5string

http://www.keepsporthonest.net/match/3892/ Working for me

Tadic is (apparently) designated penalty taker. Austin grabbed the ball off him. Tadic threw a tantrum, VvD had to drag him away. Austin scored penalty Tadic & Austin friends again.

Yikes! Close

Well, never a penalty in my book, but will gladly take a bit of positive fortune. Tadic not happy with Austin taking it - bet Charlie's glad he scored! Right, come on!

This is what I find difficult to manage. Last season was a bad season for the big clubs by their standards, so now the efforts are being doubled to promote them - probably because of the global market. Lets face it, how many teams in the Spanish/German/Italian/French leagues is your average joe interested in, outside of the 'big' clubs in those leagues? A few, but not too many, I'd suggest. For example, I see lots of Barcelona shirts in the UK, but not many Sevilla shirts (even though they've won the Europa league 3 years on the trot). If Saints had made a 'big name' signing during the summer, there may be more excitement now. A big signing often does that to any club, generates hope for the season. We made good signings, but with all respect to our new players, no marquee names.

Robert Madley, I presume?

Good shout - I followed you on and this was the first comment I read - sound familiar? Probably stating the bleeding obvious, but the first 20 minutes gave a glimpse of what we could be, the remainder of the game brought the reality of what we are at the moment. We look so chaotic and vulnerable at the back, and often impotent on the break. I am not going to wet my knickers yet, despite the result we showed that potential at the beginning, and Lanzini and Payet have yet to fire on all cylinders, but I do worry about our defence. I'm not so worried about our defence [yet], and for Lanzini/Payet perhaps read Rodriguez/Tadic (and Austin/Long/Cedric/Redmond/JWP....) There's hope yet [and I've calmed down a bit now ]

Have we not been saying these same things since he got into the 1st team? Plenty of heart Academy product, so follows the 'Southampton way' Young, so has time on his side Good set-play ball striker Doesn't get enough goals, considering his set-play ability Not strong enough in the tackle Midfield weaker when he's on (I read "he's a passenger" on another thread) Personally, I often feel he's a bit of a headless chicken when he's on. Don't misunderstand me, I like the abilities he has, he just seems to need a little extra 'something' to show he can be a real shoo-in. After more than 100 appearances, has he had enough time to prove himself? Or does he need more time to develop his game to PL standard? I don't know what that 'something' needs to be, though (I'm not a PL manager).

The ref would have got a thrill from hearing the home team fans cheering at his decision. It's a natural human emotion - who wouldn't feel the buzz from 50,000+ people cheering your decision? However, he's meant to be a professional and professionals are supposed to ignore these feelings in order to give the correct decision, even in high pressure situations... ... unless they're weak and pathetic. I'm utterly livid in a deep-down lava-fuelled volcanic way, and I'm finding it hard to put a real-life perspective on this ("it's only a game", "it won't matter in a couple of years", "there are more important things in life", etc). I normally manage it within a few minutes, but this time it's a little harder. The sense of injustice is strong.

It's been a long time since I felt so hard-done-by due to officials. It was an excellent, exciting game, ruined by awful officiating late on.

Effing ridiculous!

Put your laces through it, man!

I think someone on here said "wish we were Stoke", not "wish we had Stokes"

Haha, ok and there's me saying he looks a bit lost. Maybe my dodgy stream has stopped me seeing his best bits

Not just Cedric - too many times we're getting in each other's way, or look up & realise there's nobody around for a pass. Romeu looks a bit lost, though he's working hard. Davis... is he on the pitch? Long should be in the middle, Tadic left, Redmond right; Hojbjerg & Davis in the right/left midfield supported by Romeu central DM (my opinion based on those currently on the pitch & current state of play).

What a chance!

Tadic needs to shoot... sooner, at some point, any time... just shoot!!

Planning for Europe, decent squad

1. Keep a core of top, influential players - check (VvD, Fonte, Bertrand, Forster, Davis, etc) 2. Act smartly in the transfer market - check (did we sell our 'best' players in Vic, Pelle & Mane? I think not. Good, but not best) 3. Be continually successful - hmm, not quite. 7 years of continual improvement (fantastic), but not much silverware... yet 4. Expand as a club - not yet. Need a stadium expansion to make a statement. Everything else (academy, training facilities, club structure, etc) is in place, it seems I have tried not to mention money/wages.

Like others, I'm sure, I was proud, pleased (and relieved) that Jose had such a good Euros. I think there was possibly a doubt as to whether his good club form could be transferred onto the international stage. He proved beyond doubt that it could, therefore proving also what a class player he is. He's the rock of Saints' defence and has become a true leader. He has the knack of also making other players alongside him look very good - maybe even better than they actually are (eg. Lovren). Cedric showed at the Euros what an excellent player he can be. He had limited chances last season, but hopefully his success at the Euros can transfer into good form for the Saints. I like how he plays and he could be the final piece in Saints' defensive jigsaw, along with Jose, VvD & Bertrand. Good back four, that.

"This is what I am as a player, I work hard, I’m serious, I’m reliable, I’m loyal and I like winning." When's he off to Everton then? Seriously, though, said all the right things, seems like a decent player. Hope he slots in well. Welcome, PEH.

+1 Get him up there.

Agree

I thought the best ones were (in no particular order): ours, ManU, Palace, Cambridge, Barnet. Ipswich put a big effort in, huh? Everton & Arsenal were just embarrassing. Everton just put up a list of shlte 'firsts' that were mainly from the 19th century, after declaring "Evertonians are born not made" (off-putting from the start! Why would you say that when inviting supporters to join?!!). Oh dear.

So, what's the solution?