Lallana's Left Peg

Very hard to know who will and will not make it, even if an Academy team has a great season and compared against others of their age they look better. Aside from the pathway to the first team that is required, and a spot being open for them to even play, its not as simple as taking a look at a Youth Team game and concluding the players who look better are going to make it. As much as anything at that age it is the players who are either physically able and / or mentally advanced who get the chances at a young age in the first team squad. Tricky wingers or players of ample talent on the ball find it hard to make the step up very early and they often need more seasoning and development before they start to get towards the first team fringes. It appears that our Development and U18 squads have some very good players and as a team they are both doing well - it's difficult to pinpoint exactly who will make it from them as the other thing to consider is that not all players develop at the same rate, and the difference between Youth Football and First Team Football is so big it is never a case that a good player at Youth level is going to eventually be a good player at Senior level. Something which makes them stand out at Youth Level may not mean anything at Senior Level, likewise something hard to notice at Youth Level when watching a game may be something which translates well to the first team. The only thing we can count on is that we have a pathway to the first team so if a player is deemed good enough by the club they'll definitely get a chance. The rest is down to the Gods, it's that hard to predict.

The ball over the top is the way to counter a high line - the only way you can stop that is by pressing effectively as a team in the final third. For me too many times against Newcastle the pressing was not done as a unit which resulted in Newcastle passing the ball to a free Cabaye in a deep position and he would lump it over the top which caused problems.

Lallana, Ramirez, and Puncheon behind Lambert please. I understand arguments for Jay-Rod and Davis to start, but in a game like this I want to see our best quality on the pitch. Give all three of them a short leash (HT subs etc.) if need be, but we're playing the team bottom of the table and these guys have the quality to tear QPR apart. QPR are decent, Remy will cause us problems and we obviously need to watch Taarabt, but we should be slicing through the rest of their midfield and defence with ease. Make the chances count and I think we'll be fine. If things do get comfortable us (fingers crossed they do), I hope we keep going for it and try to stick the knife right in - the fans will want it and I think the team will be keen for a big win if the opportunity presents. None of this 'see the game out' if we get up by four goals or anything. Probably be a tighter game than people expect and St Marys may get nervous if we're losing at any point, but stick to the plan and we'll be ok.

So let me get this right, the Council complete a report which clearly shows there is no chance of getting back their £1.45m loan from the value of the land itself, and yet recommend the loan is given due to the following: Also interesting to note that the PST appear to be under pressure to finalise their bid according to the Council. Hang on, haven't they been ready to go for a long time? That's what they've been telling everyone. Couldn't be telling lies in this era of transparency, could they? Dare they? Oh dear.

Yep was a great watch, not just to see all his goals but it was a nice way to see the journey we've been on for the last 3.5 years. Hopefully we'll never have another like it, and in a few decades time maybe we'll look back on it as the time the club established the foundations for far better things.

Hate Allardyce more than West Ham. I think it is a decent club and always found the fans to be a good laugh. They aren't stupid fans, the vast majority know what Allardyce is like and lets not forget the endless booing last season. This season started well but they are tailing off fast. You can tolerate and compromise if it is getting results, but you lose patience as a fan if the muck you are being served up no longer gets results.

This deserves more credit

Oops, that was meant for the Fox thread.

Fox hasn't shown any sign of being able to improve on his weaknesses since he joined the club so I think we should just accept who he is for now - a left-back with a sweet left foot, very good distribution, composure in possession, and nice set-piece delivery, but unfortunately poor positional awareness, no pace, and no natural instinct to be a defender. The challenge is: a) a high line means that lack of pace will be even more exposed b) Ramirez will take priority with left-footed set pieces c) there is a real movement in the game towards full-backs being great 1-on-1 defenders and that isn't good news for Fox d) the new tactics also mean we win the ball further up the pitch so the slower build up from the back gives him less chance to impress I'm reasonably happy with him as a back-up unless anyone could prove to me we already have a better back-up left-back at the club and / or he could be sold and replaced for the same or less money than we sold him for.

