and the squad had three games in eight days, perhaps it was always the plan to rotate the midfield to keep them fres. Likewise, Tadic rarely makes more than 60-70 minutes in a game, so using him as a 30 min substitute makes sense in that context.
We have a decent squad, and I'm sure that Koeman has a 14 player team planned for each match. He's a good man manager and knows what he's doing. |
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Comment | Will Gaston Ramirez Play A Part This Season ?
at 10:50:00
There are certain teams that are likely to sit deep against Saints, with a couple of defensive lines and hope for a goal on the break. We always struggle there, predictably playing the percentage passes. Ramirez is a good off the bench option for those games as he has the guile and vision to do something unexpected.
He did a few of those - I remember a game where he did a blind flick off the outside of the boot with back to goal that sent Lallana through to score. Before that point the game was drifting to a disappointing draw.
I really like Davis, JWP and co., and they are overall more important to our playing ethos, but Ramirez offers something different. |
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Comment | Spurs Too Mean To Pay What A Player Is Worth (Again)
at 10:31:21
This is my favourite post from you - absolutely mirrors my own thoughts on the matter. Saints should flat out refuse to deal with clubs and agents linked with tapping up, intentionally unsettling players, and flagrant abuse of the rules via agents, social media, and tradition media outlets.
Make it clear how Saints do business and stick to that line. |
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Comment | The Transfer Window Causes Chaos But Is There An Alternative
at 11:08:17
I would welcome a shorter window, closing mid August.
And I like that idea about a cap on the number of "owned" players.
And I would love to see a system where the base wage of a player for flat across all teams in a league, and it was only bonuses on playing time, goals, clean sheets etc. that brought their wages up. That would give key players food for thought before "stepping up" to become peripheral figures for one of the top 6, and would help to keep the league a little more competitive.. |
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Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 0 | | Comment Votes: | 38 | | Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 38 |
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