SaintJackoInHurworth

Until that goal this was not looking like a good day: 1. I am hating every moment of this biased commentary from Efan Ekoku. I have heard some biased commentary before, but this takes the biscuit. 2. I can't believe the ridiculous refereeing decisions - that was not a penalty and should have been our free kick and then just before their secoind goal they were given a throw in that should have been ours. 3. Every ricochet in their area seemed to be falling to a Burnley player. However, we are now back in it with that goal, so let's see us go on to equalise and then go on to win this game.

I think the abuse some of our fans give him is disgraceful. I am not saying he doesn't have areas of his game that he needs to work on, but he is definitely a quality player. I actually think a lot of the criticism he receives actually come out of situations which he is instrumental in creating! The fact is that sometimes he can move the ball well from midfield towards attack and create (near) openings. Unfortunately, it is at that stage that he tends to let himself down with a weak final ball or shot. I don't know why our fans are so scathing to some of our players. JWP received the same abuse, but is now one of the first names on the team sheet. Tadic was abused and he left to go to Ajax, taking them to near Champions League glory. Davis was abused and he returned to Scotland; and so the list goes on! Consider this: Antonio was a hopeless lump when he played for us. His touch on the ball was dreadful and he looked to be a just a clumsy oaf. Now, however, he is scoring loads of goals for West Ham and is knocking on the door to play for England. That is what happens when a player is given confidence. Now, I believe Redmond has twice the talent and potential that Antonio had, so let's get behind him - becaue maybe, just maybe, in a few years we will be enjoying hearing the pundits tell us how much he has improved!

The Sheff Utd game is clearly a huge game for us. However, they struggle to score, so if we don't do anything stupid we should definitely be able to avoid defeat. The harder challenge will be scoring. Despite their position in the league, they don't typically concede many goals. If KWP and Diallo are fit for this game then my preferred line up would be: ..................McCarthy KWP.....Bednarek.....Vestergaard.....Bertrand ..........Diallo............Ward-Prowse .....Djenepo....................Armstrong (or vice-versa) ...............Ings...........Minamino (if fit) Bench: Forster, Salisu, Jankewitz, Redmond, Adams, Tella, NLundulu, Stephens, (one of) Ramsey/Ferry/Watts/Chauke A few comments about this: Forster was incredibly lucky that the second goal was disallowed. Even if McCarthy's performances have been a little under par recently, he would still have done better than Forster. Bring him back and let him show his quality. If KWP is not fit I would still like to see Bednarek remain in the middlle with Vestergaard as that is where he is most effective. I would consider playing Salisu at full back, though I recognise that potentially that would mean left back with Bertrand switching to right back. Despite all the boo-boys on here who seem to have a vendetta against him (just as they did against Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Dusan Tadic and Stephen Davis before him) I actually think Redmond is a good player - especially when bringing the ball forward from midfield. Sadly though his shooting is not great and sometimes his decision making in the second half of games isn't always the greatest. I believe Djenepo is better and more likely to go past a player if he attempts to do so - though sadly sometimes he deosn't have the confidence to take on players when out wide for some reason. Adams works hard and sometimes makes some nice touches but his final pass and his shooting too frequently fall short of the standard required at present. With Redmond also struggling in those respects, I think Minamino or even Tella should be the ones to partner Ings.

Some of you wrist slitters should just give up supporting Saints and go and support P*mpey. All it takes is one Skate in our midst to criticise Hassenhuttl and you are jumping in bed with them and joining in. LET'S BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR: at a time of poor investment in the club, following on from a period of bad investment and mismanagement of transfer policy, Ralph Hassenhuttl has steadied the ship and got us playing decent football. If he leaves, we are stuffed! I would far rather the wrist slitters take their fishiness down the road and let real Saints supporters get behind the club. To put it simply: if you don't like it, get lost!

