Saint86

Regardless, for £4M we should be all over it 🤷

Could do worse than get him back on a free with Charles gone 😆

Agreed. We are light up top and in CM, and in all seriousness we do need a quality CB addition.

Lack of physicality in the side as well (THB and Stephens) when really one (or both) Woods and Quarshie) should have played Vs a rather limited but very physical and direct Watford side. We forget, he still only has 6months experience, and he sometimes walks into rather basic errors like this with his eyes wide open - was a fairly common grumble last year....key part is that he learns and tends not to make those mistakes again. The -4points could be a rather awkward monkey to shift at the start of this season. If we can start getting some wins then autos is still possible, but I suspect we will land in the playoffs and hopefully finish the regular season strongly.

My only viewpoint was that we're stronger than teams the longer the game goes on, just feed larin and he'll score, especially against tiring defences.

Start Mubama Vs his old club, bring on Larin second half to rinse their tired defence with his constant movement and poacher's instinct. Try not to gift them 1 goal, let alone 2.

Translation: Massive load of horseshit at £17M. Are benfica struggling with their fans or something? There is no way they are signing harwood bellis for less than £20M + add ons, I don't think saints sell him for £25M + add ons tbh.

Not buying this pre seasons take. If we had a below par pre season, what on earth did Watford have? They were out of puff from about 55min. Reality is that they put a colossal amount into pressing the hell out of us first half, got rewards from stephens and manning, and then parked the bus and couldn't live with us 2nd half. Sadly we missed Stewart.

You been waiting all summer for us to lose the 1st game so you can rant for Tonda out? Embarrassing 😂

You jest, but it doesn't show up at all against the Sky (dark blue) hoardings all around the outside of the stadium during their live games.

Stephens cost us 2 soft goals this game (manning also to blame for the 2nd one). And then the ridiculousness of starting Leo in the middle and Dobbin on the left. Stupid unnecessary defeat to start the season vs a pretty shit Watford side. Mubama offered absolutely Zilch when he came on. And Watford made it very clear we lack the necessary physicality (also - why oh why did Woods not start vs that kind of side?)...

Pretty poor so far 😂

Levi Collwill, so pretty recent really. Chambers was from Petersfield, JJ Morgan from Poole.

Ah yes, the Russel Martin interview playbook... ✅ Excuse - Lots of new players playing first game for the club ✅ Excuse - Blame scar tissue (haven't won't much in the past 2 years... despite most of the squad being new players 😅🙄). ✅ Players not doing his football right / #NotBrave. ✅ Bemoan the game being to open / "transitional" (I.e., not boring enough) ✅ Made sure to mention that he is "proud". ✅ Say "learn" more times than any rational person can keep count of. Oh how he's been missed in England.

Two days, two appalling match deciding handball decisions by the refs. Doesn't bode well.

Charles wasn't one of our top 4 players. Most people accepted at the start of the summer that it was likely we'd lose 2, and it was generally considered a good result if we only sold 1 of the big names this summer, I don't see it as anything changing 🤷 If someone offers us near £30M for scienza we should take it imo. Similarly, it's a luxury in the championship to have a £25-£30M CB. Spors will do very well with those kind of funds to tailor the squad to Tonda's liking.

Should get demoted for that. 93rd minute, wrong call, has clearly guessed at it without being sure, and utterly changes the result. Appalling.

Shocking decision there, never a penalty.

Probably the last thing THB will do, is move to what is essentially a relegation certainty. Which is Hull and Coventry out of the running unless they offer him silly money. He can stay with saints, have a good season at the top of the championship and know he'll either be up to the premier with saints and/or be in a very commanding position for a move (due to his contract term).

You've been a saints fans long enough to know it's 2nd or playoffs for us 😅

Its a fairly reasonable set of predictions imho.

I tend to agree... we'll find out in the coming months. Colchester managed a couple of founds of "you cheating bastards" and then gave up soon enough - i imagine this will be the case for the vast majority of sides. Personally I prefer NTT20 over 2nd tier (although now Ryan Dilks has left the 2nd tier has improved), and they made far less of a deal of things. A common theme throughout has been that none of them want to bet against us, and all of them think we have a shot at the title if no further spygate hangups come home to roost.

Excellent news, the victims were convinced they were getting him last week 😄

We won't thrash the victims. I would expect two very tense and combative games there. I'd be happy with 4 points from them right now.