Saint86

Talks really well. Adds further fuel to the fact that Rasmus wanted hassenhuttle out and was responsbile for jones and selles. AKA relegation.

Good news... We've beaten an FFP hamstrung Everton and a name dropped league 1 side to his signing. Heck of a coup this. Hopefully he's hungry!

All of which means he doesn't have many miles on the clock, is very determined and resillient, and will have a burning desire to make the most out of his career. Danny Ings-esq i hope. Plus he was bloody class technically.

That isn't really a question for me - it's for the club and for the sell Che crowd. I wanted openda when he was about £8M 😭😂 I think he's an experienced lower prem level striker - and therefore a very good option as a squad striker in the championship. I have confidence he'll continue to score important goals between now and the end of the season. The reality is that top championship strikers / lower prem strikers go for circa £15-25M. It's doubtful we'll spend that and upset AA's role in the squad and the current balance to the side. More likely we'll take a punt on a lower quality Scottish player (or similar), an unoroven kid with potential, or a former league 1 player with a handful of goals at this level and a bad injury record... (based on SR's track record anyway 😂). Flipping the question, who do you want to replace him with (that you think is a reasonable target for a similar fee)? And are you confident that they'll hit the ground running and score the odd goals in tight games to win us the points that get us promoted? There are no certainties in football, but for £5-10M I have more confidence in Che than SR's attacking recruitment.

The situation hasn't changed. Its silly to sell him for minimal fee unless we've got an adequate replacement lined up - If his goals fire us to promotion then any £5-10M fee we get this window is negligible in comparison. I would think this should be so bleeding obvious that it shouldn't need pointing it out?

Brookes was absolute quality when he was breaking through at bompey before his illness. I'd snap their hands off to have him at saints permanently (let alone as a loan). Although obviously only if he's fully recovered - I guess a loan with a purchase agreement might be a good deal all around.

No need to rush it. Keep it nice and easy for now ideally, allow some squad rotation / resting and bedding in the kids. Keep winning and a premier league side is inevitable basically.

Switch "Victor Wanyama" for "Carlos Alcaraz" and you've got a chant that's simple enough and about the right tempo for us 😂

Southampton doesn't have a bay? It has the solent and fawley power station... maybe we can incorporate that 😅

Two former academy players and club captains gracing the London Stadium atm. Highlights we've had some great times and sadly fallen a long way - but then hopefully its the start of a new exciting journey. Just a shame that we've got no real academy "stars" in the side currently, although i know smallbone is an academy lad.

Seen us looked to david Brooks. Would like us to be all over that if possible!

Exactly this. People who keep suggesting it are just missing the point entirely.

Disappointing but maybe not the end of the world - and we have had a very good month re catching ipswich overall. But play 5 at the back vs a team with 11men behind the ball for 45min and you don't deserve to win frankly. Noriwch threatened to do exactly that all game so no one can be surprised it happened. That first 45 the result of Martin not making the big call re Stephens/bednarek/THB? And i wonder how significant not having bednarek and THB next to each other was in the Norwich equaliser? Played through us like butter there without a single challenge being attempted. Ultimately though, this could prove to be a rueful 2 points dropped at the end of the season - hopefully not! I think Martin needs to sort out what he prefers tactically / selection wise going forward, upsetting the team and/or dropping players undeservedly to just fit in Stephens doesn't work. Also, personally a bit disappointed that we waited that long to bring Alcaraz on? We were clearly tiring and he adds a real quality and threat to our attack.

Get in! Much better this half. Fair play to Martin for switching it up.

Nice bit of time wasting / breaking up saints' game there by Rowe.

Much better now at least!

Fair advantage and good delayed booking from the ref there at least. Although i might have preferred a free kick.

Quite 🤣

What are you on about? He was in acres of space. A simple touch and turn inside would have opened up the entire goal to shoot at - 2 touches and a goal. No one is knocking Stephens, he did the best he could, but he's a cb playing at the expense of a more attacking player and that is probably a prime example of where that trade off doesn't work. Norwich are parking the bus, we don't need 5 defenders on the pitch.... How is that being turned into a "whipping boys" debate?! And as for "whipping boys" and specifically Manning - you have to be being deliberately obtuse if you're happy with how we're defending our left wing? Its completely unnecessary and leaving us wide open. Either thats on Manning (in which case i'd expect Martin to be sorting it at halftime), or its on Martin (and i hope he changes it). Manning hasn't done anything else wrong - people are just rightly concerned that we've got 5 defenders on the pitch and yet no left back every time Norwich counter! God forbid fans aren't happy about that...

Yeah he does. He did a lovely little take, turn, and low cross into the box earlier. But we've got some of the best wingers / attackers in the league who can do that job - what we need is a reliable defensive LB first and foremost.

Okay, let me explain. Basically every single time Norwich get the ball in the central midfield area, their player looks up (or doesn't every time thankfully). And out far on the right wing in acres of space is Stacey. Every time he is there and free. Where is manning you might ask? Marking no one and about 20yards away from him. Maybe he's been told to do that, but whatever it is, its Norwich's most likely route to getting a goal. Also, i think Stacey should have seen red for his tackle, so what i absolutely do not want is us to concede a goal to a diagonal pass out to stacey, to then assist a goal, and us lose 1-0.

How was that not a yellow for Nunez? Blatant kick/trip to stop our attack?

Prime example there, that chance should have fallen to a midfielder or attacker, instead it went to Stephens - Who much as i like him, can't finish as well as Alcaraz etc.

Looks like he's having a problem making a call on our 3 CB's, and rather than make the tough choice (which is to drop Stephens), he's decided to chicken out and change everything to fit him in. We look okay in possession, but its definitely impacting our attacking play.

Leeds winning