Nordic Saint

Boufal so far: http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/sofiane-boufal/leistungsdaten/spieler/232271

Yes, I'm growing to like Romeu too. At first he just seemed to be a fringe squad player but now he plays a really pivotal role in the team and it does seem that he is here to stay.

The turnover of our best players is so rapid now that I don't have any favourite players. In the past, they included Channon, Le Tissier, Lambert, Lallana, Mane, Wanyama and Fonte. I'm reluctant to still think too much of van Dijk as a Saints player because it is possible he has already played his last game for us before being sold in the summer. I guess one I hope will join that list is Josh Sims if he isn't sold as soon as he becomes a first team regular. I understand that the revolving door policy helps the club make money but it really weakens the bond between fans and players. I also feel the same way about the team. I knew who the Saints teams of previous decades were and could name the early 70s, late 70s or early 80s elevens, for example. But, when I look back on the past 5 years, I'll just remember a mass of players in transit. You really need a core of players to be together for a minimum of 5 years to have a team you'll remember. The support at St Mary's is coming under increasing criticism, even though we still fill the stadium but I guess many fans feel the same way as I do and find it hard to identify with the players and team, knowing that they are just passing through here in transit. I went to the 1979 League Cup final and supported 'my team' and I knew very well who they all were as they'd mostly been with us for years. But, I don't even know who'll be playing for us in this year's EFL Cup Final. I'll still be vocal in my support but I don't feel the same bond that I used to. We even now have a new breed of fans who have a favourite owner and director of football but actively dislike the players and when they are sold don't seem to have a word to say for any of them. I don't agree that this is because all footballers are greedy. They have always been relatively well paid compared to the rest of us but if their job were that easy then anyone could do it. There's not much point watching a sport if you don't like any of the players.

For those who wish to express their adoration of Les Reed, join Les Reed's biggest fans, Leslie and Del: http://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/southampton/forum/189482/a-song-for-les/#12 who seem remarkably similar to this other biggest fan:

Andre Marriner is the referee for the EFL Cup final. That is very good news as we have an excellent record with him, including our 8-0 win v Sunderland, 4-0 win v Newcastle and 4-2 win v Man City.

He was a very good player but he has been crippled by injuries, is semi-retired and would fail a medical at most clubs ( but not Southampton). However, in the event we can get him fit enough to play a few games before he needs treatment again, and he still has full mobility, he should improve our defence. The fact that he crashed his Ferrari into a bus stop whilst drunk at the wheel suggests he hasn't been taking very good care of himself though. It will be surprising if he is anywhere near fit enough as the last time he was able to play was more than a year ago. This is what happened to his career before he stopped playing: http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/martin-caceres/leistungsdaten/spieler/54935/plus/0?saison=2015 http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/martin-caceres/leistungsdaten/spieler/54935/plus/0?saison=2014

He's playing both Wanyama's and Schneiderlin's roles, which is why ultimately he gets overrun and top teams are able to camp their midfield in our half of the pitch, relatively undisturbed. We've got a plethora of mediocre 'attacking' midfielders who can't shoot and can't tackle, and one of them is usually used alongside Romeu, but does little to help him stop opposition attacks.

The moves of Wanyama from Saints to Spurs and of Kante from Leicester to Chelsea show how incredibly influential the role of defensive midfielder is in today's Premier League. Wanyama never seemed to be fully appreciated by some Saints fans and some even felt that Clattenburg's dodgy red cards meant he was a 'liability'. How wrong they were. I think Romeu has proven to be an adequate replacement for Schneiderlin, which is what Clasie was originally bought for, but we really miss having a tough tackling defensive midfielder to break up opposition attacks at the halfway line. Puel has tried Reed in that role but he really isn't in the same class as big Vic. We really need to buy an 'enforcer' in the summer. The transfer of the season: http://www.football.london/tottenham-hotspur-fc/players/victor-wanyamas-incredble-tottenham-hotspur-12560221

Once Dave Watson gets to work on Hassen, he'll deteriorate as badly as all of the other keepers at the club. Whatever you may think of him now, Forster used to be a very good goalkeeper, who kept an exceptional number of clean sheets. He was a massive improvement on Kelvin Davis and I remember how relieved we all were when he came back from injury and replaced Stekelenburg. Whatever Watson is doing to our goalkeepers, it's having a terrible effect on their form and confidence. We need a new goalkeeping coach.

We should be looking to the future. How long do the Les Miserables on here want us to keep their failed Charlton manager hero for? Until he's 70? For the rest of his life? Reed wasn't prepared to extend Fonte's contract, and the Les Miserables said he was right because his performance this season had dropped off. So, why should we extend his? Reed's performance this year has been very poor and there is no reason to think his decline will be reversed as he gets even older.

