Saint_lambden

He was talking about players out on loan.

Will try and summarise what was covered tonight: Performance this season (missed most of this part after joining late) All: Injuries massively affected momentum but all who were asked were confident that we can turn it around and form can return to being more like it was in 2020 Ralph: Hopeful last 5 games will see an uptick in performances and form that we can take in to new season Ralph: Concentrated on cups which probably led to some dropped points in league Ralph: Lack of depth has been tough so had to call upon Academy players at times when not ready MS: Went from Leicester 9-0 to top of the league in a year so need to have a level of perspective MS: Need to 'stick to the plan' Ownership/Investment Martin Semmens: (why Gao bought the club) - He was asked by Chinese gov. to grow football in the country but not long after he bought the club the gov. position on this changed so not an ideal situation MS: Gao doesn't speak English so comms comes direct from club, that's why we haven't heard from him MS: A different investment structure is coming [he didn't say takeover explicitly but it seemed to suggest that]. More to come on that "soon" and they were hoping it would be done by now. [I asked David Thomas (Director of Commercial) in the breakout session directly if this meant a takeover. He said "not necessarily" but he said he couldn't say much. His smile suggested a takeover I would say, just reading body language] MS: We spend every penny we get in MS: We have no less money than likes of Palace, Burnley etc. Said 'watch how Burnley will spend in next few years' (referencing their recent takeover I guess) MS: Trying to compete with likes of Everton, Leeds and Villa with a smaller budget is tough but is the aim Youth/Academy/Women's Team Matt Crocker: Academy recruitment staff was seen as poor when he arrived so new people have come in to that department MC: Recognises that the B Team/U18 results have been poor recently. Results aren't 'be all and end all' at that level but puts it down to much of the B team squad training with the first team and therefore players further down the pyramid having to step up to fill the voids which realistically means they aren't ready as they're too young MC: Club have invested £1m in youth facilities since pandemic MC: Defended use of playing style throughout academy teams too. "Gets them ready for the first team as much as possible" MS: Referenced Liverpool win this season when we had so many academy grads in the squad/on the pitch which shows it can work MS: Noted that much of the academy lads were not allowed to even come in and train for much of 2020 due to COVID MC: Club have employed 'Game Coaches' to put across the overall pressing philosophy and getting them ready for matches MC: Trying to do things differently ("The extra 1%) to other clubs rather than just relying on our reputation to attract the best young talent MC: Some youngsters have been part of the first team because of circumstances rather than being deserved opportunities ("they have come too easy for them") MS/MC: Want to get more Women's team matches played at St Mary's in the future, pleased with development of the side Transfers/Summer plans: MS: We will spend in the summer Ralph: Need more cover for full-back which is obvious Ralph: Not happy with Valery's development which is why he went out on loan Ralph: Number 6 position not so concerning now that Armstrong has proven he can play there too if needed MC: Regulations changing (Brexit etc.) opens up more markets for us such as South America to scout/buy talent MC: Character of player we are signing is always key MC: Signing of Theo didn't fit in with the typical strategy but we knew he would add experience and give 110% having been at the club before Ambitions MS: Club wants to be competing in 7th to 12th positions and pushing for Europe if possible MC: Pitch 2 at Staplewood being converted into a replica of St Mary's MC: New 'Player Insight' team has been brought it to help with recruitment MC: We have 5 full-time UK Scouts and 4 in Europe Ralph: (Next season) Wants us to be clear of the relegation pack so we can have another good cup run. Might be best chance of getting into Europe VAR/Referees: Ralph: Was a fan of VAR in Germany but has not liked it this season. "The people using it have been very poor" Ralph: 2 horrible decisions have shown this (JV and JB red cards) Ralph: Offside is too subjective Ralph: Just too many mistakes from officials MS: "Jon Moss ruined some games for us" 🤣 European Super League: MS: Doesn't feel that 'big six' teams should be punished as it's not fair on the players who have "lost a year of their careers without fans and didn't deserve the sh*t that was put on them" MS: Punishment should be for the owners only as they orchestrated it MS: Saints very much against it and hoping that upcoming PL discussions will mean the ESL will never be mentioned ever again Ings: MS: Expecting him to sign the deal on the table MS: Thinks he will be with us for the rest of his career MS: Nobody works harder to keep fit and is more committed than him Commercial (break out room): Club looking to reach out more to supporter groups abroad Club looking to put some form of loyalty scheme in place for season ticket holders to recognise those that put up with League One etc. Club wants to do more events like tonight to allow supporters from all locations to join and ask questions of people in different positions at SFC David Thomas: Mentioned himself bizarrely that club are looking to offload those on loan such as Lemina, Hoedt etc. to free up funds

