Gordon Mockles

We desperately need back up to RB. Not “we could do”. Soares isn’t interested nor good enough. Great performance today but don’t let that fool you that we are suddenly ok. We need defensive and midfield additions, urgently. Do agree, Maehle would be ideal.

Don’t understand why people keep saying Wanyama. He’s passed it and injury prone so no.

Sorry, I meant New York from his loan. Yeovil was where he was born but thanks for pointing that out. Brain fart. How do you know he’s not being recalled from loan because I understood he was?

Chelsea haven’t lost at home on Boxing Day for 15 years. Haha. Unlucky ⚽️⚽️ Superb result. Only caught half the match. Didn’t realise it was on Amazon. DOH! Obafemi scored a cracking goal, great finish. We played so well. Superb one touch passing. Armstrong, Redmond, JWP. Put a shift in. Why couldn’t that happen earlier?! Fair play to Ralph today, he got his tactics spot-on. Organised and arguably the best performance I’ve seen this season. Let’s hope that doesn’t delude Gao enough to think we don’t desperately need defenders and a midfield option in January. Fair play Saints. Excellent result. We were 13th up until Everton won but passed our local lot, Brighton, Bournemouth and West Ham and now sit at 14th. One win away from ARSEnal. Improving our GD gradually. Palace next. COME ON YOU SAINTS!!

I think we will definitely buy. Just concerned about the quality. They need to hit the ground running and have the courage and aptitude for a relegation battle. No more signings for the future (or proper quality youth that are actually of PL quality) which is just club code/justification for a budget, low quality transfer. We need players ready to roll up their sleeves and battle and some experience wouldn’t be a bad thing. Not sure what Josh Sims will bring to the squad when returning, the PL is a jump up from Yeovil but he has energy but hasn’t the quality of Lemina, Boufal, Redmond or Djenepo. I guess it adds something if Gao won’t spend and he always seems to take the cheap option, recalling a loan rather than bringing in midfield depth of sufficient quality..

Depends on their outlook I guess. Wasting an extra 4-8 million in inflated Jan fees (plus the actual fee, anything from 10-30 million although 30 is unlikely as Gao won’t spend a penny nor is he likely to smash our transfer record on a CB if indeed spending anything) or the prospect of losing 120-130 million in tv revenue and the value of the club halving overnight. Guess we’ll find out in a week or 2.

Is that like Promes? When we didn’t get him (or try) but went back in for him in the summer as we intimated. Oh wait, no we didn’t. It’s almost like the club were lying just to dampen the fan’a frustration. I truly hope we get this hit or another decent CB. We are dead in the water if not.

Unbalance the squad? You’d rather not bring in an improvement to our consistently p*ss poor, worst in the league defence because it would “unbalance” the defence?! That’s insane. Our defence are abysmal as they have been for 3 seasons and your remedy is not to overhaul the heart of defence? Because Vestergaard, Bednarek, Stephens, Yoshida & Hoedt are rock solid eh? A wealth of options. Just sh*t, inadequate options. How many goals conceded this season? Granted, full back a necessity but CB even more so. No point Ings being in form when we look likely to concede at any moment. Defence is the undoubtedly top priority closely followed by midfield.

What you say makes no logical sense at all. If he signs a couple of defenders, he could easily secure his investment. A sinking ship is not sinking unless you allow it to sink. Signing a couple of more assured defenders and having another midfielder available could easily change the tide, thus plugging the holes on our sinking ship (ie: not leaking more goals [no more puns] or preserving matches from when we are in a winning position). If we don’t sign one or two defenders, we are guaranteed relegated. Only an idiot would not bring in a defender or 2 to preserve your Premier League status. It’s such a thin line for survival and I believe easily remedied. It will still be a struggle (if we sign defenders) but that is purely because we have allowed this situation to fester.

Before he got injured, Jean-Philippe Gbamin of Everton would have been a useful addition.

