Ultimatt

Stats from Premierleague.com https://www.premierleague.com/clubs/20/Southampton/stats?se=79 Shots (per game) 2012/13 MoPo: 516 (13.58) 2013/14 MoPo: 534 (14.05) 2014/15 Koeman: 509 (13.39) 2015/16 Koeman: 519 (13.66) 2016/17 Puel: 550 (14.47) More shots last year under Puel than the previous managers, but seriously lacking the quality to convert having not replaced what Mane/Pelle offered. Saves / Goals conceded 2012/13 MoPo: No stats 2013/14 MoPo: 85 / 46 2014/15 Koeman: 80 / 33 2015/16 Koeman: 94 / 41 2016/17 Puel: 76 / 48 Least saves. Most goals conceded. Forster was woeful last year. We had our 3rd/4th choice CB's most of the season. We no longer had a DM enforcer like Wanyama or Morgan protecting outside the box. The stats say Puel was massively let down by mediocre players while his predecessors had more quality. Our fanbase was spoilt with some brilliant players that got poached by top clubs and now we have the same expectations for a much weaker side.

Claude's system was the 4-4-2 diamond that people complained about and wanted him to revert, and interestingly people are now suggesting that same 4-4-2.

It's not the manager.... It wasn't Puel's fault. It's not Pellegrino's fault. Its our squad. Our midfield/wingers don't score. None of them have ever been prolific. A lot of them were fringe players at their clubs when we bought them on the cheap. We sold our only player that could hold up the ball. We sold our best attacking player in Mane. We replaced them with a more mobile striker in Gabbiadini and a guy that struggled in the championship with Norwich. All our attacking players except Austin are lightweight and get bullied off the ball. As soon as we get pressed none of them have the strength to hold it which is what Pelle brought. This team is so unbelievably easy to defend against. Teams can comfortably sit back and clear cross after cross because we don't get players forward in the box and even when we do they're all small and weak. Teams can press and bully us of the ball. Our lone striker is completely disconnected and gets closed down out of the game with no one around to give him space. Worst team since we got promoted. We need to stop targeting players that failed at big clubs. If they're not good enough for big clubs then we're buying midtable or worse (Bertrand never got a chance at Chelsea behind Cole, Romeu had a bad injury while still young). We need to stop targeting young english players because of their potential sale value if they succeed. We made some brilliant overseas signings that gave us our recent success, buying English means buying with a markup. We should be buying players that were stars in their leagues; Pelle, Mane, VVD etc.

Not sure why people are still blaming the manager. Silva would do just as bad with this lot. We've rewarded a bunch of mediocre players with 5 year contracts, rewarded a keeper that had his worst ever season with a contract extension. Our team is the weakest its been since getting back in the prem and they don't create anything Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Best shots so far by Stephens and Bertrand. Says a lot about our midfield that never scores Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Has to be 352 next game. Let Bertrand and Cedric push up and don't leave Gabbi so isolated with the lightweight jwp/davis/redmond/boufal. They're all too weak to hold up the ball and we quickly lose it Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

What else can we expect with this lineup. No-one to hold the ball up front and no one to stretch the defense. We've been useless in attack ever since we sold pelle and mane Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

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Actually we did compete while the gap was small. £100m spend for 70 points vs our £85m spend for 63 points. And back to hovering around relegation/bottom half. I'd hate to see the complaints there on how they "didn't push on". Every now and then a team recruits well and starts punching above its weight for a year or 3. Then they return back to normal levels. We punched above our weight with half a team that moved on to bigger clubs. Spurs are punching above their weight with some shrewd signings and a star home-grown striker but the cracks are forming with their limited budget. Our level is 8th-12th with the occasional better or worse years and it's all to do with how much money we have. Modern football is all about money. Putting unrealistic expectations on managers/Reed is the path towards no stability and our club becoming a basket case.

You're right, I put the wrong years, but how does that make the argument wrong? Spurs only beat us by 7 points in 2015/16 when they had similar wage spend. They offered new contracts to the majority of their players for 2016/17 moving above that £100m wage spend and they've offered new contracts again this season moving even higher. Explain to me how we can consistently compete with clubs paying 2.5x wages than us. Explain to me how if everything's so rosy at Spurs, why they're having to offer new contracts/payrises year on year to players already on 5 year contracts.

They have a young squad on low wages. They'd be well and truly paying unders for virtually all of them. Kane is on less than £100k/week. That means he's on similar money to Forster.... Lukaku's on apparently £200k/pw. Alli was on about £50k/pw and now apparently £80k/pw. 3 new contracts in 2 years. Kane also signed a new one each year as did other players. They all know they're being underpaid for the success Spurs is getting and they want more money. Spurs has no chance to hold this team together paying wages close to ours in the same way we had no chance to hold onto Lallana/Schneiderlin/Clyne/Mane etc.

Lol at the people suggesting we should've pushed on from 6th and regularly competed with the big clubs. Explain to me how we can magically go from our £85m wage budget to the £195m+ of the big 5. 2016/17 wage budgets: Man Utd £232m Chelsea £224m Liverpool £208m Man City £198m Arsenal £195m Spurs £100m Southampton £85m Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jun/01/premier-league-finances-club-by-club The fact is we over-performed based on our spend the last few years thanks to some quality players that moved on to top clubs. Last season we only had 2 players worthy of big clubs (Bertrand/VVD) with 1 injured half the season (Some will argue Cedric & Romeu too, imo they're good but not top club level). Unless we make some incredibly shrewd signings we'll be battling with the 13 other clubs on similar wage budgets. Spurs right now are over-performing the same way we did with a squad of real quality players. Watch them get picked apart over the next 2 years like we did when they all demand higher wages (already seeing discontent with Rose). People that think we can consistently compete with the big clubs are either deluded or trolls. 2017 football is all about money and we don't have it.

£70m for a CB. I read the comments about us being a laughing stock but i'll be laughing at Liverpool if we sell to them. They'd be royally mugged for that price. Great player but no CB is worth that coin, let alone one that hasn't played in 7 months.

Selling VVD for £60m and signing a marquee AM for £35-40m would make for a great window. Hoedt-Yoshida will probably do a reasonable enough job, we know Davis/Redmond/Tadic won't. I'd also look at loaning Hojbjerg if he's not even going to make the bench. U23's is too low a level for a former Bayern player and he's at the age where he needs to play. Davis/JWP/Romeu/Lemina/Clasie/Hojbjerg/+1 AM signing, 7 players is too much for 3 spots.

What's worse is they're not signing young like us either. They're signing ready made and still failing. Their last 6 biggest transfer fees were for: Arnautovic 28 Chicharito 29 Ayew 26 Lanzini 23 Snodgrass 29 Fonte 33

We're trying to play long balls over the back of them. Its leaving acres between our back 6 and front 4. We seriously need a target man or top quality AM if we want to play this style. It won't work with what we've got Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Would like.... ........................ McCarthy ........................ .. Cedric .... Hoedt ... Yoshida .... Bertrand .. ......................... Romeu .......................... ................ Davis ......... Lemina ................. ......................... Boufal ........................... ................ Gabbi ......... Austin ................. or ........................ McCarthy ........................ ........ Stephens .... Hoedt .... Yoshida ......... .. Cedric ........... Romeu ........... Bertrand .. ................ Davis ........... JWP ................... ......................... Gabbi ........................... ......................... Austin ........................... I think playing narrower would suit us. We seem to have no problem pushing out wide and crossing but we're always outnumbered in the opp. box and our players aren't tall/physical for crosses. Either have our wingers play more like a #10 than a #7/#11 or use our "Best in the league" centre mid options behind 2 up top. Expecting.. ........................ Forster ........................ ........ Stephens .... Hoedt .... Yoshida ......... .. Cedric .... Romeu .. Lemina .... Bertrand ... ......... Tadic ..................... Redmond ......... ......................... Gabbi ............................

3 at the back will become the norm. Look at our signings: 2 new cb with none out. It gives Stephens a starting spot he wouldn't otherwise get. Expect a lot of defensive 0-0 1-0 scorelines Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

The exact same attacking players as last season. Tadic Redmond Boufal JWP Davis just don't deliver going forward. 1 open play goal in 3 games against Relegation fodder Swansea, 10 man WHam and Championship Wolves 2nd string XI. We're destined for mediocrity until we sign up front.

Not very saints-like this signing. Normally we only hear about it the night before. Can't help but feel its dependant on something else; VVD going, Yoshida not extending or someone else going to free up space in the 25.

He's started this season much better. Would still like to see him come off his line for crosses more but we probably need to accept he'll never do that. Hopefully he can keep his shot stopping form up as he'll definitely be tested more this season than last.

Spurs pay about 1.5x the wage bill of us and the rest of the also rans but only half of the big clubs around them. Their current squad was brilliantly put together getting players at that young age where they're not yet demanding big salaries but they won't be able to keep this team together. They're above us in the food chain but ultimately still small fry to Manchester x2 Chelsea arsenal Liverpool. Watch them get picked apart in the next 2 years. It'll take strong recruiting for them to stay top 4. Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

£42m for a CB that's only played 1 season against Eredivisie attackers. Mental Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Hoedt a replacement for Yoshida? 1 year left on contract so the club will be looking for him to pen a new deal or move on. I'd guess Yoshida is waiting to see whether he'll be 1st choice or bench this year before deciding.

With knocking off Kat's loans we're already £60m(?) ahead + the £6m p.a. saving on interest. We were already super conservative in the transfer market so hard to see them investing less there. My guess is things stay the same with regards to our on field/player strategy and all their changes will come off field; building the brand in China, developing around the Stadium.