CamSaint

I thought Saints' ambitions were quite low, then just saw the following headline on the BBC transfer feed: ''Dowie to Liverpool likely'. Sadly it turns out that it is about a loan transfer from Reading to Liverpool in the WSL🤣🤣

Well there wouldn't be any option to buy as his contract over there would have finished so there is no one to buy from. I guess it depends whether anyone in a much better league position comes in with a longer term deal that he thinks is worth taking or whether one of our rivals offers him a better 6 month deal. I can't see him wanting to be tied to any relegation struggler after the end of the season, even if they manage to stay up.

One of the things that fascinates me about all this is the assumption that spending lots of money = strengthening and therefore = survival. Our striking deficiency has been done to death on here and I'm as frustrated as any Saints fan about our lack of firepower. However, even assuming we are relegated, two other teams will also have to go - but who? Looking at the table, Bournemouth, Wolves, West Ham, Leeds and Forest have all spent or are spending big, so they have all strengthened so they must all be safe mustn't they? Then Everton are appointing Dyche, so he'll get them out of trouble, won't he? So the only ones left in the bottom half are Villa, Palace & Leicester. But Vill are a 'big club' and have Emery as their manager so they won't go down, will they? So it looks like Palace and Leicester to join us. I don't think Palace have spent much (if anything) so far and Leicester haven't spent much either. So, Palace, Leicester & Us to go down - anyone disagree? Or will one of the other clubs have invested so much to strengthen in this window find out that their investment wasn't good enough?

He is certainly having to work with young players here. 7 of the first team squad of 27 are 20 or under and another 10 are between 21 and 25. And he has also had some of our own youngsters, including JJM, on the bench at times although none of them have yet got onto the pitch.

Depends what you define as a 'small tight squad'. We have 27 in the first team squad atm. This includes Willy, who it would appear would only play in an absolute emergency and Tino, who is probably unlikely to play any significant role this season. That takes us down to 25. Then I guess you you have to allow for injuries. Currently McCarthy, ABK, Stu & Larios at different stages of returns to fitness. That takes it down to 21, maybe 22 if McCarthy is fit to return this week. Then you have Lavia, whose game time is being managed quite carefully and Orsic & Alcares who appear to have been working up to full fitness. Then take a look at the quality of some of the remaining players who are fully fit in principle.......🤦‍♂️. A 'small tight squad' might be OK if it was a 'small tight high quality squad'!

It is interesting, because that is the impression that I got as well, but that isn't translating into defensive outcomes where it really matters - in the PL. Comparing Jones' 5 full PL results with Ralph's last 5 (omitting the Liverpool game as Ralph had gone, and Jones was really only nominally in charge): Jones P5, W1, D0, L4, F4, A8, Pts 3 Ralph P5, W1, D2, L2, F5, A6, Pts 5 When you consider that we shipped 4 (against Newcastle) in Ralph's last match in charge, we had only conceded 2 goals in his previous 4 games. Looking at the season as a whole though, Ralph conceded just over 1.7 goals per game, while Jones is currently at 1.6 goals per game (again ignoring the Liverpool fixture). So in summary, there is no improvement in defensive outcome compared to the immediate form before Ralph's sacking, but a marginal improvement compared to Ralph over the season so far. The goals for column doesn't look any better either. Under Ralph we scored 12 in 14 (about 0.86 goals per game) and 4 in 5 under Jones (0.8 goals per game) - again excluding the Liverpool result. Even worse is the overall performance. Ralph accumulated 12 points in 14 games (about 0.86 per game) Jones has 3 in 5 (0.6 per game). I know these are very basic stats but they further serve to reinforce the blindingly obvious need to improve at both ends of the pitch. Jones has tinkered with all sorts of different formations, which I don't necessarily have a problem with as Ralph was regularly criticised for not having a 'Plan B' or not being proactive in games, but he has used the same set of players and hasn't made any tangible progress. As others have said, it seems crazy that we have brought in 2 new players and have barely used them. Unless fitness is an issue, it is difficult to see why Jones isn't making use of them, especially with the credentials Orsic has.

Presumably this could be invoked up to the transfer deadline, so maybe the club is going to wait to see if they can secure anyone they think is better before triggering it?

Interesting that Alfie House is reporting that Saints have allegedly rejected loan bids for Mara from Strasbourg, Lorient and Augsburg (https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/23257004.southampton-reportedly-reject-three-advances-take-striker-loan/). If true, it seems odd that that this doesn't seem to have been used as part of the negotiations with Lorient to get Moffi.

I'm sure that the fanbase at large was expecting him to have had a major impact after the WC break. in reality, ABK and Salisu were missing for a large part of that period while KWP & Lavia were recovering from significant injuries - in fact Lavia still does not appear to be ready for a full 90 minutes yet. Those 4 constitute a significant part of the defensive unit, and with them not practicing much together during the break, it may explain why he kept chopping and changing with the defensive set-up when we re-started. Just a thought.

