SaintTex

did we really sign him for cover if Yoshida or Stephens get injured? I don't get it, but 1) I am not privy to what the manager sees on the training ground. 2) or maybe they found a real gem and don't want to show Caceres much, in order to sign him to a longer deal. 3) or maybe, this season is over, let's get Stephens some experience.

what drives me crazy is the wrap up commentary... comments in regards to the non-call on Tadic.. "Spurs probably got lucky there" and then concludes with "Good win for Spurs. Now, let's look at the top of the table..." It's completely casual when it comes to the Top teams. They get all the calls and it just gets brushed off in the analysis .. like, well it's Spurs; they are supposed to win. Honestly, no one cares if Southampton, West Brom, Stoke, Watford, etc. get done. It's just another day in the Premier League.

I didn't want to start a new thread and not sure where to put this. Could an 8th place finish get a club into Europa League next year if : a) Man U wins the Europa League, b) Man U finishes outside the Top 4, and c) the FA Cup is won by a Top 6 team like Chelsea? If the standings ended like this: *1. Chelsea (FA winner) *2. Spurs *3. City *4. Arsenal **5. Liverpool *6. Man U (Europa League Champion and EFL winner) **7. Everton **8. Southampton *Champions League **Europa League (5th place, FA Cup, and EFL Cup Winners) If so, we are 7 points behind 8th place with a match in hand. I am an American. I apologize in advance if I fouled that all up!! 2 weeks is a long time to wait between matches, I am bored. If Man U wins the Europa League

positive reviews for Cacaeres http://www.footballfancast.com/social-media/southampton-fans-impressed-by-top-class-martin-caceres-as-he-makes-his-debut

Tadic could play the No 10, but he is also very effective on the wing (especially on the left, overlapping with Bertrand). I think Gabbiadini, Tadic, Redmond, and Boufal are our strongest 4 up front. So, Gabbi as the No 9 and then any combination of the 3 behind. Whatever happens to work best. ------------Gabbi----------- Tadic-----Boufal-----Redmond the most difficult position to fill from our current rosters is who pairs up with Romeu? Davis, JWP, PEH, Clasie? I can see arguments for any of them. I have a soft spot for JWP, as he does give us an advantage with set pieces, I just wish he was more physical. Davis is steady, but unspectacular, PEH is all potential, but does offer that physicality. -------Romeu----????--------- The question in the back is: is Caceres the MAN? If not, we need to go get one. Yoshida has stepped up, but I still have doubts. My doubts may not even be fair due to recently play, but the stain of past performances in seasons past is still there for me. Bertrand--VVD--????--Cedric GK.. it is what it is. I hope McCarthy could challenge/push Forster. I am not convinced we can find someone better out there. So until further notice... ------------Forster------------ remaining as far as defense: Pied, Yoshida, McQueen, Stephens, and Targett are all quality backups. Gardos, Martina.. see ya! strikers, wingers: Austin, Long, Sims, JRod is not a bad set of second teamers midfield: Clasie, Davis, JWP, need a brawler? gk: McCarthy (about the best we could get as a backup), Hassan, Lewis needs DM, CB, GK.. we'll see. In a way, a quiet summer might be just what everyone needs. No European football + a summer to train + no manager turnover + no massive player turnover = bullish on next season.

now we are at a 0.4% chance of going down. http://www.sportsclubstats.com/England/Southampton.html and according to this site.. getting to 36 points likely guarantees safety this season.

Tadic does have a good history of playing with tall Italians. I think the rest and the week of training did everyone some good. I feel like the players hadn't had a moment to breathe that last 20 matches, the matches were coming so fast, one after the other. would be nice if the could get a friendly in next weekend.. nothing strenuous, just something to keep them sharp a bit.

Oh wow, this is what a 7 days between matches feels like.

Tadic for me. Always rooting for the guy, as I love his game (when on). He is a bit hard to figure out though; never really sure he is "all in" at times.

It's because we aren't in one. 3.3% chance. http://www.sportsclubstats.com/England/Southampton.html

also, let me add, after Swansea (Tuesday) we will have West Ham on Saturday, on just 3 days rest again. So, 9 straight matches on either 3 days rest or 2 days rest. Interestingly, 9 matches in January / 3 matches in February / 3 matches in March. so the fixtures are going to lighten up considerably in the next 2 months.

seriously.. look let's take a look at the fixtures. We are going to end up play 9 matches this month. 02-01-17 Everton L 07-01-17 Norwich D 11-01-17 Liverpool W 14-01-17 Burnley L 18-01-17 Norwich W 22-01-17 Leicester W 25-01-17 Liverpool W 28-01-17 Arsenal L 31-01-17 Swansea And since the first Norwich game, we have had a maximum of 3 days rest between each game after. Since Leicester it had been: Leicester, (two days rest), Liverpool, (two days rest), Arsenal, (two days rest), and now Swansea on Tuesday. I am cutting Puel some slack here. We don't have the squad depth and really we are not the type of club that can afford the required squad depth to make long runs in multiple cup (especially if you are going to draw teams like Arsenal).

pretty much this. there was going to be an emotional let down after Wednesday regardless.. I am not sure are best XI would have won today. I might be in the minority, but a FA Cup run just didn't seem realistic with the EFL Cup looming, our mid table status in the PL (a game 3 days away mind you) and the injuries that are beginning to pile up. throw the youngster out there and maybe you get lucky.. I am not happy with the result, but I understand the team selection.

