eddie

Very pleased. Could let the last 15 minutes affect the opinion of the whole match, but Swansea really didnt look a threat at all until Montero came on. Thought it was clever from Puel to play Austin on the left given the crosses were coming in from Tadic/Cedric on the right. Redmond missed a sitter as did Austin, but it was a composed performance. Thought this demonstrated the highs and lows of the formation. The midfield was very well locked down, with Romeu, Davis, Hojbjerg doing a good job of ensuring their only joy was down the wings. Had swansea had better wide players we might have not got more than a point from the game, but it was a good performance. Players still getting used to where each other is/is supposed to be...but we can work on that. V pleased with this and the midweek win. We certainly wont be going down but going to be tough to get higher than ninth this season.

How you are underwhelmed with that performance away at Arsenal is beyond me. We played well, Boufal will be a much needed addition but bottom line is we deserved more than 3 draws this season. Feel Puel's testing of his best 11 is understandable but means we've had a very slow start to the season which is a shame.

To not play Tadic is madness. Must play instead of JWP. Either we hit them on the counter attack, in which case I say take Clasie for Davis, or else try and set up with what attacking talent we have and see what happens. Preference is: ----------------Forster----------------- Cedric----Fonte-----VVD----Bertrand ----------------Romeu------------------- ----------Clasie--------Hojbjerg-------- -----------------Tadic---------------------- -------Long---------------Redmond----- Or ----------------Forster----------------- Cedric----Fonte-----VVD----Bertrand ------------Hojbjerg-----Romeu--------- -Redmond--------Davis------------Tadic ---------------Long/Austin-----------------

Given injuries.. Likely team: ----------------Forster----------------- Cedric---Fonte---Van Dijk---Bertrand --------------Romeu------------------- ---------Hojbjerg--Davis-------------- ---------------Tadic-------------------- -----Redmond---------Long---------- Or try some changes, taking into account Arsenal's poor defense: ----------------Forster----------------- Cedric---Fonte---Van Dijk---Bertrand --------------Romeu------------------- ---------Hojbjerg--Tadic-------------- ---------------Redmond---------------- -----Rodriguez---------Long---------- McCarthy and Targett stepping up if Ryan/Forster still aren't fit.

Same old crap being posted. Upgrades on the outgoings, squad depth, injuries to JR/RG, changing the strategy to be less youth and more big name signings. Wish people would just cut the bull and post something interesting. We all know the arguments. We all know that we need to wait until the end of the season to judge. Football happens every ****ing year, sometimes a different league but for heavens sake...I honestly don't know what you get out of complaining all the ****in g time. I'm not pulling out the 'support another club' crap, you're a welcome saints fan, just that the negativity serves no purpose. You aren't making your voice heard through any of the channels that will actually bring change. Organise a picket outside Staplewood. Try and stage a walkout against the club strategy. Write a fans letter to Les Reed. Do some clever trickery with social media campaigning. Stop talking to other Saints fans over and over about pointless crap of which you got no clue. We don't see behind the scenes, and we don't really know a lot about the players/tactics. Half of our team I didn't even know existed before 2 years ago. See them on a Saturday afternoon but I'm sure Puel and the staff are clued up on their ideal team and being as competitive as possible. Least I hope so. It's annoying how Pelle was bashed around for being slow, useless, doing fancy flicks and now his goals are irreplaceable. Wanyama played it cool the same as Morgan, stayed another year instead of pushing, FairPlay, we replaced those 2 DMs (don't need 2 DMs) with Clasie, Hojbjerg, Romeu, Davis (now that talent has been added further forward). It's weaker for certain but still a lot of potential. Worse case scenario our defensive midfield is dodgy for a season or half . We've had worse . Not saying it's all in hand and the board is perfect, think we got burnt fingers and played bad hands recently with some transfers and some general management issues, but seems fairly well run. Honestly not got a clue what it is in reality as OS paints everything as rosy and full of good humour and encouraging contract talks. Bring on January...lol

Decent team sheet that. Apart from Targett that would likely be my first choice 11 with our current squad.

