revolution saint

I've got a certain amount of sympathy for this view. It's frustrating when it appears that something has been invented when in reality it's something that's been done before only slightly differently and under a different name. The fabled blackbox and moneyball are both other examples; they're just different terms for what decent scouts and scouting systems will already be doing. Doesn't really wind me up quite so much though. Positive thing is that they look like they've recognised an under performing academy system and are taking steps to rectify it. Proof will be the output of players that can make a difference in the first team over the next few years. My guess is that a lot of the success will also be based on the experience that Crocker and the others already have at England level. They're well placed to know the best coaches and support staff and bring them in where they can. Instead of treating the youth teams as a route into coaching as a favour for ex-pros they look like they're targeting the best staff which isn't exactly rocket science but will probably make the biggest difference whatever their job titles are.

To be honest I need to apologise. Couple of Blackburn fans I know said he was a bit one paced which seemed strange as he did look quick. I guess they meant his "one pace" was fast. They were probably pissed off that we were signing him.

So you’re just arguing about terminology but generally happy they’re using this set up because they should have been doing it anyway?

Yeah, I reckon we'll go into the final few days with that last loan spot open and see if anything interesting comes up. We've still only got three midfielders for two spots although Armstrong can do a decent job and possibly Lion-o if he signs so it's not like we're desperate but a long term injury to either JWP or Romeo and we'd start to look a little short. There's going to be a load of players at the big clubs that won't have a chance in hell of making their first team squad and they'll be desperate to get them out on loan.

Seems like an exciting signing and from the clips I've seen he seems to justify the hype around him. Lets hope he lives up to it. Coincidentally on the same day we sign Thierry Small, Norwich have finally got Brandon Williams on loan. I think I prefer our deal. Was thinking that we now have the potential for could be a really exciting bench with either Livramento or KWP, Small, Tella, and Broja. These are all players you want to see and it should be exciting to watch their progress. In recent years I've got used to there not being that many options on the bench that would make me think they could come on and make a difference. I know we've had a few like Obafemi but I never had that feeling that he would actually change much. When Tella scored his first senior goal at the end of last season and had that huge smile on his face it seemed to mean a bit more. Early days of course but football is about optimism and these kind of signings at least give us that for now.

Just watched a couple of YouTube videos of the lad and looks impressive. In one clip he takes on Livramento goes round the outside and gets his cross in.

Ah OK so it’s not that you think we have any more money we should be able to spend, just that we blame it on agents fees etc? Fair enough, end result is we still don’t have much money but I understand where you’re coming from.

Serious question but do you think the club are lying about finances? I know there’s all the agents fees, signing on bonuses etc etc and you’ve mentioned how it only seems to affect us so what’s happened to the money? Do you think we’re choosing not to spend and keeping our powder dry, or is Gao taking money out? Personally I think the club probably is spending what it can afford so it’s difficult for me to have a go at them for not spending more but would be interested in another opinion.

It would be interesting to know how many players 24 and under have been signed for 20 - 30M and subsequently gone on to be substantially more expensive. I bet there's more misses than hits.

Personally I think we're probably spending the amount we can afford - I don't think we have any more money left. So, if you want to buy a CB for 20-30M then you'll need to either not sign someone like Adam Armstrong or you sell to raise the money. About the only player we have that would go for the amount required is JWP. Then you'd be in the position of spending that money on your CB and another midfielder. Now I've never been that much of JWP fan so I might be tempted but it seems pretty clear the majority of fans wouldn't hack that. Have to say I disagree on Zouma though - who's going to spend 50M on him in a couple of years time? Possibly Arsenal I guess but if you're talking fees that large then there's only a handful of clubs that can afford it and this is the problem when you sign players in that 20-30M bracket. If you're gambling on making a profit then you don't really have a massive pool of potential buyers out there. Course if finances are such that you're just looking at getting your money back then fair enough, plus you get the value of the player for a few years. I think it's fair enough to argue for one player over another if they're pretty much the same price but arguing for spending 20-30M is probably a bit unrealistic.

