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Comment | Southampton Expelled From Championship Play Off Final
at 09:15:12
This will have interesting consequences. By putting Boro in the final at this stage they are disadvantaging Hull because a few days before the game Hull didn't know who they were playing. Boro knew who they'd be playing, just not if they'd be playing.
I am really surprised that the EFL have compensated Boro. Should've just given Hull the win |
| News
Comment | Southampton Expelled From Championship Play Off Final
at 21:07:19
Agree with GasGiant and StAnt
I think we should appeal the 4 point deduction, hopefully succeed, and move on. We've got a big punishment, probably need to get rid of some of the perpetrators, and then start again. It's a shit time but we'll rise again. |
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Comment | Social Media Post Cast's Doubt On Middlesbrough Version Of Spygate Event's
at 10:20:16
@kenis - you're right, but still I don't *think* that the EFL will want to set a precedent for compensating clubs who are affected by other clubs' foul play, financial or otherwise. Doing that will open a can of worms for the EFL.
I feel very conflicted about this whole issue. We should never have got ourselves in this situation. I hope the lone wolf narrative is the truthful account, but I have to say I doubt it! |
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Comment | Social Media Post Cast's Doubt On Middlesbrough Version Of Spygate Event's
at 17:19:42
I think Mesher is taking the reports that Saints won't deny the charges as admission of guilt. There's definitely a fine line between the two things.
Of course Boro were able to give their evidence at the time of the charge and correct that they shouldn't be allowed to influence the independent tribunal by bringing in extra evidence late in the day.
By prediction is a points deduction and fine next season. EFL doesn't tend to punish during the season in ways that benefit afflicted teams (see Wycombe and Derby, where Derby committed way worse offences than those we're alleged). I don't think the EFL will want to reward Boro here, and I think Boro know that because of how noisy they are being. We'll see tomorrow |
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Comment | Southampton At Nottingham Forest The Verdict
at 11:20:38
Surely it's becoming obvious to most of us now that the primary issue is the quality of players. We can't blame VAR or the manager, although I accept that both have not helped us at times this season. To be fair to Juric he should be able to rotate the team a bit an expect players to come in and do at least ok to fight for their place! Any other PL team would have some strength in depth.
The common denominator is that the majority of our players are not at PL standard technically, and (as we have done for years) we are flakey mentally and concede goals in quick succession.
I'm not sure where more points are coming from now. Leicester and Ipswich games seem to be the best bet! |
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Comment | Southampton V Swansea City The Verdict
at 13:11:19
Nice to give out a thrashing for a change. Well taken goals but really should have scored 4 or 5. As others have said, the main thing the game showed is the huge gulf between the PL and the Championship.
I can see why Juric put out a strong team. We need to build confidence and get players in the shop window |
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Comment | Southampton V Brentford The Verdict
at 07:03:26
To be fair to Juric he perhaps feels that he needs to give players a chance. He's not had the luxury of preseason to assess the players.
Following his experiment Juric should now know who not to play.
But as SanMarco says, it's not as if the other players who could have been picked on Saturday would have won the game for us. |
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Comment | Do Southampton Cut Their Losses Now On This Season And Cash In On Kyle Walker Peters
at 09:19:11
Happy New Year!
We have the basis of a team that could perform well in the championship, even with quite a few player departures. We have a lot of options in defence, for instance: Bednarek, Wood, Edwards, Sug, Bree, Manning, and (dare I say it...) Stephens. Elsewhere we have Downes, Aribo, Armstrong, Archer, Bereton and some good young prospects. Lallana could be great as a bit-part player. I can't see any other clubs coming in for these players, or at least no clubs that would be an upgrade for the players.
I'd look to potentially move on any other players that aren't in the plans for next season. Give Kamaldeen and ABK some more game time to get them in the shop window.
Dibling and Fernandes could be kept but equally if we get good offers then sell, either in Jan or in the summer. THB will be wanted by a PL club.
Ramsdale will probably leave. Baz isn't ideal but probably good enough for a decent championship team. Tall Paul is an enigma: could be great in the championship or sell for an ok price and replace.
Noone wants the lowest points tally but frankly why does it matter if you get relegated with 12 points or 10 points? Both add up to an awful season. Need to grin and bear it for now and focus on the future.
I get the negativity with SR but can't forget that they have got in some very good players who fitted what we needed at different times: Ramsdale, THB, Fernandes, Downes. The grave mistakes this season were misplaced loyalty to the players who got us up and not getting in one proven goalscorer
As for KWP, sell now. He's been great and I wish him all the best |
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Comment | Who Had Heard Of Pochettino ! As Saints Fans Question New Manager's Credentials
at 14:18:01
I can't say I've followed his career closely but a bit of research would suggest that Juric does well at middling clubs with limited budget (Verona and Torino). Didn't succeed at Roma but not many managers do frankly. He supposedly trains with high intensity, which seemed to work for us under Koeman and Poch. We need to eradicate our softness. Will Juric succeed? Who knows but I don't think it's a bad appointment |
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Comment | Southampton In Negotiations With Club For Manager Release
at 14:23:52
I think this would be a decent appointment.
Inherited Sheffield Wednesday in a terrible state and has made them into a decent team. I work in Sheffield and their fans rate him.
