S-Clarke

Added an extra 100 to that for some reason, yes - almost 100 apps for us.

Wow, to go from Johansson to Bazunu is one of the biggest downgrades they could have ever done. They'll notice the difference immediately. I feel sorry for all the Stoke fans. Hopefully the last we've seen of him. Worst keeper in my lifetime, and he played 197 games for us which beggars belief.

I thought he looked a bit leggy in the games I've seen him, struggled to get around the pitch. I didn't think we were ever going to see the PL Romeu, far from it, but I didn't expect him to have regressed this much. It could be fitness I guess, but the game seemed to move 10-20mph faster than he did anymore. I hope it's not a failure and it's about him getting fit, but given that he's only got a 6 month deal and we're now in January and he's nowhere near...I can't see him being given a longer one. He'll probably retire and transition into a coach in the summer.

I thought he was a bit flappy, a bit mad too. That incident when he ran off the line was a bit wtf. He seemed a bit bat shit crazy, but he did pull off 3 actual goalkeeping saves which was refreshing to see. The goals we let in weren't ideal, the first one i have no idea - he was wandering around his line like a lost child. Let's see a bit more of him and see what he's about. Batshit goalies aren't always a bad thing, in fact being mental is a common trait in decent goalies. if he's as batshit and good as Boruc then we're fine.

Predicably the issue in this squad is attitude, that's undeniable at this stage. They wandered into Oxford thinking they'd turn it over, even if they said they didn't...they went in complacent and that happened. They came out in the 2nd half yesterday just as complacent, thought it was all done - but they got slapped around again. The issue is that we have an incredibly self-entitled bunch of pricks in the squad nowadays, who think they're better than they are, have the back bone of a slug and let complacency creep in within a second. No one is setting standards on the pitch or giving anyone a reality check. What it needs is a root and branch clear out, for sure - but what it also needs is a strong manager and coaching staff to shake the fuck out of them, but we don't have that, because the moment someone tries they go crying to Rasmus - so the standards and culture will reign, because at this point the players are managing the team - not these weak managers we keep appointing.

Why do you even want to try? That's a really odd thing to say. Why do you want to continuously take the 'high and mighty' stance over people who post things you don't agree with? For one, I agree that Thomas Frank isn't at all realistic - but I don't use that to pick a fight with whoever says it. You seem to have this huge superiority complex, but I think (and many others) that you are an absolute tool. So you may want to stand down from your stage, as no one is cheering you on. Are you even a fan of this club? Hugely doubtful I'd say. You're either a rival fan on a troll session, or a club plant taking down anyone with remotely controversial views.

So I think throughout January and February we'll get dragged down further, but during March/April we find another purple patch which drags us back up the table and even daft talk about the playoffs being on the cards again surfaces. That takes us into the summer under this fake cloak of improvement, with the club being able to live off of the final 2 months as evidence that Eckert is doing fine. He'll then be given pre-season, transfers in and out will occur, we'll splutter and struggle out of the blocks, he'll be sacked in November after we end up bottom half and we will end up with Tony Mowbray as a firefighter for the rest of the season to keep our heads above it. The above has the potential to be painfully acurate.

Sorry for your loss Lard. The memories won't ever die, so keep those close. Enjoy all the moments you have with your family, life can be cruel.

Christ, can you imagine if they do us 4-0. The Hull game would just become a 90min protest! It's not beyond the realms of possibility that they turn us over, we're crap away from home. But they've really, really struggled all season - but cup games don't really go to form. It's a really obvious banana skin and they can't just throw the 'B' team out here, we've got to go fairly strong I think.

I don't think we'll spend in January, I wouldn't be for that. It's the time for clever loans with options, like we've done with the GK (no idea if he's any good though). No real risk bringing a loan in now, if it works - great - it fires us up the table, probably not quite enough to get Top 6...but it puts a positive spin on the club again and maybe we go and permanently sign them in the summer. If they flop and don't do anything, we just dump them in the summer at no cost - and then look properly for fully fledged options.

It's a tricky ground, in some ways I can see why clubs drive recruitment, as it protects the squad from the managerial merry-go-round - but at the same time you surely still need some recommendations and push from the manager, to aid the way they want to play? Even under Russell Martin, he drove the Downes and Manning signings without question - and they did help us in that first Championship season. You've got to give the manager some rope to offer up recommendations as it's him setting the team up, but not all the rope. We've kind of done both extremes here. We let Martin run the PL summer transfer window in the main, without any DoF structure. And this year we've gone full reverse, club scouted players, not manager recommendations, DoF driven. And now we have a manager who has no lived managerial experience to even make recommendations. We're such a confused club.

Even if he wasn't, the fact he was likely on that at some point is rather frightening. But we do have form for it.

We do have that Sanda guy back with us now, after his loan in France was cut short. Maybe he'll fill that 5th CB slot.

