CheshireSaint

Didn't we lose out on Tom Ince too, to add to that list?

I would give this years kits (third to follow), a 7/10. Pretty good. Perhaps a poll by someone who knows their @rse from their elbow, might be an idea.

At left back? 😆

Shilton - Raised the profile of Southampton FC and England stalwart whilst at Saints Burridge - Crackers (funny). I remember being at Anfield when he singlehandedly kept out a title winning Liverpool somehow and spoiled their title reception celebrations somewhat Niemi - The flying Finn. He made saves that just shouldn't have happened. Dennis - Crackers (vicious) Watson - Pure commitment Nicholl - As above and managed us fairly successfully Ball - We may have had him coming down but he still gave his all for Saints as a Player and Manager Keegan - Could have chosen anywhere but came to Saints Danny Wallace - The best of the Wallace brothers IMO Moran - Should have had senior international recognition Channon - Read Shilton Williams - Fierce for a slight fella, great engine and vison. Brilliant all round midfielder who should have been proper famous Case - Did a lot for Saints and the brilliant crop of players coming through at that time Le Tissier - The most naturally gifted English player ever Paine - Never saw him play in the flesh but purely from other testimony's and his playing record Davies - As above and also played for Chester (my local team) Lambert - My favourite modern day player and his goal for England seconds after making his debut, is arguably my favourite moment in football ever, I went mental Benali - Hard not to factor in what he did after Saints but even prior to that, made up for lack of natural ability with a fierce determination, rarely matched Clarke - A bit left field but I was a teenage striker when he signed and he started like a rocket. I witnessed a brace at Old Trafford in a 2 nil win which was rather memorable Rodrigues - Anyone that scores a goal whilst sat on his @rse (palace away) is a legend in my book. Without the injuries, who knows. Every time he got going, he seemed to get injured As for Lallana, his antics toward the end of his Saints career mean he will never be the legend he should have been. Special shout out to Bobby Stokes. Bit sad not to get in there despite scoring the goal that won us our only senior cup.

I have a picture with her from that meeting, somewhere. Anyway, back to Frank Worthington. I was sat there listening to his anecdotes about every club he had been at. As you'd imagine, there were many as he played for almost everyone. As the timeline of 'interesting' stories threaded toward Saints, I was looking forward to hear what he would say and was hoping he might at least discuss the Danny Wallace overhead kick goal against Liverpool in '84. 'Then I got to Southampton' he said, then words to the effect of Lawrie McMenemy was worse than Saddam Hussein'. That was it. Swiftly moved on to his next club. I was gutted. Granted, an audience in Birkenhead wouldn't be hanging on his every word regarding Saints, but still.

Ok, not all footballers but - Ray Clemence - Came to the local pub in Chester on some publicity thing in later 70's Bob Willis - Walking on the City Walls in Chester. It was about 1980 and I was about 9. We exchanged pleasantries, friendly enough but very reserved Donna Hartley (Olympian Athlete from Southampton)- Came to our school in Chester and was delighted and somewhat surprised when I rocked up in my early 80's Saints home kit in about '83/84 Steve Davis (Snooker) - He was staying at a Hotel I was working at in 1989 ish. It was after hours and he was hungry. I took him to the kitchen and made him a ham sandwich with English mustard. Actually a very witty bloke Gianfranco Zola - Outside Mcdonald's in Chester during Euro 96. Got his autograph and promptly lost it (beer involved) Steve Claridge - Pub in Chester. I showed him my Saints tattoo and one of his goons came swiftly over but he quickly told him to stand down and then had a good 30 minute chat and bought me a pint. Really nice chap Nicky Banger - Used to go out with my cousin in Lordswood. Came to a family barbecue but was a bit aloof even before he made his debut Frank Worthington - A charity event in Birkenhead in the late 90's. Compared Lawrie Mac to Saddam Hussein. No love lost there Paul Jones, Chris Coleman & Kit Symonds - in another pub in Chester (they were staying just over the border pre Wales game). The former two laughed when I asked who Symonds was. I knew of course but didn't want to give him the honour Barry Horne - in my local in Chester about 2010. Was a bit up his own arse Robbie Savage - Chester Races on the course with the normal folk Ian Rush - Around Chester. Sick off seeing him to be honest Micky Adams - In a bar in Coral Bay, Cyprus in about 2008. He was on his own and I think delighted anyone recognised him. Signed a beer mat for me, which I again promptly lost (beer involved again) John Barnes - On a flight from Manchester to Southampton in about 2012. He was on his way to the same Saints match as I was, to do some commentary work. He was decent enough Michael Owen and Dieter Hamann in my regular recently. Owen is one of those annoying blokes seems to just be good at anything. Challenged me to a game of Bagatelle (a Chester table game - google it). I accepted and he then started acting the big man saying £100 a game. I agreed to £20 and then beat him. He wanted to carry on but I declined, much to his chagrin. Hamann though was really sound Special mention to a former Chester player, Eddie Bishop (John Bishop's brother). Hardly 'famous' but one of the funniest people I have ever met (far funnier than John btw). Absolutely side splittingly crackers.

Hearts in Scotland - Used to go watch them in the mid 90's. Can't believe Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd supports Hibs (wait till I tell Dyl)! Chester - Where I'm from, live and watch now and again (Promotion next season) Ipswich - Soft spot just because my dearly missed mate supported them avidly Cricket - Hampshire Rugby League - Hull KR. I just picked them as a youngster Hate Disney FC with a passion. Hope we smash them home and away, draw them in the cup and smash them again. If we could send them down in the process, that'd be next level.

Armstrong? The crux is Armstrong in the Premiership.

Adam Armstrong should be loaned out immediately. He is utterly useless. When he is named on the team sheet, you know he will produce nothing. When he comes on as sub, you know it's a waste of a place. He offers nowt. As mentioned in another post, there is an argument that BBD hasn't really been given a run in his correct position, and whilst I doubt he would have ever made it, Armstrong has had numerous chances at this level and we know he simply cannot do it. He can in the Championship so perhaps get his value up for a sale at seasons end. Keeping him until his contract expires in 2027 will just be another 2 years of him stealing a living (1 play off goal aside). Now we've freed up a loan space, get a striker in that can score at the top level. Ings for example, certainly isn't the player he was, but can anyone deny that he is still a better option that Armstrong?

All from left leaning sources no? Perhaps some articles from the opposite side of the political debate for balance. As we all know, data can be presented or cherry picked in many ways to fit ones agenda. I certainly wouldn't be listening to the BBC or any British educational sources for a balanced presentation of data.

He isn't just blowing any smoke though is he? He is highlighting a positive that directly relates to himself also. That isn't by chance and to not see that is staggering. He is reiterating that sticking by ones convictions, no matter the cost, is laudable. He is doubling down on his own attitude. Conceited pr**k that he is.

Fabrice, you seem to be using the same logic as everybody else but coming up with a polar opposite conclusion. Everything you say is sound. Therefore, the ball needs to spend the minimum of time in our defensive third. Why does that currently not happen? Because RM decrees it so. Yet you seem to defend RM. He is absolutely the reason we are making so many mistakes. Yes these players in defence, are error prone, so recognise it and stop encouraging them to keep the bloody ball. Top step in Hierarchy of controls - Eliminate.

You said 'I think asking them to pass the ball to each other instead is a better idea'. I am countering with that being a terrible idea. Defending is their forte (sort of). Passing definitely isn't. I think I made that pretty clear. Again, if they cannot defend well (despite this supposedly being their strength), then RM needs to instruct them to pass the ball into midfielders or forwards as quickly as possible. Contrary to this, he instructs them to pass to each other, thus retaining the ball in our defensive third, to be exploited by the opposition.

By your own logic if defenders can't defend, how on earth does it make sense to tell them to do anything other than get rid to the midfield, who presumably can play their positions? If the defenders were better with the ball at their feet than defending, I'd suggest they should be in playing in more suitable positions (midfield or forward). Sorry Fabrice but your viewpoint is so odd.

99% of Managers would have got Saints up last season. The fact he nearly ballsed that up (and if Bazunu hadn't been injured, I firmly believe he would have) would suggest that he is, in fact a very limited Manager. Any doubts over his managerial ability have surely been proved now. All his teams concede above average goals. If that was offset by some good, precise play, resulting in a heap of goals at the other end, then that would be an argument but that isn't true. He plays possession for possession sake football with very little thrust. We all know this. He absolutely is in a job and league far beyond his ability.

It is understandable that financial considerations may be forcing SR's hand one way or another. In the interim, what I don't understand is why RM isn't being sat down and told in no uncertain terms that this sh1te style of play needs to be ripped up and a more direct approach taken. If he absolutely refuses to consider any other system, then why doesn't that constitute a refusal of a reasonable request? I know football management isn't the same as an 'ordinary' job but there has to be something the board can do. Relieve the idiot of his duties and get Lallana in with the same brief, with bonus related incentives. Go down fighting at least. Failure to address this will have a knock on effect of season ticket sales for next season, especially if he is still going to be here. It's a mess and simply can't continue in this manner.

He constantly loses the ball. His situational awareness is nil. The amount of times he receives the ball and then turns directly into an opposition player on his shoulder, is unbelievable. He should be constantly looking around and assessing what to do if the ball comes to him. He looks so unnatural also. He has to take a split second to get his feet sorted before playing the ball. Some rate him on here clearly, but I think he is a terrible player and cannot keep hold of a ball.

Mike Dean was terrible when officiating us, and is a clear winner. Kevin Friend was indeed a 'special' friend to Brendan Rogers mind and he is a close second for me.

Not going to happen with Aribo on the pitch. He is absolutely sh1te

I know. Hence my comment 'I suppose that whilst the Asian masses are loving it, it will trundle on.' The sooner a Super League happens the better. Yes, it will reduce money significantly, but it would be across the board. That way, money from gate receipts would increase as a percentage overall with the clubs outside of the top 6 being more or less on par in terms of capacity (30 - 40k with the odd exception) and with equal TV coverage of all competing teams, there should be more likelihood of parity across sponsorship deals too. Imagine a league where all 20 teams could aspire certainly for the top third of the table or maybe even the title. Imagine a league where once left, there was no going back to so if the Super League floundered for whatever reason, tough. You could have all the money in the world but no one to play. Effectively, a massive concert venue. One can dream.

