Lee On Solent Saint

But were we really though? We seemed to benefit more than most from the first Lockdown, which enabled us to reset and recharge our batteries. Before that we were heading down the table at an alarming rate. I think that without the pause we would have been in that relegation fight along with Villa and Bmuff. We were shite before the lockdown. I think because of the short turnaround between the seasons, we still had that momentum from playing over the summer. For whatever reason the break suited us.

How in God's name did that shower of shit get to the top of the table? What's happened to us since the City game? Is it to simplistic to say that the injuries we had over the course of a few months disturbed our momentum so much? Or is it something else? I get that players lose form over the season, but this lot have bombed out so much it's crazy. Firstly, I sympathise with Forster, after the last nine, Gunn was immediately replaced. I'm not saying Forster is any better than McCarthy but after keeping three clean sheets in the three games he played, I think he deserves a run of games. I think if Saliusu is fit, he has to start a few games now. Bedernak is suffering at the moment, I think he needs to come out of the firing line. If Saliusu is the future then he needs games to bed in. Not sure where we are with Betrand. I have always liked him and thought he has been a good player of the years. I think had we got another left back in the window that would have signalled the end of his Saints career. I guess he is on a fair whack for us and the chance to not offer him what he is looking for is too good an opportunity to get his wage off the books. Soon as they went down to ten, Moussa should have been on. He's not much better than Redmond, but at least his direct and has pace. Apart from him and KWP we don't have any. Adams is also going through a rough patch, although I do question if he has what it takes to be a success in the PL. He is so one footed it is almost laughable. Sure, he'll get a few goals a season, but he's not a 10-15 a season player. Ings just doesn't look like the same player and that's one of the biggest worry. He's clearly away in the Summer and looks like he can't be arsed. He must have a move sorted out regardless of form as the way he is playing lately, even Eastleigh wouldn't be interested in him. If Liverpool would have sanctioned it, I would have preferred Origi to have come in.

We've had some great performances with Ralph and a lot of shit ones too. Today was just a complete clusterfuck, how a team cannot pepper another team when they are down to 9 is beyond me. Was he screaming from the touchline to tell them to get it forward? Why was Redmond on the pitch still? Moussa isn't much better but at least he knows how to run and is direct most of the time. Unless we are in serious danger of relegation with about ten games to go, then he stays. That doesn't look like it will be a problem this season, but he really needs to up his game next one. Ultimately it's the finances that decide this. We can't afford to sack Ralph and he won't just walk away. It's laughable to think we were shitting bricks a few weeks ago when Lampard was sacked

How can the same shit happen twice? Once a freak occurence, but twice? It shouldn't happen. We all thought the club was getting back on track,but the events of the past few days have just showed us for what we are. A Micky Mouse club run by an owner who either doesn't care or lacks the basic tools to run a football club. If we didn't know we were skint before the transfer window we do now. Looks like we had to shift three players out on loan just to be able to get a player in, who we just got offered and took as a panic as all our other options weren't available. There is going to be a firesale in the summer,Ralph will walk, then we will back to square one, hiring out of work managers who nobody else wants.

It's next season I really worry about

We just need to be thankful that we got that points total before these injuries. We aren't going to be sucked into any kind of trouble, however it's massively annoying to just throw away that start and then see the season just slide away into nothing.

Amazed by this one. When he went to Liverpool in the first place I was really disappointed as thought he would have been the perfect player for us.

Has anyone thought about recalling Mo from Celtic? Not even sure we can, but surely he can't be any worse than Redmond at the moment

We should see how this season in relative safety, probably finish no higher than 12th or so. What is really concerning is how the squad is going to look next season. It's clear that we have no money and just to keep afloat we are likely to have to sell what's left of the crown jewels. Ings and JWP the first ones to go. Kat sold us down the river when she let Gao buy the club. She surely must have realised that he didn't have a pot to piss in.

Like others have stated, in principle VAR is a decent idea. However, the bias toward the big six still continues and whilst the standard of Premier League officials continues to decline then it will not work. How many decent officials do we think there are in the Premier League? Despite the League Cup Final I always thought Andre Marriner was ok, maybe also Craig Pawson. Michael Oliver seems non fussy, however I can't remember the last time he was in charge of one of our games. Graham Scott maybe too. However there are too many officials just not good enough or just nit brave enough to make decisions.

You have to ask yourself if this shitshow of incompetent decision making would have happened at Old Trafford or Anfield? I would wager that 99 times out 100 penalties for that type of offence would be given for Liverpool, United and City. If Mike Dean is the referee this coming Tuesday we had better not make any tackles anywhere on the pitch.

