LuckyNumber7

Rome wasn't built in a day though. Look at Man City when their takeover happened, one of their first appointments was Mark Hughes and it took them several years to be challenging seriously at the top. Regardless of money they are unlikely to attract top stars right away and will have to build gradually. I think Howe is a solid appointment and I'm sure his remit for this season is simply to stay up.

All those who were saying we were wrong to get rid of Targett have gone very quiet. Never looked a good PL defender to me, tries hard but his lack of pace really hurts him. Still think we did brilliantly to get £15M.

I am by no means his biggest fan, but he has been good the last few games. Today he and KWP linked up really well on the left, especially in the first half where most of our chances were created and Watford just couldn't cope. Faded a bit in the second but was still good at picking the ball up deep and driving us forward, didn't see him stopping and checking back today as he so often has in the past. You have to give credit where it's due.

Great feeling to get the three points, although we did make it a bit hard for ourselves in the second half by which time we should have been out of sight. Feel sorry for Armstrong A, did everything right today but score. Didn't miss any sitters and mostly crafted the chances for himself but was just inches out on a few occasions. Probably his best all round performance so far and I think the goals will come. MOTM between KWP and Redmond for me, signs in recent weeks that Redders is finding his form again. There were no bad performances but shout out to McCarthy for that fantastic save, looked destined to be an equaliser. The lack of goals aside, we are starting to look like a good team this season, with decent depth and options too. Don't think we'll pull up any trees but I'm increasingly confident we'll have enough to stay up at least. We're playing some good football.

Gutted to lose like that but what an excellent performance against a top team. Tactically spot on from Ralph and everyone put in a shift. Special mention though for Lyanco. Considering we've been told by the experts on here who have never seen him play that he is awful I thought he was outstanding. Pace, strength, positioning, composure and plenty of passion. Just going on that one display he looks far ahead of Bednarek already. Still the end product letting us down a bit but if we play like that for the majority of the season we will be fine. Big if.

And Spurs

I'm surprised that while the same players as usual get pelters, Bednarek continues to almost escape any criticism. Theo wasn't great but also wasn't as bad as people have made out and that chance he missed was far from easy. Redders missed a sitter but has been one of our better players recently. Bednarek has been terrible for a long while now and his defending on the second goal was pathetic, frankly. The biggest mistake the club made in the summer was not signing a starting CB to partner Salisu. Anyway my first game since March 2020 and on the whole enjoyed it, but frustrating not to win.

He's a legend, responsible for my most enjoyable years as a Saints fan. Yes he had some good players but that is no guarantee of success. They were also young at the time and still developing (Lambert aside). I'm surprised it's not worked out for him since leaving Saints but it in no way tarnishes his achievements with us. Would love to see him back at the club in some capacity.

Scored at Newcastle too, don't know about assists. He's certainly improved and been decent so far, looks a lot more confident. But to say he's been stunning just wrong. I don't believe for a second that Arsenal are interested in him, then again they did sign Cedric!

That's the most comfortable I can remember feeling at 1-0 in front, especially given our record at holding onto a lead. Leeds really were dire with their key players out, but you can only beat what's in front of you. Salisu was MOTM, dominant performance aside from his brainfart in the second half. Broja, Moi, Romeu and Diallo all very good too. I'm a big critic of Redmond but he had a very good game, so credit where it's due. Still worried about the lack of goals but Broja definitely offers something different, I expect to see him starting more often than not now.

Glad to see Broja starting, but Redmond again ffs.

The commentator was Sam Matterface. 'Nuff said.

Not saying I advocate signing Pelle, but he (and Parma) were in Serie A last season and got relegated (he only joined them in February). Long's goals came while he was on loan at Bournemouth in the Championship.