Just back from a game - a few musings: 1. Today we saw the negative side of the new tactic - when the defensive line sits so high and the midfield 5 do not press the ball enough someone with quality will just dink balls over the top to turn our defenders and then the chaos starts. We won't always come up against midfielders with the passing range of Cabaye, but he had far too much time on the ball today and as a result the defence was placed under a lot of pressure. 2. Too many players not at the races today, as a team - despite a dream start - I saw a bit too much apprehension and nowhere near enough decisiveness and conviction when passing the ball. When we did win the ball back in good areas the attack was slow and ineffective which then meant any advantage of pressing high and winning the ball back was all but eliminated. 3. That said we still scored twice and looked dangerous - definite goal threat in the team but also a fragile confidence level. When confidence is high we're a match for most. When confidence is low we can look terrible. Would like Puncheon and Lallana to start next week with Ramirez in the middle behind Lambert. Lets go with the team that has the best quality on the ball and give them the opportunity to take on the worst team on the division. Lastly, Chris Foy put on one of the most unprofessional Refereeing displays I have ever seen. It shouldn't overshadow what I thought was a below average performance from the team, but it was a genuine 1/10 effort from him today. This is a summary of his performance from my perspective: 1. Got many decisions he had a clear view of wrong 2. After he had made decisions he was then clearly influenced by players on the pitch - in particular the Jay-Rod yellow card came a good 10 seconds after the free kick was given and then a Newcastle player had a word in his ear. Just awful. 3. Clearly he had seen the mistakes he made at HT (especially for Newcastles second goal) and he came out all guns blazing in the second half and went through a 5min spell of giving us everything no matter what - it doesn't work like that, just do your ****ing job properly in the first place you stupid ****. And the biggest crime of all: 4. Inconsistency in his decision making - we got some Yellow cards for professional fouls in areas of the park that aren't dangerous. Then with 3mins to go Sissoko trips Lambert when he is ploughing his way towards the penalty area and only a free kick is given with no yellow card? Why? How can it be a free kick and not a yellow card given the previous decisions he made. It's baffling and inexcusable considering he gets paid to do this job. Then during the game in general some things were fouls then 5mins later they weren't. How can players on either side play on that basis?

It appears the criteria I've used has basically meant anyone in the squad with a professional contract can be selected apart from Tommy Forecast

Looking forward to the game, think it could go either way rally. HBA not playing would be a far bigger plus than Krul missing, as HBA is a game changer I think we'd have some trouble containing if he played. Newcastle have their tails up and have decent quality though I'd trust our Manager to make the better adjustments as the game goes on as we all know what Pardew is like tactically during games. Our form is better and while we'd all like to be looking up the table we're only 3pts away from the **** so tomorrow is a big opportunity to do something against a team we should be giving a proper game. It would probably be fair to start with the same team that started against Man City but I would prefer Shaw in at left back just to give a bit more reassurance to everyone. To have Ramirez and Lallana on the bench on merit is a nice feeling though!

Fair point - if Lambert is going to win by a landslide then lets quickly go - 2nd best signing. For me - Lallana, but only just over Fonte and Schneiderlin.

It's been a slow two weeks with no Saints game, so ahead of the Newcastle game is there any chance we could arrive to a general agreement on which player has been our most important signing of the past 3.5 years? For the record, contract renewals also count, so Adam Lallana can also be nominated for example. Hard one to do as we've made a lot of successful signings, but for me it has to be a player who made a significant contribution in all three divisions, so it is between Fonte, Schneiderlin, Lallana, and Lambert, with the latter pipping it for me.

He is a brilliant reader of the game and a very fierce competitor. Prone to the occasional lapses in concentration but I think that is something that he will eliminate from his game rather than being just who he is as a player. Competes well in the air and is quick enough (though not massively quick). Would like to see him emerge as more of a leader but he is young and time is on his side. At £2m he has been great and adapted very quickly.

A nice gesture from him but might mean more if he wasn't monumentally ****, a walking yellow card, and a headless chicken.

That is a big turnover, far from ideal in my mind and I would think we'd only see that sort of overhaul if we either got relegated or Pochettino convinces the powers that be that many aren't up to the job and it doesn't see that way at the moment. If you look at the age of our squad we're set in many positions. I can see squad positions going to Academy players and a few signings in key areas - would not make sense at all to rip it up and start again. Took us far too long to get going this season and I don't think a season of struggle next would be desired if we stay up this season. If Pochettino can maintain this sort of performance until the end of the season I wouldn't expect (or want) the club to be too busy or desperate in the summer.