I am getting sick of the "life without Mane" excuse from Liverpool. The irony is lost on them. Liverpool (Life without Mane) : 6 matches : 4 goals ~ 1W-2D-3L Southampton (Life without Mane) : 35 matches : 37 goals ~ 15W-9D-11L I reckon we are managing "life without Mane" a bit better, eh?

Long busted his ass getting in position to receive that pass from Sims. Wow!!! Look from where he started!

Lot of truth in that.. look how ordinary Liverpool has looked without Mane. Along with scoring goals, he opens up the play for others. Further, I think Tadic was most effective playing off Pelle. They always seemed to know where the other was gonna be or where the ball needed to be put. the dynamic is just completely different this year.. we don't look fluid. Hopefully that will come.

Come on!! You are comparing pre-injury Jay stats to post-injury Jay stats and blaming it on Puel?

i am thinking that he won't. This has got to be one of those "suck it up, you are a professional" type games. It is a BIG GAME. The adrenaline alone will probably get most of the starters today through the match next Wednesday. Unfortunately, might have to start some of our fringe players for the FA Cup Arsenal game - that was a crappy draw. Would have been nice to draw a League 1 team and rest players. games are coming every 3 days again.. Sun 22/1 Leicester W Wed 25/1 Liverpool EFL Cup Sat 28/1 Arsenal FA Cup Tue 31/1 Swansea PL Sat 4/2 West Ham PL Puel will be criticized game to game for lineups, but he has to manage the ENTIRE season and prioritize matches.

that is probably about right. I would be alright with Clasie starting. For Davis if injured or for Hojbjerg, as his form has been suspect of late. The big question is: is it the same starting XI for Wednesday? I think at least back the 6, Redmond, and Tadic need to be the same. There should be a min of 3 changes between Sunday and Wednesday IMO. Could see.... ------------Forster------------- Cedric Yoshida Virgil Bertrand ------------Romeu------------- -----Clasie----------JWP------- Redmond-----------------Tadic -------------Long--------------- I think Long and JRod play both games, but subbing for each other around the 70' mark.

Reality. The top 6 big clubs require 14 other clubs in the league to play. Do we want to be one of those 14 clubs or not? If not, they certainly can find another club willing to participate in the bread and circus. I reckon the average supporter would like us to stay in the Premiership. How do you do that? One way is being smart financially and profitable. Check. Another way is have enough quality on the pitch to not be in the bottom 3. Check. 3rd way? Is to maintain a successful academy that rounds out the squad, so you are not constantly having to pay high prices for risky international players. 4th.. you might argue, is expand your brand globally, ie: Southampton Way Story/Mythology, opening camps in the US, UnderArmour Kit deal, etc. sure there might be an anomaly every now and then, but the realistic attainable goal is finish somewhere between 7 & 17. End.

you also warned us years we finished 14th, and 8th, and 7th, and 6th. Your warnings don't hold much water.

likely thought 3 games in 6 days was too much and they will play against Everton. I thought the Starting XI was spot on considering schedule and availability. Just didn't work out.

no, we are not. Sunderland(14pts), Hull(13pts), and Swansea(12 pts) are in danger of going down. Hell 35 points is the safe zone considering how few points those teams have at the halfway point.

With Redmond's suspension and Tadic seemingly fit again, I hope we are going to finally see Tadic and Boufal together in the Starting XI on Saturday. (and then Boufal is off to Africa! Just great.) Defensively, we need to be tight, because I fear if we give up a first half goal, 3 points won't be possible. I am a bit down about the team today and I have been maybe a bit spoiled from past seasons. I miss the offensive creativity and fluidity we used to exhibited (we have potential, see JRod's first goal against Bournemouth [Davis/Boufal], but it has been far a few between). There used to be such joy and teamwork amongst the players, something is missing. Tadic really misses Pelle, I imagine. When those two clicked it was a thing of beauty. We don't have that same dynamism at all this year. Don't see that changing much for the rest of the season; every game is going to be a slog and I reckon our overall goal differential will hover around zero for the rest of the season. However, A top 10 finish is still very do-able. This summer is going to be a very crucial summer in my opinion. We still have a good team with good players, but we have had a blip; gone backward slightly. The question is: does that trend continue next season or do we get ambitious this summer and correct it? lineup for the game: Forster Martina Yoshida VvD McQueen Clasie Romeu Højbjerg Boufal Long Tadic not normally what I would prefer at the back four, but would rather have, Cedric, Fonte, and Bertrand available for Everton away.