| News Comment | Who Is Southampton Caretaker Manager Simon Rusk at 10:38:49
He has managed Stockport in the National League and now he's got two days with a team who have just been humiliated to prepare for a quarter final against Liverpool. Good luck Simon Rusk. What a gig! |
| News Comment | Southampton V Tottenham Hotspur The Verdict at 10:00:08
It should be the Board who are learning lessons from this. First, if a manager is not up to it, he needs to go. Dithering with Ralph, with Jones and letting Selles limp out the season, all cost us dearly the last time we were relegated. The board were very lucky to bounce straight back but they have dithered again. Russell Martin deserved a few games after getting us up. 6 minimum, maybe 8, 10 at the outside. But there were very few signs of improvement over those 10 games and the results were appalling . He's had at least 6 games too many and if the Board do manage to find an effective replacement (big if, given their track record to date) those 6 games might make all the difference. Let's hope there are better things for Saints around the corner, but with this bunch in charge, I am not holding my breath. |
| News Comment | Russell Martin Turns On The Fans And Players at 10:00:37
Does anyone keep stats on how long a board will suffer a manager who constantly loses in the PL? It’s like SR really don’t care if we are relegated, finishing bottom. If he’s a ‘dead man walking’ - and agree that he is - ffs pull the plug. Yes it’s costly to change managers but SR have only got themselves to blame for appointing people who aren’t up to it. It’s also a lot more costly to leave the PL. And I suspect we wouldn’t come back so quickly next time. Saints have been in a downward trajectory since Gao took over. Getting back to the PL in the first season could have been the start of a turnaround. Martin and SR have blown that chance in 4 months. Idiots. |
| News Comment | Sources Say Southampton Have Made Decision About Russell Martin at 15:28:18
Kingolaf is spot on. Idiots. Do they really think that they're going to learn anything new from the next run of games, or pick up any points! He's had 11 games to make this work. 6 games was minumum, 8 was fair, 10 was generous. They're just dithering again like they did with Ralph and Jones. (And with Selles they just let it slide and slde). |
| News Comment | Southampton At Brentford The Damning Verdict at 10:08:32
After their performances last season, RM had to give Smallbone and Armstrong a decent chance to show that they have improved and can cut it in this League. I suspect he's done that now and others will now start. Bednarek and Bellis formed a great central defensive partnership last year. Bellis IS a leader but is stepping up a level and will need time to get up to speed. Bednarek is a good defender. I agree that Ugochuckwu should play instead of Stephens as proper defensive midfielder but for the same reason as above Stephens needed to be given a chance. As well as picking the team and the tactics, RM also has a job to do in maintaining team morale and confidence. I would personally like to see KWP playing at right back which is his natural position with maybe Charlie Taylor at LB. That would be harsh on Suguawara who's looked good but so be it. Lallana and Dibbling both looked very good and will surely play more of a part going forward. RM can see exactly what we can see and he's not stupid. If what he is doing seems like stubbornness, I think he deserves our patience. It came good last season after a very shaky start and maybe he is going to prove us all wrong again. |
| News Comment | Southampton V Watford The FA Cup Replay Verdict at 12:02:19
I agree about Mara. So many attacks in the first half came to a full stop with him at the edge of the area. Meghoma, who I thought was excellent, was more effective when attacking from those positions. And I had only seconds earlier commented that Mara seemed to have moved more central when he scored his first. His second goal is, I think, a contender for goal of the season at St Mary's. A lovely litte chip from within a crowd of players from Charles to get the ball to Dibbling and then he cleverly slowed down before accelerating away on his great run. And then a strike from Mara to let us understand why Martin has been quoted as saying he's the best finisher in the club. Given the changed and largely inexperienced side, it wasn't that bad a thing to go in at 0-0 but the same team then steamrollered Watford in the second half. All good. A great night. |
| News Comment | Saints Need To Connect With Their Fans With Managerial Appointment at 16:44:27