We won't survive in this league without it. It makes me laugh how so many on here seem to suggest advice based on having inside knowledge of the club's finances and spending. Truth is, they are absolutely clueless and merely guessing, like most of us. The sell to buy propaganda had the same effect and experts like Egg peddled a similar mantra. We certainly needed to sell and clear some off the books but we had done that. There was easily room to purchase and space in the wage structure. Gao simply didn't want to spend. Look at the number that have left us since Gabbiadini compared to the incoming traffic. No comparison. I don't think the club will overlook this transfer window in our current state. I expect us to bring in a couple of defenders, likely the RB from Genk (Joakim Maehle) and the Croatian CB from Redbull Salzburg, Marin Pongracic. Josh Sims appears to being recalled from his loan at New York Redbulls although he lacks the quality for the PL imho but his energy in the middle may help. We certainly need some options and depth. I hope we can bring in a strong assistant manager to assist Ralph. We are absolutely crying out for it. Seems the player trading expert - Steve Walsh - and Zeliko Buvac (as assistant) were just the usual rumours, possibly emanating from the SFC social media team, to maintain gate receipts and fan interest. Crocker being the absolute bare minimum. If we were serious, they'd have surely been appointed by now. Ralph so desperately needs a strong assistant alongside him.

Read the context. I’d not persist with Che in the current climate. I hadn’t written Adams off for good. Now is not the time for outrageous risks. It’s too much pressure and too big a risk for young shoulders. It can ruin a young head. Youth needs nurturing. Not a baptism of fire. We may not have choice. Our owners are mere shadows. Casting dark on our success. We are likely to be relegated unless a minor miracle happens. I’ve seen many relegation battles before but never with such a poor defence and a lack of goals across the squad. We rely on too few. This is why I am worried and fear the worst. I would absolutely love to be wrong and the next 2 games will tell us more. We never totally give up hope. No matter what we may rant. However, to risk our premier league status on a young & unproven player with another handful of games is unfair to Adams, being kind. If we lost Ings to injury - replaced by a player (Adams ) who was strangely left in the cold after having Ralph’s total faith (with with no goals to his name and low in confidence), I would say that’s way dumber than your outrageous leap of faith and blind sense of optimism but hey, it’s a football forum and it is only your opinion. I’m able to accept everyone has a right to their opinion. No matter if I thought it short sighted or “dumb”. I’d reserve judgement. Having said that, I’d take Adams over Obafemi. Unsure about Long. I’d flip between the 2 with maybe favouring Long for work rate and experience which counts in a relegation battle. His goal ratio is poor as is all our remaining forwards. Statistically. We may have no option. Ideally, I would bring in a strong loan striker as back up if I were chairman and risked losing the financial losses we face to lose. Conversely, as someone said, if we are in The Championship next season, Adams should clean up. If not, we seriously need to re-evaluate our coaching set-up and attacking options. Maybe have options to adjust to styles of attacker which hurt the opposition and suit the attacking forwards we choose. We currently seem very predictable and one dimensional, with Ralph using strange options like Djenepo & Danso as full / wing back. I personally believe this was done to bring attention to the hugely desperate need for high energy, ball winning full backs suited to the position. Ings is an intelligent striker who brings others into play. Gabbiadini used to find space and have excellent movement and positioning until Pellegrino and Hughes extreme lack of attacking sense seemed to kill all that potential dead. I don’t see anywhere near that level of forward prowess at this stage from Adams & it would be unfair to expect that in his first season in the PL with a woeful defence, inadequate midfield and hugely weakened Saints squad which is why Adams is not ideal for a relegation battle.

