woodsaint1

Hoping the club take a firm stance with any proposed transfer of Ings and dont let it drag its heels. For example telling his agent that he can leave for x amount, but it has to be completed by x date (this date being well in advance of the first game of the season). Then we'll see how much he's sought after then. The last thing we need is to be going into the first few games of the season with this still hanging over us (Ings possibly not wanting to play), or get to deadline day and have to bring in a replacement at late notice for an inflated price (wouldnt be like us 👀). We need to be proactive on any possible replacement and start making that contact now. Clubs like RB Leipzig and Dortmund do this very well - within days of a big sale, they have a replacement lined up and they're in the door in no time. The recent sale of Upamecano and purchase of Simakan was a good example from Leipzig. I imagine we'll have alot more knock backs than these clubs would, but if we have 3/4 priority targets then you would imagine we'll get one

You can sense a few on here are furious inside that we won, means they cant wade in with their 'Ralph is out of his depth', 'we have no balls or leadership' drivel. Bizarre behaviour. Some need a reaiity check on who they're supporting - we will lose more than we win, so when we do win lets enjoy it and praise the team. Being a miserable f*** all the time cant be good in the long term

Great fight and determination to come back from the dead, definitely been a while since we've seen that. Could have easily been a 6-3 game with the chances we squandered. Lets push on and finish strong like last season.

You do know that strikers regularly switch positions to get the best matchups and if you've played football beyond under 8 the best way to deal with that as a defender is to pass the player across. You dont start crossing over each other as its chaotic. Bednarek needs to just deal with the physicality when Wood does move onto him

Vestergaard equally to blame for the 2nd goal. Switches off and doesnt see Wood peeling off onto Bednarek and leaving Vydra free. Needs to shift across with him. Despite the power, Forster has to do better with the shot

They have won 4 games all season and regardless of the result today, they're gone. Would need to win 5 of their last 8 to possibly get safe imo. Too little too late for Fat Sam

A goal is a goal to a striker and keeps his confidence high. He will start

Yes he was stupid, but to say Alex is only entitled to once chance is ridiculous. Hes young and deserves another chance and soon. Hopefully wins against Burnley and/or WBA will all but confirm our safety and he can be given a chance in league games in the run in

Not just that, but just became the most capped british player of all time beating Shilton's record. NI legend and will be very fondly remembered by Saints fans (although theres a few weirdos who never rated him)

Lets smash Burnley and then pick up another 3 points against WBA. Be safe as houses then and focus can shift to reaching the FA Cup final

Thought Stanciu was excellent for Slavia against Rangers. Could fit the creative playmaker role we desperately need. Established international too

Think Ings is gone, but not convinced about Bertrand or Veatergaard leaving. Think theres a good chance we could tie both down to new contracts, but our guaranteed safety is stalling negotiations/signing on the dotted line. If this holds true and if nobody else of note leaves, then think we're still looking at 4 players to plug the gaps. In terms of priority - CF - will be the difference between fighting relegation and mid table. This is how crucial Ings has been. Without replacing his goals, we will be in the s***. We cant afford a Carillo or Delgado moment of madness. RB - for competition with KWP LB - for competition with Bertrand AM - we need a no10 type playmaker to improve our creativity. Outside of Armstrong and an in-form Redmond (not often), it is non existent Cant see us ever paying close to 40m for a player, let alone that player being Tammy Abraham. Im not going to pretend to know who we should target, but there has been plenty of success stories from the Championship. We should perhaps look there, particularly for the full back depth. Also very surprised that after two and a half years with Ralph in charge we havent brought more in from the German or Austria Bundesligas, although Danso didnt work out. Seeing the success of Slavia Prague this season and how Soucek/Coufal have fared for West Ham, the Czech league could be another option if we likely dont have much to sopend

