gio1saints

@Farmer Saint think you are a bit harsh on FD. Last match v Arsenal I thought he played very well. He fell out with Juric for sure but I think he will would do well at any Championship club- or at Rangers.* Does not need RM to be a good player at that level. I accept that he is not a good or even probably average EPL player - but, for me, he would start at any team in the current Championship - whatever style they play. Or if the Manager has a handsome beard and fine hair🥰 ps that is not to say he is not probably overpaid and we overpaid for him v his actual quality - but in terms of the championship there’s not many players his level.

General squad composition thinking is to have one spare player for each position plus an extra goalie (or two) That means 23 -24 first team players in a tight, competitive, cost-effective, high quality to quantity ratio squad. Our current squad is > 24 players and quality to quantity ratio ineffective, certainly at EPL level. Not shock news but lots of work is required to move back towards optimum squad size/quality ratio. I agree with all those saying that this squad should be composed with half an eye on being able to Play EPL the following season. In other words, they are ALL up for sale. None showed they can play acceptable EPL bar Mateus and Aaron. Those two are the ones I would and should shift heaven and earth to keep. It seems like a foregone conclusion that our two best players will go. But I’d rather sell the other 28 + players and keep them two, build the new team totally around them - than keep the others and lose the best we have..

Does anyone truly believe that Martins EPL squad was good enough to finish anywhere other than the bottom three? If you do just look at the squad lists of the other epl teams… Supposedly star managers like McKenna could not do it for Ipswich. The best you could say for the EPL campaigns of Man Utd Spurs and West Ham was that they avoided relegation - ignominiously - and with way better squads - and supposedly way better managers, than ours. The single biggest factor in our relegation was failure to upgrade player and squad quality upon promotion. And yes, maybe, that should have included RM himself. But We would have gone down playing any formation and style you wish under any Manager with that squad. So, this whining about how shit Martin was or still is may actually be a massive red herring obscuring the real key factor. Keep crying about Martin and forget all he did was play the cards he had only real way he knew how. You need to look upstairs for the real people at fault.

Through that lens these “ transfer windows” are seen for what they are - simply the equivalent of Xmas or Black Friday for the biggest and wealthiest clubs. The best and purpose designed time to make returns for their investors. Not a shinpad or dab of ralgex required. Put more bluntly it’s the primary reason for club investment and by virtue of that club existence. To make profit by player trading. And to try to make it continue to be attractive for investors there must be profits. As a spectacle football today is about as much to do with “ fair play” despite the disingenuous virtue signaling as pitching Christians up against lions in the colosseum.

Post script to the above : If you had to say what does football - one of the very few if not alone by itself universally understood languages of the earth - really teach our kids today one answer might be : greed is good, money is god, fame and fortune are the most important things in life. It’s a very low bar sadly.

Agree with you and @Farmer Saint- It’s the designed-in result that they required. Sell-on clauses for promising youngsters that have been hoovered up by the wealthiest clubs simply protect the investment interests of those big and rich clubs. Those with the biggest and best national and international scouting infrastructure. Not those that cannot afford to maintain even regional academies anymore. The rest of the teams - and the leagues - are, quite literally, feedstock. Any perception of this being anything to do with “fair play” or anything remotely worthy of what many consider the importance of football for our society is just the wealthiest investors PR firms doing what they do. It’s cynical beyond belief. Yet few actually see it. The last few decades jumping in on Women’s football, BLM and LGBQT+ for example are essentially the same principle that the Saudis are using by sportwashing in the kingdom.

Flynn Downes is an excellent Championship player. If he joined LCFC makes them stronger. I doubt he’d be received badly. Players who might be badly received might be those with a current Midlands connection. Will or Armstrong for instance. Bad Surprises might be Manning or Captain Jack. CA also a possible. Given how important the GK is in Martins game it may well be a loan move for Gav.

To add to that Holmes I’d say that the appointment of Will Still has added value to SFC not taken away. The new price for SFC just went up with that appointment. Whatever the asking price was two weeks ago it went up.

It’s true that SR may consider they have two years grace to get back up and “regain” all that lost value plus perhaps some profit. Keep reinvesting. Hold until the end in Cryptospeak. That’s one option. There’s another pov that says these are economically uncertain times and that an asset stripping sale to realise some value is the best option - for SR - and let’s see if Saints can still get promoted with what’s left. It’s a complicated gamble. Against all that if a “fair“ cash offer for the entire club comes in - that takes all the risk of that gamble into account and prices it in - it may give a clean break to SR. SR can find another “Flagstone club” I’m sure. Im not so certain a clean break fair price offer would be declined by SR right now despite recruiting Still- some may argue it’s more likely because of recruiting Still. I’d say 60/40 currently ( 60% offer to sell declined). If it’s a bad start that goes to 50-50.

Is there any chance we could nab Hamer from Sheffield Utd? I doubt they’d want to sell and he would be costly but they may need to sell someone now they not gone up. He’s obviously one of the best if not best players in the league and in a position we need.

