Moussa Djenepo

[Hodgey]

I think what we saw today is why he will be better than Redmond. He’s slight but competes for the ball and isn’t afraid to take a wack - no half arsed efforts and doesn’t give up. He needs a proper run in the team though for me

[LaptopSaint]

Take a bow son!

I thought he offered absolutely nothing when he came on against Wolves last week, but he was brilliant today. Never gave up, always tracking back, taking people on, running around like a dervish. Salisu did well but Moussa MotM for me. More of the same please. 

 

[Dark Munster]

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

Thought he was MOM today. Put a real shift in, put himself about, took a few whacks but kept going. Not easy for him but did really well.

Agreed, he was excellent. I'd rest him for Tuesday, wrap him in cotton wool, and have him fit and raring to go against Bompey next month.

[JRM]

2 hours ago, Turkish said:

Thought he was MOM today. Put a real shift in, put himself about, took a few whacks but kept going. Not easy for him but did really well.

I agree , probably his best all round performance for us, put in a shift, got stuck in, the Cruyff turn to get away from Alonso showed a lot of confidence as well. 

[Jeremy Corbyn]

He's brilliant, he works hard and has great flair and ability, hope he gets more game time. When he gets in the middle hes always dangerous, would like to see him drift in more.

[steve green]

Reminds me of 'Chicken' George Lawrence.

First 20mins I don't think even he knew what position he was playing.

Got kicked a lot, then got on with it, good man Moussa.

[SuperSAINT]

Linked with Turkish loan move:

http://sportwitness.co.uk/manager-keen-bring-southampton-forward-summer/

[Whitey Grandad]

2 minutes ago, SuperSAINT said:

Linked with Turkish loan move:

http://sportwitness.co.uk/manager-keen-bring-southampton-forward-summer/

At this rate we shall struggle to put out a team next season.

[saintwbu]

Would be a shame to give up on him, shows glimpses of brilliance. Ralph seems to play him mostly to try and shackle a winger rather than for his attacking ability, which leaves people saying ‘he hasn’t done anything’ when actually he’s been doubling up on the oppositions most dangerous player all game. He’s normally done a good job in that regard this season.

[TWar]

Don't hate the idea of a loan tbh. We wouldn't be giving up on him, just getting him some experience and game time. Some great players have needed a loan or two to realise their potential.

[qwertyell]

49 minutes ago, TWar said:

Don't hate the idea of a loan tbh. We wouldn't be giving up on him, just getting him some experience and game time. Some great players have needed a loan or two to realise their potential.

I don't think it'd be great move for us, timing wise. If he does well he'll come back with only a year on his contract and holding all the aces regarding his future.

If he does poorly, it's another year of his development wasted and we then have a difficult decision to make to either renew his contract or try and sell him with his value greatly depreciated.

Bottom line, we either back him this summer to fulfil his potential with us, or we sell him.

[Wade Garrett]

Keep Djenepo and get shot of Redmond.

I’ve lost all confidence in Ralph.

[Rebel]

It's probably time to sell Djenepo - he has 2 years left on his contract so he still has some value.  At the end of next season - unless he drastically improves his value will drop considerably.  

I think he will improve - but he needs to play regularly at a lower level if he's going to - we can't afford to give him the game time in the Premier League - and I am not sure he will ever be consistent or disciplined enough.  He does work hard though.

I'd sell both him and Redmond this summer - trade them in for someone who is good enough to play that AM / No10 / Inside Forward role on the left - Milot Rashica or Arnaut Danjuma maybe.

[SKD]

Rubbish. Get rid. 

[Lighthouse]

I’d take any reasonably good offer, just seems like the next Gaston/Boufal to me.

[Matthew Le God]

It isn't looking good for him, looks like Nathan Tella is rightfully now above him in pecking order.

[JustinSFC]

He was supposed to be the next Mane.

Blokes nowhere near.

His first touch is proper shit.

[S-Clarke]

I had high hopes for him at the start, but it just hasn't worked out for him here. He's a little lightweight and fairly injury prone which has really stunted his progress here.

Bar the first couple of games back at the start of the 2019 season, away at Brighton and away at Sheffield United, he's done diddly squat really, bar a single goal against West Brom last year and 1 assist at best. That's no where near acceptable for a player in his position, certainly not for £15m outlay.

