MarkSFC

It will be interesting to see whether Ings signs. I think it comes down to whether he is happy here and sees becoming a proper club legend when he retires as the most important thing, OR whether he harbours real ambition to win the league or CL, with a bigger club. Theres no reason why we might not win a cup but that I guess would be a bonus, and we could reach europe again in the next 3 or 4 years, who knows. My gut is he will sign, but my gut has been wrong often enough not to bet on it!! Either way I hope its resolved soon. Him and Berty signing until say 2024 or 25 would be a huge boost befor echristmas and send a big message about where the club want s to go.

I think that's the first time, other than Spurs but for different reasons, that we know that the quality of our players is not quite top 8. They didn't all fire, particualrly Romeu who left passes short and his lack of speed versus really athletic players was highlighted. Armstrong I thought was a bit negative, and missed several runs behind. Not saying he should always have looked for the player but it is that vision and positivity that ultimately makes an individual and the team very good. I think we look very confident and very well drilled and I think we will be around 8th come the end of the season which will be just fine. We need that little bit more quality like Wolves have in places, like just one more notch up if you like across the team. Will that come from coaching or from new players or from youngsters if at all?! Ings obviously has it and I think JWP is nearly at that level too. Diallo I have a suspicion is going to be very useful and who knows what Salisu could be like. Many many teams will get beat at Wolves so a good point and continues the run. We did not deserve to win so I dont blame Theo for that miss, but they had loads more. Thank god Alex McCarthy had a great game. Bring on Manure....

I love our badge. Not sure why it needs changing. Perhaps some semblance of improving each element as in modernising, clearer etc but keep it the same in essence.

cuco martina!!

Thanks SO16_Saint for posting that. It feels like we are very lucky with the managers we have; Ralph, Matt, Martin and Toby. Lets hope we get a prolonged stay from all of them, a new owner and build something special!

can the article be copied onto here by anyone so as not to have to subscribe?!

I actually think 5 would benefit the smaller squads / clubs just as much. Sure the overall wuality of say Man City's 20 versus ours is going to be higher, however if we could have 9 on the bench this means our kids coming through will at least get experience of the matchday before they otherwise might. And, if we just happen to be 4 up with 10 minutes to play there will be opportunities for players to get some experience quicker than they might otherwise. With the pressure of securing 40 odd points asap the smaller clubs will squeeze as much out of their first / main 11-14 players as they can. Every 5-10minutes "saved" earlieron in the season will help towards the end. Benefits everyone but in different ways.

I'm not concerend for one moment that we will lose Ralph any time soon. For one we have him on a long term contract but more importantly what he is achieving with Saints takes time. Its taken him a good year to 18 months to get this group of players functioning in the way we are. Learning the system does not neccessarily speed up with better players but the results/output would. Most top clubs will not give virtually anyone a year to 18 months to "get things going" as would be the case. For this reason I think we will see Ralph here for at least this and next year and potentially longer. The man is a coach primarily, and although I'm certain he would like to win, he strikes me as someone who is far more driven by the success of improving individuals and the collective to achieve unexpected acomplishes. Getting Utd or the like to win the league is not something unexpected, indeed the reverse, it is expected. The fact he produced a blueprint for success for the whole club during lockdown suggests to me that he sees this place as a longer term project. There are not that many more options that could provide him with what he had at RB Liezig and now here. All too many times in football people are judged upon the narrow viewpoint that success equals being at a select small group of club and therefore you must move there if a player or a manager/coach. Coaching success does not exclusively mean trophies and medals, it is far more than that. I reckon he might just become the modern day Lawrie in terms of longevity and relative achievement.

