NewYorkSaint

Ha!

VectisSaint wrote: "I'd be interested to know how you think that the squad has been strengthened. " Instead of Lambert: Pelle. Instead of Lallana + Gaston: Tadic + Long + Mane (+ Isgrove) Instead of Shaw + Fox: Bertrand + Targett Instead of Lovren: Gardos + Toby Instead of Clyne and Chambers: Clyne (+ Toby) Instead of Boruc + Gazza: Forster + Boruc Plus continued improvement of JWP, Wanyama, Schneiderlin, Cork. Defense you could argue is a push, but overall looks like clear step up to me. Not to mention the £30m to stash away for a rainy day.

Like most others here, I'm impressed and excited at what LR, RK and the board have pulled off here. I agree with the general opinion that while the first team may be about equal to last year's, overall the squad - and the club - are definitely stronger. I'm intrigued by how this fits in to the overall strategy for the coming years. Last year's biggest frustrations were: - tendency to fail in last part of matches. We started games incredibly strong, but tired. Already signs that Koeman has a different fitness & energy utilization strategy. Every second half has been super strong, and we've already done what MP never achieved, and come back to win from behind away from home. - dramatic fall in performance when injuries happened. Loss of, at various times, Lallana, Wanyama, Cork and others stopped our top of table surge in its tracks. This year, the same number of injuries won't be as damaging. Plus it's clear we have a manager who can contemplate a wide range of playing systems - refusal to compete in cups. The Sunderland story was one thing. Even worse, to my mind, was MP's public ridicule of the Europa League. Given that stance it was irrational to try for higher than 7th place, or to compete in the FA Cup. Of course, with last year's squad, there was a strong argument he was right. That squad probably couldn't have managed EL along with being PL competitive. But that means the club can't progress. You'd have to leap from 8th to 4th somehow... a near impossible task. So what I give the board most credit for, is it seems to me they've been doing some long term dreaming about what progress would look like and how it might play out. I think the rationale may be that the only way we'll get to CL is by first climbing up to a top-6 finish. That means getting equipped for Europa League. The good news is that the same investment in depth that makes it possible to imagine qualifying for and gaining success in EL, also strongly increases our chance of competing effectively in cups this season. We can afford to play really strong teams in cup games. Lifting some of that silverware wont' make a ton of money, but it will lift the profile of the club, and help propel momentum toward greater things. Ultimately, to be top 4 contender in the long run, we will need a bigger stadium and a bigger worldwide brand. I think our best route to that is to become known globally as the club that is the best developer of youth in the world. And all the signs are that that too is part of what the board are dreaming of. RK may come off to some as not speaking like the kind of football person we're used. But you could also argue that there's a role for the more strategic, analytics based sports management in the English Premier League. I think he probably brings that. He's a lot more than just a motivational manager. What we've seen these past couple weeks is strong evidence of some really intriguing long-term strategy at work. I'm excited for what lies ahead.

9 hrs to go. Toby or not Toby? That is the question.

Utterly dominant. So great to see. Almost everyone played well. Yoshida a couple of fantastic tackles. Davis on fire second half. Tadic, in addition to all his creative skills, is also wonderful at winning the ball. Really like Pelle. The variation in skills between him, Long, Tadic is really promising. Bertrand looks every bit as good as Luke Shaw. Clyne fantastic game. And as for Morgan... Give the club credit. It took balls to put a line in the sand and say no more. It has completely paid off.

Originally Posted by Batman "Jesus. So poor in front of goal." Thank god we subbed him for Pelle, then.

First 15 minutes thrilling play by Saints. Rest of the half got bogged down. Unlucky goal against. Equalizer deserved. Bertrand and Tadic terrific. Long, Pelle promising. Pelle's header from Bertrand's cross saved on the line was fantastic. Cork on for JWP or Davis second half?

I read a lot of comments like this, and genuinely am puzzled as to the logic behind them. Is there something in the air at Upton Park that makes it more like that the home side scores a higher % of their shots? Or that makes us more likely to spurn chance after chance? Isn't another possibility that luck plays a big role in football? Personally, based on the evidence cited above (which is indeed what happened), I'd say we were the better team last year. The better team often loses. But it wins more often than it loses. Past history on a particular ground really means very little. It's just statistical noise. The current state of both teams is far more relevant. WH seem a little better this year than last but now have injury problems. We're a little Jeckyll and Hyde, but the Jeckyll Saints show signs of being pretty wonderful. I think 1-1, or 2-1 Saints are more likely scores!

There are lots of ways the league COULD try to implement a fairer system. Baseball in the US has a 'luxury tax' system whereby teams the exceed a certain payroll total have to pay a percentage of the excess into a fund that is aimed at developing the sport. The system I'd propose is that over 10 years you'd gradually introduce a tax on player payrolls over £100m, rising eventually to 30% of any excess. The money would be divided equally and re-distributed to all clubs in the league. Apart from that, no salary restrictions. This wouldn't completely level the playing field, but it would certainly be a step in that direction and would make the whole league more exciting. An even better system, in terms of generating extra excitement, would handicap teams a point for, say, every £10m they spend over £100m (based on prior season's numbers). That would mean teams like Man City and Chelsea would be starting with 10 points to catch up. This system would give clubs that spend their money wisely a fighting chance of breaking through to the Champions League, and would penalize excessive spending for the sake of spending. Yeah, I know. Won't happen. Though you could argue from Sky's perspective, it would boost viewership.