Surely this is is the problem of holding a pre-match presser immediately after the preceding game? He made those comments right after the Fulham game when he was clearly annoyed & frustrated about the mistakes that had led to the Fulham goals (particularly the second one). Ralph was often pretty downbeat in his post-match interviews, but managed to be a bit more positive in the pre-match pressers a day or so before the upcoming match. Nevertheless, Jones does seem to be increasingly stressed with each poor result. Maybe SR have set him short-term targets that he isn't going to achieve?

Seems like these sorts of complications may not be restricted to Saints' end of the table: 'Chelsea are set to make a last-ditch attempt to hijack Arsenal's January bid for Shakhtar Donetsk and Ukraine winger Mykhailo Mudryk, despite the Gunners having already agreed personal terms with the 21-year-old. (Sun)' - from the BBC's gossip column

Lots of pics of Lavia & ABK in the training gallery on the official site. DCC, Salisu & Lyanco also feature. Quite a few of Willy, but none of McCarthy. Does that mean we're keeping Lavia but selling McCarthy? 😂

Presumably Germany's early exit from the World Cup will mean ABK can join up with the squad in Spain?

True, but Saints can't afford to be without a 4th CB, particularly if NJ does end up pursuing the 3-5-2/5-3-2 formation. The possible fees suggested for Lyanco are not particularly high, so do we look for another cheap replacement or would it be possible (or indeed desirable) to recall Simeu or Stephens from their loans?

It seems to have escaped most people's attention that SR were present at the Everton match, so Ralph started with all of the summer signings except Lavia (injured) and Edozie. Whether that was because SR wanted to see them in action or whether Ralph wanted to put 2 fingers up at SR and say 'this is what you bought me & it isn't good enough" we'll never know. However, to me it is telling that it is the one and only time that they've all started a match.

I cannot believe that SR have not been working on a possible Ralph replacement for if/when they pull the trigger. It could easily be that they have identified someone that we've never heard of. Who knew anything about de Zerbi before Brighton brought him in?

But it wasn't overall. The golf and cricket were suspended for one day on Friday which meant no one could watch the golf or cricket on that day. The PGA tournament at Wentworth has been reduced to 54 holes, presumably making it a less challenging competition this year. Football has effectively suspended one set of matches, but because of TV this spreads over several days. Imagine the outcry if Saturday's matches had been called off as a mark of respect but Sunday & Monday's had been allowed to go ahead, both in terms of some fans being able to watch their teams and others not, and additional fixture congestion for some clubs and not others. Rugby seems to be the big exception, as you rightly say, taking a different approach.

Interesting to note that Redmond's impending departure leaves us with 24 players in the 1st team squad. This includes Willy and Tino, and with Lavia now injured we are down to 21 available for the 20 needed in a matchday squad. A couple more injuries and we will be needing to go to the B team to supplement the bench. Good for the 'pathway' for our youngsters, but may leave the bench a bit weaker.

Dan Nlundulu back from Cheltenham in January - problem solved

Dependent on them getting a replacement before their window 'slams shut' tonight?

With regards to Gapko, it would appear that he's the one that SR want, but how far do both sides go with brinkmanship? I wonder if Saints have another target lined up that they could switch their attention to at the 11th hour if Gapko falls through?

Dibling came on as a substitute for Chelsea in the 1-1 draw against the U-18s, but didn't score.

Agreed, and he was consistently making himself available and working the ball around. One of these days it will click for him. In my opinion he was very unlucky with the shot that was cleared off the line by the defender who knew absolutely nothing about it. Compare that to Che's first goal on Saturday where the ball hit the defender on the line & went in. On a different note, I thought Payne looked very good going forward but struggled a bit defensively. I went with my son & young grandson who go to the Abbey fairly regularly and we sat more or less by the halfway line on Payne's side in the first half. He committed to several challenges particularly early on where he got skinned but fortunately the side didn't get punished for it. Having said that, he has a good eye for a pass & overall it was a very positive debut. It would have been good if Ballard could have had a few more minutes. The lad oozes confidence and showed a natural striker's instinct to follow up & convert the rebound for his goal. He looks a real natural. Good performance overall. Thought SA played well, Lyanco was his usual self. Funniest moment was when Payne was substituted. He was down with cramp for a while, so most players took the opportunity for a drink. Djenepo had come on earlier into midfield. When the substitution was made, Valery went over to RB, but Djenepo wandered back into midfield leaving a huge hole at LB, with Lyanco screaming and gesticulating at the bench saying 'who's supposed to be in this hole?!" (or words to that effect). Eventually they got Djenepo's attention and he then ambled back to take up his position. There was also a lovely moment when the Saints fans sang and applauded for David Armstrong. It was a really enjoyable evening. Took me back to our League 1 days, going to grounds like Dagenham & Redbridge, Southend (where the roof leaked!) & Wycombe - happy days!

I thought that I had read somewhere that Villa had enquired about a loan for JB rather than buying him?

Maybe this will be the season that the 'magic' figure of 40 points will not be enough to guarantee safety - it has happened before.