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Comment | Minamino Deal A Real Coup For Southampton
at 11:18:26
Block8 Completely agree with the fullbacks thing. I am loathe to criticise our manager, but to leave ourselves with 1 specialist first teamer in any single position is nuts - and we have *chosen* to do it with *both* full back positions. And when you think of how important FBs are in our style of football it makes even less sense. |
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Comment | Hasenhuttl Praises Oriol Romeu But No News Of A New Contract !
at 11:18:50
Genuinely believe he's our best player other than Ings. No team in modern football is successful without a proper DM and after Fabinho, Kante, Ndidi and maybe Fernandinho i can't think of anyone better in the League in that job. Madness to let him leave on a free. |
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Comment | All Change At Right Back For Saints
at 17:38:32
The Valery situation is a weird one. A virus, i think i read somewhere? Where's Kayne Ramsay this season too? He was deemed good enough to play against City last season, but is now below Danso at right back?
Come to think of it, where's Ivan Golac these days?! [ask your Dad, kids] |
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Comment | Saints At Tottenham Hotspur The Verdict
at 10:59:11
Agreed. I know it's not fashionable to be critical of our manager, but not being Mark Hughes does not automatically make you the messiah. I think we did some decent business over the summer, but priority 1 (and quite possibly 2 as well) was a central defender and he failed in that. He then sold Targett without having any confidence in Vokins to play in the first team. It's not great Squad Management.
And then to change your entire formation and game plan when a player gets injured in the warm up when you have a like-for-like replacement on the bench is really odd and if i were Valery i would be massively hacked off. |
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Comment | Saints Accounts Released
at 14:14:07
Watching Dusan Tadic rip apart Real Madrid last night I reckon not selling him and replacing him with Moi Elyonoussi might have helped the finances and the league position... #winwin |
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Comment | Can Vestergaard Now Show He Has What It Takes !
at 11:23:00
I don't think there's a lot between any of Hoedt, Vestergaard, Stephens, Bednarek and Yoshida in terms of ability. The biggest thing Fonte had that we haven't replaced is leadership and organisational skills. That comes with experience and we don't have an old head back there - aside from Yoshi, JV is the oldest at 26! The Cahill idea above is a good one. He'd be an upgrade up in every sense. If he won't come, i think we need to pick a pairing and just stick with them. Chopping and changing every game isn't working, unsurprisingly... |
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Comment | Is Mario Lemina About To Leave ?
at 11:46:05
It's a tough one this, because as many have said on here, we have a good set of central midfielders in Romeu, Lemina, JWP, Davis, Hojberg and Armstrong (you could throw Reed and Hesketh in there too, let's not forget how important the whole "path to the first team" is to our club and our recruitment policy). My problem with them is that (Armstrong aside, perhaps) they are all a bit similar: Positional sense, hard working, decent passers and anywhere between 0 and 3 goals a season. If we're going to play 3 centre backs we shouldn't need as many of these kind of central midfielders. We've been crying out for a more attacking central midfielder for a while now and i think it was a big contributing factor in our lack of goals last season. 6-10 goals a season but just someone who wants to get in the box will create space and opportunities for our strikers too. Hopefully Armstrong is that guy, especially at home. |
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Comment | 2017/18 Season Review - Jack Stephens
at 13:59:47
A teeny bit harsh i think. He's a candidate for 'most improved' player this year (although admittedly that cupboard is pretty bare), but you're right that there's a lot more to do and he absolutely should not be first choice. However, unlike Maya, Jack is still young enough to improve, although he's actually OLDER than Wesley Hoedt! |
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Comment | 2017/18 Season Review - Maya Yoshida
at 13:46:15
Completely agree Nick. When he came over as a 25/26 year old you could forgive the odd lapse as someone getting used to a better league or someone *just about* young enough for a centre half to stick with and hope for improvement. Truth is he's exactly the same now as he was then. Great example, great work ethic, never complains, but 4th choice is about right. |
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Comment | Saints Need To Bring In A Central Defender Now !
at 14:03:17
Pete Boggs. "We've just bid £5m for the newest bargain our amazing scouts have unearthed" shouts Les Reed from the rooftops. "What's that? The price has now quadrupled? And now half the Premier League are interested too because they know our scouting team are better than theirs? D'oh." Yeah, damn his secrecy though.
