saint1977

Ings so mentally quick there. Only him, Stuart, JWP and KWP amongst the players available deserve to be wearing SFC shirts at the moment. Jack doing his best out of position.

If Hodgson wants another season in the PL, I’d happily have him at SFC. Get this rabble organised. Absolutely pathetic goal to concede, the out of contract striker beats six red shirts for effort. I know Romeu is missing but soft as shit mentally since he went off at Elland Rd. Redmond dreadful so far, Bednarek gives a 10 yard ball away there. JWP has to foul Zaha to stop a counter attack from it. Minamino so lightweight. Benteke continues to brutalise Bednarek.

Not other games as such, but Ollie McBurnie doesn't seem to be taking his recovery as seriously as he ought to be: Oli McBurnie: Sheffield United to investigate video on social media - BBC Sport Reed's ricket with Carrillo was bad enough for £20m, Monaco could see the foolish coming with the VVD money and it was a double glazing sale with a confused pensioner, but not sure what Sheffield United's excuse was with this lump of trouble. Brewster's been terrible as well but like Solanke with Bournemouth, might make them back a bit of money in the Champ. Whereas McBurnie against us looked as bad as I've ever seen in the top flight. They had Billy Whitehurst who whilst agricultural (and very hard) was a better footballer. Craig Bellamy's nose for controversy but minus all of Bellamy's talents.

This new second generation thread becoming a home again in May at the end of the League One season as the fishy few mess it up again. Westwood apparently rang his bell outside the ground, entire neighbourhood now needs mass spraying with Fabreze as the community has gone nose blind. Charlton, Ipswich taken over with bigger budgets and clubs, Sunderland if they fail again in the play offs themselves, Wigan, Bolton and Sheffield Weds. Could be Groundhog Day next season, Blackpool have investment and there’s always a surprise club each year

Excellent, Wolves winner v Brighton, every place and penny counts until Gao gone. This game should be sent to Saints coaching team as a training example of how to stretch an opposition reduced to 10 men. Wolves haven’t been in great form, almost as bad as SFC, including a 0-4 defeat to Burnley, but have showed a level of effort and desire we’ve not seen from SFC until Leicester game and in patches last night.

There’s the cultural rabbit hole the Labour left has fallen into. You could see the tactic from the M1 but the old left can’t help themselves. Friend of mine was a journalist at all the party conferences and even in the Blair peak years the old left would put forward motions such as ‘the PLP should adopt more pro-Palestinian policies’ and be voted down. The attacks by Starmer on procurement corruption didn’t land either but that was inevitable given the vaccine roll out success and in the NE, having spent time there, publics think most politicians are on the take anyway. Dating back to T Dan Smith they may have a point. Actually tackling the sharpest socio-economic inequality and holding the Tories to not rolling back worker rights will help all of their target audiences which they have to address if they want to be competing to win again against someone other than Theresa May.

I think they did actually, heavy investment in their region as part of the levelling up agenda and Brexit which they clearly are passionate about. The vaccine rollout would have given the government an impregnable position. If another party was spending that amount, the Tories and papers would be screaming blue murder but different rules apply when it’s their spending. I agree with the spending FWIW, the areas and overall economy is dangerously uneven and lacking opportunities for social mobility, not just on geography grounds either. It’s a inverse situation to New Labour where Hague, IDS and Howard had nowhere to go late-90s to mid 2000s until Iraq and East European people movement came to the fore and alarmed the working class vote, although it took Brexit to really translate it. Funny old world where Hartlepool has a Tory MP and Canterbury Labour. Would have been long odds in the 1980s on that!

Decent article here analysing the factors https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/six-reasons-labour-lost-hartlepool-byelection_uk_6094fdd9e4b0b37f89476272 Brexit Party was the sole reason Corbyn won there last time, 99% of the 10k votes Farage polled would have gone blue. The Conservatives have also spent or promising to spend shed loads in those towns and areas, forgetting that austerity and the 1980s caused much of the deprivation in the first place. As long as the victories keep coming, Boris’s blurred conservativism with a bigger state (which can be justified post-austerity and pandemic) the Tory right will be nullified. At some point the magic money tree will stop giving to those areas and that’s when the acid test kicks in.

Also on budgets, Leeds, Villa and Everton named as having more spending power than Saints with Palace, Burnley et al similar. The club are trying to compete with Villa and co but recognising recruitment has to be better to do that. Semmens didn’t think Saints unduly hit across comparator group by COVID losses and thinks impact proportionally similar across league in the different comparator groups. ESL - Semmens didn’t support sanctions for breakaway 6 as players didn’t want it nor managers. Sanctions against the individuals yes. He doesn’t think the ESL will resurface for a long time due to the sheer strength of the reaction nationally, locally and globally.