In the main the signings we've made since Ralph came in have been spot on, sadly Moussa isn't one of those. You'd have to say after 2 years he's probably never going to make it here, which is a shame because I quite like him.

Edited 25 May, 2021 by S-Clarke

[Matthew Le God]

7 minutes ago, JustinSFC said:

He was supposed to be the next Mane.

Who said that? Because he is from the same continent of over 1 billion people and plays in a similar position?

Edited 25 May, 2021 by Matthew Le God

[JustinSFC]

6 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Who said that? Because he is from the same continent of over 1 billion people and plays in a similar position?

I did.

[nta786]

6 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Who said that? Because he is from the same continent of over 1 billion people and plays in a similar position?

I am pretty sure he said it himself - "I will do my best to become the next Sadio Mane"

https://talksport.com/football/713089/moussa-djenepo-exclusive-southampton-sadio-mane-danny-ings/

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/18496585.southampton-winger-moussa-djenepo-backs-surpass-sadio-mane/

[Toussaint]

The best and only place for Moussa to be effective is causing chaos in and around the opposition penalty area, he will always struggle to impress in the role Ralphie boy is asking of him. 

[davefizzy14]

Moussa is only 22 years old and yet some people on here are writing him off already! He has shown glimpses of what he can do and I'm sure with a proper pre season he will prosper when we signed him in the summer of two years ago he went straight to the African Cup of Nations to play for Mali and didn't have a preseason as he joined the rest of the squad just before the season started. And last summer there was no pre season atall due to the pandemic and last season ending in July after project restart.

Edited 25 May, 2021 by davefizzy14

[stknowle]

4 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

I’d take any reasonably good offer, just seems like the next Gaston/Boufal to me.

His time with us is virtually a carbon copy of Boufal's first 2 seasons. 2 seasons, 2 outstanding goals, a couple of other goals, very little else.  He tries really hard and so did Boufal, He gets injured a lot and so did Boufal. 

Edited 25 May, 2021 by stknowle

[Lighthouse]

37 minutes ago, davefizzy14 said:

Moussa is only 22 years old and yet some people on here are writing him off already! He has shown glimpses of what he can do and I'm sure with a proper pre season he will prosper when we signed him in the summer of two years ago he went straight to the African Cup of Nations to play for Mali and didn't have a preseason as he joined the rest of the squad just before the season started. And last summer there was no pre season atall due to the pandemic and last season ending in July after project restart.

This is a copy and paste of all the things we said about Boufal (minus the bit about it being four different managers’ fault for not playing him correctly). The fact is that in two years he just hasn’t shown any progression or development at all. He looks no better a player now than he did in 2019.

[TWar]

The big difference between Djenepo and Boufal is when we signed Boufal he was just about to turn 23. Djenepo is still only 22 and signed at 20. Boufal failing between the ages of 23 and 26 is him failing for a chunk of his prime. Djenepo failing between 20 and 22 is much more acceptable. He is still very young, just over a year older than Tella, still plenty of time to come good.

[Lighthouse]

7 minutes ago, TWar said:

The big difference between Djenepo and Boufal is when we signed Boufal he was just about to turn 23. Djenepo is still only 22 and signed at 20. Boufal failing between the ages of 23 and 26 is him failing for a chunk of his prime. Djenepo failing between 20 and 22 is much more acceptable. He is still very young, just over a year older than Tella, still plenty of time to come good.

It’s not so much about age as it is his development and there just isn’t any. You could have written that post about any League 2 player the same age, you can’t just cling on to them and hope they improve, based on no actual evidence on the pitch.

[Turkish]

11 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

It’s not so much about age as it is his development and there just isn’t any. You could have written that post about any League 2 player the same age, you can’t just cling on to them and hope they improve, based on no actual evidence on the pitch.

I thought we signed young, hungry players who are therefore guaranteed to improve?

[saint1977]

49 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

This is a copy and paste of all the things we said about Boufal (minus the bit about it being four different managers’ fault for not playing him correctly). The fact is that in two years he just hasn’t shown any progression or development at all. He looks no better a player now than he did in 2019.

