david in sweden

Serious reply... it's difficult to answer. We failed to get an established striker in the summer, and clearly Mara isn't a quick fix and for all their sweat and running Adams ... and Adam still can't score in an empty net. Hopefully one of them can find some form PDQ. Present alternatives?.....surely Theo Walcott must get some game time soon and knows how to score , and a few minutes of young Ballard might not go amiss, (providing WHam don't scored too many ). All stats. show that our losses are not due to bad defending, but a strike force that has managed just 3 goals in 6 games, despite having had over 70 shots between them.

Like life with their former owner..... Chelsea still have the wherewithal to buy anyone they want, and honestly we don't need people drawing salary if they don't support the cause 100%. RH was right in that he wasn't around long enough to have any real impact.....so onto his replacement . Martin ! ..... who was the guy in second place .....after the original interviews?

we are well into the generational change that some of us predicted in the summer. These lads are good ...for their age... and show real talent, but it's clear that when coming up against top Prem. sides they are still..." a work in progress ". Unfortunately, our remaining experienced players haven't shown up very well in the opening games, and the outcome is clearly predictable. Conceding only 4 to Man City must be looked at with a small degree of relief, considering their recent form and Haaland finally got just the one goal. Given that we concede 4 at Tottenham, and 4 yesterday, our other losses have been by a one goal margin, but the real problem is at the other end. In 9 Prem. games we have clocked up....105 shots and scored just 8 goals. Let's not condemn the defence too harshly, as we have failed to score in 4 of our last 6 Prem. games. Either we must wait for "someone " to hit a scoring streak, or hope we can stay safe from the drop zone until the January window and then buy a reliable goalscorer....from somewhere.

I wasn't condemning Rugby players, but you'd have to agree that they do exist, and are frequently more vocal than the average football moron.

You don't pick a captain by the loudest voice. JWP has been with the club for the better part of 20 years, is the best Academy product the club has produced in modern times. He has a better Prem. playing record than £100 million signing like Jack Grealish, (and he doesn't cry Mummy every time he is fouled), and would look ridiculous in a head band. The Prem. stats, show that he covers more ground than any other Prem. player (by a mile), and pops up all over the pitch during games, and seemingly has the respect of team mates, and is a role-model for many younger players, and DAJFU by example and not by volume. Of course all that publicity about his free-kick prowess isn't just media, he still has a few years to overtake Beckhams career record, and still takes a pretty mean penalty, and it will take a few years for any other player to even match his present free-kick stats. If you want a loud-mouth idiot to captain a team, maybe try watching rugby instead.

Regardless of his shirt number few people would honestly call Koeman a defender. If you study his stats, you'll see that he scored more goals than many so-called, established international strikers of his era. He knew about defending, but his attacking tactics were well thought-out. Pochettino was pretty aggressive himself as a defender and had nothing to lose, his main task was stop up losing, and shore up a very leaky defence, and most of his buys reflected that. The likes of Puel and Pellegrino were dyed-in-the-wool defenders who rarely crossed the half-way line, and their tactical ideas shaped the teams they managed.

Heart-breaking for those promising talents who get career-ending injuries --so good luck to Sam. Memories from an earlier generation of Marian Pahars and David Hughes who never made it back to first team football.

Agreed the football was dire at times, but finishing in the top 8 is better than struggling in the bottom 8, but you should expect that when you appoint a former defender as manager.

My original JWP " mobile " comment was referring to the distance he covers in a game, and the old adage about a player "covering every blade of grass " is close to the truth. Agreed he doesn't have a lot of pace, but his passing accuracy is much greater than many of those who run full pelt everywhere - and can't make a decent 5 yard pass. ( Grealish and Rice should take note). .

Several points here. Everyone has had to learn 4-2-2-2 and it has taken some a bit longer, and one or two are still struggling a bit, but sometimes we need a 5-3-2. Many teams change formation during a game. and it not always as obvious to players, or staff in the dug out - as it is for spectators /TV viewers. I also think the sideways / back passing is pretty boring but it does work for many teams who retain possession and get a breather at the same time. Naturally some players are played in their best position to good effect, but I'm all in favour of trying alternatives and many were critical seeing KWP suddenly starting at LB, but now he looks just as good on either flank. Likewise, many of us were disappointed at Djenepo last season, but he does seem to have a new lease of life in his new attacking / defensive role. If Adam A. was bought to replace Ings, his move to the left wing reduces his effectiveness, but he can't be in two places at the same time. Somehow Stu Armstrong has been tried in several positions and doesn't seem too happy in any of them. Now that we practically have half of a new team, the process of gelling / moulding a new side will take a bit of time, and RH needs to get it right PDQ but i don't feel it's wrong to experiment with different players / formations but not every player is a University graduate, or understands tactics from birth. IMHO our biggest problem is the failure to buy a new striker in the summer. It wa right not to squander £15-20 million on a fifth choice target, but we need to see a new face up front after the New Year as Ché Adams is taking a battering every game, and is also expected to score every game.