Enjoyed that. Club has spent £1m during lockdown phases updating academy facilities to help give the edge on recruiting the best youngsters, although Crocker seemed frustrated at what he’d inherited on the academy recruitment side so clearly what people have posted in snippets on here is true about the flip in personnel. Sounds like things had become complacent eg we are Soton, JWP, Lallana, Theo, Bale, Shaw etc and assume they will be #1 choice for parents and youngsters. Quite open about some of the age teams eg u18s not being competitive enough. B Team has had to cover for lack of player depth and that’s manifest a few levels which MC is keen to address this summer. I thought the different investment model response was interesting as well and that Semmens was surprised it hadn’t happened already. The explanation was interesting on Gao, different signals from the Chinese government about football so seems there was some political push/pull/market exit very quickly. Gao described as being in a difficult position after the shift in political mood music so I wouldn’t be surprised club will be sold. Ralph wants to boost the squad. Theo sounds like he is signing on a 2 year deal based on what RH, MC and MS said. MS said debt and transfer budgets separate. LB identified by Ralph as priority area and over reliance on KWP at RB. No 6 with OR’s injury another area identified. So balls out for Brandon Williams on loan I reckon. Both seemed to think Ings more likely to stay than not but stressed player choices. South America seems to be a market the club will be more active in than previously post Brexit.

If DT has followed Saints since 1974 he has got to see the 76 cup win, LC Finals 79 and 17, Keegan signing and those marvellous early 80s sides and much more. In terms of other challenging times, in 1985/6 straight after the Lawrie era we couldn’t win away for toffee, losing multiple 2-0 leads and defeats such as 7-0 on the plastic at Luton. FA SF that season as well (thank you Kevin Bond) after a good cup run. There was the long run late 80s without a win already posted about ended by the Newcastle last minute penalty. The players lost 6-2 at Derby last day with zero effort who were the Sheffield United of that season to get Nicholl sacked and that let in Branfoot. The whole of the Branfoot era was worse than now, Division 4 footballers and MLT lumping it forward, mass protests and banners at every game eg Red cards at the Port Vale cup game, 9k at home to Ipswich. Under Branfoot, we conceded 3 in 4 minutes at Spurs on Sky, Wright hat trick in 5 minutes on a Nike Advert at Highbury. Ghost board of Askham, Wiseman etc gave him a new 3 year contract, Speedie and Dixon who played like middle aged men. Later on, poor Dave Merrington just about kept us up with no money to spend, one goal from Wimbledon sends us down. Jones wasted the Davies money and we only get out of the bottom 3 with 2 games to go in 98/99 v Leicester. There was the chaotic 07/08 season with multiple hammerings eg Hull 5-0 and last day survival v Blades. Then the worst of all, 08/09. More recently, Pellegrino.

If this is true, then time to finally fold PGMOL by next summer, put an advert out for lower league/good non league level players coming to the end of their contracts or who have finished in the last 3-4 years and have an intensive summer course to develop a new cohort of 150-200 referees ready to referee at lower levels next season and some of the best performing in the PL by 2022/3 onwards. Existing refs without a significant playing record could apply to this scheme to retrain and retain the better individuals through this summer’s residential and next summer’s.

Not seen him bowl. Much in the way of pace/movement/bounce? His bowling by accounts was the only bright spot of the match at the Oval. In other news, IPL stopped. Unlikely to resume anytime soon with the tragic crisis in India. Means Williamson and the England boys (bar injured Stokes) should be available now for the NZ Test series in June which should be a corker.

Very sad news, saw it had spread but so so young. Classic Saints - paid relatively big money - come onto that in a minute - and played the signing out of position. This article confirms what I recall, which was that he was wasted on the left. Then Branfoot arrived and as someone who could actually play football he had no chance. Sold him to the Fish Counter for £400k IIRC which was a loss on his £700k fee. He was listed as a £1m signing but typical of the Askham era, the club seemed reluctant to select him for a 30th game so Swindon got the final £300k. Better to take a £300k loss than allow a talented player to shine, let’s back the club’s joint worst manager ever (with Pellegrino) instead with more of his favourite players from divisions 3 and 4. Typical backwater thinking, can’t even blame Les Reed. Speedie and Dixon were to follow... https://www.saintsplayers.co.uk/player/alan-mcloughlin/

Strong enough line up even with the obligatory red card to not have been demolished like that again. Clearly the belated fight and grit from the first team on Friday night didn’t inspire them at all. Another bunch of lightweight tarts. Training needs to be more of a blend of technical, physical and organisation to toughen the pathetic little flowers up right across all of the club’s teams.

Remember going to opening night of Jim Steele owning the Chamberlayn Arms in Sholing mid-90s and quite a few of the cup winning side came along - Ossie, Rodriguez, Hughie, Channon et al. Didn’t end well for Jim overall IIRC but cracking first night hearing all of the stories.