SR do not seem to understand the task at hand. We are been sh*t for at least 2 1/2 seasons. We’re not used to winning or scoring and our Bestnote players will be losing. This is a very lumbering oil tanker to turn around. We need a captain who has at least turned a club around before. And if we think we’re going to pass our way to promotion, we’ve got a big surprise coming. |
| News Comment | Who Will Be The Next Southampton Manager ! A Surprise Candidate Emerges. at 10:56:33
It's easy to say that sacking Hassnehutl was a mistake. It wasn't - the decline that has culminated in relegation started under his watch. He got us into the habit of losing and arguably it's his 'playbook' that has completely failed under Selles. The mistake was in not appointing good enough replacements. |
| News Comment | Ruben Selles ! A Good Man In The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time at 09:39:57
The only reason Selles became a Premier League manager is because the Nathan Jones situation had become so toxic that the Club needed to bring some stability quickly and everyone seemed to like Selles. Doing well in those first few games then cemented his position prematurely. The whole season has been a series of errors: Ralph should have been replaced in the summer. Ralph should have been replaced earlier in the season. Jone should not have been appointed. Jones should have been sacked after the Forest game Selles should have been sacked after Palace at home. We should have bought a striker who we were actually going to play. |
| News Comment | Southampton V Bournemouth The Verdict at 10:19:09
For all those people still tempted by the idea that VAR is not the problem, it's the officials or the way it's being used, check out the Che Adams decisions. He is very clearly level with the defenders. Until the introduction of VAR, he in onside. With its microscope, VAR detected that his toe was slightly in front. (Something no human official could have spotted in a million years). So VAR ruled him off. The officials and the system worked perfectly. But the position of Che's toe didn't stop him being level. He was level. He was onside. The rest of the game, I can't talk about!! |
| News Comment | Southampton V Crystal Palace The Verdict at 09:51:37
I personally think that it would be the final act of stupidity if the board don't try to get a new manager in for the last 7 games. It is pretty obvious after the WH and Palace games that currently the team is going absolutely nowhere. They are completely out of goals and ideas. And we are very very very lucky to still be in with a chance of survival. A new manager who knows how to attack and to win games - stranger things have happened! It's got to be worth a try. |
| News Comment | Southampton V Crystal Palace The Preview at 10:56:17
Saintmark1976 is spot on. It's time to gamble PL. survival on Tall Pall. We've tried everything else. Plan A: Get the ball onto his head. Plan B: Try to win free kicks on the edge of the area. Plan C: See Plans A or B |
| News Comment | Southampton at West Ham United The Verdict at 09:54:51
One of the problems is that we haven't been able to have very much consistency between our central defenders. Whenever it looks like a partnership or understanding is being built, one or. both get injured. Tbh, every team concedes goals and some from set pieces. The bigger thing for me is that in the 9 1-0 defeats, we haven't scored. If we were able to score 1 or 2 at the other end, one unfortunate game wouldn't be so fatal for us. As for VAR. The guy was clearly level and onside. It's all very well saying that you agree with VAR in principle - but it's impossible to split the 'principle' from the practice. The system we have at the moment is completely useless and should be scrapped until they can come up with something that doesn't ruin the game. Nothing at all would be better than what we have at the moment. |
| News Comment | Southampton V Brentford The Verdict at 12:14:15
I enjoyed the game. I think we are showing good signs of improvement. It's never easy to break down a team that parks the bus - especially when your attacking threat is as weak as ours. But the goal from the corner! The amount of time and space Norgaard had was ridiculous. Nobody was anywhere near him. He was able not only to flick the ball on but to flick it towards the goal too, so that Tony just had to nudge it over the line. Had any defender been putting any pressure on him, he might had flicked it on still but not with the same accuracy. The one moment lost us the game. |
| News Comment | Southampton Take A Big Leap Of Faith With Ruben Selles at 12:31:20
The damage was done in the 8 PL games under Jones. Selles feels like the right appointment at this time. And fair play to the club for rolling the dice with him early and ending the managerial chatter. He seems to have the players very much on side. Good luck to him and let's see what he can do. |
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