Greenridge

There's a reason that Spurs are held as a reference model. An ex-Saints reason.

Were they mutually exclusive then? The team / squad needs strengthening and quality adding. That's as clear as day.

6 could quite easily start our first game of the season. They were regulars - as much as you could be in Puel's rotational system - last season. It might be only 5, it might be more. The point is you were trying to infer that it was a team of nobodies and not relevant when it was quite the opposite. It was largely made up of players who will feature heavily this year regardless of who actually starts the first game.

I'm there the week before for work. Quite a regular trip for me. Plano and Richardson. Get yourself a tour round the 'new' Dallas Cowboys stadium. Now that is a stadium!

Pied is 28

Squad numbers are released. https://southamptonfc.com/news/2017-08-04/southampton-squad-numbers-2017-18-season

So was Kelvin before him. Seems a fairly meaningless title. They just get to organise the end-of-season party and attend social functions on behalf of the club. Romeu for me.

Maybe he's a disciple of the school of rotation. It's the only way to get through a demanding season.

It's more likely to stop losing money rather than make it. Kat has made it clear she no longer feels she can fund the Club to move it forwards hence the search for an investor / new owner. In the meantime we are treading water and it's a very dangerous game as those around us invest to strengthen their teams and squads. I actually think the sale of VvD would be good in that respect as we will - hopefully - see a portion (I highly doubt it will be the full fee) reinvested into the squad. It is clearly much needed. Few would disagree with that I'm sure.

[quote=Shroppie;25192 I think it was mainly a team of likely fringe players being told to show what they can do, and unfortunately the answer was disappointing. At least 6 of the starting 11 will be first team regulars this season just as they were last season.

It's just marketing hype from the Club. No such thing as a black box. We have a scouting network just like any other club. Look at the signings under Koeman and Puel. Largely made up of players they were familiar with from their leagues / countries. Unless that's coincidence of course that they were also from the black box

Hard to judge Defoe in that pile of a team that was Sunderland. Most thought his career had long gone several years ago but he consistently bangs in goals year after year. Do you think our strikers will out-score him this season?

40? Of course it is but we have made wholesale changes in and out the last few seasons. That was the point. It's been our M.O.

I'm guessing our manager doesn't feel his squad has the ability to play that way.

I don't see that at all. We have quantity in abundance. What we lack is quality.

That's pretty much what we have been doing the last few years.

I dont like to imagine any formation that has Forster as our last line of defence.

Maybe the personnel aren't capabale of playing the high press game. We were already short on quality going in to last season and not much has changed so it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise if that is the case.

No we weren't.

Could be the menopause.

The Club's ambition is the owner's ambition. The owner wants out. We are in limbo.

I had always anticipated he will go despite what the Board have said. If he stays then great but if he goes then that was always my expectation . I actually think he should go. Any one of us would surely try and reach the pinnacle of their chosen careers and he's no different. Yes he signed a long contract recently but we know what they are worth. Diddly squat. They do mean however that we will get the maximum fee which is no bad thing and we can buy 3 or four highly quality players which is what we need. The alternative is we have a disillusioned player who potentially won't be giving his all and we haven't had the chance t make meaningful additions to the squad. It's hard to see a way back for him now and I don't expect him to either.

I'm probably very late to the party but see that according to SSN VvD has not traveled to France for the pre-season training camp. Old news I guess.

Compelling lol. Unusual that something like this didn't leak out if that were the case. Strange, given his performances throughout the season that we didn't give someone else a go. Not that we we blessed in that position but a two-legged average 'keeper would have often performed better than he did on many occasions.

Source?