Reed is 65 this year. His decision making in the last year has been disastrous for the club. Time for him to go. We need our head of recruitment, Paul Mitchell back and someone who is 100% honest and trustworthy, who doesn't have personality clashes and power struggles with all of our top players and managers, possibly Le Tissier?

To varying degrees, 3 of the current top 4 teams in the Premier League owe at least part of their success to players and managers we have sold them. If they buy a couple of our best players, 7th placed Everton could join them in the next year or two.

You could sum it up as follows: We don't buy success. We sell it.

I think we only need 3 more wins to stay up. But, does anyone know how many League Cup finalists have been relegated the same season? I remember Middlesbrough lost 2 cup finals in 1997 and were then relegated. In 1985 both of the finalists, Sunderland and Norwich, were relegated. I think Birmingham in 2011 were the last team it happened to. A win tomorrow would certainly take a bit of the pressure off the team and allow them to focus more on the final.

That one for 2014/15 concludes "producing a total of £44 million of profits before tax in the last two years." Taking into account transfer dealings and the greatly increased Premier League income, we must have made a considerably bigger profit in the last 2 years. Yet, the club is being forced to take out loans. So, if some of the club's profits are being paid into the owner's account, how would we find out? Would it appear publicly somewhere as 'dividends' to share holders?

I don't think I've seen anyone at the club 'basking in the glow' more than Reed does with all of his PR videos, interviews and photos. No one else gets a look-in. Surely, you can't have missed all of them? http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/southampton/news/reed-southampton-have-best-midfield-in-pl_276561.html http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/southampton/news/reed-champions-league-realistic-for-saints_235957.html http://www.isportconnect.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=35027:leicester-have-copied-the-southampton-model-les-reed&catid=36:football--soccer&Itemid=42

Why do we? Is it just lack of advance planning?

Reed chose Puel because he knew he would fade into the background and do as he was told. Few other managers would have done. Reed is already starting his PR campaign about how he personally has managed to get us to a Wembley final and so has redeemed himself after his failure at Charlton. If he'd spent less time yesterday doing all of his self- promoting videos and photo shoots, he might even have found time to sign a central defender. We'll be seeing even more of Reed as the final approaches. Reed all about it: http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/583235/Jeremy-Cross-Les-Reed-Andy-Murray-Usain-Bolt-Alfie-Barker

We breed success. We don’t buy it. We sell it.

Les sold him to West Ham. He'll sell the other one in the summer. It sounds like he's offered Chelsea first option. So they'll both be in London. He sold the strikers to Liverpool and some club in China. But, as he claims we've got the best pool of midfielders in the Premier League, he's still got some of them left he can sell.

Excellent. https://southamptonfc.com/news/2017-01-31/southampton-white-kit-wembley-announcement

Who on earth told you that fairy story? Or did you just make it up yourself? When players are in their early 30s, like Lambert, Pelle and Fonte, we sell them, as it is the last chance to get a transfer fee for them. Simple as that. All of these so-called 'leaks' about 'Billy big ********' " Toys out of prams', 'refusing to train', ' being unpopular with the other players' etc are just bullsh!t, which some of our more gullible fans seem to lap up. Speak to any of our players and you'll find that Fonte was popular with them right to the end and they were sad to see him sold. Yes, his agent wanted a contract extension and a a final pay increase as Fonte was by no means our highest paid player and he knew that this would be his last ever contract. He wasn't offered that.

Thanks, I was at that game. Most of the Saints fans were on the icy open terrace of the Clock End but a small group of us went onto the North Bank because it was covered and more crowded so it was warmer. The Arsenal fans were a bit surprised to hear OWTS being sung in their home end. I don't know what the exact stats were but it seemed like Arsenal had about 85% possession and at least 25 shots at our goal while we hardly crossed the halfway line. It was the most one-sided draw I've ever seen and a very satisfying away point against the great double winning Arsenal team. Eric Martin was an acrobatic but erratic Scottish goalkeeper and that was by far his best game for Saints. 1970-71 was one of my favourite seasons. We had a formidable defence with John McGrath and Jimmy Gabriel the latter day equivalent of Fonte and van Dijk.

3. Buying injury-prone players We buy injury-prone and unfit players because they are cheap. The big clubs don't need to do that. Austin's knee issues were well-publicised before we bought him, Boufal and Clasie were unfit to play when we bought them and now we are being linked with Gabbiadini who has an awful injury record, known issues with ankle problems and muscle fatigue, and who has only managed to play 2 full 90 minute Serie A games in the last 2 years. Sometimes it pays off and you get a bargain. You could certainly argue that Austin's goals when he is available to play mean the risk was worth it. If you want to reduce injuries, you buy players who have played 90 minute games regularly without injury or fitness issues. Of course, you still can't do much about bad luck like Vardy's stamp on van Dijk's foot.

You prove my point. Where was Gardos? He covered about as much ground as a training dummy and he's been like that his whole career so no excuses about him only playing for our U23s since October. Watch no. 15. That's him: