david in sweden

DAJF U18/U21's in the last few seasons....but they don't all turn out to be Gareth Bale's, and with our available defensive players Bevis would be a long way down the list. Good Luck to him at Yeovil, if he does well there then he might make a career in the game. Also noted that former Academy lad Joe Lea signed for Yeovil a few weeks back.

..as this part of the text relates to goalies..... maybe we should consider that since last season, we've "lost" 4 keepers. In December, Saints released U21's Harry Isted (who went to Stoke). After which...Stekelenburg ended his loan period, KD retired and now Gazzaniga has gone on loan. Jake Hallett kept goal for the U18's for the first half of the last season (later injured?)....then Harry Lewis was signed. Noted: Neil Osborn's name appeared a few times. I may be wrong, but I think Will Britt was out with a long term injury, and then released in anticipation of Koeman staying another year...and signing Stek.permanent (?). Perhaps the club are having second thoughts and changed their minds about Will Britt? Anyway ....we will see in the next few weeks.

Hi Eric, giving us your traditional annual assessment of the season, I see. I noted that every year that you condemn us....we just get better and better.... so if you're right this time ......What do you think life will be like for Saints fans in the Championship in 2017-18 then ?

I really don't care about who other clubs sign, we should content ourselves with those that we get, and see that they should DAJFU..... As we have seen with our "defectors "....not everyone does well when they move clubs, and Mourinho is happily slaughtering LvG's old squad with a smile and United's seemingly bottomless cheque book. Several " so-called " big clubs have previously spent £40-£50 million on players who just haven't delivered the goods in their new workplace. The sight of the media salivating over Paul Pogba's every breath with his kick-boxing exercises and Zlatan's lack of a hotel with a swimming pool is almost beyond belief. If I were a Man.Utd fan..(perish the thought) I'd be more than a little embarrassed that my club was willing to pay £100 million for a player that (Sir) Alex Ferguson ..practically gave away just a few years ago, when he said that the player was "disrespectful to the club". Whatever they expect for that money?..Heaven alone knows. IMO....the Man Utd Board ought to be "sectioned" for even considering the deal. If MU win the title...or the CL ...I'm prepared to recant my statemant...but meanwhile

I agree totally. Look at the clubs that finished below us last season, you see Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton....it would be extraordinary if they were in the same positions next May. These clubs have " big money " available, and spend it freely - surely they can't all be flops, yet again, so our task will be harder than most. Clubs in the bottom half of the table will be glad to get to 40 points, and consider that to be " success" - (as we did for most of the 27 seasons we were up before) .....Of course I want to see us improving even more, but even a 5th place finish wouldn't give us CL football, so we shouldn't complain. IMHO ....it'll be a good club that finishes 10th next season, and anyone who condemns us if we end up in 7th place ..or lower needs a reality check. other than that ..A good run in the Europa League.....or one of the cups would be a bonus for Claude Puel in his first season.

you're not the first person to ask that question. ....but if there is........ it won't emerge until kick-off time. let's face it, Saints will want to get as many as possible in SMS before showing it free on You Tube.

.....judging by some of the posts I've read ......a small, but vociferous group of bed-wetters on here ----2 or 3 times a season.

....especially the part about being....." very impressed by their attitude and work rate ".... (that said a lot - if he was comparing us to former clubs) My failing memory needed a bit of a reminder on Eric Black's playing career, and so I dug out part of this from Wikipedia. He played as a striker in the Aberdeen sides that (the then) Alex Ferguson managed in the early 1980's. EB had already debuted as a teenager and was very successful and part of the side that won the old (Euro) Cup Winners Cup v. Real Madrid (when he scored). After playing a couple of games for the Scottish international side, he moved to France where his career petered out after 5 years with Metz, when he developed serious back problems, which Ferguson put down to ...." too many games as a young player" ..(when in fact it was he who had selected him so much in that period). His career stats. were quite fair with 96 goals from his 265 games. Like many former players....his managerial career (such as it was) can be easily criticised for poor results, but having to pick up the shi**y end of the stick, when a manager leaves / is sacked from a club is no walk in the park for anyone. By the time anyone gets the " caretaker job " the situation is fairly critical. Eric does seem to have a pleasant manner (in his interview) but perhaps " a bit more grit " would be needed to handle the job in a club who had serious problems(?), but at the end of the day, there is no disgrace in being a good assistant with a considerable knowledge of the game.

