Saint Pete

Exactly, the club have been banging the drum about restructuring reviews for the last year and nothing radical ever seems to happen. Last time it just resulted in wee Ross getting a promotion. As you say, if we have identified the new DoF, then why not get him in place now? Whoever it is has a tough job on, because you can talk all you like about getting shot of the deadwood players but as was seen in the summer it's not that easy when they are on ridiculous contracts. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Not convinced he has the players to play any system competently to be honest. In all fairness, he has already been compromising on the system he would like to play given the obvious failings of the defenders at his disposal. It ain't easy getting a tune out of this shower of **** squad and he did wonders getting the results he did in the second half of last season. After today, I reckon our best hope is getting Djenepo back asap so that at least he will have a bit more firepower going forward even if the defence will still be awful. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

The manager has made some bad selection calls this season, but does anyone really think he's the primary reason for this mess? And how much chance is there of the club in its current state delivering a better option for manager than Ralph? Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

[emoji3] The mistake was surely on our side in signing the useless sack of ****! Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

We all know we have a poor defence but it doesn't help if you don't pick the best four, and in their correct positions. Ralph has picked players out of position rather than the more obvious better choices in the last couple of games but got away with it. Tonight it inevitably caught up with him. It's pretty obvious to most that our best defenders are; Cedric Yoshida Bednarek Bertrand. Would be nice if we can see that defence from the start in the next few games. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Yes, I feel with Adams that once he gets off the mark, more goals will follow. Great strike that hit the post and a brilliant save to deny his header today.

No idea what's going on with him, but it will certainly be a relief when Bertrand is back starting. We won't keep getting away with playing makeshift left backs in this league for long. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Great result! Top half now, which is way better after 5 games than seemed likely after the disappointment on the first day at Burnley. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Blimey. So the likes of Vokins, Klarer and Ramsay really pushing for getting a place in our defence then! Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Bit concerning if this is another senior player out of contention. Our defensive qualities aren't really good enough to afford having the likes of Bertrand kicking his heels on the sidelines. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Phew!

That should NEVER be the plan for us with our defence even if the opposition was down to 8 men!

That should NEVER be the plan for us with our defence even if the opposition was down to 8 men!

Better going forward now but worryingly fragile still vs 10 men! Another goal l needed for us to win I feel.

Valery off now, so no full backs. WTF? Goal!

Yep, first real question mark against Ralph in my opinion that he can pick Vestergaard and Stephens as first choice and leave Yoshida on the bench. Not saying Yoshida is perfect, but is generally considerably more solid than the other two so don’t understand the thinking in leaving him out at all. When Mark Hughes did similar, he was pilloried for it and rightly so.

Short memories some Saints fans. Have you forgotten McCarthy was fans player of the season the season before last? If it wasn't for his performances that season we would be a Championship club (or worse) now. In my view, having paid quite big money for him, Saints have clearly decided that Gunn is the future, but that doesn't mean McCarthy has suddenly become a **** keeper in my opinion. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Can't recall that any offers have been reported for Redmond whereas Bournemouth have received and rejected lucrative offers for some of those players this summer. My point was that Bournemouth seem genuinely interested in pushing forward and keeping their best whereas we always seemed more interested in maximising sale values of our players. Not convinced that has changed under current ownership, just that we don't have players that any of the richer clubs are bothered with currently. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Agree with most of your comments, especially regarding Bournemouth. With the four players you mention, it is an impressive feat that they have managed to hold on to all of them and it's hard to imagine the same would have happened if Saints had 4 young players of that quality. With Leicester, the question mark will be how much they are weakened at the back from losing Maguire. As for Brighton, much will depend on how their late signings from the championship fare, especially Maupay. They need more goals to stay up this year and can't rely on Glenn Murray for much longer. As for us, I think we have definitely improved our options and flexibility going forward which I think will give Ralph more tools to work with than last year. The worry is still at the other end. We have got Danso in which is good, but not sure we can expect a young and inexperienced CB to solve all our problems there. And with Lemina seemingly out of the picture, we do look light in centre mid, particularly if we get a couple of injuries. Overall, with the Ralph factor, I'm still pretty hopeful we can move up a few places this year though. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Good news! I’m encouraged by the reports about his pace, which is obviously something we lack in defence currently. He’s early in his career so we shouldn’t expect miracles from him however. You would think this will mean Hoedt going out on loan again (or permanently if can be done!) before euro windows close. No point in having 6 CBs on the books surely.

The fact that he can't get in Spurs team doesn't necessarily mean he isn't significantly better than the limited options we have in that position currently. I get why we aren't normally keen on loans, but in our current situation, a couple of loans of experienced players in key positions until we can afford perm signings could make a big difference to us in my opinion. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

I actually think it seems more likely that if we sign anyone today it would be a CM rather than a CB on the basis that Lemina seems nailed on to leave over next couple of weeks, and also rumours of Reed going out on loan? That would surely leave a space for a signing of some sort at CM even if only a loan. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Misunderstood, thought he was referring to us being interested in overseas players. Who we would need to sign today. Apologies. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Ah yes see that now! Forgot the focus was 100% on getting players out the door band 0% on improving squad. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk