david in sweden

I think that there is a real need of a reality check here.....Boruc was good last season, but the problem was that there was no obvious choice for no.2. He was out injured for (total) 11 games .....in which time KD and PG let in 20 goals between them and the only win was at Cardiff (when PG didn't have a save to make). It's generally accepted that (despite his loyal service) KD has already reached his " best by " date and we need someone capable of stepping into the no.1 spot and who can DAJFU if needs be. Neither PG or CC has impressed me and neither is likely to put in a serious challenge in the near future. Artur may have thought he was safe, but the club needed a challenger to him. Forster is a better bet than I' d hoped for, but now it's really down to Artur's mindset. Of course he still wants to play for Poland, but he needs a regular spot in order to maintain that. Can't see him even wanting to stay, but the same problem will start all over again in January.....who will be no.2 to Forster? ....... over to you... Dave Watson:?

watched most of the game, and Mane was a real threat with several fast runs, but was mercilessly fouled at least half-a-dozen times...but still had a couple of good chances to score. Tunisia scored after a goalmouth scramble in the 94th minute, but their goalie really kept them in the game. FT: Tunisia 1 Senegal 0.

I got the impression that some fans see him as an extra goalscorer(?)...and his Prem. record from 160 games and 33 goals....is not a strikers % of course, but not that bad either.. .....though certainly a darn sight better than a midfielder like Steven Davis ...whose managed only 9 goals in over 180 Prem. starts. I think Shane looks good......when he gets on...... .....but with Tadic and Mane in the squad now, he's not likely to be getting too many " starts ", but perhaps see him coming off the bench fairly regulary late on.

has played 5 games + 2 sub.apps so far for U18s ....and a couple of sub.apps for the U21.......quite impressive for a new lad who's only just turned 17. watched the Saints' video of a couple of his U18 outings, and he looks full of confidence and has good awareness of the play. As Arsenal had to pay £16 million for Chambers, they might well regret letting " one of their own" slip away so easily.....

.. ..but surely the real question is; can she kick with both feet ?... OOPS.. maybe that's not the right question either...

....think your stats. maybe a little wayward Vectis, (18 +24 is more than 38)....but there's another explanation, too. Firstly .I calculate that they started 19 league games each . There was no element of eqaulity or democracy in that figure but merely ....injuries. Chambers started the first 3 games (because of Clyne's pre-season injury). Clyne then played 11 consecutive games before getting injured... Chambers took over again for 9....and was then injured himself. Clyne came back for 1 game, (clearly not 100%) before being replaced by CC Chambers played 4 on the trot - before getting injured again. ......the remainder of the season was Clyne for 3, then Chambers for 3 and it was Clyne who played out the last 4 games. Pretty equal selection stats, but mostly based on who was fittest on the day. I wouldn't argue for one minute that Chambers did well most of the time he played, (although some people felt a bias towards a new talent who'd already been with the club for 10 years.) The ultimate question is; Would Chambers have been selected for England had he still been a Saints' player. Instead of which, he was selected to play for England after only 4 games with Arsenal. The answer to that one must surely speak for itself. Any English born player, who is lucky enough to be selected to play for a top four Prem. club...(and there aren't that many) gets an immediate invite to the England squad.....after which Woy looks beyond the pale to players in clubs in the lower echelons of the Prem. There can be no other explanation. We were all pleased for Rickie's sake that he finally got his call last season (much deserved), but now he gets a place on the England bench, without having started more than a couple of League games for his new club and still not having scored a goal. I'm not criticising RL, but the system that excludes players in Non-Euro qualified Prem sides, and uses only top 4 club players. Now we have reached the point where the England team has become ....." a sort of Academy ".....for the Big Four Prem. sides. who want to win the CL.

and I agree totally with that comment. There are some games it does better to miss...and that was a good one for Nat to stay on the bench... However, I don't think Woy had any intentions of starting Clyne. After Stones got injured, he pulled Chambers back out of the U21s..... in order to play him at RB. Might just as well have left Clyne home. The whole charade was a ploy from Woy to put Nat in the sqaud and get the media off his back.

OK ...Italy (supposedly) were without half-a-dozen regulars, but even with 10 v.10 ....how many Italians does it take to beat Malta ? Pelle scores the winner on his debut ....as a Saints fan .....what more could you ask ?

His transfer fee.....is what it is. A sum agreed between SFC and Hull, albeit somewhat large. He hasn't featured regularly so far, and as a striker....is judged purely on goal tally. He has a Prem. pedigree and his time will come. I don't think players feel they are expected to play better than they can..... regardless of the fee. Our history of strikers shows very little regularity of scoring, and many often scored in bursts.... and then have longer "dry spells ". I think he looks OK....and will undoubtedly "deliver the goods" when needed.

it seems it's always a big period, but (as Ronald says) ...we take one game at a time.....the rest?, we have no control over.....

Its ridiculous to disregard our past history..(as some sadly do) ..even if much of it was NOT so glorious, there has been continuity and a loyal fan base for very many decades. It took more than 80 years for the Saints to get to the top, but nevertheless the faith was still there and I recall the amazement from some older fans when we finally made it in 1966, and those who were there when we won the FA Cup in 1976.... many great games since, although perhaps not a lot of silverware, but nevertheless succeeding generations of fans have kept the faith, and many former players (from all over the British Isles .....and a few Europeans) have been happy to remain on the South Coast and have lived....and died SAINTS ! No amount of titles and trophies would ever replace that sort of pride and loyalty. Even after the tumult of summer 2009, a few hearts may have missed a beat, but Saints still marched on....(thanks to Marcus)....and it would be nice to think that our greatest days ..are yet to come.

your point is well made, but the majority of these players had the statutory one or two games before leaving us. AS for the Clyne discussion. It had been Clyne ahead of sub. Chambers up until the end of last season, Clyne who played so well and scored goals, but Chambers who gets picked JUST because he's now playing for Arsenal. What other explanation can there be ...? Hardly logic is it Woy ?

well as its my question....I'd be interested to know if they still speak to each other.....or there is any animosity after all these years ...OK ?

well that's another 90 mins.of my life wasted..... I was almost cheering for the Estonians...down to 10 men (and probably rated over 100 by FIFA) and still it took an unlucky rebound off the post from their goalie to win the game for England. What a waste of space Jack Wilshere is .....I suppose that now that Man.U aren't the top club anymore we'll have an England side full of Arsenal players (except Rooney) who will stay until he gets to 50 goals.