Agenda 17:00 – Room opens - Attendees are invited to chat and meet one another. 18:00 – Welcome – Introduction from host Bradley Hatchett, Managing Director of Network My Club. 18:05 – Forum Q&A – Hosted by Bradley Hatchett – Q&A with Saints First Team Manager Ralph Hasenhüttl, first team players Kyle Walker-Peters and Stuart Armstrong, Chief Executive Officer Martin Semmens and Director of Football Operations Matt Crocker. 19:00 – Forum Q&A closes 19:05 – Breakout tables open – Table 1 - Ask the fans Hosted by David Thomas (Chief Commercial Officer) and Sarah Batters (Director of Marketing and Partnerships) A chance for the club to hear insights and ideas from fans on what they would like to see from the club over the coming months and years, away from the pitch. – Table 2 - Celebrating fans’ return to St Mary’s Hosted by Anthony Cole-Johnson (Director of Sales and Venue Experience) and Khali Parsons (Head of Customer Relations and Fan Experience) Discuss the work that has taken place behind the scenes to ensure a safe, positive and enjoyable experience when fans are allowed back to St Mary’s. – Table 3 - The future of football and player development Hosted by Matt Crocker (Director of Football Operations) Opportunity to put questions to our Director of Football Operations and discuss the current and future Academy plans, player development, B Team, and the Staplewood campus. 19:45 – Breakout rooms close 20:00 – Online platform closes

Just received an invite. Question was on what the club are doing regarding the alarming B Team & Under 18 results.

Martin Tyler off to have a little cry that Leicester didn't find a winner.

Well at least the stoppages in play for Fofana give our lot a rest between constant defending. It's all I'm clinging on to, as we're not getting anything from this.

It was reviewed.

McCarthy - ?. Back-up but wouldn't be bothered if he left to be honest FF - Keep Lewis - Release. How on earth is he still here at 23? KWP - Keep. Our best player Bertrand - Release. Been far too casual for about 3 years now with no competition Vestergaard - Keep. Important with the diagonal balls out wide to the way we play and when he's aggressive he's a good defender. Bednarek - Keep. In a poor run of form and needs to be dropped but has shown he is capable at this level Salisu - Keep. Erratic at times but will get better Stephens - ?. Pretty tragic that he's on the money he is and has so long left on his deal. Would sell, but there won't be any takers realistically JWP - Keep, but needs more competition so he's not a shoe-in every week Romeu - Keep, so important for us Diallo - Keep. Started off well but has been very poor for a while now. Gives the ball away far too easily but too soon to write-off yet. Smallbone - Sell. Still going to be out for a while in to next season but even when fit, I don't think he's good enough Armstrong - Keep. Instrumental when on form but does have a trait to fade badly in games Djenepo - Sell (however unlikely). Another signing that just hasn't worked. He's like a headless chicken and hasn't found a clear role. Dives in way too much and injury prone as well Walcott - Don't buy. Works hard and I'm sure he's a good influence around the place given his experience but technique wise he's League One level Minamino - Don't buy. Unless it's a minimal fee, I can't see it being worth it. Don't think he really suits the league Ings - ?. Clearly our only decent finisher but if we're getting offered £15-20m for someone who doesn't look 100% committed to staying at his age then it'd be best to part ways Adams - Keep. I do think we're a better team when he's in it, especially alongside Ings. Incredibly streaky with his goalscoring though and needs a proper attacking coach to work on his finishing. Drives me insane when he tries to hammer it as hard as he can every time he has sight of goal rather than placing when it's better to do so (chance v Spurs a classic example) Tella - Keep. Used correctly, he could have a really good season in 21/22 Redmond - Sell. Had about 20 good games in 150+ appearances for us Obafemi - Sell. More injuries than goals On loan: Gunn - Sell Vokins - Sell. How the hell he got a 4 year deal last summer is beyond me. Even Sunderland don't rate him Valery - Sell. Not good enough Hoedt - Sell. To literally anyone Lemina - Sell. Billy big bollocks Slattery - Sell Sims - Release. Never going to make it Hesketh - Release. See above Elyounoussi - Sell. Sounds like Ralph wants to give him another chance but he's far too lightweight for English football. Like Tadic without the talent So we need at least - 2 full-backs, CM, winger, striker (maybe 2 depending on Ings)

