BallBoy

Been covered many times before on this forum but I never tire of reminiscing over this. I was at my office at work. Large office of about 200 people. It started with me getting a phone call from my mum (not a football fan). Mum :"Have you heard", Me: "Heard what?" Mum: "Kevin Keegan has signed for Saints" I don't remember my exact response but I found it hard to believe her but my Mum does not lie. The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around the office and everyone repeating the exact same words: "Have you heard?" Then everyone going home at the first opportunity to check it out on TV, Radio and any other means possible. It really was true. Southampton had arrived. To those who don't remember or don't understand it was equivalent to Saints signing Lionel Messi or Christiano Ronaldo, not today but 5 years ago. Totally remarkable and nobody knew until that press conference.

This game is tight as our relative league positions recent records and demonstrate. For both teams it is more or less season over if they lose. The cup gives us our best chance of any success this year. We can afford to drop a few league points. As Ralph himself said "they can't take our 29 points away from us". We have to make this game our priority IMHO.

Dreadful defending. Lack of pace and imagination. Danny way off his best. Redmond can't cross. Unable to implement a plan B. Dare I say it but 2 great goals and if we had defended like earlier in the season we would have won. Sorry for the slight note of optimism.

Just watched Ralphs' pre match press conference. The man is just class. Every answer thoughtful and bang on the money. Sounds like he is genuinely attached to this club. Legend.

The morning after the night before. Just horrible. I gave up on this at half time. I have never done that before in my life. I knew I just would not be able to endure, let alone enjoy, the rest of the game. After 54 years of supporting Saints nobody can accuse me of being a fair weather supporter but yesterday I hit my limit. I went downstairs and watched "The Drowning". Very appropriate. As it happens Che scored just after half time. And he DID score. It wouldn't have changed the result but it could have changed how we feel and avoided this humiliation. The players must have felt totally helpless at that point but the reality is that we have a mental fragility that is always lurking under the surface. We could and should have defended better even with 10 men. Much has been made of the appalling refereeing and the flaws in the interpretation of the laws of the game. I totally concur. Inept is one word. Corrupt would be another. Probably somewhere between the two. How these people can actually study the same pictures and then still come to the these conclusions is beyond belief. How can it happen two games in a row. We seriously need a change of luck soon to help these players believe again. I do worry that our game is so high intensity that we seem to have no plan B. We play right on the edge so any reversal is dangerous. But I accept that this is the only way we can play and get the positive results we had earlier in the season. I still support Ralph 100%. He is one of the best we have ever had. Still hurting.

I have lost the plot now. Someone remind me who we have available if nothing changes.

I hate to say it but I have practically given up on this one. A point would be a bonus but please not a 1 nil defeat. I hate losing 1 nil.

Nothing is going to happen.

Ralph can be very stubborn sometimes. For a long time it was anyone but Bertrand. I think we have to put Valery in.

I would really like Burnley to go down. They are just a horrible team. However they brought 4th place within reach again if we can get back to our early season form. We can dream.

This news has depressed me. The Telegraph is a reliable source so I have to accept that Danny is open to a move to a "Champions League" club. Any hopes I had that he was happy in this area and that loyalty would play a part are now gone. I don't blame him but he is not going to be another Matt Le Tiss. I am depressed because our recent success has been largely built on his form and fitness. His current form has dipped and Covid has possibly taken its toll. I do find it alarming that he was the only Saints player (recently) to catch the virus. This would appear to be personal carelessness rather than a club issue. We need him at his best and I am not sure we are going to see a repeat of early season form. That would have a big impact. He is also a big figure in the dressing room so this will not help. The above is the "glass half empty" version. I am sure there is an upside but, right now, I am not seeing it. We really need a good cup run which will mean beating both Arsenal and Wolves. A big ask. Our league form is dipping and injuries are killing us. Danny can do better but the big question would be "where". Please not Spurs or, even worse, West Ham. Bottom line is that, however much we might get, we can't replace him. Someone cheer me up.