I watched that game on line and the (Burnley) tackle was really disgusting, and enough to make anyone's eyes water.....was worth a red card!

HCDAJFU....... How Can David Actually Juxtapose Footballs Underachievers? ...or ?

......and when you see that Prowsie & Co. won the Toulon tournament, it's difficult to say that there's no English talent available nowadays. Foreign managers usually want to buy foreign players....to the exclusion of English talent, but Spurs were clever in promoting their young players and getting them into England shirts where they got higher level experience against foreign opposition (like Iceland ) but also increased their valuation in an eventual transfer situation.

All the more reason for Saints to expand the opportunities for their younger players. So far this year, we've signed teenaged French (Valery) and Austrian (Klarer) defenders, who have already been capped at junior levels for their countries, and a 20 year old Dane (Hojbjerg) who already has 17 senior caps. If these lads can develop into good Prem. prospects, Saints will (hopefully) avoid the multi-million transfer traps that the "big money" clubs have created themselves.

Right Clarke-y ....the " teenage wonder kids " are fewer, and hopefully the new U23 format will allow clubs to hold onto players a bit longer before they have to make career choices. A player who "looks good" as the star of a Championship side/ lower Prem. club, will be lucky to get a bench spot in a top 6 Prem. side until he has developed further. (as we saw with Walcott and Bale. Luke Shaw had trouble getting a fit in LvG's United side - even before his big injury. Chambers was a one season wonder with Saints. Having another 2 seasons to improve themselves will make a big difference for developing players who may have been out injured for a season and suddenly finds they are past 21, and must be released by their club. We will see this whilst watching the careers of Harrison Reed, Jack Stephens, Jordan Turnbull and Lloyd Isgrove. Even if none of these (eventually) makes a significant Prem. career...they will at least be able to move onto a higher level club than those currently in L1 / L2. with reference to yr. post....the likes of Sturridge, Lukaku and even Pogba ....might never had needed to move had they still been with their parent clubs at age 21.

absolutely right. Some " habitual "critics on this site are referring back to a statement from several years ago, regarding the club's (then) policy on loan-outs. That was at a time when we were still at Championship /or / just-newly-promoted status, and some of our younger talents were looking highly promising. A few people on this site had (previously) gone on record, saying we wouldn't even back to the Prem.....or just become a traditional relegation-threatened club Times have changed, and so should our ambition. Those players who are still with the club at age 22....will need much more experience if they are to play in the Prem. Other " big clubs " had a loan-out policy long ago. Arsenal and Man. City for many years, and it brought good returns - either in Prem. careers, or good transfer deals. So too didMan. United, although with hindsight they must have wished they had just " loaned out " Pogba, instead of releasing him when they did ! Chelsea " loaned out "...35 players last season, and historically Saints have had the benefit of their "casts offs", in the persons of Cork, Romeu and Bertrand. Pochettino arrived at Spurs and " blooded " Harry Kane and Ryan Mason - at a point in time when both players had several significant loan seasons away from WHL) Mason ( I believe ) had around 6 loan clubs before making it to the Spurs first team and eventually being capped by England. Yes Saints want to continue developing our young players, but they must also get game-time with other clubs in order to increase their experience. Last season we started many games with 2 or 3 internationals on the bench, and the days when " a new Walcott or Bale " could walk into the first team are long gone. Any young player who even gets into the first team squad in a top 6 Prem. club nowadays will have to be "pretty d*** good". It isn't difficult to admire Gazzaniga's ambition, but he still some way to go before becoming a safe Prem. custodian. A season loan out is (hopefully) a good career boost. If his new club succeeds, and he can DAJF them, he may come back to SMS as " another Courtois" ..and not a Tommy Forecast!.