Why not just decide to be happy for the guy? We bred him. We loved him. We got good money for him. Any Academy graduate who goes on to play for England is great for Southampton's reputation. Besides, it's a lot more fun being happy than angry! Personally, I hope he gets selected and makes us proud.

He is incredibly likable. Combination of humble, but lots of heart. Dare I say Lambert-esque? I predict he'll end up a huge favorite at Saints.

0-4. Isgrove, Long, & Pelle x 2. Interesting that Morgan not there. Hope to see Taider play for 20 mins.

Re Pelle. He had a terrible first half, but I thought was much, much better second half. Started winning a lot more in the air. The addition of Long may have been part of the reason. Their defense had more to think about. He can certainly look clumsy when he misfires, but I believe he will come into his own after a few more games. Among the +ves, I don't think big Vic has had enough recognition. It's not just his physical presence. His speed and skills are something to behold. A couple of turns away from trouble were just fantastic. The game was certainly disappointing, but there were several last year that felt similar. If JWP's spectacular free kick had been 6 inches further right, we'd all be telling a different story this morning.

Pride!

Pride!

On US TV, Morgan being blamed for the goal. Soft tackle on Henderson. But he showed more bite later in the half. Victor, Bertrand, Tadic, Davis all superb. I thought JWP strong too apart from a couple of misunderstandings. Overall, there are a ton of positives against a strong Liverpool. Can't wait for the second half. We'll see Taider and Long before too long.

On US TV, Morgan being blamed for the goal. Soft tackle on Henderson. But he showed more bite later in the half. Victor, Bertrand, Tadic, Davis all superb. I thought JWP strong too apart from a couple of misunderstandings. Overall, there are a ton of positives against a strong Liverpool. Can't wait for the second half. We'll see Taider and Long before too long.

Delighted that the tide has turned so beautifully. Morgan will stay. Sanity prevails. The club's credibility notches one to the good. I stick with my suggestion/prediction that he shdn't start but should be on the bench. I would hope to see him inject fresh energy second half.

Nice goal.

Worth bearing in mind a statistics point. The number of goals a striker scores in a given season should be adjusted to reflect the overall quality of the club he's playing for. For the last 3 years Long has been playing for WBA and Hull. They seem to score about 40 goals a season. The top clubs score about 100. Number of goals scored by a striker is hugely a function of chances created by the rest of the team. Long's average 8 goals a year for Hull/WBA arguably are therefore equivalent to about 20 goals if he had been playing for Man City or Liverpool. Bottom line. We won't really know how good he is until we see the partnership with Pelle, and the service from Tadic, Ramirez and gang.

As Olallana points out... these quotes are months old. If he'd said this after having the move turned down, it would be troubling. But he didn't. Move on!

I'm genuinely surprised how many here would let Morgan leave. The point that's missing from the discussion is that the club's and Krueger's reputations are on the line on this one. Krueger couldn't have been more black and white. If someone can still wrangle a departure after the categorical statements he made, it will come back to bite in the future, time and again. Letting him go to Spurs seems especially mad. I strongly believe it's worth holding the line here, even if it means we get no money, and Morgan doesn't play. The truth is, IF we hold the line I'm pretty sure he will be playing soon enough. Comments like "there's no point in him being here if his head isn't in it" seem to assume that people don't change. Once Morgan is looking at 5 months till next transfer window, I have no doubt he'll buckle down and start training properly. And there's plenty of ways the club can help nurture that. Maybe offer him a bonus for matching last season's amazing stats on interceptions, etc. Or just give him time with Jose, who seems genuinely to like him and want him to stay. We should not give up on Morgan. In fact, I really don't think it's a sane option to let him go at this point. January, maybe... if an amazing offer comes in, and it's clear we're strong enough without him. That would not under cut Krueger at that point. I personally hope he stays, comes on as sub at Liverpool. That sends all the right messages: You can't start because you haven't played enough with the team. But still, we're going to give you a chance to be a hero.

My impression is van Gaal not that overwhelmed by Luke Shaw, a decision made before his time... hence his interest in Rojo (and his weird public comments about Luke being unfit, etc). Would be ironic for Luke if he ends up on the bench.

Most likely scores: Liverpool win 2-0 or 2-1. But at odds of 6:1, a Saints win has to be a great bet. They're missing the incredible silky skills of Adam Lallana, right? Rogers will look pretty foolish if he loses to the side he believed he'd claimed the crown jewels from. But on the opening day of the season, with RoKo and his plans still under wraps, it could easily happen. It'll be interesting to see if Rickie starts. I'm guessing more likely he comes on as 70th minute sub. The only things that would really hurt would be 1) worse than 3-0. 2) Lovren scores. 3) Lovren injures one of our players.

Unfortunately, I think these are all spam links put up by malware companies... If anyone finds a working stream, please let me know! (In US, even Radio Solent is blocked!)