TWar

He isn't suggesting Djenepo in CM. Think our current formation but dropping out one of our two CMs for an extra CB. Djenepo and Armstrong would still play as 10's but with a little more pressing most likely. I don't like the idea at all tbh as I think it leads to us having very little control in the middle, but it isn't Djenepo at CM.

Nervous too, but we are 7/2 for the win and I'm not really expecting it. Leicester are a quality team so is starting to feel like a bit of a shot to nothing. If we win massive celebration, if we lose we did well to get here. The Swansea game was a must win where I'd be gutted if we didn't, this is one where I'd be ecstatic to win it but I'm not expecting it and if we don't there is always next season.

I think Chelsea put out basically their best side, minus Mendy, whereas City rotated heavily with Jesus, Torres, Mendy, Fernandinho, Steffen and arguably Sterling starting who aren't in their strongest 11. Good that they've been knocked out as they probably would have played with a stronger team in the final.

Chelsea in the final. That's got to increase our chances of winning it, from like 5% to 10% maybe.

We were absolutely backed into a corner for united. We had Diallo, Romeu, and Smallbone out, Vestergaard and Salisu out so Stephens had to start at CB. Redmond was coming back off injury so didn't start and instead came off the bench along with Minimino, Tella, and Walcott all being out so we needed Amstrong at attacking mid. I think people who bang on about the 9-0 don't understand the sheer scope of our injury turmoil at the time. Ramsay was about our 7th choice at RB behind KWP, Stephens, JWP, Bednarek, Bertrand, and Diallo. Jankewitz was like our 7th choice CM behind JWP, Romeu, Diallo, Smallbone, Stephens, and Armstrong. Because of our lack of options at CB, fullback, CM, and attacking mid both had to start.

Yeah I agree, it is the Stephens thing and the fact that I think that JWP needs a rest which mean I would like to see him given a go, but my initial post was mainly just saying that these backseat managers don't watch players every day in training and therefore aren't really in a position to say a player who has played two minutes of top flight football ever is being underutilized. Maybe he just isn't clicking with how we play.

I wouldn't drop JWP but I personally would rest him. No one can play as many minutes in a row as he has without succumbing to fatigue or raising risk of injury. Jankewitz will hopefully get a nod at some point before the season is out. Diallo is quickly becoming our scapegoat but I think he's quality and young so he needs all the minutes he can get to get up to speed with the physicality of the league.

All I was saying is that you don't know what goes on at training, maybe the manager has his reasons. Either way, an admittedly amusing post.

I was really impressed with him at U23 international level but the fact he isn't getting played means something else is probably going on. Wonder if he has an attitude problem behind the scenes. As others have said it is by no means a bad thing to drop down a level to play more football, but it does take a certain confidence to request it. Maybe the lad is a bit arrogant and not a team player. We have given a lot of young players a shot recently so there must be some reason he keeps getting overlooked. I think at the end of the day we can't really blame him or the manager/coaching staff without seeing what happens in training. We play quite a specific style, maybe Jankewitz isn't adapting well to it as he knows he'll be off in a few months and can't be bothered to learn. Maybe Ralph got pissed off by the united display and subsequent fall-out and is hence treating him unfairly, who knows. But yeah, I think it's safe to say he'll be off.

He had a brief spell in their B team in the German second league apparently. But not main Bayern no. Solskjaer was brought in as a caretaker manager, had a ridiculous run of form including a very impressive win against PSG, and that prompted them to take him on permanently. He wasn't hired as their proper manager out of nowhere, he was just a stop-gap till the end of the season until he way overperformed so they gave him a perm contract. Something I think is a mistake to this day but they are doing alright so can't complain. Also the biggest job in England is probably City, given they are the best and best funded team in world football.

Manager gets linked to one of the biggest jobs in world football... "Hipster". Maybe he's just quite good and thats why he gets these links? Maybe the people who write for football for a living and professionals in the field know more about the sport than you? Report is almost certainly bollocks but it does show how he perceived by those in the know. For me this shows he is still regarded as a top manager who doesn't have the squad depth he needs and would thrive at a club with more support. Lot of fans here keep asking him to "change things" as if he can pull a top attacking mid or competition at leftback out of thin air.

Is it even a rivalry? My set of half and half scarfs say otherwise...

Northampton, ever since Easthampton went bust.

We are definitely the underdogs but no harm in being positive. I remember the semis in the league Cup vs Liverpool where we had a similar task and we came through that.

I'm going 7 points, also a draw against Spurs, win at Fulham who will be down and out by then and a hard fought victory at Leeds.

Honestly I think there is every chance that a team would survive this season if they had 33 points or so, if Fulham continue their ppg they will finish on 32-33 points, West Brom and Sheffield united obviously lower. The worst team in premier league history (Derby County) still managed four points post January, so it was wildly wildly unlikely we were ever close to getting relegated.

At our lowest point you could still get like 50/1. The point I was making was that there was no chance since about January or that value wouldn't have been available at that point.

We've never been anywhere near relegation. I got 500/1 odds on relegation in January, you don't get those at any point unless there is basically 0 chance. Betting companies aren't in the business of giving away £15k on a £30 bet if there is any realistic chance. It's a once in a blue moon thing, needs an absolute freak 20 losses in a row run, and that didn't happen and was never really likely to.

