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Saints 2-0 Everton - Match Thread


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1 hour ago, John Boy Saint said:

Very nice to walk out of the ground have seen what we hoped for walking in. Once we got our heads round Perraud not being there and running  the wrong way for a change, we settled and Everton looked to run out of ideas. The chat last week from Everton players was they have been given freedom to play their football by Super Frank. As the half wore on it looked like all Franks Dogs were off the lead, excitedly running round pretty aimlessly. Second half was as if Ralph told them to stop playing with their food and get on with it. Said to Mrs JBS some of this is sublime, she replied what has someone done to our team!! At   Tottenham when our tails were up, Spurs were chasing shadows, Everton today couldn’t be bothered in the end.

Thought Mr Madley had a good game on the whistle, especially not buying the rolling about which Everton gave up trying to sell him. One funny moment when Che had been kicked for the umpteenth time and sat on the pitch Coleman first seemingly calling out our “60-70 minute cheat” telling Che to get up - then telling the ref we were cheating, not doubt quoting The Sun, The Mirror, and the Athletic.

Romeu was my man of the match - he is like a fine wine.

Atmosphere in the ground was pretty good too.

Lets hope we can keep it going.

 

Nicely put.

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1 hour ago, John Boy Saint said:

Very nice to walk out of the ground have seen what we hoped for walking in. Once we got our heads round Perraud not being there and running  the wrong way for a change, we settled and Everton looked to run out of ideas. The chat last week from Everton players was they have been given freedom to play their football by Super Frank. As the half wore on it looked like all Franks Dogs were off the lead, excitedly running round pretty aimlessly. Second half was as if Ralph told them to stop playing with their food and get on with it. Said to Mrs JBS some of this is sublime, she replied what has someone done to our team!! At   Tottenham when our tails were up, Spurs were chasing shadows, Everton today couldn’t be bothered in the end.

Thought Mr Madley had a good game on the whistle, especially not buying the rolling about which Everton gave up trying to sell him. One funny moment when Che had been kicked for the umpteenth time and sat on the pitch Coleman first seemingly calling out our “60-70 minute cheat” telling Che to get up - then telling the ref we were cheating, not doubt quoting The Sun, The Mirror, and the Athletic.

Romeu was my man of the match - he is like a fine wine.

Atmosphere in the ground was pretty good too.

Lets hope we can keep it going.

 

You had to bring half time food into it didn’t you 🙄😉

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1 hour ago, Saint Keef said:

Let me help you with your dilemma .....Stuart Armstrong. 😀

I agree, KWP and Romeu were immense, but in my eyes Stu was "immenser". Hope that helps!  

 

He’s a bloody excellent player. £7m is an incredible bit of business. Gives us so much drive and energy from midfield, if he’s scored that goal for city or Liverpool it’d be played 100 times tonight 

 

As for great business so is £5m for Romeu. Elyanoussi now showing his class too. Maybe bumbling Les wasn’t so bad after all….

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I think Frank is possibly being a little disingenuous with his post-match comments, throwing his players under the bus a little. The long ball strategy surely came from the manager, and in fairness it's not a bad one against us. Bednarek has struggled before and we all remember DCL dominating Salisu last season, but we dealt with it much better today. I think Route 1 isn't fashionable and the Everton fans wouldn't be happy if the boss came out and confirmed it.

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Apart from first 10’in east half we bossed it - first half start was hard as wind really playing a part but as soon as we settled we were really good.

Romeu , JWP and Armstrong were outstanding today, Bednarek had his best game in a long time. 
Salisu started wobbly but wasn’t bossed this time by Calvert-Lewin and dug in well.

KWP was always an outlet , I love the way we are playing at moment such commitment and energy from everyone.

I thought we missed Perraud and balance he brings but a very good performance from everyone not Broja best game but he is a threat.

We needed that second goal to complete our domination and reward the team plus the fans really played part today.

A lot of my usual match goer friends were missing today due to Covid all ST holders so part of reason why so many empty seats plus trains nightmare.

Great feeling walking away from ground a joy to watch after the Puel, Pellegrino and Hughes seasons we now have a good team to watch.

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Have to admit feeling initially disappointed that Ralph tinkered and brought in Tino to replace Perraud, but I understand Romain has covid.  I needn’t have worried - once we found time to get our passing game going we dominated a very lacklustre Everton side. 2-0 flattered them frankly and we always deserved the win.

So many good performances again - lots of 2nd balls won, just nicking the ball away.  But my MOTM is Armstrong…everything good seemed to go through him…as good a box to box midfielder as you’re likely to see. JWP & Romeu were immense once again…one of a few very solid partnerships forming around the team. Ralph is building something very special here.

My one concern is Broja - lose him next season and fail to replace with equal quality will be a huge mistake. A Armstrong and Redmond or even Longy are not the answers.

Edited by Saint Fan CaM
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1 hour ago, Turkish said:

He’s a bloody excellent player. £7m is an incredible bit of business. Gives us so much drive and energy from midfield, if he’s scored that goal for city or Liverpool it’d be played 100 times tonight 

 

As for great business so is £5m for Romeu. Elyanoussi now showing his class too. Maybe bumbling Les wasn’t so bad after all….

Yes, one of the many great things about watching that win today were the performances of Romeu and Armstrong - with their combined purchase price of 12m pounds.   Best game I've seen from Armstrong, particularly first half.  With the full backs playing high up the field, Armstrong's central midfield runs; his touch and passing, capped with the strike would usually make him a stand out mom.  As it was, Romeu, and the second half efforts of KWP put them in the frame too.    Add Adams, JWP, Elyounoussi, Salisu, TIno all as stand out performers and it made for a dominating win which is exactly what it looked like for all but 10 minutes.   

Everton's touted Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin were completely shut down by our back 4 - their midfield Allan, Gomes, Gordon undone by Romeu, JWP and Armstrong, and were left to commit cynical fouls.    Romeu and JWP made so many quick, progressive passes today to willing runners which was such a contrast to the slow build up style of not long ago.

Played them off the park today, a joy to watch.   And full marks to a referee who let the game flow - only 15 fouls given in the match!   And it was the only column the Toffees won all day....9-6.

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2 hours ago, Turkish said:

He’s a bloody excellent player. £7m is an incredible bit of business. Gives us so much drive and energy from midfield, if he’s scored that goal for city or Liverpool it’d be played 100 times tonight 

 

As for great business so is £5m for Romeu. Elyanoussi now showing his class too. Maybe bumbling Les wasn’t so bad after all….

Yeah I agree. In today's market Stu has to be a £35m + player. And Oriol is invaluable to our system. His understanding with JWP just goes from strength to strength. Hard to put any price on him. And JWP.....playing better than ever. He was everywhere again today. Got to be north of £70m now.  Happy Days.

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Hats off to everyone yesterday.. had a great 👍🏻 day .. post match drinks with a local toffee was smug as f**k! He reckons our midfield is the best working midfield he’s seen in 30 years down here! Armstrong and moi tucking in and out and the one holds one goes rom and Jwp were phenomenal he said ! 
very poor Everton side I thought but we move the ball so well Winning the ball back high up the field 2nd half had Everton all at sea !!Kwp could play for England left or right back has to be in Southgates plans ! Romeu won everything today! But stu Armstrong is that player who gets you off you’re seat wen he picks the ball up and was outstanding yesterday! Oh take a bow and a massive Well done to Shane  long !!!!!💪🏻Showed Broja where the goal was yesterday !

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33 minutes ago, Chris cooper said:

Hats off to everyone yesterday.. had a great 👍🏻 day .. post match drinks with a local toffee was smug as f**k! He reckons our midfield is the best working midfield he’s seen in 30 years down here! Armstrong and moi tucking in and out and the one holds one goes rom and Jwp were phenomenal he said ! 
very poor Everton side I thought but we move the ball so well Winning the ball back high up the field 2nd half had Everton all at sea !!Kwp could play for England left or right back has to be in Southgates plans ! Romeu won everything today! But stu Armstrong is that player who gets you off you’re seat wen he picks the ball up and was outstanding yesterday! Oh take a bow and a massive Well done to Shane  long !!!!!💪🏻Showed Broja where the goal was yesterday !

I think he's right. Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Romeu & Elyounoussi may not be the best individual midfielders in the Premier League but as a unit they are second to none.

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7 hours ago, Give it to Ron said:

KWP was always an outlet , I love the way we are playing at moment such commitment and energy from everyone.

I thought we missed Perraud and balance he brings but a very good performance from everyone not Broja best game but he is a threat.

 

If Perraud didn't have Covid I wouldn't have picked Tino, but I thought that Livramento played well. 

There seems to be a persistent comment on the Forum that we lack balance when Perraud isn't left back. I seem to be in the minority but am unconvinced that this is a significant issue. Tino is a good right back and will improve, KWP is a decent left back and three times yesterday nearly scored when he cut in from the left to shoot with his right, which is a useful weapon to have. He also scored the winner against Coventry when he did the same. 

