Dusic

Regardless of manager situation this window will surely make the difference of staying up or relegation. An attacking upgrade, or two, is an absolute must. SR will know this and seemingly have cash so hopefully something will be done very early on given the WC break (and our kind fixtures)

Stating the obvious but assuming we aren't interested in any caretaker manager nonsense then its either a decision in the next couple of days or Ralph stays for West Ham, Bmth and Arsenal surely due to the tight turnaround. SR and Ankersen especially are not stupid, they will be lining something up in the background. Its probably a case of timing and also they need the right person for a 2/3 yr period not just an emergency 6 month appointment. Whatever happens hopefully its done quickly and respectfully as Ralph deserves that and it would be a shame to see the stadium turn on him in a very public way after the graft he has undoubtedly put in.

So essentially Blackmore saying the story might have come from Sport Republic because the article refences them and their role in the club. IMO thats a bit of a stretch. The point of the article is to say RH is going to be fired. Why would SR feed that to the DT? Whats the point? More likely its just padding out the article with contextual information about Saints, some of which is accurate and some less so - as is often the case with press articles.

I may be wrong but fairly sure some of our better results against them have come with a 4-2-2-2, theory being that if you play loads of defensive players and sit back with no counter threat it is just inevitable that they score.

Its about the only remaining argument in Ralph's locker but its still a very good one: - We haven't permanently or temporarily replaced Ings or Broja. - As Ralph correctly said, all our best spells have come when a forward has been in a period of good form (Ings and then Broja). - Currently our best attacking player is either Che Adams, Joe Aribo or KWP. - Thats not a recipe for success when many teams fans want us to compete with have a genuinely good attacker, and usually multiple. - It should have been addressed this summer and if its not in January we will get relegated whoever is in charge because its a stronger PL this season and of the sides below us Leicester will almost certainly finish well above us, Palace have had an horrific start fixture wise but have a great run til the WC and Wolves have a much better squad than their position reflects. Worrying times.

Nearly all the PL sides who use it look shit apart from the ones with top forwards like Spurs and Chelsea. KWP also much better attacking from deep in a 4 than when played as a wing back.

Cooper plays 3 CBs for Forest. Has he done that elsewhere too? Not a fan of that setup at all.

Good overall season, but on the Championship stuff quite a bit for the club to consider over the off season. Batting - clearly need a quality opener, but there aren't many around. Not much to pick between Holland, Weatherley & Organ but Holland's bowling gives him an extra string (assuming Dawson plays Organ's is less needed). Weatherley yet another who is mid 20s yet averages below 25. Bowling - Abbas, Abbott and Barker not getting any younger, yet also were very available this season. Who are the eventual replacements (a nigh on impossible job IMO)? Crane Conundrum - is he too much of a luxury player, seeing as CC cricket isn't played when pitches favour spin? But then signing a frontline CC spinner sends such a bad message to him. Perhaps he just isnt as good as was hyped?

https://twitter.com/TheSecretScout_/status/1576295777726365696

If Ralph teams aren't one of the most aggressive pressing sides in the league then whats his purpose? That is his game and he isn't doing it. He has been, understandably, impacted by past results but before I saw the circumstances and gave him the benefit of the doubt. Today, I expected us to lose. He has IMO done a good job overall, but after a long tenure in PL terms a change is needed. We don't have a lot of quality so we absolutely need a gameplan. We currently don't have one that works. This summer experiment with 3 CBs showed that he has lost his way and Chelsea aside, results this season show that its now more than a blip.

Before the Villa game I think the result of the poll would probably be quite different, so one game does seem to make a difference to the overall mood.