Worse I’d say, there was some spontaneity about his play first season - Sheffield Utd, Brighton, Watford. That went last season, partly because of tactics eg Burnley away but Moussa never really got going. Wouldn’t be upset if he stayed as defensively better than Boufal and quicker, but not encouraging that he can’t oust Redmond when the latter has been playing like a League 2 winger winning a prize to play in PL games from a biscuit wrapper competition, although that doesn’t reflect well on Ralph either. Redmond needs to move on for his sake and given Theo has signed in and RH identified wingers as priorities he may be on his way out.

Edited 25 May, 2021 by saint1977

[sydney_saint]

It's a difficult one as he has shown glimpses of quality and shown in other moments that he's out of his depth. What he hasn't had is a consecutive run of matches to really build up some form and rhythm. Which is really important at his age as me moves from a younger player to a proper member of the first Xi. 

Some of that has been down to injuries, and a lot of that has been down to Ralphs judgement. Though in Djenepos defence I don't really trust Ralphs judgement for players in that position, with the exception of Armstrong.

[woodsaint1]

Hasnt convinced me at all since his initial purple patch and I'm not buying the "hes still young" argument. A younger Tella is streaks ahead of him at the moment in terms of impact and potential.

If we can move him on for something similar to what we paid and use the money for the likes of Rashica or Danjuma then that would be good business imo.

[skintsaint]

Worth a few goals and assists a season but easily replaceable on his showings so far. Doesn't score taps ins though.

[Saint Billy]

He does show glimpses of ability but I think the Premiership is a tough league for players who like to hold the ball and run with it as time and space are in short supply. 

Anyone who is consistently good at it is snapped up pretty quickly by the bigger clubs anyway so it is a viscous circle. 

[ButtikonSaint]

Very much agree with @saintwbu . He hasn't been played in his natural position for any sustained period of time (I'd say a roaming attacking midfielder) but has shown he can play a role for the team especially supporting the left/right backs - he just needs to stay away from our own penalty area.  He's talented, young and looks still hungry but really needs to beef up. We might see a better side of him after a rest this summer and a proper pre-season (although that could be said about any of our players).  Unsure a year loan would afford him stability and opportunity for growth. Lastly, we have plenty of other issues on and off the field to take care of first (back-line, deadwood, etc...)

[egg]

He's flattered to deceive again. A downgrade on Boufal for me, and offers more than Tella. If we didn't have him, I'm not sure we'd miss him. 

[Toussaint]

16 minutes ago, egg said:

He's flattered to deceive again. A downgrade on Boufal for me, and offers more than Tella. If we didn't have him, I'm not sure we'd miss him. 

As it stands we wouldn’t miss him, but I think the issue is if he went to a team that allowed him to play to his strengths we may well regret having let him go. 

[Badger]

11 minutes ago, Toussaint said:

As it stands we wouldn’t miss him, but I think the issue is if he went to a team that allowed him to play to his strengths we may well regret having let him go. 

Chance we have to take though. If we retained players on the strength of they might reach their potential if they improve (elsewhere) we'd still have Nile Ranger with us and a squad size of about 60 names, mostly loaned out.

Unfortunately it seems Saints end up with two types of player, those we want to keep and can't, and those we don't want but can't get rid of whilst under (lucrative) contracts.

[John B]

He is typical of quite a few of the younger players we have brought in that it is hoped they will develop into quality PL players.

However it is difficult for this to happen and is bound to take time if they are continually in and out of the side especially if they are under pressure to succeed in a poor performing team.

There is no decent reserve team football where players can find form and gain confidence the odd twenty minutes in the PL when we are chasing the game is far from ideal

I wish we would just buy some experience players like we used to do like we just seem to be losing money on young players who we hope will become the next Mane  but that seems to be our strategy possibly because our Academy is not developing young PL standard players

I do think it is a good idea getting experienced players like Walcott to help the youngsters despite my misgivings of his ability as a footballer who I have always thought flatters to deceive 

[Lord Duckhunter]

He’s fucking pony.

 

Or should I say, he’s been fucking pony. Whether he continues to be pony is open to debate, but nothing I’ve seen suggests that he’ll turn it round. He rolls around like a big fairy whenever he gets a mild bit of clog, so needs to toughen up. So far he’s been no better than Mo at Celtic, and has certainly been worse than Boufal or Gaston were. 