I don't know about Fonte and Mourinho, my gut feeling is that, sharing the same agent, there have been talks taking place. If he goes I expect either a new signing (my preference), or that Bertrand plays at CB with Targett on the left. Yoshida is our backup along with whatever potential is there in Gardos. Quite honestly mate I don't know what their plan is, I think he's a big loss but VVD is clearly marked out as our future captain. In my mind Fonte leaving this season is 1 year too early, but manageable. We've had two competitive games to test the system, didn't make best use out of the way the players we have are used to playing, but we still did well in fairness. Losing at home wasn't good, away at Utd not bothered , both games (second half Utd) looked decent-composed level and imagine a couple of more signings and we'll have a squad that can really compete. those words I used are realistic...I definitely didn't expect us to sign a replacement like for like for Mane unless we had discovered a gem that no one else has. Those kind of players are running out fast. We got away with it two seasons ago. Now our head of recruiting changed, no problem, but wouldn't be surprised if we aren't as strong in that dept. (Mitchell found Alli as soon as he went to Spurs). I expect us to be competitive, quite how we do that I'm not bothered by. I sort of like how we have a different mound to Palace or Everton, not about big shouty transfers or waving the cash in others faces. It's subtle, it's well done, it's calm, and it gets the job done. I'm excited to see who will come in. About our midfield...it's natural that we will be weaker without Wanyama or Morgan, in ti sense that to replace them like for like would take money we don't have. However we've got more positions to fill now with a diamond...3 where before there were 2 CM/DM. I think Hojbjerg gave me confidence that the clubs on the right track. Ultimately a suspended or lazy Wanyama is as crap as a poor Romeu. A solid Romeu, Hojbjerg, Clasie/Davis is very good indeed. Just remains to be seen how well they perform, the confidence etc etc. But it's one season. We've got a surprising number of starters. There are key positions we wait to be filled but Forster, VVD, Fonte, Bertrand, Hojbjerg, Davis, Tadic, Redmond have all but nailed down starting positions. Maybe there are questions around Pied/Cedric, Long/Austin, Clasie etc. Still, not bad to have got so many positions settled.

Sorry mate, you got no idea! All just speculation, rumours, interpretation. For new signings, wait until Sep 1. For the formation, having a target man is what Koeman loved (hoofball) but isn't the only tactic in the world. A lot of teams treat the old target CF as the back up plan (think bringing Carroll, Benteke, Crouch off the bench). For the midfield, agree Vic and MS were world class. Difficult for Saints to adequately replace in terms of the new signings being at the same quality as those that just left.. Romeu seems alright, Hojbjerg looks cream and Davis is still kicking along. It's weaker, for sure, but in any case there's a lot of potential to control games with that midfield. Maybe just less consistently than before.

Wonder about a short loan - until January for instance. Being able to bring him back for no fee halfway through season covers us if new signings take a while to get into gear, and allows us to weaken a rival if he is excellent for Baggies