Ralph is clearly a coach who manages as opposed to a manager who coaches. Seems obvious to say but there are significant differences in the mentality between those two types. Ralph for me has the hollistic viewpoint, where developing individuals seems to be the number one priority and the way he will achieve collective performance and success. A manager is more results driven and will not neccessarily spend as much time or effort on improving the individuals, rather work on collective organisation and buying in players which is short term. Ralph fits our club philosophy perfectly and vice versa. The fact that he has produced a coaching blueprint for the club tells you all you need to know about his interests, talents and approach. As a professional coach myself, this sits very very nicely with my own philosophy so I am extremely excited to see how far he can take this team and the longer term effect his methods and mindset will have on the club overall. Given a little bit more to spend each window, where he can get a better players and then improve them and we should enjoy some very exciting times. The issue with being able to buy better players is that you are moving up towards players who's "development potential" is reduced and so the impact of the coach appears to be less comparatively. But Ralph is operating in the results business so regrdless of his coaching methods and approach, it still comes down to who has the best rained and organised and most capable players. We are moving upwards at a nice pace....I hope he makes this club his life's work!!

no doubt that this is at least part of the reason for bringing in Walcott. Redmond has not had any cometition but we now have Walcott, REdmond, Armstrong and Djenepo vying for two spots; thats decent. Add in the four strikers, Ings, Adams, Long, and Obefemi and we now look stronger up front than we have for quite a while.

A ruben loftus-cheek y little sniff?!!!

Do we need another attacking option - yes Do we need more experience in that area - no Does this fit with our usual recruitment philosophy (young and developing) - no Would he offer something different - maybe Overall, do O think he will be a good addition - no There are imo better options, I'd rather take a younger player with less experience and far more to prove, even if it turns out to be only for a season.

A club can loan two players at any time. Only one from the same club at any time. Over the course of one season you can have 4 loans.

Redmomd or Armstrong I am presuming. Trying not to get too excited about this but think he would be an excellent addition. And if we got him on an option to buy next summer, awesome.

Hasn't Bertrand signed a new 3 year deal?

He played 30 odd minuted for Sporting yesterday, scored and then went off injured (dont know how bad).

Any idea who that will be?!

Taking your post at face value, it sounds exciting, so can you expand on what "transformative" may look like?😁

An intersting one Tom Davies. When he arrived on the scene - I think under the lying dutchman - I thought he looked a decent prospect, full of energy, fairly combative and a reasonable element of skill. In the last season or so he seems to have stalled, and heres the thing, is that him, hit his level, or ist it down to the few changes of managers Everton have had? I think it may well be a decent signing as he will have a chance to get his career really going in a team where he can become first choice in the midfiled, whereas at Everton he will not. We can certainly do better but if we end up with him Romeu, JWP and the kids thats better than it is now!!!

Its almost like Ralph is saying "LOOK...I NEED SOME NEW PLAYERS"!!!!!

1 goal in 23 last season in Ligue 1...7 in 33 the previous one. Not that exciting.

What you're describing is the difference between normal businesses and football/sport. As a business we are operating normally. We generate income and spend it wisely, hopefully with a profit, or if we lose annually it does not bankrupt us as previous profits are merely reduced and cash flow protected. As a football business we do not have an owner who wants to spunk a load of money which he will never get back. This does not on its own make him bad owner and definitely not an horrific one. We all would love a benefactor - one who does not loan against the club or wants his/her money back at any time but those people are few and far between. Until this happens I'm content with the current operational management and how they act and how they communicate. As a business I am confident of sustainability. As a football team (specifically team and not business) I am equally confident with those in placd to sustain our premier league status. This does not mean I would not welcome more investment in the team but I do believe that Semmens and Co. are doing everything they can to get the best players for Ralph. Until we get that benefactor I am happy with the status quo.

Send (loan) not sell?🙄

Oh yeah!!!! Forgot about him temporarily...perfect.

I do not agree that McCarthy is poor. Granted he is no Bufon or Nuer but the standard of English keepers is arguably lower than its been for a very long time. I would suggest this has been the downside of attracting the best players in the world to the PL as (obviously) you only play one GK each game so fewer chances and therefore in time our GKs are pushed down the league and down the leagues to get games or sit on the bench! Overall I think we have 3 fairly decent GKs and the fact they are English is a bonus. We could do better but very unlikely we will. We definitely need a defensive minded CM, in my opinion one of 20-30m type standard who goes straight into the team. Romeu is good but not getting younger and JWP is more forward thinking and not the holding type we need there. I cant say I know who! CB looks better with Salisu and if RH can get Vestergaard to play well we will have some decent strength there. I'd like a new winger/attacker type to replace Boufal. As much as I like him I dont think he's best suited to our style. Someone young but ready for 15 to 20 games and someone who can put Redmond under pressure. Overall I feel quite optimistic for the first time in 3 seasons!!