SaintTex

--------------Forster--------------- Cedric--VVD--Stephens--Bertrand ---------Romeu-----Lemina-------- --Redmond---Boufal-----Tadic----- ---------------Gabbi---------------- get a £20m/£25m rated CB in place of Stephens and that is a pretty strong line-up. i know, living in a dream world.

I like the above a lot, but I may be a bit more bullish on Clasie than most on here. .................Forster...................... Cedric...VvD...Stephens...Bertrand .......Clasie......Romeu................. Redmond.....Boufal........Tadic....... ...............Gabbiadini................... oh how I wish JWP could be more consistent on the pitch, as we miss him when he is not on to take set pieces. I would have high hopes that in this formation Tadic and Bertrand can rekindle that spark along the right side. When it is clicking, it is beautiful.

my first thought was : small. way small. but what do I know?

Put me in the camp that think Tadic has to stay. Yes, he had an off season, but the whole team had an off season. Tadic's stats are going to drop when you don't have players that finish. I am trying to imagine how stale we would have looked last season without Tadic in the lineup. Boufal, while creative, is selfish with the ball; Tadic is always looking to distribute. Davis and JWP are the only other players who look to distribute, but they don't have the imagination or creative bent that Tadic does. If we let him go to another club, I reckon he would predictably have a stellar season and we would regret it tremendously.

well, it's cost us 4 points, but yeah that is pretty embarrassing. My reaction is supposed to be "hell yeah!!!!!" and not "oh no" when we wins penalty. You give me 3 PK chances I bet I make at least 1.

With Watford losing yesterday, we can finish no lower than 11th place. For what it is worth, the battle for 8th place will be between WBrom, Bournemouth, Leicester, and Saints.

statistically, we have no chance of finishing that low if we get 44 points. http://www.sportsclubstats.com/England/Southampton.html ...but I understand your need to be as negative as possible.

hahaha

Phil Jones is 25? He looks like he is 45!

Interestingly, they have 9 wins, with the exception of Southampton, all from the bottom half of the table. 09 Southampton 13 Bournemouth 14 Burnley 16 Crystal Palace X2 17 Hull 18 Swansea 19 Middlesbrough 20 Sunderland If they lose to Swansea and Sunderland in their next two matches, they are in BIG Trouble.

did we really sign him for cover if Yoshida or Stephens get injured? I don't get it, but 1) I am not privy to what the manager sees on the training ground. 2) or maybe they found a real gem and don't want to show Caceres much, in order to sign him to a longer deal. 3) or maybe, this season is over, let's get Stephens some experience.

what drives me crazy is the wrap up commentary... comments in regards to the non-call on Tadic.. "Spurs probably got lucky there" and then concludes with "Good win for Spurs. Now, let's look at the top of the table..." It's completely casual when it comes to the Top teams. They get all the calls and it just gets brushed off in the analysis .. like, well it's Spurs; they are supposed to win. Honestly, no one cares if Southampton, West Brom, Stoke, Watford, etc. get done. It's just another day in the Premier League.

I didn't want to start a new thread and not sure where to put this. Could an 8th place finish get a club into Europa League next year if : a) Man U wins the Europa League, b) Man U finishes outside the Top 4, and c) the FA Cup is won by a Top 6 team like Chelsea? If the standings ended like this: *1. Chelsea (FA winner) *2. Spurs *3. City *4. Arsenal **5. Liverpool *6. Man U (Europa League Champion and EFL winner) **7. Everton **8. Southampton *Champions League **Europa League (5th place, FA Cup, and EFL Cup Winners) If so, we are 7 points behind 8th place with a match in hand. I am an American. I apologize in advance if I fouled that all up!! 2 weeks is a long time to wait between matches, I am bored. If Man U wins the Europa League

positive reviews for Cacaeres http://www.footballfancast.com/social-media/southampton-fans-impressed-by-top-class-martin-caceres-as-he-makes-his-debut