Full faith in the team! I'd play: Forster KWP Vestergaard Salisu Bertrand Diallo JWP Armstrong Djenepo Adams Ings I like Redmond but I think Adams hold up ability and ability against the ball is better and will be more important. Diallo, despite what was said, was not that bad at West Brom, he was one of our few reliable passers and lead the game for ball recovery. Theo is dropped, he was shite and has been since coming back, passenger against the ball and so so sloppy in possession, bring in Djenepo who busts a lung every game to be all over the pitch. Finally Bednarek needs dropping, to blame for half the goals we concede it seems, Salisu needs a chance. Vestergaard and Bednarek is far too slow a pairing to be up against Vardy, Iheanacho, Perez ect. so I want a CB who has good fitness and sprinting speed and that is Salisu, Bednarek can be back in when we need to be stronger in the air.

Could say Stephens I guess, but I don't think so. He is definitely a player improver. Romeu has improved a lot too imo.

Ings was signed by Liverpool as they were not that good at the time, he was decent for Burnley but only got 11 goals, it was nothing to write home about compared to the haul Ralph got out of him, this isn't the current "champions of europe" liverpool, this was "just finished 6th, about to finish 8th, managed by Brendon Rogers" liverpool. Klopp might have verbally rated him but he barely started for Klopp, often not making the bench over Origi. We brought him on to a new level even from his Burnley form, he scored double the goals to his next best season so I don't really know how that is arguable. Also Ings had scored 5 goals in 8 starts before our infamous international break where everything turned around so think you might be wrong on that point, he was one of the few players who was consistent all season, not just after the formation change. Vestergaard was decent in germany, not superb but decent, he came here and flopped and got dropped for some crap players. Ralph got him playing well. Armstrong was dropped for Celtic regardless of fitness, same with Scotland, Ralph had him playing well by changing his position. And yes, I do watch games, I don't go to watch games as there is a pandemic. Before the pandemic I watched a few per season, couldn't see live every week as I don't live in the area anymore but I watch every game, as do most fans. Stats influence my analysis and help not falling victim to confirmation bias but honestly when you become aware of the stats you start to notice more things when you watch the team which you otherwise wouldn't (like Diallo's progressive passing, or KWP excellent 1v1 defending) which you don't if you don't have knowledge of such things and just moan and look for scapegoats.

Ings played for Liverpool, but not when they were the team they are now, and his career was on the rocks when we signed him. It's very revisionist to say he was quality before that season, most of our fans were very annoyed when he signed, myself included. And after his first season it was a common question to ask if we could get out of our "obligation to buy". Ings has literally never been at the level he was that season under Ralph, even when he got his liverpool move he only got 11 league goals the season before to earn that. This season he should reach that again and that was considered his best season pre-Ralph whereas this is considered a down season for him. Vestergaard was decent in Germany but so was Werner, Havertz, Keita ect. Lots of players move across and aren't up to it and after two seasons with us Vestergaard looked very much like that, definitely a flop before Ralph. Again basically every fan wrote him off and he was benched for Hoedt and Stephens, now look at him. And Armstrong was a decent player before Ralph, but started under half of games even in his final season with Celtic, Ralph got him performing at this level where he is undroppable. Also the way Ralph has him playing and his utilization of Armstrong is getting the absolute most out of him, if you look at him for Scotland he looks nowhere near as good as they can't get the quality out of him Ralph can. It's why he is often on the bench for them

All were bench options when he arrived, Vestergaard was being talked about being sold for less than he came for, JWP was struggling as an attacking mid and almost sold to watford, Ings had not scored more than 5 goals in a season for five years, and Armstrong was basically anonymous. Now Vestergaard is being linked with Spurs, JWP is our captain and has been in the last few England squads, Ings scored the 5th most non-pen goals in europe last season, got an england call up, and is being linked to City, and Armstrong is our best attacking midfielder by a good margin. I don't know how much more he could have done to turn these players careers around. If when he turned up I told you Vest would be linked to spurs, Ings to City, and JWP be an england regular I would have been considered crazy, but here it is.

Biggest dataset possible. If his overall % drops below 30 then maybe we talk, but the "what if he just starts losing for the next 20 games" thing is a silly question. The statistics suggest he won't and if he does then something has clearly gone wrong and we analyse that. Right now there is not evidence he has dropped in quality at all from the data we have, it is well within the range of statistical variance, especially when you consider that injuries will factor in to that. Since we have had a full strength team (pretty much) we have beated Sheff, Burnley, and Bournemouth and lost to West Brom, Brighton, and city. 50% win rate is pretty standard for us, 40% league win rate. Pretty normal. We are not doing well against weaker teams, but arguably they are teams with more to play for so they tend to be more motivated around this time than us, happens every year. It only looks bad when you factor in the games before. The whole "we have a full squad now and are still doing bad" thing doesn't really hold up.

You asking why I support saints regardless of them not being champions league level in funding or quality? Well I was born near Southampton and have supported them for decades, whilst in league 1 and now whilst in the premier league, I'm not going to suddenly stop liking them when I notice we aren't in the champions league when we quite literally have never been that level. I enjoy watching my local team do well, be that gaining promotion from league one or maintaining PL status and going on cup runs. I am not going to hop off to become a glory supporter, especially not now when we are exponentially better off than when I supported us 10 years ago. Why do you support saints? Are you hoping for CL every season, with our players becoming Balon d'or contenders like Mane, VvD, and Tadic every season, and getting disappointed when it doesn't happen? For me that's a much more depressing outlook than admitting we are a small to medium sized team in the grand old scheme of things, doing well to remain out of a relegation battle given our size, doing great to reach the final four in the cup, and celebrating those things?