The teams outside of the top 6 are nothing more than fences to be navigated by the top 6 to decide which of the moneybags teams do so the best. Saints are just another fence. Fortunately, we both grew up in what was a hey day of football, where pretty much any team could compete, including Saints. Other provincial teams such as Leicester, Wolves, Stoke, Derby, Coventry, West Brom, Ipswich, Norwich, Forest etc. could all do well and push for Europe. They were truly halcyon days. Obviously Leicester went on to fluke (harsh perhaps) a title recently but generally, we've turned into the Scottish League, that we all used to criticize. If the top 6 went their own way, yes it would be part of an elite league with other top teams across Europe but surely, if the product (what remains) is competitive, then TV rights will reflect that and money wouldn't necessarily disappear. Yes, it may be significantly reduced but its relative across all remaining teams. FFP is sh1te now as it prevents challenges to the top 6 because it has come into place whilst there is such a chasm between us and them. It maintains the status quo. FFP would work without the top 6 as all teams would be starting from a similar financial position, and it would prevent rich owners from coming to any team and creating an imbalance that we currently see. I really can't see why the Premier League is so marketable, given how imbalanced it currently is. City have won 6 out of the last 7 titles (runners up in the only one they missed out on). In the last 32 years, only Blackburn and Leicester have won it, outside of the top 6. I suppose that whilst the Asian masses are loving it, it will trundle on. Personally, I can't wait until it implodes. Get rid of the top 6, replace them with Rangers, Celtic, Hearts and Hibs, introduce some form of financial controls to keep it competitive and go from there.

This. Many people on here are resigned to going down, irrespective of what the Manager does. I don't agree. I believe we have a lower / mid table competitive team. The vast majority of goals conceded, were entirely avoidable. Playing in a more practical way, may have prevented those (we will never know for sure). If that were the case, we could be on 6 points perhaps and looking fairly comfortable. As has been pointed out previously, we 'aim' to play a high risk / high reward game. The idea is to bring the opposition on, create space and then exploit that space with fast, passing and moving. We play the high risk bit but don't even attempt to exploit the very thing we are aiming to generate. We plod up field and then go back. It's actually insane. We play high risk, low reward. It was pointed out last season by all on here and is now being pointed out in the football press. Obvious to all. We wouldn't need a genius Manager to either adapt the current system to include the high reward bit or remove the high risk bit altogether. RM under performed last year (ironically until he scrapped the high risk bit in the play offs) and is doing so this season so far. Worryingly, he seems to be reluctant to admit, the current system doesn't work. Likely because he is defined by it. The system doesn't serve him, he serves the system. It takes some serious self reflection and some balls to accept everything you have invested in, isn't working. Not dissimilar to the Jack Stephens situation. He is too invested in the whole Captain thing, again reluctant to change it, in case of it seeming like an acceptance of failure. The more we as fans, claim that we were always going to be relegated, whatever, the more we infer that RM isn't failing. The less likely RM is to see it as failure, less likely to he will be inclined to change. If he changes it around against Bournemouth and we get a positive result, great. If not, with Arsenal next up, we could be 1 point from 7 games. For me, that would be the tipping point.

The two issues for me are Decency and Aesthetics. Decency - Rollbit don't seem to be a company we want to be partners with, at any level. Aesthetics - Even if we must* partner with them, how big of a drama would it have been to make the 'O' chip, red for the home and yellow for the away? Yellow on red and black just kills it as a design. *Imagine if those with the power were to see the overall responses (they surely must have had an inkling of the reaction) across social media and cancelled the sponsorship as a consequence? Imagine how much positive publicity Saints would receive? The have shot themselves in the foot massively and it just didn't need to happen. Surely we could have just gone for the next best financial offer and took the hit? What price on standards? This company are banned in many countries, do we want to be associated with them for 30 pieces of silver? Not me chef. Probably not as easy as just cancelling but surely there is a way. All we can do I suppose is boycott and hit sales. The 30 pieces of silver would soon be cancelled out. What a complete and utter f^&k up.

Certainly, a Plan B. Especially given we have so many wingers. Call me old fashioned but a more direct Plan B 'straight into the big man' wouldn't be bad, especially with AA lurking.

That back four is exactly what should have happened all season with JS, JB and RM stepping in to cover injuries and suspensions only. Dibling should have been on the fringes, with more playing time than has happened. A rotation of Downes, Smallbone, Armstrong and Charles would have improved all and given us more flexibility rather than excluding Charles for instance. We have a plethora of wingers so could play one of Adams or Armstrong up front or both depending on opposition. When defending a lead, we could lose a winger, shift across the midfield and use JS as defensive protection. Loads of options yet Martin just messes about when not required and does nothing when changes are absolutely necessary.