SaintJackoInHurworth

I don't think it's a case of one got away and one wasn't good enough. When they were together in the academy they were both on fire, with Dibling also playing alongside them. We were gutted with losing Morgan, we promoted Dibling to the first team, but Ballard had suffered some serious injuries and his progress suffered as a result. However, he was beginning to reassert himself when the club took the decision to allow him to leave. I have always said it was a mistake. I think it was Will Still and his team who were allowed too much scope to say that they didn't see enough in him to keep him on and we are now seeing what a mistake that was. Sadly, if it was Will Still who influenced the decision, this is just another error of far too many that he made.

So, the European transfer window has slammed shut, almost metaphorically trapping Ramsdale's fingers in the process(!): Saints have now got: Peretz Long Jones So, Ramsdale is surplus to requirements (even though he is clearly a better keeper than 2 or 3). Presumably there must be some plan for Ramsdale now...? Which transfer windows are still open? I am guessing the Middle East. Is there any news suggesting he is about to go there? Or where else could he go? Is the American window still open?

So, with most business done, this is our squad as things stand: GK: Peretz, Long, Jones, Ramsdale RB: Bree, Roerslev LB: Manning, Welington RCB: Wood, Abbott LCB: Schlotterbeck, Stephens CM: Jander, Downes, Bragg, JWP, Williams AM: Azaz, Akachukwu RW: Fellows, Matsuki LW: Scienza, Dobbin, Edozie CF: Larin, Mubama That's 26 players including 3 who are under 21. However, it looks likely that Ramsdale will be leaving - probably to play in Saudi Arabia or somewhere like that. We may also see Edozie leaving, but if not I hope he is given some level of support in the hope that he may finally begin to show the final product that he has so often failed to deliver. With only 21 or 22 players over 21 years of age once Ramsdale leaves (and maybe Edozie too) that leaves us plenty of spare capacity to bring in players in January. It also means we could bring in a player from the free transfer market in the next few days if there is anyone that we think is worth bringing in... but unless there is a decent striker theer I doubt we will see that happening! Our squad is definitely more honed. Tonda and his coaches don't have to waste time on fringe players who are never going to play. I would say there is no huge difference in squad quality: Ward-Prowse offers different qualities that Shea did not. Dobbin is an extra option and will hopefully come good. He is versatile and could cover the striking position if needed. Abbott won't yet be as good as THB, but Wood is decent (and underrated) and Abbott will hopefully develop quickly into another bright talent. Schlotterbeck looks like he has qualities that Stephens and Quarshie can only dream of and I trust Tonda to help him iron out the mistakes (which are not a patch on Stephens mistakes!) Hopefully the pairing of Schlotterbeck and Wood (or Abbott) will be as good or better than THB and Stephens. Akachukwu offers us an extra alternative that wasn't ready last year. He may also be a striking option in case of injury. The main position we are potentially weaker is centre forward but Mubama will not spend every other week injured (unlike Stewart) and will hopefully develop. There are other options too including Dobbin, Akachukwu, Ehibotiamhan and Dipepa. Goalkeepers don't get injured as often as outfield players so hopefully Peretz will remain fit. Long is not without merit and will do a job if called upon.