Read the context. I’d not persist with Che in the current climate. I hadn’t written Adams off for good. Now is not the time for outrageous risks. It’s too much pressure and too big a risk for young shoulders. It can ruin a young head. Youth needs nurturing. Not a baptism of fire. We may not have choice. Our owners are mere shadows. Casting dark on our success. We are likely to be relegated unless a minor miracle happens. I’ve seen many relegation battles before but never with such a poor defence and a lack of goals across the squad. We rely on too few. This is why I am worried and fear the worst. I would absolutely love to be wrong and the next 2 games will tell us more. We never totally give up hope. No matter what we may rant. However, to risk our premier league status on a young & unproven player with another handful of games is unfair to Adams, being kind. If we lost Ings to injury - replaced by a player (Adams ) who was strangely left in the cold after having Ralph’s total faith (with with no goals to his name and low in confidence), I would say that’s way dumber than your outrageous leap of faith and blind sense of optimism but hey, it’s a football forum and it is only your opinion. I’m able to accept everyone has a right to their opinion. No matter if I thought it short sighted or “dumb”. I’d reserve judgement. Having said that, I’d take Adams over Obafemi. Unsure about Long. I’d flip between the 2 with maybe favouring Long for work rate and experience which counts in a relegation battle. His goal ratio is poor as is all our remaining forwards. Statistically. We may have no option. Ideally, I would bring in a strong loan striker as back up if I were chairman and risked losing the financial losses we face to lose. Conversely, as someone said, if we are in The Championship next season, Adams should clean up. If not, we seriously need to re-evaluate our coaching set-up and attacking options. Maybe have options to adjust to styles of attacker which hurt the opposition and suit the attacking forwards we choose. We currently seem very predictable and one dimensional, with Ralph using strange options like Djenepo & Danso as full / wing back. I personally believe this was done to bring attention to the hugely desperate need for high energy, ball winning full backs suited to the position. Ings is an intelligent striker who brings others into play. Gabbiadini used to find space and have excellent movement and positioning until Pellegrino and Hughes extreme lack of attacking sense seemed to kill all that potential dead. I don’t see anywhere near that level of forward prowess at this stage from Adams & it would be unfair to expect that in his first season in the PL with a woeful defence, inadequate midfield and hugely weakened Saints squad which is why Adams is not ideal for a relegation battle.

Did you ever believe that though? I would love to get Buvac and love to be wrong. Just look at how the club operate in the rumours. After every major back step, a small series of damage limitation, carrot dangling remedies get launched into the aether. About 2% of them are true. Look at the promises made post Leicester and that emanates from the club as The Telegraph is the club choice and they wouldn’t publish it if it were from some third hand back source. Wait until the end of January to see how true those platitudes were but also consider, even comments like this are monitored. We should all give up and threaten mass protest or anti owner campaign and it may prompt them into action. Under Gao, unlikely. Do agree though, Buvac or coaches of that quality are a must if we back up our bullsh*t. Ralph is crying out for a strong number 2. Then the press would really love the former Klopp of the Alps press blurb. With our current scenario, it’s more like the Plop of the Alps. Certainly sunk down the table as quick as a turd through water. #WeBreedSuccess. If we clearly aren’t going to buy success (& be a feeder farm selling it) with quality players then we need to breed it. To Breed it you need good coaches. We have neither. Hence our position.

Apologies in that none of the above responses are transfer related. Digressing to discussing our strikers. Emphasising that we do need back up. I think some people struggle to understand what a relegation scrap is And most of the season season ticket holders will remember that in all the relegation battles we survived prior to relegation we always had proven goalscorers. Le Tissier. Pahars. Beattie. Hell, even Rasiak contributed. He often looks sh*t but he always cropped up in the right place at the right time and often nodded in key goals as did Gabbiadini in more recent times. Our current level of quality, aside from Ings, is much lower previous seasons. Systematic diluting down on quality. We need a loan. Hey! Get Dembele in for a few months PL experience before Chelsea sign him although haven’t they had their transfer embargo lifted? (meaning they’ll sign him. We can’t really compete with anyone). I hope we bring in some new coaches as Crocker arrives as our coaching has descended into woeful when you look at Adams and co. It’s hardly surprising when you look at the personnel. No offence. I’m sure Kelvin is a really nice guy but, for me, how much practical and tactical attacking awareness or closing down of opposition (like Rafa giving away Liverpool’s tactics in a superb and insightful analysis on Sky this week) can you glean from a mediocre goalkeeper?! Our club seem to appoint on affordability and likeability rather than shrewd, tactical expertise so if we do bring in any player of enough discernible quality to actually start a game, can we bring in a decent quality coach of the Buvac calibre to get the best out of our squad and academy graduates if there are any (but a real appointment rather than a planted rumour to appease our fans due to a disinterested, negligent and utterly incompetent football board). Bowen was mentioned. Even Giroud on loan which is about as likely as Corbyn winning the election but would help. These are short term striker issues although Bowen would be long term but I’m not always sure the decent championship strikers are capable of making the leap as Adams (possibly, Sharp and others have proven. Yes Sharp came up to the league with us & then played for Sheffield United but I don’t really think is of Premier League quality, depending on your own set of values. Our club was pretty harsh on Sharp (& Adkins, Pardew, etc.) and he didn’t get a chance but we were run more ruthless & 300% more successfully then. The results speak for themselves.

