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Thread | Did The Premier League Kill The Game As A Working Man's Sport
at 09:02 7 Feb 2025
This was a a suggestion on the home page article, "Who killed the magic of the FA Cup for Southampton".
I would suggest not !
The game was dead on it's feet by the mid 80's, a combination of football club owners who did not give a toss about the fans, having to watch games in decaying old stadiums, often on open terraces with no roof and the actual danger of attending matches when football hooliganism meant that anyone was fair game for a punch in the mouth, had seen attendances plummet from the 1970's.
Take 1988/89 even the big clubs were struggling
Man Utd Average 36k 10 yrs earlier average 56k
Liverpool Average 38k 1979 average 46k
Chelsea Average 15k 1979 average 24k
Spurs average 24k 1979 average 34k
Arsenal 35k 1979 average 36k (They were champions in 1989)
Saints average 15k 1979 average 21k
Football was dying and dropping, hence the Premier League came in and changed the face of the game .
So did the Premier League finish the game as a working mans sport, I would say no, it was already in the morgue when the Premier league came along, so the Premier League might not have reinvented it as a cheap working mans sport, but it saved it as a sport and made it a game that everyone followed albeit many on TV and the lower league clubs benefitted from this as the average person was now taking an interest in the game as a whole.
So the Premier League was the saviour of the game, but that came at a high cost as we now find out 33 years later.
I write this through gritted teeth as i am no lover of the Premier League and what it has become, but without it the game might well have died.
Discuss
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Reply | Juric wanted players - these owners didn't deliver
at 21:56 6 Feb 2025
Im not bothered that they didn't sign any one this window, I would prefer that they just get this season done and dusted and rebuild in the summer, when they know who has gone and where we need to replace |
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Reply | 10 Greatest Players In Saints History Ranked
at 09:00 5 Feb 2025
Not sure that Ted Bates would be one of our greatest players, but is certainly in our top 2 managers and overall perhaps number 1 in the list of people who have had the biggest contribution to the club. |
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Reply | Adam Armstrong
at 08:58 5 Feb 2025
Armstrong can play on the left as well, if Dibling plays on the right he is better, but Juric seems to want to play him as a striker.
I agree about Sulemana, lets see what he can do, my point is that although he has done a little bit in the past few weeks as has Onuachu, both have also been just as bad as they were in the past in others, there hasn't been consistency
Yes we should have kept Armstrong, the only reason I can see for him leaving is 1 to save money and 2 to give him shooting practice and up his confidence for next season.
Our problem is that there is no director of football, we have had no one running the football side of things with any experience for the last 10 months, Ankersen get a lot of stick, but Saints have never been his remit he has concentrated on Goztepe and he is the only one of the owners who has experience in football |
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Reply | Burnley Game
at 08:53 5 Feb 2025
I would expect him to be 1 of them, perhaps he might even be on the bench |
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Thread | Danny Ings
at 08:52 5 Feb 2025
I would have had him back in the transfer window, perhaps he will be back in the summer when his contract is up.
Interesting fact.
In his last season for Saints Ings played 29 Premier League games and scored 12 goals, in the 3 1/2 years since he has left St Mary's he has played 99 Premier League games and scored just 17 goals.
Of that total in the 2 years he has been at West Ham he has only started 11 Premier League games plus 40 as a sub and scored just 4 goals in the Premier League |
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Reply | 10 Greatest Players In Saints History Ranked
at 08:45 5 Feb 2025
When you try and have a top 10, there are almost 3 lists.
1. Club legends like Nick Holmes or Francis Benali, good solid players who played a lot of games for the club and had a big solid contribution, if not spectacular.
2. Players who were great players but who were only here a short term but had a big impact, Kevin Keegan for instance.
3. The main list that is a combination of all of the above 2.
All of the 3 lists will have players in it that the fans will argue about |
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Reply | Saints V Burnley Saturday Feb. 8th
at 08:41 5 Feb 2025
Yes I agree with you, on paper it doesn't look good, but I would think they will be resting a few on Saturday |
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Reply | Adam Armstrong
at 08:40 5 Feb 2025
I see your points, especially the possssion based game, but Armstrong suffered under that too, but the fact still remains that although they may well be better players , but you can count the good games that they have had between them on one hand.
Sulemana has started 23 League games plus 32 as sub and has scored just twice, both in the same game
Onuachu 10 starts plus 15 as sub and 2 goals as well.