And damn again him for wanting to bring Academy kids through to the first team. The b*stard. What the Premier League needs is more ready made imports.
And all sarcasm aside, 'carrying on from where we left off last season' would be a great place to start! A fifth season in a row in the top 10? Yes please (though a few more goals would be nice)! Could it be better - of course and i have suggested an opinion as to what we should do.
But regardless of what happens this season, this is probably the most consistent period in our history, in league terms. Certainly in my lifetime. Question is: Why aren't you enjoying it Pete? |
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Comment | Saints Need To Bring In A Central Defender Now !
at 11:48:07
Larry12 I am not a Reed hater because under his leadership we have come from League 1 (in 2010 when he joined) to finishing Top half of the Premier League 4 years in a row. Surely the guy deserves SOME of the credit for that?! Not all of it, granted, but surely his fair share?
My point is that for the last couple of summers, in my view (as someone who has never been a Director of Football) we should have gone and done a bit of business earlier in the window. My opinion is that this may have reassured some of those players (and managers!?) who were wondering if the club was ambitious enough for them.
It is not Les Reed's fault that some players want to leave for bigger money and better chances of winning trophies - it was ever thus. But I am not sure that he and the club have done all they can to mitigate this. That is my point.
But hey, maybe it's not that easy... |
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Comment | Saints Need To Bring In A Central Defender Now !
at 10:48:20
Completely agree Nick. I am not a Reed hater by any means, but we do seem to make the same mistakes, summer after summer.
To me the transfer window for clubs in Southampton's position is as much about perception as buying players. If we go out in June and buy a couple of additions that we know we need (Centre Half and Striker) then we send out a message to the van Dijk's of this world that we have ambition. Let's just say for argument's sake that we bought Sakho and Iheanacho for 40-50 million combined. We must have this money in the bank! VVD thinks 'ok, this lot mean business'. Maybe, just maybe he re-thinks.
Even if he doesn't, the rest of the squad (and the season ticket-buying fans!) think that losing him may not be the end of the world. As it is we buy an untried Polish kid and nobody else and as much as i disagree with the way VVD has gone about getting his transfer, you can't honestly blame him for wanting to move to a club that is showing some more ambition.
And by ambition, I don't mean top 4. Finishing Top 10 four years on the bounce is amazing and 6th is probably our glass ceiling the way football is these days, but other teams are improving while we're standing still. |
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Comment | Next Three Games Will Define Claude Puel's Season
at 16:47:24
I think this season has been very good. Europa League was a disappointment but a Cup Final more than makes up for that. As far as the league goes, the point of a rotation policy is to make sure we're in better shape than our rivals at precisely this stage of the season. To that extent, Nick's dead right. These are 3 winnable games. Win them and Puel can say that his policy has paid off at the business end of the season, lose them and everyone will - quite rightly - be asking what the point was. |
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Comment | Fonte Non Appearance In The Europa League Prompts Speculation !
at 13:05:09
My issue with letting Fonte leave goes beyond football. He's an excellent centre half for sure, but he's not Cannavaro. He is replaceable as a footballer. What would concern me more is the captaincy thing - on the field and off it. i have read several interviews with newly arrived Saints players who mentioned Jose specifically as a huge help in settling them into the area and the club. Jose and his Mrs have the newbies round for dinner, Jose makes sure they are not sat alone in a hotel room after training, he sets the standard and expectations around training that the young kids look up to. He's a huge part of the culture that has been so good for so long. If (and it is an if: it's only my impression) that stuff is true then that is much harder to replace - even more so than a very, very good centre half. |
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Comment | Saints Preparing To Get Tough On Fonte
at 09:04:31
Agree with both of you. Fonte seems such an important part of the club culture that on the one hand he is vital to keep but on the other hand you don't want to keep if they are unhappy. One thing for sure - if he goes we need to replace him twice over. Both in terms of a centre back and a leader. It always seemed to me that Fonte and Pelle were the heartbeat of the team - always talking, geeing up and the odd rant where needed, too. To lose both would be a big problem unless any of the new boys can step up and be the leaders we need. |
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Comment | Where Do Saints Still Need To Strengthen ?
at 12:16:14
Yeah i agree with some of that, although we can't rule out other departures, it seems!