..that makes two of us then.......

last fridays " Wembley show " was just a PR exercise in choosing as many London-based players as possible...... in a vain attempt to fill the empty seats in our extremely overpriced national stadium..... had absolutely nothing to do with choosing the " best side " and in the vain hope that RH can silence his critics and choose players like Forster and Clyne, and then prattle on about tough competition for places. The only way they'll get a game now is if someone is seriously injured ....Shame on you Woy..if we lose ....I'll love listening to the excuses.....

I watch EVERY game possible (via TV /streaming)....but unfortunately much less live - and only when in the UK. Contrary to your assumption, I rate him vey highly, but (re-reading the OP) ..IF he is attracted to the bright lights of an established top four club and has that " Lovren want-away " attitude.. it's surely better to get to grips with the problem ASAP as bad feeling in the dressing room is an unnecessary evil, and we are better off without it. IF he were to go , we'd be looking at £20+ million, and if our scouting network does it's job replacing him wouldn't sound like an impossible task. However, My bottom line is... . I hope he's content to stay, and that this is only newspaper talk - yet again.

Mick was with Saints for about 15 years before McMenemy moved him on (the first time).....but with all his England connections ...did anyone " tap him up " to leave the Dell and move to a "BIG" club? However, he was loyal and stayed all that time ....so what was motivation in NOT moving ? .....and how is his relationship to Lawrie Mac nowadays ?

I notice that John Stones was carried off in the Everton game at the weekend......one less "opponent" for Clyne to overcome. ...and surely a chance for Fraser Forster, too.....if he mucks up against that friendly opposition, he'll have no chance of ever getting Hart's place.

a lot of former " top footballers" have tried management - but without success. It's not just about skill or knowledge, but man-management. How to get the best out of those you have....even the under-performers. A list of " big name " players who've tried and failed would surprise many. Going back to the 1966 WC win, (surely the high-point in a very lack-lustre half century of English football history)...you can see that half a dozen of that team " tried their hand " at managing, and failed to deliver and perhaps only Alan Ball and Jack Charlton came out of it with any distinction. If Beatts is really serious about wanting to manage... then he'll need all the tips and help he can get, and even then there's no guarantee. Starting at the bottom - as he did with Accrington - must have been a bit of a culture shock for him but also good to see the reality of football first hand. Good luck, I say James. Stick at it and who knows ...?

Oh really?. Last season's success (I think we should use that word) was, for the most part, carried through by those " key players" ... who deserted the club in the summer. The only inheritance we have from MP leaves a bad taste in the mouth, and the team we have now has barely 4, perhaps 5 .." survivors " from the first choice side that he used last season. Pochettino inherited " a good squad" from Adkins, but improved it by a change in training methodology (hard-pressing) and the addition of only two players; Wanyama and Lovren. Now that Koeman is holding the reigns... we have seen a totally different training technique (see interviews with JWP and others). I think it's a rather broad overstatement to suggest that Koeman's starting successes are due to Pochettino influence. Most of MP's credibility disappeared when he did at the end of last season. Much of this season's success is down to new players like; Pelle, Tadic, Bertrand .....and Koeman's influence...(not Pochettino's).

several points, I suppose. The " Pochettino desertion " was somewhat unexpected (for most of us) ..as was the sudden exit of the players, and even the £90 million kitty seemed little consolation for those people who outrageously claimed we'd need to spend twice as much to replace them Many people panicked ...(nicknamed bed wetters by someone on here) when we didn't have a manager in place by the following week and replacements players signed up, despite the fact there were still had 7/8 weeks to the season start. Les Reed really has the traditional DoF role, and IMHO rightly ....took his time to interview manager candidates before signing RK and plunging into the market and (perhaps spend £50-60 million on players that the new manager wouldn't have /didn't want.) Koeman was also able to buy in his own choices. As the days and weeks passed .the bedwetters became more and their comments even more vitriolic - if you don't believe that - look back at the first few sides of this thread. 3 weeks after Koeman's appointment (good decision Les)..... we'd still only signed Tadic and Pelle. More vitriol / hate mail...if you want to see who they were - look back again. There can be few amongst us who would admit that amongst the 8 new players ...that we made any bad buys.???...(and there's still £30 million in the transfer kitty for eventual January buys). Those more patient / trusting (fans) have eventually seen their confidence confirmed and thanks to Les' know-how / experience. He may have got a load of stick about his former career moves, and some of us even feel that he deserves a medal for managing to upset Stevie G. (as if he were the Teflon man, not to be touched)....it's football Steve....console yourself in your £100K+ week salary, grin and bear it. IMO, we should start a " Thank goodness for Les Reed " thread, surely no-one else in the club's personnel could have achieved what he has in the last 3 months.

....you mean ...as we do for Prem. sides...like Arsenal and Liverpool ?

I'm inclined to agree, but judging by his Arsenal performances he's clearly good enough for the Prem. ...but where would you have played him in our present set-up ?

ouch, I bet your friends love you ...