Saints 1 Spurs 4 Reaction

[macca155]

Right........

Being beaten by Spurs is not unusual and I can live with it... again.i thoroughly enjoyed my day at WHL in May so a dose of the same wasn't to be unexpected.

 

What I can't accept is our niave tactics and lack of nous. 1st 20 minutes we charged at them like mad men. It was obvious our team wasn't fit enough and they struggled after 30 mins to match Spurs who train specifically for this. Poch knew we had zilch up front so he pushed his team forward with just three at the back our midfield retreated and bang we were under pressure.

 

Davis had to be subbed as he was out on his feet. I'm a big JWP fan, his talent from set pieces needs to be cultivated but he is a bit of a luxury player.and needs water carriers as cover. However goals and chances a plenty come from his free kicks so it is worth persevering, but he has to make a bigger impact.

 

Redmond kills every attack as he cuts back. Use him as a sub and he might be more effective.

 

Forster really worries me his form has nose dived. I wonder if he is carrying an injury. The sooner Mccarthy is back the better. I like him and he'll put pressure on the big man.

 

Fonte and VVD are superb and are are civic treasures. They need to be retained.

 

I can't bring myself to talk about Tadic..... desperate.

 

Sims Hesketh and McQueen would all have added more to that game. They need to be used at the very least they would have had the legs.

 

I thought Cedric was MOTM for us he had to survive intense pressure but rarely cracked.

 

WBA will come with tactics to beat us so I hope Puel has the answer.

 

 

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Edited 29 December, 2016 by macca155

[supersonic]

Best side won, although 4-1 flattered Spurs.

 

Out of sorts, reminded me a bit of the Liverpool cup game last year. Second best all over the pitch. Need a striker ASAP, Classie/Davis/Romeu our best midfield by a mile.

 

Would like to see us appeal Redmond's read on the basis of the "triple punishment" ruling which referee's are supposed to follow.

[DuncanRG]

It's not just one of those games, it's a game that shows exactly where we are as a club. One that can score, even beat teams, but not one that really competes toe to toe, even dominates as we once did against the big sides. The gradual removal of top talent may not have shown last season in results, but whereas once we dictated now we hang on. We miss the Wanyama/Morgan partnership more than people think...

 

Absolutely. Spurs were good but we weren't capable of competing in midfield and were lucky not to concede more. Some of our defending was all over the place, though you can forgive it to some degree when you're chasing the game a man down.

[jimmysaint7]

Don't need one. He pulled his shirt about 5 metres outside the box. It was a professional foul and deserved a red as it prevented him running through and slotting home. Once inside the box, Redmond tried to grab Ali, missed and fell, almost but not into him. It wasn't a pen. No chance.

 

That's the funny thing about it,ironically as soon as he gave a penalty he should not have given the red card however as the rules say if it was outside the box it is a red card.cocked it right up!!

[Nordic Saint]

If we'd had Wanyama, we'd have got a draw tonight. If we'd had Mane, we might even have won. Against the top teams with skilful attacking midfielders, we need a defensive midfielder who can get stuck into them, break up their play and stop them at the halfway line like Wanyama used to do. Instead we gave their midfield the freedom of the pitch, to do as they pleased. I though Puel might see that and try to put it right in the second half but I guess he just doesn't have a single midfield player left in the squad who can do that job. Up front against the top Premier League defenses, you need a striker with lightning pace and skill like Mane or great physical presence like Pelle. We haven't got those either. Our dealings in the transfer market since our head of recruitment Paul Mitchell left have really weakened the squad. We should try to get him back when he finishes his Spurs contract.

[cellone]

Surprised they managed to dominate in midfield like they did. We DO have the best midfield options in the whole country......apparently

 

Who said that?

[Jonnyboy]

...

Edited 29 December, 2016 by Jonnyboy

[austsaint]

If we'd had Wanyama, we'd have got a draw tonight. If we'd had Mane, we might even have won. Against the top teams with skilful attacking midfielders, we need a defensive midfielder who can get stuck into them, break up their play and stop them at the halfway line like Wanyama used to do. Instead we gave their midfield the freedom of the pitch, to do as they pleased. I though Puel might see that and try to put it right in the second half but I guess he just doesn't have a single midfield player left in the squad who can do that job. Up front against the top Premier League defenses, you need a striker with lightning pace and skill like Mane or great physical presence like Pelle. We haven't got those either. Our dealings in the transfer market since our head of recruitment Paul Mitchell left have really weakened the squad. We should try to get him back when he finishes his Spurs contract.