Given what I've just read, he's already in your scapegoat territory, as are alot of our players if you read your miserable posts. Of course hes a midtable player, thats why he plays for us. I'm not advocating him to be a world beater, nor are many on here, but he's a crucial player for us. Of those attributes you've described, theres been plenty of players who've had great careers at the top level doing exactly what hes doing. He maximises his ownpotential. Hes not the quickest, nor the most skillful, but hes one of our best players and his set plays are excellent. And how do you know hes a poor, poor captain? You dont see what goes on in the dressing room or on the training ground. You're probably basing it some weird notion that all captains have to be Roy Keane-esque, running around booting people and giving other players bollockings. The games moved on, those players are a dying breed, if not dead already

Surprisingly havent seen it mentioned elsewhere, but Jankewitz has been getting alot of praise for what was described as a dominant display against England under 21 at the Euros yesterday. Anybody catch the game?

Sad state of affairs for our team if our system is heavily reliant on a right back who was third choice at Spurs. He's a great player and our player of the year imo, but the system needs to be more resilient next season. What if he gets injured for 6 months, is that season over for us? No othet team is so dependent on a full back

Are all the academy teams working off Ralph's playbook yet? If so, its definitely not a good sign for the future

Just put a few white stripes on the red and we're onto a winner

Would certainly take Tomas Vaclik, very solid goalkeeper with plenty of european and international experience. Sell McCarthy and let Vaclik and Forster battle it out for number 1

The under 21 Euros start next week and Diallo wasnt named in the France squad I dont think. To have only 5/6 away isnt bad, plus we should have Ings and Walcott back in training hopefully. Burnley will have the same if not more away on international duty - Pope, McNeill, Gudmundsson, Brady, Long and Vydra off the top of my head. It affects all PL teams so not much of an advantage the international break

What difference a year makes. Last year West Ham were staring relegation in the face after some poor recruitment. Now they're flying after some shrewd signings. The likes of Soucek (£14m), Coufal (£5m), Lingard (Loan) and Dawson (free) would have hardly excited the fans but have all made that team better and for buttons in todays market. In fact their marquee signing Benrahma hasnt really worked out so far. All with a manager who most of the fanbase didnt want to see back. Just shows what a transfer window or two can do for a club. Our recruitment the last few windows has been decent and lets hope that continues in the summer. Theres quality out there which doesnt involve busting the bank, which is likely the position we'll find ourselves given our current finances and Ralphs desire to add depth to the squad

Two poor sides and we managed to lose to both in the last month or so 🙄. Both desperately need a win as their run ins are very tricky

Redmonds shite 😂

I would agree, both very similar players but what JWP offers from free kicks and corners is arguably the best in the league and the reason why hes in the England squad right now. Fair play to him for the work he puts in on that front. Reed having a good season for Fulham. Fulham have a number of good individual players - the likes of Lookman, Anguissa, Andersen and Areola. But thats also their problem, cohesively they seem to struggle (Lemina wont help on that front either) and make some silly mistakes. Still think they will catch Newcastle, but will need Brighton to do them a favour tomorrow.

Theres a brief mention in the following article about Scudamore being a member of the Redball board. Also says that RedBall remain interested in 'soccer' teams and have another 18 months to identify an acquisition target. If a purchase is not completed within that time, its raised funds will be returned to investors. There is a significant amount of sports team ownership experience and funding behind them. https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/redball-spac-fenway-sports-group-equity-stake

The only trophies which matter and which we have any realistic chance of winning are the FA Cup and the League Cup. Get relegated from the PL and you can say goodbye to any small chances of either happening while we're in a lower league. Therefore staying in the PL is pretty important for genuine cup success. That being said, if you offered me an FA Cup win this season at the expense of our PL status and a few years back in the Championship, I'd take it. But then getting back to the PL would become our aim and the manner in which that happens would be irrelevant. The JPT win was a great time and mattered alot to the fans after years of heartache. It would have been good to have won the Championship and League One when we got promoted, but it all honesty who actually cares now. I couldnt tell you who won the Championship two years or three years ago, nevermind it was nearly a decade ago for us. Whenever the fans invaded the pitch home to Coventry and Walsall, were you sulking in the stand that we werent getting our name engraved on a trophy that mattered little in the grand scheme of things?