Based on the behaviour of all parties over the past month or so, at the moment I think that PKF believe the PST do not have enough money to satisfy all creditors (or at least the major ones including Chanrai), and as a consequence are keeping the club alive long enough pre-takeover to receive the Parachute Payments so they can distribute the money as they want and then when there isn't as much money in the bank as the PST need / assumed in the the onus will then be placed on them as the interested party to take over to meet the short-fall or the club goes to liquidation. Going to be very ugly when the finger pointing starts and PKF potentially turn the 'Trust or Bust' mantra on the fans and say they need to stump up more cash or the club disappears. Then we'll see a real test of how much the club means to them. If they can't raise more cash through the fans then this also opens it up to the takeover being even more led by property developers and the fans not really having much say in the club at all - again, be interesting to see how fans attitudes shift if this were to happen.

Football fans generally hate the word 'project' as it takes the emotion out of the plan. As supporters we're all heavily emotionally involved so the thought of someone involved in our club to not be the same doesn't sit well, but in reality unless the ownership, staff, and players are supporters I wouldn't expect them to be as emotionally involved on anything beyond a professional level with respect to how they do their job. For me the original 5 year plan was quite clear - I've always considered it to be: 1. Back in the Premier League 2. For the Academy to provide as many players for the first team as the transfer market 3. For the club to be able to sustain itself Since the death of Markus Liebherr and subsequent progression in the past 3 years I think the goals have changed a little. For one I think the Liebherr estate aren't too bothered about the club but will respect the wishes of Markus and will support it to any original agreement - but that is not to say that if an opportunity arose to sell they wouldn't take it (no inside news to base that on, just a hunch). Cortese is the interesting piece in all this. I suspect he is far more ambitious than when he arrived in 2009. He has publicly acknowledged that he has been taken aback a bit by how emotional football fans are in this country and whilst I still think he treats the club as a business / company in how he runs it and makes decisions, I think he wants to take the club further than previously stated and we saw signs of it from the Sky Sports News interview. Talk of the Top 6, keeping important players at the club, and establishing the Southampton brand (whatever that may be). I don't think it is realistically attainable in the near future - I would hope he knows that, but I never thought he'd be here beyond the 5 years so it will be interesting to see what the club does in the summer if we stay up with respect to our level of activity in the transfer market and player departures. I think he has caught the bug in some respects and wants to see his vision delivered over and beyond initial targets. Whether he does that through financial support from the owners or with the clubs own finances will be the main thing for me.

Benteke could progress into a really powerful footballer but I doubt you'll ever seen one who looks as confused as he does on the football pitch. Sometimes it looks like he is trying to remember what his name is.

As I understand it is not that the PST won't pay the football creditors what they are owed it just appears that the rival bid stated they will pay them sooner and as a result the PFA would want that rival bid to be fairly considered. Whether the rival bid have the means to or genuinely will we'll never know, as the FL have dismissed their bid out of hand. From the sounds of it the characters involved in the rival bid do seem like chancers but on the face of it they have more money than the Trust (whether they turns out to be true or not may well be another matter). To be honest I do not blame the PST for wanting to pay the football creditors after other debts - if they still pay them within the 4 years they are legally obliged to (at least, that is what I read) then nothing is wrong here. However for me the PFA are obviously worried about their capability to do so and therefore as a major creditor they have the ability to block the takeover until they are satisfied. As for the football creditors rule itself, it is absolute nonsense and it needs to go. But that shouldn't be the story here - it should be that the PST bid is based on paying the PFA later than either the PFA want or were originally told and as a result the PFA aren't happy - I suspect because they doubt the ability of the club to pay them in a few years as opposed today. It publicly questions the PST bid and that is not a good look for them. As for why the PST may have decided this is open to debate, but I again think they've had to significantly rejig their bid throughout and I dare say their original model has warped significantly enough away from what they wanted to now contradict many of the values they set out to achieve i.e. loans now in the bid etc. It won't be a clean start for the club, it will just be a new start with debt taken on at the club by fans on behalf of the club rather than businessmen on behalf of the club. With so much doubt surrounding the PST bid it doesn't bode too well for them. They have put up a brave face throughout all this and the message has always been consistent but it has never really inspired confidence as the takeover plan and financials have never really been fully disclosed. For now they are stating it doesn't make sense to show their hand while a rival lurks in the background but if they win their court case then it will be interesting to see if there is full disclosure of everything prior to the takeover going through so fans can make a more informed decision about jumping on board. The PST are adamant that fan ownership will be 51%, but unless that TRULY empowers the fans to have the majority vote it won't mean much - especially if there are agreements in the takeover signed sealed and delivered to promise certain things to the property developers who form part of the bid. I'd be pretty ****ed if I invested as a fan in a takeover and was assured of majority ownership yet I discovered that issues which mattered to me (such as the influence of the property developers) are already decided as a part of the bid and actually there is nothing I can do about it. I'd basically be duped...