Tadic could play the No 10, but he is also very effective on the wing (especially on the left, overlapping with Bertrand). I think Gabbiadini, Tadic, Redmond, and Boufal are our strongest 4 up front. So, Gabbi as the No 9 and then any combination of the 3 behind. Whatever happens to work best. ------------Gabbi----------- Tadic-----Boufal-----Redmond the most difficult position to fill from our current rosters is who pairs up with Romeu? Davis, JWP, PEH, Clasie? I can see arguments for any of them. I have a soft spot for JWP, as he does give us an advantage with set pieces, I just wish he was more physical. Davis is steady, but unspectacular, PEH is all potential, but does offer that physicality. -------Romeu----????--------- The question in the back is: is Caceres the MAN? If not, we need to go get one. Yoshida has stepped up, but I still have doubts. My doubts may not even be fair due to recently play, but the stain of past performances in seasons past is still there for me. Bertrand--VVD--????--Cedric GK.. it is what it is. I hope McCarthy could challenge/push Forster. I am not convinced we can find someone better out there. So until further notice... ------------Forster------------ remaining as far as defense: Pied, Yoshida, McQueen, Stephens, and Targett are all quality backups. Gardos, Martina.. see ya! strikers, wingers: Austin, Long, Sims, JRod is not a bad set of second teamers midfield: Clasie, Davis, JWP, need a brawler? gk: McCarthy (about the best we could get as a backup), Hassan, Lewis needs DM, CB, GK.. we'll see. In a way, a quiet summer might be just what everyone needs. No European football + a summer to train + no manager turnover + no massive player turnover = bullish on next season.

now we are at a 0.4% chance of going down. http://www.sportsclubstats.com/England/Southampton.html and according to this site.. getting to 36 points likely guarantees safety this season.

Tadic does have a good history of playing with tall Italians. I think the rest and the week of training did everyone some good. I feel like the players hadn't had a moment to breathe that last 20 matches, the matches were coming so fast, one after the other. would be nice if the could get a friendly in next weekend.. nothing strenuous, just something to keep them sharp a bit.

Oh wow, this is what a 7 days between matches feels like.

Tadic for me. Always rooting for the guy, as I love his game (when on). He is a bit hard to figure out though; never really sure he is "all in" at times.

It's because we aren't in one. 3.3% chance. http://www.sportsclubstats.com/England/Southampton.html

also, let me add, after Swansea (Tuesday) we will have West Ham on Saturday, on just 3 days rest again. So, 9 straight matches on either 3 days rest or 2 days rest. Interestingly, 9 matches in January / 3 matches in February / 3 matches in March. so the fixtures are going to lighten up considerably in the next 2 months.

seriously.. look let's take a look at the fixtures. We are going to end up play 9 matches this month. 02-01-17 Everton L 07-01-17 Norwich D 11-01-17 Liverpool W 14-01-17 Burnley L 18-01-17 Norwich W 22-01-17 Leicester W 25-01-17 Liverpool W 28-01-17 Arsenal L 31-01-17 Swansea And since the first Norwich game, we have had a maximum of 3 days rest between each game after. Since Leicester it had been: Leicester, (two days rest), Liverpool, (two days rest), Arsenal, (two days rest), and now Swansea on Tuesday. I am cutting Puel some slack here. We don't have the squad depth and really we are not the type of club that can afford the required squad depth to make long runs in multiple cup (especially if you are going to draw teams like Arsenal).

pretty much this. there was going to be an emotional let down after Wednesday regardless.. I am not sure are best XI would have won today. I might be in the minority, but a FA Cup run just didn't seem realistic with the EFL Cup looming, our mid table status in the PL (a game 3 days away mind you) and the injuries that are beginning to pile up. throw the youngster out there and maybe you get lucky.. I am not happy with the result, but I understand the team selection.

I am getting sick of the "life without Mane" excuse from Liverpool. The irony is lost on them. Liverpool (Life without Mane) : 6 matches : 4 goals ~ 1W-2D-3L Southampton (Life without Mane) : 35 matches : 37 goals ~ 15W-9D-11L I reckon we are managing "life without Mane" a bit better, eh?

Long busted his ass getting in position to receive that pass from Sims. Wow!!! Look from where he started!