CamberwellSaint

I'd agree with getting rid of Keegan (famous player and good value when he was here, but not associated with us particularly, and a bit of an arse) and Shilton (ditto). Replace with any of: Lawrie McMenemy, Liebherr (Markus or Katherine), Franny Benali, Nick Holmes.

Excellent work! Nice one.

Worst buildup ever? That's true. Forster Clyne Fonte Aldereiweld Yoshida Bertrand Wanyama Schneiderlin Tadic Mane Long Pelle, Djuricic, Elia, Davis, Davis, Ward-Prowse, Targett

The only thing that'd really make me cross is if he goes to Tottenham. The only 2 clubs in England who a) are clearly a level above us in terms of quality and b) need a player like him, are Arsenal (where he'd go if he's sensible) and Man Utd (where he'll go if he's greedy and fancies the bench). I don't think it's impossible he'll stay, but we'll need to double his money and finish 5th at least to have a prayer.

That's exactly what I thought. He was with the others at the ice hockey (in the photos) but I'm assuming he didn't join in. However, isn't that him in the skiing video at 1:55? If so, he can't be that far off returning to training, at least? Here's hoping. Even if he was only ready for a sub appearance or 2 before the end of the season, the lift for the team as a whole, and the option to replace Pelle for a spell could be a real difference.

Thanks for posting this- I can never wait til it turns up on iPlayer. Even better, we had some classic Motty! "Elia thought he could chip him!"

As the OP implies, its rare that Saints fans would even get the opportunity to be as overoptimistic as this, so take the chance while its here. In the summer, if someone had started a "who will be our rivals for a Europa League place?" thread, they'd have been shouted down as delusional. My vote: Barca (for the magic), Ajax (for Ron), and Steaua Bucharest (for revenge). Hell, its not unthinkable we could get out of that group.

Tadic isn't so much a statistical upgrade (though he looks like he's that too) he's a better team player and he's fitter. That shoddy advertisement that Lallana took out in the Echo sums him up: self-absorbed breadhead.

Mods! Do the compassionate thing and lock this thread! (or re-name it "2 posters engaging in a p*ssing competition for a long time")

Totally justified to name the pavilion after Markus Leibherr- it was nice that its just a simple steel plaque rather than some of ostentatious signage (though that seems in keeping with the kind of man he was, listening to what Krueger and Reed say about him). And yes, he did save the club- from liquidation (nobody else came along and stumped up the cash, he did), and at the same time from being bought by loons (Tan at Cardiff, Assam at Hull) or chancers (SISU at Coventry). To come on a thread like this and start an argument about what 'saving the club' means takes a special kind of tool. WIFM!

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/nov/05/southampton-reaping-rewards-philosophy-new-training-ground There's no great revelation, but some nice detail and very appreciative of what we're doing. A long way from the club-in-crisis stories of the summer..

This is a really good piece of writing. Puts plenty of 'professional' football journalists to shame.

Just home here in the far North London. Great performance by the team as a whole. Schneiderlin and Pelle both yelling at Mane and Targett to keep them in position. Given he was playing behind debutant Mane, Targett was very solid- rarely allowed anyone in behind him. Mane is very fast but not yet tuned into everyone else, and needs to close people down. Only really opened up twice and Forster made 2 cracking saves. There was never really a sense that Arsenal were on top, or that we were hanging on. Brilliant shirt-pull by Pelle on Wilshere late on to stop a breakaway. Gardos and Fonte never allowed a sniff of trouble- both very assured. Davis was doing all the quiet dirty work in the middle, and got forward- very underrated. No-one had a bad game. Arsenal fans were a real disappointment; Saints end was by far the loudest part of the ground. COYR!

Interesting you should bring that game up. It was the Mrs' first (and so far only) Saints game (she's not a natural as far as the footie goes). But, her second will be this one. So, same ravenous support and same result?

Health warning: Opinions based only on the 'Player highlights and MOTM. 1. We kept West Brom down to one dangerous cross and one skilful moment (the Ideye chance at the end) in terms of attacking threat all match; the way this was done looked pretty dull but it worked. It's an underrated ability: get through a horrible game where the oppo has parked the bus without losing or getting suspensions. 2. No sign of attacking intent from Clyne, and only a moment or two from Bertrand. 3. Nobody made any stupid mistakes. 4. It looked as if we simply aren't fluent enough yet to unlock sludgy, wet-concrete football like WBAs. They'll be in trouble if that is their best effort away from home (not having had their team torn to shreds over the summer) 5. Embarrassing gaps in the crowd and miserable silence at the final whistle. 6. Tadic involved in everything that was good about our attacking- which wasn't brilliant but was about ten times better than WBA. Others have posted this, but I'll reiterate it: New manager in post for 6 weeks. 5 of our best players gone immediately before and after that, a 6th longterm injured. Replacements playing their 2nd competitive game together, in the most relentlessly no-time-to-breathe league in the world. Team expected to play a passing, fast, skilful brand of football. Give them a f***ing minute, won't you?

Thanks Art, nice work.

8th

Absolutely agree. We haven't had one of those for a long while. (Dennis Wise?)

Fair comment. It depends on whether he's had a lot of other interest from abroad, and whether he's ever turned down an offer from a more (ahem) "glamorous" club.

That's true. Depending on Schneiderlin's attitude in training, I'd replace him with Cork. The bench is a bit mix'n'match, but after the summer we've had, that's still a reasonable squad, with Gardos (soon) and Rodriguez (later) to return. Whether we take last season as a starting point, or crash back into the lowermid table swamp (and its going to be a big swamp this season) depends on Koeman as a manager.

Nice work-

All things considered, its a very good signing. Not quite as urgent as a quality centreback, but good nonetheless. (If Artur had been drifting toward the last few months of his contract, with only Gazzaniga (obviously not good enough yet) and Kelvin (fine for emergency cover for a game or three, but no more) for cover, we'd have been feeling very shaky. I think Koeman's comment: 'this is a signing that looks to the future' is the key thing here- the squad is being overhauled in double quicktime and not in the order RK would like. He's done well so far. Who knows, maybe he's seen something in Forster's penalty-area management that means the centreback question is in a different light. (we still need one, obviously)

Redder Freak already reported the most important thing here: Koeman- "Dortmund were poor, they didn't make it very hard for Liverpool, we will do". It's going to be games like this that we're grateful our manager was one of the best defenders of the modern era. Prediction: 1-1, Sturridge first half, Pelle second.

The first sentence is definitely true. The second I'm not so sure about, though the fact that Koeman has put Isgrove in the starting 11 against Leverkusen but not Gallagher or Mayuka suggests he thinks we need s striker from somewhere.

Assuming Rightsider doesn't have a track record as a windup merchant or a Look At Me Attentionseeker, there's only one explanation for the story: The trip was a nightmare and Reed is convinced that there's no chance of a deal happening, and is happy to let that leak out. It's believable, though not likely given the 'official announcement only' stance that the club seems to be trying to keep to.