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Comment | Southampton V Nottingham Forest the Preview
at 10:44:53
While I agree there is a strong case for playing a back 4 at home to Notts Forest I think it unlikely that Aribo will lose his place as reports suggest he was one of last week’s top performers. I think Les will be on the bench and the question is whether we play the same team or lose a centre half to allow a more attacking player to feature. |
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Comment | Southampton About To Break The Bank For Greek Forward
at 08:59:42
It may be that the asking price is overstated but if we are thinking of spending this sort of money I would have thought a creative midfielder like O’Riley would be a more likely destination for our dosh. This guy constitutes a big gamble as he is untried outside Greece. |
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Comment | Southampton Agree Terms For Striker Deal Imminent
at 10:01:33
Very pleased about this signing. I have rated this guy since he played with Adam Armstrong at Blackburn. He definitely knows where the net is and proved last season that he can score goals in the premier league. This could be a brilliant bit of business and an upgrade on Che. |
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Comment | Southampton At Cardiff City The Verdict
at 10:17:28
I understand that there will always be those who dislike Russell Martin’s style of football and they will be there wherever he goes. However I have to say that when it all comes together it is a thing of beauty. Other clubs are increasingly playing the same way and I believe we will gradually get better at it. We are a work in progress still which often doesn’t sit well with fans who require instant success. Domination needs to be turned into goals and wins but it’s not as if we fail to create opportunities. Like those who disparaged Ward Prowse and wanted to drive him to his next club to get rid of him, many seem to underestimate the job RM has done to get Saints in with a very realistic chance of promotion. Other clubs will be watching with interest but I for one hope RM stays to complete the job. |
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Comment | Out Of Favour Defender Could Leave St Mary's On Deadline Day.
at 21:46:35
Nick I think the driving factor here is that we currently have six loan players and only five can be selected on match days. If as I suspect the least rated is Holgate and with Charles and Bree able to cover it would almost be unfair to keep him when he may get more game time elsewhere. |
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Comment | Crucial Day For Russell Martin On Saturday
at 11:51:04
Quite clearly after the turmoil of last season we need some stability so I too hope that RM can turn it around. I seem to remember that Lawrie McMenemy took over from Ted Bates when we were in the top half of the table and took us down. He ended up as the club’s most successful ever manager, but these days he would have been sacked in his first season. Like everyone I am unsure whether RM is the answer but unless we look in serious danger of relegation we simply have to get behind him and support the team. Negative vibes from the stands and indeed on social media can be pretty toxic for a club as we have seen elsewhere. |
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Comment | Southampton Hold Talks With Everton Over Defender
at 10:00:01
Agree with Ifonly. I would prefer to retain Stephens if he is willing to stay. Splashing the cash on players who their fans believe is an underperformer seems shortsighted. There is a massive gap in quality between Premiership and Championship and some of our own underperformers may rediscover their mojos in a lower league. Adams and Armstrong scored for fun last time they were there and if we can provide decent service to them may well do so again. |
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Comment | Saints Sign Luton Defender But It Is Not The Signing The Fans Want
at 09:38:13
I can’t argue with the sense of a budget addition to our fullback options, given Livarmento’s injury woes, but when I hear Jones talk about him as a centre half option l can’t help feeling that with our set piece woes the last thing we need is a 5’8†centre back! |
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Comment | Striker Said To Be Close To Southampton Transfer
at 11:05:09
Agreed he may not be what we really need but he does have potential. It’s a question of whether he’s a Mane or a Djnepo. I don’t think we would be willing to shell out 12 million + on Ings even if he was prepared to come. Orsic was considerably cheaper. I am still hopeful a proven central striker will be brought in but I think we may have to wait until the last moment. |
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Comment | Saints Already Planning Central Midfield Transfer Strategy For Next Season
at 11:35:31
It appears Ward Prowse is a bit of a marmite player to supporters, you either love him or hate him. He undoubtedly is a brilliant dead ball specialist and has an incredible engine. He also rarely gives the ball away. On the down side he lacks pace and can sometimes appear to lack urgency and invention, instead preferring patient build up. Personally I have always believed him to be the rock in the centre of the field, playing a role similar to Alan Ball. I hope he stays but if he goes for around 50 million I think it might be sound business. Of course the usual suspects will immediately say we lack ambition but in fairness many of those have often been less than complimentary about some of his performances. Nick is right in that the philosophy of the manager and the club is that no one is irreplaceable and different players will inevitably bring new challenges and benefits as the team hopefully evolves. |
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Comment | Ralph Hasenhuttl Intends To Retire From Football Management In 2024
at 11:12:32
At first I was a little unsettled by this news as like Nick I think Hassenhuttl has been head and shoulders above the quality of previous managers since Koeman. However I have realised that this is just Ralph being open and honest as usual. The Premier League must take an immense emotional toll on any manager especially if a proportion of your fan base spends most of their time ridiculing you, as it seems is the way these days. I understand entirely why he might want to do something else and while it will undoubtedly give ammunition to his detractors, in actual fact it gives the club clarity on future plans. Ralph can throw everything at the job over the next couple of seasons and if successful can walk away with a replacement already identified. Surely this is better than a manager hobbling on past their sell by date and leaving turmoil in their wake. We can potentially look forward to two years of stability and hopefully progress. |
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Comment | Southampton FC Half Term Report 2021/22
at 13:02:58
In general I agree with what Nick says and I also agree with deanosfc8 that we have much to thank Hassenhuttl for. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I fail to see how many other managers could have done any better in the circumstances and that is constantly recognised by other managers, whose opinion I value more than any of his armchair critics. As for Gao I would also prefer his laissez faire inertia to a hedge fund or frankly a morally dubious billionaire.