........or £100 million on a midfielder?

......for better or worse Eric Black has his own experience (success/ failure) as a player and coach, but it's Puel who is the manager. It's pretty obvious that Puel has a limited vocabulary of English, but it seems he knows Black quite well and Claude trusts him to convey " his message ". Be able to translate certain nuances of the language correctly can be the most important facet of Black's tenure as assistant. ( He's not a "junior"version of Puel ) As far as his responsibility for team selection (if Puel were absent with a 40 deg. fever ) ..I'd assume he'd caste an eye to KD and Dave Watson before making any major decisions affecting team selection.

.if you mean Hojbjerg (?) YES and he's just 20 years old, has got 17 caps for Denmark already..and hopefully a lot more mileage in him than Bastien Schweinsteiger, ......however looking at the normal Bayern line-up, it's no disgrace ....not to be able to break into their first team at his age.

31 year old with injury problems ?...maybe they knew something United didn't......and got him off their payroll......

Good analysis. Those club statements about bringing in "young Academy prsopects " was first made at a time after we'd sold on Walcott, Bale and Ox, and the likes of Shaw and Lallana were becoming regular first teamers, but much of their "success" was made at Championship /L1 level, which rather clouded the issue of their future " Prem. potential " We struggled until Pochettino came, but as we improved and progressed up the table, the task became more difficult even for the established internationals in the squad let alone Academy prospects. Chambers got a chance way ahead of his time and would've been lucky have made the full squad if Clyne hadn't been injured in pre-season. Koeman's Dutch experiences were based on the fact that many Dutch clubs are short of cash and bringing on youngsters and then " selling them on" is par for the course. He wasn't pushed to use Academy lads whilst the First team continued to improved, and tbf...there were very few at U21 level who were really ready for Prem. football. To his credit Matt Targett DAJFU when called upon, and JWP (still unable to impress himself on the side in a regular starting role) still spends time on the bench. Koeman wanted to use his buys; VvD , Clasie, Tadic and Pelle and they also DAJFU on an ongoing basis. Our reluctance to loan out players is now a thing of the past, and those over 21's (Turnbull, Stephens, Isgrove & Co.) will get the chance of more regular game time at L1 level and get chance to prove themselves, if they are to have any chance of making it at Prem. level. (Spurs loaned out Harry Kane.. 4 times before he got his chance). IMHO Claude Puel's reputation for bringing on young talent attracted Saints' interest most, and the likes of Pellegrini (although an excellent candidate) was more used to CL football and buying in multi-million deals and not encouraging youngsters. Hopefully we will see more youngsters coming in for a run of games, but a team who finished 6th in the Prem. can't afford to lose points whilst " experimenting with young players " just to justify an idea and " give them experience". Puel maybe able to get the balance right ?....but only time will tell

A pretty desperate move at the time to get some sort of " CB cover" . He got a shirt number, but didn't add anything to the team's perfomances. His display against L'pool at SMS in the League Cup game was abysmal to say the least.

you're right there. I do recall a lot of things - but not always the correct decade. Can't say I ever paid a lot of attention to Bolton, but I maybe thinking of the season they were relegated.(ouch)

really want to feel old?. England won the World Cup ....50 years ago .....and I can still recall watching the whole game on TV. Anyone else with the same memory...or anyone who was actually at Wembley on the day?

Agreed. He has all the capabilities (physique-wise..6'5"? ) but seems to lack concentration - which is the vital factor for goalies at Prem. level. A loan-out will show us whether he's got what it takes for a Prem. standard keeper.

tell me about it;) .......at that age they don't need parents...... just a taxi chauffuer .....and personal bankman....

of course, but I don't think anyone could have turned them around in such a short-time. They were pretty diabolical, as memory serves.