 

Agree with this. As several posters have pointed out, one of the differences this season compared to last is that we "hang on" by our fingertips against the top sides where previously we often took the game to them and tonight it was the midfield being overrun without the Wanyama type to stop that and the lack of an attacking mid/forward like Mane to turn defenders around or drive at them which allowed Spurs midfield and Dier to spend so much time high up the field. The balance of our midfield was wrong tonight and playing Boufal wide was a waste of his talent.

[sandwichsaint]

Having seen it once in real time, the position of the players etc, I called it as holding, it was well outside the area: free kick outside the area and red card - would have been my decision. Having now seen the video - I think I got it right!

[Saint_Ash]

We were pretty good for 20 minutes but it was so frustrating Sat There watching us sit so deep and letting them do what they want, it was like we didn't have the confidence to stand toe to toe with them. Why forster doesn't come off his line is baffling, you can see the defenders shepherding the ball to him then frustratingly boot it away because Forster doesn't come. Not sure why ward prowse is getting stick, played ok and his balls into the box were excellent today, boufal on the other hand was awful, so lazy and really didn't look like he wanted to be on the pitch, maybe a game where we have more possession would suit him.

 

Spurs are a good side but get a win and a draw from next two and that won't be too bad.

[Saint_Ash]

Having seen it once in real time, the position of the players etc, I called it as holding, it was well outside the area: free kick outside the area and red card - would have been my decision. Having now seen the video - I think I got it right!

 

Yep, sending off and free kick, Not sure how he came to the conclusion of a penalty.

[baggytrousers]

This attitude is what holds us back. "ah we almost made it" but lets be happy as also rans. We have been appalling latley. HBS, Prague, Hull, Palace, stoke especially. No fecking excuse for it. You add those games up and we are higher in the league, within reach of last seasons finish and in the europa league knock outs.

 

We chose to sell our best players and again not reinvest fully. And we have a fan base who again let the board off for under achieving? WTF. There is no excuse for worsening ourselves this season given West Ham and Leicester have completely removed themselves from the picture, united have again been poor.

 

Its almost like our fans have no ambition.

 

West Ham's net summer spending was 43.1 million (5th highest) and Leicester's was 21.46 Million (8th highest) so what you seem to be saying is that if we'd thrown money around over the summer like those two clubs then we'd be in the same situation as them, i.e. out of the picture.

 

Good point.

[Kingsbridge Saint]

Half that Spurs side turned out for England against Iceland. It's a national disgrace that they are able to let the country down so badly so often, but get selected again and again. We should have battered them, but our approach was too timid. Down to Puel. Kane, Dier, Alli, Walker and Rose - all overrated.

[Secret Site Agent]

What a load of ****.

 

Glad I switched off when I had problems streaming it saved me from watching this rubbish.

 

Not happy.

[Lord Duckhunter]

The top 6 are clearly head & shoulders above the rest of the league. When they play well they will beat the rest , unless it's a fluke or on the day the "rest side" play out of their skin. We've had Liverpool , Spurs & Chelsea down here and they've all played well, the fact we have 1 point shows that IMO . This season the top 6 are pulling away from the rest, they all also have top top managers and are all looking so much stronger than the past 2 seasons. 2 really good sides will miss out on champions league . Trying to compare past seasons to this one is nonsense. None of them are underperforming. To finish 7th would be the best we can hope for , to finish top 6 would be a stunning achievement.

 

As for the game. The best side won. It was men against boys in the midfield at times. However the game hinged on 3 incidents . The first goal changed the nature of the half. Until then 2-0 looked more likely than 1-1. It was a poor goal, Redmond should have been a bit stronger blocking the cross and both VvD & FF looked a bit flat footed to me, taken by surprise by Redmonds deflection. I know it's not policy to blame VvD, but I felt he could have done slightly better. The second goal was the killer. Poor defending from Bertrand to give away corner, then shocking marking from OR ( same as palace). Again , was FF flat footed ??? Finally the ending off ended any hope of a comeback and I feared it would be 5 or 6 after that.