Whoever we get fans need to be realistic about what can be achieved. The best thing that any manager could achieve this year is making us more competitive and more tactically flexible. They are not keeping us in the premier league - If they somehow manage to do that then name the stadium after them |
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Comment | Southampton FC Sack Russell Martin
at 09:31:17
My years of supporting Saints has taught me that fans have to be careful what they wish for.
I sincerely hope I am wrong but my prediction is that changing the manager will make little difference. As others have said, we have too many championship level players who will make errors at this ruthless level, regardless of what style of football they are told to play.
Personally I hope we go for Danny Rohl. Seemed to be the talent behind Ralph H and has worked wonders at Sheffield Wednesday. Crucially, knows the championship. I understand the concern over his lack of experience but I'll end with another cliché: beggars can't be choosers! |
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Comment | Southampton At Aston Villa The Verdict
at 10:34:09
I agree with most of what's said above. However I don't think SR will get rid of RM because I think they see him as a long term project.
It's harder to stay up having been promoted these days - all 3 promoted clubs last season went down and I predict that the same thing will happen this year. The difference between championship football and PL football, combined with FFP restrictions on spending make staying up a very difficult proposition these days.
As business owners (because like it or not, that's what football club owners are these days) SR will have a 5 year plan, and that will have included the likelihood that SFC will go down this season. Their ideal scenario is probably that we follow Fulham's model: yo-yo for a few seasons and eventually manage to get a good enough team, and a bad season for other teams, that means that at some point you stay up.
Because RM got us promotion I reckon SR would assume that he can get us up again.
I'm not condoning this approach but just trying to be objective about what SR might be doing.
The difficulty for SR is who they get in if they do sack RM. Potter won't come - he'll be waiting for a more established PL club to sack (Wolves I'd guess). Cooper's track record is a bit tarnished now. Danny Rohl has worked wonders at Sheffield Wednesday and many of us assumed he was the brains behind Ralph... |
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Comment | Southampton V Liverpool The Verdict
at 11:05:16
Obelisk - take your point.
However I'd say last season has to be seen in context:
Martin inherited a bad situation at the club:bloated squad, a few players who evidently weren't up for playing in the championship, joining a club who got through 3 managers the season previous). Also, there were some very good sides in the championship last season - better than usual most pundits say. I think getting us up last season was quite an achievement in that context.
The PL is a different league altogether from the championship. There's no dross. We haven't been able to strengthen the team to guarantee staying up - this is partly because of some bad decisions from SR: buying one striker for £25million would have been better than buying Archer and Bereton imo, but that's with hindsight. But also it's down to FFP - newly promoted clubs have it tougher nowadays. SR have got some good players in as well, mind, so credit there.
SR seem to stick with managers until it becomes untenable to do so - Ralph was on borrowed time for a while and Jones basically had a meltdown. I think they won't get rid of Martin unless the players turn or unless we our current performance levels drop off a lot. |
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Comment | Southampton V Liverpool The Verdict
at 10:28:51
In defence of McCarthy for their first: Fernandes seemed to be showing for the ball and Downes' clearance was poor.
Having said that, I think with Ramsdale in goal we wouldn't have lost.
This won't be a popular view but I think fans need to be more pragmatic about Martin. Unless the players turn on him I can't see Sports Republic getting rid. In fact the players seem to like playing for him, which speaks volumes given how the season has gone. SR are playing a longer game as they know Martin stands a good chance of getting us back up next season. Martin is also potentially playing a long game as well, as other clubs will likely appreciate him sticking to his guns.
Let's face it we're going down this season and I don't hear credible alternatives from fans about who we could get instead ('credible' as in a manager who could reasonably be expected to be an upgrade and would come to us). Better to see this season as steep learning curve for our players, some of whom are very talented but young, and Martin |
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Comment | Sources Say Southampton Have Made Decision About Russell Martin
at 19:50:32
We didn't really know the financial state of the club. Lot of scrutiny on FFP now. We're probably still paying off Ralph and Jones. SR maybe can't afford to pay off another manager on a punt that they may fare better.
The difference between now and 2012/13 is we had a much better team then! |
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Comment | Southampton V Wolverhampton Wanderers The Verdict
at 10:40:43
First VAR decision was awful. I'm generally in favour of VAR (think how terrible it was before VAR) but sometimes refs are too ready to overturn on field decisions and that has to be addressed.
Martin. I've previously been in the give him more time camp, mainly because replacing a manager usually doesn't work out midway through the season, especially for us, and the question of who we're going to get in. However, a terrible start to the season, constantly throwing away leads, and no shots on target against a poor opponent makes his position untenable.
I don't think any manager could stop us getting relegated because of the lack of quality in the side and our points deficit, but fans would hopefully rally behind a manager who could make us more competitive in games. People who are heralding Potter as a potential saviour need to remember that Brighton were a long term project under him. I doubt we'd see improvements straight away |
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Comment | Southampton V Leeds United The Wembley Play Off Final Verdict
at 15:16:59
Great performance. Everyone put in a shift. I like that we are playing to the opposition more. We'll need to do this in the prem. RM is definitely growing.
My mind can't help but think forward to what we need to strengthen the first team but this can probably wait for another day. |
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