doddisalegend

The what? Who the hell had this fantasy? There is probably some truth to the first part though he was the academy boy, who professed a great love for the club, was our captain, had come up through the lower leagues with the fans and a lot of fans had him down as the one club man in the MLT mould. So the way he shat upon the club to get his move hurt the fan base a lot more than one season wonder like Lovern.

You are joking right? You can go on about club PR all you like but Victor made no attempt to disguise his desire to leave, even going as far as doing public interviews saying how he would like to move to Arsenal, and had a very public sulk because we made him stay another season. Koeman very clearly didn't want to stay when he found how much Everton would pay him even going as far as sacking his agent to force the move. Fonte did a public interview admitting he left for WHU because they would pay him more. Mane is the only one you could speculate about as he didn't say anything in the press but I'm willing to bet, based on things I heard from someone who had dealings with him, that he was keen on a move to Liverpool for some time before it happened. None of that is evil club PR.

quite amusing

I never do when playing a top 6 side...

It's not the leaving saints that is the problem its the perceived way these players (and managers) go about it that is the issue. If you are perceived to act like a cock or misbehave to get a move (VVD, Lovern, Fonte, Lallana), or just seem disrespectful in the way you go about it (Koeman, Victor, Poch) you going to get dogs abuse (at least to start with) when you come to SMS. On the other hand if you are perceived to have gone about it the right way (Lambert, Cork, Clyne and perversely Morgan) you'll general get a warm welcome (or at least polite indifference) at SMS. I think fans generalyl just want players to act with a bit of respect toward their club when looking for a move.

Ha forgot he was playing for them now.... so if they are all fit we could potentially face 6 ex saints players in their starting line up

Come again I must have missed that

I think your describing half the posters on here with that one

Bournemouth or Brighton?

"I've been at the club since I was 12 and I can only see my future lying with Southampton FC," Lallana said. "I can't wait to work with the new management team and the lads to continue our progress in the Premier League. It was an easy decision for me with the direction the club is going in. "If someone was to say that I'd end my career playing for Southampton in the Premier League then I'd snap your hand off for it."

You always feel his team of the week is pretty arbitrary and players are picked to allow him to waffle about other things that have nothing to do with the team of the week.

I'd take a backs to the wall 0-0 going into injury time before VVD gives a penalty away on Boufal on 90+5 for us to nick the game 1-0 despite having 30% possession and no shots all game just to watch the Klopp meltdown... we will probably lose 0-3

yes he has had one win (Brighton) in the league since taking over at the end of November not exactly the new manager bounce a team would hope for.

They were 1pt above the relegation zone when Pardew took over they are now bottom and 4pts off 17th so I wouldn't say they were fooked before he took over but (despite the cup game against pool) he hasn't improved them.

Lets hope VVD does us a similar favour next week last minute winning pen would be great please virg

yes a good point. For a team that is supposedly being coached to be ultra defensive by the manager we let in an awful lot of goals.

MoPe will get slated next week for not taking the game to Liverpool yet the teams that pick up points against pool are the ones who stick everyone behind the ball and play on the counter. Playing a highline against Liverpool's forwards is a good way to get done. Our problem is our best counter attack option for pace is Long who couldn't finish his breakfast let alone a goal scoring opportunity.

I await him putting on a couple of extra inches in height soon then..

Just goes to show how very average most of the PL is really.

Not much IMO there are a number of issues in our squad that have been created by selling good players and ****ing up four transfer windows in a row. Until that is sorted managers are going to struggle to get much more out of this side. We are just another lower table side in a relegation fight which basically includes the whole bottom half of the table. Our squad is just another bang average PL squad.

He is 24 I think he has probably matured, physically, as much he is going to

He has a point though. The manager can take the blame for a lot (and rightly so) but some of the players are just as much fault for our position (but seem to get away with it because its all the managers fault) but no manager coaches CFs to spurn chance after chance, or tells CBs to constantly get out jumped by opposition players or tells an England international goal keeper to stay rooted to his line (**** knows how many points Forster has cost us this season). I couldn't care less if MoPe ****s off tomorrow but a new manager is unlikely to make the likes of Jack Stephens better in the air or Shane Long more clinical in front of goal. The problems we are in now are combination of different things all coming together in a perfect **** storm this season.

Do we? looks like man marking to me Stephens just isn't very good at it.

Well from the Brighton game and the highlights on the OS of yesterdays game he certainly gives us a bit more presence up front and he actually wins some headers and holds the ball up. Not sure he will a goal machine but he is getting in the right areas so should chip in with a few.

I think they are very similar players both are decent with the ball at their feet, reasonably quick, decent range of passing and like to bring the ball out from the back. Both don't always read the game well and look a little suspect on the defensive side of the game. A better balance would be to pair one of them (or both if you want to go three at the back) with a big horrible lump of a CB who is good in the air.