Nordic Saint

No, he had to get a bank loan in order to pay 200 million to Kat Liebherr.

The demand for tickets for both our home and away games continues to increase and Newcastle looks like being our 5th consective league sell out at St Mary's. This either suggests an increase in interest from the existing fanbase or an increase in the size of our fanbase. As for atmosphere, as has been pointed out on here, for the brief spell we had a home kop at the Dell, the atmosphere was great. A whole home end at St Mary's is the obvious solution now.

That is a very impressive list. Add to that the fact that the signings made in the months immediately after he left would almost certainly have already been identified by Mitchell as well, then he was clearly one of the men most responsible for our success. He's worked the same magic at Tottenham. He'd be the ideal replacement for both Les Reed and Ross Wilson.

Whilst I would wish no marm on any Saints player, this probably improves our chances of scoring goals against Newcastle.

You obviously didn't read the article you posted a link to. He's still at Tottenham. They are keeping him until the end of the notice period. That's when we should get him. The Black Box is just a room full of videos and data. It's the person who analyses it all who counts, and that was Paul Mitchell.

Yes, at Tottenham. We need to get him back.

Like many, I miss Pelle. But, I'l be the first to admit that he was literally a fair weather player. In the autumn and spring months he looked the ideal striker, won everything in the air and scored goals for fun but on cold, wet winter days, he just looked miserable and flapped his arms around a lot. We really need both Pelle and Austin. Austin doesn't seem to be able to play a full season so just filling in for Pelle from November to February would be ideal for him.

His finishing is grabbing the headlines: https://www.thesportsman.com/articles/long-stuns-dublin-with-amazing-miss

Forster Clyne van Dijk Fonte capt. Bertrand Wanyama Lemina Lallana Sims Mané Pellè (autumn & spring)/ Lambert (winter) Subs: Boruc, Alderweireld, Shaw, Cedric, Romeu, Schneiderlin, Lambert/Pellè.

What people overlook with Long, the same as they do with Ward-Prowse, is the fact that, although he runs about a lot, he usually gives the ball away to the opposition, by running it of play, being offside or just losing control of the ball, and hardly ever helps create a goal (just 1 assist and no goals in his last 17 Premier League games). He is not helping us win games and so should be dropped.

I wish we could but that (lack of) goals scoring record speaks for itself.

I think we can see what the problem is. Old Les has lumbered us with a squad full of 'attacking' players who don't score goals and managers and coaches who can't get them to, and changing managers and buying more players is unlikley to change that if Old Les is choosing them. "Southampton executive director of football Les Reed has claimed that the club boasts the best array of midfield options in the Premier League." https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/southampton/news/reed-southampton-have-best-midfield-in-pl_276561.html

Pierre-Emile Højbjerg 0 goals in 20 Premier League games Sofiane Boufal 1 goal in his last 20 Dusan Tadic 1 goal in his last 18 Shane Long 1 goal in his last 17 Nathan Redmond 1 goal in his last 16 Manolo Gabbiadini 1 goal in his last 15 James Ward-Prowse 1 goal in his last 15 Steven Davis 1 goals in his last 15 Charlie Austin 1 goal in his last 9

For a club which gets the 12th biggest gates in the league, and which could get bigger than that if not for the limitations of the stadium, it is sad how many of our fans will settle for and in some cases even welcome underachievement. I guess we have had so much of it in our history that lethargy has set in and there is a distinct lack of ambition in our fan base.

At his peak, Long was lower Premier League standard. None of the top teams would have been interested in him, even then. Now, he is Championship standard i.e. he shouldn't really be playing at this level. He runs as fast as he can and then seems incapable of controlling the ball when he reaches the penalty area so it goes back to the opposition. He can't stop goals and he can't make or score them so basically he is just making up the numbers. He has no goals and 1 assist in his last 17 Premier League games. He remains popular with fans because he is a cheeky Irish chappy who runs around a lot and tries hard. You could argue that when we are looking for a 0-0 draw against one of the bottom teams, he is an extra defender as he harries opposition players but he is a very poor excuse for a striker. I'm not insulting him, just pointing out that he is a weak link in our team and one of the main reasons why we haven't been winning games. Our squad is much weaker than it used to be so we haven't got many options up front but Seager might be worth a try if we can't afford to but a goal scorer.

