Red

.... and it's not as if we did not pull out all the stops to try and keep TA - offering a higher price than agreed with loan and am led to believe matching his Spurs package, but he decided to go to Spurs so nothing we could do. His parent club couldn't give a monkey's as they got a higher fee and probably preferred to keep Toby happy to ease the deal. So a bit of a mute point IMO as we had the ambition and funds to keep one of our top players but he did not want to stay - not sure what more the club could have done, other than find another top CB?

Ted MacDougall. The finest goal poacher there ever was, and glad to say I saw him score plenty for us :-)

http://www.skysports.com/football/soton-vs-watford/teams/341394 4 2 3 1 according to Sky

With respect, have to disagree with this! No large/public company (public not in ownership terms, but we are in the entertainment / people business), let alone a EPL club should have a private vision, execution fine but not vision. In any case we have been repeatedly told fans and history are important to the current Board and they have assured us of openness and transparency. Also the 5 year plan has been spoken of from the start of the new owners (Father and Daughter) so why not now? If you really want a private 5 year plan, then don't mention it - simple! Don't say you have a plan but we don't want to tell you, just in case we can't achieve it - really? Would you want people with that attitude running the club? My 2 cent worth is that RK asked what our ambition and investment plan was, and was highly underwhelmed as he may feel he has taken us as far as he can within current club ambitions, so has said invest in Jan or I am off at the end of my contract. This has filtered through to the players and staff (hence Jose's comments etc.) and hence the drop in form / confidence. Only two ways out of this, 1) Give RK what he is asking for now, or 2) Get rid of RK now and get a new manager who buys fully in to club's aims, and let the fans know so we don't harbor unrealistic expectations. However I fear we don't have the balls within the new Board for this - it needs to Ralph really, but he is no Nicky is he?

For me this is spot on! Leaving aside the pros's and con's of NC etc. etc. the problem since his departure seems to be there is no Caesar at our club any more? At least when NC was here, he was the leader (leader not owner - Marcus let him run the show), and so we had a vision (Southampton Way if you like) and he acted as a mighty general (threw player offer faxes in to the waste bin etc.), but now who is Caesar?? KL seems to be very much a silent (but gratefully welcomed) investor, but who has replaced the NC role (not saying I want him back, but we need someone with his balls to stand up for us). It's not Les, should be Ralph, but he clearly is not. Don't have a problem with us letting Nicky go (and he jumped, we did not push him), but our biggest mistake was not to replace him with someone equal or better. So who has the responsibility / balls to fire RK now? Again not suggesting we should, but I honestly don't know, at least with NC there was no question!!

No where have I suggested this, or indeed that we should spend more. My point is that before criticising RK for poor player investment, maybe we should consider he was not allowed, or the club could not get their first choice for whatever reason. As for the fag packet maths - think you need to look at the last set (or two) of the accounts - we have spent less on player fees than we received and we made a profit, fact. Reason the money is gone maybe in part due to salaries etc., but also because we cleared off some debt - which is all fine as it is KL's money and she can do what she wants with it (as I have said many times). No way are we the bottom four earners (from all sources) in the EPL, yet our budget is (confirmed by RK, and not denied by anyone at the club, so for me at least there is no reason to disbelieve it). 100% of our turnover does not go in to players / club wages, agent fees etc. In fact once again we are one of the lower ratio's in this respect (which is a good thing), and would not be allowed under the fair play rules in any case. So not sure how much of our "player" profit goes in to wages, and the same is true for Agent fee's, last EPL official report puts us again near the bottom. Next set of accounts will be interesting read for sure. In football, as in most business, investment = results. If (for whatever reason) we do not want to invest as much as others so be it, but then don't harp on about Champions League etc. etc. Let's just say, the Southampton Way is EPL survival to mid table, with a good cup run every few seasons, and developing young players in to better ones for bigger clubs, which by the way is fine for me (much better than L1), as I have been a Saints fan for 40 years with more or less the same club ambition. Anyway, it's just my view - what do I know?

This. We have spent less money than we took in for two seasons, and are one of the lowest payers in EPL (all confirmed by RK), and who is to say the players that RK has brought in were his first choice? There were several players mentioned as our targets who we did not get - don't have time to look through all of them, but clearly we tried to make Toby permanent, seems we were after Chicharito (who turned us down), also another big name full back, and attacking midfielder (from memory) - could be wrong but the main point is as made above, we are not spending to strengthen season on season on first team players (not squad), and who really knows if RK is really being backed in his first choice recruits?