 

Jose played well, JRod worked hard but was starved of service. They all worked hard, but at the end of the day , Spurs had better players and when better players play well, they'll win unless you get a load of luck.

 

I don't know why people are so down. Another day a top side will be off their game and we will do them. People have short memories Spurs murdered us last season as did Liverpool in the cup. Chelsea have handed us some lessons before this season as well. The way some people are going on , we were regularly stuffing these sides or only losing after going toe to toe with them. We've had some far far worse home performances than that since coming back up, far worse

 

 

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[Nolan]

Quite damning average position chart.

 

Bertrand was our player highest up the pitch, and we had two groups of three players telling over each other.

 

 

[shurlock]

The top 6 are clearly head & shoulders above the rest of the league. When they play well they will beat the rest , unless it's a fluke or on the day the "rest side" play out of their skin. We've had Liverpool , Spurs & Chelsea down here and they've all played well, the fact we have 1 point shows that IMO . This season the top 6 are pulling away from the rest, they all also have top top managers and are all looking so much stronger than the past 2 seasons. 2 really good sides will miss out on champions league . Trying to compare past seasons to this one is nonsense. None of them are underperforming. To finish 7th would be the best we can hope for , to finish top 6 would be a stunning achievement.

 

As for the game. The best side won. It was men against boys in the midfield at times. However the game hinged on 3 incidents . The first goal changed the nature of the half. Until then 2-0 looked more likely than 1-1. It was a poor goal, Redmond should have been a bit stronger blocking the cross and both VvD & FF looked a bit flat footed to me, taken by surprise by Redmonds deflection. I know it's not policy to blame VvD, but I felt he could have done slightly better. The second goal was the killer. Poor defending from Bertrand to give away corner, then shocking marking from OR ( same as palace). Again , was FF flat footed ??? Finally the ending off ended any hope of a comeback and I feared it would be 5 or 6 after that.

 

Jose played well, JRod worked hard but was starved of service. They all worked hard, but at the end of the day , Spurs had better players and when better players play well, they'll win unless you get a load of luck.

 

I don't know why people are so down. Another day a top side will be off their game and we will do them. People have short memories Spurs murdered us last season as did Liverpool in the cup. Chelsea have handed us some lessons before this season as well. The way some people are going on , we were regularly stuffing these sides or only losing after going toe to toe with them. We've had some far far worse home performances than that since coming back up, far worse

 

 

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Nonsense- sounds like a convenient excuse.

 

Some of the top six may have got stronger (as much due to coaching as personnel) but we're talking degrees rather than large magnitudes as the Arsenal and City games showed. The Spurs team is more or less the same side we faced last season -if anything the Spurs sides we faced last season which included Toby and Lamela were stronger. While I don't expect us to beat the big sides regularly -let alone hanging around the top six, I do expect us to be more competitive and confident. We have been in previous seasons -and your examples to the contrary are as facetious as they are flimsy.

 

No, a more convincing reason for the regression is that we've not really strengthened or successfully replaced departing players. Part of that is due to ambition of the board; part is due to execution of our recruitment policy and part is due to the recruitment philosophy itself.

 

There's a certain arrogance in primarily targeting young players who are invariably raw and may or may not pay off. Whatever happened to balance in our recruitment: mixing youth (which has its merits) with experience? Steven Davis remains one of our shrewder buys in the last 3-4 years for precisely that reason but is the exception rather than the rule. It's even less likely without an assertive manager like Koeman at the helm. The cynical answer is that a balanced transfer policy doesn't represent the same cash cow for the club, even if it promises greater on-the-pitch success.

Edited 29 December, 2016 by shurlock

[Batman]

Nonsense- sounds like a convenient excuse.

 

Some of the top six may have got stronger (as much due to coaching as personnel) but we're talking degrees rather than large magnitudes as the Arsenal and City games showed. The Spurs team is more or less the same side we faced last season -if anything the Spurs sides we faced last season which included Toby and Lamela were stronger. While I don't expect us to beat the big sides regularly -let alone hanging around the top six, I do expect us to be more competitive and confident. We have been in previous seasons -and your examples to the contrary are as facetious as they are flimsy.

