david in sweden

one can only hope...

my thoughts too. Rickie also lacked that little extra pace, but Pellé can win headers and play the ball off to others, despite the extra " attention " he gets from defenders.

Obviously there is a lot of exposure to a Prem. club 3rd in the table, but when did he first agree the deal? ...and how did he feel in the summer....after the massive player "exodus"? panic ? /or / waste of money?...or

......a report I read yesterday noted that Pellé was " getting some stick " from our own fans at QPR who criticised his performance, (or lack of it). A striker who has managed only 1 league goal in the last 8 Prem. games must certainly come in for some comments, but it really isn't so unusual for strikers to have long "dry spells" * Yes he did look below par, and tbf he has been double-marked in many games I've watched - and gets little support from referees (who may think a 6'4" guy should be able to take care of himself ). I've been watching Saints' games for 50 years, and of course there have been strikers who get goals regularly, but for many (even at their best) a goal every 3-4 games is about average..... ....many others are got less than that. Considering it's his first season in the Prem. I'm not surprised that he has been " noticed " by the opposition, and he's not the only Prem. name to go long periods without scoring regularly. I think the criticism is unjustified - but as a striker he must feel worse - as it's the one thing that players of his ilk are judged by. NOTED, he has hit the woodwork 6 times this season:rolleyes: *Historical note: James Beattie went the first 10 games - without scoring in season 2002/3 - and then hit 23 goals by the end of that season. When you're on form everything seems to go in - if not you're considered rubbish! FAIR on Pellé?......or NOT?

good manager but usual first season problems coming up from the Championship....I'm surprised that Sean Dyche has lasted so long tbh.

what are his first impressions of So'ton (the city)......the club ....other players .....and does he understand our local dialect OK?

according to stats. Fonte shot against the bar was ...the 14th time we've hit the woodwork this season ! great persistance by Mane - who had a rough ride from QPR defenders (and little protection from the ref.) during the game. think both he (and Elia ) are the obvious Plan B in attack, especially as Pelle is getting so much stick from defenders and is clearly out of luck recently. Gardos looked a lot " harder " this time around than in his last game, and Yoshida had another excellent game. a good overall performance from a team learning to play 95 minutes every match.

of course every YouTube clip is " very selective " and only shows you the best of the player, but it's a bit like having our own " Black Box " - especially when it's a little-known foreign player.

.....as I recall .....Rickie Lambert was a pretty good player at 29 .....

...most of them, I think.

ERR.......I wasn't going to print that, but the thought did go through my mind, too ......

indeed he did.....and didn't he praise him up, too. A real marquee signing that was ....one we'll never forget - no matter how hard we try.

but of course, Mauricio took him out of the Spuds Academy ....and made him a star......all in the space of a few weeks .....(just as he did with JWP, and Shaw at SMS )... . WOW what a manager.

.......have read several reports on this, although the FA is refusing to divulge details, but it seems that it may affect Arsenal's position rather than Saints'. It was generated by " a third party" complaint . One line suggested that Calum's step-father, who is employed by " his agent(s)" has some involvement in the affair. Although Saints' seem to be clear of any wrongdoing. If clubs are found guilty of misconduct, there could be a " six-figure fine, and / or points deducution." A financial penalty would be " small potatoes " to Arsenal whereas clearly, a points deduction would seriously harm either club's Euro chances.

....it's all double Dutch to me ....

(Pardew) ...who in turn had almost no squad at all to begin with, but bought (one)...Rickie Lambert. ......and Nigel Adkins bought Jay Rod, Steven Davis .....and Nathaniel Clyne .....so you see Mauricio, everyone played their part, and you had the benefit of that, too. I seem to recall, you inherited £100 million worth of players at Spuds ..How are they doing? (No!.. Harry Kane was already there).

