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10 game milestone


Thedelldays

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The 10 game milestone we were told at the start of the season we should judge the team against. Bottom of the league, record goals conceded. And the weaknesses some of us warned against and told we were wrong evident to see. Pretty poor really.

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I'd give us 3.5/10

 

Defence has been shocking.

 

Only real upside is we know the problem that needs fixing.

 

If we get some points tomorrow, I'd shift my score to maybe 4.5 or 5/10.

 

At the start of the season, I was expecting about 7 points from first ten games.

 

Am disappointed, but not wholly surprised.

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Much as to be expected - we returned to the PL too early with inexperienced PL players and coaches and the transfers in have yet to make their mark this season

 

It is going to be difficult to start playing really well and being hard to beat not impossible but highly unlikely dont really see what would be gained by sacking Adkins as he was always going to struggle with the squad he was given and the need to play the Southampton way.

 

I would be happy if we played the West Ham way and ground out a few results

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5/10

 

It could be a whole lot worse, thankfully there have been very few games where we just look massively uncompetitive, just too many spells of it during some of the games.

 

Several of the new guys look to be excellent players, we just need to make a performance last over the 90 mins as too many silly errors have cost us big time (Fulham was the worst for me)

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If we win tomorrow night we'll be third from bottom and 2 points from safety with 28 games left to play !

If we lose tomorrow night we'll be bottom and 5 points from safety with 28 games left to play !

We'll have played most of the top teams and few of the lower ranked teams so the next 28 games should be interesting !

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I would have been delighted with anything other then a struggle. To be in this position is not a surprise to me, even with our money spent our weak defence has always been a glaring oversight.

 

While going back down at the end of the season would be a hammer-blow to the ambitions of the club as a supporter it wouldn't perturb me. The Championship is the more entertaining and better structured league but the higher profile of the Premier League does at least mean a little more 'credibility' is given onto you by those who know little about football in the grander scheme of things.

 

The next two months are crucial, if we are adrift by then we should start planning for the championship in 13/14. If we can remain within 4 points of safety and boost our defence survival will remain possible. We will keep fighting, of that I have no doubt and we will keep trying to do it in the self proclaimed 'Southampton way,' we may suffer further heartbreak this season but we will take it with dignity, at least we will if everything remains stable off the field. It is not Adkins' sole fault that we are where we are in the table.

 

Out of ten..... 4/10. If we win tomorrow night it'll be 5/10.

Edited by Colinjb
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Transfers: 4/10. Ramirez quality, Clyne good prospect, Davis decent, Mayuka great prospect, Rodriguez not impressed yet, Yoshida could come good but not seen the best of him yet. What we brought in was decent, just lopsided from what we really needed.

 

Manager: 3/10. NA has been hampered by that lopsided squad, but has made too many mistakes of his own, both in terms of selection, tactics and substitutions. The seemingly infallible manager has been found wanting so far at times.

 

Players: 3/10. The senior players have also largely let the manager down. Seasoned heads like Fonte, Hooiveld, Fox and K.Davis have far too often been found wanting and cuplable of numerous avoidable errors; more worryingly they've seemed incapable of learning from mistakes made and have carried on repeating them.

 

Overall: 3/10. A tough start with fixtures, but far worse performances and results than could reasonably have been expected. At least it's only 10 games; and November throws up some winnable games, so no excuses from here on in.

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The 10 game milestone we were told at the start of the season we should judge the team against. Bottom of the league, record goals conceded. And the weaknesses some of us warned against and told we were wrong evident to see. Pretty poor really.
Well, I guess your mate TDD set this up so that you could repeat the same old stuff ad nauseum. Don't you ever get fed up posting the same old same old? You could have at least waited until tomorrow when I confidently predict we will still be bottom of the league, because West Brom will beat us, then at least you could argue that it was at least a little bit original. Your tedious "I told you" **** is just beyond a joke. It may be true, but you just seem to take great delight in pushing it over and over and over again. People who give up like you and Alps after 10 games are just sad little cowards with no spine. But of course you told everyone this was going to be the case so lets all fall over ourselves in awe at your glorious knowledge of all footballing matters. Things don't look brilliant at the moment, but how about we see if things might improve before the end of the season before giving up and chucking the towel in which would be your way. Bloody cowards, can't deal with a few poor results, don't seem much like Saints fans to me, if you were you would be used to this ****.
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If we win tomorrow night we'll be third from bottom and 2 points from safety with 28 games left to play !