When we made complaints against officials a few weeks ago I found it odd that we didn't also complain about Graham Scott for his part in the VAR decision in the match against Villa. Now we have seen him again making dodgy decisions against us. While most referees have moved on from the crazy interprtation of the handball rule which plagued football at the start of the season, it seems that Graham Scott has used the uncertainty as an excuse to give a big decision against Saints. No doubt he will be on the phone to his mates Deam and Mason to celebrate tonight. 😒

We need to get them on the back foot in second half, but personally I would be encouraging Jack Stephens to stay back a bit. A couple of their goals have come from situations where they have found lots of space on the left because he has still been upfield. Bednarek has been trying to cover that but it has left him all over the place - and hence his own goal. Redmond has actually done ok on his own on the right, so I would let him continue to take charge down the right wing. However, I think we should be sending a lot more down the left where Bertrand and Minamino can combine.

He is on the bench today. With Vestergarrd starting and unlikely to last 90 minutes, might we finally see him come on for a few minutes at the end of today's game?

Just a thought but... can we still sign players on a free after the deadline closes? If so might we be planning on signing a full back on a free?

If we don't sign anyone, this is where we stand in the positions that we are concerned about: Centre backs: Bednarek, Stephens, Vestergaard (soon to return to fitness), Salisu (Soon to return to fitness) Left back: KWP (soon to return to fitness), Valery Left back options: JWP, Diallo (injured), Redmond, Armstrong, Smallbone (injured), Stephens Right Back: Bertrand, Ramsay Right back options: Ferry, Armstrong, JWP, Diallo (Injuerd), Watts(?), Jankewitz(?), Smallbone (injured), Stephens Central midfield: Ward-Prowse, Romeu (Injured?), Diallo (Injured), Smallbone (Injured), Jankewitz It would not be an ideal situation, but the point is that as more players return from injury our options will improve. In particular if Salisu can finally play for us then Stephens becomes a significant full-back option. I would love to see us sign someone as a full back but I'm not going to panic if we don't!

Interesting stuff... Are you ITK?!! Despite the uncanny nature of your prediction, though, I think it is fair to point out that Jankewitz only came on for a few minutes at the end and didn't look like he was ready to provide cover this season... yet!

I agree with those who are saying that it is strange that we have agreed to loan out Vokins BEFORE signing a replacement. Hopefully this does mean that the loan signing of either Brandon Williams or Ainsley Maitland-Niles is imminent. One thought that no-one has expressed is whether there may be some chance that Sam McQueen could also soon begin training in his return from injury. It has been a long time (and I know that ACL injuries take a long time), but it would be great to hear that he is on the road to returning. If we don't sign anyone and if McQueen is not likely to be fit any time soon, then I guess we will just have to go with any of the following options as cover for left back: Kayne Ramsay Diallo Ward-Prowse (potentially with KWP switching to the left) Jack Stephens (as above)

I haven't followed all the ins and outs of this tread, but there are so many possibilities for why it has teken so long to get him ready to play. I'm just pleased he was finally on the bench tonight. However, both Bednarek and Vestergaard are playing well at present so he has got fair competition to face before he gets selected as first choice. I would suggest any of the following (and probably a combination of more than one) have been contributory to why it has taken him so long to get to this point: Injury Coronavirus - a bad bout with noticeable symptoms and a subsequent long recovery to re-establish breathing, etc. Health/Dietary issues resulting from a condition, e.g. allergies to dairy, gluten, etc. or crohn's disease, diabetes, thyroid problems, ME, IBS, etc. Cultural adjustment to British diet Cultural adjustment to British standards of expression - e.g. maybe he had another issue (e..g. Health/dietary) but felt it would be impolite to volunteer this information, etc. Social adjustment and settling-in Mental health issues

Personally, I think we should have won that and were very unlucky: A few missed opportunities conceding a goal following on from a dodgy refereeing decision coupled with an injury to Bednarek timing of that first goal gave them just enough time to put the pressure on we are prone to panicking in such circumstances Without the difference that Cavani made they were not going to get back into that game. Credit to Cavani for being the difference in the game. With Ings I think we would have gone on to win it. I can't believe some are criticising Hassenhuttl! The decision to bring Long on was maybe wrong, but other than that no fault lies at his door.

