SNSUN

Goal for Everton? My mobile updates are going all over the place

Well there's me dissing him and...

re: Stream, I don't know if it helps anyone else but it works for me, those of you with an iPad download Live Player - media streaming, then search for Southampton or whatever the home team is when we're playing away. It's very adverty and buffers a lot (for me but then my iPad is about 9 years old) but it worked sporadically in that first half and some games are better than others.

I was excited by the signing of Aribo but he's done very little since he joined. Really hope he comes good soon.

Well, Ralph's amazing half time team talk is still yet to come...

Afternoon all, what have I missed? Oh.

He's on the bench. ...in a park, in Manchester, feeding some birds the crusts of his ham sandwich (no mayo), looking lonely and sad.

Names from a hat? Anyway he'd be in my starting line up for Iran with Kane and Foden up front. Sterling does well in tournaments but whenever I watch him he's so frustrating I scream at the TV and it gets tiring. FWIW my Iran XI is: Pickford, Walker, Stones, Dier, Shaw, Rice, Bellingham, Mount, Saka, Kane, Foden. 4-3-3.

I know we have a lot of buy backs on our recently recruited players, but I'm assuming there isn't one with ABK? Does this mean we could see VVD-esque levels of transfer fees if he becomes good enough?

ABK!

Nick Poop with a clanger.

The turnaround wouldn't have happened with ABK in their defence. 😁

Southgate is a genius. Give him a new 10 year contract! 🙄

Exactly. "Nobody better to replace him" is such a weak excuse for not to get rid of him. This is one of the most talented bunch of England players in years and we look pathetic, defensive, lop-sided, have a lack of creative ideas and, importantly, we only made 2 subs all night despite the dross that was on show. I don't care who replaces Southgate, I'd even take a foreign manager again, but we're currently going into a World Cup in awful form with little idea and have been relegated from the Nations League, meaning our seeding will be affected and we'll play 'friendlies' against lesser nations. Granted I've never been sure about Southgate, and he has done well in tournaments for us which has surprised and delighted me (although some of that I think was due to the quality of player he has at his disposal), but he seems hell bent on trying to slot as many right backs into the team as possible, he plays Maguire who has barely had a kick for his club over Tomori etc and he plays defensively when our strength is clearly our attack. For form alone, I'd be looking to replace him. The question is, before or after the WC? Well it's too late now before the WC so let it slide for now and just hope for the best, but unless we hit another quarter-final or better, I think he's out early next year. Although knowing Southgate, we'll hit the WC and suddenly do really well and he sticks around for another couple of years.

No Trent No Party. 😁

Looks like it.

This has echoes of the season when Shaw made his debut. We were short of a decent left back going into the season and Fox couldn't cope with the Prem, suddenly Shaw comes in and looks brilliant. This season we need a goalscoring striker.... cue Ballard.... 😁

We have World Class free kick taker in the team - IMO we should be playing these quick, tricky players like Edozie and Mara to draw fouls around and, hopefully, in, the box. Yes he's young but all the players bar Aribo we signed in the summer were young... if they're old enough they're good enough. Protect them sure, but if the more senior players aren't doing much right now, I say, chuck them in.

Bold statement, I wish I was as confident as you. Even if you think we signed good players in the summer (Lavia and ABK showing that so far), we lack a striker that can regularly score goals (in addition hampered by our midfield not contributing either) and are still leaking goals and I think that could be our downfall. Add in that most other teams in the League that should be in or around us have strengthened well this summer and I'm very worried for our Premier League status. We're additionally hampered by Ralph playing the likes of Moi every game and seemingly not even knowing what his strongest team is, nor even what his strongest formation is. Yes we haven't been in a relegation battle with him before, but that's usually due to freakish short periods of form where we look unstoppable, before regressing to type. I genuinely think with our form the way it was at the tail end of last season had the season been 2 or 3 games longer we would have dropped. Yes, it wasn't and No, we weren't in a relegation battle, but it shows that we were damn close. All it takes this season is for us not to hit that freakish patch of form and we drop, especially as I think most teams are stronger than they were last season and even Fulham and Forest have, on paper at least, added well. The Everton game will have a huge say on where we are exactly. Everton added to their defence and midfield well in the summer but didn't do a lot with their attack bar Maupay, so they're in the same 'lack of goals' category as us. We need points on the board and we really need to be beating the likes of Everton if we want to stay up this season.

Aren't they the many, multi-named accounts of Glasgow Saint?

I like Che and I think he has a lot to offer as a "second" striker and wonder if he would form a decent partnership with Mara, but he was shockingly bad against Villa. I wonder if that handball that should have been the easiest goal he'd ever scored in his life had affected his game. That handball effectively cost us a point against Wolves and gave them all 3. He shouldn't be our main goal threat UNLESS we have very good, goal-scoring AMs. Which we don't... unless Aribo can find some form.

Agree, I don't think he's particularly defensive but he does seem to almost panic when we ship goals. He started the season playing 3 CBs because we were poor defensively, saying this was the formation he wanted to play long term, then picked Valery and Bednarek. Then he changed it because it wasn't really working. We now have Caleta-Car on the books and ABK showing how good he is so I personally don't think it'll be long before Ralph goes back to the 3 CB system. What worries me most is that after nearly 4 years of Ralph, we still don't really have an identity as such. As you say we were a pressing side in the early days and that worked for us but whether teams worked us out or personnel got crapper or Ralph simply panicked from those big losses, IDK but something has changed. I like Ralph as a person but he does seem a bit stubborn.

Keep, for now. I predicted we will be in a relegation battle before the season began despite the new signings and I still do. We made good signings despite their age but even so we needed to, our form at the end of last season was awful and had the season been two or three games longer we would have gone down - we had little quality but Ralph also showed he couldn't turn it around. This season we have picked up points against a poor Leeds and Leicester side and a Chelsea side that is in transition. We've been poor in the last two games against opposition that shouldn't have been tough to get at least a point from - especially Villa which was one of the worst performances I've seen in ages. Then you look at the selections - Moi is not good enough for the Premier League. He just isn't. He might work hard and be OK technically but he really doesn't do what an Attacking Midfielder should do, and that is create chances... or even score them. And yet Ralph continues to select him over Aribo, Stu and Edozie. We also have Adams up front as our main goal threat because we didn't bring in a properly good striker and currently have Diallo in midfield alongside JWP because, apparently, AMN isn't ready. Personally I'm conflicted about sacking him now. I wanted him gone in the summer and was surprised the powers that be kept faith in him (as it seems were some of the players) but with the new signings I was going to see how he did until Christmas. We've started...averagely. For me I would keep him for now and see how he does over the next few games... especially Everton who we REALLY should be trying to beat. If we can't beat Everton at home then I would be seriously concerned. Our saving grace this season is a long break for the WC and the January transfer window that we already know we will have spending money in (Gakpo money if that was ever serious). It is for this reason that I believe if we are going to bring in a new manager, it has to be done by then, to give the new manager a while to get used to (most of) the players during the break and decide where we need to strengthen in January (ATTACK!!!). We have Everton, West Ham, Bournemouth and Palace (alongside tougher fixtures... and possibly the rearranged Brentford game) between now and the WC - those will be the big decider as to whether to keep Ralph. If we're not on 15+ points by then he needs to go - and even then only 15 points going in to the second half of the season would leave a lot on for the new man.

Come on Hammers, sort it out.

On the plus side Larios looked good when he came on. Need to trust the youngsters more.