I really like Perraud's attitude and he played really well in recent games, but we have three very good full backs and whatever combination we play I don't think it affects our performance as much as some of the other recent changes (Forster instead of McCarthy, S Armstrong's return to fitness). 

I'd also add that having Tino as a full back does give us better balance in defending (or attacking) set pieces. Both KWP and Perraud are not the tallest and having Tino in the team does improve our defensive height and physicality, which isn't probably this team's biggest strength; sometimes being a good full back isn't just about running up and down the wing and I am sure Ralph takes this into consideration when he thinks about "team balance". 

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3 minutes ago, WALK DMC said:

If Perraud didn't have Covid I wouldn't have picked Tino, but I thought that Livramento played well. 

There seems to be a persistent comment on the Forum that we lack balance when Perraud isn't left back. I seem to be in the minority but am unconvinced that this is a significant issue. Tino is a good right back and will improve, KWP is a decent left back and three times yesterday nearly scored when he cut in from the left to shoot with his right, which is a useful weapon to have. He also scored the winner against Coventry when he did the same. 

I really like Perraud's attitude and he played really well in recent games, but we have three very good full backs and whatever combination we play I don't think it affects our performance as much as some of the other recent changes (Forster instead of McCarthy, S Armstrong's return to fitness). 

I'd also add that having Tino as a full back does give us better balance in defending (or attacking) set pieces. Both KWP and Perraud are not the tallest and having Tino in the team does improve our defensive height and physicality, which isn't probably this team's biggest strength; sometimes being a good full back isn't just about running up and down the wing and I am sure Ralph takes this into consideration when he thinks about "team balance". 

I agree with you, and although we're probably in the minority amongst posters on here, I think most fans believe that KWP and Tino are both better than Perraud, and that an out of position KWP at LB is a bit better than Perraud. KWP is brilliant at going forward on either side, and as you say, having Tino in the side gives us more height and strength in the team. 

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Just watched the match again. One feature of our play that's come on leaps and bounds is ball retention. We're comfortable playing in tight pockets of space and the players trust each other to receive and move the ball on quickly. Players are making themselves available and know where to expect each other so when we win second balls we are passing rather than hoofing. Everton were left chasing shadows. 

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I just feel slightly guilty that we only won because we had our trademark sneaky illegal drinks and snacks break when Che was violently clattered and refused to get up.

The odd gel is acceptable, but when Ralph wheeled out the BBQ and set up a picnic table and white board in the technical area, it looked too much.

I'm surprised the 4th official didn't stop the coaching staff passing around the plates of sandwiches, sausage rolls and lemon drizzle cake - it's not The Southampton Way.

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16 minutes ago, coalman said:

Just watched the match again. One feature of our play that's come on leaps and bounds is ball retention. We're comfortable playing in tight pockets of space and the players trust each other to receive and move the ball on quickly. Players are making themselves available and know where to expect each other so when we win second balls we are passing rather than hoofing. Everton were left chasing shadows. 

I think that’s because we’ve not got kick and run wingers / forwards in the 10. Armstrong and Moi are pretty good technical players and comfortable receiving the ball in a tight space. 

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6 hours ago, Saint Keef said:

Yeah I agree. In today's market Stu has to be a £35m + player. And Oriol is invaluable to our system. His understanding with JWP just goes from strength to strength. Hard to put any price on him. And JWP.....playing better than ever. He was everywhere again today. Got to be north of £70m now.  Happy Days.

I find it amazing that he's not a regular starter for Scotland. They must have some serious talent in their midfield 

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49 minutes ago, SaintBitterne said:

As said previously Armstrong, Romeu and Bednarek all great.

Broja is undeniably talented, but his decision making needs to improve! A couple of clear opportunities for a pass or earlier shot.

Everton bar the first 10 minutes, woeful. Van de beek, DCL, Holgate shocking.

Up the saints

Well said, SB.

The highlights, first half, show Broja at a tight angle, with two defenders and the keeper between him and goal, choosing to hammer the ball against the closest defender instead making a short lay-off to the unmarked Elyounoussi who had only one defender on the goal line to put a shot past.   Mo showed his frustration at being denied such a clear chance.  

Quite properly, the manager will not be critical in public, and plyers will not speak adversely to camera about each other but it's interesting to speculate at what might have been said at half-time, or in the post-match assessment.  Broja's determinationj to score goals is admirabe but there are times when he needs to remember that it is a team game.  MotD looked at the success of striker oartnerships, such a s Kane and Son.  Partnership requires giving as well as receiving.

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Firstly, Stuart Armstrong has shown up well in the last few games, and looks to be back to his best.  Another nice goal.