GK - Forster, Gazza
RB - Cedric, Cuco
LB - Bertrand, Targett
CB - VVD, Fonte, Yoshida, Gardos (Stephens, Turnbull)
CM - Romeu, Hojbjerg, Clasie, Davis, JWP, Reed (Hesketh)
WM - Tadic, Redmond (Isgrove, McQueen?)
ST - Long, J-Rod, Austin (Gallagher, Seager, Olomola)
I think we could definitely do with: a Keeper - no one else even with a league game under their belt is a big worry; a centre half unless Stephens or Turnbull have moved up the pecking order after their (successful, by all accounts) loan spells for the last couple of seasons; a physical central midfielder with a bit of 'nasty' about them; a Winger 'cos Redmond is a kid and Tadic is a bit patchy, form-wise. Not sure we need a Striker in terms of numbers, but maybe in terms of quality. I would like to see Gallagher get a bit of game time this season so if we sign someone else we should probably let someone go. Same goes with Reed in central positions. We need to make sure these kids still see a path to the first team, or they'll stop coming! |
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Comment | Pelle Likely To Leave In The Summer
at 17:52:14
Agree with SaintBrock on the Pelle front - he seems to be a big figure in the dressing room and is clearly one of the leaders on the pitch - vocal, positive, always striving for more from his teammates. That cannot be underestimated.
I like the variety of Pelle or Long - i think it gives RK options which can only be a good thing. Pelle against Man Utd earlier in the season was an absolute target man demonstration - destroyed Blind in a match we should have won. Long showed against Arsenal that intelligent movement and a yard of pace is a great weapon against the best.
Austin is a strange one. On the face of it, an 18 goal PL striker, at 26 years old, for £8m (reported) is a no brainer. But how come nobody wants him?!? |
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Comment | Saints Refuse To Be Bullied By Liverpool Over Clyne
at 09:21:52
I would say there are 2 other things that are different this summer. Firstly, Southampton are now a 'fashionable' club, at least with Hodgson and the FA. The press may well be doing all they can to undermine us and preserve the status quo and their mates in the 'Big Clubs' , but whereas once upon a time if you had England / European ambitions you pretty much HAD to leave Southampton, now Clyne knows he can get capped and play in Europe at St Mary's. Second, we're buying players too, not just selling. My view is that last summer was like dominos - one left, there was no sign of a replacement (at the time), so the next one thought "sod this" and he went too. And on and on. Very different this year.
Will either have an effect in the long term? I dunno, maybe this is the hopeful nonsense of a blinkered fan but it must at least be a consideration?! |
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Comment | Saints NOT After Charlie Austin ! But Do They Need Him ?
at 17:29:10
I agree with Nick, although I guess it all depends on whether RK sees J-Rod as a 'leading the line' attacker. It is how he came to us, though MP very cleverly found him a unique role - not quite striker, not quite winger - that really worked for us. If RK doesn't see him as a line leader, then we need one as backup for Pelle and Austin fits that bill. If he likes J-Rod up top then Pelle, J-Rod and Sammy G are plenty of competition for the 1 position. Then, as Nick says, we have plenty of options to play off of either of them. |
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Comment | Italian Right Back Linked With Saints
at 10:09:55
We've lacked cover at right back since Callum left - it's the most obvious hole in our squad. Toby would be second choice, i would guess - he plays there for Belgium after all. Cork, Maya and, at a push, JWP could do a job. It is tricky, because as soon as reports come out claiming we're looking at a right back, so the rumours around Clyne's departure intensify. Not seen Byram or Rispoli, so can't comment, but we've been lucky with Clyne's fitness so far this season. I am glad we're looking at plugging this gap and as Nick rightly says, we should plug it now to (worst case scenario) give a potential replacement for Clyne time to bed in seamlessly for next season. Still hoping Manyoo go for Seamus Coleman, then a European Tour could nudge Clyne into signing! |
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