Lallana's Left Peg

Our record against Top 10 sides isn't an issue for me. Whilst it is unusual for a team in our position not to have more top half wins (and conversely not to have more bottom half losses) I don't think it is an issue or tells us much. We've been competitive in most of the games against the Top 6 but usually lost out on grounds of quality of squad depth - hardly something that is unacceptable. Also it is interesting to see that despite a general view that we struggle against teams that sit back, that no longer appears to be the case either and we're finding a way to beat them.

As has been mentioned, centre-half is probably the single hardest position on the pitch to make a breakthrough in the Premier League. That said, Stephens is 20 now so we're coming up to the point where we must surely know whether or not he is going to be good enough for our first team squad. My perceived depth chart and contract expiry dates: 1. Dejan Lovren (24 years old, contract expires Summer 2017 when he will be 27) 2. Jose Fonte (30 years old, contract expires Summer 2015 when he will be 31) 3. Maya Yoshida (25 years old, contract expires Summer 2015 when he will be a few months short of 27) 4. Jos Hooiveld (30 years old, contract expires Summer 2015 when he will be 32) Jack Stephens (20 years old, contract expires Summer 2017 when he will be 23) Jordan Turnbull (19 years old. contract expires Summer 2016 when he will be 21) So it is too early to say what the future of Turnbull or Stephens will be until we see what happens this summer with Fonte, Yoshida, and Hooiveld who will all only have a year left on their deals. We may see Stephens and Turnbull as suitable backups rather than first choice? We do know that they both went to Spain in the summer in Pre-Season so they aren't too far away from Pochettino's thoughts, and we do know that Josh Debayo has recently been bumped up to a few U21 squads - and that is usually preparation for making the step up full time the following season. We also know that Jason McCarthy is a centre-half by trade and he has been playing at right-back for the U21's however he filled the gap left by Stephens in the game against Wolves on Friday. So Turnbull and Stephens making the step up doesn't cause issues for the U21's as they have natural successors. Stephens and Turnbull were both brilliant in the U21 win away to Man City, if I had to guess right now they will at the very least be seen as first team squad players come Summer 2015. I think Turnbull is slightly better from what I've seen but they both look decent.

Yeah I agree the NFL fanbase isn't as tribal - in fact I think US sports fans are more passionate and tribal when it comes to College Sports. Either the College they went to or their nearest 'big' College that represents the area / State they grew up in. But I still definitely think it is worth a shot for us - if we feel we have something that differentiates us then why not give it a go. Given how closely commercial revenue now impacts how much you can grow the wage bill then I think it is vital for us. Even if it were to only maintain the status quo. I wouldn't mind betting we've got several players under contract right now that if they were to join us tomorrow they would be asking for far more money. So the window is closing on how quickly we need to improve revenue to keep what we've got.

It's the dynasties in US sports that creates popularity. Winning a lot over a short period of time. When you look at the big NFL teams over there it is those who have won a lot in short periods. It is also reflected in the most popular NFL teams in the UK. The best example are the New England Patriots. No-one over here gave them two thoughts until they won a few SB's and now there are loads of Patriots fans. Kruger's approach is quite pragmatic - if we can't attain popularity via winning things then we need to try and do it another way. Luckily we have an identity as a club / team and the principle thing behind that is our youth system (or rather, giving youth a chance) and right now it is having an English core as well. So we may as well use that to differentiate ourselves. We won't get much luck by just saying 'we're another Premier League club, look at us'. But by having something that we can use to promote ourselves it at least differentiates us from around 14+ other Premier League clubs as I am not sure what other clubs could use as a vehicle to differentiate themselves. Last October NBC wrote a big long article previewing Southampton for their US audience. In a way NBC tried to differentiate each club from each other to establish an identity for them for the US audience. This is the link: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2013/10/18/premier-league-supporters-the-dramatic-rise-of-southampton-fc-and-their-fans/ The article is laden with a narrative of what Kruger was getting at in his interview. There are things about our club that perhaps we can promote in a commercial capacity which brings in revenue and could help us to sustain our position. It's worth a shot, no matter what anyone says. I think it will be harder to do anything in Asia where they are a very fickle audience and just want success and big clubs and big players. But now with our links to North America perhaps there is a small piece of the pie out there for us, and a small piece in a market that size could be very lucrative indeed. Good luck to them I say.

