John B

I doubt we would have gone down with Martin Chivers at CF

Be interested to know how many of the Saints Fans are still alive it is over sixty years ago It was the first time I had seen a game away from the Dell and the atmosphere was terrific and the view of the game was so much better than being cramped under the East Stand in Southampton. In the first replay it was the only time I ever watched a game under the East Stand as there were so many people milling around that it was impossible to get to the Milton Road End that we went into the nearest turnstile on our route from Stag Gates. I still can see Burnside's left foot equalizer going in at the Milton Road End

Yes two great games which I went to played with the 11 same players Reynolds Williams Knapp Huxford Traynor Wimshust Burnside Paine O'Brien Kirby and Sydenham

Although I agree with much said on this thread the main reason we have been relegated is that the squad we have is pretty poor and the results have proved that fact. The PL is so competitive,clubs like Everton Leeds and Leicester with better overall records better than us in the mix with us to be in the Championship next season. Most teams have large squads with many players opting to go to these clubs where they are unlikely to play regularly. Consequently there are just not that many decent players who want to play for SFC like there were when squad sizes were smaller and we pay over the odds for players with no real ability to perform in the PL. Our recruitment has been dreadful over the last few seasons with only KWP being a significant addition to the squad like Window Cleaner says Suleymana and Tall Paul for 40 million or so is plain stupid. We have needed better strikers for sometime now but where they will materialise from is anybody's guess . Football is very much a team game and the plan to sign a dozen or so players was bound to fail . The ones we brought in in the last few windows were not good enough either so I just feel this relegation was inevitable and a return to the PL may take sometime

But most managers are average

It is very similar to 2005 no investment sacking managers no top quality players

Very true but it has been coming for sometime I just do not think we have signed enough PL and developed acadamy players over the last three or four years. It maybe a longtime for us to return to the PL and stay there for any length of time I feel the Markus legacy has been really fucked

We have an appalling squad of footballers

I always say May 1st 1976 was the best day of my life with March 8 th 1986 my second Brighton and Hove Albion v Southampton, 08 March 1986 Score 2-0 to Southampton FA Cup Quarter-final Team Peter Shilton Kevin Bond Mark Wright David Armstrong Steve Baker Jimmy Case Glenn Cockerill Nick Holmes George Lawrence Steve Moran Danny Wallace Which was the day I got married We did have good players in those days not young inexperienced young players on a step to possible fame and fortune

I think Lawrie would be useful even today as his best attribute was buying decent players many being proven in the league we were playing in

I felt rather better that day than I do about Southampton Football Club today but one has to take the ups and downs of football 1976 FA Cup final - Wikipedia No doubt better things are around the corner and I doubt I will have such a hangover on May 2 2023 as I had on May 2 1976

Having the worst squad in relation to the league we were playing for the last 60 years was clearly going to lead us to relegation Replacing a decent manager with Jones compounded the situation you would have thoufgt if Ralph was to be sacked that an experienced one would have been the replacement. But I do find it strange that Luton may replace us in the PL

The decline has been on the cards for sometime as we have not been able to recruit decent PL players for some time apart from Lavia KWP and Livramento so it was quite obvious e would be relegated eventually Thats what happens in football but unlike our last relegation we have not got a pool of top class players from our Academy to develop so the future maybe bumpy

It always surprises me why Football Clubs pay millions for coaches when they can get fans off a forum who will do the job and get winning results Still some teams will have better players have better luck but three teams will get relegated be relegated but have perfect tactics I

Although your post is quite sensible whoever we play in attacking roles never seem to perform consistently in creating or scoring goals

Only the gullible thought it was am amazing Window I for one did not For goodness sake we were in the PL we needed PL proven players not players who may develop into PL players in a few years time The January window was even worse I do not think any player who came to the club in 2023 even started and I am totally in agreement with your comment on Nathan Jones Getting rid of Stephens Bednarek and Redmond was probably a mistake too as was getting rid of Ralph without a sensible replacement was ridiculous However I am not sure any manager could have saved us with quality of our strikers GK and CBs

Agree our team is hardly inspiring is it ?

Realistically a win today is highly unlikely I would have thought but we can only hope

Exactly but unsurprising with the worst squad of players I think we have had in the PL I know in the early 1990s we had some poor players but we did have MLT to win us games

I agree with this on BBC Website we are doomed Premier League relegation: Nine teams in danger of dropping to the Championship - BBC Sport

I was at the Milton Road End that day too and remember he seemed to head the ball over his head and into the back of the net I always liked Tony as a player and followed him at Leicester when i lived in Leicestershire sixty five years ago he did much along with Paine and Chivers to get us to Div 1

Why do you think the manager who knows more about the strengths of all the players disagrees with you

Lucky Point but it is nice to have a bit of luck for a change Defence seems to be playing OK which is good However without decent goal scorers we are going to get relegated