We still needed that second goal until Shane Long came on, and surprised everyone with a well-taken header whilst surrounded

by 3 "so-called " defenders, and it was a good goal considering he has missed many easier chances in the last few seasons.

 

Aside from their energetic start Everton looked really off pace and we bullied them out of the game, winning second balls

and dominating the midfield whilst Everton strike duo looked like " paper-tigers " going down in tackles, screaming for fouls

and didn't register a single shot on target between them.

Pickford surely saved them from a more embarrassing scoreline with several good saves, but only thumped balls upfield for our

back line to comfortably gobble up. KWP looks less and less like a full back , and more like an attacking winger with his devastating

runs and was unlucky not to score again.   Romeu and JWP were in their element winning almost every ball in midfield.

Don't know what more we can say about JWP, he seemed to pop-up all over the field;  tacking, defending and creating attacks. 

Whilst many fans are just waiting for his next free-kick opportunity, he is quietly running the whole game like a clock.

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11 hours ago, John Boy Saint said:

One funny moment when Che had been kicked for the umpteenth time and sat on the pitch Coleman first seemingly calling out our “60-70 minute cheat” telling Che to get up - then telling the ref we were cheating, not doubt quoting The Sun, The Mirror, and the Athletic.

 

The thing with this supposed 60th minute ploy is that we might be using it for a breather, a tactical adjustment, and to take on some gels, but there is nothing stopping the opposition doing the same. We are hardly gaining an unfair advantage.

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2 hours ago, WALK DMC said:

If Perraud didn't have Covid I wouldn't have picked Tino, but I thought that Livramento played well. 

There seems to be a persistent comment on the Forum that we lack balance when Perraud isn't left back. I seem to be in the minority but am unconvinced that this is a significant issue. Tino is a good right back and will improve, KWP is a decent left back and three times yesterday nearly scored when he cut in from the left to shoot with his right, which is a useful weapon to have. He also scored the winner against Coventry when he did the same. 

I really like Perraud's attitude and he played really well in recent games, but we have three very good full backs and whatever combination we play I don't think it affects our performance as much as some of the other recent changes (Forster instead of McCarthy, S Armstrong's return to fitness). 

I'd also add that having Tino as a full back does give us better balance in defending (or attacking) set pieces. Both KWP and Perraud are not the tallest and having Tino in the team does improve our defensive height and physicality, which isn't probably this team's biggest strength; sometimes being a good full back isn't just about running up and down the wing and I am sure Ralph takes this into consideration when he thinks about "team balance". 

Fair points but on many occasions yesterday there were times we could have put a cross from line or someone to overlap but went back and across.

Having said that KWP cutting in onto his right troubled them too.

Its great having the choice this year unlike last which is why we struggled in games.

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22 hours ago, Suhari said:

Are you really in Kalasin?

Yes, why not? It's a bit of a weird backwater type of place to claim you live in if you don't. Not exactly a big claim. Truth be told i flit around a bit between BKK, Jomtien and here but will be spending a lot more time here in the future as i get closer to full on feet up retirement days.

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34 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

The thing with this supposed 60th minute ploy is that we might be using it for a breather, a tactical adjustment, and to take on some gels, but there is nothing stopping the opposition doing the same. We are hardly gaining an unfair advantage.

Which Everton duely did, it was around 67mins IIRC, we were looking comfortable and Everton were going nowhere, so the "break" should have benefited them as much if not more. It didn't because we were the better team. Our players took some pretty hefty challenges yesterday.

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Top day out that. Took a while to get going but we were always going to get over the line today. 
 

There aren’t many players in the league I’d want to start over Stu Armstrong when he’s at his best. MOTM for me. Though Romeu deserves a shout, he absolutely bossed the middle of the park today. 
KWP an unbelievable player and getting better every week. 
 

We’re a really, really good side these days.

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Another headed goal from a first time cross from the right. That's the third following JWP's two against Spurs. Surely something that's been planned and worked up on the training ground. Excellent crosses and three tremendous headed goals. The first touch cross must give the defenders just a fraction less time to organise and provide an element of surprise.

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28 minutes ago, Cumbria Saint said:

Another headed goal from a first time cross from the right. That's the third following JWP's two against Spurs. Surely something that's been planned and worked up on the training ground. Excellent crosses and three tremendous headed goals. The first touch cross must give the defenders just a fraction less time to organise and provide an element of surprise.

I’ve always been a fan of one touch football. You don’t see it much in the Premier League and you see plenty of instances in the penalty area where a touch is taken allowing the shot to be blocked.