 

No, a more convincing reason for the regression is that we've not really strengthened or successfully replaced departing players. Part of that is due to ambition of the board; part is due to execution of our recruitment policy and part is due to the recruitment philosophy itself.

 

There's a certain arrogance in primarily targeting young players who are invariably raw and may or may not pay off. Whatever happened to balance in our recruitment: mixing youth (which has its merits) with experience? Steven Davis remains one of our shrewder buys in the last 3-4 years for precisely that reason but is the exception rather than the rule. It's even less likely without an assertive manager like Koeman at the helm. The cynical answer is that a balanced transfer policy doesn't represent the same cash cow for the club, even if it promises greater success.

Agree totally

 

We should look to sign proven premier league experience now and then.

 

Trouble is, that is brushed aside (on here) as being too expensive.

 

I think we should have gotten someone like chadlie instead of redmond. Morgan is clearly available and it would be a pizzer should he go to WBA or such like, whilst we persist with JwP in midfield

 

But hey, it not our "business model" and all that

[Lord Duckhunter]

A business model that has served us pretty damn well the past few years. But let's rip it up and become Stoke or Palace cause we lost to Spurs

 

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[Batman]

A business model that has served us pretty damn well the past few years. But let's rip it up and become Stoke or Palace cause we lost to Spurs

 

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Who said rip it up?

[rooney]

Spurs better than us last night. They looked giants against our midgets.

[Lord Duckhunter]

Why change it?

 

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[CB Fry]

A business model that has served us pretty damn well the past few years. But let's rip it up and become Stoke or Palace cause we lost to Spurs

 

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In fairness it's difficult not to look at the giant strides made by West Ham, Palace, Stoke and Leicester City in the league this season - they've INVESTED IN THEIR SQUADS AND EVERYTHING- and feel we've been totally left behind.

 

Their business models are, like, loads better than ours. Loads.

[shurlock]

Why change it?

 

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Because apart from VVD (who's not strictly a youngster), our recent signings have been hit-and-miss. Even for all the gushing over Romeu, his limitations have been starkly exposed.

 

It's not about ripping things up. The operative word is 'balance' which you fail to acknowledge. If anything, one complements the other. Bedding in younger players like Boufal (who only has one good season in France to his name), Hojbjerg, Redmond etc would be easier with a bit more experience and proven quality around them. Asking them to change or carry games is a bit unfair.

Edited 29 December, 2016 by shurlock

[Lord Duckhunter]

Because apart from VVD (who's not strictly a youngster), our recent signings have been hit-and-miss. Even for all the gushing over Romeu, his limitations have been starkly exposed.

 

It's not about ripping things up. The operative word is 'balance' which you fail to acknowledge. If anything, one complements the other. Bedding in younger players like Boufal (who only has one good season in France to his name), Hojbjerg, Redmond etc would be easier with a bit more experience and proven quality around them. Asking them to change or carry games is a bit unfair.

 

If only Les had thought of that. Perhaps you should drop him a line offering him your wisdom

 

 

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[Saint Billy]

I think we have flattered to deceive this season and we were due a hiding.

[CB Fry]

I look around the squad and all I see are callow young feeble minded waifs with absolutely no experience of top level football. Shivering, nervous wrecks like Forster, Fonte, VVD, Bertrand, Davis, Tadic, Long, Austin and Rodriguez. How we can ever expect the side to do well when we're relying on wet-behind-the-ears infants such as these I'll never know. I wish we were Crystal Palace. I wish we were Crystal Palace.

[Convict Colony]

Ward Prowse said in interview we couldn't cope with their shape. Is this a telling sign of player dissatisfaction of the formation Puel is adopting?

 

 

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spurs could copy with ours though, maybe it was the midfield where this game was won or lost.

[70's Mike]

Absolutely. Spurs were good but we weren't capable of competing in midfield and were lucky not to concede more. Some of our defending was all over the place, though you can forgive it to some degree when you're chasing the game a man down.

 

the midfield issue is down to Puel, we were out numbered as there 4-5-1 against our 4-3-3 gave them a numeric superiority. Problem is Redmond and Boufal only contribute going one way for most of the time (Penalty incident being a big exception)

always going to be difficult once you go down to 10 against a side who looked far fitter than us,but even in other games we stick to 4-3-3, substituting like for like, never any variation.

It just about works against the mid table teams but against the top 6 at home we are going to be exposed in midfield.