Our inability to play well for 90 minutes anywhere near consistently enough long pre-dates the current manager but he's done little to nothing to change the tide. The main problem is the squad being weak as piss, exacerbated even further when Romeu is out. They're way too nice, as demonstrated tonight when one of the Spurs players went down with a non-head injury whilst we were attacking in their half and we put the ball out of play. Soft as sh*t and no leadership but the manager has more than enough time to address that even despite the lack of investment from the owner. There's little point in persisting with the style of play we've adopted if we're not fit enough to make it work over a full 90/don't have the depth to cope with it over the course of a season when injuries/fatigue hits and so we need a more adaptable coach to change it up when it clearly isn't working - like right now. A fresh start is needed and if they're going to make the change ahead of next season, we may as well do it now to try and turn results around and carry some form of positive momentum into the new campaign. Sadly, Semmens won't be pulling the plug on Ralph unless he absolutely has to though and a manager being that protected is a huge worry as it leads to what we're seeing right now - the boss and the players becoming far too comfortable. Fundamentally, unless there are big changes at the club in the summer from the top down (ownership, vision, playing staff, manager and youth team set-up), we look almost certain to drop out of the division next season or very soon after.

Am I the only one with all the Super League stuff, nothing else to play for this season, VAR, no fans etc. who couldn't really give a sh*t about this?

Quite astonishing that those 12 first clubs have now, by leaving the ECA, played their last ever games in the Champions League (Spurs and Arsenal did a while back in fairness). Football is dead.

This is the great 'playing for their future' performance is it? 🥱

Redmond ahead of Adams again.

Chris Kavanagh the ref. Mike Dean on the other semi so we dodged a bullet there at least.

75 minutes to make a sub when it should have been 3 at half-time. Utter dross that is destined for the drop next season.

Yeah, can't wait to tell the grandkids in 50 years about those glory years when we were stumbling to 16th in the Premier League....🙄

It's 100% confidence related. He said as much after the game. Don't have the exact quote but it was along the lines of that he's not had that confidence much this season and he's trying to put his finger on why that is. The majority of his decent performances in a Saints shirt have come playing as the second striker rather than out wide because he can pick up the ball in those pockets of space in between the lines - like he did on Saturday. You'd assume though that Ings will come straight back in against Burnley and he'll drop back out wide because he's not going to drop Adams at the moment.

Well if we win the two games before the Semi, which there are no excuses not to (Burnley @ Home and WBA away), then we're safe. Can then give the semi 100%.

I'd sign Conor Gallagher (on loan at WBA from Chelsea). Can play in front of the back four and in number 10 role if needed too. Decent at breaking up the play, is a really good presser of the ball, likes a pop from range and has a nice delivery on him which would give us an alternative to JWP in that area. Sounds like Chelsea want about £9m for him which for a 21 year-old with his versatility would be a great long-term deal and give us real competition in the middle of the park. If Ralph really does want 2 players in every position, that would mean JWP/Gallagher in one CM slot and Diallo/Romeu in the other as I don't think Smallbone is ever really going to make the cut at this level, especially as he's now got to come back from a very serious injury.

But I guarantee if you asked all Wigan fans to take away that moment - Ben Watson scoring a last minute winner in an FA Cup final right in front of their fans - to swap it to still be in the Premier League now just fighting to stay in it every year, at least 95% of them would say no.

I suspect it's because we'll have to beat two of (likely) City/United/Chelsea to do it which considering we've conceded 5 and 9 to 2/3 of those in the last 6 weeks, isn't going to happen is it?

Not a single shot in the last 30 minutes. Absolutely pathetic. No urgency, far too many of them drifting and got what we deserved. Haven't got a hope of beating Burnley playing like that with the form they're in.

Let's face it - we probably would have conceded 5 with the same team if we'd have parked the bus too. We didn't learn anything we didn't already know. Performance level was actually good but individual errors cost again. Only decision I really disagreed with was putting McCarthy back in. On the plus side - the confidence won't have been ruined; another goal for Adams; JWP and Tella impressing again. Win against Brighton and it's 6 from 9 for the week which we all would have taken at the start.

Ralph was right to call him ketchup bottle.