Saint Fan CaM

Not their defence alone…their prospects for the season ahead as a whole. It’s good you think our group is pretty decent for this level…at this point my optimism is somewhat more muted/reserved.

Yes if you mean managerial appointments - we’ve still got a lot of players on the books and starting games that have been a huge disappointment. But in fairness that’s changing, so some semblance of hope to cling to.

Of course it’s speculation - without a crystal ball or time travelling device, we only have our own intuition based on available evidence. If there was a possible way of comparing how confident Saints fans are now compared to how confident Burnley fans were at the beginning of last season, I would wager that on average the latter would more confident. You just can’t dismiss the last 3-4 seasons of utter crap football, poor defending and lack of firepower when those issues have demonstrably not really been resolved, with most of the responsible players still stinking the place out. As I’ve already said, the next 3 weeks will be crucial in making a break from the past.

It’s going to be an interesting game. I reckon on 70-80% possession and a 0-3 or 1-3 loss. Unless of course JWP and Lavia are not all that, have been holding the team back and there’s a surge of sudden understanding of RM’s playbook resulting in a demolition of the Canaries. Stranger things. On a side note, wishful thinking is that they’ll announce a really good incoming tomorrow AM just to lift spirits.

I know some will slate me for this, but the craziest thing I did at a football match was sit until the end and watch Saints get hammered 0-9 - twice. Yep, you couldn’t make it up! 😉🤣

To be honest I hope Lavia does go there and improves them. Unless they’re playing Saints I want them to do well - as it’s my birthplace they’re kind of my ‘second’ team.

True, but not perfect and think about who he had next to and in front of him!

Come on, after the shambles of last season and the continuing inability of our defence to cope with set plays high into the box, its clear there’s plenty of evidence. And in terms of Burnley, I was reflecting on their entire season, not just one game.

That’s true, Tella was a consummate professional and worked well at Burnley, but I’d argue that was because he was in a position to score goals…a commodity mostly remembered by football fans. Struggling to think of a loan that’s worked that well for Saints. The Downes link has never sounded like a plausible move to me, especially as it was reported that he was not keen. Why would he be?

I wouldn’t be so sure. Caicedo might have been key to Brightons success…raised their game significantly so that without him they’ll not be quite as good. And would a junior player really chose Brighton over Chelsea…even though Brighton are doing well they’re arguably punching above their weight with possibly a limited lifetime in the top half of the Prem table? If it was the only path back into the Prem he would take it though I suspect.

Like Lyanco. Yep that’ll do it. 😉

OK so style wise they may be similar, but their squad was and is quite different. Defensively they were one of, if not the best in the Championship under Kompany. We were and still are far from that, with little prospect of a new pair of CB’s making a difference. And I would wager if we played them now we’d be no match whatsoever.

All this comparison to Burnley is why? Because we have Tella? 😂 Lets be clear, yes Burnley did have a stellar last season and got promoted with Tella scoring a fair few goals. BUT…in the season previous, they did not have one of the worst league performances on record, as we did last season. They did not have to contend with a mass exodus of their best players (even in light of said best players being largely instrumental in the terrible previous season). They had a different squad of players with a different dynamic playing a different system to Saints. If I remember rightly, they didn’t start preseason with a completely new coaching setup, learning a new system in just a few weeks before the new season started. Sorry but I don’t buy this “we’re better than Burnley” therefore we’re going up easily bollocks.

It’s a bit like e-Bay. The seller puts a reserve on of £50m which allows bidding, but also sticks a ‘buy-it-now’ on of £50m. Towards the end of the bidding time someone comes in with a few close offers which don’t meet the reserve price. Everyone gets really fucking annoyed because actually the bidding part seems utterly pointless. Sometimes however, when the auction time has run out, the seller gets a bit desperate and goes back to the highest bidder and says, “err, £48m…fancy it still?”. 😉🤣

Why Grimes? If the JWP deal goes through then Downes seems the most logical name, unless Grimes was always going to happen anyway and Downes is by far from a done deal. Can anyone throw any light on the difference(s) between the two players for us uneducated?

You’ve misread my point - I’m not worrying about Martin and Wilcox leaving…not yet anyway. My point was that in our tenuous position now, those appointments are the most important in terms of stability. And that their decisions regarding new incoming players are critical to relative success and another disastrous season.

So when JWP, Lavia, KWP, Alcarez, Tella, Smallbone, Adams, Perraud get their moves over the next 3 weeks (as predicted by Pilchards) everyone should be relaxed about the coming seasons prospects? Interesting.

Exactly this. We are pinning hopes currently on Alcarez to score our goals…maybe Stu A…Arma may get a couple. Tella will score if he stays with us. Fact is there are not too many players in the squad skilled enough to play and score a lot of goals in the system employed. Man City on a tight budget…budget level goal tally.

Cannot help but be concerned about the instability wholesale changes to the 1st team (I.e. the 14 odd best players) may bring. However, the key is in the word team…they’ve not been that for three seasons now and the hope must be that Martin will be able to re-shape the squad in a positive manner and keep everyone on side with the re-build plans. Likewise Wilcox. And that brings me to my biggest concern. Players come and go, but it’s the chopping and changing of the key management figures during a long term project that can be super damaging. What’s keeping Wilcox here? It’ll only take a decent offer from a Prem or Euro club to tempt him away from Saints and that would leave the project in tatters (just like Shields). And if Martin starts having a modicum of success this year and there’s a Prem club struggling looking for a new Manager near Christmas, they might prise him away before the project is complete, leaving us once again with a squad shaped by a Manager no longer here. Then there’s the risk of further poor managerial changes, but recruiting in the Championship. The future is certainly looking somewhat ‘grey’ at the moment and to be honest I can foresee more than one season in the Championship - there’s too much change to expect promotion. The success or otherwise of the next 3-4 weeks will determine our fate, including whether another relegation is on the cards. It’s happened to other clubs our size…it’s not out of the question. SR’s new found wealth needs to be spent and very wisely too. #jurysout

It’s not the Prem as such, just that I’m not that keen on loans…I’m not convinced they invest completely in the club, the philosophy, the style of play or indeed the supporters. Downes may be a great character and it might be a loan to buy deal, which of course would be better.

Wasn’t it reported that Downes turned down the opportunity to join us?

When put like that it’s difficult to disagree. I think there are a few players in the squad who think they are better than they actually are and while JWP going will weaken our 1st team, if the right quality replacement is found it might be beneficial in the longer term. I’m not sure Downes on loan is the answer - why would a non-starter for an average team like WH put any more effort into his game playing for Saints? Don’t like it one bit…there must be better options to buy.

I think he was more saying that the senior players that didn’t turn up would not be getting a game again in his team. Pretty bold statement when as you say they’ll be hanging around stinking the place out and there’s not much to be done about it.

Have to say that’s a very honest assessment and fair play, he has admitted the buck stops with him for selecting the team. To risk that many changes is clear evidence that the cups are of secondary importance to the club…every focus is on promotion, which is fair enough, but winning games is a collective responsibility. Let’s see how things play out on Saturday.

I’ll admit that in the Prem I was not convinced he had enough about him…didn’t like his version of ‘crab football’. But he is a much better prospect in Martins system and the task to get promoted, so if he leaves I feel certain the overall squad quality will take a marked dip once again and with that our chances of promotion this year will be diminished. There’s not another player in the squad currently to replace what JWP brings and I’m not sure Saints have a replacement lined up of equal or better quality. Sad to see him go.