So... where are we at in terms of our squad? Including up-and-coming academy players I think it is as follows: Keepers: Peretz, Long, Bazunu, Wright, (Moody) McCarthy/Jones to be released, Bazunu to be sold/loaned out. Moody to be loaned out? Wright to become 2nd or 3rd keeper? Right backs: Bree, Roerslev, Sugawara, (Whittaker) Sugawara may be sold unless Eckert likes his potential Left Backs: Manning and Welington Jelert's loan not renewed; Larios to be sold/loaned out/released Will 4/5 FBs be enough? Centre Backs: Wood, Stephens, THB, Quarshie THB may be sold - replacement to be bought (Especially if Quarshie is still too far off being ready) Defensive/Progressive Midfielders: Downes, Bragg, Jander, S. Charles, (Williams, Sesay) Shea and/or Jander may be sold with replacement(s) probably bought, unless Williams and/or Sesay are considered ready to be promoted to first team. Attacking Midfielders: Azaz, (B. Charles, O'Brien-Whitmarsh) [NB Archer and Matsuki can also cover here if necessary] Extra AM to be bought (or a winger with Matsuki moving to AM) Wingers: Scienza, Fellows, Matsuki, Edozie, (Dibaga) [NB Archer can also cover here if necessary] Scienza and/or Edozie may be sold or loaned out and replacement(s) sought Strikers: Larin, Stewart, Archer, (Oyekunle, Akachukwu, Dipepa, Ehibhatiomhan) Stewart may not renew contract; Archer may also leave Will replacements be brought in or will Oyekunle and/or other youngster be promoted?

At lunchtime I went over to Rockliffe and took some footage of empty training pitches from the footpath at the rear of the site... ...then I got back and saw the message saying that the players had turned up to train... ...so I have been back over to Rockliffe and sure enough the Middlesbrough team are out and training! They had a steward, security guard and member of MFC staff by the gate and the staff member said that I couldn't even stand there to watch because of all the national coverage. Bearing in mind the distance from where we were stood to the players training I couldn't really make out who was there training, but I asked if it was the first team and he confirmed it was. Assuming there is still a restriction on SaintsWeb of three posts a day, this is my last post, but if it seems worth it, I may post my earlier photos/video footage later, showing the view that can be gleaned from the other side of the training pitch and why I think any spy would have been better spying over there!

If the rumours that he left the club in March are wrong, then there are several possible reasons that he went up a day before the rest of the club: He was spying at the behest of the club! He went up in advance to make arrangements for Saints stay in County Durham and while up North visited Rockliffe. If rumours that he now works for Aston Villa are true, it is still a long way up North, but maybe he has friends in the area... or maybe he was planning to watch the game and went up a couple of days earlier... or maybe he was spying for Aston Villa (which may explain why he was near the academy pitches rather than the first team pitches).

I feel too many people are panicking over this! We don't know what is going to be decided and it is far from certain that we will be found guilty of anything, so let's all chill and wait and see what will happen! I remain hopeful that we will not be found guilty for several reasons: I am hoping that it will be shown that he doesn't work for Saints I am hoping that it will be shown that Saints did not ask him to spy I am hoping that it will be shown that he didn't watch first team training - if he only entered the first little bit of the training pitches he may only have seen the academy training not the first team. He will have had to get to the far end of the training pitches to see the first team training! I am hoping there is no evidence that he spied for Saints when he did work for us. Hopefully his presence at other clubs was for legitimate purposes. Beyond all of this I am also hoping that it will be shown that he was at Rockliffe by invite from MFC to him as an employee of Aston Villa and that it turns out to be a big ruse by MFC to entrap Southampton FC. I hope it is they (MFC) who will end up getting fined for bringing the game into disrepute!

