acersaint Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 I have followed the Saints for 50 years and I have seen some great players and some superb games but I think the way we are playing at the moment is the best I have ever seen us play. The team spirit is amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70's Mike Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 1984 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1976_Child Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 Who knows. Best I've seen in a long, long time. It's not just the squad per se, but the sort of football they are playing. I certainly haven't seen it as elegant as it currently is for a looooonggg time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acersaint Posted 8 November, 2011 Author Share Posted 8 November, 2011 1984 Without doubt our best league seasn but I still think we are playing better as a team this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 Without doubt our best league seasn but I still think we are playing better as a team this season. Against 2nd tier players though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70's Mike Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 Against 2nd tier players though. exactly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Durman Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 In years to come we may look back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singeon Sears Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 It's potentially the best Saints team I've seen relative to the standard of the league its in. Let's not forget some of our better players in history were not always playing in the top flight at the time. However I am talking in terms of just 3 months so far - its a long season. January will be very important in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSFC Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 not yet. The team(s) of the early 80s by a country mile. Smaller squad size, only 1 sub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 Is this thread a wind up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dig Dig Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 Relatively speaking this is without doubt the best Saints side I've ever seen. I was too young to remember 84, but even compared to our prem teams, these guys (as a team and unit) are miles better. I've never seen a Saints side play with so much style and identity with a winning mentality to go with it. The fact that they have done it in L1 and the Champ (so far!) doesn't bother me and should take nothing away from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krissyboy31 Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 There is no way this squad comes close to the early eighties one. IMO today's players would be also struggling to get into most of the 90's top flight squads. It's the best since Gordon Strachan's team disintegrated though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egg Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 Against 2nd tier players though. I agree, but is the second tier today a lesser standard than the top flight in 1984? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waggy Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 LM with his canny knack of getting some of the best players of that era (80's) while at their peak assembled the best team to don the red & white, IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 No way The early 80s were the best and the 1976 cup winning team were better than todays team I would have thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
up and away Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 I have followed the Saints for 50 years and I have seen some great players and some superb games but I think the way we are playing at the moment is the best I have ever seen us play. The team spirit is amazing. I see where you are coming from and would agree that the style of play we have adopted is the best I have seen at Saints consistently. Going back to 84 we had far better players then and some of the football took your breath away. At the moment we are playing like a Championship version of a good Wenger side, but with an end product. So easy on the eye it just makes you purr inside, but done without the need to kick the opposition off the park, truly remarkable to produce this style and get it to function in such a short space of time. So maybe not the best I have seen Saints play, but a style that gives me the greatest satisfaction from all before. From the first game of the season against Leeds you knew we were something special. The biggest difference I noticed were how players received the ball and immediately turned and made forward movement, even with a subsequent lay off. That was putting teams on the back foot straight away and although we have had our off moments, the purpose is still there. Recently with Guly up front I believe we have found a new level. The attacking is still very similar, but it's done in a much more measured way that we don't leave ourselves so open. One of the main reasons this has worked so well is how Ricky adapts to these situations almost seamlessly. This style of football will result in a lot of fans wanting to see Saints play and it's getting difficult finding opposition fans with a bad word to say about us. When I first heard Cortese talk about "playing the Southampton way" I paid scant attention. However this has come about, there is a "Southampton way" now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsacar saint Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 For me,we are playing the best football since the 1979/1980 season,when I believe we scored something like 50 home league goals in the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st.sj Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 We have had some sides with great players in like Shilton, keegan, golac, watson, mills, ball,paine, davies,channon, le tissier,osgood