david in sweden

One tip to Russell Martin. Make sure everyone has penalty-taking practice. Going back 20 plus years ago, I met ..the then ...newly-appointed England Manager - Sven-Gorän Eriksson.. in Stockholm .. (a long story for another time). In a brief conversation, I reminded him that England had been eliminated from international competitions half a dozen times in their past, because they failed to find half-a dozen players capable of scoring penalties in a shoot-out. (a terrible way to decide a winner, but only slightly better than a coin toss). (In truth it was a hard task, in a league where barely 30% of the players are English and each club's designated penalty specialist is often a foreign import). but two decades later ..England still manage to lose games because of the same problem, even with a manager who was a " penalty failure " himself. Svennis' reaction to my comment shocked him, he went quiet and asked ...Is that really correct ?.... and I assured him it was, and he thanked me. (However, he did ignore my advice to select James Beattie and Wayne Bridge more often), but a couple of weeks later, he was interviewed on a TV channel and announced that he was implementing training with penalty kicks, (luckily it wasn't necessary in the World Cup that followed). Sven even made mention of the subject of training for penalties in his autobiography, (but failed to credit the source of his decision was me ... oh well). So back to Russell Martin ..so close yet .. in seeing ourselves at Wembley ..with penalty kicks required to find a winner, after a gruelling 120 minutes play we have the prospect that a late substitute, brought on in added time has to take the vital kick to win the game... I won't fantasise further - it's too horrible. ...but the fact remains that everyone likely to be involved - including goalkeepers - must get some real practice in ....at taking penalty kicks...just in case.

Difficult to compare the Turkish League standard with anything in England, but as everyone is employed by Sport Republic...and we will be without Bazunu for at least half of next season ....might it be the right time to get Matrusz Lis back to Saints and see how good he really is? Likewise ...as Trabonsor seemingly don't want to pay money for Onuachu, he could move over to Göztepe, still stay in Turkey and play in the top league, and it wouldn't cost SR anything.

Firstly, I will admit that Whitey Grandad got right. His suggestion was to play the best we have - despite the prospect of another slaughter. Together with dozens more on here I had the thought to "play it safe " and not take chances with our best players - in case of injury. WRONG ! It was an entertaining game that we deserved to win. What a difference from the last three miserable games which were beyond criticism. After Leeds dominance in the first 15 minutes, we really turned it on and in hindsight it was one of the best performances I've watched this season. The midfield trio took control and - even without Stuart A. - we looked a cut above Leeds' aggressive opposition. Great goals from Adam. A and Smallbone. Although Alex McCarthy didn't have a lot to do, he was in the right place at key moments and made a couple of top class saves. Everyone put in a shift and if we can hold this sort of performance for the (potential) three games ahead , we might still see ourselves back in the Prem.

........but that would be a hollow victory ...... even if Ipswich only get one point.

for once we have a striker who is over 6 feet tall, so ...why wouldn't we play him at CF ? We've lacked height up front since Pelle left. .... as long as we have wingers / attacking FB's who can centre the ball and not have to play the ball on the ground, perhaps we will see a headed goal....

re Saint lards comment above ... Looks like the governing bodies may still have a say. If Everton get further punishment now or later , and Leeds and /or Leicester get the same then a lot of clubs may end up in another league with points deduction to boot then a lot of celebrations may be short-lived.

Yes you made a good point Whitey, but I guess this is one we ....." should agree to disagree on "....we only need to wait 48 hours to get the answer. The result is still immaterial but I'd like the best and fittest available going into the play-offs and if we don't know the best line-up by now, there is a real problem.