Disappointing to have been pegged back from 2-0 up, but I can't help wondering whether the injury to Bednarek just before their first goal, coupled with a bad refereeing decision may have contributed to this. It was not a corner to them and we ended up having to work it out from defence in the post-corner chaos while Bednarek was also still trying to shake off the effects of the collision. Unfortunately, the ball was passed back too far as we began to pish forwards and we were left stretched at the back when we lost possession.

Pleased with that. I would say we have played better as the half has gone on - the goals have definitely given us the confidence to do well and Man Utd have grown deflated as they have fallen behind. More specifically in terms of performance, some players have been on it more than others. Walcott, Romeu and KWP are all having great performances, whereas Armstrong's performance has been more mixed - though it has got better as the half has gone on. In the early part of the half some of his passing was not great. I also think Djeneppo has also been good - and increasingly so as the half has gone on. Finally, Ward-Prowse has clearly been the star with such brilliant set-pieces. He seems to be getting better and better in that regard!

If we win we will be in 3rd place straight after the match (or as mentioned above, 2nd if we win 5-0, etc.) In addition, if we win then we will finish the gameweek in the top 5.

Lemina on the bench for Fulham today but Harrison Reed not in the squad. One report suggests that he was almost but not quite ready to return, but there is no clear explanation as to why he has been missing. Could he have been one of those that contracted covid19? Or maybe that was Lemina? Could it even have been both of them?

So we have sent Sims on loan to Doncaster. I wonder whether that could eventually lead to him leaving permanently next summer unless he has an absolutely brilliant season and shows he has huge potential in the Premier League. Any other news? I would imagine it would be more about us loaning out players than anything else. What about any of these: Tyreke Johnson? Hesketh? Slattery? Lewis? Gunn?/Forster? Tella? Ramsey?

DUPLICATE POST - PLEASE IGNORE Apologies if someone else has already started a thread on this, but I couldn't see it! Obviously the main transfer window closed on 5 October, but there is still the question of the domestic-only window which closes on 16 October. Will Saints be doing any further business in this window? My guess is that we probably won't be buying or loaning anyone else (unless perhaps we bring in some youngsters), but I wouldn't be surprised if some of our players are sold or loaned out. Has anyone else got any news or thoughts about this?

Apologies if someone else has already started a thread on this, but I couldn't see it! Obviously the main transfer window closed on 5 October, but there is still the question of the domestic-only window which closes on 16 October. Will Saints be doing any further business in this window? My guess is that we probably won't be buying or loaning anyone else (unless perhaps we bring in some youngsters), but I wouldn't be surprised if some of our players are sold or loaned out. Has anyone else got any news or thoughts about this?

Three from four for me: Fulham, West Brom, Sheff Utd and Burnley. Brighton could also be dragged into it, but I don't think they will. West Ham, Newcastle, Palace, Leeds & Villa will be in the next tranche of clubs moving up the table. Above them will be Saints and Wolves filling the 9th and 10th places and then above them in the top 8 will be the usual top 6 plus Leicester and Everton. Liverpool and Man City will again be the top two.

https://www.lalaziosiamonoi.it/news/calciomercato-lazio-de-grandis-hoedt-viene-respirato-come-una-beffa-130807 Stefano De Grandis commented on the purchase of Hoedt by Lazio and the discussions around the biancoceleste defense on Sky Sport: "The speech is always of quality. Lazio wanted a defender and started with an interest in Kumbulla and Verona. he asked for a lot. In the end he takes home Hoedt, who he sold for 17 million and resumes on a free loan with the right of redemption for 5 million in a year. It is clear that the fan remains with a bitter taste if Cagliari also takes Godin, Roma Kumbulla, everyone takes defenders of a certain depth. Hoedt is breathed in like a mockery. " Anyone able to translate that better than Google? I can translate French but not Italian! Looking at various Lazio related websites they are talking about Hoedt as already being a Lazio player but there seem to be suggestions that he is injured or not fit.