Yes of course I was there. We did not play well nor show as much aggression as I’d if liked. I think. 🤣. I also watched us get thrashed and I’m sure GS was wary of being embarrassed in the final. There was an air of we’re all going on a European tour hangover from the semi final amongst our support imo. which was more fun than the final gave to say. But I do admit I was absolutely slaughtered. Asleep under a bar table at noon somewhere in a Wetherspoons Cardiff god knows how I made the match. A bunch of us Saints forevers were in a Bristol night club the night before including some who still post here…they can vouch that perhaps my judgement may have been impaired at the Cardiff match…😎

I was disappointed with RS up until the goal. Kept falling over and being weak. Then he scored. Maybe that’s the bad luck curse on him lifted. 🤞. Maybe. Possibly KS most eye catching game if the season. Coincidence? Don’t think so. Flynn actually put full effort into this match- best he’s played possibly all season. Coincidence? Don’t think so. Yuki had his hands full all match against top wide players. Especially as his reinforcements was Jay R. WP sir. They won’t be that good in the championship. Les showed he will probably get a contract from an EPclub or top five leagues club. Not at Chelsea though imo. Wellington also did ok. As did our two CB’s apart from the first five mins. Jay Robinson showed that youthful enthusiasm is appreciated at SMS. His running around lots early doors was well received. He faded a bit thereafter but did enough to show he’s got something. That move and shot on target 2nd half was a big ceiling he’s broken through and will give him confidence 🤞for next season. Even KS gave him a little hug for it! Wouldn’t it be nice to see him and Tyler in same team, with KS next season? Entertaining football alert! Ramsdale is a class act. Period. Def upper EPL level imo or could play anywhere in Europe at a top team if he liked. Will Still plus his wife only arrived at 3pm and will have pics done today . They watched from Directors. I managed to lip read a comment he made to her through my binoculars which was revealing -“ the croissant was a bit dry - but I will be coaching the catering team on Thursdays so expect improvements” to which she nodded. Make of that what you Will.

God we are so rubbish at the wall pass then shoot thing. I’d be embarrassed was my old Sunday league team fluffing so many. And if Manning is aiming for Row Q he’s doing very well with his efforts. Common theme this season I’m afraid. We can’t shoot for toffee.

Will Still makes use of football data to inform some or many of his football managing decisions. Applied retrospectively to every match of this season ( his homework no doubt) I’ve no doubt some clear and obvious priorities will emerge. And the kinds of players he wants/needs for the Championship. The Championship IS different to the EPL but I think the two biggest areas he should prioritise are (1) improvement in our set piece play (2) improvement in our defensive work. These are basic coaching things which I think he should be very good and right up to date with contemporary thinking on.

The first media available says there’s agreement between lens and saints. That’s not the same as between Still and Saints. It’s then been upgraded to Still has signed with saints ~ by Romano on X I think - 3 year deal - though this may be a preemptive extrapolation of the first post as there’s no ££ mentioned. Wait til Saints announce it to be sure basically.

My worst memory of an Arsenal match was watching Gordon Strachan trying not to lose by too many defeat at Cardiff. I saw the thrash at Highbury earlier and thought maybe we’d give it a go so was pretty disappointed you might say ( through the beer haze) at our lack of ambition. I sincerely hope we will ditch this 11 behind the ball don’t get into the opposition third and most of all no shots on target until the last 20 minutes tactic for this final EPL game. This ought to be a statement match win lose or draw that next season we are going to be at them- whoever they are-at SMS. Attacking until we score then repeat. None of this these are better than us so let’s park the bus at home defeatist rubbish.

I saw BBD do ONE good thing - score that goal v Lazio, but other than that every match he played for Saints I was perplexed. He came with a BIG reputation but did nothing. Played at left wing by RM in our style was a mistake - obviously - but all he did was literally try to compete for high balls and pass the ball backwards to any passes he received. Never took a player on. Never tried a shot. Never put in a through ball. Rarely put in a winning challenge in a fifty fifty. Just took up a position wide left on the field. We could have put a dustbin in there and it might have been just as effective - though it would have covered marginally less distance on the pitch with work rate ( what’s that?) than BBD. The ONLY good thing he did was find a cheating way to get the barcodes player sent off then laugh at the afters. Literally that is his highlights reel. Please buy him Sheff Utd! NB: He has NO pace no tricks and cannot dribble past his man neither can he outmuscle his defender nor win a header. He is not a shoot on sight selfish striker attacker but neither is he a selfless assist machine. And the only off the ball runs he makes are at start and end of the game entering field of play them back to the showers. He does not use his experience to talk and mentor others through the game and his example is precisely of what NOT to do. What IS a BBD? PS. I suppose that’s what you get for £35k pw. But seriously, £35k per week for doing nothing???? FFS!

