Holmes_and_Watson

Flying

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Ralph quotes from beeb... On chants "I haven't heard them, my English is not so good. But I can take it. It is no problem for me because I am responsible for the results. I am the manager here." On recent form "We had discussions in the last few weeks about a top 10. We had opponents there around us and we were not able to win against them, so we are not a top-10 team. We are far away from being a top-10 team at the moment."

From beeb gossip, on some names mentioned... Tottenham Hotspur are set to sign West Brom and England keeper Sam Johnstone after Manchester United decided not to go ahead with a move. (Mirror) West Ham are the new leaders in the race to sign Blackburn and Chile striker Ben Brereton Diaz, 23. (Sun)

I'm only going on highlights, but AA trotted back, when he should never have allowed himself to be offside. As soon as I saw the earlier match thread comments where Ralph had bizarrely picked Diallo instead of Romeu and had dropped Adams, I could see how the scoreline was reached. No spine and all the automatisms fall apart. Taken apart by a team who combine their version of it with individual strength, purpose and, in Eriksson, flair. Sadly our resources couldn't compete to bring in Ajer. Or in earlier highlights I'm reminded we got an AA instead of an Edouard. As much as I like Perraud's effort, Cucurella has been something special, but beyond our grasp.

We looked as though we were going to sail past last season's figures for a while. But no, we were on the bus at the end of the Young Ones. "Cliff!"

Whew! That's a relief. For a minute Inwascworried were were going to delude ourselves into a relegation either this or next season. 🙂

Definitely the home win. 🙂

Deck

We're not playing them then. 🙂

10-0-0 helping Forster form a human barricade in our goal🙂

Soldier

Wow! You really go to up close and personal lengths for those Football Manager stats. 🙂

The Ross Wilson connection! 🙂 As Sports Republic seem to like The Southampton Way (such as it is recently) New person has to transition young talent at the end of their academy time at other clubs into our senior squad - Livramento. Young talent not at the stage of breaking into the first team at larger clubs - KWP & Broja. Nab top young talent before it goes off to the Bundesliga, a la Sancho/ Bellingham. Look at using our own Academy to highlight The Pathway to potential recruits from other clubs. - Looking at your Balllards and Diblings it seems, as not too many others breaking through. Possibly employ an analytics involved style of play involving automisms etc. working hand in hand with/ taking advantage of the criteria used in recruiting players that may be off other players radar. Probably on a restricted budget, and looking to sell on the top talent for a profit, although some of that will be invested back into the squad to develop strength and quality of the next sales. If we manage a player clear out in the summer, the wage bill will be lowered significantly. But I'd not expect us to be buying in proven Premier League players on similar wagers to replace any of them. So if not Frank, it could be the latest off the German coaching conveyor belt. Although they were getting so young, we may aslo be hiring their mum who pushes their pram.

I chose a nearby away game to watch my lower league local team today. A short train journey, a nice walk, a nice pint in the sunshine and watched them get an away win. A walk down to the beach, a wave at the Southampton players who were already on there, and back home. A lovely afternoon. Now, how did we get on... bloomin' 'eck.

Agree with that. The success at various levels of the club is definitely a consideration and selling point. Also being able to show that straight, early path into the senior squad is also something special, continuing that perception of the club. It's a good place for the club to be, in that respect, at the moment.

Meanwhile on Earth-R: PSG Coach Ralph, drops Messi. "His lack of tallness in defending corners, makes him a liability. I'm baffled how he has managed to get picked for all these years," said the innovator of Ralph Ball.

Great to hear he's giving his all not just on the pitch, but in everything he does. Top attitude, and hopefully there's enough talent to go with it for him to come through. On an unrelated note, there's a signed Simeu shirt on eBay... 🙂🙂

True, and another indicator of the many, non skill related, issues that impact team selection. Ballard has signed a contract. So he could get a nod. It would also be a further incentive to the others to sign once they are old enough too. Sibling etc. The academy part of the Pathway hasn't shown anything this season in terms of the first team squad. Ideally, we'd have liked a couple more points on the board before bringing in younger players. But it's a big bench, and could bring him on if thing are going well (for a recent change).

Could both be true? Offered last summer going into his final year. Probably on significantly lower terms, as he wasn't being considered as undisputed first choice. He rejected that. Now, the club haven't offered him anything concrete, despite some rumblings, making the tweets also accurate. Just a thought.

Then could well be McCarthy, Caballero and Gunn Mk II (possibly cheaper, and hopefully more impactful) for next season. Unless someone bids for McCarthy. Forster would get in the team ahead of the first 2, so back to the recruitment team to bring a gem in. He was decent enough cover, and gives us someone at a reliable level, if the recruitment doesn't work out. I also note a massive shortage of keepers in coaching roles at the club, so good to hear that's also an option. 🙂

Adjusting the playbook from the data analytics updates. Maximise that xG! 🙂

If he looks remotely like scoring in training, over Long and Broja, it would seem odd to lose a couple of million for every lost place in the table, just so we could save some money on his deal. Unless we're giving his old club a 5 odd million sum, and thought we'd take a chance with a view to offloading AA in the summer.

Osvaldoesque training ground bust up between him and JWP on day one. 🙂

It's a cunning plan, hiding all our best players until they're on long contracts with giant release clauses. Perhaps the lack of such clauses is why we've not seen AA. He's too good to risk other clubs seeing him. 🙂