Most of us on here seem to give credit to Stu for his past performances, but I ask myself if he is 100% fit ?, or even good enough to play in the Prem. for 70 minutes, instead of coming on after 70 mins when all is lost. 30 is a dangerous age for Prem. players. Stu doesn't seem to have the stamina that we saw from Steven Davis and is nowhere near as mobile as JWP in midfield. Doesn't feel right to me. Not sure when his contract runs out, but no bets that he will be moving back (home)... north of the border.

Doomed ? ...you mean at the thought of only finishing 8th this season.. as did Puel ?

In equality-minded Sweden Anders comes a poor second to a woman who played even more international games for the Swedish Women's side.

Of course I meant to say that Maja Yoshida clocked up his tally whilst he was a registered player with Saints...no other player has come anywhere near that number whilst playing for Saints

Think I'd disagree a bit about your back four. Richardson and Fox racked up around two dozen assists in our Championship season, although they weren't anywhere near Prem. quality , but you do Yoshida a great disservice as he was good when playing alongside Fonte, and had to endure a list of "rather indifferent partners" in the time after Jose left. NOTE: Maja is also the most capped player in Saints' history (near 100 times for Japan), and Greg Rasiak did get 20 league goals in his best season.

Mmmm.. you have only 10 names and two of them are goal keepers. Think I might rate Paul Jones a bit better as he was a keeper for Wales also). IMHO .Chris Marsden was better than average, and Brett Ormerod was a good partner for Beattie and gave him many assists. Rory Delap was a better player than some, and was often forced to play in many positions when we had injury crises and got little credit for his efforts. Sadly, Guly's career ebbed away painfully, but at his peak his goal-scoring stats. were near equal to Rickie Lambert in the first half of the Championship season.

However promising the new recruits may seem to be there is no obvious candidate so early in their Saints' careers, as some of them may still need a taxi to find their way to St.Mary's. A captain (or vice-captain in this case) needs to know the club, have the respect of the dressing room, the confidence of the manager and the whole-hearted acceptance of the fan base. Not every good player is a naturally a good leader and the recent disappearance of many of the " old guard " does leave a vacuum to fill (Ralph's words). As club-captain JWP is unique in his service to the club, and sometime soon will become the longest serving Saints player of all time but of the candidates for vice-captain there are few to choose from (given that leaders often emerge, rather than being appointed). Few would deny Ché Adams commitment as a one-man battering-ram up front, but in this position he is not an ideal choice to encourage those behind him. Stuart Armstrong has experience (both at club and international level), but at 30+ , is not an ideal choice for someone who rarely commands a regular starting place, and lacks the " longevity " that we saw in ...Steven Davis. We've had a couple of good seasons from Kyle Walker-Peters and he shows 100% commitment, and can be called " a fan favourite" and in other circumstances might have gained a few more England caps for his consistent performances at club level, and for that reason he would be my first choice regardless of most other names mentioned here.

It's a typical response to every game when we lose by the odd goal. " It has to be the goalie's fault" , but even if it was... (doubtful) why is there no criticism of the other 15 outfield players who got game time and had 12 shots between them - without scoring even once. Very few people would criticise Che Adams for his work rate or commitment, but when we play him as a one man strike force, he's expected to score. For all the excellent signings we've made this window, (and there have been a few) ....we still lack a Pelle, Lambert or a Beattie to do the business.

....as did Sadio Mane as I recall. In fact one bright fan even likened Mane to Ali Dia (!)... during his first month.

although I would be more pleased if we could have waited until Ivan Toney hits a streak of blank scoring games......

...think it was one of Diallo's better games, but picking up an yellow card before halftime rather took the sting out of his aggressive manner ... Romeo always managed to stay clear of the red cards, but think Diallo was on this thin ice and lacked Orrie's guile in those situations.

.......kinda running short on superlatives for AB-K at the moment. If he's still playing like this in November, he could be included in the German WC squad.

there are a couple to choose from but they may have to wait for the results of their GCSE's before they can play......

Now let's be fair fellas. We have to show some sympathy for Tuchel.. I mean he had to field a side that only cost £250 million (haha) ..... although I'm not sure that even his strongest side would have done better against a rampant Saints side who took over from where they failed so valiantly on Saturday. Anyone who has been away for a while would have problems recognising the Saints " new look " side who looked as though they had been playing together for a year... rather than a month. Let's hope we can keep up the momentum and stay injury free. Good return to fitness from Perraud (with a great assist for Adam. A )...who must be relieved to finally get on the scoresheet, and a debut goal from Lavia (hope he's not out injured for too long), and a good all-round show from all concerned, but really need a special mention for Bella-Kotchap who has looked world-class in the last few games. Onwards to Wolves on Saturday.

Surely " the Black Box " should have picked up on this one ! ... after all, he's a player who played for Monaco and was once transferred for £20 million ....Oh......that was us - wasn't it ? (sic)