Well done

FFS. get over the first day of the season result already. Our best finish in the top division for thirty years came last year, after we started in an abysmal state against everton, newcastle, being dumped by mitjjland etc. etc. Puel seems stable, with potential to be good, who aligns with us well seemingly (youth, attacking football, Saints way). He's received pretty high recommendations from former players who he's managed, and his efforts at Lyon, Lille, Nice were at times exceptional and at times worthy of some questions being asked. That's normal, and even more normal for Saints. I'm absolutely fine with being in a place of questioning ST price in the season, questioning club direction, team selection etc, and at other times feeling proud that the boys dun good. That's part of being a non-plastic fan of modern day football. If one wanted constant entertainment, cash, incoming transfers and unlimited reach, do what fans on the continent/further afield do and support City, Utd, or even Madrid/Barcelona. Mane was an excellent player who will be effective at the top tiers of English football. He left for a very hefty sum of money (we could have probably got even more had we waited until August, but maybe cashflow dictated when we had to sell), that's always nice. Could he have stayed? I suppose had we offered him a very very attractive contract, and had no other clubs needed him, but it wasn't the case. He wanted to leave, so there. Redmond is a new addition of a similar mould, who is very young, needs time, but seems hungry to work. I doubt his best position will be nailed down on his first competitive game. He brings a spark, that Mane used to bring, and he's fast. I like him, give him time. Koeman literally chose Ward Prowse and Yoshida so many times last season. Ward Prowse had 39 appearances, Yoshida had 27. To say his line up is terrible is fine, but Koeman made some awful team selections, including playing Ward Prowse as a defensive midfielder and Yoshida as a right back, among others. Puel clearly went for PL experience over foreign signings for first day of the season, and that's a thoroughly respectable plan. Hojbjerg, Redmond, and Pied, as it happened, had fairly good debuts, so I expect them to be starting tonight or next week. Agree, Cedric and Pied are at a similar level, based on one game, the first game of the season. However, Cedric we have seen for one year and the fact that that Pied had a decent first game immediately puts him in my mind as a challenger for right back position. It's what we need in that position, stability. Not attacking flair (he has it) or gangly legs (Martina) but solid defensive work, and an attacking mindset. Who knows if he will flop or soar, but at least Cedric still hasn't, even after a year, ticked the box of being our first choice right back. Austin's a different player from Pelle, if the formation is right, definitely more dangerous. However, I miss Pelle's hold up play and I miss his through passes. His flicks were annoying at times, but it was effective over the course of a season. Bottom line though, Puel plays a different formation. Like it or not, talk about the Southampton way of attacking football, Koeman did play hoof-ball a hell of a lot. I still have nightmares/images of Caulker against Mitjjland away just getting into space at the back and hoofing the ball up to Pelle. So, OK, we lose out that height, presence, hold up play. But it's a different formation. I can't say yet that it is a better formation, since I think last season was pretty effective, although not always 'attractive attacking football'. Anyway. We see what to make of this season but it is no guarantee that you need a False-9 Centre Forward to succeed in the premier league. Benteke is all but useless at Liverpool and was sold. Bony can't get any game time at City. Arsenal are better with Sanchez instead of Giroud. West Ham were better with ditching Carroll and going for Valencia/Sakho upfront. You get my point. But agreed, I will miss his hold up play and I have reservations about not having one on the team. Long can head the ball, but isn't a centre forward in that sense. Jury out on whether we can survive without, but I look forward to seeing how it goes!!!

This is true. you could say that the new formation suits us better, in that sense. We never looked convincing with Romeu and Clasie, though they both had good games. Now, Romeu can play a bouncer role in front of the back four and Davis/Hojbjerg/Clasie are able to cover him and also given a bit of license to go forward. My concern last season was Koeman playing Davis or JWP as one of a two man central defensive midfield. Now, we can play to Davis/Hojbjerg's qualities of passing, control, playmaking while not putting so much pressure on them as defending midfielders. At the same time, it provides cover for Romeu. Alternatively in a game where muscle/height isn't the answer, Hojbjerg or Clasie takes that pivot position and the other/Davis/JWP goes forward. I'm excited to see how it works in practice.

From a Soares interview with the Record (Daily Record I guess?) "Cedric was not afraid to compare the former Southampton manager Ronald Koeman, now at Everton, to Claude Puel, who has just taken charge of the team: 'Different and with another kind of leadership, closer to the players.'"

I suppose that there's a chance we approached the player first, sounded him out and then approached the club simultaneously/after. My hope is now that the club take this 11th hour experience of being knocked back (OK, still two weeks to go but 11th hour in the sense that its not obvious we have begun to approach other clubs, though I guess it can be a quick process when it needs to be) to really make headway with 2-3 other targets and that one of them will be a Saints player by the 1st September.

