saint1977

I don’t see the reason he is so highly rated by the club - either he was equally culpable in making insane decisions under the old duffer now at the FA or what else was he actually doing? Les’s carer? The one glimmer of hope here is that RH isn’t a weak yes man like the previous three, although I reckon Puel was only sacked when he challenged Les about Forster and other Les stalwarts he wanted to move on (allegedly according to some on this forum) and Les had a lucrative extension in mind instead for the big lump. I think everything we’ve seen - including Hoedt shipped out straight away - suggests that if Ross brings him a player he doesn’t want, they will be straight out on loan and RH will use the press in a way that Puel and Pellegrino weren’t able to make that abundantly clear. Good upwards management at that level and will keep the club on its toes. RH holds the aces, Ross has no leverage in the situation, new title or not.

£12m for Mane or VVD was not cheap in 2014 and 2015, the new TV deal the year after inflated prices. Look at how little (in quality anyway) £16m bought in Vestergaard and Moi last summer by comparison. £12m five years ago is £25m now. Club need to prepare to compete for players at £20-25m or look for an owner that can. I understand your basic point about recruiting well at a good price and spotting top 6’s next purchase - which as long as we make a good profit and re invest well is OK by me - but those players were comparatively far more expensive a few years ago and the club paid more for Mane’s pace and VVD’s athleticism and power - two attributes that have been lacking in pretty much every signing since 2015. If I was RH, I’d look for those attributes first and some emergent technical ability that we can draw out with an overhaul of the coaching staff. By buying the best of up and coming leagues that top 6 don’t have time to develop, there is a risk that for every Suarez, Mane or VVD there is a Moi or Alfonso Alves. But even Leicester with their backing have to fish in these pools. Exciting when you do find a gem. What the club have to do is stop stockpiling mediocrity at £50k a week and make room for recruiting again at that level by clearing 12-15 fringe and some first team players. As RH says, there is no business case for the bloated sameness at present.

It’s in their hands but small matter of Sunderland away on Sat in front of 40000 plus. Any dropped points and Barnsley’s to lose.

Can’t blame JWP today, never a right wing back. Agree on Jack sadly - not sure whether he is a RB, CB - definitely not that at top level - or a DMC. Jack of all trades but master of none, worrying in his mid 20s. Needs to drop a level and find himself. I think that goes for a few of the squad tbh. We were due a stinker under RH, Cardiff was the last one, and there haven’t been many. Enormous transfer window coming up - pace and power needed right through the spine and Glover/Wilson have some serious offloading duties to do from June to end of August.

Club’s fault for leaving hopeless/past it employee in charge of recruitment for 2 years too long. Liverpool were like a double glazing salesman going to close a deal with a scatty OAP.

We were due a stinker under Ralph at some point, not been one since Cardiff. We should see a reaction in the Watford and Bournemouth games. RH does not look happy. A few players might have earned a summer move they didn’t want e.g Jack. Not going to blame JWP as he isn’t a right wing back in a million years. However, PEH and Romeu awful and Yoshi distribution of a Sunday league player today. Sims not making a strong argument for a regular start and Ings off the pace, Redmond can’t do it all. Get those alarm clocks ready boys, Easter Sunday extra training with RH nice and early and boy are they are going to suffer for this.

So out of the fixtures left, I predict; Newcastle 1-1, Bournemouth 2-1 to us; Watford 1-1 (especially minus Deeney); W Ham 2-1 to them, Hudds 2-0 to us. Would give us without counting any chickens 8 more points and 44 points which having had only 9 from the first 15 games would be pretty good and more what we've been used to before we appointed the last 3 managers before RH. In terms of Cardiff and Brighton, I would back Brighton to get another 4 points (although even that is probably optimistic given their dreadful display last night) and Cardiff another 5. On paper, Cardiff should get at least 6 and they'll beat a totally on the beach Palace but I'm not sure Fulham will be the pushover everyone expects. I can see them getting something at Man U if 4th place is off the table by then on the other hand. Wolves will want to bounce back in fron their own fans on Sat V Brighton. I think Saints will finish 14th or 15th so some improvement overall on last year despite the even worse first half of the season.

City at home to finish, who may need to win for the title. Newcastle home the only realistic prospect for a win, although Hudds did do the double over Wolves. Can’t think they will want their season to fade out though and would fancy them to beat Brighton at home. Cardiff would need to beat both Fulham and Palace, whilst hoping I’ve been right about the above. Another Brighton point somewhere and Cardiff would need something from either Liverpool or Man U desperate for a win.

