captainchris

Really ? Surely not much....

Not sure where you have been this season but Clasie is clearly not good enough...

This is familiar isn't it...... We are not fit..... All I hear about these days is the players having days off. Koeman seems to think pressing is not important and therefore fitness is not that important.

Koeman does not learn his lessons and repeats adfinitum the same personnel and system. Even we have been forced to changed and it has been successful he dumps it immediately.... Caulker on the bench !!! He is obviously not good enough so why was he even on the bench? Our out on loan under 21s cannot be worse - if they are, why are we still employing them? Decision making by the Manager is suspect. Our style of play is lazy and slow, our fitness is very suspect, our pressing is non existent..... Koeman's attention to detail is severely lacking. The whole management seems to have drifted with complacency now. Come on RK get your act together and work harder on your own game as well as the team's ... It's time to step It up! If you always do what always did etc etc .....

I Wrong - don't try and turn the blame on the fans. Fans have every right to let the players and coaching staff know that standards have been allowed to drop...

Li There is not enough tenacity, fitness and closing down. Not enough competition for places or there might be but RK doesn't choose to use other players than his favourites... The players should be in training tomorrow, run to Portsmouth and walk back ....

Fitness has a lot to do with it

I'm sorry Koeman but you are losing credibility.... Caulker should not be on the bench. To even contemplate playing him is pure madness the guy is total crap! Anyone would be better.... You have dropped the other obvious player who is not good enough but some freshness is required ... Have you worked on fitness, energy, tenacity and closing down this week???? I somehow doubt it....

Step changes are needed..... More fitness, more energy, more penetration, more committment.. We are ponderous and lazy.... This is the fault of management who now need to step up because the coaching is obviously pretty average at the moment.... No sorry not average poor... Unfit, demotivated, badly coached and I'll disciplined. Team selection hadn't been up to much either .... Tactics dreadful - rank dreadful! Top teams give 100% for 90mins we don't... Top teams close down - we don't! Top teams tackle - we don't, top teams engage the opposition, we don't !!! Comes down to coaching .......

On what evidence are you promoting Clasie ? He has been really nothing better than anyone we already had? He was really very very poor even by his standards on Weds.... Reed is a better player but niether are premier league standard.... Koeman really is the one who needs to up his game...

Whilst your frustration is understandable your inclination to replace Bertrand with Taggart is way off base.... Bertrand is one of the few real Premiership quality players we have, however yes changes are required but if you could drop a manager for a few games then that would be the case.... So many issues and not least the players are not fit enough and we don't have nearly enough effort or closing down... The manager needs a kick up the ass....

There is a good underlying thread to this post. As a club we do not have a winning mentality anymore. We need to 'man up' and have a high ambition. There are far too many fans who think losing is acceptable against certain opposition and in certain circumstances. The alarm bells were ringing for me going out of Europe with such a whimper... We are taking part but do not have high enough expectations. There is something missing in the psychology department at the club that is for definate... There is a 'pecking order' mentality which is not allowed or in any way acceptable at a club of our stature. Yes we have some average players and yes the club need to show more ambition. If the club don't demonstrate ambition then why would the players? If the Manager and coaches don't demand energy and fitness then why would the players? There is for me a losing complacency around the club and has been for quite a while. We need to man up, beef up and declare a war on managers, coaches, directors or players who demonstrate any language what so ever that isn't winning. Certain Fans on here need to be far more demanding too...... The whimpish acceptance of mediocrity will never win you anything..... Not even a League Cup ! I see people saying on here 'IF we can beat Villa and draw against Palace !!!! WHAT !!! Come on, your mentality rubs off on the team.... Villa are absolutely DIRE and Palace are not great either, we should hammer both of them and then talk about how we are going to beat the next team and demand the same of the Club.

Yes you are right about that but is Koeman??? I think not.... We have lost focus on fitness and the modern important aspects of this league, closing down and engaging the opposition man with the ball. Standing off is not a viable strategy ...

We have several very average players in our first eleven granted but our lack of fitness is glaring and consequently perhaps also our glaring lack of closing down and engaging the player on the ball properly (not jockeying from 3 yards away!) is also causing us to be trampled. Koeman either doesn't see these vital missing components of our game or just as worrying does nothing about them! I agree with your sentiment that things seem to 'slide by Koeman'. We have formed a very bad habit of playing reasonably ok for 20 minutes only in any given game. We spend the rest of the time standing off teams and watching them play..... This is all linked of course to our very slow, predictable build up play. Our thinking is slow - often down to a lack of fitness again, our energy level is very low indeed which then means we don't get after teams. These issues are incumbent on the Manager to sort out and he is not showing enough desire or awareness frankly to do it.... In a word get started first on fitness and running for 90 minutes incorporating closing down... No days off at all until we are fit enough.....

1. We are not fit enough. 2. We do not close down enough. 3. These issues have been obvious for a long time but Koeman has not addressed them...... 4. Caulker should be sent home and never seen again. 5. We have several players just as good or better than Clasie 6. We need a Reed type player (hopefully slightly more skilful) who is more tenacious/fitter in midfield. 7. We only have three players as skilful as the Liverpool players...... Bertrand, Mane and Tadic, possibly Vic..... 8. Your Clasie's and JWP's will never be good enough for this league. 9. We need to be far more aggressive and stronger. 10. We have a lot of very average players but Koeman needs to up his game too! 11. The conceited attitude of our 'Black Box' department needs to brought back down a peg or two..... Sorry that's eleven but there are more than five things seriously needing attention......

We played with 9 men tonight and we all know the two that were beyond belief terrible. For once just about everyone agrees too it was so obvious... Classie - complete waste of money. Caulker - what on earth are our so called amazing scouting department doing? Both these players will never make it ...

Classie is bad - never looked capable from day one. Caulker is truly dreadful however!!

Drag caulker off! That was pub defending... Koeman you need to teach our players TO ENGAGE the player on THE BALL!!!!!! You don't and it continually costs us!!!!!

I am sorry but these press conferences need to be managed properly!!! I am sick and tired if the majority of questions being not about Saints . Saints should bann these wallies who come to our press conferences and talk about other teams.... I would make a condition of entry - ask questions about Southampton or be banned. Simple because the pressers are now verging on farcical .....

The buck stops with Koeman who like Yosh makes too many strange decisions. Our preparation for games is terrible, too often asleep early on??? Tactics are so questionable and have been for a long while. The tactic of sitting back and not pressing will not work in this league, this is something RK needs to recognise fast...

Check this spelling out! Get a life!! For the record - shame on me for forgetting Bates in 2nd place.

Lawie Mac far and away top. The year we finished second in the old First Division we played better football by a country mile than anytime since. He is a genuine legend. Since the : Potch Hoddle Adkins WGS Ball Koeman

If we go there and stand off them then we may as well stay home and save the hotel bill!!! Why on earth we refuse to work hard and close down in too many games I don't know but surely Koeman can at least sort this basic out.. Too often RK s tactic is sit deep, stand off and allow the crosses to come in... We must engage with their players when they have the ball - let the fans do the spectating !

Correct - you do.

Dead right. Fox's problem - or one of the main ones was he watched the ball and forgot the man he was supposed to be marking who was free to do exactly as he liked.... It was blatant that his gaze was directly at the ball and he had no spacial awareness at all.. Cost us many many goals and should never have been near the team...