Interesting to read all the latest rumours. None of them sound particularly convincing and it seems odd that Saints would suddenly abandon the transfer policy that has stood them in good stead on many an occasion (albeit that some more recent transfers like Carillo, etc. may have challenged this outlook). Personally I feel that it is odd that we would be looking at Theo, but if he does come then I hope he can rediscover something of the raw talent that caused him to attract the attention which led him to leave Saints in the first place. I well remember the adulation he recieved when he first came to prominence and the frightening speed he demonstrated in what I think was his debut - away to one of the Sheffield clubs I think. Squad Needs Overall, if we don't sign anyone today it is not the end of the world, but it is interesting to analyse our current squad to see where the needs are. A look at the Saints squad in terms of at least two players for every position is interesting (NB Don't read too much into the order of players or the slightly arbitrary nature of the labels for positions!): GK: McCarthy, Forster, Gunn, Lewis (Surprisingly listed on OS as part of first team squad) LB: Bertrand, Vokins, (McQueen - LT Injury & not listed on Saints website in any squad!) RB: KWP, Valery CB1: Bednarek, Stephens CB2: Salisu, Vestergaard CM/DM1: Romeu, Diallo CM/DM2: Ward-Prowse, Smallbone AM1: Redmond, Djenepo AM2: Armstrong, Boufal CF1: Ings, Obafemi CF2: Adams, Long, Tella It is interesting that the following players are identified as B-Team players: Slattery, Sims, Hesketh (and Tella is in both first-team and B-team squads!) Looking at that squad list backs up the idea that if we sell Boufal then we need also to bring in a replacement who would provide cover for Armstrong. As others have rightly suggested, other areas we might also look to strengthen include the full-back positions. After that reserve CM and CF positions coulkd also be strengthened though they don't seem a particularly urgent need at present. Future Prospects? I think the big questions must be about what the future prospects are for Smallbone, Obafemi, Tella, Valery and Vokins and how we best give them experience. Obviously there are also similar questions about those who have been dropped from the first team squad onto the B-Team.

So... Ralph has said two or three more signings before the transfer window closes. It looks like Diallo must be the first, but what about the other two? What is the latest news on the following players?: Ruben Loftus-Cheek Ryan Sessegnon Jovan Cabral Folarin Balogun Jack Butland Are there any other players with whom we have been linked in the last few days that could be one of the other potential signings? Also, where are we up to with player sales?: Hoedt - was supposed to be rejoining Lazio and having a medical last Monday but seems to have gone quiet. There were some rumblings about Lazio being short of money. Anyone know what's happening? Carrillo - was supposed to be leaving for free to join Elche in La Liga but again it seems to have gone a little quiet. Any news? Boufal - There was talk of him joining Olimpiacos and then it changed to Angers, but again it has gone quiet! Gunn - Linked with Stoke City, but it seems to be dependant on Butland leaving. There were some rumours of a swap deal with Saints. Has anyone got any news or updates on any of these or any other potential transfer moves?

Here is my best attempt at an accurate translation: Transfers: Ibrahima Diallo (Brest) targeted by Southampton Brest defensive midfielder Ibrahima Diallo is interesting Southampton, who are expected to place an urgent transfer request to the club from Brittany. Ibrahima Diallo has developed a following in England. Already targeted by Leicester, during the January transfer window, the young (21 year old) Brest player is now attracting great interest from Southampton. The club from the South of England are actively seeking a defensive midfielder and have made the former Monaco player, who transferred to Brest in the summer of 2019, a priority. Diallo is valued at €15 million in the transfer market. The directors of Brest are already seeking a successor to the under-21 international (1 cap) who expressed his desire to leave at the start of the transfer window.