woodsaint1

Good solid win. Could have been more if we had been more clinical with final passes in the final third, but then Forster saved our bacon too. After the first 15/20 mins which was passive at best, we were alot more direct at times which was pleasing to see. Good perfomances all over the pitch, particularly Armstrong, JWP, Forster, Ings and Adams. The JWP/Armstrong partnership in the middle is becoming more pleasing each game. Salisu very composed when he came on. Thought Redmond and Taki were very wasteful in possession but thats not surprising. Definitely think we could pick up another 6/7 points with our remaining fixtures and who knows 12th might still be achievable. Lets finish strong

Operation sidewards sidewards backwards initiated again 🙄

Benteke against 6 of our players in a tight space. Embarassing

Be interesting to see if any of the relegated sides hit the 29 point mark we had in December. Remember some on here saying we would need 40 points for safety. In all seriousness though, we're sitting 17th after being top some 20 games ago. This has to be a wakeup call to all at the club. Massive summer ahead where we need to strengthen right through the team, otherwise we're through the trap door. Hopefully we can get some investment/takeover over the line soon and help push us forward

Fulham also have to go to Old Trafford, which given Utd's current form will be hard to see them getting anything. Big game for Burnley tonight as well. Lose and Fulham are only 6 behind them. Think they'll get at least a point.

You sniffing glue?

Not Wimbledon style hoof ball as we dont have the height/physicality for that, but bypassing the midfield with balls to the strikers feet/chest and working off that. Getting the wingers wide and stretching the pitch too. Theres plenty of things to do other than sidewards, sidewards, backwards and then recycling it back to the keeper.

One of our best performances this year, but still ultimately toothless. Walcott, Adams and Redmond were all pish. I'm sorry but Walcott doesnt deserve a contract with us. Another abject performance, just like 90% of his time here. Whats most frustrating is that we lack any urgency. Not the first time that we're trailing with 10 minutes to go and still passing it sidewards and backwards to create space. Im sorry but there comes a time when you need to be more direct to try and get something from the game. The fannying about with it ultimately got KWP caught and the games done. Positives wise, thought everybody bar the players above did well. Tella was easily our best attacking player. He continues to impress and asks questions of the defence, yet still hes the first player hooked off 🤷🏽‍♂️. Vestergaard was superb as well. So composed on the ball, finding the passes long or between the lines, but was rock solid defensively. If we get Ings back for the remaining games and play like we did today, we'll pick up at least 2 wins from our last 4 games. Staying positive

Be a good thing when we deny them on the final day then. A Newcastle team who've been largely atrocious this season are now ahead of us (although we do have games in hand). Bit depressing

Now that it looks almost certain that he's moving on and likely played his last game in a saints shirt, I think a Ryan Bertrand appreciation post is required. A fantastic servant for us over the years. Came with little fanfare and many on here (including myself) would admit being a little underwhelmed with his signing as a replacement for Shaw. In the years under Koeman he was arguably one of the top 3 LBs in the league in my opinion. Even in the poor Pellegrino and Hughes spells, he was still a solid performer for us and you could see that the club mattered to him. Never understood the suggestions of him being "lazy" or a "moan". He seems to be a laid back guy, but I never saw that reflected in his performances. Was always committed, gave us a great option on the overlap and very rarely you seen him taken on and beaten by opposing wingers. He does seem to have lost a yard of pace this last 18 months, but still felt he would be a valuable player for us going forward, particularly if we brought in a younger LB to interchange and take some of the workload off him. The fact that cover at LB hasnt really been a big issue before this season shows how ever reliable hes been. However who can begrudge him seeking out a new challenge as he moves to the later years of his career. Hes been with us 7 years, stuck with us through some sh** years when he could easily have been away to a top 6 club. He deserves a proper send off and hopefully the limited fans in the ground at the end of the season can give him that 👏🏼👏🏼

Good to hear him not making any excuses and already making steps to address the problems. Interesting on the transfer front about some signings potentially being nearly completed already (not withstanding Walcott). Hopefully we can get some business done early window and not need to be scrambling around on deadline day like we've done all too often. Deadline day is for great deals which present themselves late on, not for trying to cover needs you've been looking to address for months

But they all played and learnt alongside experienced CBs in Claus and Jose. Its not critical, but I think for the development of Salisu and potentially a young LB once recruited, an experienced CB would help with that

Not a chance Hoedt has a future here. I think Vesty will stay and sign a new deal, but if he does leave I would like to see us bring in an older, experienced CB (late 20s/early 30s). I know it goes against our recruitment approach, but honestly think Salisu and even Bednarek could benefit from playing/learning beside an older and wiser head. Thinking about the influence the likes of Evans, Cahill and more recently Dawson have had at their respective clubs. The likes of Willi Orban, who Ralph would know quite well, would fit the bill and may be available. Likely to be a few with PL experience worth looking at as well (fan of Schar at Newcastle)

Great read. They even made a play "A Night in November" about the game and the subsequent Republic venture to USA 94

While I accept that injuries have been a big factor, the u23 team had probably their best team available last time out (Tella, Obafemi, Jankewitz, N'Lundulu, Ferry to name a few) and still lost 5-0. We arent the only club who've had to deal with injuries this season and yet other u18/u23 sides continue to perform at a decent level. In the u18 league we're way behind some of the London clubs like Palace, Fulham and Reading who face serious competition from bigger clubs in the capital in terms of attracting/keeping their talent. To me, you can have the best scouting/recruitment in the world, but if the coaching isnt good enough it wont matter. We need a serious overhaul of the coaching setup in the academy because a total of 6 wins across 46 u18/u23 games is absolutely dreadful

Too young to remember him at Saints, but remember his equalising goal against us (Northern Ireland) which took the Republic to USA 94. Arguably the most hostile game of football ever and he was the sub that stood up when it mattered. RIP Alan.

Thats proper policing using the snatch squads. Maybe the lad will think twice next time when wanting to engage in some disorder. Police officer near lost his eye after getting a bottle to the face....all for what, who runs a bloody football club

Looking back theres some priceless posts on here from the usual suspects 🤣

I would agree. The priorities in my opinion - Striker (if Ings goes - which is becoming more if by the day) Left Back to replace Bertrand who is almost certainly gone Centre Back if Vestergaard goes, but dont think he will. Full Back preferably to cover both sides Centre Mid who offers more attacking wise than our current options. Think thats a big issue for us as teams dont need to worry about JWP/Diallo/Romeu breaking from midfield and asking questions of them defensively - hence why we've looked better with Armstrong in there. In terms of GK, Tomas Vaclik is on a free from Sevilla in the summer. Very good keeper with plenty of european and international experience. We should seriously consider it and look to move on McCarthy or Forster (probably get more for Forster - Celtic could definitely do with him again)

Sky and Neville/Carragher with their inflammatory language the other week looks bad now. Do recall Carragher using the words "tear the stadium down" when talking about Liverpool. You can guarantee that if it was our fans or any other team in the bottom half who got on like that today we would be heavily criticised by Sky and other media

Do they honestly believe that this will force the Glazers to leave. Their stubborness is well known

*close thread*

Its like a funeral parlour on sky sports 1, everybody is so sad 😂. Shove it up them and their biased coverage. Ralph deserves alot of credit for starting Stephens. He put in a similar performance in the 2-1 win at the King Power a few seasons ago (complete with mocking Vardys celebration). Also made a quick change after the red to tighten things up. Salisu was excellent. It seems that Ralphs learnt his lesson from the OT debacle. Really proud of the boys. Hopefully we can take this forward and finish the season strong

Whoosh

We should have pre match doom and gloom on here for every game. Seems to inspire us