That is true, I've always looked at Downes and THB as being ours prior to that window anyway. THB at least was an obligation at that point. Archer - doesn't really play for us, not a regular anyway.

Yeah maybe, but it depends if Coventry or Ipswich go fishing for a CF - I'd say they're much more attractive options. Even Boro, they struggle with an out and out goal scorer as their Slovakian striker hasn't cut it yet (not that it mattered against us), so one of those could certainly go there and get game time.

I wasn't really into football during my much younger years, I only really became fully aware of football in the late 90's on the back of France 98. I had no family members who followed Southampton or generally followed football, which is why it was somewhat absent from me as a kid, but as I got older there was only ever one club I was following. I grew into the period when we had Pahars, Tessem, Beattie, Paul Jones, Marsden, Oakley, Dodd, Bennali and the tail end of MLT. I'm sad I never got to enjoy the true prime MLT era to be honest, but obviously there will always be history to go back on. When we were relegated in 2005 was when I became a season ticket holder, and that stood for the test of time really. Lived through the awful period of 07-09, with Port/Wotte/Pearson etc - and then came out on the other side. My best supporting period for me was undoubtably 2009-2012, when we flew through the divisions and enjoyed the atmosphere in L1 grounds, through to the Championship grounds and then into the PL. I felt a really strong connection with that squad, probably the biggest connection I've had with a squad in my supporting life - I think it was more the journey we went on, together as one...to coin an Adkins phrase! The Poch/Koeman eras were memorable for different reasons for sure, the heady heights and the experiences of Europe and such - but that Adkins team growing through the leagues will always be my favourite period. But with the good comes the bad, and It feels like we're living through another of those 07-09 periods right now. But we've got to stick with it, we've seen before you can come out of the other side - so I guess you still have to have that hope, at the end of the day that's why we all started supporting the club!

There are a couple of PL strikers out there at the moment, who are hardly playing and will add to what we don't currently have. Taiwo Awoniyi - He has been injured, but he plays the odd min if he gets on. He surely wants game time somewhere. Joel Piero - He's played 9 or 10 games, the odd 2 or 3 min sub appearances at best. He is surely got to be up for a loan, proven at this level. The issue we have is that there will be clubs in this league much more attractive than us right now, 14 of them in fact - so it may be difficult to get anyone actually any good in the door after this disaster of a season, but we've got to try a loan.

But he won't stay fit, that's the problem Chez. He could absolutely be everything we're crying out for, but the guy cannot deal with the rigors of top level football anymore.

My personal feel is that we've used him poorly, I know some won't agree and will say he's played poorly when he's played - and he has, not disagreeing - but you only have to look at what's around him. I'll be interested to see how he gets on at QPR, my general hunch is that he'll be sold to the PL for 20-30m in a few years and we'll still be languishing down here. And if the club have deemed him surplus 1 and a bit years into his time here, it really does hammer home how horrendous and damaging that PL summer transfer window was for us. The only player part of our regular team today who was part of that £127m spend is Nathan Wood, and he's utterly horrific himself.

Those comments from Tonda just re-affirm what I think is going to happen. 'Ross is like a brand new signing for us' - count me surprised if it's anything different. I'll be watching Ronnie with interest at QPR as my personal opinion is that we've used him poorly, but we'll see. One less centre back available in the squad does potentially reduce the scope for a constant use of 3 CB's in the 1st team though - just saying.

That would have been a much more sensible angle - either make it the away, or third shirt at the start of the season. It would have landed better then. To launch a 4th shirt, mid-season, at £120 for a limited use case is just a wtf moment.

It's a nice shirt, but paying £120 to commemorate the single trophy we won 50 years ago seems like a big case of not reading the room. What are we doing? Why did they come to that price? I guess the people in commercial are as inept as the people SR have employed everywhere else.

We'll see I guess, but I do sense bollocks. When Jelert was back, he brought him on as a sub and didn't switch to a back 4. He kept Jelert on the bench at the weekend and didn't play a back 4. So yeah, not sold on that. We'll see.

I suggest you go back and read the Stephens thread when it was announced he was getting a new contract in the summer! Similarly check out the Manning thread. Basically, no one is immune in that backline as they've all been fairly horrific for quite some time now. Bazunu is highlighted more because of how glaring it is, his mistakes/lack of ability lead to us losing games more often than not - so he's obviously going to be highlighted. A defender can make a mistake, but the GK is still the last line of the defence - yet we have a GK who can't make saves. He really isn't any good, stats or no stats, I've also seen him with my own eyes and I can tell you he's the worst GK we've ever had playing for us in my lifetime.

And therein sums up the entire SR culture. It's just like that dog meme sat in a burning office, they truly believe nothing is wrong and their approach is sound. It will all come good eventually because we are geniuses etc.