malcolm waldron

But we saw this all the way through last season. I think Rotherham at home (second half) was when it became apparent that, for reasons unknown, there's a collective foot off the pedal phase where we simply shuffle the ball around between CBs and fullbacks, while the opposition sprint back into defensive shape. Huddersfield away and Watford away also stand out - after that I gave up remembering. So doing that got many wins and some frustrating draws. This season's version looks like many defeats and the odd frustrating draw unless we up the tempo significantly. 2nd half against Newcastle was an example of not upping the tempo.

Someone on Twitter apparently

Ipswich bid of £5.25M rejected this morning apparently.....

I don't know - I thought his debut against Villa was pretty decent....

Going to Ipswich apparently if my source is correct

Perhaps he meant that the club have agreed terms with the Personnel Department at Espanyol (maybe in Spain they've yet to change to HR, or the even more recent 'People' department 🙄) to agree to gazumping Arsenal's offer.....

Couldn't help but notice that both Liverpool goals last week came down his side so - correct - make him defend and minimise the goal threat at the other end of the pitch (how that shot beat Bazunu back in April still annoys me).

I like the look of that - but I have to say that I'm disappointed it didn't develop into a fully blown bout of pugilism - in line with our newly stated ambition (quote RM) to stop being seen as a team that are nice to play against. So does anyone who watched Feyenoord regularly know how handy he is when it gets a bit tasty?

One of the most dispiriting performances in a long list of them over recent years. If my memory is correct we played about 35 mins against 10 men, and then the last 15 or so against 9 - and spent most of that time passing the ball between whoever it was playing at the back - Vestegaard and Bednarek??

As you've hinted at - when you can sell a hotel connected to the stadium to a 'company' related to the football club for £76.5 million, then it frees up a lot funding to bend PSR rules. Mind you, didn't Derby sell the ground back to itself for something like £80 million a few years back......

I've only seen the brawl once but for anyone that saw it live, can you share any information on who looked handy (i.e. good combinations, effective body position, positive agression levels etc) and, perhaps more importantly, who didn't (i.e. hung around in our half for a bit to make sure that when they sprinted in it had all got sorted out). I'm expecting this season to be nothing more than a long hard fight and so want to know who we can rely on when things get a 'bit tasty.'

Didn't they use 1000 brave Portsmouth dock workers to build the Pyramids and Sphinx, but they ended up going on strike 'because of health and safety' and so the Egyptian authorities bused in 200 men from a Southampton historic artefact building company to break the strike? I'm pretty sure Sky Sports used this in their introduction before the 2005 league game....?

"I raise you Colin Clarke, Iain Dowie, Kerry Dixon, Joe Jordan, Neil Shipperley ... I think at least some of those were no 9s." It's gone a bit quiet on old Shippers over recent years. Anyone know what he's been up to.....?

Everton at home - February 2022. We were leading 1-0 at the time.

Agree with much of the above, bar the Kane comment. I didn't see any pressing from him at all just some slow motion shuffling around - and it was only when Watkins came on that some pressure on the keeper and their CBs was applied, and that only lasted for a short spell.

Do you mean a couple of people on here saying it's a shame we're not wearing home colours at Wembley..?

Except for when Pickford constantly banged long balls down the pitch only to hand possession immediately back to the Danes. Made me appreciate how well (generally) Saints kept the ball last season.

You've got me confused now - is Newcastle away in the FA Cup? If so I'm annoyed they've further devalued the competition by having the 3rd round in mid-August.

Good decision by the club - we all want RM to be absolutely ruthless this summer as he builds a team capable of dominating 'the Prem' - and this early decision will rightly send shockwaves through the first team. It sends out the clear message that I (not me obviously - but Russell Martin) am in complete control here .....

Like many I suspect, I've been wallowing in the afterglow from the Play-off final - and must have watched every single video (from both sides) over the last 10 days. What a result! Anyway, in order to prolong the feeling before worrying too much about what August will bring, I thought I'd put up 3 random memories from last season, in the hope that others will do likewise. That way my memory will be jogged on what proved to be a real rollercoaster of a season. So here goes: Sheffield Wednesday (away) - watching on from a bar in Cyprus, seeing a new style of football implemented in less than 6 weeks - and particularly those magical last 9 minutes of 99.9% possession. Transfer deadline day: with all the wondering about who might still depart, up pops Taylor Harwood Bellis on loan. I knew only a little about him following his success with Burnley and England U-21s last summer - but what a loan signing he proved to be. Stu's slide rule pass for the second goal against Ipswich. NASA scientists with laser range finders and a couple of spare hours could not have worked out all the variables, programmed the computer and achieved a better result than Stu; who was running at full pace while being chased by angry men in blue shirts. We'll miss him.

Same here. I had a busy bank holiday weekend (garden needed serious attention) and I forgot I'd got two lower tier tickets until it was too late to drive. How annoying is that?! I'm so forgetful..... It's then been a nightmare week at work - so i've had a media blackout since Sunday. My plan is to sit down tonight with a lovely glass of wine to watch the match that I recorded last weekend 'live'. I've been studiously avoiding anything on here that that looks like it might give the game away - but can't work out why Guan started a playlist with Freed from Desire and We are the Champions? What's any of that got to do with the final last Sunday? Oh, and why are people moaning about paying more to watch less games next season....?

Cracking images at 9:17 of Jack trying to console Ampadu. And then Jack's reaction seeing him screaming and hammering the turf while walking away. Those few seconds encapsulate what sport is all about - and what being a Saints fan is all about; just think - that could have been THB on the floor in tears and all of us quietly leaving the ground shortly after the final whistle. I still can't believe we won the most lucrative football match in history!

When I saw him at St Marys recently I was struck by two things - how young he looked but, more importantly, how hungry he looked....

We're going to need that to house the 18,500 Leeds fans that bought SFC season tickets / became members last week. Incidentally - my amazing day out on Sunday was partially ruined by the fact that around me in Block 127 were about 2,500 Leeds fans. Fair play to them though - they'd all bought Saints shirts (even some faded retro ones), had Hampshire accents, joined in with the songs and ALL went absolutely mental when AA scored - and at the final whistle blew. That can't have been easy.....

Great point. Was anybody else panicking for a split second about the VAR screen of doom popping up with a 'VAR Check - possible offside' message when AA scored??