More or less a Slong (£12.5M) apparently (yes, he's injured but if not serious why not?) http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/newcastle-southampton-join-transfer-chase-7108270

Tend to agree - ok, so maybe we got in to more debt than the owner wanted and scaled back for a while (which is fair enough), but that should be over now, unless KL wants all her investment back (which does not make sense, as why would she convert the loan to equity in that case?). Anyway, it seems that football (particularly PL) is not a vehicle for ROI (return on investment), so she either does it for the love of football/Saints (very much doubt it), or her father or son. Otherwise the best way is to sell at a profit and consider it a fun ride. There are a lot better and safer ways to get ROI than investing in a PL club, so if that is the motivation (which I am not sure it is) then sell wisely and move on - no true SFC fan will think badly of you, and will always be grateful to your father. I am not suggesting we over stretch our selves, but we need to invest whatever we can back in to the club to keep progressing, and make a modest profit. So if you don't love football and Saints why would you do it? Who knows maybe KL/son have really fallen in love with our club, but not sure myself. And to this point - players bought (since his arrival) maybe RK's sole choice (which I doubt), but when you ask to buy a Ferrari and get given the budget for a Fiat, what are you supposed to do? It is now openly accepted that we are on a bottom four budget and only club to have profited from player transfers - how do you expect to attract even average PL players on that basis? The piper calls the tune of course, but let's not expect it to be the Christmas #1 single! Oh - and as for Leicester, let's just see how they do next year and the year after, after the big boys get used to their style of play. We had a very good 1st/2nd season in PL as well.

Tend to agree - ok, so maybe we got in to more debt than the owner wanted and scaled back for a while (which is fair enough), but that should be over now, unless KL wants all her investment back (which does not make sense, as why would she convert the loan to equity in that case?). Anyway, it seems that football (particularly PL) is not a vehicle for ROI (return on investment), so she either does it for the love of football/Saints (very much doubt it), or her father or son. Otherwise the best way is to sell at a profit and consider it a fun ride. There are a lot better and safer ways to get ROI than investing in a PL club, so if that is the motivation (which I am not sure it is) then sell wisely and move on - no true SFC fan will think badly of you, and will always be grateful to your father. I am not suggesting we over stretch our selves, but we need to invest whatever we can back in to the club to keep progressing, and make a modest profit. So if you don't love football and Saints why would you do it? Who knows maybe KL/son have really fallen in love with our club, but not sure myself. And to this point - players bought (since his arrival) maybe RK's sole choice (which I doubt), but when you ask to buy a Ferrari and get given the budget for a Fiat, what are you supposed to do? It is now openly accepted that we are on a bottom four budget and only club to have profited from player transfers - how do you expect to attract even average PL players on that basis? The piper calls the tune of course, but let's not expect it to be the Christmas #1 single! Oh - and as for Leicester, let's just see how they do next year and the year after, after the big boys get used to their style of play. We had a very good 1st/2nd season in PL as well.

Emmanuel Adebayor on a one year deal?? Wages might be an issue, but give him a signing on bonus and big bonus for goals scored?

Discussed at great length previously I believe, but my single biggest takeaway was that we were the only PL club to have made money (net plus) from the summer transfers two years running. OK, we had debt etc. but not investing (strengthening) on an on-going basis is not progression. Also RK has publicly stated we have a bottom four budget. I am not saying we should spend a ton of money, just that we should have realistic expectations from our current investment. The next set of accounts should be interesting to see where we are with the debt situation, and hence potential future investment.

http://www.stream2u-tv.me/watch/33734/1/Premier-League-West-Ham-United-vs-Southampton.html

Let's face it, we are in p**s poor form currently, and in response to OP's question - it is totally down to player confidence and motivation. We were great (relatively) early on in the season with the same players, so it is not lack of good players or system etc. My view (and only my view and have said it before), is that RK asked the board for some serious investment in Jan, and they said no, so he cannot improve the project. He has openly stated he will only renew his contract if we are progressing (which currently we are clearly not). Ergo, RK will leave at the end of his contract and players know this so can't be arsed! IMHO the vision/dream RK was sold is gone - there is no longer "The Southampton Way" - just maximise the profits! Well not being in the PL next year will certainly help - NOT!

Have to disagree there fella - thought Tadic was one of our best players today - got some lovely crosses in, just no one took advantage. Totally agree about VW though - it was disgraceful the way Dembele just brushed him aside at times, and VW fell over like a little girl (apologies to little girls). If Spurs still want to pay £20M for him in Jan then defo go for it, or a straight swap for Dembele.