and too many to mention and not many of our current players can match some of those guys. How ever we do have something really exceptional going on right now. Adkins has got the team playing together in the true sense of the word and a system that works. I couldnt imagine us having a long bad run now. Of course we will lose games, but the way he draws his "blue line" under each game is a very clever way of not carrying fear or a lack of confidence into the next game. He is a very clever manager with a very professional well drilled set of players and we should really enjoy what is going on at the moment because the golden times really do not come along often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derry Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 Paine, Sydenham, Davies, Chivers, Channon, O'Brien were outstanding as was the 84 team. This team is doing brilliantly but the best definitely not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derry Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 Paine, Sydenham, Davies, Chivers, Channon, O'Brien were outstanding, as was the 84 team. This team is doing brilliantly but the best, definitely not. Adkins has made this team better than the sum of the parts with less stars than the brilliant teams of the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
um pahars Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 Certainly not the best team, but I would suggest it probably has one of the best team spirits. Quite a few of the teams in the past have had better technical players, higher calibre players etc, but the cohesion, togetherness and belief of this team is impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 Not the best team, but theres no point comparing a second-division side to the top flight outfits we had before. Top flight players wont sign for a lower division team unless theres a reason for it, ie pay (which unsettles the ship) or that they are a liability. I remain stunned by the quality of football we are producing at the moment. In my 50 years on this planet I cannot remember feeling so positive about the club and its direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectisSaint Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 I have followed the Saints for 50 years and I have seen some great players and some superb games but I think the way we are playing at the moment is the best I have ever seen us play. The team spirit is amazing. No. Sometimes people need to remember that the team is playing in Division 2 (old money). From 1979 to 1984 at least we were much better than now, only Lallana would hold a candle to the teams of that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leslie Charteris Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 Paine, Sydenham, Davies, Chivers, Channon, O'Brien were outstanding, as was the 84 team. This team is doing brilliantly but the best, definitely not. Adkins has made this team better than the sum of the parts with less stars than the brilliant teams of the past. Spot on. The current side is doing exceptionally well at the moment but it lacks the top stars we've had in the past. I seem to remember half the team being current internationals in the past. Now that I would like to see again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 Even the team which came 8th in 2003/4 would beat this lot, never mind the ones who actually won something or got to Cup Finals. As we may discover next season if we don't improve the squad. Actually, was the '92 ZDS Final side better than this one ? Very good Championship side though they may be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrian lord Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 (edited) This team and this season are shaping up to be something special. Quite a lot of what they produce is sublime and transcends whatever opposition the Championship can muster. They would also crush our dysfunctional teams towards the end of the Premiership era. The late 70's and early 80's team played some fantastic one-touch football which was breathtaking to behold, but the present set up at St Mary's has the potential and resources to eclipse them in time, and, I believe they will. Edited 8 November, 2011 by adrian lord Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintSparky Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 No, this squad does not even register compared to majority of our time in the top flight.Saying that they are fantastic for what they have done, and the way they have done it, in the past year or so Lets hope it continues deep into this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearsy Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 the team which came 8th in 2003/4 would beat this lot From memory and at the risk of getting MLG'd, I make the comparative first XIs: Niemi > Davies Bridge > Dickson Svensson > Hoiveld Lundekvam > Fonte Telfer = Richardson Marsden Oakley = Schneiderlin Delap Fernades = Chaplow Beattie = Lambert Ormerod 2003-4 wins 4:3. Would be a good game though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickG Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 From memory and at the risk of getting MLG'd, I make the comparative first XIs: Niemi > Davies Bridge > Dickson Svensson > Hoiveld Lundekvam > Fonte Telfer = Richardson Marsden Oakley = Schneiderlin Delap Fernades = Chaplow Beattie = Lambert Ormerod 2003-4 wins 4:3. Would be a good game though! interesting comparson (not sure you have the 2nd CB round the right way though) This is probably the best squad we have ever had - we have never had such competition for places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 Even the team which came 8th in 2003/4 would beat this lot, never mind the ones who actually won something or got to Cup Finals. As we may discover next season if we don't improve the squad. From memory and at the risk of getting MLG'd, I make the comparative first XIs: Niemi > Davies Bridge > Dickson Svensson > Hoiveld Lundekvam > Fonte Telfer = Richardson Marsden Oakley = Schneiderlin Delap Fernades = Chaplow Beattie = Lambert Ormerod 2003-4 wins 4:3. Would be a good game though! Two questions... Who is Davies? Why is Ryan Dickson the current team's left back? Plus Saints didn't come 8th in 2003/04, that was in 2002/03. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanley Saint Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 It may just have been my youthful eyes, but the football we played when we first had Keegan was breath-taking (1980-81) - loads of one-touch and quick movement, with Ball and Williams running the show, Golac and Holmes marauding forwards and Channon and Moran scoring (seemingly) at will. The matches I've seen this season are the first that have made me reminisce about those days - I think this is the most cutting-edge team going forward that we've had since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legod Third Coming Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 I have followed the Saints for 50 years and I have seen some great players and some superb games but I think the way we are playing at the moment is the best I have ever seen us play. The team spirit is amazing. I remember watching this side. http://www.statto.com/football/teams/southampton/1983-1984 Take a look. Liverpool 2-0 (When they were easily the best side in Europe). United? 3-0 (Manchester who?) Spurs? 5-0. Arsenal - pah... Short memories some fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legod Third Coming Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 Oh and beating Coventry 8-2 was quite fun... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandwichsaint Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 I agree, but is the second tier today a lesser standard than the top flight in 1984? If you have to ask the question, it's because you don't know the answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legod Third Coming Posted 8 November, 2011 Share Posted 8 November, 2011 This is one of the best matches I ever saw. My first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guan 2.0 Posted 9 November, 2011 Share Posted 9 November, 2011 I've supported saints only from 1995 onwards, and this is the best football that we've ever consistently played. And whilst some of our players may not be the envy of the premiership as the likes of niemi was, an interview with Geoff Hurst springs to mind, where he said that despite other teams having 11 better players than england, England had the best team in 66. And that is how i see saints at the moment. 'simul ut unum' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio Saint Posted 9 November, 2011 Share Posted 9 November, 2011 Obviously these are not the best players we've ever had, but I don't remember any of our teams from the past playing as a cohesive unit so consistently for any length of time until now. It will be interesting to see how their potential develops as new, higher quality players are brought in and blend with the existing squad if we get promotion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy_D Posted 9 November, 2011 Share Posted 9 November, 2011 It's an interesting question, and depends on whether you mean in absolute or relative terms. In relative terms, we've obviously had better league finishes, and have been in the past one of the best teams in Europe. In absolute terms though, there's no doubt that as time goes on, the standard of football is improving, especially in the areas of diet, fitness, and sport science. I'd argue that the style our current team plays with is better than some Prem teams. The biggest argument against the original question probably isn't from the teams of the 70's and 80's, which had a similar style, as their fitness would probably let them down against our current team. The more recent Strachan years though, would put up a much tougher fight against us. Their fitness was arguably better than ours is now, and being more recent, the standard of football hasn't moved on so far. I'd probably say they'd just about edge it against the current team. I'll admit though, that this current team is the one I've had most fun watching week in week out in my lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattio Posted 9 November, 2011 Share Posted 9 November, 2011 In my lifetime they flow the best for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whelk Posted 9 November, 2011 Share Posted 9 November, 2011 it's not an interesting question and is embarassing. when it is a more resonable question like Pele V Maradona it is just people sitting the merits of each and basically comes down to generations or who watched one impressive game on the telly or who has the 'cooler association. 3 months into a Championship season with very debatable opposition quality is quite comical. First is NA the greatest ever manager after 13 months, now this. what next? Is Danny Fox our greatest ever LB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintbob40 Posted 9 November, 2011 Share Posted 9 November, 2011 Given the influx of foreign players into the premiership I think the championship now equates to the first division of old in terms of quality. One things for sure though this current team wouldn't like those muddy pitches from the 80s in their carpet slipper boots...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egg Posted 9 November, 2011 Share Posted 9 November, 2011 Given the influx of foreign players into the premiership I think the championship now equates to the first division of old in terms of quality. One things for sure though this current team wouldn't like those muddy pitches from the 80s in their carpet slipper boots...... Spot on. There is no point people saying that in 1984 we we were in the top flight but now are in div 2. I don't think this team us anything like our best ever but i really don't think that the championship now is a lower standard than the top flight was in 1984. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 9 November, 2011 Share Posted 9 November, 2011 (edited) As a 50 year + fan, there's a lot I can look back on...half that time we were 2nd level, and the other half we were a struggling Div.1 / Prem side. There have been periods when we have had outstanding players in times when the team hasn't been so successful as a unit. In the early 1960's, we scored goals by the bucketload, playing a 2-3-5 formation without ever winning anything. In season 63-64, we scored 100 league goals in Div.2 (CCC) - 70 of them at home...but only finished 5th in the table. The legendary wing pair of Paine and Sydenham put balls into the box like a conveyor belt and I have to honour Scot George O'Brien who scored 180 goals in about 5 seasons. Our survival in Div.1 (Prem) 1966-1972 - was secured by the phenomenal Ron Davies efforts, who was undoubtedly the best CF in Europe at that time. The rest of the squad had some good individuals but lacked a team perspective. Lawrie McMenemy's team building worked well enough to win the FA Cup 1976 (against all odds), but it took 2 years to get back to Div.1... and another 3 to get the " perfect team " concept. McMenemy signed internationals on a regular basis, and during one seson we fielded a side that had 5 current / former England captains.., but didn't get close enough to win a title although we often beat Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool in an era when 'pool won the League title 8 times in 10 years. We will never know what this side might have been like had MLT been around then..but it would have been a truly great side. When Div.1 was converted to Premiership, it was Matt le Tissier's goals that saved us (as Ron Davies had done 30 years before) and we managed to survive season after season after some of the worst starts in League history. Along the way, some superb memories and great players who never really fulfilled their potential. The current side is the most successful over a consistent period. Despite the 10 point deduction the first season,we narrowly missed play-offs, but won the JPT with Pardew at the helm. The rights and wrongs of his tenure / and sudden dismissal are history, but he created the foundations of a good squad, but it has to be said that under Nigel Adkins, it has developed imto a great squad with a " killer instinct " to win every game. This " emotion and commitment " is the closest I can recall to the McMenemy era. Everyone admired and respected Ted Bates as a person and as a manager of great knowledge and wisdom, but sadly he was often more of a " kindly uncle " to the players when he might have been a taskmaster. McMenemy was most likely... the opposite, but nothing should be taken away from either man's record. IF...this success continues till May.. then Nigel Adkins will, in a very short time have guided the club from the bottom of L1... to even greater heights. Todays' squad doesn't contain any big stars, the like of which we've had before but just on some occasions we see flashes of genius in today's players. On his day, Adam Lallana looks like a new MLT...Ricky Lambert , a lower league striker for years has developed into an intelligent, talented footballer who might not be out of place at a higher level. Jos Hooiveld (only a loan at present) has cemented an injury-hit defence, and sometimes has the look of another Michael Svensson. Someone recently compared Chaplow with the aggressive and tireless Chris Marsden - not without good reason. If our " still relatively young " midfielders stay together, they will become a formidable force for years to come and we forsee NA bringing in other talents which he will weave together into a real unit that plays for each other... rather than supporting a couple of "prima-donnas". so...Best ever squad...? Mmm..not quite yet, but they're looking good, and that's what fans want the most. Edited 9 November, 2011 by david in sweden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpine_saint Posted 9 November, 2011 Share Posted 9 November, 2011 1984 Agreed. Especially as Keegan was gone by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooney Posted 9 November, 2011 Share Posted 9 November, 2011 The test will be when we start in the Premiership next season. I wonder how many of our current players will make the step up? Thats when the comparisons can start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dune Posted 9 November, 2011 Share Posted 9 November, 2011 The spastification of this forum never ceases to amaze me. We are a 2nd division club. You could argue that we're better than the team that got relegated from the Premier League though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Tone Posted 9 November, 2011 Share Posted 9 November, 2011 The spastification of this forum never ceases to amaze me. We are a 2nd division club. You could argue that we're better than the team that got relegated from the Premier League though. I agree with your opinion about the relative teams, Dune, but you just can't use words like that to express it. That's really offensive, and stopped being acceptable a good 20 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dune Posted 9 November, 2011 Share Posted 9 November, 2011 I agree with your opinion about the relative teams, Dune, but you just can't use words like that to express it. That's really offensive, and stopped being acceptable a good 20 years ago. I think you need to go on the travel arrangements thread and tell all the people off who use the word 'mong'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 9 November, 2011 Share Posted 9 November, 2011 I don't doubt that our current squad could have held their own in the First Division of 1984. I really really doubt whether the team of 1984 (because it was a team and not a squad) would be of any great significance in today's premier league.Football has moved forward since 1984 and I really doubt whether a lot of the old "greats" would be much better than mediocre players today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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