He was getting full matches consistently and had more than enough chance to prove himself and he didn’t. You can’t do that at this level and get away with it for long periods a. He’d not have had such grace elsewhere. Then we have a look at where we are now as a result. It all makes a difference and contributes to the end of season stats. Not scoring & winning as well as all the sloppy goals conceded. I do agree with your sentiment though and was discussing this earlier today. I find it bizarre how Ralph can start Che consistently over a proven goalscorer of far superior quality in Ings and then Ralph will persist with him (Adams) and then drop him totally in the cold and play others in front of them. It’s utterly bizarre and hypocritical to go from one extreme to another. I simply have never understood how Ralph’s mind works with player selection as much as tactical positioning of players. It’s mind boggling. Many games this season have been lost for us from the starting moment and team selection. Bournemouth being a prime example.

Ings big injuries at Liverpool were tearing his ankle ligament, the persistent hamstring injuries followed by doing his cruciate ligaments. I think he had an op on his knee following that. He’s had a hamstring issue (again) with us (unsure if it’s a reoccurring problem) and a few minor niggles (from what I heard) but our club barely speak to the press so there’s a media blackout, if you exclude the pointless weekly club spin in the echo where they peddle out a member of staff to read the inane club script which insults our intelligence by making stupidly transparent statements that have more front than Harrods. It’s tricky to gauge what goes on these days and the club are much more controlling and monitoring of social media so I rely on friends at the club or friends closely associated with the club. I don’t really pay attention to the Echo and no other newspapers bother with us anymore. Adams had enough chance and looked out of his depth. We don’t have time to nurture him now. We need instant results and that means a reliable option as back up in case people haven’t noticed. Same goes for our defence. None of these are new problems.

And how many goals has he contributed to our season so far Rachel Riley?

That meant to read, “will Ings stay fit”

A very fair point and a new issue that I’ve been discussing my friends. Well Ings stay there until May, probably not and we’ve had our longest run with him so we are riding a luck. If we bring in a loan, we need an established scorer not a work in progress to come straight into the squad for a relegation battle and all a loan would probably be best bet as our future is murky. Our defence counteracts our attacking positivity (despite us needing 5 chances to convert 1) so that’s the immediate area of concern (as it has been for 3 season, can’t let that dig go) but if Ings goes down, we have an entirely bigger problem). If we don’t act in January, we will go down and we will deserve it for being the most idiotic and complacent football club in the league. 3 relegation battles with pretty much the same, pitiful defence.