So between them they have played 80 games (not all at this level) and got just 4 goals.
At Ipswich Onuachu was anonymous until he scored, in truth as a goalscorer I don't think he is any better than Armstrong at any level.
Only at this club can we sack off a loyal player who scored a Wembley winner and suddenly acclaim players who firstly haven't wanted to be at the club for the best part of the last two years and secondly have consistently failed to produce.
Discuss |
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Thread | 10 Greatest Players In Saints History Ranked
at 08:28 5 Feb 2025
I read this on the internet, what does everyone think.
1. Matt Le Tissier
2. Peter Shilton
3. Alan Ball
4.Ron Davies
5. Mick Channon
6.Terry Paine
7. Rickie Lambert
8.Virgil Van Dijk
9.Alan Shearer
10. Kevin Keegan
In fairness the top 10 isn't too bad, but putting Alan Ball above Mick Channon, Ron Davies & Terry Paine is not right, those 3 alongside Le Tiss are probably our greatest ever players in terms of both talent & contribution for the club, after those four its all a bit less clear.
On the rems of both talent and contribution to the club you can't argue with most of them, the only one I would dispute is Virgil Van Dijk, for the short time he was at the club he was probably one of, if not The best Central defender that we have ever had , but in his 3 seasons at the club (effectively 2 because of his injury) he played just 67 League games, so from that perspective he doesn't fit the bill, Mark Wright & Chris Nicholl would be in my top 10 before him, Van Dijk most will grudgingly admit is a quality player but not a Saints legend
https://www.givemesport.com/greatest-southampton-players-in-football-history/ |
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Reply | Adam Armstrong
at 08:08 5 Feb 2025
I would like to second that, it is a little disappointing how easily some are willing to dismiss Adam as a Championship level player whilst acclaiming the likes of Sulemana & Onuauchu as saviours after just a couple of reasonable games following two abysmal years in which for most of it they either weren't at the club or didn't give a flying F***.
Given our lack of proven firepower at either Premier or Championship level now, letting Armstrong move is not good from either the depth of our attacking options or the fact that he was a player who maybe wasn't a great goalscorer at Premier League level, but worked hard and gave 100%.
Cameron Archer can't be feeling much less unwanted than Armstrong either |
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Reply | Adam Armstrong Leaves For West Bromwich Albion On Loan
at 15:37 4 Feb 2025
In mid January Sulemana had barely had a decent game for this club in almost 2 years, a goal against Swansea in the cup saw him start at United on 16th January and play his best game in memory, an alright showing in the last 30 minutes against Forest and a late burst against Ipswich are promising, he looks a threat, but not yet enough to declare him the saviour of Southampton FC, likewise Tall Paul, wasn't in the game at Ipswich, but the winner gave him a good mark in the player ratings.
I hope Sulemana comes good but even a week ago, one good performance against Manchester United, plus a short burst at Forest was hardly ground breaking |
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Reply | Burnley Game
at 15:29 4 Feb 2025
Seems to have been a little surge since yesterday with another 1,500 or so tickets sold, so around 11.500-12,000in the home sections now plus the away fans |
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Reply | Southampton Sign Victor Udoh
at 12:31 4 Feb 2025
We have always bought in youth as well as developed it, in March 1982, we bought a teenager from Oxford and everyone was saying the same things as they are now, why are we buying unknown youngsters, whatever became of Mark Wright or for that matter Neil Ruddock, Andy Townsend, Jason Dodd, Tim Flowers, Richard Hall, Simon Charlton, Neil Shipperley, Claus Lundekvam, Kevin Davies and a host of others including Nathan Tella Livramento & Lavia.
We buy youth these days because Chelsea & Manchester City snap up everything that moves as they use it to balance up Financial fair play |
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Thread | Sylla Deal
at 12:12 4 Feb 2025
The player didnt end up going to Parma in the end, apparently Strasbourg mucked around with the paperwork, looks like we got lucky there |
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Thread | Burnley Game
at 23:27 3 Feb 2025
Seems about 10,000 tickets sold in the home sections so far, I can't see Burnley bring ing more than 1,000 down, so a late surge needed. |
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Thread | West Brom Hopeful Of Armstrong Loan Deal
at 23:11 3 Feb 2025
Personally I would be disappointed to see him go, maybe he is not a Premier League striker, but still a good squad player and we need him next season |
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Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 426 | | Comment Votes: | 1391 | | Prediction League: | 5 | | TOTAL: | 1822 |
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