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Comment | Saints V Borussia Monchengladbach The Verdict
at 17:43:22
thought I would chip in with a few comments, just to be controversial you understand.
Why did we not try to get Mawson - proven Premier league center back. Sometimes you have to pay for the quality rather than looking for the bargain.
Targett may turn into a very good full back but I could have told you before this game that he does not have the pace to get forward.
Elyounoussi made more tackles back in his 15 minutes that Boufel did in his whole time with us which added to his obvious quality means that we may have a good signing on our hands.
I do not think the problem is so much with the forwards. I have long believe we do not get the ball forward fast enough with enough players in support - as demonstrated by our opponents yesterday. However with the age of Austin and Long and Austins injurey record I do agree with Peter that we do need to get a young forward in to develop or give Gallagher a run. |
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Comment | Saints Looking To Hijack Napoli Target !
at 13:59:57
what has happened to developing our own players. Why are the FIFA Playstation and fantasy league fans so keen on spending money on foreign players. We have wasted so much money as a club and country whilst without a doubt French, German and Spanish teams would have invested the money rather than just spent it. Whilst on the subject I believe we have the strikers we have just not played them the right way over the last two years. Very slow build up allowing teams to get back and defend. Get forward faster and get Redmond to head for goal and have a go and we would score a lot more with the existing forwards - even Shane Long, sorry Pete mate!! |
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Comment | Saints Have Two Injury Doubts For Manchester City Game
at 18:49:06
I know this is not relevant but too late for the previous articles. Just wanted to say what a finish to the season and although I was not keen on Sparky he has done just what was needed - got a reasonable squad to play as a team. Based on our recent performances I would be happy if he was appointed for next year. Me and Pete are going to have a couple of pints tomorrow to celebrate subject of course to nothing unexpected happening like us losing 5-0 and Swansea winning 5-0 |
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Comment | Saints Need Their Luck To Change !
at 18:21:06
I agree that the club now needs to have a serious review of what has gone wrong this season. First I should clarify that I am not in the anti- Les Reed camp. I think he and his team have done a great job up to the start of last year but the wheels have come off and it may be time for a change. The last two managerial selections have been a disaster and recent signings have not come up to the standard of previous years. We also seem to have no top quality young players on the conveyor belt with the under 23s and 18s having poor years.
One of my big gripes (so forgive me for repeating myself) is that I think we are trying to be too clever with our signings and are ignoring the domestic market.
When the search for a new manager starts I would like us to look for our equivalent of Eddie Howe or Shaun Dyche.
Young, English, track record in the lower leagues and able to demonstrate that he will play attractive pressing football and develop players. If we get the right person we must then allow time for that to happen and stop this damaging merry go round. Hopefully Pete will agree. |
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Comment | Saints At West Ham The Preview
at 10:08:01
not so sure about four options to score goals. Only Charlie would come into that category and he has been injured. Still I am now more positive as is Pete. |
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Comment | Only One Course Of Action Left !
at 12:02:00
My view but not necessarily Pete is that the lack of goals is a symptom of the way we play and not the personnel. I tend to think that we would be more of a threat with two up front but can play with only one if that one is Charlie Austin and we can get wingers and someone through the middle to support.
I do not understand some of the substitutions and again taking Sims off was strange as he still looked full of running.
For me the main reason we are not scoring is that we are far to slow going forward and we have to play through the midfield rather than other players distributing straight to the forwards. Time and time yesterday Stoke were able to defend as a team because we allowed them so we played to their strengths. Had we attacked at speed their strength (their size) would have become their weakness as demonstrated a couple of times by Redmond (who I thought was our best player) and the Sims run in the first half.
What is the point of playing two wingers that played well if we are going to give them time to populate the penalty area and as has rightly been pointed out deal with all the crosses. |
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Comment | Saints V Liverpool The Preview
at 10:22:54
I want to see a good performance along the lines of the spurs game and further proof that MP has taken on board the lessons from the first part of the season. I am not going to be negative as Pete won't share his wine gums with me but we are in this position because of poor management decisions up to now. |
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Comment | Saints Drop Into Bottom Three !
at 19:27:47
I have always been a defender of Les Reed and the management team but on this occasion I do not think they have done due diligence on MP. Whoever they were looking at to replace CP (I still believe it was the right decision) surely the criteria should have been that his teams were hardworking, pressing up the field, with good levels of fitness and to have a good understanding of when and how to best use substitutions. I agree with Nick in that I think the squad is not being managed effectively, motivated to play the right way and actually look unfit in the second half. Pete thinks we are a couple of players short which is probably also not helping but for me our problems are on the field and created by the manager. I have been around long enough to follow the Saints through all the ups and downs so I do not expect too much or even compete with the top six but I expect us to be well organised, fit and playing as a team (at least CP got all those things right even if it was dire to watch). |
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Comment | Carragher Claims Van Dijk's Value Is Dropping !
at 10:28:12
I think he is playing at about 70% of his best form last year, but that can be said for most of the team. The management team need to sort out the lack of cohesion, passion and commitment to the team because we are definitely watching a team that is playing below its potential. I can accept us losing but not if we are not playing with full commitment and as a team. |
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Comment | Saints V Everton The Verdict
at 12:13:25
Blimey I'm first.
