 | News
Comment | Watt View - Fantastic win but Jones need to focus on football
at 13:45:04
Agree with SaintPaulVW and many of the comments above : None of us were happy with the poor Premier League performances - and lack of ' manager bounce' - despite 6 weeks with the squad. He deserves time - yet he also must expect that what happens on the pitch will attract comment - and rightly so. That's part of the business.
All this seemed to logically reflect his lack of Premier League experience. His media performances have also not been great and he needs to rethink what he is doing and how he is coming over.
What a super result - that's his best response - and focussing on that wonderful performance would be his best way to talk to the media |
| News
Comment | Southampton At Fulham The Verdict
at 19:30:44
Much better performance. Should have got the draw they deserved.
However, in the big pressure moments Jones looked like a rabbit in the headlights.
He is learning on the job - with not much time now
Cannot see what was done in the World Cup break. |
| News
Comment | Southampton V Brighton The Verdict
at 11:44:27
Jones appointment is a massive risk- given his experience and level of capability. The PL is unforgiving of any weakness. He has had massive amount of time with the players- far more than usually given to new managers in hand-overs. This performance feels very ominous.
The owners have tried to hire a young coach. We must assume that they know what he has been coaching over the last weeks - and also what effect it is having on the players.
My untutored, feeling without knowledge of these details is - I hope they are talking to some Managers who have stopped working after World Cup - because Jones cannot lose many games before he loses the squad.
|
| News
Comment | Will Armando Broja Return To Southampton In January Window
at 11:21:42
Remember that RH had to go through period where he had to " encourage " Broja to work much harder and take on his pressing duties. I did feel that Broja dropped off his work rate
For high press to work then entire team has to press - if that does not happen - then more players have to be played deeper - OR the wide players and central defenders have to get up and back much quicker -
Last years central defenders were not as quick as the guys we now have this year - however - against that - our fastest wing backs are both injured |
| News
Comment | Ralph Hasenhuttl An Appreciation
at 12:06:45
Excellent Summary Nick. Hassenhutl did an excellent job in challenging circumstances.
You remind us all of those issues and achievements. He will go down as being one of the very best - in that he kept us in the Premier League - when we had every logical reason to get relegated - and become like those clubs - such as Sunderland, Wigan, West Brom - who dream of better days - whilst Saints are actually now the 11th most experienced PL club despite massive lack of resources - until very recently.
In terms of the fans. I guess every one has a right to an opinion. Social media amplifies and encourages that. Good owners and good managers accept that reality - even if some responses do go beyond what is fair or justifiable. It is part of the business - for football and other areas where opinions are vented angrily and with deep frustration.
I feel that the fans do not sack the Manager- and did not do it in this case.
Hassenhutl can now have a relaxing Xmas - he has been well paid for a tough job. He really deserves the break. Goodness knows how he kept his energy and enthusiasm going in such tough circumstances.
Enjoy it Ralph and Thank you. |
| News
Comment | Southampton At Crystal Palace The Verdict
at 10:32:27
The frustration expressed makes sense. However, we have radically changed our team - recruited/invested in a very large number of players - including some young, high quality talented - yet inexperienced players from clubs who did not out them into PL games. The PL is toughest and most unforgiving league in the world with no easy games- any shift down in performance immediately gets punished.
Good News at last - Saints owners are now investing - in ways that mean all these new players will get the chance to play - and to learn. The owners plan is to increase the value of those players for ultimate resale at massive increase in value ( Saints historic strategy) - because - at Saints - they were given the chance to gradually become proven PL players.
However, that comes with a big risk - because learning players may not be as consistent as someone like Romeu - for example - ultimately became. That is what we are now seeing and experiencing. |
| News
Comment | Southampton At Bournemouth The Verdict
at 01:05:32
Good to see positive comments. We have a brand new team - lots of young players - and every game is massive. We have just got to get behind them until they gradually get used to each other + get used to the pace as well as the systems need to learn to play. We are also missing three of the best new players - Livramento, Lavia and Bella-Kotchap. COYR.
Gerrard did well didn't he........goes to show how tough it is to manage in this league - and he had plenty of investment ......and bought expensive experienced players.....he still could not hack it |
| News
Comment | Southampton V Everton The Verdict
at 11:01:30
As we could all see - neither team was good in the 1st half- then in the 2nd half Saints moved the ball faster - had more intensity and played massively better. However, as noted above Everton experienced defenders were able to ensure Saints did not capitalise on their good 2nd Half - whereas our defence made some basic errors.
We can easily blame the Manager - as we all often wish to do. However, we should also examine the big change in business strategy - which is to bring in very promising younger players - who are good enough to play yet who do not get the opportunity to play in the rich teams who soak up much of the talent. We buy them in at lower price and sell them at a higher price - its worked for years at Saints. It is now a very explicit and pro-active strategy that increases capital value of the club and makes money for the club
Saints are attractive to those younger players - however there is one issue. They have to get games. We must play the younger players and also play those who have less PL experience. It is better to do that earlier in the season. It is a massive gamble - yet it is the only choice when you have bought in a great many new young inexperienced players.
|
| News
Comment | Saints Squad In Better Shape Than This Time Last Year
at 12:09:04
good summary. Only comment I would add that is critical is that the coaching staff in support of Ralph does seem to have been substantially improved. If the model is to improve players - then better coaching at 1st team level and entrance into 1st team is important. Ralph looked on his own previously - once he lost the coach he brought with him. |
| News
Comment | Matthew Le Tissier Speaks Out About His Beliefs
at 18:52:42
Tragic that such a wonderful player - is being used by others.