If we lose tomorrow night we'll be bottom and 5 points from safety with 28 games left to play !

We'll have played most of the top teams and few of the lower ranked teams so the next 28 games should be interesting !

Although pretty disappointed with how it has gone so far, I think it's a valid point that we still have to play most of the teams we are capable of taking points off of twice. I don't think anyone seriously thought we could compete with the top 6 or so teams and any points we did get off of those would be a bonus.

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Sorry, TTD, you've not been reading the forum rules about the ten games.

 

The ten games where we are allowed to assess our performance:

 

Do NOT include any games against teams we cannot expect to get points against. This is defined as any team in the top ten either when we play them, or at any point in the subsequent three months.

 

Do NOT include any games when the manager is unable to pick from a 100% fully fit and settled in squad.

 

These criteria will be assessed and decided on by only the "intelligent" forum posters. You know, Frank and Les. Our betters.

 

As it stands we have played zero games this season. Come back in April for a review of the first five games.

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Although pretty disappointed with how it has gone so far, I think it's a valid point that we still have to play most of the teams we are capable of taking points off of twice. I don't think anyone seriously thought we could compete with the top 6 or so teams and any points we did get off of those would be a bonus.

 

Why on earth not? As I said on another thread.....

 

Take a look at the relegated teams from last season. Norwich beat top 6 Newcastle and Tottenham, and took points off Arsenal and Chelsea. Swansea beat Man City and Arsenal whilst also taking points from Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle. QPR had a fairly dismal season but still found time to beat Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and take points off Liverpool, Newcastle and Everton. You may not expect much, but QPR stayed up on the back of those results, Norwich and Swansea finished mid-table because of them.

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Well, I guess your mate TDD set this up so that you could repeat the same old stuff ad nauseum. Don't you ever get fed up posting the same old same old? You could have at least waited until tomorrow when I confidently predict we will still be bottom of the league, because West Brom will beat us, then at least you could argue that it was at least a little bit original. Your tedious "I told you" **** is just beyond a joke. It may be true, but you just seem to take great delight in pushing it over and over and over again. People who give up like you and Alps after 10 games are just sad little cowards with no spine. But of course you told everyone this was going to be the case so lets all fall over ourselves in awe at your glorious knowledge of all footballing matters. Things don't look brilliant at the moment, but how about we see if things might improve before the end of the season before giving up and chucking the towel in which would be your way. Bloody cowards, can't deal with a few poor results, don't seem much like Saints fans to me, if you were you would be used to this ****.

 

:lol: " sad little cowards with no spine" please explain.

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Well, I guess your mate TDD set this up so that you could repeat the same old stuff ad nauseum. Don't you ever get fed up posting the same old same old? You could have at least waited until tomorrow when I confidently predict we will still be bottom of the league, because West Brom will beat us, then at least you could argue that it was at least a little bit original. Your tedious "I told you" **** is just beyond a joke. It may be true, but you just seem to take great delight in pushing it over and over and over again. People who give up like you and Alps after 10 games are just sad little cowards with no spine. But of course you told everyone this was going to be the case so lets all fall over ourselves in awe at your glorious knowledge of all footballing matters. Things don't look brilliant at the moment, but how about we see if things might improve before the end of the season before giving up and chucking the towel in which would be your way. Bloody cowards, can't deal with a few poor results, don't seem much like Saints fans to me, if you were you would be used to this ****.

 

:thumbup:

 

Good post. 100% agree.

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Well, I guess your mate TDD set this up so that you could repeat the same old stuff ad nauseum. Don't you ever get fed up posting the same old same old? You could have at least waited until tomorrow when I confidently predict we will still be bottom of the league, because West Brom will beat us, then at least you could argue that it was at least a little bit original. Your tedious "I told you" **** is just beyond a joke. It may be true, but you just seem to take great delight in pushing it over and over and over again. People who give up like you and Alps after 10 games are just sad little cowards with no spine. But of course you told everyone this was going to be the case so lets all fall over ourselves in awe at your glorious knowledge of all footballing matters. Things don't look brilliant at the moment, but how about we see if things might improve before the end of the season before giving up and chucking the towel in which would be your way. Bloody cowards, can't deal with a few poor results, don't seem much like Saints fans to me, if you were you would be used to this ****.

what are you on about...sad little cowards...talk about getting your knickers in a twist that some of us really think the team should be doing a lot better......especially for the money spent.

