Useful Idiot

He's not as much of an issue with a back 3 because he won't have to do as much far post defending, that will usually be the job of the wide centre back.

Looks like he's signed for Barca

He's much better than Stones or Maguire.

Yeah, like I said, I had the order of the text the wrong way around in the post. We managed 4 points from 6 games when playing a back 4. That is bottom 5 form. We don't have the players to play a back 4. That is the point I was trying to make.

Sorry, I made a mistake with my post when I tried to write up the stats and the bottom 5 bit should be under the 4 at the back stats.

Under Ralph, we played 23 games in the league, won 30 points, scored 32 and let in 36. 1.3 Points per match. That is not mid-table form, it is bottom 5. Out of those games, we played a back 4 six times, won 1, drew 2, lost 3. We played a back 3 17 times, won 7, drew 4, lost 6. We don't have a good enough defence to play a back 4. Ralph wants to play a 4-2-2-2. We need a second defender who is capable of playing in a back 4 to do that alongside Yoshida.

He's totally within his rights to sit and take his money. That has no bearing on whether or not he's a bit of a tool, though. Saying that, even if he was to be paid a reduced wage by whichever club took him on, I'd expect that we'd end up subsidising his wages until the end of his contract anyway.

Say what you like about Austin, but at least he isn't an utter tool who would go around intentionally kicking other players in the face. Oh, hang on a minute... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CELURdnVa3E

Weren't we allegedly in for a 'number 10' type player? This guy seems to play from the right then cut infield. He also seems decent at picking a pass, so maybe we're looking at him to play that role rather than as a striker? Ralph seems to like to play a pair of wide attacking midfielders who can drift inside into the spaces a traditional number 10 occupies..

It's much harder to sell players that nobody wants. I expect the players aren't that interested in most of the teams that are interested in for them and are hoping that more attractive offers come in later in the window if the clubs that they want to move to have other targets that fall through.

He's good at crossing, he can control a football, and his off the ball movement is pretty good. Unfortunately, because he's so slow he rarely gets clear of a defender to get a cross in. It also seems that after he scuffed his first couple of chances early on, all his confidence left him and now he just looks like he doesn't trust himself. Even if he does get his confidence back, his lack of pace will always be a problem. I can't think of many effective slow wide players in the Premier League over the past decade.

That Romanian kid is only one letter away from being a superstar

Maybe Austin hates the fans that had a go about him being a Liverpool supporter and he's decided to spite them by refusing to move?

Statistically, Vestergaard was our best defender last year. His only real problem is pace. However, because he's pretty slow and we'll sometimes be looking to push up I'm not sure he'll ever suit playing in a back 4. Bednarek was our second best defender, but I don't think he'd be much better than Vestergaard for that role. as he's not all that mobile and isn't great with the ball at his feet. Yoshida is probably the only player capable of playing in a back 4 when holding a high line. He's pretty quick, not as bad in the air as he used to be and can control and pass a football. Stephens is not good enough at defending, and Hoedt is Hoedt.

Really doesn't seem like a Mane type to me. Throughout his career, Mane has been a natural goalscorer. He seems more of a tricky wildcard with great pace who also works hard and tracks back. I think he's more like Bolasie than he is Mane. That doesn't make him a bad player, though.

When I was unable to do my job due to a serious injury, I got a 3 months on full pay, then 3 months on half pay, then SSP. I don't know if footballers have contracts that reflect changes in their ability to play due to long term illness or injuries that aren't work related.

Because he won't be happy to sit on the bench, Hojbjerg is the first name on the team sheet, and they can't play together as a midfield pair.

Hojbjerg has a better mentality than Lemina and is more able to motivate those around him. Lemina is a more technically talented footballer and a better athlete in terms of agility, power, and pace. At the moment, our team needs Hojbjerg more than it does Lemina, and our formation means we can't play both of them. As I said a few posts before the one you quoted, I don't think it's a bad idea to let Lemina go for the right money. I also think if we regularly played a midfield 3 then Hojbjerg, Romeu, Lemina would be a very strong combination. But we don't, so Lemina is the best one of the three to sell as I don't think we can keep them all happy.

I think you might be suffering from bias when making that statement. On his day, he's the best player in our team by a mile, and even when he's not playing brilliantly he is still one of our better players. The problem is that he can't work in combination with Hojbjerg, not that either of them are bad players. In many ways, he is the better player of the two, as well. Statistically, he has the highest pass completion percentage of any of our players (86%) and is up there for tackles and interceptions as well. He's also good at taking players on, he tries it more often than Hojbjerg and succeeds more often. He wins more areal challenges than Hojbjerg. He has fewer poor touches that lead to the ball being lost than Hojbjerg. He is good at striking a football. He is pretty quick. He is strong and very difficult to knock off the ball. Most of the time, he's disappointing because it's obvious that he has the potential to be an incredible player, but for whatever reason it rarely happens and on his good days, he is brilliant. You don't play for Juventus in the Champions League and win a MOTM award unless you're extremely talented.

He's a brilliant player on his day, but he's more a direct competitor for PEH's place as I don't think they work well as a pair. Whenever they do both start we look far too open as neither of them is particularly disciplined defensively. I think PEH will pretty much be the first name on the team sheet as he's the team captain, so ML probably won't play that much even though at his best he's probably better then PEH at his best. Problem is he doesn't play at the top of his game all the time. Due to that, I'm not fussed if he goes as long as we get a decent sale value from him.

Well, he seems to pick up a lot of hamstring and knee/ankle injuries which will probably get more frequent as he gets older, so I don't think £5m is a bad deal if it shifts his alleged £50k/week wages of the bill. He's a big guy who can run pretty quick, that can put a lot of strain on your joints.

Redmond and Ward-Prowse both took turns playing narrow when we used 3-4-3 last season. I think 4-2-2-2 is similar. "I think if the last six months was an audition for me to give myself the best chance to play in this sort of number 10/striking role, then hopefully I’ve given myself the best account. If the formation is 3-4-3 or 4-2-2-2, I think he [Hasenhuttl] likes to play with number 10s and not necessarily wingers." -Redmond. https://readsouthampton.com/2019/05/09/redmond-wants-position-change-in-the-summer/

So despite the statement from the club via the Torygraph suggesting that we're going for a CB next, you don't think it's likely. Fair enough. "Their next priority will be signing a centre-back." https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/06/29/southampton-continue-squad-overhaul-15m-arrival-che-adams-17m/ Also, playing Bednarek as one of a pair of central defenders is a pretty bad idea. All you need to do is leave someone close to him and he'll lump the ball away and give up possession. He simply doesn't have the technique to play out from the back. Even Vestergaard is a marginally better option, as despite having all the pace of a glacial advance during an ice age he can at least control a football and pass. Yoshida is probably the only defender we have who has the attributes to effectively play in a back four, and he's not precisely the best defender in the league.

I really don't understand why they don't sublimation print the sponsor onto the kits these days. They can do some pretty great stuff with it and it would be more comfortable and breathable than a bloody great lump of vinyl, too. Could easily print whatever design you want onto a shirt with it and don't have to worry about it coming off again.

Who wouldn't want a player who has this in his locker?