david in sweden

Exactly right Trousers. Whilst it's obviously good to change out injured / out of form players, the " big clubs " usually have a pretty formidable bench with any number of players able to become "game-changers ", whereas - the rest of us - are looking to make up the numbers when picking the bench. Bringing on Broja looked a good move v. Watford, but he was totally ineffective and the later replacements with Redmond, and Long were no better. I found myself looking to the bench for alternatives - and there were none, except I might have been encouraged to have seen Adam A. from the start. With the likelihood of seeing 5 subs being used by both sides in the Man City Cup match, one sees that a quick look at the City bench will be fairly daunting, let alone those who will be in the starting line-up.

Apparently we forgot to send Roy Hodgson a present at Christmas, because their goals were classic textbook defensive SNAFU's. One or two of Watford's robots clearly had pace and made us pay the price, and Roy had surely noted Newcastle's use of the long ball out of defence which troubled our defenders midweek. Fortunately Watford's strikers showed their usual profligacy in front of goal. This may be the result that keeps them up this season, as Everton are in free fall and there's seemingly little that Frank can do about it. One report showed poor stats. for Perraud and Salisu but neglected to list Stuart Armstrong amongst the offenders. For someone who is normally so reliable he was underwhelming and misplaced a number of simple passes directly to Watford players. Not his best game. Our statutory " one goal " came from Elyounoussi who spent much of his time as defensive back-up whenever Watford stormed forward. Despite sustaining several crude tackles, KWP was the only player to show up well but got little support from a referee who showed too much respect for Watford's bully-boys and their esteemed manager. Following this devastating lapse in form, it's obvious that we will be able to beat Man City quite comfortably next weekend, providing we get the penalty decisions we were denied in our two previous meetings this season. (SIC)

Firstly, Stuart Armstrong has shown up well in the last few games, and looks to be back to his best. Another nice goal. We still needed that second goal until Shane Long came on, and surprised everyone with a well-taken header whilst surrounded by 3 "so-called " defenders, and it was a good goal considering he has missed many easier chances in the last few seasons. Aside from their energetic start Everton looked really off pace and we bullied them out of the game, winning second balls and dominating the midfield whilst Everton strike duo looked like " paper-tigers " going down in tackles, screaming for fouls and didn't register a single shot on target between them. Pickford surely saved them from a more embarrassing scoreline with several good saves, but only thumped balls upfield for our back line to comfortably gobble up. KWP looks less and less like a full back , and more like an attacking winger with his devastating runs and was unlucky not to score again. Romeu and JWP were in their element winning almost every ball in midfield. Don't know what more we can say about JWP, he seemed to pop-up all over the field; tacking, defending and creating attacks. Whilst many fans are just waiting for his next free-kick opportunity, he is quietly running the whole game like a clock.

Historically, our " loan " deals have often been short-term affairs to cover injuries,etc. whereas this is a totally new situation. Not only has Broja already established himself as a first-choice striker, but the usual loan / option to buy / isn't ours to utilise. The net. result being that (apparently) half of the other Prem. clubs want to buy him from Chelsea in the summer. Clearly, many " rich clubs " would think nothing of paying £40-50 million or more, a price that is clearly - out of our range. Chelsea are stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they take him back - and keep him - they must play him, but having forked out a couple hundred £ mill. for Havertz, Werner and Lukaku - they would need to justify a move that would probably see him on their bench - instead of playing 90 mins. on a regular basis with us and gaining even more Prem. experience. Given that Chelsea wouldn't sell to a rival top 6 club, a further season's loan to Saints would seems to be their best option. alternatively that we might buy him - at a more reasonable fee - and Chelsea retain a "buy-back" /or/ hefty "sell on" clause. ATM...The whole issue is purely academic, as he's "our" player until the end of the season, after which .....we can live in hope.

