Nordic Saint

Leicester U23s must be really desperate if they let Vestergaard play 11 minutes for them. Surely they could have got someone better from the crowd, even if it was only 2 men and a dog.

And Bazunu only faced 2 shots when we played Palace. He let them both in. That's the difference. That was Fraser Forster's 206th clean sheet.

Another clean sheet for Fraser Forster today.

Great news.

We've had some managers who were poor at substitutions but Selles takes the biscuit. Almost every one of his substitutions makes you groan, "Oh no! What on earth is he doing now?"

From a player's point of view, we pay high wages to players who aren't very good, like Alex McCarthy, and look after them for years so that they can retire happily with millions in the bank. The downside is that if a player is any good, we sell him as soon as possible. So, the lesson is that if you're a cr@p footballer, Southampton is the club for you.

Kelvin Davis had a pretty abysmal record at Sunderland. They voted him into their All-time Worst Sunderland XI. With him in goal, they finished bottom of the Premier League, with a grand total of 15 points and a goal difference of -43. In comparison, that makes even Saints' current season look good.

He understood the importance of having an experienced goalkeeper too. He brought in the 33-year-old Peter Shilton, who probably was worth an extra 20 points a season.

Little Girona, a club that's spent nearly all of its history in the lower leagues, is currently having the best season in its history. This month, with Gazzaniga in goal and Romeu in midfield, they've drawn away to Barcelona and beaten Real Madrid at home. Why? Well the appointment of Míchel as their manager seems to have had a lot to do with it. He's been something of a promotion specialist, getting 3 teams, Rayo Vallecano, Huesca and last season, Girona, promoted to La Liga. But now he's proving he can compete at the highest level against the likes of Ancelotti and Xavi, with far more limited resources. The biggest fee they spent was £5 mill for Romeu. Most of their players have been brought in on free transfers or loans or for next to nothing, including their striker Castellanos, who just scored 4 goals against Real Madrid. Míchel is still only 47 and is obviously one to consider if we want a manager to get us promoted next season. Girona FC - Transfers 22/23 | Transfermarkt

If Ward-Prowse is sold in the summer, which seems likely, Alex McCarthy will be our top earner unless we can get rid of him but who would want him?

The second highest earner at Southampton is, according to the Echo: McCarthy's Southampton deal reportedly made him second-highest earner | Daily Echo

Yes, according to Transfermarkt, although his market valuation never rose above £1 mill, the fee we paid was £4 mill. Thierry Small - Player profile 22/23 | Transfermarkt:

He's in the Championship Team of the Season: EFL Team of the Season line-ups revealed - News - EFL Official Website

I remember when Grimsby beat Notts County in the playoffs last season. It was a brilliant game and the Grimsby away fans created a tremendous atmosphere. Notts County are a bit of a nothing team with lukewarm support. I wouln't feel too sorry for them.

Today's League One results mean that any mathematical chance Pompey had of making the playoffs has now gone, so next season will be their 24th in the lower leagues.

7-0 would be good.

Real Madrid did the same to Man City last season. Would any English team have done any better against a Spanish team? They have a passion and 'never say die' fighting spirit that our teams can't match.

Even he would have more chance of scoring than our strikers.

Had that been Bazunu, there wouldn't have been any saves.

We are currently being operated like a farm team: a feeder team whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on. You simply can't survive in the Premier League like that. Having a 21-year-old goalkeeper at this level is ridiculous. Whether we can even survive like that in the Championship remains to be seen. Even the big clubs' U21 teams lose to League One and League Two teams in the EFL Trophy.

Yes, he's the second youngest after Bazunu. He's only just turned 23. Top flight goalkeepers are usually in their late 20s and early 30s because that's when they reach their peak. People who run successful Premier League clubs are aware of facts like this.

This must have been the game they were at that finally convinced our scouts he would be a good fit for the Southampton Way:

That £90 mill club debt could well be up to £150 mill now. I guess a fresh injection of cash was needed to pay the interest on it. (I'm talking about the Club's debt, not Solak's debt).

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His 23rd goal of the season. Surely, he deserves a place on the first team subs bench before the end of the season. He's obviously too young to be a regular but it would be good to see him come on for the last 10 minutes of a game when we need a goal. It's not as if we've got anyone in the first team who'd be any more likely to score.