Saint86 Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Can see it now - Stephens and Gardos against Zlatan at Wembley. love that your worried about wembley... we're heading for a relegation scrap unless we start averaging 3 goals a game... let that sink in for a bit! At least i got to see VVD's last game in a Saints shirt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjk Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Yes but any free agent CBs available are probably so for a reason. Must be someone half decent somewhere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 love that your worried about wembley... we're heading for a relegation scrap unless we start averaging 3 goals a game... let that sink in for a bit! At least i got to see VVD's last game in a Saints shirt! We've got 27 points, realistically we need 10 more to survive as there's no way you'll need 40 this year. We will scrape survival I think so Wembley is the only thing that will realistically save our season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakkoUK Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Well this makes things even more depressing, here's hoping we have some exciting possibilities with Yoshida, Stephens and Gardos pushing on and becoming first team choices that we can count on after they start playing consistently. *just keep clapping happily* Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avenue_Saint Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Takes the ****ing ****. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donatello Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 F**king ridiculous (window). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charliemiller Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Ok Gonna try to put a bit of a bright side on this , Yoshida and Stephens with OR in front of them kept a clean sheet at anfield .......yes Gardos and Stephens let in 5 against Arse reserves but that was without OR shielding them. As it stands , Gardos was very highly rated when he came , yes he has had injuries but fingers crossed he can regain his form , he was known for being tough and uncomprising in defence a very hard tackler , so he is or will be viable . We also have Bertrand who can drop in as left sided CB and put Mcqueen at LB , Yoshida is a right sided natural CB anyway. The club by the way Highly rate Alfie Jones as a future star and potential club Captain , hence he is now captain of the u23 team , i can see him being pushed forward as well although he is only 19. KEY TO ALL THIS THOUGH IS ROMEU !!!! if he gets injured the protection level will drop dramatically and we are then i believe in trouble!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jai27 Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 I'm not sure why people are suggesting Bertrand starts playing as a CB. He's only done this on a couple of occasions and that was with a back 5 and VVD next to him. I just can't see it working with a standard back 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Nice one, Les. The club must have had a good idea that this was going to be the case and also sanctioned the sale of Fonte without having anyone lined up as a replacement. We can't beat teams in the bottom 4 and can't beat teams in the top 6. Looking at the remaining fixtures it's not looking very good is it? Isn't it? We'll finish top half no problem. I don't really see the point in chucking £20m at a player to get us slightly higher up midtable. The only real argument is whether we'll be stuck looking for two of them in the summer, and now Van Dijk is out for months either his stock will fall in his absence to the point where no-one wants to take a risk yet, or he'll be fit enough to play and we won't have a problem until the summer when we'll have had 6 more months and a different group of players will be available. I can't for a second criticise selling Fonte for the amount we got for him, especially after how bad he was yesterday for West Ham. I can see the benefits of getting Yoshida and Stephens more matches to expedite their development, but there's not much increment of having another defender as long as we don't have more injuries - and there are far fewer matches happening less frequently now, so players should start coming back rather than more becoming unavailable. We generally don't buy expensive players to cover short term injuries anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 (edited) I'm not sure why people are suggesting Bertrand starts playing as a CB. He's only done this on a couple of occasions and that was with a back 5 and VVD next to him. I just can't see it working with a standard back 4. Bertrand played in the same team as Targett 7 times last season, which is a fairly good indicator of a back 3/5. But you're right, never without Van Dijk. Swansea away last season looks like a back 4: 44 (G) F Forster 6 (D) J Fonte 17 (D) V van Dijk 21 (D) R Bertrand 33 (D) M Targett (86) 4 (M) J Clasie 8 (M) S Davis 14 (M) O Romeu (63) 16 (M) J Ward-Prowse 7 (F) S Long 19 (F) G Pelle (74) Cedric came on for Romeu but until then the 4 defenders were Fonte, Van Dijk, Bertrand and Targett, which is either a weird back 4 or a back 3 with Targett in midfield and (probably) Davis as the other wing back. I'd rather him than Gardos there. Edited 2 February, 2017 by The9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Ok Gonna try to put a bit of a bright side on this , Yoshida and Stephens with OR in front of them kept a clean sheet at anfield .......yes Gardos and Stephens let in 5 against Arse reserves but that was without OR shielding them. As it stands , Gardos was very highly rated when he came , yes he has had injuries but fingers crossed he can regain his form , he was known for being tough and uncomprising in defence a very hard tackler , so he is or will be viable . We also have Bertrand who can drop in as left sided CB and put Mcqueen at LB , Yoshida is a right sided natural CB anyway. The club by the way Highly rate Alfie Jones as a future star and potential club Captain , hence he is now captain of the u23 team , i can see him being pushed forward as well although he is only 19. KEY TO ALL THIS THOUGH IS ROMEU !!!! if he gets injured the protection level will drop dramatically and we are then i believe in trouble!!! Can't argue about Romeu - not keen on Gardos, too slow on the ball even when he was fit and playing as regularly as he was going to get - good defensively with positioning, timing and headers, but concedes possession too easily when he has the ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Neil Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Must be someone half decent somewhere Take your pick http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/spieler/vertragslosespieler/statistik/1/plus//galerie/0?ausrichtung=Abwehr&spielerposition_id=3&land_id=alle&wettbewerb_id=alle&seit=alle&yt0=Show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjii Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Bertrand played in the same team as Targett 7 times last season, which is a fairly good indicator of a back 3/5. But you're right, never without Van Dijk. Swansea away last season looks like a back 4: 44 (G) F Forster 6 (D) J Fonte 17 (D) V van Dijk 21 (D) R Bertrand 33 (D) M Targett (86) 4 (M) J Clasie 8 (M) S Davis 14 (M) O Romeu (63) 16 (M) J Ward-Prowse 7 (F) S Long 19 (F) G Pelle (74) Cedric came on for Romeu but until then the 4 defenders were Fonte, Van Dijk, Bertrand and Targett, which is either a weird back 4 or a back 3 with Targett in midfield and (probably) Davis as the other wing back. I'd rather him than Gardos there anyway. From memory, I think Davis did play wing-back, or maybe JWP did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Take your pick http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/spieler/vertragslosespieler/statistik/1/plus//galerie/0?ausrichtung=Abwehr&spielerposition_id=3&land_id=alle&wettbewerb_id=alle&seit=alle&yt0=Show No wonder the Caceres rumours are doing the rounds. Forren is the third most valuable player on that list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 So it's possible we'll be spending the rest of the season with Yoshida, Stephens, and Gardos as our centre backs. It was only a few weeks back that we were all saying god help us if VVD gets injured and we don't replace Fonte. Well, here we are Transfer wise this window has been the biggest balls up we've made since Osvaldo and Delgado before him. How is it a balls up if there are no decent CBs available who want to come to SFC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jai27 Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Take your pick http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/spieler/vertragslosespieler/statistik/1/plus//galerie/0?ausrichtung=Abwehr&spielerposition_id=3&land_id=alle&wettbewerb_id=alle&seit=alle&yt0=Show The return of Neal Trotman... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jai27 Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 How is it a balls up if there are no decent CBs available who want to come to SFC? Just so I'm clear... Your saying that there are no decent CBs available, at all, anywhere, who would want to come and play for Saints? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALWAYS_SFC Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 How is it a balls up if there are no decent CBs available who want to come to SFC? John, people on here think this transfer lark is easy, just ask for someones cb and they will say yes. I have no doubt we tried very hard but were unsuccesful, my opinion, it wont be liked but that`s what i think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Appy Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 The fact we were messing about on deadline day and nothing came through is a shambles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Bateman Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Well done Les - utterly shambolic. This is totally on your head. "We won't let Fonte go without a replacement" ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horley CTFC Saint Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 eek. but at least we have cover. oh. Whats happened to Sin Bin - I thought he was the replacement?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suhari Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Take your pick http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/spieler/vertragslosespieler/statistik/1/plus//galerie/0?ausrichtung=Abwehr&spielerposition_id=3&land_id=alle&wettbewerb_id=alle&seit=alle&yt0=Show Come back Neil Trotman. We need you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint86 Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 love that you're worried about wembley... we're heading for a relegation scrap unless we start averaging 3 goals a game... let that sink in for a bit! At least i got to see VVD's last game in a Saints shirt! Just imagine if Romeu or Yoshi get inured. Dont think we'll win again this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewell Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Yes but any free agent CBs available are probably so for a reason. What's Steven Caulker up