 

10 games, is universally thought of as an acceptable amount to give an honest opinion of the team so far..and you notice how the league has taken shape...it always does, always will..

 

quite why you made a rant like that is beyond me...

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We have player a tough load of fixtures so it might not be a s bad as we think.

 

But, the defence looks woefully short of experience, knowhow and ability. I cannot for the life of me understand why we spent £30mill odd and neglected the centre back position so blatantly. When we retired Jaidi and loaned out Martin I expected them to be replaced with 2 proven Premiership defenders. Instead all we do is take a punt on a Japanese player from the Dutch league. Shocking.

 

Clyne looks quality but is still young, backup for Fox is a 16 year old. the whole situation is a mess.

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what are you on about...sad little cowards...talk about getting your knickers in a twist that some of us really think the team should be doing a lot better......especially for the money spent.

 

10 games, is universally thought of as an acceptable amount to give an honest opinion of the team so far..and you notice how the league has taken shape...it always does, always will..

 

quite why you made a rant like that is beyond me...

 

:thumbup:Good post. 100% agree.

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Another great post from you. Keep going, your contribution to this forum has been outstanding this week.

 

You really do get quite shirty if anyone else dares to post on your forum, especially if they disagree with you. You should calm down, it's just the Internet.

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what agenda...holy christ..

I got the impression from the previous 23 threads about the future of the manager that you strongly felt that Adkins should be sacked !

When you started this thread with a half truth and a pretty 'loaded' question, I deduced that you'd be happy to have further debate on the subject !

Sincere apologies if I have misjudged your intentions !!

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what are you on about...sad little cowards...talk about getting your knickers in a twist that some of us really think the team should be doing a lot better......especially for the money spent.

 

10 games, is universally thought of as an acceptable amount to give an honest opinion of the team so far..and you notice how the league has taken shape...it always does, always will..

 

quite why you made a rant like that is beyond me...

 

I think your thread is quite a good one without threads what would be the point of the forum the team is not doing very well so most threads will illustrate this fact.

 

I still think the team got out of the Championship too early and that is the cause of our problems on another thread I said Cortese failed in a five year plan to get us consolidated in the PL

 

I did not mean he had failed period but that he had failed in getting the team consolidated in the PL both him and Adkins did a really good job in getting us promoted but it could be a one season wonder like Reading.

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Transfers: 4/10. Ramirez quality, Clyne good prospect, Davis decent, Mayuka great prospect, Rodriguez not impressed yet, Yoshida could come good but not seen the best of him yet. What we brought in was decent, just lopsided from what we really needed.

 

Every single player we have brought in has improved the squad.

 

Which begs the question, where we trying to be too ambitious in who we brought in?

 

Therefore we missed out on defensive targets who would have made us better in depth, meaning more pressure on the incumbent players to perform rather than leaving them in the slight comfort zone where they may not be good enough but have little risk of losing their starting place.

 

Buttner, the mystery centre back who's transfer fell through on the last day. Efforts were made but didn't come off, what position would we be in now if we wern't needing to rely on Hooiveld and Fox at crucial times.

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Every single player we have brought in has improved the squad.

Which begs the question, where we trying to be too ambitious in who we brought in?

 

Therefore we missed out on defensive targets who would have made us better in depth, meaning more pressure on the incumbent players to perform rather than leaving them in the slight comfort zone where they may not be good enough but have little risk of losing their starting place.

 

Buttner, the mystery centre back who's transfer fell through on the last day. Efforts were made but didn't come off, what position would we be in now if we wern't needing to rely on Hooiveld and Fox at crucial times.

 

Apart from Rodriguez, I'd agree, and also with your summing of it up. JRod; I'm still not sure what he's about yet, except as backup and long term replacement for Lambert (in which case I guess you're right that he does make the squad stronger).

 

We spent a huge amount of money; but the way we spent it meant that we strengthened in some areas and neglected others that IMO were more inmportant. £12M on Ramirez to "replace" Lallana (he'd been playing the number 10 position all pre-season). £7M on Rodriguez, who hasn't replaced Lambert. Plus £3M on Mayuka; to replace Sharp, maybe??

 

Clyne was a good purchase; but we didn't add a left back and are one short, and there's definite questions being asked of last year's two centre backs. Their replacement himself is a relatively cheap gamble from the Dutch league.

 

It can/will be debated all day; i just don't think we set our transfer priorities right, both in terms of money spent and positions that were most important to bring in. How we've ended up with no proper LB replacement is shocking given that we spent £30M odd elsewhere.