He should stick to football
Nick should stick to football issues also - giving Le Tissier this football platform to air opinions on political issues and personal views is simply increasing the traffic on issues that are properly addressed elsewhere.
Thats why he lost his job as a football commentator - he was commenting on things that he was not qualified to talk about.
He is justified in talking about football - he was a truly spectacular footballer.
I will just keep watching the videos of his epic goals - and try to eliminate the videos above from my memory of Matt. |
| News
Comment | Southampton At Leicester City The Verdict
at 14:53:49
Very good comment about saying he wants to leave in 2024.
It is an indication of how he is feeling.i.e. the pressure is simply too hard to bear.
It is natural he would want to stop but saying it will likely affect the players |
| News
Comment | Southampton At Leicester City The Verdict
at 13:46:09
The fundamental issue is how much you spend on players. Southampton have never been big spenders - but since Gao Jisheng purchased the club - we have simply not invested.
The current manager has done an incredible job at maintaining our status - allied to developing young or inexperienced players. Until last year - many players in the squad were on big wages and were not delivering - yet we stayed up. This year - by selling our most experienced players - there was some money to get some less experienced players- - a big gamble - yet still kept us up. I feel sure he is totally exhausted. The effort required to keep this ship floating has been incredibly intense. He is not the cause of the issues. |
| News
Comment | Southampton v Liverpool The Verdict
at 10:29:09
Liverpool were again totally outstanding. It was a remarkable performance by the team. They were immense. Klopp has created an incredible squad ethic. Saints were given no space and no time. The Saints players played with high intensity and great skill - yet Liverpool kept closing them down. Saints managed to get an outstanding goal from Redmond ( I notice no one comments on that) - and Redmond was excellent throughout Liverpool played the same v Chelsea in the FA Cup final - even with different players - and Chelsea - even with their massive investment - had trouble coping. So Saints with minimal investment and many players without that depth of experience - were also struggling to live with Liverpool's intensity. Let's see how Real Madrid live with this. Bottom Line - Saints players were excellent and better than previously. Many Saints players were given the opportunity to play and gave it their best shot. Hassenhutl is an excellent manager playing against one of THE greatest Liverpool teams and one of their greatest Managers |
| News
Comment | Saints Kyle Walker Peters gets England Call Up
at 08:48:24
An outstanding character - to keep pushing forward each time he had a barrier - and to keep positive and determined. Amazing guy. Very well deserved call up. Superb player. Let's hope he stays |
| News
Comment | Southampton V West Ham United The FA Cup Verdict
at 12:58:03
I was also suprised by the selections - however the players brought in were all in the squad - are well paid professionals - and all want to be playing and will perform given the chance..
In addition the number of games played is large - and the Saints high press is not to sustainable unless you fully rotate. So - Ralph put the trust in his players. They responded to his trust in them - as they have all season - and before.
Who did not start at Norwich - who started last night - Caballero, Perraud, Stephens, Diallo, Long, Armstrong, Djenepo. All are experienced Premier League players who have given some great performances for Saints. Hardly risky selections.
Who are more risky selections : Smallbone - young player coming back after injury. Valery - young player being groomed in a new position.
So Ralph should be congratulated by us all - before the game :) - for trusting in his players - that is how Saints have worked well. Encouraging players to give their best.
There will always be some players playing better than others at any point of the season. Does that mean we should only play the best 11 ? That can never work in the Premier League. It is too physically punishing.
Great credit to Ralph - he had the guts to do what West Ham did not - i.e. Rotate his squad and trust in his squad - All of them |
| News
Comment | Southampton V Manchester United The Verdict
at 16:56:29
Great performance and great comments above.
What was also great to see was the performances of the players sold : Hojbjerg - On the bench for Spurs £15m : Ings - Got on the pitch in 72nd minute ( guess he was not injured anyway ) £25m : Vestergard - got on in 89th minute £15m
AND Both Villa and Leicester are now below Saints in the table
Great work by the team and by Hassenhutl - Superb development of young talent - and old heads |
| News
Comment | Chelsea "Insider" Reveals Interesting Southampton Broja Transfer news
at 15:48:47
Interesting article - Chelsea have quality form for letting great players leave -
Lukaku was bought by Chelsea for c £10m - then sold for £18m....then recently bought again for £97m.
De Bruyne - Bought by Chelsea for £7m - sold for £18m - then eventually bought by Man City for £55m - to become one of their greatest players.
Plenty of others - Moh Salah, Rice, Lamptey ....
If we can get into that Chelsea loop - would be good business for both clubs - we buy Broja - in same way as Livramento - with a 1st Buy back option for Chelsea. ...so they get him back as he gest World class...if he does
Broja is a Chelsea fan .....but will he be given the prime striker role at Chelsea or will he be happy as a Part Time striker ..........Lukaku does not enjoy the job :)
|
| | pwithers123
|
Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 0 | | Comment Votes: | 96 | | Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 96 |
|
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.