The Kraken

Good result for Saints, keeps us 1 points away from 9th 😉

I was thinking this, and I can only imagine they build in some fairly high achievement benchmarks to the management contracts that allow them to get rid without paying out contracts in full. If not, half their revenues must disappear on payoffs.

No he isn’t. He lives somewhere near Northampton. He hasn’t even moved to Burnley, he shared a flat up there with Ian Woan and comes back to the family home.

F-Troop v The DEF. When two worlds collide 😬

I was just looking at the table, Coventry coming up would be good after all the SISU shit they had to go through. like you say, Luton would be a fairytale. For Millwall, it would be funny I guess, though I went to the Den a couple of times (only once to watch Saints), and to be honest it was pretty sterile. If it’s still the same, you get funnelled straight into the away section off the train before and after the game, being kept fully away from the home fans. I suppose if you went drinking around Bermondsey pre game it would be a bit livelier….

I hope it’s Fulham and Bournemouth. South coast derby with Bournemouth is decent, despite some of their gobby fans I’ll always have a soft spot for the Cherries. And Fulham is a brilliant away day, the pubs and walk to the ground along the Thames are glorious.

Not a bad shout. Watford old boy with Malay McKay, closer to home for him. However, given how long he’s been in the Prem for, he may be looking for a step up. Watford are always going to struggle to stay up, so it’s like for like really. IMO he’d have been decent for Everton, but Lampard got that and despite doing a poor job he won’t get ousted from that just yet. There’s not really any other stand out Premier League clubs that would go for him. So, it’s either go for a job in the summer, or wait until the inevitable round of Premier League sackings next season and hope for something from that.

It’s a fair point. Though even that level was well ahead of some of the CB options we’ve got now…

Dyche is going to be an interesting choice for a number of a premier league teams. He’ll definitely get a job somewhere, just how high up remains to be seen. He’s done a great job at Burnley over the years given the absolute lack of finance he’s had at his disposal. Would be interesting to see what he can do given a ‘fair’ roll of the dice.

Championship is one below the ‘Womens Super League’. Currently in effectively Division 3 South.

Good summary. I don’t think anyone is presenting it as a negative. Just pointing out out that GK and CB positions have proved harder to bring someone through. GK likely for many of the reasons you mention.

The pearl clutching from the BT sports crew was just embarrassing, it was as if they were presenting on a national tragedy. Then when it was suggested that Grealish wasn’t even playing and had come on the pitch to call Savic a c*nt, it was described by ‘Ri’ as just part of the game. Fuck all this ”no one wants to see this” nonsense. I do! I thought it was great. And seeing the Atleti shithouses get a taste of their own medicine was brilliant, they looked like they wanted to cry at the end.

Goalkeepers and centre backs, never really produced one through the youth team / academy. Full backs, we’re decent at that. Centre mids, not bad. Wingers / wide midfielders and strikers, yep, decent there too. The most promising CB I can remember us bringing through was Mike Williamson, but even that is tenuous as he was signed after playing league games for Torquay. Likewise, Jack Stephens technically was an academy graduate, but we also signed him after he’d played league football elsewhere. Keepers, we had Darryl Flahavan who got released then played in lower leagues. Also similar for his brother Aaron (RIP) who played for Pompey.

One of my dads closest and oldest friends is a Celtic fan. I see him reasonably regularly, and whenever we spoke about football he’d mention this lad called van Dijk that they had. He always said he was a superstar in the making, no doubt about it, and reiterated it to me when we signed him. Van Dijk was a Rolls Royce of a player when he arrived at St Mary’s. We knew it, the club knew it, VvD knew it (he said himself we were just a stepping stone for him). It was a mutually beneficial deal. We gave him a place to get accustomed to life in a Premier League top ten side. He gave a some staggeringly good. performances, and got himself in the shop window. And he improved himself while with us, as a centre back gaining experience at the top of level will do. Van Dijk was simply a phenomenon from start to finish with us.

Well,I don’t believe that’s true in the slightest. Bednarek played for all Poland youth levels 16-21 before making his debut full international appearance shortly after joining us. We paid £5m for a young prospect. Like Salisu, he wasnt expected to go straight into the first team. And, surely any saints fan who watched Hoedt play would have preferred Bednarek there instead, no matter how young he was! I don’t think we can look at the selection policies of our two previous managers as a benchmark of anything good at all! Bednarek’s career growth has happened under Ralph because he is now 25, and has grown into his role. Ralph has played a part, of course, but it would have been a significant failure if Bednarek had not have improved from where he was when Ralph took him under his wing. It’s not black and white, its not either or, but it’s very much a bit of both.

Bednarek was what, 20 or 21 when he came to Saints? Seems like he broke through with us in a similar time and way that Salisu did.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc.

I don’t think it’s unfair to commend Eddie Howe on the job he’s done so far. We all know that Newcastle are now playing with a loaded deck, but he has done a good job in turning them around. In fact, he’s done exactly the job that he was brought in to do, keep them up, he’s already pretty much done that. I don’t think many people can see him being in position there any longer than another season (I personally think there’s a chance he could even be gone in the summer) but to say he hasn’t done a good job is churlish. Yes, he’s had a massive leg up with the money available to spend, and what he has done is not incredible. It doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be commended for it though, he’s done a good solid job.

Yep, I agree, I think KWP is the better defender, Livramento better going forward.

Not that I disagree, but I think Ralph massively rates Livramento. There’s quotes given to Ralph when Livra arrived saying that he thought he could be our best player within six months. I think it explains why Ralph persists, he’s clearly got huge faith in the lad.

Correct, it’s a bit daft to say Ralph had much to do with improving Moi when he hasn’t been here.

Have to say that’s a fair question. Apart from maybe A Armstrong. He’s a rabbit in the headlights but i think it’s too soon to write him off, he deserves a bit of development time like Adams got.

Arse, switched to the golf at HT and forgot to check the clock 🤦‍♂️

Walker is very solid defensively and about the quickest player you’ll find. However, much as TAA is an attacking full back who can’t defend, Walker is a defensive full back who can’t attack.

TAA is having a torrid few minutes here, all of City’s best work is being done around him (or rather the spaces in behind him).