Many have remarked that this is " a meaningless game ", and whilst that maybe true from Saints' viewpoint, it's desperately important for Leeds. Whilst they have a superior GD , they must beat us to get promotion, whilst hoping Ipswich will lose, as even a draw will be enough for Ipswich to go up. With the prospect of winning the play-offs is a big challenge without Gavin Bazunu and Stuart Armstrong's availability, it's the last chance for those " bench candidates" to impress RM before he chooses his starting side for the play-offs. Although some may think he is... "doing Leeds a favour " if he plays too many of the " second string " an appears to play....an understrength side. In truth... he may be trying to " protect " those key players who will be needed for the next 3 weeks and who are vital whilst we still have the chance to get the final promotion spot. I think we should be glad if everyone gets through the match without injuries. It seems RM has settled for Macca as the keeper for the play-offs, so he should surely give Joe Lumley an outing in this " meaningless match". We older fans who recall the successful Leeds' sides of the 1960'-70's may also remember the oft-quoted comment that Leeds were... " tough, but fair ". Something their fans regularly ignored when they would provoke visiting sides... ( like LIverpool .. ) with chants of ..,,." you'll never walk again " . I think this may be a very tough match, and not particulary fair, either.

more than 2 months ........since anyone has posted anything on Adam Armstrong's ongoing contribution throughout the campaign. Having played second-fiddle to Che Adams since his arrival, at last we have seen something of the form we hoped for when we first signed him. The first striker to get to 20 goals - since Danny Ings - plus a dozen assists has earned him the Players Award AND the same accolade from the Fans. It is also notable that he is often the first to track back when the opposition gets a counter attack, and tackles as well as any defender. He has deputised for Jack Stephens on many occasions this season and is a good role model at both ends of the pitch and truly deserves these awards. well done Adam.

Whitey, YES .. I am aware of the contract situation for those players you mentioned, but my thought was (worse case scenario) we might keep them for an extra year if all else fails. Someone wrote that Stuart A. was ready to retire?, but he'll be hard to replace and if needed.. an extra year might be a win-win situation. I'm expecting (and hoping) that Adams will move on, but if he doesn't find a good fit, would it do harm to keep him if we don't find the replacement we want?. I don't expect THB to stay in any case, but the goalkeeping spot will be a primary concern. Most Prem. and quite a few Championship clubs have an experienced international from somewhere, but keeping Macca for another season until Bazunu is 100% fit would be a panic decision if a " new find " is impossible. Would we keep any of the loan-outs who.. (theoretically) ..should return to Staplewood when their overseas season(s) are over? Bella-Kotchap, Onuacho, Caleta-Car, Perraud or .Lyanco and Lis ? Aside from Lis ..they all cost money . Would we release them and take a loss..or.. ?

It's a team game and much as I dislike criticising individual players there are a few who... (for various reasons)... just aren't up to it. Those who show " on the ball skills" , and a little attacking flair just don't score regularly enough ( Brooks, Mara ). I was impressed by Edozie's efforts but in every game his enthusiasm is tempered by thundering tackles from bigger / stronger defenders, who " aren't used to taking prisoners ", and Sam is often first to subbed on, he is also one of the first to go off off if chosen to start. The majority of our squad (exception the CB's).. are " lightweight and (to be frank).. too short " to be effective and withstand such treatment in every game. It's not fair to start dismembering the squad before we are out of the plays-off BUT even if we qualify for the third place , major changes will be necessary.

leaving aside the comments about your anatomy....... Although I agree that we desperately need to strengthen the squad in EVERY area before August what a pleasant thought all those replacements might be... .except that they really do need to be " quality players" who ; ............ 1) no-one else is after...... 2) who we can afford without breaking the bank....and 3) whatever the outcome of the play-offs in May we will need to renew around half the squad whether - we go up or not. Even if we kept; Macca, Stephens, and Stuart A. for a while longer, we have at least 4 loan players with only Downes likely the likely prospect to sign... (if he wants to).. and we've seen that a few of the remainder aren't even up to Championship standard. Harwood-Bellis might only stay if we get promotion NOW, whilst Adams, Bednarek and Walker-Peters will want a move to a higher level, if we fail to get the third spot, and face the prospect of playing ANOTHER season in this league. Sadly, the Academy successes tend to come and go and at present there are few stand-our talents likely to make the breakthrough to first team level.

