Brumsaint

I know we're still in a terrible position in the league, but do you remember last season? McCarthy won player of the season with no real challenge from any outfield player. It does make me appreciate RH's ability to coax good performances out of the players we have and we can see players visibly improving. Redmond, JWP and Bednarek are prime examples and each could be worthy by the end of the season.

I trust Ralf and his team to get the most out of all of them. I'm surprised that Sims and Hesketh haven't been given a chance yet when others have. Considering the improvements we've seen in other players who'd been written off, I expect a few more to come good, but I think it'll take a while.

I reckon he'll go with his 4-2-2-2 formation from the off and will expect the players to fit into it. Is Targett fit? If not, he might go for Vokins at LB, as he's been promoted as a big supporter of chances for the youth players. McCarthy Cedric/Valery Vestergaard Yoshida Vokins/Targett Lemina Hojbjerg Armstrong Redmond Austin Gabbiadini (basically, who else is fit?)

A settled team would be good, but we need to know that the players have been well coached so that whoever comes into the team due to suspension or injury will be able to step in and play their part. I just hope the squad are good enough to take on his ideas and improve individually and collectively.

I'm sure I read something very similar to that in the summer. I'm hoping that his grounded nature will help him settle and produce his best form for Saints, because he's not looked the player we were hoping for so far.

I actually feel that the current crop are better, but then so is the standard of the league. Cedric is not a top 4 RB, but he's a good Premier League player, as I believe are a good half of those. Long & Austin are not good enough for a team aspiring to challenge for Europe, or even to stay up IMO, as both seem in decline, whereas many of the others, with the right coaching, are capable of playing at a high level and certainly better than the dross we had when we went down last time.

This was the first game I've made it to this season and it really hasn't filled me with much hope for the campaign ahead. We were in the ascendency for most of the middle part of the game, but without really threatening the Wolves goal. Austin hardly managed to hold the ball up successfully at all from what I remember and didn't have a chance near the goal all game, but Ings, Redmond, Hojbjerg and Lemina did a good job of keeping possession and we looked fairly competent, just unlikely to score. I think Cedric was the only player to put any crosses in and only did so with urgency towards the end. Mainly it was painfully slow and easy to defend against. I can see why Hoedt gets so much stick. I would much rather have Yoshida playing and absolutely agree with the criticism of Bertrand, too. I don't see what he offered at all - certainly not inspiration and leading by example as captain. I will be delighted if Hughes learns and turns things round, but from what my Stoke supporting family and friends say, I'd be quite surprised. I am totally baffled at the 3 at the back formation being played all pre-season and then ditched so quickly. Now we don't seem to have any kind of clear identity or style on the pitch. Also, far from having half the team from the academy, there was not a single player on the pitch who came through the ranks. So much for the Southampton way.

Did Long really play there in the first half?

Does anyone think it's possible Reed will play himself into contention as RB in pre-season? I reckon he's got no chance in midfield, as we have far too many other players ahead of him there, but could he be like McQueen and make the switch? I know he played there quite a lot for Norwich last season, so is that the reason we haven't been linked with signing any right backs yet?

Am I right in thinking we played three CBs without anyone who normally plays as a CB in the second half?

Finally! Now let's hope deals for players are sorted in time for pre-season, so everyone knows where they stand.

I agree with the majority here saying that this was an underachieving team always a few results from pulling away. I wrote a blog post about how lucky the board were that the late gamble with Hughes paid off here if you're interested: missedtrees.wordpress.com/2018/05/09/saints-board-fortunate-that-hughes-sparks-a-revival-to-save-top-flight-status