Patches O Houlihan

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

I like KWP as much as the next man... BUT Last season Kyle scored 3 goals and assisted 3 goals in the Championship. This season Yuki has already scored 1 and assisted 2 goals in just 10 PL games. Kyle has 1 assist. I think Kyle is better at taking on his man, but Yuki is a better crosser. Bearing in mind the higher standard of the league I could understand the argument for playing an offensive RB who can pass a ball suitable for any one of our strike force (oxymoron surely!), particularly when Kyle can also play LB. But of course we have seen that KWP loses 10% of his edge playing on the left, and against PL opposition that makes a bigger difference than it did last season. It's a tough call to make as a manager I think. Personally I'm happy to know that we already have a great RB in the building when Kyle gets sold in January. I'll be sad to see him go, but more sad if he had been keen to sign a new contract.

Fucking Jamie Vardy Outrageous challenge on Sugawara sees him off and a left back switch around which wrecks our game plan. Fucking Anthony Taylor too. Is his wife also a tart? 🤔

We need Lallana for Dibling now

I've watched Anthony Taylor ref our games before - he is an A1 bellend

I did watch that one too, and wondered if it was that game. So I googled it and their goal was scored before halftime; and in my head it was an annoying late goal that ruined an absolute beasting to nil. Maybe it was the four beers?! For ten years and particularly in the 9-0 seasons I've been a bit pissed that Sunderland scored in that game 😁 Funny how the mind works sometimes

You can think what you like. Doesn't mean you're right, or that I have to agree.

I could have sworn that game finished 8-1. 😁😁 Must have been another game! I did watch a few at that bar that season.

Was listening to The Rest is Football podcast the day before yesterday - their reaction to the news of Tuchel. Lineker name dropped RM as one of the young up and coming English managers (Of which there are very few at a good level). The argument seems to be that in Germany Bundesliga managers get promoted from running the Under 23 side, or recruited from a lower tier: This almost never happens in the PL. The PL hires proven managers from other big leagues because they have the money and pulling power to do so. As Russ stated in the Leicester press conference; in order to get a PL gig as an English manager you have to get promoted from the Championship as manager. This automatically means that any English manager trying to prove themselves needs to do so with one of the weakest teams in the league, and as the contrast in resources of PL teams gets ever more stark it will only ever get harder for English managers unless something changes. My thought is that if we short-sightedly fire RM now, we may be questioning why we did that in 18 months when he is successfully managing a bigger team. Part of the reason Southampton can't have nice thingsTM is because we don't fight hard enough to keep them, not just because they are taken from us. Maybe I'll feel differently after we get humped by Leicester this afternoon, but right now I am still RM in.

I watched that game sat outside Hogans Bar over looking the huge marina in Palma de Mallorca. Comfy seat, numerous teles so no one sat between me and the game. Sunny, but no reflections on the screen, and not excessively hot. No work to think about that day. 4 pints of Estrella, Saints flying high in the league with Koeman as our manager and we stuck in 8 goals. After the game I had a definite thought of "I should really saviour this experience. It probably won't be repeated very often." 😁 I do remember being pissed off about the one we gave them though!

RM stated in the Leicester press conference that it's not a bad injury, and he expects him to be available again soon, and miss relatively few games because of the International Break falling after the Arsenal game.

Football sucks arse on nights like these. Spawny cheating fucking Bompy

It is odd but; Lots of attackers in the squad to try to keep happy Do you really see Wood or Edwards coming on? Far more likely to bring on KWP and swap Taylor to LCB. Omni-Stephens is still suspended Maybe Cornet can hit a cow's arse with a banjo? Lallana to manage the last 35 mins of the game?

Taylor can cover at CB if required. KWP can play both FB positions. Not ideal but I can see why the subs bench is as it is

There is a precedent for this of course 😁 But if you look closely we had no one in the D on that occasion either... Everyone was back defending because we were in injury time and were effectively 1-0 up.

I agree numbers on their own mean nothing. But in this case it does allow us to compare the number and quality of chances we are creating in comparison to the rest of the league: Something that would be tough to do without watching every match unedited, and even then you'd probably start to loose track a bit and start generalising or applying an unconscious bias.

No doubt Whitey will hate it but I'm going to post some stats: So look away now if you don't like this sort of thing PL Table sorted by xG - ie the chances we create, we are 8th - ie we're pretty good at creating chances - the players and Russ's methods work. BUT the forwards aren't finishing them PL Table sorted by xG against - we are 17th - we give up lots of chances. We are newly returned to the league. No real surprises there. PL Table sorted by xPTS - ie how many points we should have if our results had matched the xG - we are 12th. Pretty good for a newly promoted side. I've said it before and I'll say it again. If our strikers can find some form we could do ok. Signing someone handy in January would probably be too late to save us though if our current forwards can't get it together.

14 sides with an xG rating. We are third highest, but only one goal. It's not lack of chances, its not taking them