 | News
Comment | Southampton At Brentford The Damning Verdict
at 11:59:28
There are , to my mind, four possible outcomes to our current problems:-
Allow RM to continue with his ways and accept the consequences
RM changes his method of play to suit our players
The players change the style of play to suit what they can do best
RM is dismissed and a less fanciful head coach is appointed
We really don't want to see another 0-9 at St Marys (or elsewhere involving Saints)
I think we do have a good enough squad to see us through but, time is not something we'll be given in abundance in this division. |
| News
Comment | Southampton At Cardiff The Carabao Cup Verdict
at 15:15:29
I'm glad James Bree got some positive words in this report. I've always thought he's a tidy player and, whilst not possessing exceptional skills, is a useful guy to provide cover when necessary. Edozie was openly wasteful again last night and we can't afford crosses to no-one. Agreed that Archer should start as a number 9 in our next game. Amo-Ameyaw was a constant nuisance, but did lose the ball a fair amount. I thought Dibling started well but, faded out of the game until late second half. Fernandes looks to be the real thing. I wonder if RM has taken Colwill's name down in his Christmas wish list. |
| News
Comment | Southampton V Nottingham Forest The Verdict.
at 11:19:45
I also believe the inflexibility shown by RM at this game was a large contributory factor to our defeat. Forest started predictably quickly and we were overwhelmed in midfield. They detected a weakness on our right, with Smallbone drifting to the centre leaving Sugawara to mark both Hudson-Odoi and Aina on his own - and he did it reasonably well however, as Forest continued their all out assault our crowd went quiet, all home advantage atmosphere evaporated and our team failed to respond. The obvious lack of playing a centre forward was unforgiveable before halftime. Even if Edozie had come on on the left (oh, for Ryan Fraser) and Diaz had moved to the middle it might have been more fruitful but, no, Russell sat on his hands until it was far too late. Home fans did get behind the team with the introduction of new blood but, they scored and we did not and a feeling of doom for the season descended and marked the exodus. We've missed out on O'Riley and Carvalho, and what we've spent would have surely got one of them if we'd moved early enough. Due to these omissions and Russell's slow reaction to obvious trouble, we are already in a position where we could be cast adrift within a few weeks. Then the supporters won't be leaving early, they just won't turn up. If we don't have the class that's fair enough in a finance dominated league but, at least give us some fight. One weak shot on target might as well have been accompanied by the waving of a white flag. |
| News
Comment | Southampton Nearing Cash Plus Player Transfer Deal
at 10:28:27
We can only speculate as to why RM is agreeable to Charly leaving. Maybe his sale is the best bet, at this late stage of the window, to generate some cash so that we can resolve the more urgent GK situation. Alternatively, perhaps his somewhat fiery temperament makes him difficult to manage in terms of playing the RM way. He always appears to want to go forwards even if that's not the best option and, therefore, does sometimes lose possession. Nevertheless, I'll be very sorry to see him go as we don't have many attack-minded players in our squad. |
| News
Comment | Sekou Mara Departs
at 12:47:39
I don't think Mara would have cut it in the EPL without someone laying on opportunities for him, rather than him creating them. He was, in my opinion, something of a carthorse and his recent laughable penalty attempt finally made my mind up for me. Good luck to him but, I doubt he'll be missed. |
| News
Comment | Russell Martin Confirms No One Is Refusing To Play
at 14:31:28
It seems to me that the ones who won't play for us are those on our shortlist e.g., O'Riley, Carvalho, Ramsdale and Jack Clarke and any number of wingers, including Ryan Fraser. Are Saints really that cash-strapped? If we did get those aforenamed we'd surely have a real chance of survival next season but, as things are, we're on the road to humiliation and relegation. Russell Martin must know this, as will the board but, why invest so much last season to go up and then watch that success fizzle out? There has to be some movement in and out within the next few days for us to have any chance. |
| News
Comment | Southampton V Oxford United The Verdict
at 10:15:44
I take little notice of friendlies since I saw Chris Marsden turn in a park standard performance against FC Utrecht which made me feel embarrassed in front of my Arsenal-supporting guest. Marsden then went on to have the season of his life for Saints. The point about McCarthy's strengths and weaknesses is, however, valid. I'm still of the opinion that his re-emergence at the end of last season is one of the main reasons Saints were promoted. RM needs to consider what Alex can do well and play accordingly if he's to be between the posts for us. |
| News
Comment | Southampton Ready To Break Transfer Record In Next Week
at 13:16:28
Shea Charles impressed me whenever he got the chance to fill in towards the end of last seson. I think it would be a mistake to let him goas he's only going to improve further, something that can't be said of a few others in our squad I could mention. |
| News
Comment | It's Official Adam Lallana Returns To Southampton
at 11:03:13
I recall that Adam had a heart problem which initially deterred bigger clubs from coming in for him when Saints were in the doldrums. At his best he was an outstanding playmaker for us and now that Stuart Armstrong has gone we lack creativity. The fact he chased the dollar is symptomatic of all talented players and he won't be the last we lose. If Lallana can help us gain points next season that's really all that matters. If his son turns out to be half the player his dad was we'll all be happy. |
| News
Comment | Stuart Armstrong Weighing Up Options
at 15:35:32
Although he's injury prone, Stuart Armstrong possesses something that nobody else currently at Saints has, and that is the instinctive aptitude for splitting the opposition's defence with a single pass. Add to that his ability to test the keeper from dead-balls in the way that JWP or Rickie could and he is genuinely well-read, having a law degree. He's got to be worth a couple of years contract as not many have a CV like that. |
| News
Comment | Saints May Have To Cash In On Star Defender
at 09:26:06
I'd try and keep him. To my mind he had his best season just finished and his partnership with Harwood-Bellis is only in its infancy and will surely only improve as Jan probably has another four years in him (and he knows RM's preferred method of playing). |
| News
Comment | Saints Can Now Start Planning Their Transfer Strategy For The Premier League
at 09:13:31
