Patches O Houlihan

He’s been linked with Belgium and German clubs but nothing in the last week or two that I’ve seen. AA was so isolated from play in the 2nd half on Friday I was wondering if it would work to have 9 men playing total football, and 1 big stationary bloke stood in the six yard box between the posts who we chip the ball to. He either heads it in or knocks it down Pelle style to Charley or one of the wingers to finish off

Is there a scenario where Tall Paul can be fitted into our new style and is effective against the low block many teams will play against us? He ought to be good at both defensive and offensive set pieces too (and we’ve just employed an ex Brentford/Arsenal set piece specialist coach)

I watched it back too and 4 proper touches is all that SW got in that 9 mins of injury time; and each time we won it straight back.

Martin did say in a presser that he has had an injury, wasn't specific though

Have we ever got to the bottom of why he was late starting to play for Saints after signing? There were months of radio silence from the club.

I read somewhere that for the last few years Jack Stephens was the team 'judge' responsible for dishing out the fines, and forfeits for misbehaviour by team mates. His absence may have been part of the reason for the degeneration of standards in the dressing room last season. If he had established that position in the club, then he would seem to have some leadership credentials and would also need to be well liked by senior players. We're now at a stage where there are really few players on the books who have been established at Saints for multiple seasons; Stephens Bednarek Stu Armstrong (probably not a leader) Che (probably off) Alex McCarthy (unlikely) KWP (unlikely) Moussa (😁) A few weeks back I suggested Perraud as a potential leader/captain. But since Ryan Manning arrived it looks less likely that he'd be first choice (or may be on his way out?) A leader on the pitch is required, but ideally the Captain would be an automatic pick. JS is a bit too inconsistent for that though I think...

We started poorly against Bournemouth and managed to level things up after having been 2 down. It would have been very easy to fold, but they didn’t. I know we ended up losing the game but we did demonstrate some grit and fighting spirit. I listened to TSP as well - more confident of a result now. Would love a JWP trademark free kick as a final thank you if he is going to depart.

I had dinner with my best mate last weekend, sadly a relatively rare event now as we live on opposite sides of the country. He’s based in Swansea, and his son has been in the same class at school as Russell’s son; in fact they are friends. Although he’s never discussed football with Russell they have chatted outside school gates, at parents evenings etc. It would seem that the Russell we see in interviews is the same person he is in real life - and he is generally speaking ‘a good egg’ No doubt I’ll be in trouble with his son next time we meet as he is a Swan’s fan; so not only cross that we’ve stolen their manager and left back, but also responsible for stealing his friend from school!

This guy was responsible for the two games that made me the most angry in all the years watching Saints. Absolute wanker. I hope there’s a screw-up with his pension and they refuse to review it.

I'm agreeing with the percentage chances of leaving: I agree that most of them we don't know yet!

I think I'd agree with all of that

If so that's great news. Even if it just means we get more money for him

double post

I agree that KWP is a superb right back (better than as a left back in my opinion). Unfortunately he only has a year left on his contract, I really don't expect us to persuade him to extend, and we won't want him to leave on a free. So most likely he either leaves now or in January. There is definitely an argument for Tino playing on the right of midfield. He's confident with the ball at his feet, and made some memorable rampaging runs before his injury. He also doesn't seem to be pushing hard for a move. We would appear to have a good number of saleable assets within the squad (indicative of good players bought, but either don't fit in the team, or were poorly managed). You would think that if we made 3 or 4 big sales the pressure to lose valuable players we'd prefer to keep would ease off. So eg Lavia £50m, Che £15m, KWP £18m, ABK £25m out might mean we get to keep JWP, Tella and Tino? It's a nice thought anyway...

For years now Saints have struggled against sides that park the bus, shut up shop or form a low block - whatever the latest catchphrase is. When the last third of the pitch is packed full of defenders you need a seriously skilful attacking force to cut through that consistently: I'm not talking about getting a result every now and then, but consistently, week in week out. Manchester City play against teams in this formation for the vast majority of the season. They have had to adapt to create a team that does consistently cut through. We have just bought the 2nd most expensive player in the history of the Championship - he's 19 and aside from 8 games for Northern Ireland has only come on as a sub once in men's football. It would seem that we have deeper pockets than Leicester and Leeds. We Are The Richest Team In The League. In terms of opposition tactics we will be treated as the Championship's version of Manchester City. Week in week out we'll be faced with awkward teams. As Saints fans we know that our current attacking force would struggle to fight their way out of a wet paper bag never mind an entire league geared to scuppering them. Man City, Burnley and it would seem Russell Martin, have recognised that once you get your team to a good level you'll usually face that wall, and won't be going anywhere unless you can break through it. So why build a good team in a style that won't break through it, only to be disappointed at the end. Better to commit to the style that should have success. At this point feel free to regale me with stories of Leicester's PL championship win with a counter attacking side; but we all know they were seriously underestimated for most of that season, they had some talented players, virtually no injuries and every player played out of their skin every week. An unlikely and unsustainable state of affairs as their later results demonstrated. If it gives some room at the top of the pitch for our limited attacking force to work with, then I'm ok with a bit of poncing around at the back, provided we're not being completely bloody stupid about it.

Or maybe pinch someone from Spurs?

For anyone who wants to listen here's the link Radio Solent - Fit Club (11:23 11th July 2023) You'll need to fast forward to 1h23m in. 2nd part starts at 1h36m. Adam has always done his best for us. I think we ought to return the favour. Good on you Adam.

KWP has an England cap too

But at the first sign of things getting tough on the pitch the physios will be on, he'll be off, and then who gets the armband? He's a talented player but I've seen nothing that suggests a mentality suitable for leading the team. I'd nominate Perraud if he stays

He’s a free agent. Currently without a club, and nowhere to train. Easier to get motivated training in a group. Reading currently don’t have enough players for an 11v11 so it’s a win win for everyone. Ruben gets to look like mini-Pep bringing a respected Eng International to training on day 1, and Theo gets a place to train in his neck of the woods until he finds a home. Plus maybe Reading get some financial backing and he stays. Bet it’s just a training arrangement right now though

Is it the case that players earn a loyalty bonus if they stay till 30th June? If so we may see an avalanche of departures shortly

This and your review of SR mistakes are a good read 👍

I think I saw something today from Alfie House of the Echo saying that there was nothing in the rumour

Our biggest sale will likely be Lavia - bought last summer under SR Alcaraz and Sulemana both clearly have something and will turn a profit most likely - also bought last summer. Not every decision made by SR had been a bad one - just the really important ones 😉