Whilst I think Boufal will be more Gaston than Redmond, it’ll be interesting to see him under a decent manager rather than Puel or Pellegrino. Bit harsh to blame Hughes as Pellegrino had ground down most of the squad by then and Boufal happened to react. Carrillo doesn’t look a Ralph player but has a good attitude so let’s see. Clasie, Hoedt are beyond redemption though. Ely heck knows, Les’s biggest blunder next to the very suspect Fraser extension second time around. Still, if you are in football and dreadful at your job, there is always the FA

On the contrary, I can well believe someone would shout it in any stand. In the L1 promotion season, Lee Peltier and Guly tussled for the ball in front of the Itchen in the opening minutes. The ball ran out and someone in the first couple of rows shouted ‘ you black c—-‘ at Peltier. Disgusting and quite a few people around us were as appalled as we were. Trouble is, we were a few rows up and weren’t 100per cent sure exactly which seat it came from, otherwise we’d have texted the number to report it. Clearly the lad so was thick that he hadn’t clocked that he was equally racially abusing Guly. Tbf to Saints fans, in 35 years or so there aren’t many incidents, although one incident is too many. Compared at least to being at neutral games in with West Ham and Leeds fans, where the racist abuse directed at their own players let alone the opposition was terrible at both of those games. Remember the West Ham throwing bananas at Danny Wallace, one of my heroes, from the Archers End pen in the 1980s and thinking it was idiotic even as a kid.

Whatever comes out of Brexit, and whoever gets into power next, this is what they have to tackle urgently: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-47853444 It's the top 1% who are pushing Brexit and slamming the door down onto people that want to be socially mobile, and have been over the last 30-40 years, what Thatcher and Blair would have called 'strivers'. It'll require global action on tax havens and policies on multinationals contributing to infrastructure, much better to do that in close partnership with the EU. The other option is Corbyn, and we want to improve economic mobility, not destroy it entirely like he and his Marxists would. Let's be clear: A trade deal with America under Trump = end of the NHS as the health insurance companies want freedom in that market. A gross betrayal of the 2016 vote with the lie that some of the £350m payments to the EU would go to the NHS. That's the real betrayal of democracy.

Yes, gave up its democracy by allowing Boris to lie in the DT front page in January by claiming no deal was the most popular option of the public (lie and pursued by IPSOS under chapter 1 of editors code). Before that gave up its democracy by Boris as leader of Leave campaign by claiming £350m extra per week for the NHS which was a lie the NAO ordered him to stop repeating. Oh, and the Leave campaign got a huge fine recently for breaking all manner of campaign funding and advertising rules. Shame 17.4 million British people don’t have the education to see when Putin is manipulating them. Still, we have world class education system, until the neoconservatives dismantle it, so people can learn when they are being taken for a ride.

Boris and The Daily Telegraph rapped over the knuckles with Ipsos humiliating him, Charles Moore and the Barclay Brothers by making them retract Boris’s blatant lies about no deal being the public’s preferred option in January. His article had no ‘basis in fact’ or accuracy and the DT had done nothing to back it up either. Or editorial staff were bullied into not correcting it? It breached clause one of the editors’s code of practice. The idea that Brexit is the will of the people with that level of blatant dishonesty - and we won’t even go into his lies on the NHS which NAO ordered him not to repeat - is a f ucking joke.

DT reporting that 1922 Committee saying May must go. Hate to tell Charles Moore this, but your boneheads took their aim late last year and missed - you have to wait until the next opportunity. Despite the fact they told everyone in public what enormous support they had. Then they had a second opportunity with the third reading of May’s vote, but it wasn’t ideologically pure enough for a hardcore of the Minford extremists. Now it is out of their hands altogether. This is what happens to you when you let Boris and your owners take over what goes on the pages. Must be a bit like working for Harry Redknapp when he is your Director of Football. Job security - nil.

Hants dispatching their bogey side by an innings. With Cook as well. All bar Weatherley got runs, and brilliant knocks by Northeast and Rosseuw. Hope injury to Allsopp not serious. Bowlers superb - Edwards and Abbott in particular, some tidy overs from Dawson to add to his half century. Couldn’t have gone better for Birrell. Yorks visiting next, Root off a big unbeaten ton but their bowling looked all over the show at Notts. Let’s enjoy being top of the table for now!

Westley out to Kyle, 55/2, but Cook 35 no. Lawrence and Bopara now key as well as Cook, who will look to drop anchor, with Wheater’s injury. Ten-D fast scorer in Roussow mode, Harmer a useful bat but a couple more wickets would leave Essex very exposed.

