SonicBoom

Something needs to be sorted as you see the same thing where every team who's manager is not going to be there the following year. There's a drop in form and also it makes recruiting much harder. Who will join in the summer if the manager they sign for is not likely to be there for more than one season. It's imperative we clarify Ron's situation this summer. Going into his last 12 months with nothing sorted simply does not work for anyone.

Surely he was another warm body to fill the squad for our European adventure. Martina was another. This all backfired on us when we went out early and we were left with players we didn't really need.

He's just a kid in his first season. He's shown enough to persuade me he can make it. He's also playing for England U21's so he's rated as one of the best 15 or so in his age group in the country. But yeah, you're probably right, he's weak, poor and sh!te. ............

Cant see Fonte moving anywhere or us letting him go. He's settled here and relishes being the captain. Pelle - well it looks like we might be in talks to extend his contract now so who knows. Davis - another that is still performing well but where's he going to go? For him the next step will surely be down so I would think he would want to stay for as long as possible.

Lots of people like "atmosphere" but don't actually want to join in creating it.

I would love to see three in the middle that compliment each other. A DM like Vic or Romeu, someone that moves the ball on quickly like Clasie or Davis, then a genuinely creative player who can support the striker. I really don't think we have this type of player. Someone like a Coutinho or a Willian (yes I know they are out of our price range, it's just an example). I think we've dropped points this season due to the combination we play in the middle. With combinations of Vic, Clasie, Davis , and JWP there just doesn't seem to be any guile. None of them can beat a man. I'd love to see a player there that can beat their man and drive toward the box. Then they could shoot, or play in the striker or even lay it wide once they'd committed a defender to come out to them. Our central midfield is pretty strong in the tackle and can pass reasonably but there is never any penetration. They have to go wide to Tadic, Mane or Targett or whoever, which the opposition know too. I know those players are expensive but they also win you tight games and we simply don't have one.

Well bale is a pretty poor example of Southampton failure isn't he......

Surely morons in society are just spread around the country. They gravitate to the nearest club. We are neither better nor worse than any other club.

Jesus this site is full of moaners. In the course of one hour you've slated mane, Koeman, Pelle, JWP and written off Austin as a waste of money. We could still grab a goal here, you never know.

I think he gets a lot of stick. Always seemed to be a decent guy who speaks well about the club. It should also be remembered that he is Italian. The way he communicates is very dramatic and has lots of arm waving and gestures. That's the way of southern Europeans and I think a lot of fans see it and think he's being difficult. Yes he gets frustrated and sometimes he is having a pop but so what. He's been good for us overall particularly for what we paid for him. Shane seems to be justifying his fee now and I think Pelle overall has justified his. I agree he isn't playing well now but I think there are many factors - not least that we don't get the ball in front of him in the box. He seems to be stranded outside the area with his back to goal. Not his fault and isn't expected to score from there by Ron. It was nice to see Austin however who is prepared to turn and shoot. Pelle will be off soon so let's support him for the rest of the season. I've no doubt he will contribute something if we get behind him. Moaning at players never works anyway.

That's not the Chelsea view that's the analytical view without trying to be biased. They dominated that game. We may well have contained them but we couldn't do it over ninety minutes. You cant blame Pelle. He might have played better but there are still nine or ten players behind him. Sometimes you are beaten by a better team. Today that's what happened.

Pelle cost us the game? Behave. Chelsea smothered us for most of the game because they have class players. We did ok but we simply don't have creative midfielders like hazard and Willian. We have ball winners and passers. They were simply too good. Don't look to dig out your own players. That's a billion pound football team and we aren't. They have that extra class that most don't have.

Careful, the internet has a history of burning it's messengers.....

I thought that. Why would she sell now? Things are going well, revenue is growing and why would you sell a club that holds your father in so much affection? i suppose from a business point of view, now would be a great time to sell, we probably look very attractive. But I think it would be unwise to underestimate the emotional attachment between the club and the Liebherr family. Some clubs tolerate their foreign owners, but would it be too much of a stretch to say that after what Marcus did, we love ours?

Seems odd to take a CM'er and play him RWB when you already have a good player who is a RWB anyway. There may well be some clever tactical reason but it's certainly not apparent.

I so wanted him to be great. But he never was. some neat and tidy things here and there, but he was pretty much the best paid Saints player EVER. I'll let that sink in. With that comes expectation and he was woeful. I can't believe people say "he showed glimpses" or "given more game time he would have been great". He wasn't. Do you honestly think the powers that be, didn't want him to get in the team after spending all that money? I bet they were continually asking the managers whether he was going to be good enough and wanting him to appear in the team. But finally the penny dropped that he simply isn't good enough. An earlier post actually said " he never moaned and always tried". Bloody hell rather than celebrating that, surely that should be the absolute bare minimum of what we could expect!! In a nutshell he came here, wasn't good enough, and walked away three and a half years later having been paid £11 million quid basic salary.