I have been to many major cities and don't remember many having an approach similar to The Avenue/Common leading directly into the city centre. Often my first opinion on entering other towns and cities is that it is indeed a bit of a shithole. Not saying other cities don't have nice areas of course. As for the city centre, until fairly recently I lived in town and I do agree parts of it are a mess, especially around Bargate and East Street. However things are slowly improving and if not for covid the new Bargate development would be well on the way now which will open up that section of the old walls and be a vast improvement. As mentioned there are the extensive central parks and the new West Quay building set by the walls is very good. When I was living in town I used to enjoy going for morning walks around the old town. Yes it's no Monaco and parts of the centre are scruffy and need work, but a lot of it is really quite pleasant and for a smaller/mid size city I think it holds up pretty well.

It's a shame so many feel the need to trash Southampton. Of course it's far from perfect but has a lot going for it too. I've spent a fair bit of time up north, particularly in Leeds and I would hate to live there personally. Never been to Newcastle so won't comment but I'm sure it has it's fair share of 'chicken shops' etc! The weather alone would be enough to put me off though. I've been living away from Soton now for nearly two years and cannot wait to move back, it's just home. The central parks, the Common, New Forest, even enjoyed Weston Shore and Netley Abbey on a recent visit! And there are loads of nice beaches nearby with the added bonus that it's not always bloody freezing! Agree on the whole though that this country is a dump compared to many others. It's the money that attracts players.

Imo the strikers aren't the main problem, it's the lack of creativity behind them. Yes Arma missed one or two good chances against Utd but aside from that the forwards have been feeding off scraps all season. Redmond, Djenepo, Theo, Moi just consistently let us down with their end product. We badly miss Stu as he can make things happen. Given better service I would back A Armstrong to score at least 8+ goals this season.

I wouldn't take any notice of that thick twat. He only considers us a waste of time as we are not bankrolled by billionaires and thus able to compete with those who are. He talks about 'irrelevant' matches, no match is irrelevant it's just that he and many others in the media only care about the big glory clubs. Football needs the 'have nots' just as much as the 'haves'. Sadly as long as we are lumbered with an invisible disinterested owner who is unable/unwilling to invest in the club, we will continue treading water and likely be relegated sooner rather than later anyway.

I like JWP but really both he and Phillips are pretty bog standard PL midfielders and I don't think there's a lot between them. Phillips did ok at the Euros but imo has been massively overhyped by the media and his speciality seems to be short sideways passes. One of the main problems for England at the Euros was a lack of creativity in midfield. It says more about England's lack of talent in midfield that they are in and around the team imo. Both good solid players but no more than that.

Weird as I think he's been below par this season, that's Southgate for you though. Pleased for Prowsey anyway.

I don't suppose one of those things was actually watching him play by any chance?

I was underwhelmed by his signing, but to write him off after less than one full game in a Saints shirt is pathetic, just as it is to declare someone a huge success after a good debut (Lemina anyone)? He will need time to adapt to the fast pace and physical nature of English football not to mention the complete change in culture. Remember the Torino fans' negative opinion of him were supposedly not so much to do with his performances on the pitch. He at least looks like he is committed to be here and trying to be a success. I'd have much rather we signed a more established CB to go straight into the first team but we didn't, he's here now so let's give him our support. He may well turn out to be crap but at least give the guy a fair crack of the whip.

Whilst Tino has been excellent so far, I just can't comprehend how KWP can be left out of our strongest eleven. Ralph needs to find a solution, whether it's KWP playing instead of Tino or as well as, he's too good to be sat on our bench. To stay on topic, Moi has pleasantly surprised me so far. Whilst he hasn't been spectacular and still lacks pace he does bring a bit of composure and experience on the ball and offers a decent goal threat. At the moment I would say him and Stu once fit for the number tens.

Keith Hackett - VAR was wrong and should have been a penalty https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/19591346.keith-hackett-says-var-completely-wrong-amid-walker-red-card/ Just shows it's all about a subjective opinion, there's no 100% right or wrong.

I've got no love for Ronaldo at all but he was denied two pretty clear cut penalties there. Baffling that VAR didn't at least instruct the ref to look again on the monitor. Justice done in any case.

Ha the BBC report reckons they were noisy throughout. Maybe you were in their Chapel end. 😉 Didn't hear much from our fans tbh.