St Louis

Nothing in-depth, but a little more info on the prospective owner here: https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/8234076/dragan-solak-net-worth-southampton-telecoms/

I think Jeremy Wilson is the best out there, very well balanced and not sensationalist at all (not looking for the clickbait or rumour type articles). Very well connected with the club (after years working for the Echo, in the Strachan era) and now Chief Sports Reporter at The Telegraph. He does also cover a lot of other sports, as well as Arsenal news too these days. And a Saints fan to boot, which is always a bonus - he also wrote the Saints Cult Heroes book. Twitter: https://twitter.com/jwtelegraph An interesting Pod here too, where he talks about Saints and some of the Strachan 'moods' he encountered: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3izYUVpKY49Lo3czwo3via?si=io84u2wVQHSMziJa4eyE3w

Rickie Lambert is at it now too, if you have a look at his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CW-gvUQo01t/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link What a shame

I like the sound of this. Out of interest, can each team only picked by one person? And who decides who gets first pick? Or could all 6 of you choose Liverpool this weekend for example? P.S I think Liverpool is a smart and safe pick for you this weekend, unfortunately.

Wow, the level of posts on this forum have certainly dropped, im remembering why I dont post often on here now. What a thing to say (its wrong on a few levels obviously) but just because some people like and back our current manager, and you dont!?

Its OK for people to rate our manager, regardless of if you dont. Why try and be condescending by calling them/me 'fan boys'? We lost a game today because our attacking players didnt take their chances, and the keeper let in 2 howlers, I dont blame Ralph for either. I'm sure he would also prefer Haaland up top and Oblak in goal, but this isnt fantasy football. We dominated the majority of the game today, and were it not for McCarthy's two mistakes today, we would be sat in 7th. Instead we are in 13th, which personally I also think is overachieving for a club of our size, with the finances the others have in comparison. So I dont quite get the Ralph bashing and cant think of a realistic alternative who would get much more out of this squad. Each to their own though, I'm quite happy to accept that others have differing opinions to mine. I'm just sharing mine as this is a forum... for Southampton FC fans, and I enjoy reading differing ones, without having to try and belittle them.

Really? Why isn't he?

Am I missing something here? If we'd stuck away some of our (12) chances in the first half and McCarthy hadnt chucked two in, then we'd have been sat in 7th now. I dont think either of those things are Ralph's fault, it's just a bang average squad who made mistakes at both ends. We were missing our three most attacking/creative/pacey midfielders too (Djenepo, Redmond & Armstrong). Ralph did try and change things earlier in the 2nd half as he could see it wasnt working (something he didnt do enough last season), with 3 changes to try and freshen it up and a change of formation to 5/3 at the back. Yes I know Walcott doesnt have it anymore, but I'm sure he wouldnt have got on the pitch if Djenepo, Redmond or Armstrong had been available. Missed opportunity and yes I'm gutted, but we should/would have won that at least 1-0, and would have done if it wasnt for an awful showing by our keeper. Keep some perspective, we could easily have been sat 7th tonight (a 3rd of the way through the season), and personally I think thats a miracle with the squad and resources we have.

Nice play on words there 👏

Sorry if I'm on my own here, but what exactly are 'Power Rankings'? What do they reflect?

I simply mean with regards to many saying it would be a sideways step. In football terms I agree. But we all know that money talks in reality. And having a little more freedom in the transfer market would probably appeal too, and sometimes just a new challenge. I think Ralph does enjoy it at Saints, and I think he will also appreciate the support he’s had from both the board and fans, during a few very rocky patches (and 2 exceptionally poor results). I’m a big Ralph fan, and I hope it’s no more than early paper talk. I like us having stability for a change and I personally think he’s getting the best out of a pretty average squad and a continued lack of funds, so long may that continue.

Personally I hope you’re right. But we did say the same about Koeman to Everton. Money talks sadly, and a little bit of a boards ambition (or lack of) too.

Ralph’s odds tumbling for the Villa job. He was 12/1 an hour ago and now 6/1 third favourite, behind Gerrard and Terry. Personally I’d be gutted if he did leave us for Villa. But money and ambition talks I guess, and he wouldn’t get a Big 6 job (yet), so next best I suppose. This has a sniff of the Koeman to Everton (would never happen, just a sideways step) move….

Is that right? Good news if so. I had a text from the club yesterday offering me £10 off of a ticket (sadly I cant make it), so I assumed ticket sales had been slow.

And if you fancy helping him win it.... https://plpotm.easports.com/

What makes you think that our captain (and managers pet) wouldnt tell 'Dave the Builder' many of the private goings on behind the scenes at the club? Especially the really confidential and sensitive stuff like 'the current manager will be sacked by the end of October (regardless of how good his results are) and Eddie Howe will be taking over'? Maybe JWP advised him to put a wager on it as payment for some renovations 🤔

Eh? We were talking about ex-Chelsea managers who took over at Spurs weren't we?

Fourth, and that's just in the Premier League era too! 🤯 André Villas-Boas Glenn Hoddle José Mourinho Antonio Conte

It's funny how expectations can change over a few weeks. A month ago I would have been happy with a point, but after the month we've had and they've had, I would be disappointed now if we didn't win this one. And dare we dream, but the Norwich game next up looks very winnable too. Its the optimism that kills you!

The £46.50 (inc. the £1.50 fee) per ticket I've just paid to watch Saints v Brighton does seem extortionate, for the product on offer. And these aren't even the 'decent' seats on the halfway line. Apparently it's a higher priced Category B Game, as its a 'derby'.

Looking like Broja will miss this one with injury then. Shame, as he's definitely hitting his stride

Interesting video here from Hummel (for those who are interested in the design process). Saints kits this season were designed and signed off in just 5 days!

I noticed on Match of The Day that our attendance also wasn't shown. Most of the other games showed the attendance after the match, when the stats scroll through (shots, cards, xG, etc)

Well worth a listen.... https://talksport.com/radio/listen-again/1630872000/

Let's hope he has a great season with us, really enjoys it here, Chelsea enjoy seeing him develop, and allow us to have him for a second season on loan then Chelsea seem to do that quite often.