Patches O Houlihan

Stupid from the ref - replay showed it was clean

Well in Flynn

Clearly he was sporting a Carlos Valderama hairdo and the gaffer had chewed him out. The swim hat was an aerodynamic compromise 😁 I'll be gutted if we don't see the swim hat discussed on Match of the Day next month

He does look prolific! A 1 in ten ratio suggests if he over performs he might score 2 goals before the end of the season

A reminder that on Friday 26 July 2024 the club made the following announcement: Southampton Football Club is delighted to announce that it has agreed personal terms with two current São Paulo players; Welington and Juan. Both players have signed pre-contract agreements with Southampton that will see them join up with the club in January, when their current contracts with the Brazilian Série A side expire. Welington is a 23-year-old left-back who has already made 150 appearances for São Paulo, including victories in the Copa do Brazil final in 2023 and the Supercopa do Brazil final in 2024. He has also represented Brazil at Under 20 and Under 23 level. Juan is a 22-year-old forward who has scored eight goals in 80 appearances for São Paulo and has also represented Brazil at Under 19 level. Here's hoping that they are more of a Mateus Fernandes type of signing than some of the other questionable SR acquisitions ... Note that Welington spells his name with only one 'L' - presumably to avoid confusion with the Wimbledon and Waterloo versions So our left back options including those on loan: Taylor Manning KWP Larios Welington Shoehorn Bree Wee Man Surely KWP will be sold next month to try to recoup some funds

For some info on Gasperini's tactical style this is a helpful watch

What's Turkish supposed to write now you've stolen his thunder and pissed on his chips?! Next you'll be making up some bollocks about the Circle of Trust having predicted his appointment

If the players know he is leaving in May maybe they won't put in the graft needed for high pressing heavy metal footballTM Knowing that he has 1.5 years with a 2 year option means they can't just phone it in for the rest of the season.

"Juric, for what it’s worth, makes Conte look shy and retiring" "Juric can come across as unreasonably demanding for someone who has never won anything. Yet he’s one of the best coaches in Italy" Appolgies for The Pathetic link* but it does explain a bit more about him as a person: Clearly very passionate (like Ralph?) and gets pissed off when his best players are sold and not replaced.

Self preservation! If you are genuinely expecting us to avoid relegation comfortably then you might need to prepare for disappointment. RM's points per game ratio would be looking a bit healthier if the dice had fallen a little more kindly at crucial points in 3 or 4 games. But then the PL is generally unkind to Saints, and his position was pretty much untenable. It's not like we have a 'comfortably mid table squad' either is it...

Reading comprehension score: C- Won promotion to Serie A for first time in Crotone's history Genoa sound like a basket case, but having re-hired him he saved them from relegation (ie a similar job that he'd need to do here) In 2019 he joined a newly promoted club (Hellas Verona) and kept them in the league for 2 seasons despite having one of the smallest budgets in Serie A. Torino poached him from Hellas Verona. They had finished 17th the previous season. He kept them mid table for 3 seasons (10th, 10th, 9th) and left amicably at the end of his contract. Was appointed to Roma 18th September 2024 after the previous manager (an ex player) made a Horlicks of the first few games. Dismissed on 10th November, whilst still 4 points above the relegation zone. I guess it depends what you mean by failure. If you expected us to hire someone who had won one of the top 5 European leagues then yes he's not that. But he has demonstrated the ability to coach a side to punch above their weight and avoid relegation - which is exactly what we want him to do.

For a start he is still getting up to speed with speaking English. He's going to be a superb player. This summer's recruitment is so frustrating: Kept Flynn, Bednarek and THB Brought in Fernandes Sugawara/KWP do fine Dibling came of age. That's the basis for a good lower/mid table PL team there. But around them is just not really enough to survive and we didn't buy an established striker. If we were able to somehow stay up and build around that core, whilst bringing in a proper striker that Archer could learn from then life as a Saints fan would be so much easier

Not a bad side on paper?!! I put it to you that 7 of those starters aren't PL quality.

Scored the only goal in the playoff final and was top scorer+assister combined in the Championship. He should be able to do it, but he just doesn't seem to ever find that next level

They hit the woodwork 5 or 6 times over the course of the match, could easily have been 10.

So to confirm: you care, I care, Aribo, Archer, Fernandes, Wood and Manning all care - hence you were speaking bollocks

He won the raffle

We're all frustrated - but that is an absolute load of f**king bollocks

He's commentating on Saints' 2nd team vs Chelsea's 2nd team on a rainy mid week night on Amazon Prime. This is surely indicative of someone who's career is already circling the bowl 🤞

That's what's great about Amazon coverage. I haven't had to listen to a single moment of that cunt Darke's commentary - Just stadium sounds. So much better even if we are getting reamed...

Did BBD just say to Lumley: "Just launch everything up to me!" 😁

How did you think it was going to go tonight with Chelsea in form and us missing so many first team players?!!!

https://twitter.com/NoContextSoton/status/1858226135760335115

For anyone in any doubt that THB has cojones; he's only gone and got engaged to Roy Keane's daughter. Can you imagine the eyes over the dinner table at the first 'meet the parents night'!! Father of the Bride speech: glare across the room "DO YOUR JOB" 😁 Cheered me up this morning after hearing that we'll have to manage without Rambo for a bit. * No doubt this is not news to many people