Hate to say it but Puel is not in same league as Poch or Koeman when it comes to changing a game

[shurlock]

I look around the squad and all I see are callow young feeble minded waifs with absolutely no experience of top level football. Shivering, nervous wrecks like Forster, Fonte, VVD, Bertrand, Davis, Tadic, Long, Austin and Rodriguez. How we can ever expect the side to do well when we're relying on wet-behind-the-ears infants such as these I'll never know. I wish we were Crystal Palace. I wish we were Crystal Palace.

 

Not sure what your point is - but it's barrel scraping, desperation stuff when you have to wheel out the likes of Jrod, a shadow of his former self, Austin, a lower league, injury-prone journeyman with one good season under his belt and Tadic, a player who goes missing half a season as supporting examples.

 

Needless to say, you have weak grasp of the term 'proven quality' when you include six-goal-a-season man Shane Long. Your obsession with palace doesn't do anything for the lucidity of your argument either.

 

Bertrand, Fonte, Davis and VVD are all proven and experienced (even if some of that experience was developed on the job with all the risks that entails rather than acquired). Indeed its no coincidence that defensively we have one of the stronger records in the league. Spot the pattern...

Edited 29 December, 2016 by shurlock

[Globetrotter]

Need a striker ASAP, Classie/Davis/Romeu our best midfield by a mile.

 

For the first time since he joined us, I found myself using the phrase "we missed Clasie tonight". So that's kind of a positive. I think?

 

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[corky morris]

We were great for 15 minutes then totally rubbish.

We went too deep & back to the slow defensive style we have played a lot of the season.

JWP & Redmond are not good enough. Thought Romeu was dead on his feet, but you can't excuse him fir losing Kane fir their goal.

Also thought Hojberg was terrible when he came on. Seriously lacked effort. Tadic was poor too. I would go with McQueen & Sims against WBA.

We didn't lose because of the ref, but he certainly helped them. If Redmonds us a red card then Rose should have got one too. He made no effort to win the ball & we were away down the wing & only got a yellow.

How many times did they roll around looking for a free kick & then get straight back up?

Dean got the big decision wrong & ignored Vertonghon smacking Jay Rod in the face. That is red in the rule book too.

I know we won't get Schniederlin back, but he would walk into this team.

We are too slow & very one dimensional.

[badgerx16]

....six-goal-a-season man Shane Long.....

He must have some good performances coming up then !

[shurlock]

He must have some good performances coming up then !

 

Remember it's not about the goals

 

#moneyball

[Dalek2003]

If we'd had Wanyama, we'd have got a draw tonight. If we'd had Mane, we might even have won. Against the top teams with skilful attacking midfielders, we need a defensive midfielder who can get stuck into them, break up their play and stop them at the halfway line like Wanyama used to do. Instead we gave their midfield the freedom of the pitch, to do as they pleased. I though Puel might see that and try to put it right in the second half but I guess he just doesn't have a single midfield player left in the squad who can do that job. Up front against the top Premier League defenses, you need a striker with lightning pace and skill like Mane or great physical presence like Pelle. We haven't got those either. Our dealings in the transfer market since our head of recruitment Paul Mitchell left have really weakened the squad. We should try to get him back when he finishes his Spurs contract.

 

I agree. Can I just add that if we had Pelle they would not have pushed up quite so much because Pelle was a big strong bastard of a forward that kept the opposition defence worried and he created space for our attacking midfield.

[ALWAYS_SFC]

If we'd had Wanyama, we'd have got a draw tonight. If we'd had Mane, we might even have won. Against the top teams with skilful attacking midfielders, we need a defensive midfielder who can get stuck into them, break up their play and stop them at the halfway line like Wanyama used to do. Instead we gave their midfield the freedom of the pitch, to do as they pleased. I though Puel might see that and try to put it right in the second half but I guess he just doesn't have a single midfield player left in the squad who can do that job. Up front against the top Premier League defenses, you need a striker with lightning pace and skill like Mane or great physical presence like Pelle. We haven't got those either. Our dealings in the transfer market since our head of recruitment Paul Mitchell left have really weakened the squad. We should try to get him back when he finishes his Spurs contract.