Well... let's not pretend Saints are alone using such a tactic...if indeed they do. Fans will recall the notorious home game v. Wolves in September '21.... (we lost 0-1 despite having more possession and more shots 18-5). In the last 30 minutes, Wolves players were dropping like flies (the game ran to 97 minutes) and what had been a big Saints superiority was disturbed by successive stoppages. The other point .... (naturally enough)... is not everyone can run for 45+ minutes without a break, and not every club has a Ward-Prowse, who never seems to stop and regularly clocks up more distance than the rest of " the Prem. World." Not everyone is a robot, and some can't run at all. I see no reason why ...a 60 second " water break / Covid pause ... (call it what you will) couldn't be incorporated into the playing time and used as a time for subs. to come on en masse.. instead of the continual stop / starts every few minutes which interrupts the flow of play. IF.. this " accusation " proves to be correct, will we see Referees being told to book players for feigning injury, along with time-wasting and "diving " in the penalty area.?

Clearly the club weren't going to re-sign Josh (in summer) when he had such critical injury problems, but (as with Sam Mc Queen) I think the club has " gone the extra mile " in helping him regain fitness and we should respect that and the help he had in rehab. Although I liked his playing style, I doubt that Josh would have become a team regular, not because he wasn't worth it, but the age-old question.. WHO would you have dropped in order to play him instead? I'm sure We wish him well with Ross County, and he won't feel alone there with a couple of familiar faces with Vokins and Ramsay also in their squad. It's tough for a team coming into the top tier, but glad to see Ross County are at least holding their own.

You've given a good selection of possibilities, but we can wait and see if he develops further this season.....or.... As for the comment about no.10 ( No! - not Bojo ) ..but this keeps coming up in threads but I don't think that Ralph's 4-2-2-2 formation really give a creative place for a traditional No10 . The emphasis on wing-backs brings the ball quickly to the final third and creates chances ( KWP and Perraud are in their element now), but the formation is so fluid that we don't really have anyone to fit that special role effectively.

Another great performance and we ran United ragged at times. United's discipline was terrible and were lucky to come away with only 4 yellow cards. We should have had a penalty - and McGuire a red card - if the Broja incident had been on any other ground than Old Trafford. VAR was a disgrace. We might have had all 3 points, but sadly not so and Stuart Armstrong wasted 3 of the best chances in the game. A great week and Saints looking like a new team without having spent a fortune in the window. United on the other hand continue to spend hundreds of millions every year, but still don't have a proper team yet.

Our signings of Livramento and Broja have awakened the interest of promising youngsters who see the possibilities of Prem. football with Saints, whilst clubs like Spurs lure in young talents - who have listened to their grandfathers tales of when Spurs were " a big club " - back in the Dark Ages. Whilst Chelsea off load youngsters by the dozen, in preference to playing their £ multi-million signings and still win things, I feel sorry for the likes of Winks and Skipp who get only reserve team outings and spend long hours on the bench, hoping for minutes, whilst Levy's " big money signings" fail to deliver. Nico.... ( like recently-signed Will Armitage for the U18's) looks to be a good prospect likely to rise quickly through Saints' ranks. We can hope that we continue to attract good young talents who can build a career and bring future benefit to Saints.

Oh, is this still the JWP page ? We all accept the huge difference between the " Big Money " clubs with a " sugar-daddy " willing spend £100 million every window (many of whom seldom win anything ) ....and those genuine " BIG Clubs " who regularly pick up the silverware every season. The fans of the first group seem to live on another planet when it comes to their favourite clubs abilities to lure in class players. Aston Villa's measly £25million summer bid for Prowsey was nothing short of an insult for a player who has been well-regarded for several seasons past, (as well as being ignored by Gareth Southgate in a tournament where reliable penalty-takers were at a premium and in the final analysis made the difference between winning and losing). Now we read the next chapter from (so-called) football experts (read: former players whose Prem. career was often short and not meritorious) going in print claiming that it's only a matter of time before JWP will sign for one of their former club, and doubtless for a " bargain fee " . With the likes of Jack Grealish (£100 m.).. and Declan Rice (soon to be another transfer in that price range) .....my question is : What price JWP.? A quick comparison of their career stats. shows that Prowsey is better....in some cases...much better in comparison to others. All have played in the Prem. for a similar period of time and aside from his renowned free-kick talents, JWP is way ahead of the others in terms of continuity of playing time, fitness and injury free longevity. Those Morons who think Saints will come running at the behest of some " Big club " to sell our best players should learn that footballers in " the smaller clubs " also have talents that will " cost big ", and the VvD fee is likely to be the starting price... IF we ever decided to sell. (RANT OVER)

.....not to be compared to those cowards who immediately dive on the ground, holding their faces, when they get their shirts tugged.... Don't refs book players for diving anymore ?