JWP had an up and down game it is fair to say but hard to come into the team when you haven't started a game for a while. Still plenty more to come from him and it isn't unusual to have bad games at his age. Been around a while but still only 19 remember.

I interpreted it differently (hence my response) - I can find some regret this season with the Sunderland game in the FA Cup as I felt we didn't put our best foot forward and without good reason, but in terms of the rest of the season I'm delighted, which is why I took exception to a view that this season could be viewed with any form of sadness at all (if that is what was meant - it's just how I interpreted it). It's taken a long time to get back to this point for the club and I don't know how old most are on here but in terms of our modern history I can't remember when we've had it so good therefore the mind boggles a bit when I see people behave so negatively. I know the usual culprits like to wind-up and prod and poke and from time to time I'll get involved but I'll take this place for what it is and by and large I like just to share views with other fans and see what people think. Right now I think we're heading into a really tough stage where the growth starts to tail off and we have to fight against complacency and see what marginal gains we can make to keep going. Fans will also be challenged because many are on a drip feed of Saints being great for five straight years and now we have to realise it may be a challenge to stand still as much as it is to keep getting better. I dread to think what reactions will be if we have a slow start to next season

As a fan yes, but the club I think still has plenty to fight for - and I think we'll see that reflected in the last set of games. Most of all with the players we have fighting for World Cup spots it bodes well for effort and potential for good results.

I understand your perspective about expectations changing and I definitely thought the club was acting a little bit silly when it was talking about Champions League but given our relatively easy start to the season and the fixtures to come in the winter I think we all knew that come January that is probably a fair representation of where we'd be, and I think that has proven to be true. I don't think the start we made to the season can be held against the club at all as a 'this is the standard that we must assume is the norm' way. There is no big prize for us to fight for, there is nothing tangible left to achieve this season, but I still think there are small things that the club will want to achieve which means on the pitch we'll get nothing but 100% effort. Maybe it isn't as exciting for the fans, but when the season goes in the record books it would be nice to have a few footnotes of what has been achieved this season - be it equalling (or bettering) our best ever Premier League finish and / or points total, or sending a record number of players to the World Cup etc. But I'll stand by my point that there is nothing sad about this season.

Absolutely nothing You don't think trying to finish with a record points total in our history in the Premier League is worth going for? Same as league position?

I said Premier League in my original post

It's what is left to play for on the face of it but there is far more to it than that. As a club we're fighting for a record points haul - worth going for, no? As a club the players are fighting to go to the World Cup - more than worth their effort, no? But even then I don't have an issue with the principle that realistically 8th or 9th is where we'll finish when it is all said and done. I do have an issue with the notion of 'sadly' added to the end of it. Is it so sad? Is there a negative to be taken from it at all? 8th would be a fantastic season on the face of it, and if you also look under the covers to see the football we've played and the progress of the players I can't really find a negative in it that wouldn't be entirely understandable (e.g like squad depth being an issue - well we knew that at the start of the season so for me that is not an issue with this season).

I know, what a bloody disgrace! Fighting to finish as high as we can in the Premier League, fighting for a record Premier League points haul in our history despite having one of the youngest teams, fighting to ensure we have a greater representation than we've ever had at a World Cup and that includes potentially 4+ players in the English squad. It's been awful and I regret every second of it - bring back last season when we were fighting relegation I say!

It's Fer that is missing, not Tettey. You know what you are going to get with Norwich, hopefully we can push them right back into their half for long periods and Gaston can come up with some magic that opens the game right up.

Lambert on the bench. Jay Rod up front. Ramirez and JWP both start.