Edited 26 May, 2021 by Lord Duckhunter

[Chez]

We all want him to be he next Mane and he has time on his side, but right now he doesn't seem to have any idea what he is meant to do and the output we get is almost non existent. If he could  blossom, then a lot of our problems in the final third would be solved, but something has to change with him, be it his approach, confidence and coaching or all of those things, otherwise we will continue to create very little and suffer as a result.

I know it's the modern game, but I just cant have his crying and feigning of injury. It's embarrassing and if it was an opposing player he'd get dogs abuse from me.

[sydney_saint]

55 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

He’s fucking pony.

 

Or should I say, he’s been fucking pony. Whether he continues to be pony is open to debate, but nothing I’ve seen suggests that he’ll turn it round. He rolls around like a big fairy whenever he gets a mild bit of clog, so needs to toughen up. So far he’s been no better than Mo at Celtic, and has certainly been worse than Boufal or Gaston were. 

Did you watch the Chelsea the game? He got booted hell for leather that game and kept getting up and flying into tackles. It's not his natural game, but he has shown some effort and desire to get used to the physical side of the game. Whether he can do it or not is very debatable. It's very difficult for a player to only have 20 minutes here and there to make an impression. Would have liked to have seen him get a run of games end of season when we were safe to help answer the question on whether he's good enough. Instead we wasted it on Redmond. 

Edited 26 May, 2021 by sydney_saint

[The Cat]

28 minutes ago, Chez said:

I know it's the modern game, but I just cant have his crying and feigning of injury. It's embarrassing and if it was an opposing player he'd get dogs abuse from me.

That really winds me up. I have no qualms about giving our own players a bit of abuse if they roll around making out they are hurt and Djenepo is easily the worst for this sort of behaviour.

[the saint in winchester]

9 minutes ago, The Cat said:

That really winds me up. I have no qualms about giving our own players a bit of abuse if they roll around making out they are hurt and Djenepo is easily the worst for this sort of behaviour.

He's not 'feigning injury'; he is genuinely getting hurt. I fear the EPL is (allowed to be) more physical than his body physiology is suited for. The role RH is asking him to play, and the physical side, are not ideal for him. I don't agree with telling him to bulk up, he is what he is. He is lithe and skinny, and a style of play based on skills would be better for him. I don't think that it is in the UK leagues.

[Lord Duckhunter]

6 minutes ago, the saint in winchester said:

He's not 'feigning injury'; he is genuinely getting hurt. I fear the EPL is (allowed to be) more physical than his body physiology is suited for. The role RH is asking him to play, and the physical side, are not ideal for him. I don't agree with telling him to bulk up, he is what he is. He is lithe and skinny, and a style of play based on skills would be better for him. I don't think that it is in the UK leagues.

He’s soft as shite and he makes a meal of the slightest contact. Pretty much every players does it nowadays, but he’s one of the worst. He needs to man up. 

[Fan The Flames]

It's a bad habit players get into and it becomes an automatic response (I'm sure Ralph is pleased). We have a couple of blokes who constantly embarrass themselves at my football, one screams as he goes down and is a bulky pumped up prison warder.

[Mystic Force]

In many games he appeared to be our only creative spark , but would invariably get scythed down by the oppositions crunching tackle with no one else really working to help out or make the most. I think he is better than some of those other players that have had "moment" but ultimately ended up loaned out. To shine he needs to be in a more advance position than he was often played at. I am hopeful for this one in away that a bunch of others flattered to deceive.

[ally_uk]

If a club came in with 10 million i'd take the money and run to the championship and sign the best upcoming winger we can find 

[ErwinK1961]

Not sure he's going to ever make it in the Prem unfortunately, too brittle. But as others have said, he's not exactly had a consistent run of games (would we have been any worse him playing all the games Redmond shouldn't have?) and I don't think our '10' role really suits him at all. Needs a bit of freedom to get the best out of him.

[Jeremy Corbyn]

If he were to get a bit stronger and less brittle it would make a huge difference.  I also don't think he's been given a fair crack, he's not been amazing but he's shown enough to have been given a bit more of a run at some point.

[Chapel End]

4 hours ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

He’s soft as shite and he makes a meal of the slightest contact. Pretty much every players does it nowadays, but he’s one of the worst. He needs to man up. 

Bet he wishes he was big and tough as you.

You should apply to be our "man up"coach