Regarding Tyler : If I was him i don’t care what the fee is if it’s £150k pw I’m in. He will want the fee low as possible to facilitate the wages and longer contract. He’ll earn in one year what takes must of us a lifetime. Icing on the cake it’s a challenging for honours club but I think it’s probably a step too far in that situation. He’s more an ambitious mid table club in EPL or an Aston Villa than an Arsenal or Man City imo. Most likely would be a Spurs or Man Utd actually. He could be the new Cantona.

It’s called a straw man argument trousers and I’m rather surprised at you as a poster of some discretion and no small amount of calibre that you climbed off that fence of yours, got out the tweezers and extracted the biggest splinters, before making a rather elementary error in debate. There’s NO hardcore bunch on here saying anything like “ worship RM and venerate his unbeaten run”. You’ve created it to in order to knock it down. Classic straw man argument. I’m sure that is correct because I’m on the Board of the official Russell Fanboy society and can assure you that nobody in my group was calling that unbeaten run miraculous or world class or overegging adoration of the God-man Russell. His heroic moustache was enough! In any case We were too busy building shrines to his tactical excellence and chanting “ pass it backwards” for 80% of the time during prayers. For a Saints social media team starved of anything like good news for years I can understand them going a bit extra on it-can’t you? Even downgrading it to pretty good is a bit mean - but I’m on the side of Saint Russ of our Possessions so anything below a Good on his report card from that season I’m going to challenge - as is expected from those of us on the Board. 😂

This sour thinking on RM getting us out of the Championship - based on him failing in the EPL - really does not give him the credit for the promotion season he deserves. Many Championship clubs would be excited to have him next season. Whichever new Manager we pick, if they fail to get us promoted first time or even start to look like they won’t get us promoted - I’m worried our fans pent up frustration on our shit show EPL season will be funnelled onto the new guy very early doors. How Russell managed to turn around a poor start after that crap relegation, go on that run and ultimately get us up…well instead of revisionist sneering maybe Saints fans should just allow ourselves a smile. It was bloody great to win and dominate matches for once in our lives as Saints fans! Our Championship season was a success. Our EPL season a shit show. Let’s not confuse the two.

I think it’s clever from LCFC. Won’t be a more motivated manager in that league than him. RM will attempt to leverage the points deduction up into a massive club wide grudge. His team indeed the whole club, will start with this “unfair” handicap in their heads and he will use this and his player relationship skills in particular to turn that grudge into a fighting against the odds tight squad and team. He will then attempt to turn that tight team into a replica of his last championship team playing possession based football but with tweaks. I expect interesting times!

@Holmes_and_WatsonCouldn’t resist…. “One-dimensional” and “philosophy” overlap. Culturally, generationally and football tactically. Philosophy is a term of abuse on this and many fan forums but that’s largely ( though will be denied) because ( big generalisation coming up so please spare me the pitchforks) whatever the average football supporter does not understand, he instinctively hates. Guardiola plays a philosophy based football that is arguably quite close to one dimensional - if by that term you mean there’s only a plan A and just keep doing it til we breakthrough …RM tried copying. Guardiola wins -loved, RM loses- hated. It wasn’t the philosophy - it was the results - yet the term seems inextricably linked to negative sentiment - unless you win of course in which case it’s being a genius manager or have great players. Mourinho is at other end of the spectrum. There’s little “philosophy” and any winning tactic goes. His pragmatic football may be described as the opposite of philosophy football if you like ( though whisper it quietly and don’t tell the children but Pragmatism is ALSO a Philosophy) . It’s even been called “ anti-football”. Both approaches are, were, and will continue to be, successful. Football idealists and dreamers prefer the former, football realists tend towards the latter. Saints fans are a mixed batch and the sentiment slides up and down a scale. Currently the scale says many fans want pragmatic realism. It may be the right thing at this time. But it should not be the right thing ALL the time or else football will just become extinct and die. It must continually reinvent itself to survive and thrive - and without the dreamers idealists, and yes “philosophy ” there’s no creativity, no art, no beautiful game.

Angus Gunn on a free?

The other side of that argument is that I think about £40m for two top championship quality forwards is going to be the going rate. Think Borja and Sargent for example. Anything less and we are recruiting provably average players -who may not be good enough to get us up. Priority has to be get promoted -not develop some young new strikers who look a cheap bargain I feel. Think we been there done that with that ploy though it’s obviously a gamble. Don’t forget we find a cheapish new young forward and he does well it’s likely he leaves if we get promoted anyway..think delap for example who ( u usually) gave Ipswich an EPL season but could easily have left.

This is very true. 5 loan players might be the equivalent of spending £120m -£150m on the open market if Les’s Chelsea fee is anything to go by. IF Saints spend £40m,say, on two decent ( forwards please) players plus get 5 EPL loan quality players and a Manager with a pulse we’ve surely got ourselves a decent first team. Only problem with that is loans usually are at end of window.