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10 hours ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Have to admit feeling initially disappointed that Ralph tinkered and brought in Tino to replace Perraud, but I understand Romain has covid.  I needn’t have worried - once we found time to get our passing game going we dominated a very lacklustre Everton side. 2-0 flattered them frankly and we always deserved the win.

So many good performances again - lots of 2nd balls won, just nicking the ball away.  But my MOTM is Armstrong…everything good seemed to go through him…as good a box to box midfielder as you’re likely to see. JWP & Romeu were immense once again…one of a few very solid partnerships forming around the team. Ralph is building something very special here.

My one concern is Broja - lose him next season and fail to replace with equal quality will be a huge mistake. A Armstrong and Redmond or even Longy are not the answers.

Fans:  Losing Broja will be a huge loss

Semmens:  Hold my beer

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2 hours ago, Jessinkalasin said:

Yes, why not? It's a bit of a weird backwater type of place to claim you live in if you don't. Not exactly a big claim. Truth be told i flit around a bit between BKK, Jomtien and here but will be spending a lot more time here in the future as i get closer to full on feet up retirement days.

Agreed!

My wife is from Kalasin, hence your name raising my interest. If you ever see any locals wearing Saints shirts then you've probably spotted my in-laws.

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As a postscript to the game and thinking of our current good form I'm struck with a few lucky chances that seem to have helped us towards what now seems to be our best team.

McCarthy was injured resulting in FF getting a run of games without pressure and is IMO, back to his best.

Likewise Redmond and Elyounoussi, who somehow seems to fit the attack much better than Redmond. And SA seems to have benefitted from a long lay-off.

Livramento making such an impact gave KWP the chance to play on the left, where he's shown a new threat cutting in and shooting, Sterling-style. And with the competition at FB, all three seem to be getting better and better.

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16 hours ago, egg said:

I agree with you, and although we're probably in the minority amongst posters on here, I think most fans believe that KWP and Tino are both better than Perraud, and that an out of position KWP at LB is a bit better than Perraud. KWP is brilliant at going forward on either side, and as you say, having Tino in the side gives us more height and strength in the team. 

Our best performances have still come with Perraud at left back. KWP is brilliant at cutting in and making himself a threat, but the oppo defense know that they don't have to worry about anyone getting round the left and crossing it when he plays. With Perraud in the side, him getting forward down the left means that anyone else in the box is an issue for the defense as he's proven to be a brilliant crosser of the ball. It means the defense are more stretched because they have more to worry about. 

I also think there's a little bit of transfer snobbery going on, as he's an unknown signing from a lesser team for not very much money so fans are not giving him the credit his performances deserve. Since he's come back into the side he's been the best left back in the league for me. 

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18 hours ago, egg said:

I agree with you, and although we're probably in the minority amongst posters on here, I think most fans believe that KWP and Tino are both better than Perraud, and that an out of position KWP at LB is a bit better than Perraud. KWP is brilliant at going forward on either side, and as you say, having Tino in the side gives us more height and strength in the team. 

What tosh! Perraud is better than KWP on the left, any day every day.

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17 hours ago, Suhari said:

Agreed!

My wife is from Kalasin, hence your name raising my interest. If you ever see any locals wearing Saints shirts then you've probably spotted my in-laws.

Blimey, small world mate. My other half is from here also, though we are not married as yet. Do you still hang about here or are you both back in the UK? I watched the Man Utd. game at Frozen cafe and bar by the lake in Kalasin if you remember that place?

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3 hours ago, Singapore Saint said:

What tosh! Perraud is better than KWP on the left, any day every day.

For me  both areas of our play for attacking and defending is Kwp at RB and perraud at LB .. we have excellent alternatives now in tino coming in and Kwp switching to LB .. Everton were sloppy and Kwp and tino didn’t have much to do defensively so they could get higher up the pitch .. wen we play more dynamic attacking sides with intensity..we 💯 have to play perraud at left back and Kwp at right back for balance .. tino is incredible and I love his foward runs but defensively against the bigger teams he gets caught out of position and gets overloaded.. he’s only 18 so will learn and grow under Ralph ..incredible prospect and bargain for us.will play for England at the highest level .. as should Kwp but has a lot of quality in his position currently,being versatile tho Southgate should definitely have him in his thoughts for Qatar.

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Although Saints played well not one Saints player in Garth Crooks' Team of the Week which shows how strong the PL really is

 

I only watch MOTD when Saints do well and saw yesterday the quality of other teams and their outstanding players.

 

We are playing really well at the moment but so are other teams but I cannot see us pushing for Europe without getting in some better attacking players.

 

 

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