 

I agree. Can I just add that if we had Pelle they would not have pushed up quite so much because Pelle was a big strong bastard of a forward that kept the opposition defence worried and he created space for our attacking midfield.

 

If, if, if.....

[John B]

Agree totally

 

We should look to sign proven premier league experience now and then.

 

Trouble is, that is brushed aside (on here) as being too expensive.

 

I think we should have gotten someone like chadlie instead of redmond. Morgan is clearly available and it would be a pizzer should he go to WBA or such like, whilst we persist with JwP in midfield

 

But hey, it not our "business model" and all that

 

Chelsea Man U Man C Arsenal Liverpool and Spurs are top teams with loads of money who can pay for the best players and for some reason usually have success and win things.

 

Southampton FC who I have been supporting since the late 1950s are not a top team with unlimited resources and have only won one major trophy in that time helped by a getting to Wembley by beating Bradford and Crystal Palace.

 

During that time we have had some great results but mostly we have been pretty average like between 1990 and 2005 and sometimes dire

 

However I am quite happy at the moment to see them 8th in the PL after finishing in similar positions in previous seasons and in the SF of the League CUP and we have a plan to succeed in the Top 10 of the League which seems to be a great deal better than the other clubs of a similar size

 

We will sometimes perform well against a top team but will usually will get beaten that is how the PL works

 

What you write is very true if we had better players than say JWP Romeu and Redmond we would probably get better results but we can only get the best that we can afford.

 

I do remember in 1974 SFC buying Peter Osgood who was one of the best players I have ever seen to improve our team with some goals but after fifteen or so games he finally scored a goal at Everton as we were relegated so getting in players with a top class pedigree does not guarantee success but it usually does like with Rickie Lambert in League 1 when we were a really top club in that League and could buy the best

 

.

There are of course other teams in the PL and they are trying to be successful too so it is not easy for a club like Southampton to be successful but our future seems brighter to me than most of the others below us in the PL but maybe affected if Newcastle get back to the PL and are run properly

 

Happy New Year

[Rebel]

Quite damning average position chart.

 

Bertrand was our player highest up the pitch, and we had two groups of three players telling over each other.

 

 

 

 

That positional map says it all really - we sat far too deep and had nothing up front. Once Spurs equalised we just sat back and invited them on to us - but had no out ball and nothing upfront to counter attack with. The big question though was that the players or the manager. Neither one is good but I have a feeling it was the managers tactics.

 

A number of players had a bad game as well which really didn't help - Forster and Romeu in particular. Rodriguez gave us nothing but was isolated up front and Boufal is tricky in the ball but lacks anything resembling an end product.

 

And Steven Davis had another one of those games again - Jack of all and master of none - he is just not dynamic enough. He's not physical or defensive enough and he's not attacking or creative enough. Playing him and JWP together means our midfield is just too lightweight.

 

It was also obvious yesterday that we lacked physical presence in midfield - Romeu was off the pace which didn't help but Hojgberg should have started against Spurs physical midfield. But we desperately need another physical or defensive midfielder. I'd have Schneiderlin back in a shot if we could afford him.

[tobes8]

Why change it?

 

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You've obviously not watched the durge of the last few months. People saw the Bournemouth result as some magical turning point but Bournemouth were way below par on the day. Our football has become predictable and boring and not very entertaining. The board have been mugging us off by not reinvesting in the team to replace the quality that we've lost. We had an amazing opportunity to.push on over the summer and screwed that right up.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

Chelsea Man U Man C Arsenal Liverpool and Spurs are top teams with loads of money who can pay for the best players and for some reason usually have success and win things.

 

Southampton FC who I have been supporting since the late 1950s are not a top team with unlimited resources and have only won one major trophy in that time helped by a getting to Wembley by beating Bradford and Crystal Palace.

 

During that time we have had some great results but mostly we have been pretty average like between 1990 and 2005 and sometimes dire

 

However I am quite happy at the moment to see them 8th in the PL after finishing in similar positions in previous seasons and in the SF of the League CUP and we have a plan to succeed in the Top 10 of the League which seems to be a great deal better than the other clubs of a similar size

 

We will sometimes perform well against a top team but will usually will get beaten that is how the PL works

 

What you write is very true if we had better players than say JWP Romeu and Redmond we would probably get better results but we can only get the best that we can afford.