However I think you will find Dan N'Lundulu is loaned at Lincoln not Shrewsbury and although Small is very highly regarded, Simeu was never touted to be better than Livramento. |
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Comment | Southampton At Crystal Palace The Preview
at 13:00:23
With a game under his belt now I suspect Ralph will reunite Salisu with his early season partner Stephens so I’m preparing for Nick to lay any defeat squarely at his door. |
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Comment | Ralph Hasenhuttl On Aston Villa And Norwich Radar But Why Would He Go To Either !
at 12:30:52
The other reason I think Hassenhuttl will stay is that he has an immense respect and gratitude to the club that they stuck by him after those heavy defeats and backed him, rather than do the easy thing and sack him and not hold the players to account. He now has a team of players that he has been involved with bringing in and has rewritten and restructured the coaching practice at the club. Those who criticise him were having a field day a few weeks ago when all three teams were struggling badly, but the fortunes of the first team have been mirrored by the U23s and the U18s. I cannot think of any manager in our price range that I would prefer to have and it is interesting that those who would like him sacked are just as vociferous in their condemnation of potential replacements when they are mentioned. |
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Comment | Southampton On Verge Of Minamino From Liverpool Deal
at 21:59:06
I hope we get this one over the line as I think he would be a fantastic addition to our attack. It doesn't look as if we are going to have much luck on the full back front, so we are going to have to rely on players covering out of position if we continue to get injuries. |
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Comment | Saints Need To Sign Central Defender In January Window
at 16:58:45
Hassenhuttl has been quite clear why Salisu hasn’t played. First he was injured and then he had to build fitness and learn how to play our way. Like Diallo he is only twenty one and has a lot of developing and improving to do. Is he better than Stephens now, possibly not. Is he expected to become better than Stephens, definitely. The club is being set up to buy raw talent and develop it under a head coach who loves working that way. I don’t understand quite why this approach is so difficult for some to get their heads around. |
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Comment | Saints In Pursuit Of Gambian Defender
at 10:13:21
£16m for a 28 year old who will have no sell on value at the end of his contract. Not happening. A perfect example of a story that can be instantly ignored. |
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Comment | Eintracht Frankfurt Defender On Saints Radar
at 17:50:33
I know you would love us to be in for this guy because you believe we need an experienced head at the back but this doesn’t fit with either Hassenhuttl’s or Southampton’s vision. So although you may well have a point this guy is simply too old and too expensive for us to contemplate. |
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Comment | Saints At Manchester United The Preview
at 16:34:26
Seeing as Stephens is now being touted as an outside bet for a call up to the England squad and Bednarek is now an established Polish international I am no longer convinced this is where our problems lie. I have thought for some time that the reason we often get caught on the break is a real lack of pace in central midfield. Accurate crosses also result from the wing backs pushing high and therefore being unable to get back to put pressure on the delivery. If Hojberg goes I would like to see a defensive midfielder with pace bought and of course we will need a centre back, although I think it will be a younger player to compete for a place rather than a seasoned pro. LordDZLucan makes a valid point that you can't play our sort of football without errors unless you buy ready made Van Diik's and Mane's. |
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Comment | Ralph Admits Defensive Problems
at 11:40:56
To be fair we have spent a lot of money on central defenders over the last few years only to find they were no better than what we already had at the club. I can understand the club being reluctant to splash money in January with the Carillo disaster fresh in their minds. If it were easy to source Premiership class defenders, all the teams in the league would have solid defences which they don't. We can't spend 50 million on an established defender because they won't want to come to an unfashionable club even if we could afford the wages. Therefore we will continue with the same strategy of buying up and coming players and hoping to develop them. For a few years we got it right and were successful, for the past few years we appear to have got it wrong despite spending more. I'm afraid there are no easy answers here. In Ralph I think we have a manager who agrees with the strategy and can develop players. We now need to clear the decks in the summer and hopefully find a few uncut diamonds from somewhere. |
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