Whoa Mauricio !.......let's back-track a little. Firstly, your predecessor ..that Adkins guy....put together a team that you more of less played out the first season with. Maybe you didn't notice, but he didn't go around bragging so much about a team he took out of L1 and was forced to give over to you - the manner of which still upsets some of our fan base. YES ! ....you put them all through double training and they upped the tempo and it made exciting watching, except that all that intensive training meant the team " peaked " a bit too soon and although we survived relegation, the back-end of that season was rather tame. Don't know if Victor Wanyama was your choice, (or Les' / Black Box 's ) but that was a good buy. However, you really surpassed yourself when you signed that Osvaldo fellow .....and for such a long contract, and at such a high salary, too. He goes down in our folk history amongst those candidates for the Ali Dia Player of the Half Season award. ( btw - Do you need another striker at Spuds? ) Perhaps Osvaldo should have been a boxer, certainly looks like it ....after putting one on Fonte, (who btw..is the captain of THIS season's successful team). We're the team a few places above you in the League:lol: Incidentally ..Where were you ...when that punch landed? ..and what did you say / do? However, we do owe you some praise..(even though you used most of Nigel Adkins' squad) for finishing in 8th place. BUT .....tell me how this season's success is due to your input?..especially as so many of those players' who were so loyal to YOU ...that 6 of the them don't even play for the club anymore ? ... ...(if you take a glance around at some of the other Prem.sides you may recognise them again). And at least 8 of out present (new) squad don't even know who you are... QUITE FRANKLY, Mauricio...any respect I still held for you before has rapidly diminished after I read that item. If you were " misquoted " own up and say so NOW...or isn't your English good enough yet?

.....or ....does he fancy a seat on Richard Branson's Spaceshuttle? ......

nice to hear that the word is being spread Sarnia. .....there are a group of hard-headed journalists in London who still think of Saints as.. " that South Coast club.."

....well we've had a one or two of those in the distant past.... (it's easy to pick faults with RK's linguistic lapses, but I wish my Dutch was as good as his English..)

I think some fans are still seeing us as a 20th century club with a post war heirarchy. A lot has changed since the manager goes to the Board and asks for funds to buy a player, and the Board says yea or nay. There is a department head for each section, and they all report to ?.......Les (I assume) and the CEO. They supervise the day-to-day running of the club. The former head of the scouting network ...who jumped ship recently ...(?) ...there I've forgotten hiis name already.... will be replaced in time - like a spare wheel, but the Black Box still works every morning. " The manager " (let's call him first team coach) in this case - Ronald Koeman... " coaches ", picks the team and decides tactics and does pre /after match interviews. Takes the praise ..and makes excuses. The rest is not his responsibility. I assume he watches some U21 (and maybe U18 games) and follows the progress of youngsters and hears comments from Martin Hunter and Anthony Limbrick. At this point let me say ...I am NOT ITK, but it seems reasonably logical to me - ( if someone else has a closer insight - please correct me). Ralph Kreuger as Chairman is primarily the clubs figurehead, and although he is not " football " in some people's eyes. He's our club's top salesman. Think he must have had somethimng to do with the marketing of the NBC documentary " The Southampton Way " in USA, which I thought was a good presentation - at least to a foreign audience. He is ideal for marketing the club worldwide and has respect in many areas outside of the game because of his inspirational seminars (you can find parts on You Tube ) and therefore his involvement with SFC means he commands more attention than the average Chairman might. I can't see anyone with his reputation getting involved with a poorly run, out-of-touch outfit in an area that he is not familiar with. I think he comes over well, (in interviews) but he seems to have a vision that extends beyond that of the Directors Box at SMS. Is there one ...these days ? He does not need to be at the club every week, although I'm fairly certain he is in regular contact with " important things that happen " on a daily basis, therefore he doesn't need his own office /room. I've worked at organisations like this, and you only need to book " a room for a meeting" - when you need it. Everything else is delegated down the line. Nobody should expect him to be "walking the job" every day, and if you work in an organisation where the boss does that 24/7.. it may be comforting, but frightening ....if anything happens to him.

THIS ..is the best comment on the entire thread. The guy has been a regular substitute for.... a Dutch club ...it's not as if we're bidding for their star player.

No ..they've kept him locked in the Anfield dressing room for most of the time .....

Mmm......on Sky maybe?.....like father , like ***

AND....if only we could get some value for the £12 million fee...(not to mention his 30K+ each week). He's turned out to be a very expensive liability . Maybe Saints' could try hypnosis ?