If we keep him until he's 70, there is a danger that we will turn into the next Bolton. From 2003 to 2007, under the direction of Phil Gartside, Bolton finished in the top 8 of the Premier League in 4 consecutive seasons, qualified for Europe and finished runners-up in a League Cup Final. All the while, Gartside became more powerful and stubborn, making nearly all decisions at the club. They then slid into the bottom half of the table, where they struggled for a few seasons before eventually getting relegated. For Phil Gartside read Les Reed. "It is certainly starting to seem like a trick of the mind that Gartside was once regarded as one of the sport’s more impressive administrators, thought of so highly he was given a place on the Wembley board and put in charge of the FA’s selection process." https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/oct/11/phil-gartside-bolton-wanderers-abyss

In football, as in all walks of life, employes peak and then they pass their best and usually retire at the age of 65. Although a few on here think he is a god, Les Reed is just an ordinary mortal. His decison malking continues to deteriorate and and he has reached retirement age. It's time for someone with a future, like Paul Mitchell, to take over.

It makes you realize what a good job Puel did to get us up to 8th place with such a limited squad with no goal scorers in it.

This is Long's 17th Premier League game since he last scored in the league v Sunderland last year, so maybe Old Les and Pellegrino think he is due one.

I find the Gaos' approach quietly reassuring. There were no PR leaks from them throughout the prolonged negotiations. It would have been easy for them to use a PR team to tell the fans how great they were going to be for the club. But, in my opinion, PR leaks and statements are generally deceptive so I have more respect for them for not doing that. I think they are going to be good for Southampton.

Redmond is an average midfield player, not a forward. I'd regard him as a squad player but not a first choice starter for league games. He's been played out of position here as a token striker and never really been happy in that position. He's got into a bad habit of running away from the penalty area into a corner and then looking to pass the ball backwards. At Norwich he ran through from deeper back and scored with a few long-range shots. I'd like to see him trying a few more like that. He might one day develop into a decent replacement for Steven Davis but it was always unfair to expect him to replace Mane and develop into the next Thierry Henry.

It was good to see Mr Gao and his daughter looking so happy and appreciative of the applause we greeted them with. Initial impressions of the new ownership are promising.

Not if we want to score a goal, beacause Long rarely creates one or scores one. Since his goal v Sunderland last year, Long has managed just 1 assist in 17 league appearances. He has scored only 4 goals in his last 40 Premier Legue games. If we are looking to get a 0-0 draw then yes, because Long helps the defence by harrying opposition players but he doesn't help us score goals. I understand why people like him because he is a cheeky Irish chappy who runs around a lot and gives 100% effort but as a striker he has little or no end product. Having said that, after a 17 match goal drought he is certainly due one.

It was a very good performance - much better than any of us expected. I think most of us would have considered anything better than a 2+ goal defeat a good result, which is what recent performances against the likes of Watford and Wolves Reserves had led us to expect. In Lemina we have at last bought a player who doesn't appear to be a waste of money. It's been a while since our halcyon days in the transfer market when we bought players like Mane and Wanyama. Hoedt looks OK. He can tackle, head the ball, intercept and has good positioning sense but he is slow and can't pass. Stikers have favourite opposition teams who they always score against. After his performance in the EFL Cup Final, Gabbiadini should have started. The rest of the team need to be taught to play the ball through to him at every opportunity. On the one occasion the ball was slipped through to him on the edge of the penalty area he very nearly created a goal. Too often the rest of the players pass the ball sideways, backwards and mostly out to the wings rather than through the middle to Gabbiadini, the one player most likely to score. Overall, United seemed taken aback at what tough opposition we were as they'd obviously been expecting a very easy victory, even more so after scoring fairly early in the game. Credit to our players, especially Lemina and Romeu, for giving them such a tough match. But, we need a goal scorer, as a string of 0-1 defeats and 0-0 draws ultimately won't be good enough. Last January, Gabbiadini was bought to solve our goal scoring problem so the team's tactics need to be built around him, which means more balls played on the ground through the middle, other players combining with him for one-twos, and fewer balls played out to the wings for high crosses or attempts to win corners.

To be fair, it was better than usual yesterday but we were playing Man United, the team played well and we were still in with a chance for the whole game. Even though some 'old skool' fans may not like anything so innovative, the clappers certainly help, and the club know that, which is why they keep dishing them out. If you can make 4 times as much noise with a pair of clappers as with a pair of hands, then why the hell not?