Yeah that is the way I read into it. We aren't going to be winning trophies and be popular in that way, so we need to position ourselves differently to the other teams commercially to get some traction and interest and, ultimately, revenue. The Packers have their own niche in the NFL - they don't come from a 'big market' but have a rich history and do lots of good work with their fans. They are seen as 'nice guys' and have a good spot in American sports like that. I assume by comparing us to them Kruger was suggesting we need to find our niche in the market to drive revenue. From his interviews I am 99% certain we will be marketed on the fact we have English players and produce our own. Of course, that makes sense BUT...what happens when you market the club on that but then sell your best young English players... I'll wait and see what happens on that front!

I don't think the market will ever be hotter for Shaw - Man Utd need a new left back. Chelsea need a new left back. Man City are in dire need of homegrown players. He's made his England debut at 18 and is widely considered one of the best left backs in the league already. I could be convinced either way that he'll stay or leave, I've really no idea what will happen, but I do know that if he does leave we'll get an amazing fee for him as the three aforementioned clubs bid stupid money and we benefit from it. And, I suppose, when a player outgrows his club, that is the best case scenario.

Sam Gallagher currently playing for the U21's. Unlikely to play tomorrow as a result?

This clears it up - when the Saints twitter feed were asked by someone about the same thing:

He also said he only spoke with the owner for 5mins before a Press Conference when we know he had much more dialogue (you don't make a decision to stay based on a 5min conversation). He's just giving these answers to avoid people asking him what he spoke about. An easy way to nip any further questions in the bud.

Fer is also out for Norwich. He was great against us back in August. If we drop Davis back there I would have been worried about our physical presence however I'm a little less worried if Fer is missing. If Ramirez plays though, does that mean Lallana gets shoved out to the right?

Yes, but at the same time if Pochettino has over a year left on his deal (and it is said to be pretty hard for another club to buy him out of that deal) then it makes no sense for him to sign a new deal until he has let this play out to see what the impact of the new Board structure is. I wouldn't sign a new deal based on 'we're going to do this' if I could stay and wait to see actually what happens before I need to make a decision. The signs are that he is already planning for next season. I was very impressed to see he (and the rest of his team) were in Manchester on Monday night to watch the U21's play. For me they aren't the actions of a man who isn't thinking about next season. I want him to stay as I think his presence holds more influence over whether or not players stay than anyone else, however he has nothing to gain by signing a new contract right now. He's clearly given the club / Board a chance to sort itself out and start working and he can then make a decision as to whether he thinks he fits in with it after he sees what impact it has. The only problem with this is that if the decision is made in the summer then it is a massive amount of upheaval for the club to deal with and the risks of that are well known. It's very easy to get dragged into a relegation fight.

Development Squad player Corby Moore has left Saints to join American team Indy Eleven on a two year contract: http://www.indyeleven.com/news/detail/uuid/fmkhtf1gw3kp1x4kksg9hdozg/youngsters-moore-spencer-add-attacking-talent#.UyIeBpXiteV

Jack signed a new 4 year deal not too long ago. Just a 'short-term' experience for him?

Typically we only do this with players who aren't getting offered a new deal in the summer. Gives them a chance to earn a deal elsewhere or catch the attention of another club. When is Isgrove's deal up? I know he signed a new contract in the summer but was it only for 1 year?

I've watched all interviews and my reading of the situation is that he is being fair with us. A recurring theme is the need to grow as a club in terms of commercial revenue and be sustainable. My personal opinion is that commercial growth will be vital for us to be able to maintain our existing squad and spend. Without it we can't. As a consequence he can't say nobody is leaving as unless we fill the holes in the finances then players will have to leave. Even if we do players may leave, but we need to be in a situation where the contracts we give out and the transfer fees we pay no longer come from the Bank of Liebherr. They need to come from the clubs own coffers, which is fair enough. I suspect we will grow commercially, but there may be one or two players who leave along the way. However, regardless of what happens, it looks like (right now, anyway) that there is a sincere desire to be more open as a club and engaging with the fanbase - and unfortunately a part of that will be telling us things we may not want to hear from time to time but it'll be for the better in the long term I suspect.