That was a bonus. A bit of fight at last. Salisu excellent when he came on, KWP very good and they all did well, including Alex with that late save. Restricted Leicester well and still had our own chances. Ralph must be happier with that. What might have been but that for the poor performance from the officials both on pitch and remotely (yet again). There’s going to be a lot of lower league players in their early 30s out of contract in the summer who could run a top level game with an intensive summer course. That red card will be overturned I suspect by anyone vaguely knowledgable. Martin Tyler - please retire. You’ve had a great career but he is on the 1976 Fulham 4-1 home win where Best was sent off in the Big Match revisited and he now sounds like he gets his football cliches from the Daily Express and only watches the odd game live.

Already did, and made no difference. Vesty needed to clear that out but very suspicious decision, hopefully nothing dodgy.

Ended by as posted recently on other threads a home win v Newcastle, last minute Ruddock penalty after Rod Wallace was fouled/dived depending on who you listened to in the social club afterwards. What stands out from that season is how many draws there were where Saints had 2 goal leads - remember leads blown at Newcastle and Boro from 3-1. Saints did come back from 2-0 v Coventry at the Dell late on - but also memorable for Russell Osman and Garry Bannister’s running feud where one ran after the other and was sent off for running after them and kicking them up the backside. Can’t remember who was sent off, anyone else remember?

In which case Gao loses most if not all of his alleged £200m in the event of relegation to add to the seeming implosion at Lander. Makes you wonder how he ever made any money as he doesn’t seem to be much of a businessman. Take £100-120m, take the loss of face and move on Jisheng.

http://www.insideworldfootball.com/2020/12/16/lille-owner-lopez-parts-company-club-us-money-pulls-rank-reports/

Broadly agree with your post and his decision making over the last 4 months has been dreadful. The ship is in quite some peril with Gao owning. However, on comparing the signings, £12m or so did get you a VVD, Tadic or Mane. It did also get you a Shane Long in the mid 2010s! The players Ralph has signed are in a similar price bracket but the industry has moved on and a Mane type gem, if you can find one with the ESL clubs hoovering them up and loaning them out helped by greedy agents, would be at least £20m which the club can’t/won’t pay. The club might find a single sub-£10m signing this summer who is a hit - Andresen would have been bought for that from Lyon - but not the 6-7 they need.

Totally agree with this blog, excellent as always. If there isn’t a takeover soon, then there needs to be a more pragmatic manager in place. Ralph system needs Ralph players - physical, quick, dynamic box to box - but those will cost £20m+ even in a more depressed post COVID market. There might be the odd gem available fitting the bill for less but not 6 or 7 of them as you rightly state. If there’s no takeover this summer then best RH moves on and an old school replacement with a contacts book who can set up as hard to beat.

Wouldn’t be a progressive choice in his mid 70s and CP have achieved what they can with their current approach. However, you don’t see his teams leak silly goals generally - Fulham and CP were hard to beat, did go wrong at Blackburn but a long time ago, Liverpool wrong time wrong club. If there isn’t a buyer for the club imminent then he’s an option to stop stupid goals and get some physically stronger/quicker players to blend with the squad of lightweights we have. Thought you’d like that? Allardyce is the other non takeover option. Neither are going to play pretty football - robust counter attack is their forte - but they aren’t always the dinosaurs they are made out to be, pragmatists at clubs where the momentum has stalled. That’s been the case since Koeman and then Gao buying in. I’d prefer a decent takeover and Gerrard but Gao may not get a buyer in time or choose to soften his price. In which Hodgson or Allardyce have the contact books to find bargains and can set the side up as harder to beat. Let’s face it, Saints can’t be any more of a soft touch than the last 3 horrific months can they?

I agree but although the UK is no longer in the EU, would the PL come under UEFA rules in the main on salary caps breaching anti competition rules? Seem to remember that discussion when salaries really exploded in the 2000s and that limit being cited. The orthodoxy at the time was that markets should adjust if salaries overheated but then football operates in a differential environment to the real commercial world where you have restructures, VR etc. Footballer contracts are a different thing legally, credit to the PFA I guess (grudgingly) for standing up for their members when the rest of society’s workforce is subject to market forces. The TV deals is what stops PL clubs going bust trying to correct overall salary benchmarks. Banning agents is something I’ve wanted to see for ages and which could be done. Have a solicitor that specialises in football present but the super agents are driving the Neymar/Haaland demands that have pushed the biggest clubs so far into the red. Pandemic has worsened but Real and Barca have been in trouble for some time. Plus the big Spanish clubs elect presidents from the members and each makes crazier promises that the last. Promising sustainability doesn’t get you votes.