John B

I am sorry but why should we have walked it as we had a new team with new tactics a below average goalkeeper and no real consistent top class creative player

Like most of the rest of the squad they are decent footballers but not consistent enough to be able to lead a sustained promotion push I have been around a longtime and seen a lot of topclass players Chivers Melia and Paine in 1966 Macdougal Boyer Ball and Williams in 1978 and more recently Lambert Lallana and Schederlin lead us to promotion. Our recruitment under a number of regimes has been poor not only for the first team but also for the Academy so I was never confident we would get automatic promotion but unlike most I think Russell has done a decent job in getting eighty points or so in his first season with a less than average goal stopper and forwards who seem to to miss goals at will when the team is on top and is then unable to close the game out

Yes I understand that but I just feel we should refine it slightly to reduce the chance of errors and to surprise the opposition as well as reducing the panic among fans like me

We got promoted in 1966 and strangely beat them 20 April 1966 Southampton3 – 2 Cardiff City so omens are good and they have little to play for

I just do not understand why we ponce about in the Penalty area when we could start possession further down the field. The more time the ball is in the penalty area there is more chance of an error

Not surprised we won today as we often win on 13th April which is my birthday Including this famous win Southampton 3-1 Manchester United - Premier League - April 13, 1996 - Match Guide, Data Analysis, Standings - Football - Sports Mole

Jack played in our first four games when I think we were unbeaten after his injury we lost the next four games so perhaps if had been playing in them we may have have done better and got a few points He has been good player for us over a number of years so I doubt Jack is reason we are not in the automatic promotion positions Not having a reliable GK a consistent scoring CF and the lack of a consistent creative player are in my opinion more likely reasons

Potential does will Promotion outstanding consistent attacking players and strikers do but we do not seem to have any.

GOAL: Cardiff 0-1 Hull City Fabio Carvalho (32 mins) shame we did not persuade him to come to St Mary's as he seems to have scored a few goals at Hull

Five loanees and no Acadamey youngsters in the starting XI shows how we have regressed over the last few years. I know most Championship clubs have loanees but I wish we had more players we had scouted and s[gned

I agree with what you are saying but this year Ipswich Leicester and Leeds have achieved outstanding results which has no doubt put lots of pressure on our players

So where are our outstanding consistent creative players like we had in previous promotion squads?

So you do not think top class football matyches are decided on fine margins on the football pitch with the team making less errors usually victorious especi better ally in penalty shootouts. Clearly if we had had a goalkeeper who let in less goals and strikers who missed less clear chances we would be in a better situation than we are now

I have never thought that we were likely to get automatic promotion I just do not feel the players are good enough I have seen three top flight promotions not sure that any of todays squad would get into any of those promotion sides

FULL-TIME Bristol City 1-0 Leicester Huge result at the top of the Championship!

Seems a strange response to me with a Republic of Ireland squadlike this it is hardly surprising they do not win many matches Goalkeepers: Bazunu (Southampton), Kelleher (Liverpool), Travers (Bournemouth) Defenders: Coleman (Everton), Doherty (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Collins (Brentford), Omobamidele (Nottingham Forest), O'Shea (Burnley), Scales (Celtic), O'Brien (Lyon), Brady (Preston), Ebosele (Udinese). Midfielders: Cullen (Burnley), Knight (Bristol City), Smallbone (Southampton), McGrath (Aberdeen), O'Dowda (Cardiff City), Sykes (Bristol City), Azaz (Middlesbrough), Johnston (West Bromwich Albion). Forwards: Ferguson (Brighton), Idah (Celtic, on loan from Norwich), Obafemi (Millwall, on loan from Burnley), Szmodics (Blackburn), Ogbene (Luton Town), Parrott (Excelsior, on loan from Tottenham).

But what is top draw Both him and Kelleher of Liverpool play for Ireland and since 2021 Baz has played twice as many times than Kelleher

It may not be a reality but it is still a possibility

But a play off trip to Wembley would be great

I agree with what you are saying but if we win the play offs I can only see us struggle in the PL

If he was not guilty of some bad misses I doubt he would be playing for us

What do his stats say according to someone they are better than Bree's

Getting more likely for next season perhaps surely will happen soon

Very true But think of some of the strikers we had in our promtion years Martin Chivers Ted McDougal Phil Boyer Rickie Lambert with Terry Paine Alan Ball and Adam Lallana playing as well. Without outstanding consistent players we will always struggle as these days as we are not producing top class players through our academy like we used to do and ex internationals like Ball Keegan Watson Osgood etc no longer come here because of their high wage demands. So we have to see if Adams Armstrong and Mara flourish and if they do most likely they will leave. We are were we are like most of the clubs in the country trying to progress with limited resources I have been very lucky compared with the youngsters of today as a Saints fan to see great players and great matches but that said we have only one major trophy the FA Cup which was nearly fifty years ago. Following and watching the Saints has been a pastime I have enjoyed and I will continue to do so as I approach my 80s and this season has been great especially with the long unbeaten run and there is still the possibility of promotion although if it happens I expect us to struggle in the PL

How is he to address the obvious fact that the squad is not good enough for the automatic promotion places