Tommy Mulgrew

IMO Mateta was not careless or reckless and did not use excessive force but he did impede Ramsdale with contact; and Ramsdsle was not careless or reckless and neither used excessive force nor impeded Mateta with contact.

What a sad and sorry state the beautiful game has become. That and our recent and present plight is why football rarely gives me real pleasure any more. I have almost, but not quite, given up hope that Juric can rescue some hope and pride from this clusterfuck of a season. If only we could have appointed him instead of Jones after Ralph was sacked we might have been spared the nightmare of the last two years. I’d gladly have given up the joy of the playoffs for that.

Interesting thoughts on how Ivan might improve us defensively - see first link. https://totalfootballanalysis.com/team-analysis/ivan-juric-southampton-202425-tactical-analysis-tactics I think I have already put the second one on here somewhere; whatever, here it is again. https://totalfootballanalysis.com/article/head-coach-analysis-ivan-juric-201920-tactical-analysis-tactics Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to one and all.

A mixture of blind arrogance and fatal defeatism - a bit like on here. I especially liked the post that said Ings would score all goals in a 3:1 win. They have no more idea than we have. Let’s hope the spirit of Atlanta inspires us to running the irons ragged. 2:1 to Saints!!!! 😇😇⚽️⚽️ : ⚒️⚽️ Saints 📈 : West Ham 📉

WestHamzone incensed by Carragher’s prediction of a draw: https://www.westhamzone.com/comment/jamie-carragher-has-lost-his-mind-with-southampton-v-west-ham-prediction/ And some on here think we are an entitled lot! An extra reason for a win on Thursday, convincingly or otherwise. The rest of the season starts here. COYS

If this report is true, we seem to be intent on getting as many players vying for each CB position as we have for LB. Abdul Mumin plays for a team that languishes at the bottom of La Liga; hence I, for one, believe we are scouting him seriously. 😉 https://sportwitness.co.uk/southampton-include-clubs-defensive-pillar-in-their-priority-list-saints-must-offer-e6m-in-january/

😆 x 3 (Fabrice)

I’m not so sure: you said “anus”, not “buttocks”. A not-so-subtle difference.

The Croatian Klopp, I like him already; by the end of the season we shall be the new Wimbledon-Leeds-Alehouse Brawlers all rolled into one: Ivan: ‘I’m going to be good this time and just listen to the music… but after half an hour I was in the mosh pit’. 👊 ☠️ 👍

under-21s assistant Matthew Etherington will focusing on preparation for their cup match the next day. I did not realise that we had another cup match on Thursday. 🤔

That’s why I included the word “most”.

I can understand why some fans would think that watching their side dominate possession against plenty of inferior teams and scoring lots of goals, many in extra time or late in the game, was fun. I have nothing against Martin and I am not in denial. I thought most of our games last season were slow, boring and tedious, even when we won. To me it was the polar opposite of fun. And watching us conceding so many unnecessary goals against so many opposing teams was not fun either. We disagree, I’m afraid, FSJ.

Someone always asks, so I’ll get this in early: http://www.fawanews.com/ Always reliable and non-buffering. Sometimes you get a foreign-language commentary (perhaps not a bad thing!) but if you try enough times you get an English one. No pop-ups or porn links.

Brett’s now 48. Possible, I suppose.

Danny Ormerod plays for Fylde; he is Brett’s son. 😇

Kevin Phillips 2: Kelvin Davis 2. Ormerod scores in extra time to deny Eastleigh a win at Fylde. Oh, what happy memories those names conjured up.

That’s going well, isn’t it?

Another independent verdict on our wonderful play this season: https://www.football365.com/news/southampton-deluded-arrogance-relegation-opinion

£21m. Surely not enough? https://www.geordiebootboys.com/transfers/newcastle-united-learn-how-much-theyll-have-to-pay-for-tyler-dibling-as-southampton-set-asking-price/

You’ve not watched many Saints’ games then?

Eureka! I know a manager who has successful experience of getting EPL relegation candidates to safety year after year and who has gone to a relegation-threatened side in the German Bundesliga and kept them up, too, and got them up to 5th place this season. He favours two defensive midfielders, an aggressive high press and about 40% possession and his style of play can hardly be described as slow and tedious. Oh, wait; perhaps he might not get on too well with SR. I’ll have another think. 🤔

Not much in this analysis that we did not already know but an interesting read nevertheless. Not as much possession in our penalty area as most of us seem to think but otherwise as expected. Three suggested signings but the writer seems not to have regarded Dibling worthy of mentioning. It certainly gets to essence of our problems. Have a read: https://totalfootballanalysis.com/article/southampton-tactics

Have other EPL teams ever had as much as 52.8% possession and no shots either on or off target? Possibly even none for that non-shooting achievement regardless of how much or how little possession.

He might have been sticking to something else: what, I wonder, was he doing wearing those blue rubber gloves while driving?

Maya captains L A Galaxy at 8pm on Saturday against New York Red Bull in the MLS Cup Final. Hope he and his team wins convincingly but I expect it will be a tight game. Worth a watch if you fancy a change from the turgid stuff we play each game. He is a real captain, unlike some I could name. 9.00pm, not 8.00pm