 

I do remember in 1974 SFC buying Peter Osgood who was one of the best players I have ever seen to improve our team with some goals but after fifteen or so games he finally scored a goal at Everton as we were relegated so getting in players with a top class pedigree does not guarantee success but it usually does like with Rickie Lambert in League 1 when we were a really top club in that League and could buy the best

 

.

There are of course other teams in the PL and they are trying to be successful too so it is not easy for a club like Southampton to be successful but our future seems brighter to me than most of the others below us in the PL but maybe affected if Newcastle get back to the PL and are run properly

 

Happy New Year

 

I don't disagree with the sentiments of your post. The ecology of the modern game also makes it hard for us to hang onto our better players so progress has to be by marginal gains and is underpinned by smart recruitment.

 

In the big picture the club is in a great state - it is in a very healthy financial state and seems to be run well. We should be happy.

 

However, our recruitment (or recruitment planning) is showing signs of cracking and that is severely impacting us at the moment. It just was not good enough in the summer - a lack of goal threat in both attack and midfield was not addressed and our new Manager is struggling to address that.

 

If you were to tell me in May that we would be losing Pelle, Wanyama and Mane for £55m and would be spending that along with our new income from our commercial deals and the TV money on Boufal, Hojbjerg and Redmond I would be seriously underwhelmed. Hojbjerg and Redmond in particular appeared to be opportunity signings that met many criteria other than actually being a need that the team had (productive players that produced tangible output).

 

All the new deals in the summer for existing players made sense though and were good work (maybe not the Long one but you can't have it all).

 

Time to fix some issues in the summer - I can't see much changing in January.

[OldNick]

Chelsea Man U Man C Arsenal Liverpool and Spurs are top teams with loads of money who can pay for the best players and for some reason usually have success and win things.

 

Southampton FC who I have been supporting since the late 1950s are not a top team with unlimited resources and have only won one major trophy in that time helped by a getting to Wembley by beating Bradford and Crystal Palace.

 

During that time we have had some great results but mostly we have been pretty average like between 1990 and 2005 and sometimes dire

 

However I am quite happy at the moment to see them 8th in the PL after finishing in similar positions in previous seasons and in the SF of the League CUP and we have a plan to succeed in the Top 10 of the League which seems to be a great deal better than the other clubs of a similar size

 

We will sometimes perform well against a top team but will usually will get beaten that is how the PL works

 

What you write is very true if we had better players than say JWP Romeu and Redmond we would probably get better results but we can only get the best that we can afford.

 

I do remember in 1974 SFC buying Peter Osgood who was one of the best players I have ever seen to improve our team with some goals but after fifteen or so games he finally scored a goal at Everton as we were relegated so getting in players with a top class pedigree does not guarantee success but it usually does like with Rickie Lambert in League 1 when we were a really top club in that League and could buy the best

 

.

There are of course other teams in the PL and they are trying to be successful too so it is not easy for a club like Southampton to be successful but our future seems brighter to me than most of the others below us in the PL but maybe affected if Newcastle get back to the PL and are run properly

 

Happy New Year

sadly most of out support lay on their backs and get their tummy tickled by the club and trot off happily. When we have season on season taken in massive fees, we could have used that advantage over other clubs who didn't, by buying other players who would have made us a decent side. Now the league is shaping up to normal order and the top 6 are going to keep the rest out for ever, our chance is gone to break into the top echelons of the game. Personally I believe had Marcus been here the club would have achieved more and invested more to get us where he believed we could get to.

Your mindset of us being a minor club is part of the problem, whilst we stay small minded that is where we will stay.

If the club needs to sell £20 m plus worth a season to survive then our business plan is not very good.

Poch and Kpeman were right leaving as they can move and actually build, any manager at our club has to rebuild every 12 months, Koeman says that he is going to strengthen in January, I can't imagine any manager of ours saying the same.

At the end of the day, it is Katrinas business and she can do as she likes.

[CB Fry]

Not sure what your point is - but it's barrel scraping, desperation stuff when you have to wheel out the likes of Jrod, a shadow of his former self, Austin, a lower league, injury-prone journeyman with one good season under his belt and Tadic, a player who goes missing half a season as supporting examples.

 

Needless to say, you have weak grasp of the term 'proven quality' when you include six-goal-a-season man Shane Long. Your obsession with palace doesn't do anything for the lucidity of your argument either.

