Saint Pete

Armstrong a bit off his game so far. Gone a bit scrappy from us.

Depends on the level of wages surely rather than whether they are British or otherwise? Presumably, Adams wages are not at such a prohibitively high level that it would put off other English clubs whereas with some of the other contracts we have given out either for new signings or the likes of Forster in contract extensions, they go beyond what other clubs are able or willing to pay for players not performing brilliantly currently. It’s the level of wages we have committed to for these substandard players that is the issue.

Odd one that, didn't appear the linesman flagged on the replay unless it was very late.

Very odd one that, initial £12m fee likely according to Guardian. Seems like a great deal from Spurs point of view as always impressed by him when I’ve seen Wolves and thought he was a key player for them.

But it’s no excuse for the club to blame it all on Pellegrino because ultimately it was someone above him who signed off on this ridiculous transfer. It’s still astounding to me that the club would spend that amount of money on a player so closely linked to a manager who they were already getting close to sacking! Just shows how badly the club’s transfer policy had gone off the rails at that point.

Yeah agree, seems a bit of an inappropriate comment really. And even if he was right, some would argue Saints have an established recent track record of signing "not particularly good footballers" so that in itself wouldn't rule this rumour out!

Medical on Monday according to Sky Sports. https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11675/12045501/pierre-emile-hojbjerg-southampton-midfielder-to-have-tottenham-medical-on-monday

Absolutely. I don't have a problem with Hojbjerg at all and actually find it quite refreshing how honest and upfront he has been almost from day one of his time at Saints about his aims and ambitions. It's interesting to contrast his approach with that of say Lallana when he was at Saints, being debated on another thread, who was constantly kissing the badge and proclaiming his eternal love for the club right up to the point when Liverpool showed an interest and then promptly spat the dummy and demanded he be allowed to move NOW. Personally I prefer the honest more mature approach Hojbjerg has taken and will wish him well when he moves on. I don't think he's our most talented player but he's certainly improved at Saints and if he thinks he can make it at Spurs good luck to him. Will be interesting to see how this plays out, we probably need to make it clear to Spurs what we will accept for him and stick to it. If Spurs don't budge then he stays, unless he is prepared to accept offers from other clubs.

You don’t find it odd then that the club wouldn’t thank him for his time at the club and wish him well as they have done with nearly every other player? Fair enough, but most other Saints fans have a different view. I have no idea what exactly went on and you wont get the concrete evidence that you seem determined to insist upon because the people on the inside don’t tend to talk openly about this stuff until perhaps they write their memoirs! Sometimes you just have to join the dots.

This was Saints statement when he left the club:- https://www.southamptonfc.com/news/2014-07-01/statement-adam-lallana-finalises-liverpool-switch Rather curt and to the point, wouldn’t you say and not typical of the way Saints would normally say farewell to a long-serving player. Why do you think that would have been?

So, appears yesterday's story that he had agreed terms with Everton was bull then?

Also, at full speed, there may have been doubt from Lino's view of who had flicked on the throw, defender or attacker. Definitely a good example of what VAR is for.

Yeah, I can never understand why a quality finisher like Ings doesn't trust his ball striking technique enough that he can score from a penalty by just picking his spot and putting it there with a good strike, just as he does in open play. Just don't like all this stutter run up shite, often seems to confuse the taker more than the keeper, certainly did in Ings case! Sir Ricky had the right approach. Strike it well in the right place and the keeper ain't stopping it!

Get that Redmond is frustrating and he's not in his best form at present. But folks should keep in mind that he is still at the heart of much of our good attacking play and I think he's still a key player who we miss when he's not out there. He still has assists for the Ings goals in last couple of games. But probably needs a rest given the number of games lately and expect he would have been given one if we had Djenepo or Boufal available. Great to see a good finish from Adams at the end. Signs that he is growing in confidence now.

You have to say that's a bit cruel. Oh well 😀

Yes. If he was the best penalty taker before, he still is in spite of missing one.

And that is why JWP normally takes the pens.

Eh? If he’s played every minute, how can others be ahead? According to those prem league stats the other outfield players currently to have played throughout are Tarkowski (Burnley have played 37) Baldock Coady Maguire Rice Van Dijk Six, as correctly stated by the OP. And apart from Rice, all the others are defenders. Pretty impressive feat from JWP, particularly given the amount of running he does and the frequency of games since lockdown.

Not sure why you are so confident Bournemouth will get a result against us given our excellent recent form and away record throughout the season? Bournemouth have played better in their last few games but if we play the way we can there’s every reason to think we will win this game. The question mark would be our level of motivation compared to them but we have certainly looked pretty motivated since the restart so not too worried on that score. 1-3.

To be fair it's a massive game for them, and virtually nothing riding on it for us. So fairly natural that they would be saying good luck to them really.

In fairness to Smallbone I thought he looked good when he came on at Old Trafford, looked comfortable up against good players and passed the ball well. Clearly far from the finished article though and likely to be inconsistent given his lack of experience at this level. To be honest I expected fringe players like him to have got more time on the pitch before now in this period where we knew we were safe so that Ralph could have a good look at him to decide if he thinks he can push on next season or whether we need to sign new CMs. Ralph seems to have prioritised trying to finish as high as possible though and not rested anyone from first 11 until tonight. I don’t have answers to your questions on what his strengths are yet but he clearly needs more time - will be interesting whether he gets another chance in the Bournemouth game to see if he’s learnt from tonight. It would certainly make more sense to play him than Hojbjerg who is off in the summer, and in my opinion Romeu who we already know what he can and can‘t do.

Grealish is a good player but he does like a dive. Penalty correctly reversed by VAR.

No effing way is that a penalty!

Yeah, I do worry a bit about us pushing some of our key players too hard and the potential of someone breaking down at some point. As tempting as it is to keep playing the same 11 when they are performing so well, I think there comes a point where it's common sense to rest a few, especially as we are safe now. Ings has played pretty much every minute since the restart and has put a prodigious amount of effort into those games. I'm certain he will never volunteer for a break especially with a chance of top scorer at stake but that doesn't mean it's not the right thing to give him one anyway. With the way he is now playing, it would be an absolute nightmare for us and him if he did push things too far and faced a lay off going into next season as a result. So regrettably I would start Long in this one, try to stick in the game and unleash Ings in the last half hour or so. Then he'll be fresher for Brighton and Bournemouth when logically you would expect him to have more opportunities to score anyway. Not expecting to get much support for this view though 😉

Indeed. Ralph has commented that all the players were looking tired in training, which is no surprise after the massive effort put in on Sunday night. Wouldn't be shocked to see Smallbone and maybe Hoj come back in for whoever is the most tired from the midfield. Armstrong may start on the bench given his previous struggles with injury and playing several games in a week. Adams also looked tired in second half but would think Ralph will want to see more of him on the pitch now he's got his goal.