Teddeer Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 1 hour ago, Saint Matty 76 said: Worrall looking solid, again. Thought he was pretty average and didn't look as good as what we have. Maybe 4th choice cover at best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teddeer Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 1 hour ago, ally_uk said: That O'brien lad at Hudds looks good 👍 Reminds me a little of Neil Lennon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusic Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 Garner will be much more difficult to sign now as Forest will clearly want him back. Agree O'Brien looked good. Leeds have nearly signed him a couple of times and are supposed to be back in for him. Colwill recovered well from the unfortunate OG. Kept the (over?) hyped Johnson to a non entity in the game. Worrall a typical Championship defender who got done every time in a wide position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint86 Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 (edited) On 28/05/2022 at 08:59, Convict Colony said: I really hope we can get someone in midfield who can move the ball forward quickly for the attackers/wide men to directly attack the goal (eriksen/playmaker type). I feel we are too stodgy and predictable for a while, we mess around in midfield and then pass out to wingers to try and make something happen as the other teams reset in defence. I think with JWP in midfield " he's the playmaker" we sort of have our own Ronaldo issue. He scores mainly deadball goals, provides assists but in open play he is not the man to do the quick pass forward, creative through ball etc (in my opinion, neither is Romeu), therefore is the JWP, Romeu, Diallo too conservative for our side in an attacking sense. I don't know the answers but they've been our mainstays in midfield for a while now and Danny Ings aside all our forwards have struggled. We need a 3 man midfield, with romeu sitting, JWP box to box, and someone like eriksen being given the freedom to play (due to the other 2) and create. Edited 29 May, 2022 by Saint86 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Clarke Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 Worrell isn't streets ahead of what we have, in my opinion. He's like Liam Cooper who came up with Leeds, top in the Champ but will likley be average in the top league. I do like Garner though, I think he's such a tidy midfielder. The links we have are very predictable though. Colwill, Gibbs-White, Garner - all would have been in the England youth teams when Crocker was in charge. Talented young players, but I'd like to see some links to experienced players too! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Clarke Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 Shane Long can 'keep on going in the summer' as contract end approaches | Daily Echo Please don't, Saints. Please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holmes_and_Watson Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 5 minutes ago, S-Clarke said: Shane Long can 'keep on going in the summer' as contract end approaches | Daily Echo Please don't, Saints. Please. I just read it as Ralph letting other clubs know of Long's qualities before he leaves. He might be a great guy, but we need some goals. Freeing up those wages increases the pennies we have to bring that in (hopefully). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 (edited) Missed the boat with Worrall. He's the natural leader we needed. Edited 29 May, 2022 by Disco Stu 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_clark Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 Would anyone consider Danny Drinkwater on a free transfer to add a bit of experience to the squad as well as competition in midfield? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Matty 76 Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 Just now, Saint_clark said: Would anyone consider Danny Drinkwater on a free transfer to add a bit of experience to the squad as well as competition in midfield? Not a chance. Not impressed on progressively lower-level loans, and I have it in good knowledge that he's a huge cunt. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSAINT Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 2 minutes ago, Saint_clark said: Would anyone consider Danny Drinkwater on a free transfer to add a bit of experience to the squad as well as competition in midfield? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waylander Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 6 minutes ago, Disco Stu said: Missed the boat with Worrall. He's the natural leader we needed. No better than Jack Stephens 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 4 minutes ago, Saint_clark said: Would anyone consider Danny Drinkwater on a free transfer to add a bit of experience to the squad as well as competition in midfield? Experience of failing to make any kind of impression for 5 years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 2 minutes ago, waylander said: No better than Jack Stephens You'll find out next season that you're wrong about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_clark Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 8 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said: Experience of failing to make any kind of impression for 5 years? Experience of fighting relegation and winning the league. That kind of dismissive mentality would have seen us never buy Marsden... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Saint_clark said: Experience of fighting relegation and winning the league. That kind of dismissive mentality would have seen us never buy Marsden... They are not comparable. - Chris Marsden was a late developer and joined us on the rise aged 30. - Danny Drinkwater is 32 and has been on the decline for 5 years! He has just spent a season in a Championship relegation campaign. He is not remotely close to the level he was when at Leicester. Edited 29 May, 2022 by Matthew Le God 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lighthouse Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 We don’t need experience, we need good. This isn’t some ‘92 class of talented kids or first timers just promoted from the Championship. We have several players in their thirties who’ve been playing at this level for a decade. They have nothing to learn from Drinkwater or any other ‘experienced’ player. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kraken Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 If anyone thinks Danny DrinkDriver is the answer, I’d hate to know what the question is. 1 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 2 minutes ago, The Kraken said: If anyone thinks Danny DrinkDriver is the answer, I’d hate to know what the question is. Who is one player you are absolutely adamant your club should not sign this summer? 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kraken Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 3 minutes ago, Turkish said: Who is one player you are absolutely adamant your club should not sign this summer? Get Uncle Les on the phone, I’m sure he’s got them on speed dial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 29 May, 2022 Share Posted 29 May, 2022 3 minutes ago, The Kraken said: Get Uncle Les on the phone, I’m sure he’s got them on speed dial. I spoke to Les earlier. He’s comfortable with the situation and looking forward to the nap after the buffet after todays play off final. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smirking_Saint Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 (edited) 3 hours ago, Lighthouse said: We don’t need experience, we need good. This isn’t some ‘92 class of talented kids or first timers just promoted from the Championship. We have several players in their thirties who’ve been playing at this level for a decade. They have nothing to learn from Drinkwater or any other ‘experienced’ player. I don’t think we need experience, but I do think we need one or two around the place that are natural leaders, I just don’t see any at all in our squad But as per Drinkwater, he absolutely isn’t anywhere close to having any conceivable quality we need Edited 30 May, 2022 by Smirking_Saint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smirking_Saint Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 3 hours ago, waylander said: No better than Jack Stephens You’d be hard pressed to be worse tbf Stephens is about as average a prem CB you can get… awful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 (edited) 9 minutes ago, Smirking_Saint said: You’d be hard pressed to be worse tbf Stephens is about as average a prem CB you can get… awful If he is 'average" how can he also be 'awful'? 🤔 Edited 30 May, 2022 by Matthew Le God Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smirking_Saint Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 13 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said: If he is 'average" how can he also be 'awful'? 🤔 Im happy to stick with awful if you like ? With the odd visit to average on days he plays above his ability ? My issue with Stephens overall is he is very much a reactive defender, he shows little to no defensive awareness really. He is reasonably good in the tackle, but lacks the ability to mark effectively or see any danger before it arrives, so yes, sometimes he gets away with it (average) but generally he does not (awful) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kraken Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 3 minutes ago, Smirking_Saint said: Im happy to stick with awful if you like ? With the odd visit to average on days he plays above his ability ? Pretty much a spot on assessment IMO. Stephens has occasions when he looks actually quite a reasonable player. Never amazing, but if he’s on top of his game you think ‘ok, there’s a player there’. But then just far, far too often he reverts to type, there’s too many mistakes in him, and at this level he just simply isn’t good enough. The fact that fans on here says he’s just about alright for a fourth choice centre back says a lot. He seems a good lad, I’m sure he trains hard, but he’s just a bit too awful too often. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 15 minutes ago, Smirking_Saint said: Im happy to stick with awful if you like ? With the odd visit to average on days he plays above his ability ? My issue with Stephens overall is he is very much a reactive defender, he shows little to no defensive awareness really. He is reasonably good in the tackle, but lacks the ability to mark effectively or see any danger before it arrives, so yes, sometimes he gets away with it (average) but generally he does not (awful) 8 minutes ago, The Kraken said: Pretty much a spot on assessment IMO. Stephens has occasions when he looks actually quite a reasonable player. Never amazing, but if he’s on top of his game you think ‘ok, there’s a player there’. But then just far, far too often he reverts to type, there’s too many mistakes in him, and at this level he just simply isn’t good enough. The fact that fans on here says he’s just about alright for a fourth choice centre back says a lot. He seems a good lad, I’m sure he trains hard, but he’s just a bit too awful too often. Saints probably should be looking to offload him and upgrade him. He is an upper Championship quality player really. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 8 hours ago, Smirking_Saint said: You’d be hard pressed to be worse tbf Stephens is about as average a prem CB you can get… awful That’s because he’s not a prem CB. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 8 hours ago, Smirking_Saint said: Im happy to stick with awful if you like ? With the odd visit to average on days he plays above his ability ? My issue with Stephens overall is he is very much a reactive defender, he shows little to no defensive awareness really. He is reasonably good in the tackle, but lacks the ability to mark effectively or see any danger before it arrives, so yes, sometimes he gets away with it (average) but generally he does not (awful) Yep his best games I can remember have been when we’ve been under a lot of pressure. When we beat Liverpool and Man City 1-0 at home he was very good, because a lot of what he had to do was reactive. It’s in games when he has to be proactive, mark properly, sniff out danger he struggles and time and time again he comes into the team has a couple of good games and then quickly reverts to type of making poor errors and lapses in concentration. It’s a shame because he seems like a decent enough lad just not quite up to it. At his age now he isn’t going to get any better either. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 2 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said: That’s because he’s not a prem CB. I doubt he would agree with you as he has played over a 100 PL games Cost £150k so good business I would have thought 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusic Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 (edited) Lots of people are saying we need "experience" but if you look at our best and most commonly selected team from last season you could make a good argument against that being an issue: Our best XI by age: 34 19, 23, 26, 25 30, 27, 30, 27 20, 25 Only Livramento is very inexperienced and he was one of our best players. Many are in the prime of their careers. The only area you could really point to is at CB. But Bednarek has over 100 PL games for Saints, 39 caps for Poland and has played in two Intl tournaments. Salisu has 70 games at La Liga or PL level under his belt. They aren't novices! Quality, and specifically depth of it is what we need. Not experience. Edited 30 May, 2022 by Dusic 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smirking_Saint Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 6 minutes ago, John B said: I doubt he would agree with you as he has played over a 100 PL games Cost £150k so good business I would have thought When you put it like that then yes, it is good business, but ultimately him playing over 100 games for us, majority (if not all I can’t remember) in the prem shows where our level is and why we have never kicked on He seems a nice guy, is committed, shows plenty of passion… but he is very limited and if we rely on him for too long then we leak goals 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 9 minutes ago, Smirking_Saint said: When you put it like that then yes, it is good business, but ultimately him playing over 100 games for us, majority (if not all I can’t remember) in the prem shows where our level is and why we have never kicked on He seems a nice guy, is committed, shows plenty of passion… but he is very limited and if we rely on him for too long then we leak goals We are Southampton F C of course I would like to see better players but our finances do not allow us that luxury I do not like fans continually complaining about players especially Stephens who does his best but he is not one of the best CBs in the PL I am a suporter so I support our players until better ones come along We have only hardly spent mega millions since we have been in the PL and without financial clout the strategy the club is adopting is the probably the only one to stay in the PL Football is all about money the more a club has the more likely it will have success but essentially it is a game and our players although not the best are pretty decent otherwise they would not be playing in the PL sometimes when everything clicks and the opposition is below par we do have some decent results. In the sixty odd years I have followed the Saints the only consistent thing about them has been their inconsistency because they do not have many outstanding players who consistently perform to high standards 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee On Solent Saint Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 Seen a couple of reports stating that Che Adams is a target for Leeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 5 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said: Seen a couple of reports stating that Che Adams is a target for Leeds. They aren't really 'new' reports linking him, they are suggestions on who Leeds should buy based on Adams previously being linked quite a while ago. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Appy Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 23 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said: They aren't really 'new' reports linking him, they are suggestions on who Leeds should buy based on Adams previously being linked quite a while ago. He didn’t say they were “new reports” 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy the Kidd Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 25 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said: They aren't really 'new' reports linking him, they are suggestions on who Leeds should buy based on Adams previously being linked quite a while ago. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 (edited) 23 minutes ago, Appy said: He didn’t say they were “new reports” I didn't say he did. But there was a Leeds report where the author was suggesting Leeds should go for Adams having previously been linked with him over a year ago. That doesn't constitute a transfer rumour. Other articles have now sprung up based on that article and fans are now thinking it is a rumour rather than the random musing that it actually is! Edited 30 May, 2022 by Matthew Le God Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 20 minutes ago, Billy the Kidd said: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 Will Smallbone linked to Nottingham Forest... https://strettynews.com/2022/05/30/exclusive-garner-handed-man-united-boost-after-forest-discuss-saints-midfielder/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatlesaint Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 26 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said: Will Smallbone linked to Nottingham Forest... https://strettynews.com/2022/05/30/exclusive-garner-handed-man-united-boost-after-forest-discuss-saints-midfielder/ wow ! I cant believe that for a minute Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Clarke Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 37 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said: Will Smallbone linked to Nottingham Forest... https://strettynews.com/2022/05/30/exclusive-garner-handed-man-united-boost-after-forest-discuss-saints-midfielder/ Maybe this is more of a case of an option had they stayed down? That I could somewhat believe. But If they can't keep Garner they'll have to aim higher than Smallbone to stand a cat in hells chance of survival. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarvSFC Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 Yeah, Smallbone and Garner are completely different midfielders. Smallbone's more attacking, not very physical and plays a more technical game, while Garner is like a mosquito, makes great recovery tackles, excellent energy and wins the ball back well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 1 hour ago, Matthew Le God said: Will Smallbone linked to Nottingham Forest... https://strettynews.com/2022/05/30/exclusive-garner-handed-man-united-boost-after-forest-discuss-saints-midfielder/ Good old Forest. First they give us a million quid for McGoldrick, effectively funding Sir Ricky's transfer, then they take Fox off our hands and now Smallbone. I will believe it when I see it though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smirking_Saint Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 4 hours ago, John B said: We are Southampton F C of course I would like to see better players but our finances do not allow us that luxury I do not like fans continually complaining about players especially Stephens who does his best but he is not one of the best CBs in the PL I am a suporter so I support our players until better ones come along We have only hardly spent mega millions since we have been in the PL and without financial clout the strategy the club is adopting is the probably the only one to stay in the PL Football is all about money the more a club has the more likely it will have success but essentially it is a game and our players although not the best are pretty decent otherwise they would not be playing in the PL sometimes when everything clicks and the opposition is below par we do have some decent results. In the sixty odd years I have followed the Saints the only consistent thing about them has been their inconsistency because they do not have many outstanding players who consistently perform to high standards Im not ‘continually complaining’ not at all, if anything I tend to be one of the more optimistic of fans, but this is a forum within which we discuss the club’s limitations and areas of concern On our day we are a capable outfit, we have shown that with significant purple patches throughout the last 2-3 years, unfortunately though this is interwoven with periods of dross, now, this of course is down to a multitude of factors, tactics, player ability and mentality Ill support Stephens every time he wears the shirt, Im not the sort to ever boo, but Im not going to just pretend he isn’t the limited player that he is because I bleed red and white, I want the best for this club, and continuing on with starters of his ability is costing us whether we like it or not Do we have significant budgets ? No In some ways I would, in others I wouldn’t want the care free spending that City etc have, its of course exciting but I do think it leads to a breakdown in identity… however because of our low budget we need to make good decisions in the transfer market, and we simply have wasted what we have, in the main Im not sitting here bashing the club, or the players, or even Ralph, we’ve punched above our weight at times but we’ve also significantly under achieved too, and in order to reduce that inconsistency is to bring in better than what we have, thats football unfortunately and Im not going to apologise for discussing that 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smirking_Saint Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 10 minutes ago, Chez said: Good old Forest. First they give us a million quid for McGoldrick, effectively funding Sir Ricky's transfer, then they take Fox off our hands and now Smallbone. I will believe it when I see it though. So what to we reckon ? Shill them Smallbone and then hope that enables us the opportunity to jump ahead of them for Garner ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Matty 76 Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 I'd be extremely surprised if they were looking at Smallbone having just been promoted. Absolutely nothing against the bloke who's had a horrible time of it over the past few years, but he hasn't once looked capable of this level. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectisSaint Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 13 hours ago, Smirking_Saint said: You’d be hard pressed to be worse tbf Stephens is about as average a prem CB you can get… awful If he is average, then there must be equally as many worse than him as there are better (hope I am not sounding like MLG but when you spout bollocks you deserve to be pulled up for it). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 1 minute ago, VectisSaint said: If he is average, then there must be equally as many worse than him as there are better (hope I am not sounding like MLG but when you spout bollocks you deserve to be pulled up for it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild-saint Posted 30 May, 2022 Share Posted 30 May, 2022 (edited) On 25/05/2022 at 20:15, dronskisaint said: West Ham and Villa only have a slightly better chance of finishing higher than us.....anything less than a bank/country/corporation owned club in the top four is not really kicking on...not that I want him to go. I hope he stays happy here and we build our next team around him. 51 minutes ago, VectisSaint said: If he is average, then there must be equally as many worse than him as there are better (hope I am not sounding like MLG but when you spout bollocks you deserve to be pulled up for it). And the average must therefore include anyone who is currently playing centre back at any level on the entire planet. If that is the case I’d suggest he is slightly below average. Edited 30 May, 2022 by wild-saint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now