We need experience if we are to survive in the EPL this time. We already have one example of experience paving our way to promotion and that, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, came in the return of (and return to form of) Alex McCarthy. Llalana and Ings know how to play successfully in the EPL. Look how the battle-hardened Tarkowski has performed for Everton this season. We could with a couple of defenders in his mould (and he's thirty-two). |
| News
Comment | Southampton At West Bromwich Albion The Play Off Verdict
at 17:33:52
I would like to know whether Jack Stephens is instructed to pass the ball regularly across the edge of our penalty area when faced with oncoming opposition forwards. Even park sides know not to do that! I thought Harwood- Bellis was off form yesterday and not for the first time recently. The messing around with the defence seems to have had a negative effect on him. I think we all know that Manning isn't a prem quality defender and Mara probably won't make an effective forward if we do get promoted. That said, after yesterday's fifteen minutes of rabbit's caught in a car's headlights, the team did battle for the draw. We will, however, have to be a damn sight quicker about our business in the next game. |
| News
Comment | Southampton At Leeds United The Verdict
at 14:43:01
It made me think that had we have adapted out tactics to suit other games played recently in the way that we did yesterday we might have already been in the promised land. There is no doubt that we have the strongest squad of the four remaining competing teams (whether any are good enough to sustain more than one season in the EPL is open to question) but, will we turn up for our final three games. That has been the problem since our "run" ended. If they ever make a footballing version of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly then Saints are surely the requisite team. I think I smell Wembley at the very least. |
| News
Comment | Southampton At Cardiff City The Verdict
at 10:47:35
Although I personally think that the current obsession with passing out from the back to the detriment of any other form of attack is killing football as much as the disgrace that is VAR (thankfully not affecting us) however, apart from often boring total possession, I have to concede that RM has done a reasonable job with the squad he's got and had he have had a few more premiership quality players we would certainly be going up. In the event that we do go up then (with this squad) we will be facing a very difficult season and struggling throughout. We simply aren't better than many, if any teams in the EPL and Sports Republic's ventures in the transfer market thus far have not revealed many gems. Whether Ross Stewart is the striker we all crave is open to question. Would we have been any more effective had we have kept Paul Onuachu or Nathan Tella, who knows? When you look at what we've got the situation is no different to the last two season's under Ralph - we don't have the spine of a top-class keeper, a commanding centre back, a gifted playmaker (even more apparent if Stuart Armstrong goes) or a true goal poacher. Oh, and we're faced with another £90 on our STs and games against Portsmouth. I just hope the club is lucky enough to enjoy much the same levels of support as it has now. |
| News
Comment | Southampton V Preston North End The Verdict
at 11:34:38
I don't think I'd be a happy bunny if I was Joe Lumley. Russell Martin's post match comment that he "wanted to see what Alex could do" didn't sound convincing to me. Perhaps he was putting McCarthy in the shop window, as he must have known about his frailties from previous performances. I thought that playing Aribo in front of KWP worked well. Although slightly off his game at first, Joe provided cover to the extent that when a truly lacklustre Preston did manage any attacks it was down our left where Ryan manning was his usual self, sometimes losing the ball but, always battling to win it back. Che Adams also showed a rarely seen sharpness and anticipation in his two scores. I was sad that he didn't get his hat-trick and I though he could've stayed on for longer as we seemed to lose our purpose when he went off and became content to play out the game as a practice session. Shea Charles did his prospects no harm with a commanding 45 minutes. All in all a good performance and satisfying clean sheet. |
| News
Comment | Southampton V Watford The Verdict
at 13:48:36
No doubt about it in my mind, Russell Martin doesn't know how to close a game out. As we have stuttered towards the season's end his game management and substitutions have become more and more bizarre. We won in spite of Martin's tinkering, not because of them. I really don't think Jack Stephens should be a shoe-in each match, let alone captain. As for Gavin, he looks more and more vulnerable every time he appears (and that's despite vocal support from the Northam). If we do go up they shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the Premier League. |
| News
Comment | Southampton V Coventry City The Verdict
at 11:07:34
I thought the substitutions were unbalanced. It was obvious that the midfield had run their race and to bring on Mara for Adam was bizarre. I'd also add that Mara did nothing for his cause while he was on. He loped around in a completely aimless way, didn't hold the ball up and easily lost possession. Maybe he's disillusioned by all the backroom gossip, and he probably won't be the only one wondering what next season holds. More positively, Shea Charles looked robust and tidy when he arrived and, at 21 and 6' 2" he is one for the future. I'm still unsure about Gavin Bazunu but, fair play, last night he had a decent game despite being exposed by the lack of defence organisation in front of him. RM made the job a lot harder to get done than was necessary, in my opinion. Stuart armstrong should've been on much earlier. His effect on calming things down was noticeable. Glad we've effectively made the play-offs. That should keep the players interested. |
| News
Comment | Southampton At Ipswich The Verdict
at 15:59:49
It all goes back to the question of whether we can maintain RM's passing game for ninety plus minutes and we patently can't. Whether that is because it is too demanding or we don't possess the collective skills is open to debate. We certainly don't have enough players to make up an eleven that can survive in the prem. Promotion or not we'll be needing a whole new set of players in September and the loss of Jason Wilcox is, to my mind, a bigger blow than if RM is replaced although I must concede that with a few more proficient players than we currently have he might have got us automatically upstairs. |
| | halftimeorange
|
Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 0 | | Comment Votes: | 2342 | | Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 2342 |
|
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.