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Every single player we have brought in has improved the squad.

 

Which begs the question, where we trying to be too ambitious in who we brought in?

 

Therefore we missed out on defensive targets who would have made us better in depth, meaning more pressure on the incumbent players to perform rather than leaving them in the slight comfort zone where they may not be good enough but have little risk of losing their starting place.

 

Buttner, the mystery centre back who's transfer fell through on the last day. Efforts were made but didn't come off, what position would we be in now if we wern't needing to rely on Hooiveld and Fox at crucial times.

 

Yes they've improved the squad but how many have improved the first team? Clyne and Ramirez definitely have. I'm sure Boruc will prove to be in the weeks ahead, but he was was a end of window panic signing when it was clear we lacked depth in the goal keeper positions. Yoshida is better than Fonte and Hooliveld, which IMO wasn't too big an ask. So in reality £30m has got us three players who are definitely better than we had and one that was on a free thst probably will be. 4 players out of 11 that would have been our first choice XI is not great business and not what we needed to do.

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Yes they've improved the squad but how many have improved the first team? Clyne and Ramirez definitely have. I'm sure Boruc will prove to be in the weeks ahead, but he was was a end of window panic signing when it was clear we lacked depth in the goal keeper positions. Yoshida is better than Fonte and Hooliveld, which IMO wasn't too big an ask. So in reality £30m has got us three players who are definitely better than we had and one that was on a free thst probably will be. 4 players out of 11 that would have been our first choice XI is not great business and not what we needed to do.

 

Mayuka offers in my opinion an improvement over Puncheon and Rodriguez provides a plan B to Lambert, something we sorely missed last year.

 

I agree with your point in bold though, it matches my own thoughts.

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My thoughts....

- Very tough start.

- Not an unexpected low tally of points although obviously we'd all like more.

- NA and the team on a vertical learning curve. After two seasons of wins it's a reality check all round.

- Would like Nige to start with his best 11 (including RL) for every game.

- Defensive lapses have cost us dearly but these can be coached for.

- Strike force looks good enough for this league and we are creating chances.

- Boruc is going to play a big role this season.

- Heads haven't dropped, performances have been generally good and chances are being created.

- 10 games isn't enough to judge this team on, end of December is better when we've played everyone.

- November and December are going to be big months.

- Not atall downbeat - I've seen enough to believe that there is still everything to play for.

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Mayuka offers in my opinion an improvement over Puncheon and Rodriguez provides a plan B to Lambert, something we sorely missed last year.

 

I agree with your point in bold though, it matches my own thoughts.

 

You may be right, I think Rodriguez will become a very good signing in the future, but not s first choice player now and until Mayuka plays regularly the jury is out. At the moment Puncheon is prefered so wouldn't be one we could say has improved the first choice team, a player who couldnt get near the team for the last two season. although he has improved the squad as you say.

Edited by Turkish
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It's easy to blame the defence but that doesn't tell the whole story. The first four games with a substandard goalkeeper plus numerous injuries in the back four. The other six players on the field at any time have been poor in anticipating and closing down threats. Some of the substitutions have been bizarre especially Man Utd.

 

 

Selecting a club system, 433 without picking the right players to play it. Thinking that passing the ball around in our own half is an end in itself. When really the reason for build up is to allow forwards and midfielders the time to interchange, pull defenders around and make penetrating runs to receive the ball on the end of it, not watch it going round in circles until lost.

 

The only light at the end of the tunnel was the second half v Spurs, getting the ball up to three strikers quickly and supporting from midfield made a lot more sense.

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It must get quite boring to keep banging out the same negative stuff again and again. We are all Saints fans here we know that we aren't doing well but hey I'm sure the majority of us remember the bad old good old days of great escapes. We have started poorly that can't be changed now lets just hope we buck our ideas up in the next few games and start to feel a bit more "part of" the premier league rather than a bit part player.

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Sorry, TTD, you've not been reading the forum rules about the ten games.

 

The ten games where we are allowed to assess our performance:

 

Do NOT include any games against teams we cannot expect to get points against. This is defined as any team in the top ten either when we play them, or at any point in the subsequent three months.

 

Do NOT include any games when the manager is unable to pick from a 100% fully fit and settled in squad.

 

These criteria will be assessed and decided on by only the "intelligent" forum posters. You know, Frank and Les. Our betters.

 

As it stands we have played zero games this season. Come back in April for a review of the first five games.

 

:lol:

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