Maybe we don't play with them because we don't have a good one? We made approaches for the likes of Phillips and Lens in the summer so it is clear the club felt the need for one and I do see a role for one in Pochettino's system - he certainly used a lot of width at Espanyol. Wingers may not be players for all occasions these days but I am certain there will be times in a season when we will be in need for one - either for the impact he can make with the ball or the impact he will make with his presence on the pitch in terms of the space he can make for other players. I don't think it is a desperate need but it is a clear hole in our squad when you look at our overall capability.

I think he'll want more pace in the final third and maybe someone who will dribble past people. Quite clear that players are encouraged to express themselves a bit more in the final third and a little unpredictability won't go a miss. But a good unpredictability, not a Papa Waigo type of unpredictability. Other than that I don't think he will highlight any massive holes, I think he trusts his system to get a lot out of the players and their response so far has been great.

If we stay up I expect all those out of contract to leave with the exception of Puncheon and maybe Boruc and those currently on loan to move on. Rest of squad will stay unless we get replacements or they want to leave. We're already set for starters in most positions so I wouldn't expect massive changes and I suspect many squad roles may be fulfilled by youngsters as the process of promotion from the youth teams starts in ernest. I wouldn't rule out a couple of big signings up front and on the wing (be it an attacking midfielder or proper winger). And it will be interesting to see what we do with the goalkeeping situation this summer as right now the best solution appears to be to retain Boruc for another year but I am not sure the club thinks that way. Ultimately the existing squad is bloated but that was bound to happen with the fast progression the club has made. I would expect a lot of movement to occur but little of it to really impact our best 18 as we consider it right now.

Based on reading about him since his move here it appears his emphasis on youth at Espanyol was out of necessity rather than choice. That said it was widely acknowledged that he effectively tore up the existing system there and imposed his own set-up. I haven't read anything about the youth team playing the same way as the senior team, but one thing he insisted on was players competing in teams at least a year older than their age group. This was done to accelerate their learning and get them ready for senior football as soon as possible. Again, not sure if this is just what he prefers or if it was again done out of necessity but to be fair to Saints we already do that. There are 16 year olds around the u18's and 17 year olds around the u21's. There isn't anything too revolutionary about that approach either - it is fairly standard in this country and if you have the ability they push you up the groups very quickly. I doubt he will have much influence on the Academy - bear in mind in terms of an org chart he will only have his first team coaching staff reporting to him so he cannot really influence what is happening in that part of the club although inevitably there will be some refinements made throughout the Academy as how we play in the first team continues to be established. What he was forced to do at Espanyol does give him great experience at blooding youngsters in the first team though, and it is quite clear that Cortese will push for the vision of half the first team being made up of Academy products so on the face of it it looks like the pathway is maintained which is important. As for players playing out of perceived position, I think again it is something we've often done at the Academy anyway. Was at some Youth Team games last season and saw Shaw play right midfield, Chambers right wing, Sinclair up front etc. Likewise I've seen Chambers play centre-half - I believe he is a right-back tonight. Stephens played right-back, centre-half, and is now getting some time in the centre of the park. I just think it is standard practice in terms of football development these days.