S-Clarke

Has he really been given the transfer windows in 'full' though? My argument is that we've always had to weaken in certain areas in order to strengthen in others. That is quite simply the formula to stand still, no matter who is in charge. My hope is that this takeover enables us to strengthen other areas without having to weaken our existing team to do it, that's the only way we really progress. We could have as many different managers as we want, but if we can't buy 'quality' and have to sell our existing 'quality' to add depth then it doesn't really serve as a breeding ground for success. Managers success in the main will be dictated by the quality of the players around them, my argument is that Ralph has never really had much quality or money to work with.

That xG suggests that with a Danny Ings we'd be finishing with similar stats to 2019/2020. The big change up is the draws, way up on any of Ralphs previous seasons (and defeats way down). That suggests we've become somewhat harder to beat, which is what I'd have said we looked like up until Feb - why we've decided to flop back into our old ways is beyond me though. Shaping up to be his worst season on win %, but when you look deeper like this there is much more to it. The summary I'd say to all of that is that we have been average as all hell for 6 years.

My opinion is that we'd be a different proposition with some pace in the attack, the likes of Eze, Olisie, ASM etc in a counter pressing side would be great. Look at the impact that the pace of Broja had when he was on form. We do press well and the problem I see is that when we get it to the Ely/Armstrong/Redmond there's no vision, no creativity, no pace...it's just very predicable and slow. We looked better when Tella was fit and running at the oppo (he has a bit of pace) but he's 'ok' and not a world beater. Truth is that we can't rely on a young loan player to give us that thrust for the entire season. I would find it very hard to believe that Ralph sends the attackers out to do that, seeing as we are quite an aggressive side....so having more 'aggressive' attackers would make a huge difference imo. I think most managers would struggle with creativity with the bunch we've got.

I think that was a few seasons ago and I think that person was Matt Crocker, who was still under employment by the FA at the time. I think that's where these lines came from. Martyn Glover is our head scout/head of recruitment I believe. This summer will be an interesting one in relation to their intentions though. We can't stand still anymore and to compete in this level and improve you need to spend money. Even Brighton went out and spent £18m on their new LB without selling anyone, they were putting £30m bids in for Darwin Nunez too. We need to be playing at those sorts of levels, otherwise what's the point - we're just delaying the inevitable.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell. We're relying on set pieces, free kicks and defenders/defensive midfielders to score our goals. Our attack is blunt and most, if not all of our creativity in the attacking third comes through our full backs or a loan bit of work by Broja when he was on his game - says it all really. Ralph doesn't help himself by selecting the worst of the bunch in those positions I'd have to say, but....it's a toss of a coin really, they're all a much of a muchness in the main. If you have a look around us in the league most, if not all teams have what I'd consider to be 'star' attacking players who make a difference. Leeds have Raphinia. Everton have Richarlison, Burnley have McNeil and Cornet who I rate to be fair. Palace have Zaha, Eze, Olise, Newcastle have ASM, Villa have Buendia, Coutinho, Bailey, Brentford have Ericksen (who has changed their season tbf). Leicester have Maddison, Barnes. We have....Redmond, Moussa, Elyonoussi, Armstrong, Theo, Long. When you look at it like that we have no right to even be comfortable.

This is a fair and balanced view I think. Ultimately we could employ someone like Allardyce, Benitez etc and whilst we'll be harder to beat I bet you that we'll finish on pretty much exactly the same points as we will finish with under Ralph. The extremes are frustrating because you the good times get your expectations up, people talking about Europe - but that was never going to happen with this rabble. Ultimately there's not enough quality in the team, I'm sure the club know it. If we want to be a Top 10 club then we have to spend some money this summer and it's a real test of our new owners in my opinion. You can only stand still when you sell your 'best' players to strengthen in other positions, so let's hope this summer is the first opportunity we have to build on what we have first and foremost.

I think you've got to look at the bigger picture though. Those clubs who'd claim to have poor seasons I'd assume are Leicester and Villa, which undeniably they have - they have much more quality than us all over the pitch, so you'd expect them to be doing much better. I still think we're about where we should be, there's potential for a Top 10 finish if things go our way and everyone stays fit for 95% of the season - but that's not realistic. We're doing pretty much identically to last season, and that's without anyone scoring double figures and no real striker bar a loane. When you look at it like that, I don't think we can be expected to have done any better, it's just the extremes that infuriate.

This is something which wouldn't surprise me, as a 'development club' you'd imagine release clauses feature quite heavily in a lot of our contracts. £60m would be on the cheap side for me though, given he'd still have 4 years left, prime of his career. He's at his peak value right now, so I think we could easily get VVD numbers for him. I hope the club haven't short changed us by agreeing to a low clause.

We could lose every game by 9-0 and we'd still stay up. It's a bit like last seasons panic that Fulham were about to win every single game on a march to the Champions league.

Jose Fonte was a cracking captain, Dean Hammond was underrated in his role as well. Although that back to back team was full of 'leader' types like Butterfield, Davis, Fonte, Hammond, Lambert etc. There is always a debate about JWP and whether he is or isn't a good captain, I don't think he's a captain in a conventional sense in any way (not a shouty/organising type) he's more of a bust a gut/run himself into the ground to set an example sort of captain. I think players look up to him, but he doesn't lead in the way you see a lot of captains lead.