to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Clarke Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Massive fail by the club. We've now gone to Yoshida being our primary CB for pretty much the rest of the season. I'm not fussed per say about Fonte going, but he needed to be replaced with another experienced head. Stephens may be a decent, but ideally he needed to be eased into the side (as he was being). Now he's our main CB, and even Gardos is in consideration. It really is a huge let down by the club, there's no other way of painting it. As exciting as last season was, I'm now in the position where I'll be happy once we hit 40 pts. Not really good enough for a club which strives it's self in being consistent in all it does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jai27 Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Just imagine if Romeu or Yoshi get inured. Dont think we'll win again this season. If Romeu gets injured I'd say there's a good chance we'll be in a relegation scrap by March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Clarke Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Utter incompetence from Reed. There really is no other word for it. I'd look in Wilson's direction, since he's been part of the setup our recruitment has been a little iffy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 What's Steven Caulker up to? Hasn't he just signed up for a gig with Lokomotiv Moscow ? Just proves how short the footballing world is of anyone with a pair of boots and a vague notion at centre halfing. You can blame China really for taking just about anyone with a couple of pro matches to their credit that no-one else wants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatlesaint Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Massive fail by the club. We've now gone to Yoshida being our primary CB for pretty much the rest of the season. I'm not fussed per say about Fonte going, but he needed to be replaced with another experienced head. Stephens may be a decent, but ideally he needed to be eased into the side (as he was being). Now he's our main CB, and even Gardos is in consideration. It really is a huge let down by the club, there's no other way of painting it. As exciting as last season was, I'm now in the position where I'll be happy once we hit 40 pts. Not really good enough for a club which strives it's self in being consistent in all it does. i'm sure Les's end of season interview will gloss over this error as he discusses the superb form of our attacking options and our huge portfolio of midfield options ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 If Romeu gets injured I'd say there's a good chance we'll be in a relegation scrap by March. Just can't see all this relegation hysteria.We need about a further 10 points from 15 games. The latter end of our season may not be glorious but it won't end in relegation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Clarke Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 i'm sure Les's end of season interview will gloss over this error as he discusses the superb form of our attacking options and our huge portfolio of midfield options ! One things for sure, we'll need to have a storming end of the season goal scoring wise. Not that there is any indication of that happening what so ever. I think it's harsh to put all of this on Reed's door though, fair enough he does waffle some rubbish, but there are people in the 'recruitment' dept. who have failed here - Wilson being the head of that dept. Les isn't the one who searches for players and identifies them, that's down to the team who we/wilson put together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint77 Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 One things for sure, we'll need to have a storming end of the season goal scoring wise. Not that there is any indication of that happening what so ever. I think it's harsh to put all of this on Reed's door though, fair enough he does waffle some rubbish, but there are people in the 'recruitment' dept. who have failed here - Wilson being the head of that dept. Les isn't the one who searches for players and identifies them, that's down to the team who we/wilson put together. Wilson is on the beer all the time that's all he cares about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red&white56 Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Ricardo Carvalho was on that list - he may be a bit old, 38, but he was a top notch CB in his day.... worth a punt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pangy Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 is the only way to express my feelings on this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSAINT Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 One things for sure, we'll need to have a storming end of the season goal scoring wise. Not that there is any indication of that happening what so ever. I think it's harsh to put all of this on Reed's door though, fair enough he does waffle some rubbish, but there are people in the 'recruitment' dept. who have failed here - Wilson being the head of that dept. Les isn't the one who searches for players and identifies them, that's down to the team who we/wilson put together. This is linked to a point I made earlier & with only 1 goal a game average, it's worrying. We've had a fairly soft-core most of the season anyway when you look at who we've dropped points against. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Ricardo Carvalho was on that list - he may be a bit old, 38, but he was a top notch CB in his day.... worth a punt Didn't he sign up in Shanghai at the start of January ? Like I said they'll take anyone with a bit of notoriety for a whole lot of money. It's farked the market somewhat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint86 Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 We've got 27 points, realistically we need 10 more to survive as there's no way you'll need 40 this year. We will scrape survival I think so Wembley is the only thing that will realistically save our season. Yeah you're probably right... but I reckon its going to get tight at some point, and I imagine the fanbase moral dropping significantly unless Puel turns it around results wise. Currently we're looking at Yoshi and Stephens vs ZLATAN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donatello Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 I'd look in Wilson's direction, since he's been part of the setup our recruitment has been a little iffy. How do you see their responsibilities differing? I'll confess to being a tad ignorant of Wilson's role (beyond the title), hence asking. I largely see Les as the spearhead, hence I've been critical of him, but if Wilson is equally responsible, I have plenty to go around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wadesmith Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Is it fair to assume we will never see him play again in a Saints shirt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalek2003 Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Yeah you're probably right... but I reckon its going to get tight at some point, and I imagine the fanbase moral dropping significantly unless Puel turns it around results wise. Currently we're looking at Yoshi and Stephens vs ZLATAN. Complacency has been endemic for some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGTL Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Surely he has to move Bertrand to CB and play McQueen LB? That should start on Saturday so we can play it a couple of times before the final. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Absolutely mental that we didn't bring in a CB in the transfer window, very poorly managed by the club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toomer Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Plastic Rag at work said Saints might as well not turn up to Wembley without VVD the Cup is ours, I would get kicked off the forum if I typed my reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crab Lungs Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Well... gonna be a bumpy run in. The good news is if we concede a goal, it tends to wake us up... not that that is actually a good thing. As for a Virgil stop gap (and some more), Martin Caceres is the only viable option. Good centre back. Not Samba, FFS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austsaint Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Absolutely mental that we didn't bring in a CB in the transfer window, very poorly managed by the club. Yep, someone deserves a hard kick in the rear for co*king this up. Not replacing Fonte was bad enough but the injury to VVD with time remaining in the window, yet no result, is unforgiveable - particularly with the Wembley final in sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Portugalsaint Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Ricardo Carvalho was on that list - he may be a bit old, 38, but he was a top notch CB in his day.... worth a punt I have to say that Carvalho was awful in the early games for Portugal in 2016. We really thought portugal would not progress. We were shouting at the tv "bring on Fonte" we knew his organisational skills would prove useful and once he was bought in proved right. I for one was gutted that we didn't keep him. It's now proved to be a right old cock up one of which will keep the fans on the edge of their seats for the rest of the season. EIther that, or we may lose the will to live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadhall Saint Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Gutted for him - vardy is a slimey **** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectisSaint Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 As for a Virgil stop gap (and some more), Martin Caceres is the only viable option. Good centre back. Not Samba, FFS Ruptured his achilles tendon last Feb, hasn't played since, been without a club since June. Even if the injury has healed how long would he need to get back to match fitness. Probably not much sooner than VvD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_Tony Posted 2 February, 2017 Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Les will just bang on about getting to the EFL cup final at the end of the season as a sign of progress to paper over the cracks. We have a choice over whether we want to truly try and progress with the club. The foundations and funds are there. Les is more interested in running it as a sustainable business. I hear people say it's risky to throw a load of money at signings to try and buy success. You know what's also a risk Les? making a massive **** up with the recruitment of defenders. We are in a relegation scrap now, make no mistake Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Garrett Posted 2 February, 2017 Author Share Posted 2 February, 2017 Surely he has to move Bertrand to CB and play McQueen LB? That should start on Saturday so we can play it a couple of times before the final. Yep - I think this is our only option. Which leaves us with no danger from left full back as McQueen doesn't ever get past the full back like Bertrand does. Very frustrating times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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