david in sweden

Our best strikers are supposed to be the ones we've paid big fees for, namely Adams and Armstrong. We need them to start scoring ASAP. Agreed Broja is in great form, but (according to Ralph), he was only back to training on Wednesday, a 90 minute game a.t.m. is a very big ask. I'm sure we'll see him on later in the game, but he's not "our" player and may not be here after New Year - if Chelsea decide to " play hardball" over his loan.

Yes I remember it well. 0-3 down ..what fightback. George Kirby was one of the original toughie CF's - and always with a smile on his face. The O.G. went down to Peter Grummit in the Forest goal. When the cross came into the box, he and Kirby both went up together and the next moment there was Grummit AND the ball in the back of the net. Then we got to 3-3 .... What a finísh ..how did we fail to score in Extra time? The 5-0 replay at Tottenham was legend. It has gone down as Ken Wimshurst's finest game in a Saints shirt. Shame about the Semi Final at Villa Park. Terrible pitch. Abysmal game, with the only goal hitting Denis Law's knee on the way past Reynolds.

.....think you may have omitted Dean Hammond, Radhi Jaidi and Jose Fonte amidst Pardews' signings.....or ?

If Spurs can't win "something" with Conte, they'll never win anything. After sacking Pochettino and Mourinho, Spurs really are in the " Last Chance Saloon ", and when they eventually lose Kane and Son, and without top class replacements they will look like a very ordinary mid-table side, and Levy doesn't like to spend " big money " on transfer fees. I really rate Conte, and recall that he had the courage (as then manager of Italy) to select a 29 y.o. Graziano Pelle to debut and help Italy win big games (when they were going through a terrible spell in 2016). His managerial record is one of the best in football. He won a Prem. League title and a Cup for Chelsea, (but inevitably fell out of favour at Chelsea) and so his reported 18 month Spurs contract speaks for itself. Win something - or you are OUT ! I wonder who Daniel Levy will line up for a replacement?.

More correctly I understood at his contract ran out in the summer, but that he had been given " 6 months extra.... to help regain fitness " .(?) As he has not appeared in any B team's so far, I am assuming that (sadly) he is not part of Ralph's future planning . Great pity as I always thought he was a very good prospect.

The average price of an average Prem. player today is probably in the range of £10-15 million, and the better ones cost much more. Not every teenager who goes through Prem. Academies will become even good enough to play in L1 /L2 clubs. Last time I checked over 30 players ( former Saints Academy graduates) had played in L1/L2, whilst others may be playing local league football or have even drifted out of the game altogether. Those who get to stay, may get a Prem. debut, but little more before moving on, whilst even the best may be stuck at the club " understudying " an international or regular first-choice player whilst getting older, but not more experienced. The groups that came through Saints Academy between 2006-2011 yielded transfer fees of over £15 million (Saints record buy was still only....£6 million). whereas those who left the club between 2012-2018 moved onto "bigger cubs" and brought in something..... in excess of £80 million. Whilst it's a shame that they left, their talents bloomed in top clubs and many went onto play at international level. The most recent group to leave included; Matt Targett, Jake Hesketh, Callum Slattery, Sam McQueen and Josh Sims - all played some Prem. games but never made it past the regular first teamers ..whilst the "survivors from that generation are; James Ward-Prowse and Jack Stephens who have contributed over 400 Prem. games between them, and made a huge saving - considering they cost nothing to sign. RESULT: the cost of Academies is not exorbitant when you consider those who succeed at the highest level, and the eventual income from sales, (which in many cases helps the club's overall economy) and are vital for the majority of Prem. sides who do not rely on a "sugar-daddy" to spend £100 million on buying new players every season.

Both you and Teddeer have a point, but as soon as our expensive strike pair begin scoring more goals that Broja, they will start first and he will be on the bench.

The England situation is rather special in as much as the squad is chosen from the +/- 35% of available English players from the Premier League. Every club has its allotted penalty-takers and if (an England player) is from a club who have someone from another nationality as first choice then he may never have taken a penalty in a real game, and what they may/may not have done on the practice ground counts for nothing, especially if they are facing an international keeper on the day. Southgate must be brutally aware of this, as he was the culprit on at least one of the many occasions that England went out in major tournaments in the last 30 years. Of course the player may.... have confidence / looking to be hero / impress the manager, but their precise technique is really vital. The Beattie / Lambert method was... run fast at the ball, and hit it as hard as you can, whereas MLT could place it wherever he wanted and their stats. prove it, whereas JWP has his own technique, but even that isn't foolproof - as he often seems to go for the goalies right side. I still think it's a lousy way to settle a game, and the " silver goal " method ( first to score another goal, is merely an extension of added time ).