An astute and interesting post. Refreshing. I think we need an impetus of coaching quality in general as it has been neglected and gone to seed. Goalkeeping coaching especially. Ok, Forster at Celtic you can argue is an easier league but it's still the same shots at goal, the same power and placement of penalties bar the slightly improvement in the PL arguably. Gazzaniga was poor for us but has gone on to become Spurs first choice keeper. Gunn was City's hot shot young keeper and I don't think they would have insisted on first refusal clause in his contract unless this was part of a sales deception to make the player appear more sought after than he perhaps truly was by City. Either is plausible and Saints now have a rep. by clubs for being seen coming. We have squandered millions. One of Gunn or Forster need to go in Jan. Elynoussi too. Get some funds in. CB is a must but no more transfer crusading from me. We will likely not buy which will be our demise (I am tempting fate to be proved wrong)/ We need to recruit heavily in coaching. It has been totally neglected as funding has across the length and breadth of the club and our spirit and impetus is rotten from the core. Until someone comes in and recognises and drives that falling by the wayside (hoping Crocker does this), then we will struggle. The club needs an overhaul and that ambitious, driven, attention to detail we lost 5 years ago reinstated and revitalised. When we entered the PL, we arrived on a crest of a wave under a great mentality and spirit instilled by the likes of Adkins and co. Psychology is everything at this level. All the remaining custodians or so called management (allegedly) appear to have been on a jolly ever since, as evidence suggests (3 relegation battles, repeated transfer failings, over priced contracts, no leadership, declining quality or coaches and up-scaling inadequate and unskilled staff in situ due to budget restrictions, a large majority of exiting 'high quality' staff under our current regime have simply not been replaced, Rohl being the biggest example for impact, previous examples Malc Webster, Malc Elias, Huw Jennings, George Prost, Paul Mitchell, etc. but these were not all under Gao but the problem has perpetuated on a larger scale). Question, do we have a current Academy Director, in the role Huw Jennings once had? It was Matt Hale (another internal promotion but how well is he regarded? Hoping not the same vein as our assistant manager which has smacks of cost cutting like Dave Watson and Kelv as coaches. In the role but not the best choice and likely out of depth in that role. I am only commenting from third hand info. via contacts. It appears even our fabled Academy has slipped and I heard we had no managers for the under 18s and another age group. We still (technically) do not even have a DOF. That position has laid vacant for over 12 months. How many other PL clubs would allow that, yet still make a profit in the financial statements? Employ key staff. Normal business plans have a structure in place and staff are replaced asap. I understand looking to find the right man but after 12 months, excuses grow thin and seem disingenuous. We desperately need leadership and ambition and direction (and the staff to execute this plan, or execute the rot permeating through the club). I get the scary impression, under our current regime, that will come too late in January when it is all too late, akin to shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. Not a shock at this club. 3 relegation battles suggest, we do not learn the easy way and utilise foresight. Let’s not lose hope but the evidence is not good. The small margins point is a well articulated point. Large margins also needs addressing. We don’t even do the basics, it seems. Maybe the players need take some responsibility and why is Valery not starting ahead of Soares unless he is playing in a January sales shop window? To sell him now without replacing (which I wouldn’t put past saints *cough* Targett) would be suicide but we are too thin to lose any full backs without upgrading them.

First priority must be centre back as it has been for seasons. Danso was a total waste when we were crying out for upgrades and he had only ever been played out of position. Utterly bizarre, as is many of our decisions in this seemingly rudderless ship. I’m hoping Crocker can steady us away from the rocks but I can’t see is avoiding relegation as predicted from the start of the season when we neglected our defence for a third season. We had been sussed by the opposition & went on a third season with this bunch. Unbelievable neglect, incompetency or naivety to not learn from your mistakes and riding your luck. Heed your warnings. I’d also invest in top quality coaching staff starting at goalkeeping coaches as all our young goalkeepers with great potential are deteriorating at SFC. Look at Forster now, even Gazzaniga improved at Spurs but I won’t hold my breath for Tommy Forecast. That was a Lowe purchase so beyond redemption. ;o) We really need to look at our GK coaching. Ideally in Jan, CB, RB and if possible, a robust bulldozer of a midfielder. Breaking up the play but adept at passing well. I don’t expect any of it but if we don’t sign a CB and prevent throwing away further (relegation battle) matches (& points), CONTINUALLY, we are as good as relegated. I don’t see three worse teams. Our defence is the worst in the league.

I hadn’t read this before my previous reply. Good response. More inline with how I see it but I’m interested into the comment about Kat helping us this month. Conjecture or not?! I’m reluctant to believe anything positive under this dynasty. Crocker is good but I fear he’s only been brought in to turn it into a bigger and better feeder club and I won’t be coming back if they are the plans for Saint Mary‘s. It’s a torturous business model for the fans and the club. You will never grow enough to compete as it undermines the entire foundation of ambition, success and progression. I have better things to do with my life rather than constantly having my hopes built up and smashed back down. Watching exciting displays from new, world class footballers and the subsequent positive results, only to see each player hitting form and being sold off to our competitors at the first enquiry. That would be like living in some sort of sporting hell. I guess the pondering into oblivion allows me to at least begin to understand what life must be like as a Portsmouth FC fan. #GaoOut

I type too much. I’m beat. Goodnight