I think many are in danger of underestimating Shrewsbury. Yes, they are currently a lower League One team but their recent record is 4 wins and a draw. They are on the up. Having said that, we really should beat them. They have not played for a few weeks and I am sure Ralph will field the best team he can.

Tough draw for us. This is a year when I thought we have a decent chance with a little bit of luck. No luck here. Presuming the Premier League teams win we have to beat the multiple winners of Arsenal as they come back into form and then a very solid Wolves team. And that is to just get to the quarter finals when many of the top teams are still there. Arsenal held us to a draw. We went toe to toe with Wolves for another draw. We will have to be at our best to progress.

Well it's past lunchtime the next day and guess what - we still won! We don't always win against the big boys but it's great when we do. Love it that Ralph has this ability to pull out the occasional big result to supplement wins against the lesser teams. It is a recipe for our success. Ralph is getting a lot of publicity for his "tears". Some praising his commitment and others just mocking to the point of suggesting he "man up". I don't think it was so much emotion as nervous exhaustion. He reflected what we all felt at that moment and that's one of the reasons I love him. He really identifies with the fans here.

Let me start by saying that I agree with most pundits. We are having a fantastic season. We are still punching above our weight and no longer regarded as being in danger of relegation. We are just not as good as we were a few weeks ago. The snap has gone and decisions are beginning to go against us. It is a cliche but "it is a game of fine margins". The differences are clear for us all to see. In order for us to get back to where we were then every player needs to be at 90-100%, not the 70-80% that we are now. No exceptions. Very few, if any, teams play at that level for a whole season. Leicester were the exception. It was always obvious to me that we would be unlikely to maintain our previous standards with such a paper thin squad. I hoped we could but never really believed. That's what being a Saints fan for over 50 years does to us. I still hope we could actually finish 4th but I fear the Europa League might be our limit. I would actually prefer mid table to Europa. Too many games for our squad.

BBC say Antonio back in training following a hamstring problem. That seems like code for either playing or on the the bench. We just couldn't handle him last year. I do hope he is out but, obviously, I hope Danny is either playing or at least on the bench.

How refreshing that many of us are seeing this as 2 points lost rather than 1 point gained. After 50+ years supporting the Saints this still comes as a pleasant surprise to be thinking this way. Great to be looking up the the table rather than down. Our football last night was crisp and full of quality. Ralph has done a remarkable job with this group of players. No "marquee" signings. Just good, honest professionals. I think if Danny was was really on his game then we would have won. That is not a criticism of him. He is our talisman. At 90-100% we win that game. At 70% then not quite. There were occasions when I was on my feet with anticipation but the first or final touch was not quite where it was 2 months ago. I repeat, that is not a criticism. He knows better than any of us. Overall what a fantastic season. Third place on merit. But we have to beat the big 6 if we are to take the next step. Roll on Saturday.

Has to be Mourinho. It seems to me that, in order to prove how special he is, he has to pick on someone and then humiliate them. Examples are Deli Alli, Luke Shaw, Morgan Schneiderlin, Eva Carneiro. With Eva Carneiro I remain convinced that he lost the Chelsea dressing room because of how spiteful he was to her.

We should take it to the supreme court.

I am going to bask a little longer before I let reality settle in. But then Leicester did it with a similar style and similar level of players.

Doing really well considering we are playing without a left hand side. Would rather Djenepo going for it and Stephens backing up. At present Djenepo plays backwards too often and Stephens just does not have the balance to do anything with it.

I always worry. Can't get out of the habit. That team sheet looks awfully unbalanced to me, whatever way you put it together.

Is there something wrong with this thread. Nothing for 18 hours! Villa are a different animal to last year. But then so were Everton. I have always liked Barclay as a player. Grealish is a special talent. Not sure we can keep them both quiet.

Been mentioned earlier but Lawro actually had us down to win 2-0. Normally that would be the kiss of death but, well done lads, we proved him right! I know it's only 6 games in but this is a great confidence boost and hopefully shows the direction of travel. When I look at the table I actually look up instead of down. Good feeling.

Lawro has got us down to win 2-0. Oh dear!