Yes me and Pete thought far better tempo, team further forward and more players on 7 out of 10 rather than 5 or 6. A mention for the way the center backs tried to play the ball forward rather that across ever time. I just wish JWP could be a bit more forward looking with his passing. |
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Comment | Sunday Needs Unity !
at 12:30:29
Agree with most of Nicks comments about lack of leadership but also Whiteknights comments about players not trying. Me and Pete are old school and do not agree with booing the players or changing managers every five minutes. However it is clear that players are not working so hard as previous years and that has been highlighted by the stats. My view that it is due to to tactics and defending a lot deeper and not getting forward enough or quick enough so ultimately I do blame the manager for not installing the right work ethic or dealing with disruptive elements such as Van Dyke or other dissenters within the squad. With regards to Redmond he has gone backwards at a rate of knots this year, along with many others, and is is just me a Pete that notice the bickering between him and Bertrand. I am not a knocker of Les Reed because overall the record is impressive but the management team within the club need to have a root and branch review of everything from youth development right through to the first team. |
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Comment | Saints V West Bromwich Albion The Verdict
at 09:59:11
don't agree with you on this one Nick. The standard of football has been poor all season and I have agreed with most posters about negative tactics but I thought we were much further up the field and there was less aimless possession. The impact of Davis was also very positive as it allowed Bertrand to get forward more which is one of our biggest threats.
There is still a long way to go but I saw good signs today with us being more high tempo all over the pitch.
As an aside is it only me an my mate Pete who think the music before the match is not only inappropriate but seriously too loud. We cannot chat to our old cronies which is normally a big part of the enjoyment of the day. |
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Comment | Saints Target Wimmer
at 14:13:17
We have to put some trust in Stephens. The success of England youth teams recently proves we have the talent, we just need to give young players time to develop. English teams are wasting a fortune on players and the rest of Europe soak up the money and use it to pay for clubs that are run as a sustainable business and develop players for their national teams.
And whilst I am putting the world to rights I would like to state that as a Saints fan for over 50 years these are the good times and Les Reed and the management team are doing a great job. I think too many people think the only way forward is to keep chucking money at the problem and buying new players. I do appreciate the business modal of the premier league and the amount of money paid by sky and the sponsors but just spending money on over inflated players is wasting it. We could be using it to create a real legacy. Hope my mate Pete agrees. |
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Comment | Garry Monk Immediately Linked With Saints After Resignation From Leeds United
at 20:38:05
agree totally with lemmsy. We are a well run sustainable club and whilst not perfect Les Reed has overseen the growth of the academy and the signing of a number of top players and managers. Just look at the improvement of Oriel and Virgil since signing for us. It has been one heck of ride over the last few years and whilst I accept last season has not been that entertaining despite the final position and Puel has not given me a lot of confidence the people responsible for running the club including LR have done a great job. |
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Comment | Puel Rumours Esculate
at 08:55:38
I would always support the idea of a manager having at least 18 months. However our boring defensive style of play which often puts us under unnecessary pressure and CP complete lack of tactical awareness in the Bournemouth and Hull games have made up my mind that he has to go. If he stays and proves that Tadic and Boufel can play in the same team without weakening the midfield then I will eat my mate Pete's hat. |
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Comment | Saints V Crystal Palace The Verdict
at 11:20:49
I normally agree with most of your comments Nick but feel you a little hard on the performance last night. Palace were on a very good winning run, we have lost our two best players and are effectively playing our 2nd choice center half pairing yet in my opinion we deserved the win. There were good performances throughout the team, although god knows whats happened to Fraser's distribution, and C P got the tactics spot on after nearly making a complete hash of it against Bournemouth. Most fans would have feared the worse when we lost Virgil but apart from the debacle against Arsenal in the cup I feel we have performed ok and not gone into freefall. |
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Comment | Saints At Everton The Preview
at 11:14:02
Nick, I'm sure you will agree that feedback done in the right way is healthy, even if it is not agreeing with the way things are being done at present. I have been following the Saints for nearly 50 years and I don't expect them to win the league (nod of course to Leicester so it can be done) and a top half finish whilst playing attractive football is all I want whilst trying to bring on young English players.
My big problem is that the style of play is at best boring to watch, easy to defend against and has lead to us being knocked out of Europe and losing more matches than necessary with this bunch of players. |
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Comment | Saints V Tottenham Hotspur The Verdict
at 12:59:21
In previous years we have beaten teams from the top six by playing our high temp, pressing further up the pitch game.
I felt that once Spurs got the equaliser that was it and we were never going to get back in the game because we could not match their fitness or tempo. Also agree with the comments about Forster. His kicking has deteriorated this season. |
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Comment | Saints Fans Want Signings In January To Restore Their Faith !
at 14:02:56
I accept it is a new manager. We must therefore give him time particularly if he continues to blood young players. I also think based on the progress of other players over the last few years we are likely to see the best of the new players such as Redmond, Hojburg and Boufal next year.
However although this is a transitional season I cannot accept such a boring style of football that we seem to serve up on some games but not so much in others. In fact when we end up passing it back and sideways so ofter I end up hoping the other side will score in the hope that we abandon that way of playing. Also one of our favourite tactics for putting ourselves under pressure is for Forster or one of the central defenders to pass out to a full back who has a player on his back so straight away we put ourselves under pressure. |
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