gio1saints

You’re not taking this Manager thing very seriously are you? If SFC want to save the £20m it’s gonna cost to recruit a new manager and his team then sack them after 12 Championship matches when we have only 5 points and then go steal another manager and his coaches who play in another style and pay a big eff off compensation fee-why not save all that time ( and money) by letting Rusk and Adam lead the team into the Championship. Then, when we only have 5 points from first twelve games playing in the what’s er style you can call what we do ( uber pragmatic?) they can be sacked and some other lot with a wholly new playing philosophy can be brought in. And some will love it and others will hate it. And when it’s clear we’ve missed the playoffs we can sack these as well, and recruit Danny Rohl.

Silva was just being a c&nt. That was not true - we had more shots on target than them in the first half for example. They committed more fouls on us than the other way in first half for example. I know because I had a bet on both outcomes ( needed same thing second half to pull off a 102/1 touch sadly not to be). The only thing more offensive than his comment was his fouling players - and WE were the ones who actually scored first not huffed and puffed like they did first half. So, you can just feck off de Silva. You beat a team bottom of the league struggling in every way managerless and with morale on the floor and yet you feel the need to big yourself up and belittle us after the event? Little, pathetic man.

My thoughts: Stewart could have taken the shot but instead chose to fall over claiming a penalty via a push. Maybe Liverpool or a top team at home gets that penalty but on balance I think he should have trusted himself to shoot-and score..I’m frankly disappointed he decided to fall over. He got his chance- and he chose to fall over. Wrong decision for a winner imo. Someone desperate to make an impact after 2+ years out does not take a rain check on a possible direct shot with good chance of scoring in the penalty area. I was in Northam 41 so had a direct down the pitch view of the challenge. It was at best a harsh maybe penalty but we don’t get those usually… he definitely had the opportunity to shoot and gave it a no thanks. He’s a #9 he’s there to shoot and score ffs! Not happy with his mindset there one little bit. PS. I am not wanting to go OTT on him first start back long injury I know I know and he did run around a bit and it’s early days BUT, Me Stewart you must not act like a weak minded flake if you want to be our #9. Next time shoot, score, scorn the goalie rip off the defenders leg and throw it into the crowd on the way back to the centre spot and take your aclaim. Not roll around whimpering you fell over.. PPS. I 100% saw some of our players ducking out of 50-50 challenges. Unacceptable.

One overwhelmingly obvious point of his recruitment is that we WILL be. Spors will favour athleticism, height, power and pace as the default requirement of SFC players. Whoever is new manager not only MUST comply but ideally is already a believer.

He is too short to play in a Spors team at CB. Or even to be given a chance at that or dcm. Think he will be sold.

Thank you Holmes. Thing is my legs never been so hair free so I’m certainly returning. 😂🦵 My ITK credentials if I even need to say, are no better than average join the dots best guess logic I’m afraid despite my pretty tenuous inside contacts so it’s entirely possible I have made it up or totally misunderstood. At any rate I have a feeling deckchairs are out for Fulham. Great chance to score a goals and do a home win thing. Think Rusk and Adam will be leading a chorus line bow at full time to the Northam. ( that was also in my imagination/dream too in case anybody has misunderstood me). Anyhow just the possibility has left me feeling more 4/10 we will not lose than 10/10we will lose.

Interesting or nothing but my eyebrow briefly raised to hear, apparently, certain people enquiring what it’s like living in Soton.

There is a slight chance we may not lose Aaron entirely. 1. We make him best paid player in the Championship. And keep him at high EPL level salary or simply a one year bonus. Remove any financial reason for him to leave basically. Offer him a £5m bonus if we get promoted and EPL wages. Fuck differentials with rest of squad he’s a top gk. 2. OR a bit more longwinded - He might be offered an extended contract - then allowed to be loaned to Chelsea ( or similar European football playing team) for example in order to satisfy his top level playing and International aspirations for next season. This would mean his family could stay in the South and were we to get promoted at first opportunity he’d be able to come back to us and a part of the world him and family feel most comfortable with. Or sold to Chelsea for massive fee. Don’t see either myself and it’d be clutching at straws but good goalies like him are rare so I’d do pretty much anything to somehow keep him on board. Financially I think point 1. Is arguable. We can spend £12m including wages on a new gk who may or may not be any good - or basically pay what it takes to keep a gk we know will be best in the league from Day One. No brainer for SR imo. IF they can think in that pragmatic way.

If Gavin is not fit for pre season (IF) then I agree with the idea of recruiting a new first choice keeper for next season. IF he is fit then actual pre season should determine if he stays or if he goes. He is young still for a keeper don’t forget. With all due respect to AM -and GB frankly - especially a big “Thank You “ for the play off performances AM and to Gav for his crucial part in the unbeaten run and the fundamental “Russball” approach that got us up - but they have both trousered a lot of money whilst at SFC for not actually doing much goalkeeping last few years. That criticism includes JL who, good bloke that he is, if he cannot displace AM week in week out in training, cannot be good enough either. Im fluid about all of it except the first basic requirement- if /when Aaron goes we need a top quality first team starting new goalie. Not a kid not a reserve not a potential. A straight into the team starter.

He is injured.

yeah I see your (as per usual cynical) pov - maybe RM is airbrushing his history a bit about those recruits that did not happen. Maybe he did go on record at the time saying he loves those he's recruited. The latter if true ( probably 99% certain) is Manager talk 1.01 anyways. Thing is people knew at the time pre and early season he was not getting who he wanted - so I discount its retrospective PR work to make him look good for his next job ( though it does no harm). HE 100% wanted Delap -Who visited training ground and was happy with RM. And if we had Delap all that faffing around pre season with stupid formations without a proper CF - and getting beat every week - would probably not have happened. Maybe history would change. maybe not. So- the transfer fiasco was not his fault basically. He did not solve the stay competitive in the EPL puzzle with what players he had - that's his fault.

My understanding is that Russell really wanted : Liam Delap - Liam was happy but our ceo fucked it up, he wanted o’reilly but our ceo fucked it up, he even wanted Jordan Henderson and was refused. He got what he was allowed to get and they were not his first choice(s). Even the Flynn deal was nearly fucked up. To say the the bad recruitment was on Russell Martin is inaccurate. Guilty in other ways but in that : innocent.

Looks like we will need a new gk for next season or back to AM and JL….. Hoping Gavs injury is not a career threatening one if it’s an ACL …

I hope we get that draw-or better - but think that is pretty much the best we can hope for. West Ham under Potter will be DESPERATE for a big win and we could be the team to give it them. Our management clearly are not just chucking the kids on and going full on attack so it looks like keep it tight game ( yeah like we’ve not been able to do all season bar a match or a half or two..) has to be the limit of our optimism - to be all square going into the last third or so and hope to snatch a winner. Big up to all Saints fans going, keep the volume and humour up! 😁😇

with thanks to Siri and ChatGPT: The ten tallest players in the EFL Championship for the 2024–25 season are: James Beadle (Sheffield Wednesday) at 201 cm, Jake Cooper (Millwall FC) at 199 cm, Conor Hazard (Plymouth Argyle) at 198 cm, Lukas Jensen (Millwall FC) at 198 cm, Illan Meslier (Leeds United) at 198 cm, Harry Souttar (Sheffield United) at 198 cm, Josh Griffiths (West Bromwich Albion) at 197 cm, James Trafford (Burnley FC) at 197 cm, Jacob Zetterström (Derby County) at 197 cm, and Tom Glover (Middlesbrough FC) at 196 cm. At least one of these to get our average height up a bit.