A very good read cushiro, especially as an amateur Saints' historian for over six decades myself, I noted that you had done a lot of homework. A few other points that might add to this brief, yet comprehensive record of the two clubs. Peter Rodrigues wasn't the only former Leicester player to sign for Saints and got his reward some years after being a Cup Final loser at Wembley, when he captained Saints to a Cup Final victory over Man Utd in 1976. The aforementioned Leicester lad, Peter Shilton came to Saints (via N. Forest) to Lawrie McMenemy's great 1980's squads that could boast 5 players who had captained England at some time in a more glorious past. Back in 1961. Saints signed Leicester's Tony Knapp, a superb Centre Half who was part of England's 1960 World Cup squad and narrowly missed being capped himself. It took a club record fee to draw Knapp to the South Coast where he superbly captained the team that won promotion to Division One in 1966, and was a consummate professional for 6 years with Saints and rarely missed a game. One of the more humorous episodes between Leicester and Saints came back in the 1970's , when Saints travelled to Filbert Street after a day of torrential rain and where both sides " literally walked on water" ...as they tried vainly to pass the ball that rarely went 6 feet from the kicker. The referee gave the whole thing up as a bad job after 25 minutes and the match was abandoned. This hilarious sequence can be found on You Tube. Saints' experiences of heavy defeats v. Leicester goes back a long way. In October 1967, Leicester visited the old Dell ground on one of those wet, blustery days that are not uncommon on the South Coast and beat Saints 5-1 ..(with an 89th minute goal coming from Peter Shilton) when his huge kick-out was carried downfield by the high wind and bounced over the Saints' keeper Campbell Forsyth who was off his line. Our most memorable match (in weather conditions not dissimilar to the match mentioned above), is far more recent and one that Saints' fans prefer to try and forget. In high winds and blinding rain Saints' England international Ryan Bertrand was red-carded for a dubious foul that the referee had ignored, but that an eagle-eyed VAR official had taken up .. and suddenly Saints were down to 10 men after just 15 minutes, and with the wind at their backs, Vardy and Co. took full advantage and finally ran our as 9-0 winners. (Ouch) ! I often felt that Saints were a good match against Leicester - even if the scoreline didn't always reflect that, but on occasions (like last Tuesday). there are times when they were clearly the better side. Leicester fans can count themselves unfortunate that they never saw the best of Bertrand and Vestergaard who were superb in Saints' defence in an earlier period. Saints fans, only hope that Jamie Vardy retires - before we get to play Leicester the next time, as his goal-scoring record against Saints is incredible.

.You wrote ....." at their respective relegation-threatened clubs " . Whilst many on here seem to think that RM has done a poor job because he has failed to get us automatic promotion at the first attempt. I don't think we would look to hire a manager who has " successfully helped his club avoid relegation " It will be interesting to see how many of them still have their jobs by New Year , if their clubs haven't improve in form by then, and it can be noted that most of the clubs they manage are also playing in lower- level divisions, and even then struggling to survive. Given the quality, (or lack of it) we have compared with previous seasons. We sold our most consistent and talented players, and most-promising newcomers to help keep us solvent, and brought in half a dozen loan players (who clearly weren't good enough for their own Prem. squads) and have thankfully been almost totally reliant on the goals of two strikers who have found their true level in this league, after failing to DAJFU at the higher level. No sorry, I don't see any of those named above were better choices than RM. All things considered, I am pleased and surprised that we have done this well.

All points are well made Saints 86. In the final analysis our presumptive failure to get any promotion may well be put down to the disasters in September, after which we had sunk to 15th spot with just 10 points (of 24) - all of which were earned thanks to goals in the last five minutes and /or added time. We lost Ward-Prowse, Tella, Lavia, Livramento, Salisu and Djenepo and bought in just two players (Manning and Charles) whilst loaning five more at short notice; Manning, Downes, Fraser, Holgate and Harwood-Bellis (who incidentally didn't play until game 6 ...(which was Leicester (h). By the time we recovered form and beat Leeds (h) .....we had already used 21 players, and had lost Alcarez, Stephens, Edozie, Smallbone and Downes to shorter periods of injury, whilst Stephens was out for 3 months. Those 20 plus unbeaten games got us results, but we dropped serious points at home; in defeats v. Hull and Millwall (were unforgiveable), and the draw v. Rotherham (we had 80% possession and 22 shots to 4 ) tell their own story. The 37 goal partnership (Adams and Adam Armstrong) may sound impressive, but we badly needed a third striker capable of getting into double figures, and the many missed chances by other players were to numerous to be reckoned. Promotion and relegation issues are always down to missed chances and shots hitting the woodwork. What's left will become history.