Absolutely need a headerer and a ball striker too. Our defencemen will struggle if not.

I only managed to see the second half of the Everton game and he didn't really stand out in that but then the whole side looked a bit crap. Today though I thought he was excellent. Looked as if he tired a bit in the second half but that's fair enough and he wasn't the only one to do that. If he continues to improve as you'd expect him to then I can easily see him dominating that right flank. If Armstrong is out in future then I think I'd rather see a combination of KWP and Livramento than having Walcott in the starting 11.

Losing S Armstrong would be a blow. Best ‘10’ we have and should be starting every game. Fair enough if someone offers stupid money but I can’t see that happening.

Completely agree. Hypo asked for details on who had written whateverhisname is off. I just provided the details. Personally couldn't give a toss whether people have made their mind up or not - it's a free country. They haven't made an informed judgement based on watching him play for us but that's up to them.

Does that help?

Stop being such a drama queen. He may well be rubbish but he’s not even signed yet and you have no idea what wages he’ll be on if he does sign. You seem to jump to conclusions pretty quickly. Adam Armstrong might not turn out to be that great and Livramento the same. Why not just wait and see instead of getting all worked up?

You have no idea how good or bad he is. You've seen some stats and watched some clips on The YouTube and come to a decision based on that. If you're lucky you may have heard of him before this afternoon. On the face of it it does look a pretty whelming transfer but until you've seen him play (and play for us) you really can't be making any kind of informed judgement on him.

Lyon fans slated Lovren and thought they’d mugged us off and that turned out alright. OK, he was a cock but played well and we made a profit on him. Actually seems a similar kind of deal to the Lovren one. Hopefully this leaves enough money to get the Everton kid and continue Crockers assembly of the team of the 20’s….

Problem is you could be accused of a bit of confirmation bias on this one. When we concede a goal you're looking for a tactical error and so you find it. It assumes there's a perfect set of tactics that would eliminate any goal (unless as you mention, it's down to individual error). It's only an opinion but I think motivation, man management and fitness are just as important as tactics.

Not in a first team game he didn't. Playing U23s and playing against Man Utd are completely different things. Besides which has he ever played as a number 10 at U23 level in a 4-2-2-2 formation? No, he hasn't. It's a perfectly valid suggestion however it's also perfectly valid to point out it's a risk based on lack of experience in that position (as well as a lack of experience in general). Personally we've got Stuart Armstrong presumably available and he's the best person to play in that role so I'd play him instead.

You must have watched a different 2nd half to me (that’s all I watched). In my opinion we were never in it. Completely outfought and outthought. Yeah there was a little spell but we never looked like scoring. Anyway, in answer to whether we should change formation. Absolutely.

Yeah, I've never really knocked Ralph before but he really needs to take the majority of the blame on this one. We were crying out for more bodies in midfield to shore us up. No idea why Stuart Armstrong was on the bench but if he was fit enough to be on the bench then he should have been on the pitch at least as a sub. If it was tactical then that's a big mistake.

Only managed to watch the second half (so I'm to blame) but jeez that was effing awful. Completely lost the midfield and defence was a shambles. Fair play to McCarthy - he seems determined to end any speculation that he may be the better of the two goalkeepers.

Soul of the club my arse. Not one single player has ever been bigger than the club (and that goes for any club not just Saints). Players join, players leave, fans remain. Not that it makes much difference but you do realise you're calling someone who was at least at one point a pompey fan the "soul of the club"?

I know people have talked about Livramento being able to play on the left but I'd like another left back in before anything else. The idea of relying on someone out of position if anything happens to Perraud doesn't fill me with confidence and we still don't know what Perraud will be like with any great certainty either. If we can do that then it's a reasonably decent squad that should be able to handle injuries to an extent.