Naw - forums are forums - a platform for expressing views and sharing frustration etc. Helps to let off steam with like minded / interested people. Some do seem to dominate and get carried away but hey some internet warriors get off on that! Mostly this forum is pretty good and we all hurt when our beloved team does not win every game massively, but that's football right! Outside of 4 to 5 people on here most are great, and the banter is mainly great - keep it up folks! Leicester are the new Saints and actually good to see them do well - just hope their players get pillaged like ours in years past!

Thanks Shurlock. Indeed Koeman is on video stating that, and no body from the club has said different after his comment. It does not mean he expects to finish bottom four, just that we have to be clever with how we spend, and mostly so far we have, but in my view (NOTE for the drama queens - in my view only) this cannot go on forever. RK has clearly stated many times that he will stay at Saints if we are still progressing and there is still a challenge to meet, so if he now believes otherwise - why is it so incredulous to assume he will walk? No where have I criticised the club or board - just that an honest and open ambition / intent is passed on to the fans - isn't that the message we are constantly fed by the whole club after all? I guess my request for a polite discussion was in utter vain - c'est la vie! Didn't realise this forum was the only for the elite few only!

Not sure why there is so much rudeness and aggression on here? This is a forum for discussing views / opinions after all, and if you don't agree with said view then fair enough and offer a counter view nicely (costs nothing to be polite after all). My personal view (opinion or guess if you like) is that RK has "lost his mojo" and that is transpiring to the players. I think he went to the board and said, ok we tried your/cheap way in the summer and it is not working, so in January I need you to back me with 2 to 3 big players for us to really compete. Board told him no way Jose (or Ron even), so he does not believe he can improve the team and will move on when his contract ends. A lot of recent media leaks / stories seem to back this up - e.g. Fonte, and the RK saying he spoke to Fonte and he should not have said that etc. etc. Board and RK out of step, and club captain Fonte trying to bridge the gap. Ambition gone = lack of motivation / effort "in my own opinion". KL is the owner and so has the right to run the club as she wishes, and I will always be internally grateful for her beloved father for saving our club, but please be honest with the fans. If we are budgeted for bottom four in the PL, and believe we have the infrastructure etc. in place to survive or be mid table than fine, it's her call. But let's stop all the nonsense about Europe or eventually winning the league. I would rather be mid table PL than L3 any day, but do admit to getting caught up in the "Southampton Way" project. In short, give us honesty not BS!

And yet last week Stek was our worst keeper in history!! Who couldn't save a single shot on target. Think Gazza managed a save or two, and maybe old school but I personally would reward an excellent performance with another start - might just send a message to others?

This is the most disappointing aspect - it's the same squad, manager, facilitates etc. so why slackened off, and why is RK allowing it to happen? Most teams have a poor run, so that I can accept if we are still trying our level best - don't get the impression we are right now. Is this down to RK losing the faith / motivation? Recent snippets in media are hardly reflecting a strong team spirit, which has been our advantage over bigger teams, so if this is gone then it's a bigger worry than a poor run. If RK is unhappy or not backed to his liking he needs to move on now (much as I like him) - conflict, however civilized never ends well in the end. If this is the case the owner / board need to let us know that is our ambition, so we can adjust to it and not build up hope of CL or title or forever improving! It's the hope that kills.

I'm not entirely sure it's a lack of spending money or good squad (actually great back up players - but then what great players would want to be back up at Saints? Debate for another day!) that is our most pressing issue - ironically pressing, or rather lack of it is our issue right now "in mine own opinion" as RK would say! Last season and earlier this one, we chased teams and did not allow them to settle, now we seem happy to sit back and allow them possession in their own half and even beyond. If you look at Liverpool, their improvement has mainly been they are closing opposition teams in their own half and not allowing time to get organised or going. We were the masters of this tactic in the past (particularly under MP) so what has happened to change this approach? Spurs and Man City at times also use this very well, as do Stoke and Leicester. Why have we changed - same players (more or less), same management - have we lost the motivation / drive? Of course it would be great to have more great players, but let's sort out the tactics etc first.

I am guessing, you did not hear about RK saying we will not sell anyone in January - even if we are offered a £100M?

Bolasie's main threat is pace, and Cedric is quicker than Yoshi, so I would stick with Cedric but limit his forward forays, and have Long on the right and Mane on left or center - Long provides more defensive cover I think.

http://mamahd.com/watch-aston-villa-live-stream-free-online-1.html HD - great quality but slightly slow - maybe my broadband? or, http://www.vipbox.tv/football/311384/1/southampton-vs-aston-villa-live-stream-online.html

TA. and bring your blizzard gear - it's going to be a mini hurricane in Dublin all tomorrow - raining buckets apparently