My first Saints idol too. Wasn't he spotted playing Tyro League? Remember everytime I played thinking that if Steve Moran can get scouted playing Tyro then why can't I?! Obviously never happened!

1980 League Cup 2nd Round. Won the first leg 4-0 at The Dell. Second leg didn't go so well!! As a seven year old attending a first game, I thought Saints were world beaters!!

My first hero as a young Saints fan. Hard to compare today's players against those of Moran's generation. Both excellent finishers and good pace, although possibly Ings all round game is better. If Moran hadn't got that back injury when we were challenging for the title, I genuinely believe we would have won in that year.

Kane injured this evening then. Does that mean an incoming bid for Ings?

That being the case, I really can't see United agreeing to loan him to us. Surely from the player and clubs point of view they are looking at getting minutes on the pitch. How much game time are we able to provide him? If we assume that Bertie is first choice at left back, how does he fit in? It's not like last season when Valery was piss poor and that KWP was an absolute upgrade pretty much straight away. I guess it all hinges on whether Bertie signs the contract offer. Possibly bringing in another left back puts pressure on him to sign, which is again dependent on what other offers he has received. Would assume that a few clubs in our own bracket would consider him a viable option for at least a couple of years.

Think it's a case of just too many injuries at once. We got away with a few results through sheer grit and determination, unfortunately today was just one game too many. Losing both full backs for the same match was a huge blow, although it probably brought to the fore that Vokins and Valery are not good enough. Walcott, hugely disappointing of late, the romantic in me wanted him to be a huge success, just not working out at the moment. Not sure where we go with Ings. I know he has had an injury and the Covid thing, but to me he just looks like he is going through the motions at the moment. His body language is all wrong and he isn't playing with that smile on his face he had earlier on in the season. I think he's off at the end of the season.

When did we first hear about this release clause? I'm guessing that around the time Ings got injured against Villa, this prompted him and probably more importantly his agent, to have a bit of a re-think about his future plans. I may be way off, but I can see a situation where by Ings and his team have sat down and come to the conclusion that the injury he suffered has spooked them, and that by asking for such a low release clause, if he continues to bang in the goals and stays injury free, the clutch of clubs lining up with 20m will be far more than if it was 40m. The flip side is of course he his form goes off a cliff or he suffers another long term injury, he has the contract he signed with us a pretty decent security

I know football is a short career for the players and they need to look after and do what's best for them, but feel massively let down by Ings and his stance. Granted we don't know the full facts and it might very well be that he will end up signing, however it just leaves a bit of a sour taste. I've said before that I believe Saints rescued Ings career, there didn't seem to be too many takers for him when we signed for us and it seemed he was more than happy to sign when we came in for him. I guess I was just expecting more for him being a local lad and that's why I feel a bit disappointed. Am not sure the Champions League thing is anything more than an excuse. Didn't PEH state that he wanted to sign for a CL club?

Given the situation with PEH during last summer, does Ings still get played in the meantime if he refuses to sign a new contract? Get that he has slightly longer on the contract, but does that same thinking apply?

This. I have noticed the same. Even when he gets interviewed it seems like a chore. I think he has started to believe in his own hype now. It's such a shame, would any other club taken a chance on him with his record? Especially for what we paid for him

You also need to take into account where Ings has come from. Even though he didn't set the world alight with the Scouse, he would have been in and around the squad, even with his injuries and when they started to get successful he would have got a taste for it. He may well decide that being with a team with more chance of winning something and getting the odd game here and there is a better prospect than staying with us and playing regularly. That may have been his thinking all along. He strikes me as being someone who despite his injury record is pretty confident in his own ability. If you look at it from that angle, you could say that his plan all along was to spend a season or two with us, getting back to optimum fitness and having regular game time, before making another big club move. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy, but it all just seems a bit pre-meditated to me.

I seem to remember something being alluded to when Long signed his extension, that Ings talked up Long in a really positive way and that he was a chuffed that he was given a new deal. Call me cynical but it's not out of the realms of possibility that Ings had a major say in Long being offered a deal, in an attempt to keep him sweet.

If you look at the situation realistically, who would he join? Liverpool, even though Klopp suggests he loves him, would be a strange signing to go back. City, don't think he is a big enough name for them. United, probably similar to City. Spurs, maybe if they don't win anything and Kane realises he never will at Spuds. Chelsea, they just love spunking money away on foreign players. Arsenal, not the force they once were, but a better option in terms of money. If he was to go my money would be on Leicester, Vardy isn't going to last forever and he is the type of player that would fit in with them. For what it's worth, I think he is going to leave. Furthermore, if he is haggling over a release clause, what kind of message does that send out to us as fans? Would his commitment be called into question? Will Ralph full him from the tam in the same way he dealt with PEH?