In his football memoirs, this game and the win over Liverpool at SMS might feature well...

On paper, the kind of " pointless fixture " one expects from trips to North London, Anfield and Goodison, but not this time and it was one for the record books, if only for the 14 (or was it 16) shots we had in the first 45, whilst Spurs had just .. 2 Several shots were easier to have scored from, whilst another great attempt from Perraud - only to hit the woodwork - yet again. Elyounoussi took his goal like someone stealing sweets from a kid, and Adams was on the spot for another great centre from JWP. Can't remember when Saints last mauled an opposition side like that in an away game, with almost total domination at times. For all their pride in their " state of the art " stadium and with every signing in the £40 -50 million price range Spurs looked unimpressive and they must be glad they have the likes of Kane, Son and Lloris - because the rest of their expensive squad looked " very ordinary " on the night. A highlight for me was seeing PEH subbed off in the second half, whilst Walker-Peters made Daniel Levy cringe in watching his class performance. Even the most die-hard Spurs fan must admit they were outclassed - and against ...." a little South Coast club " like Southampton. Conte still has a lot of work to do, whilst Ralph will join that small, elite group of Saints managers who came away from a Spurs game with 3 points. .....think I'll go away and watch the highlights - again.

A promising start for 16 y.o. Will Armitage. A goal on his U18 debut, and looks to be very tall for his age.

Idiot posting ! The headline read : Why Salisu's transfer to Newcastle fell through. What a load of b*llo*ks. Did the person who wrote that in his column really think that Saints would sell Salisu? ...because IMHO he is the last person we would want to sell right now as he is has been outstanding in recent games, and is improving all the time. YES - every player has a price, and few people thought we would ever get close to £75 million for VvD , but it happened. By the time Mo reaches that level, an eventual transfer fee might be even more that that..... Perhaps the day will come when Mo moves on, but even though Newcastle's owners are spending money like a man with six arms, it remains to be seen if all their new signings will come together and be close to making - a real Prem. team. No player looking to advance himself wants to take the chance of being relegated in their first season, but those who take the chance are most likely only doing it - for the money, because it's not a good career move otherwise.

Not overly-concerned, although a few of the " would-be deals " we were linked with would have been interesting. Although we have lacked some consistency in the Prem. Ralph does have a fairly good squad and a few youngsters on the way up. I think a lot will happen in the transfer market in May. More than a few names will disappear and some of the "would-be " deals that didn't happen this time around might pop-up again.

so obviously the near-£100 million they've spent so far is just a stop-gap measure then ?

Electricity was cut off because the club couldn't afford to pay the bill....

Judging by previous seasons Saints will pop-up with a signing that no-one has tipped, and who almost no-one has ever heard of .

" Someone " ...made a judgement on that, but there is another definition of "sh*te " in the Prem.

The Athletic seem to publish a lot of posts that fall somewhere between " Fake News ", and the Astrology column in The Sun ?....

the big question is : Will she be a better asset for MU than Cristiano ?

Being a former "Gunner" ....... Theo would be about as popular as a former Pompey player who signed for Saints !

( YES Whitey - it was a man's game in those days, but Ron Davies managed it OK - didn't he ? Grealish must think that a £100 million price tag has bought him a " No Foul " card and he expects to get away with everything.. He won't get much sympathy from some of the more experienced Prem. refs. who know what a real tackle looks like, and crawling on the ground and crying " Mummy" will get you nowhere.

Good points well-made. Given that former England CF's (Shearer and Lineker) are able to make qualified judgements on games, The likes of Crooks and Sherwood are only there to pacify London audiences and try to convince everyone that Spurs are still " a big club " and their opinions / views / experience really matter. CORRECTION ..Spurs are currently a fairly ordinary club ...with an almost ancient history... and a big stadium, who think they have a Divine Right to buy English players for peanuts, whilst paying a fortune for a load of foreign misfits. Crooks and Sherwood may be be " legends " in North London, but I wouldn't want to compare Crooks' and Sherwood's international careers anywhere near the level of Shearer or Lineker. The rest is just hot air, and blah-ha.