My opinion FWIW: We have generally been more solid this season but its been at the expense of our attacking ability. In the PL its such a balancingnact between defence and attack and previously we and he have been burned by being too open. However, now we have what seems to be a decent CB pairing and once we get Lavia back I think we can go back to 4-2-2-2, as I think we need to play two strikers to play together in order to make up for not having any x factor type players in forward areas (which isn't Ralph's fault). IMO he deserves a few more games to see whether he can marry defence and attack. If he cannot then its time to part ways but a part of me feels we are close to being a good side if we can find an attacking combination that will work. But without a high energy, high pressing style I don't really see what he brings, so hope he goes back to that. Our start is pretty much where I expected points wise so no huge rush to take action now unless they have seen concerns behind the scenes. An obvious time to make a change would be just before or during the WC period.

Hopefully includes an automatic pro deal when he turns 17.

In a central position I think he sometimes gives the ball away too much and in dangerous areas. In a wide position, I would pick him considering our other options. Personally, now we have a decent CB pairing I think we should go back to 4-2-2-2 because I think we need to use 2 strikers in combination to be more of a threat. In a 4-3-3 you need one CM thats a goal threat and at least one of the wide players to be a goal threat (Zaha, Barnes, ASM style). We have none. Adams is a good striker but against two CBs its really tough. Give him a partner and all of a sudden the whole team has more options and is less reliant on individual quality - which we don't have.

Diallo just isn't good enough for the PL. Agile yes but poor on the ball, lacking concentration and can't balance that out with any physical presence.

Regardless, if he had moved anywhere at the end of the window it would have been to Leeds by all accounts. I doubt we will go back in for him and imagine a team higher up the chain than both of us will get him.

He said the same that he says about most players we sign, the ball oriented defending is new for AMN and he will therefore need to improve off the ball. He said on the ball he has quality. Wouldn't read much into it.

KWP is excellent, but does anyone really expect him to be picked ahead of James, TAA, Walker or Trippier considering the level of some of those players and the experience of others. His best shout would be at LB but he hasn't played there this season. He is unlucky that his position is also where England have the most high calibre options. But realistically, it would be a huge suprise if Southgate picked him ahead of any of those mentioned. If anything, Southgate needs to show some courage and decide which one RB to select alongside Reece James - having 4 is nonsense - he is too scared of the backlash of leaving some out.

As per the PL squad lists which includes scholars, Meghoma hasn't signed for Saints, and is also not listed against any other PL team. Imagine he will sign somewhere fairly soon, but perhaps not at Saints afterall.

IMO the buyback has little to no impact on any personal terms negotiation, certainly not from Saints perspective. Thats for Lavia's reps to sort out, and if it got to the stage of City triggering the buy back then I am fairly sure they would have already agreed that anyway.

The transfer fee is largely irrelevant for the player and wouldnt make a difference to the package he is offered as he wouldnt receive any of the fee anyway. Any team can bid what they want for him but if City offer whatever the agreed price is then that will certainly be accepted. Of course he may wish to move elsewhere but thats up to him. With regards agreeing a fee, City have already done that so will always have an option to sign him should anyone else move for him. What we don't know is clauses like when the buy back kicks in, are City obligated to keep him for 12 months after buying back (to stop them selling onto someone else straight away) etc.

Well yes, what you are describing is the buy-back option, which we already know exists. The very fact that there is one shows we have an outline agreement to sell him back at a specific price should Man City wish to activate it. Essentially they have a first refusal to take him back. Up to them if they want to, which is clearly more nuanced than simply how good he is.

https://www.scunthorpe-united.co.uk/news/2020/april/catching-up-jonathan-forte/ Jonno Quick has now retired. Probably the quickest lower league journeyman to have graced the game. The very definition of crapid.

Pretty sure the Livramento buy back was set so it didnt kick in for 18 months. Lavia's may well be the same. Regardless of the amount, what is difficult to quantify is the benefit Saints get when trying to sign other players of a similar ilk. This bid from Chelsea, plus his performances so far, show these players that its a great move to make. That is potentially worth a huge amount.

KWP under contract until 2025 thankfully so could still aak for big money for him the next two windows. Salisu surely they will try to extend but if he won't then it forces a sale next summer. Think he is still inconsistent enough that its an easy argument that another season after this of playing regularly would set him up well. He is also quite awkward on the ball which might put off some of the top sides a little.