Nemi

Ings aside, I doubt Brighton fans would very interested having any other Saints players in their starting line-up.

I’ve just said it above, but I’ll reiterate: one good run of form in otherwise four years of crap doesn’t make us a good team. Every team has a good run of form at some point and that was our good run of form. Apart from that one purple patch we have been consistently pretty crap in the two/three years before and in the months after. Given that I think it’s fair to assume that last season was the anomaly and the other three seasons are the true standard. This post and mine about quoting SKD sum up my position. I’m not interested in debating Ralph’s flaws because they’re quite plain to see so it’s pointless, but every manager has them and probably plenty more: Whoever comes next at whatever time that happens, there will be a thread here where we all complain about their flaws and mistakes. The idea that we’re gonna find some perfect manager in the future is one for the stars, especially given our record of recruitment.

If you’re asking me why we have been so bad recently, I have no idea - if I had the solutions I’d be out there managing. Maybe it’s because Hasenhuttl’s a high risk, high reward manager. We hit a good patch of form and get some good luck (like last calendar year) his tactics help us over-perform. We hit a bad run of form with bad luck (like this year) his tactics make us do worse. Last season, there were plenty of occasions when we could of easily missed chances instead of scoring and we could of ended up doing just as bad, then. But also this season, there were plenty of occasions when we could of scored chances we missed and we could of done just as well as we did last season. Maybe that’s his number one flaw, he relies too much on us getting lucky and taking our chances, and that’s why he manages Southampton instead of Man City. But one good patch of form in 4 years, doesn’t suddenly make this team capable of finishing top 10. In the long term it’s evened out and overall we’ve finished roughly where we belong - in the bottom half. Our win rate has ended up pretty stable: 16/17 (Puel) - 31.5, 17/18 (Pellegrino/Hughes) - 18.4, 18/19 (Hughes/Hasenhuttl) - 23.6 (7 per cent for Hughes/33 per cent for Hasenhuttl), 19/20 (Hasenhuttl) - 39.4, 20/21 (Hasenhuttl) - 31.5 If you want to argue about the ability of Hasenhuttl, please go do it with someone else and stop quoting me, I’m not interested and I’m not trying to convince anyone he’s anything more than an average manager. The only point I’ve consistently maintained is that under the stewardship of Gao, no manager (who we’ll realistically recruit) will get us into the top-half as long as he remains in control of this football club as recruitment (player and managerial) and investment will continue to be poor.

Both, I really don’t care about arguing about the pros and cons of Ralph Hasenhuttl. I simply have two points which make up my one overriding point. Our squad is about the 16th best in the league. (And it seems you both disagree). Given the history of our managerial appointments under Gao (Pellegrino, Hughes, Hasenhuttl, maybe Puel too I can’t remember the dates) what makes anyone think that we’re going to break the trend and appoint some managerial genius who will get us any further up the league? If we get a new manager they’ll be cheap and will probably turn out to be no better than any previous recruitments and we’ll be here in no time again moaning about whatever flaws they have. Given this, my main point is under Gao no matter who is manager we will be a bottom half team. The ownership of the club is where the biggest problem lays.

I couldn’t care less who manages next season though. It will be the same old story of shit investment in the summer, no quality or leadership on the pitch and inevitably crap results and a bottom half finish. Maybe if we got a new manager they will do it in a more consistent, conventional manner with our wins and losses evenly distributed across the season and maybe then everyone will be happy. But no matter what, and regardless of who is manager we will finish 14th and below again next season, unless by some miracle there’s actually decent investment in the summer, which invariably won’t happen.

Maybe try reading the first sentence on the second paragraph. It has been pretty crap, but despite that we’ve ended up 15th and when you look at it, this is probably the 15th best squad in the league (at most).

So in Hasenhuttl’s worst season here, with some weird team selections along the way, we finish 15th with 12 wins and 43 points. Same amount as wins as Puel and three less points. Considering our squad has only got worse since then, we ended up pretty much exactly where we should expect with these players. I can’t think of another manager who would do any better or any worse, considering how everyone complains about the two goalkeepers, Stephens, Bednarek, Bertrand, Djenepo, Redmond, Walcott, Minamino, Adams when they’re all regular starters but despite that we should be doing better?

Vestergaard gets away with murder because he can ping a 40 yard pass, but can anyone actually name a strong point defensively?

Nail on the head, it’s no wonder why we become more and more easy to defend against as the games go on, there is just no creatively and a lack of ideas from these players. That’s why Minamino who is far from the answer, at least helps us at the moment cause at least he offers something a little different, simply in his positioning.

Is pretty well known that Ings with his injury record is rarely capable of playing three games per week. Again this just proves the lack of quality that we have to rely on one man.

Yeah this is basically it. There wasn’t no masterclass or anything, largely it was an open rather equal game, but they took their chances and Saints didn’t - same old story.

Neither tbh, and I like Obafemi. But also this is exactly my point - given how the game went it should have been put to bed way before without having to rely on subs to claw back a goal. There just isn’t any quality in this squad and blaming subs, as ineffective as they are, is just glossing over the massive, glaring issue here.

For me this game exactly sums up why I don’t, totally anyway, blame Hassenhüttl. We just don’t have any quality in the final third, excluding Ings, and no-one in the squad that is capable of playing a quality final ball. This has been proved game after game after game - often not playing bad but completely toothless in the final third. His tactics, the majority of the time (today as well), aren’t the problem - every game there’s 4 or 5 occasions at least when we get in the position to have a great chance and the final ball, or touch, or finish is just completely off. Same thing today. We should of scored at least 2 given how they played, but totally the players are toothless and lack so much cutting edge. I just don’t see what Hassenhüttl can do. Granted his subs aren’t great but who the hell do we bring on who isn’t shite in the final third. There is no-one in the squad clinical enough, passing, controlling the ball, shooting, any of it. We lost the game because when Leeds got into the right positions they had the quality to create chances and take them. Southampton don’t have that. And I don’t see what Hassenhuttl is meant to do to change that? There’s a lack of killer instinct in this squad, ultimately, you either have it or you don’t, you can’t teach that - and this team doesn’t have it.

I can’t comment on the whole game as I couldn’t watch today, but on MOTD in every Saints highlight until he went off Minamino was involved. It was nothing exceptional but he was contributing. I’m sure that for the price Liverpool would want we could probably, at the very least attempt to, do better but I will always maintain that, we need someone like him in the team.

We really need a creative passer over another pacy winger - a la Tadic, though it will be tough to match his overall quality.

I missed the game today so can’t judge today’s performance, but I think this thread shows how over the top reactions can get: people were praising him a few days ago, and now they are murdering him again. Redmond is an acceptable player for PL level, he’s not gonna to produce every game that’s just the reality of playing in such a high quality league. It doesn’t help that a lot of his contributions come off the ball, which are inevitably missed. I hope we can improve on him, because it’s possible, but people really do overreact to everything he does.

Not sure why people aren’t desperate to bring Romeu back. No point rushing back important players from a big injury lay-off with nothing to play for; let’s ease him back in and make sure he’s ready for next season.

Wouldn’t be surprised if we went for someone like Ryan Sessegnon on-loan maybe with an option to buy. Think for LB anyway will definitely be a loan with option to buy rather than an outright purchase.

We do look so much better with someone like him in the team rather than two out-and-out wingers in the attack-mid positions, even if his own performance wasn’t brilliant. Sometimes it’s not always the best players who make the best team and though he hasn’t set the world alight, I think we work better as a team with him in it.

End product wasn’t there tonight. But he added balance to our line-up today, and in my eyes though individually it didn’t work, he improved the team’s structure and the other players benefited. He hasn’t done enough for us to buy him but we’re desperately need a player in a similar mould. He’s probably not the answer but I’d much rather have him in rest of the season rather than two out-and-out wingers, which just makes us completely toothless. Summary: he’s not great, but we’re a better team with a type of player like him to balance a Redmond or Tella or Djenepo on the other wing.

With this group of players, sometimes they play well, sometimes they play shit but no matter what the result is always the same. There’s a losing mentality that this set of players will never shake off. That’s why I think losing anyone from this squad (except Ings maybe) would matter very little. I know Saints fans love talking about how good players like Vestergaard and JWP are, but bottom line is no matter what their qualities are, they indisputably don’t win football matches.

This is my gripe with JWP, I just don’t think he demands the ball enough and when he does get it it usually just for straight back to the cbs. Romeu has his flaws but without him there is no one who can get the ball forward.

His goal v Everton at the start of the season was his only goal or assist in open play. Everything else was a penalty, free-kick or corner.

We still could of very easily lost that game 2-1 and fans would of called for his head. Everything is still so reactive. But 100%, I think the players are behind him, and although it has been a tough run hopefully the fans will be too. He is a young coach still and even he has a lot to learn; however, despite the tough season I think this club and all involved will come out of it for the better.

He was getting stick, but credit to Minamino I think, got stuck into a game that didn’t suit him and overall it’s a team effort which I personally think he contributed nicely to - even if it was in a different way to we expect from him.