Me neither. Classic case of a guy snatching at chances due to a lack of confidence. He is still making the runs and getting himself in good positions. Must be a nightmare to play against. I think he would have been the difference last night if it wasnt for the fact they have Bellerin who is extremely quick.

Hmm not sure. Kelvin has been ok for us but he hasn't really been first choice for several of those ten years. Also I think players should get rewarded for their loyalty (or a charity of their choice should benefit), but let's be honest, Kelvin hasn't exactly had a lot of offers. I think West Ham were keen a few years ago but that was it. We really have been his only option so he stayed here and got well paid. I see him as a decent guy who has been fortunate to be here for ten years and someone who has been very well paid for doing his job. Does that deserve a testamonial?

Yep these three for me. Villa are down. There's no way back. They've only won once or something so they don't have the team to suddenly win another nine or ten games. Makes their point against us even more galling. Sunderland are a nothing team and surely even with Sam they will be stood on the trap door this year. They have perked up a little but I think Newcastle and Norwich have the ability to get more points. Swansea seem in freefall. They don't score goals so that is a real problem and losing is a habit. Having said that there is the old adage that one team loses form and drops like a stone at the wrong time. It could be Norwich, Bournemouth or even Newcastle. That could happen but that might be myth rather than based on statistics.

Will be a shame if and when he moves on. He's been a great signing. Really good with the fans, humble and seemed to really want to give his best. That said we did become very predictable just knocking the ball up to him and letting him flick it on or holding it up. We've looked better recently with extra movement. He also never seems to create a chance for himself. With the arrival of Austin coupled with his age, the writing is on the wall. But I'll say again, for 8 million when we were looking for a focal point he was excellent business. I for one wouldn't be disappointed if he stayed to the end of his contract.

I agree Verbal. We have lacked any sort of goal threat from centre midfield from some time. Lallana was the last one that could actually create something and score and we often played him wide. I'm not sure about Tadic. He seems to have all the skills but he's barely scored a goal since he's been here. OK he plays wider but you would still think he would get a few chances to shoot. He frustrates me as he seems to be a great player but there doesn't appear to be any actual end product. Pelle is great at what he does which is finish chances made for him by others. He relies solely on service so if the team is not providing he won't score. As for the rest they seemto be mostly DM's. Davis is a good player but prefers to go sideways and keep the ball. We missed out on Coutinho I seem to remember as he preferred the scousers. He wouldn't have stayed long but he would have been perfect for us.

I am constantly amazed that so many people say the same thing. We sell our best players every year. We don't. We simply have no choice. Those players sensevthe chance to go to bigger clubs for more money. If you let them get into their last year their value plummets. Such as Clyne. All those players agitated for a move and I dont believe we ever punted those players around looking for a buyer. So to say that Ron will want assurances from the board is utterly pointless. He will never get that as they can't give it. Do we want to sell mane? No. Will we be forced into it if he demands to go? Yes. He can be disruptive and disinterested. He's got form. So all we ever do is try to get the most from the players before we have to sell for the highest price. We are not a big club so we will always lose players as will 95% of other teams. Finally it's said that other teams refuse to sell. So did we. Schneiderlin for one. Wanyama for another. But the contract ticks down..... Palace etc don't have players that the big clubs want. If they do like stones then they'll get them. It's just a case of when.

I'ts the progression that is the concern. Hes a bright likeable lad but Im not sure he has any more influence on a game now than he did when he got into the team for the first time. Of course he could develop spectacularly but so far there has been little evidence of overall improvement. This dead ball thing is a phallacy too. Nearly one hundred appearances and one goal from the spot and he's not even the penalty taker so they gave that to him to get him off the mark. And i notice in the last few games Bertrand has been coming over from left back to take corners on the right so he's not doing that now either. Big year for him this year I think.

I saw an interview he did this season where he seems to have addressed his issues. He said he realised he needs to totally focus. He hired his own dietician and cut loose a lot of his entourage. He came across as someone that really wanted to up his level of professionalism. I was impressed. I think we could really do with a guy in the centre of the park that actually wants to get forward and shoot. Cant remember the last time we had that threat instead of going wide all the time.

I think that our first eleven is a match for anyone. If we slide down the table a little we automatically start panicking and thinking the way back is to spend. At the moment our team is probably good enough to be in and around the top 6. Arguably higher if you look at Leicester's example. So what we should be concentrating on is why the team are underperforming at the moment.