I haven't been on SaintsWeb for ages, but felt it might be time for me to weigh in due to my particular insight into this story... You see, as my username will tell you, I live in the village of Hurworth-on-Tees... which is significant because the Rockliffe training ground is not in Middlesbrough, but is actually in Hurworth-on-Tees. I live right opposite the Rockliffe grounds including Hotel, Golf Club, training ground, cricket club and woods. I can tell you that there is a lot of rubbish being shared about the story and some of the pictures. Here is my take: 1. The Middlesbrough FC First Team training pitch is on the opposite side of the MFC training centre from the Rockliffe Hotel and golf club. 2. The picture of a boy stood behind a tree filming does not, as far as I can see, tally with anywhere around the first team training pitch. 3. The other picture of a tree beside a gate with training pitches in the background DOES appear to be taken from the gate near to the Rockliffe Golf clubhouse. 4. However, the pitches in the background of that picture are supplementary training pitches and, as stated above, that is not the First Team Training pitch. Those pitches are mainly used by the academy sides and women's sides for their training. However, it is possible that some training could have taken place there, but I'm not convinced any spy would have been able to see significant tactical input in that area. 5. If I were to spy on MFC's first team training, instead of trying to get to the first team training pitch from the golf course, I would walk along the public footpath around the perimeter of Rockliffe and slip through the woods where it is possible to spy on the training pitch. From there you could also stay out of sight of CCTV cameras. 6. I have downloaded an aerial view of Rockliffe using Google and based on my local knowledge I have edited the image to show: Where a lot of the rumours about the spying seem to be suggesting the spy was caught Where the first team training pitch is Where the other training and exhibition pitches are The footpaths around the training ground. The location of the clubhouse and training centre. The rough area where I think any decent spy would have positioned themselves to film training. Here is the image: Finally, here is a photo that I took on Friday of the gate near the golf clubhouse where the reports seem to be suggesting the spying took place (with the tree shown!): You may also be interested with the following video that I took from the lawn of Rockliffe Hotel, which shoots over the top of the grassy roof of the clubhouse and scans around to the training centre:

The squad assessment in the first post is fine but actually it is not as simple as that. For example: Edwards is often used as a full back Jelert can play at left or right back If we continue to have injuries in central midfield, it would be good to see if Matsuki can do a job there, but I wonder whether he is seen more as a holding midfielder, box-to-box midfielder or attacking midfielder by Eckert. We don't actually have a lot of cover for Azaz in the AM position, so if Matsuki is not seen as suitable for that position then maybe we could also do with someone to cover there. Consequently, we could probably look at the following three positions for January recruitment: Goalkeeper (maybe Patterson) Striker AM

Based on recent performances (where possible), I would rank our midfielders in different positions as follows in comparison with Matsuki and Aribo: AM/Wing: Scienza, Fellows, Arma*, Robinson, Azaz, Matsuki, Archer, Fraser, Edozie, Aribo (* But prefer him as striker at present!) CM/CDM: Jander, Charles, Downes, Bragg, Romeu*, Matsuki, Sesay, Aribo (* Will improve with fitness hopefully!) Having said that, I am judging Matsuki based on good performances in pre-season but lack of selection since, more than having seen him recently.

I am hopeful they will announce something soon, but happy to wait! My guess is that they are just seeking to get a few things sorted before everything is announced. For example: Eckert's new contract Any visa changes which are needed His support Team - coaches, etc. Possibly a director of football to support Eckert with experience Under 21 Team - NB I can't help wondering if Schneiderlin will be part of this Obviously some of these are already in place anyway.

I've never been a big fan of Manning but actually he has been pretty good in his recent performances and I would say he did ok on Sunday. Like Turkish, I was more concerned about Roerslav who struggled all day against Murphy. Personally, I would love to see Robinson start. However, I thought Fellows did ok and gradually grew into the game. Fraser had a solid game but he is limited - I wonder if he may be better in the AM position that Azaz. That having been said, while Azaz was poor in the first half he did begin to improve in the second half. Up front is difficult. All of our strikers offer something, but none is the finished article! Archer offers pace and movement but is lacking in height and positional awareness. Stewart offers height, positioning and heading ability but is lacking in pace. Armstrong is moderate in all areas. Downs is still an unknown and maybe needs more coaching to get him ready. In defence, Stephens remains a liability and he would be the first player I would drop every time. Personally I would love to see a THB and Wood CB pairing. Edwards is not quite at the level required yet - though still better than Stephens. In midfield, I have mixed feelings. Downes has been a great servant for the past couple of years but his form has not been great lately. I feel he is struggling with confidence. Charles on the other hand has more confidence but is inexperienced and prone to mistakes/bad positioning. As for Jander, he did ok on Saturday, except that we seemed to become more vulnerable to Pompey attacks when he replaced Downes. I suspect Downes is better defensively, while Jander is better offensively. At the end of the day, I think any of our players has something to offer, but if we could just replace Stephens then I would be much happier!

The way the Echo have allocated midfield and attack seems a bit arbitrary in that squad list! Fellows is listed as an attacking player on Saints website and presumably Scienza will be put there too! That having been said, Edozie is listed in both as a midfielder not an attacking player! I personally think the main positions of our players are as follows: GK = Bazunu, McCarthy, Long, Moody FB = Roerslev, Jelert, Manning, Welington CB = Stephens, THB, Wood, Quarshie, Edwards CM = Downes, Charles, Jander, Sesay AM = Azaz, Fraser, Matsuki, Aribo Wing = Fellows, Scienza, Robinson, Edozie Strikers = Archer, Downs, Stewart, Arma If anyone is wondering about squad size... We have 29 squad players altogether. Robinson and Sesay are only 18 and Moody is 17, so they don't affect the 25 squad players over age 21 that can be registered. Also, though, Downs, Charles and Quarshie were all under 21 on January 1st so they all count as Under-21 too. So we currently have 23 players that will need to be registered, unless Edozie and/or Aribo leave to any of the countries whose transfer deadline has not yet passed.

Here is another way to look at our squad to get a better picture of what we may need. Instead of just listing each player in one position (which can often be quite arbitrary for players who can play in a range of positions), I have tried to list every player who you might play in that position based on their historic and current positions. I have, however, ignored ridiculous experimental changes of role made by Russell Martin (e.g. Aribo playing as a CDM or CB!). I have also included numbers for those who like to look at things in that way, but using predominantly British numbering conventions. The numbers 7 and 8 are difficult to place in that system as their positioning has varied a lot over time. Italics indicate those players that may leave (though I have assumed rather optimistically that we will now keep Fernandes!). This doesn't rule out others from leaving - I am definitely NOT ITK about this!! Position No. Players who can play in this position Goalie 1 Bazunu, McCarthy, Long, Moody Right Back 2 Roerslev, Bree, Edwards Left Back 3 Welington, Manning, Sesay, Taylor CB 5,6 Harwood-Bellis, Wood, Edwards, Quarshie, Stephens, Taylor, Bella-Kotchap CDM 4 Charles, Downes, Matsuki, Sesay CM 7/8 Fernandes, Smallbone, Charles, Downes, Matsuki, Sesay, Aribo AM 8/10 Fernandes, Fraser, Matsuki, Sesay, Aribo Winger 7/8/11 Robinson, Fraser, Armstrong, Archer, Sesay, BBD, Edozie Striker 9 Stewart, Downs, Archer, Armstrong, BBD I accept that there is a fair degree of arbitration even in this approach, but I hope it is helpful for some. I think it is interesting that the position where we most want to see improvement (wing) is one where we actually have a lot of options - contrary to what some people are suggesting. The reason for this is perhaps mostly to do with the type of wingers we want. You will also note that I have listed Sesay in a lot of positions. This is based on his past where he started as a left winger, but was converted into a left back and has more recently been converted into a midfielder who can play in any of the midfield positions.

If Fernandes leaves you have got to think it could be to somewhere other than West Ham. Rumours have already suggested that they are not prepared to get anywhere near our valuation, but with West Ham rapidly looking like a relegation struggler will Fernandes really want another season like that? Of course, it maybe that the Chelsea thrashing will cause them to find another £10m behind Sullivan's sofa and Fernandes may be sufficiently convinced that he can help them to rise above that level, but it would be somewhat of a gamble for him in that sense. It would also be a gamble for West Ham if they think they may need to change their manager with all the extra costs that would involve. Nevertheless, some weeks ago Fernandes was linked with a move to one of several big European clubs and he seemed to prefer that option, so it remains to be seen if one of them finally makes a bid.