It wasn't all bad in the championship and when we got promoted from League 1. Some funny away days and fairly down to earth supporters. Few nutters but arguably beats the ridiculous prices of Emirates or the like. At least we put a few goals past teams, had players coming in every summer and were on the rise. I'm not saying it's not nice to be 6th in premier league, its fantastic and a great period. but let's not act like League 1 and the Championship weren't a lot of fun. I mean, rather not go into administration again. My point is that just because we're the highest league position ever in the premier league doesn't mean that it's the highest point in the clubs history.

I agree with this sentiment. It's just exhausting to have change like this every summer. It's the case that 'club' players leave on a consistent basis, even those we bring through club structure and academies, walcott, chamberlain, lallana, shaw. Not even the southampton way, ingrained into the teenagers and U18-U23s, isn't enough to keep them. We want to match the loyalty shown by us fans with the loyalty shown by players and it seems we are in one of the very few positions in the league where this kind of change happens. Other clubs of a similar size/league position, have those older, experienced, loyal players who won't go anywhere else. players of that ilk at Saints, who do we have? Davis? That's it, others, like young players who are very loyal but not of good enough quality to sell for a reasonable sum, such as JWP who still continues to our surprise to be a first team player. And Fonte is stalling on a contract, having shown loyalty, yes, but feels as if he is now on the fence with the promise of spending his final years at the Top. In other words if they are top top players they will leave, and if they aren't good enough to leave (too old, too poor) then what, they are the core of Southampton FC playing squad for the next year? It isn't bed wetting, since I am optimistic and hold out for transfers and a good league finish. But where does it stop, eventually? I wonder sometimes whether Southampton FC doesn't have as much ruthlessness as other clubs, and all this talk of the Saints way and player personality profiling is actually hindering us. At the end of the day we can be as pleasant and fun as you like, it just isn't matched by the majority of the players we bring in. Someone like Hojbjerg, Bertrand, Redmond is the type that buys into this. Others either seem like mercenaries - for want of a better word. Why not match therefore the cowboy attitude of some players with a similar recruitment strategy? Drop the personality/Saints way stuff, recruit cheap, solid performers from this league or the continent and if they don't buy into the "way" then who cares? Sell them in 2 years time. Treat players as a means to an end just as they treat us the same, a stepping stone to greater things.

He's still an excellent striker who cost 4m plus potentially high wages. He's 26, and was incredible in the year that QPR went down. There is nothing to not like about having a player like this on our books. Whether or not he wants to go is irrelevant, in my opinion we should be doing everything to keep him, including altering the formation so he can be as good as he was for QPR. I don't understand why you would force a system that favours Long/Redmond or who knows else, instead of playing to Charlie's strengths. I was ecstatic when he game, I would be very concerned if he leaves. Not because we're losing that potential, but because it seems the wrong approach to take by Puel.

In your team maybe. I wonder if Puel will feel the same. Probably a normal midfield of Hojbjerg Romeu Davis/JWP/Clasie

fair spot. Davis isn't guaranteed a starting place though, seems strange to give the captaincy to someone who has to hand the band over every second game.

Must be Van Dijk. Can't think of another person who would suit a leadership role. Captaincy isn't just given to long standing persons of good repute.

Actually wasn't as bad as some folks seem to think , he's a great option but like any young player, being relied upon week in week out to be one of two sources of our goals in the premier league (w/ Long), of course it's far too much pressure/expectation. We expect good things from Hojbjerg because he's of a solid pedigree from Munich and Augsburg. Redmond is a good player but in my opinion doesn't benefit from having Long beside him since they are so similar. Rather have Redmond running the channels and a different kind of player (Austin probably) providing a different kind of goalscoring ability. In fairness to Austin he might not fit a diamond formation but he played with similar players at QPR. Hoilett/Vargas providing pace and running the channels. I like Long but he doesn't suit this formation well. I see good things for Redmond going forward, I don't think you can be scathing when he scored on his debut. The team is under construction but it's the first day of the season. Talk all you want about starting as you mean to go on; last season we had a dire run for August and bits of September, finished 6th.

Great research. Thanks mate

Might well have been the youth. There were a lot on the Holland tour.

Targett and a.n.other youth team member

JWP, Forster