Agree with much of that - McQueen people would need to be convinced he was over his ACL at Bristol City. Austin will get a Champ buyer and probably a wages adjustment for the last year. Surely Clasie would go to Feyenoord on a zero-sum deal, the extra wages in place of a fee for his last year? Hoedt - I think there will be managers that think they can sort his attitude but the club will need to take a fairly big loss on the fee. I get the impression he really doesn't enjoy SFC so might take a pay cut to go. Boufal - again, might be a 'home grown/French national' option for one of the bigger Ligue One sides, but again, doubt they'll get £16m. Cedric will go and should a fair few buyers with only a year left. Inter were set £8m or so it was claimed. Carrillo had done alright in La Liga, be interested to see what RH makes of him. At least he seems to have a decent attitude. It might come down to how much of the fee to Monaco was contingent on appearances, I've a feeling a fair bit might have been, so he might have to be sure he'd want Carrillo. Forster - no chance, can see the club selling McCarthy to raise funds and trying to get Fraser to at least number two level. Something really not right about that extra extension of his contract.

Agree with this, within reasonable boundaries (e.g. not players parental backgrounds etc as some have suggested, that's way too far). I'm not personally bothered about any of them and VVD wouldn't be affected in the slightest. However, Lallana and Lovren have been affected by it in the past, Lovren so much so that Klopp had to substitute him at HT in the 3-2 win. So I'd view it as a tactic to help Saints as much as anything.

Excellent. Remember the Macedonia game well, 2-2 and Smith got sent off at the end (as he was for Leeds 2 years later at SMS). Entertaining game but frustrating result. Hope the seat Westwood was in got a good deep clean or was replaced afterwards. Still, at least he waited until the League Cup game to have a tinkle on it, banning him for the 3-0 home league win 'ding dong, ding dong, where's your bell gone' as we sang in Northam. Can see the Portsmouth News taking serious umbrage at the 'hometown' line in that Echo article though about JWP!

Either here: https://www.grandoldteam.com/forum/ Or on his computer looking up adoringly at pictures of Marco Silva.

Glad I wasn't the only one who spat coffee over my laptop at that post! We might end up with Forster as cover because the stupid old fool gave him that enormous and unjustified contract. On the positive side, at least Les won't be at the club this summer. As Manji suggests, let Ralph get on with it within a budget and Ross tie the deals up, contracts etc. In terms of the outs mentioned: - Cedric; fee of £8m for Inter seemed low but suggest that might be tied into the loan fee. New buyers might be paying nearer £12m I suspect and think we would get near that as well. - Clasie: zero sum here. Unless someone other than Feyenoord want to buy than waive the fee in exchange for them stumping up his last 12 months wages in full. That would be another bigger earner gone after Gabbi and Cedric - McCarthy: wouldn't want to sell him ideally but may have to with the Forster situation. £15m if club does sell him. - Gallagher: £7m or so, some of the League One comments are harsh, would do well in Championship again with full pre-season and game time. - Reed: Can see this being £5m or so unless RH wants a look at him first. Quite a few Champ clubs might be keen at that price, versatile as well - Hoedt: May depend on Celta staying up from what we've seen. Can see them buying him for £12m or so if they stay up. Could be harder to shift if they go down, might be another loan with a hefty fee if someone's first XI CB does their ACL close to the August window - Boufal: RH apparently wants to have a look first. If he doesn't fancy him, can see a £10-11m move perhaps to somewhere like OM as a squad player. Windows might have more of an idea here. - Lemina: Just not playing enough. RH has spoken positively about him but let's see if he features between now and the end of the season. - Carrillo: RH will look again. Has done OK in La Liga at a side fighting relegation. Seems to have a decent attitude but not sure he's mobile enough for RH's system. - Austin: We know he isn't mobile enough or RH. Talk of Wolves or Villa bidding £7m but more likely to be the latter. Would still score plenty in the Champ. That list was easy to compile, shows you how bloated and average the squad became very quickly.

I just donated - don't know how he will do it but I bet he does complete it. Wonder if MLT could promote it via Soccer Saturday?

Hopefully gets us off to a good start. Last season early Hants almost seemed to be 0/2 almost. In other news, did I read that Karunaratne has been arrested for drink-driving?

I agree with you but I think they have identified such players e.g. Promes but trying to get the signing over the line in January when you are struggling and the selling club doesn't have to sell is difficult (a bit of both that time). The club has two choices in the summer (when league position is less of an issue, we should hae some momentum and a quality manager) if it wants some pace and unpredicatability: - Break the transfer record if it can clear some of the decks and make less £15m Les signings (but risk around injuries) - Go for Adama Traore type buys as Wolves did for £18m (S Clarke will be chocking at the thought somewhere) that are more raw speed and where end product is questionable. What we did with Redmond I guess. The ITKs have hinted the strategy post-Les will be more of the former but those players are more in demand so it's a question of what the USP is to join Saints and not a possibly bigger but not top level side. My argument would be 'look what Mane and VVD have gone onto, do well for two years and it's win-win if Barca or City/Liverpool/Man U come in'.