Quite correct Whitey, but I wouldn't compare Eredivisie standard too closely with the Premier League. There a some outstanding players in the Dutch league, but not all of them can cut it in the Prem. but Broja is a fast developing talent and it'll be a pity if we won't be able to buy him at the end of the loan.

who's on VAR ?

Without taking anything away from Broja's excellent performances in the Prem. so far, it's a brand new experience for him and although he puts in his 100%, he's clearly not upto 95 minutes of intensive Prem. football - at the moment. Much of his previous (Chelsea) success had come in " the boys league" (PL2) and perhaps Ralph probably sees a way to bring him upto a better level of fitness and (hopefully) use him more in the forthcoming games. Yes - of course he scored goals for Albania as well, but some of those came from his late substitute apps.

Agree with most of this - especially the paragraph about Livramento (and even put Broja in that category). At the end of last season, both had scarcely got onto the bench in Chelsea first team games, but were stars in their U23 side that ran rampant in some of their fixtures. Now they are in " the big boys league ", the pace and skills required are (not unsurprisingly ) proving a challenge for them. Unfortunately the rest of our squad are still sadly wanting. Our defensive record is actually better than most of the bottom-half teams, but in the last 3 home games we have had 53 shots (!)... and secured just 3 goals and dropped 5 home points. Without these two lads, we would look even more insipid than we did at times last season.

Crying after beating Liverpool ?. Personally I thought it showed the passion that some managers have for the game. After endless (negative) comparisons with Klopp, then seeing his side beat a multi-hundred £million side , I think Ralph was entitled to show some emotion. I wonder what Klopp felt after seeing his side beaten buy.... Southampton ? I've noted that in the last few seasons, some " top" managers give a sigh of relief when departing SMS with all the points. Mourinho was always relieved to get points off us and frequently complimented Saints' display - even if he did get lucky.

Clearly young players need " role models " and it's obvious that JWP's career has been an inspiration to many newcomers. Prowsey himself says that he was inspired to practice free-kicks from a young age.... by watching David Beckham. We may not always agree with their choices, but one thing we have learned is that it isn't always the players who get " the best ratings" on the pitch who help the team most, but those who DAJFU in the dressing room by injecting confidence and encouraging the rest of the squad.

Ah..the Albion Band, that takes me back .......a long way .

Forgot this thread was actually about Moussa Djenepo. A player who can drive you to distraction with his amazing dribbling, or insane behaviour and who can go from hero to zero in a few seconds. Having said that.... I returned to watch a replay of Broja's goal v. Leeds (well there hasn't been too many others to look at ) ..and noted the text book training ground move that saw Redmond gifting Broja the goal chance, but which actually started with Djenepo winning the ball outside his own penalty area and placing an exquisite pass into the path of Nathan Redmond, who was already up-and-running. We have to admit that Moussa has been.... "rather inconsistent" ( I chose a polite phrase) during the last season but his spontaneity and ball control looks very good (when it works). Sadly, like a few others, he has often only come into games as sub. or second-choice starter when the team lacked cohesion and creativity and when we needed a " quick fix" ...(a task which subs. seldom achieve). So this occasion when we ought to say "nice one Moussa" ....and perhaps credit him with " half of an assist."

...........and now for the latest gossip. Are Arsenal REALLY interested in buying Mo. E (?)...or is this just paper talk, or a space filler for some journos column. To be fair, when Mo arrived he was played out of position (whatever that was) ....in a team that was shipping goals and had little to offer in terms of positive results. Ralph seemingly took advice and let him have a crack at SPL with Celtic. Certainly Mo looks a totally different player now to the one who went away two years ago, and found his goal touch in Scotland and with Norway. He is also a player who has some " real time " left on his Saints contract (till June 2023). Personally I'd like to see him in a successful role with Saints, but IF he were to move to pastures " greener" then we should take advantage of a good fee from clubs who normally pay from their petty cash account ....to the likes of Saints. At the end of the day, it's down to the player but Saints could do well in the transfer market with a hefty sum for his move.