If we offer Long a contract it's as pointless as offering Theo a contract. I've had enough of players that 'work hard for the team' but offer absolutely fuck all in the way of quality or ability. It's like they're excused of criticism because they work hard, yet Long would struggle for goals at the bottom end of the Champ - and that's what we need, goals. Not someone who works hard by running into corners. We don't have enough quality as it is to fill the team up with these sort of bloating squad players.

It's either the players or the manager, maybe a combination of both. I say we focus on adding quality to the attack in the summer to freshen the team up and actually give us a cutting edge, keep Ralph and see what he can do without having to rely on Long, Redmond, Moussa, Elyonoussi, to provide the goals. He's onto a loser when you see the quality he has to work with in certain areas tbh.

If we look at the season as a whole, rather than just individual games or runs (both extremes) we are middle of the pile, in amongst the likes of Palace, Brentford, Brighton, Villa etc. We just get there differently than other clubs, I guess it's the 'Southampton way'. In comparison with last year, we are doing pretty much the same and this is without our best player and goal scorer (Ings). Not bad going if you look at it like that, as the investment we made to 'replace' him just hasn't cut it at all, so we haven't had anyone scoring goals on a regular basis yet we are still doing pretty much the same. Our lack of investment in recent years has meant we have to stand still, which is exactly what we've done. This summer is a crucial summer and it's not a summer to do the odd bit here and there, we need radical changes to the starting 11 with new players - not squad additions or young players to 'bed in' like Small etc. We need new players ready to go, that costs money...so I hope we've saved some cash in our back pocket from January to add to whatever we have in the summer. We can't keep standing still, because eventually we will drop - unavoidable no matter who the manager is. The club won't be blind to our lack of quality in the final third. If our output was higher in those number 10 area's then I'm fairly sure we'd be in and around Wolves. We have less quality in attack than last year, yet we are doing the same - that indicates that we've improved defensively slightly, so if we can now improve the attack in this window, keep everyone together then we will hopefully avoid standing still again.

Terrible, again. We're starting Shane Long though, the lack of quality in that area is absolutely horrific. Our only decent player, who is now out of form, isn't even ours. The rest of that attack is average at absolute best, if not lower league fodder. We need huge, huge investment in the summer to overhaul that attack. I do not want to see Long, Redmond, Moussa, Ely etc trying to pretend they can provide an attacking threat at the highest level, as it's painful to watch - honestly, it's enough to send people round the bend. Keep Tella around as squad depth, but his season has been a bit of a disaster all told (injuries haven't helped). Bednarek for that goal was shockingly bad, but it was kind of just expected. We really need better than him if we're to do anything more than concede every single week. So yeah, big summer ahead. We can't keep regurgitating the same trash heap players and expect different results, we need a radical overhaul.

He's massively struggled. He was given quite a few opportunities at the start of the season and physically he struggled, it's clear he had a good turn of pace but he lacked refinement in his finishing and touch and had absolutely no physicality to his game - and at the highest level, that is shown up. He may come good, but I don't know - I can see huge limitations in his game that will always mean he'll struggle. £15m is a decent investment for us so I'm sure the club won't give up on him, but his confidence is through the floor right now given that Shane Long is preferred as the sub role ahead of him.

Absolutely stupid tweet that just creates pointless speculation. Main point is that it's the other knee and totally unrelated to the meniscus injury he had. This injury can happen to any player and is just dreadful, dreadful luck. Using it as a stick to bash Ralph and the club is nothing short of lunacy.

I can't imagine the club being dumb enough to revert back to McCarthy as number 1. He's supposedly fit now, but not even getting in the squads. I can't see how he can go from there to starting for us next season. My assumption is that the media have assumed 'young' goalkeeper = backup, but I think we're looking for a young goalkeeper to be our starter.

ruud van nistelrooy is the most famous one I can think of. Became a better player off the back of it.

Devastating for him, such a bad injury for any player to have at any age and it's not guaranteed that they ever return to the same level. Let's hope it doesn't stunt his progress, as he had great potential.

We'll probably know towards the end of this week, I guess they'd have to wait for any swelling to go down before they do any scans to get conclusive proof

Yeah I totally agree, but I think someone like Wan-Bisakka would come in as a starter and we don't need that. I remember we had links to Spence (the guy on loan at Forest) back in January, that could be a good shout to offer some depth?

But we now have KWP back in his natural position, we don't need a replacement starter at RB.

I'd hope for a win against Palace at home, we could beat Leicester away and play on their fragility this season. Not the force they once were. Brentford will be tricky, but they're not Man City. Weirdly more confident in the games where the teams play football and attack us, as we seem to get more of a handle in those games and aren't bullied.

4 points from our remaining 4 would be dire.

Everton played for a 0-0 and maybe a lucky goal from a set piece, it almost worked but the subs changed it. Diaz is such a good player, he's slotted into that front 3 like he's been there for ever.