 

Bertrand, Fonte, Davis and VVD are all proven and experienced (even if some of that experience was developed on the job with all the risks that entails rather than acquired). Indeed its no coincidence that defensively we have one of the stronger records in the league. Spot the pattern...

 

I'll aid the lucidity of my argument with the fact that we're eighth and doing fine thanks. Must be those awful journeymen what we're lumbered with.

Edited 29 December, 2016 by CB Fry

[CB Fry]

sadly most of out support lay on their backs and get their tummy tickled by the club and trot off happily. When we have season on season taken in massive fees, we could have used that advantage over other clubs who didn't, by buying other players who would have made us a decent side. Now the league is shaping up to normal order and the top 6 are going to keep the rest out for ever, our chance is gone to break into the top echelons of the game. Personally I believe had Marcus been here the club would have achieved more and invested more to get us where he believed we could get to.

Your mindset of us being a minor club is part of the problem, whilst we stay small minded that is where we will stay.

If the club needs to sell £20 m plus worth a season to survive then our business plan is not very good.

Poch and Kpeman were right leaving as they can move and actually build, any manager at our club has to rebuild every 12 months, Koeman says that he is going to strengthen in January, I can't imagine any manager of ours saying the same.

At the end of the day, it is Katrinas business and she can do as she likes.

 

You love your little routine about fans having their "tummy tickled", it's a theme you return to again and again.

 

What I like about you is you refuse to sit back and take the horrific abuse you've suffered as a Saints fans these last few years, you will not have your tummy tickled. You won't trot off happily, will you? You're furious aren't you? No one tickles your tummy do they? You're not "laying on your back" are you?

 

Just remind me exactly what you have actually done to fight back against the awful treatment you have experienced as a SFC fan. Your active, relentless and determined struggle can be an example for others.

Edited 29 December, 2016 by CB Fry

[Saint Billy]

I'll aid the lucidity of my argument with the fact that we're eighth and doing fine thanks. Must be those awful journeymen what we're lumbered with.

 

8th yes, doing fine not too sure.

 

Our performance against West Brom will tell us more.

[whelk]

Remember when we had Schneiderlin and wanyama and always hammered the big 6 at home. Really frustrating last night and longed for last season when we had the players to take apart Spurs and destroyed them at St Marys

[Window Cleaner]

Well I thought what we've seen in this last round of games is that the top 6 have rebecome the top 6. For a season or so the hierarchy wobbled a bit as lesser clubs found gems from elsewhere with their improved budgets. Then the top sides just moved up a gear, changed the "standard" fee for a middling top player to north of 30 million instead of a bit less than 20 million, boosted the base salary to over 5 million a year and the operation was achieved.

[whelk]

Well I thought what we've seen in this last round of games is that the top 6 have rebecome the top 6. For a season or so the hierarchy wobbled a bit as lesser clubs found gems from elsewhere with their improved budgets. Then the top sides just moved up a gear, changed the "standard" fee for a middling top player to north of 30 million instead of a bit less than 20 million, boosted the base salary to over ( million a year and the operation was achieved.

 

To be fair to Chelsea and Liverpool it just looks better coaching. Neither have spent outrageously higher. And Utd can't continuously spend £120m to £150m each window and not improve.

[ALWAYS_SFC]

You love your little routine about fans having their "tummy tickled", it's a theme you return to again and again.

 

What I like about you is you refuse to sit back and take the horrific abuse you've suffered as a Saints fans these last few years, you will not have your tummy tickled. You won't trot off happily, will you? You're furious aren't you? No one tickles your tummy do they? You're not "laying on your back" are you?

 

Just remind me exactly what you have actually done to fight back against the awful treatment you have experienced as a SFC fan. Your active, relentless and determined struggle can be an example for others.

 

[trousers]

[AR-10]

I've got no comment on last nights result other than it was a terrible, terrible second half,

probably not helped by rag talk approaching January over key players in our defence but hey ho.

 

Not exactly how official this is, but heard noises coming out of Spurs, who at Spurs I have no idea,

but apparently we expected a penalty against us, therefore prior to the match we got our groundsman to

dig the penalty spot and "adjust" it so that Harry Kane missed.

 

Seriously.