It depends who you are referring to when you write about " reasonable " fans ? As a fan for over 60 years .... IMHO ....ANY season we get a " half-reasonable " start, and aren't in the bottom three by this time ...is a good start. Looking back at the 27 seasons we had in the top tier (prior to 2005) we often started abysmally and rarely finished in the top half, and frequently went into the final month of the season hoping for a last match / miracle finish ....before surviving on the last day. Given the opponents we had at the start of this season, I'd say we've done relatively well (Newcastle and Wolves should have been better) but any points gained v. United and City are unexpected and very welcome, and to be fair we still looked good at 1-1 v. Chelsea before JWP's red card. Our defence has improved from recent seasons, and with only 10 goals conceded, we have one of the best defences in the bottom half. Clearly our problem remains the lack of goals, and even with Danny Ings in the team, the rest of the squad contributed very little in comparison. We lack players with the flair of a Beattie, Lambert or Pelle. It's far too early to suggest we might sign Broja permanently, but someone of his ilk is needed to lead the line if are to get wins and move up the table, and we have certainly missed the influence of Stuart Armstrong this season. " Fans " who constantly criticise performances and individuals need a reality check about money, as at least a dozen Prem. clubs regularly struggle with their finances and SUCCESS can be categorised as ... remaining amongst the top 20 side in the country .....for yet another season. Those who are constantly unhappy with our ongoing situation are welcome to travel east or west on the M27 as an alternative.

A foul ?.... YES but made to look worse in the pitch-sodden conditions. referee Atkinson was satisfied with a yellow card, which was made worse by the player's dramatic fall, then I was waiting to see if they would come onto the field with a stretcher, or a coffin but he recovered "miraculously". Mike Dean forced Atkinson's hand and consequently " closed ranks " and back him. Slow-mo VAR replays are fatal. Ralph didn't sat anything that the majority didn't agree with, but he will pay the penalty for saying it .

....and even playing them against " England's B team " they did no better. A full England team starting with Kane, Sterling and Grealish might have clocked up double figures by HT.

there are very few sports where you encounter men AND women playing in the same event. Equestrian sports - of course - and also mixed doubles in tennis. Any more ? However, I thought the female ref. in the Andorra v. England game did a good job - despite the plethora of yellow cards.

If only (!)..there is no way that Ralph would consider that - but then again he wasn't around to watch Saints 6 years ago BUT .. if Graziano was serious, I'm sure he'd be welcome to train with the first team and he could be a real threat coming off the bench - even for just one season.

I have to start in the early 1960's .....but here goes. Niemi Dodd Fonte Svensson Peach Case Holmes Paine Le Tissier Ron Davies Lambert This really was a tough call, but I've based it on goals, guts and loyalty, yet still had no place for ; StuartWilliams George O'Brien Tony Knapp Huxford Sydenham SteveWilliams Moran Nicholl Shilton Channon Ball Golac Benali Lundekvam Beattie Lallana Schneiderlin Yoshida Pelle StevenDavis Mane and JWP.

Clearly we need goals and soon, but there are several factors that need to be taken into account . This is not the worst season start that we've had - by a long chalk - despite no Prem. win yet. 5 of our 7 games - so far - have been against sides then / now in the top 7, and we took a point off both United and City, and a very " in-form " Wham at the time. Signing Adam Armstrong was a gamble (but justified IMHO), and we learned the lesson when signing Ché Adams that there is a significant gap between the levels of the Championship and the Prem. (example Norwich (1 point to date ) ...compared to their great finish last season. It takes time to adjust and we must give A.A. every possible chance in order to boost his confidence. Adams looked very good at the end of 20-21 season, but even he is "off form " at present, and we are not (as Ralph commented after the Chelsea game) .." a club who can spend £100 million in every "window"." The next 5 games should offer more chances to score and win matches and will be a good watermark as to the future success (or otherwise) ... of our strikers. There is no way (other than signing out-of-contract players) that we can sign anyone before January, by which time (hopefully) this thread will be long forgotten. The record books are full of cases of strikers who had long, " dry spells " without scoring before they finally got their act together. The " young" James Beattie failed to score in the first 10 games of 2002-03, but ended that season with 23 Prem. goals ....(and just one behind Thierry Henry ).

Scoring a Goal in the Prem. (or taking a wicket in a Test match) is cause for celebration, but many refs. who have rarely had experience of playing the game at the highest level and obviously do not understand the adrenalin kick that surely accompanies such feats. With thousands of fans celebrating the goal from their seats...Are players expected to just smile, wave to the crowd and await some back-slapping congratulations from their team mates. Obviously not. Having watched cricket for over 60 years , I enjoy the added celebrations of that accompany modern day matches, remembering a more sober time when completing a good innings, or taking a wicket was followed by polite crowd applause, and a quiet murmur of " well-played Sir " and pat on the back. Agreed some celebratory performances are clearly a bit " over the top " and perhaps deserve a yellow card, but refs. must learn to give a little leeway to such events in matches that are often sadly bereft of goal action.