eelpie

The costs are worrying. I've watched Saints on and off since the mid-fifties and had a season ticket for ten years now including those worse years when attendances were low and we nearly didn't exist. It does seem that the club is increasingly ignoring its most loyal supporters and squeezing them out of the club. I've really enjoyed all years especially recently, watching Adam and co progress through the Academy, and for the great entertainment and successes. Will it become just happy memories now money is tight? Probably. And IF renewing, many of the published match dates will as always be changed to times or days that we can't make, and that makes the costs per match even more expensive. It is true that to having the best players costs. But is it worth renewing when we have no idea if our best players will still be here next season? I'm not sure.

Marshall is confident in goal, and shows it. Boruc is not.

Well, there were plenty of opportunities to catch Cardiff out when we often dispossessed them in our own half. What did we do? Pretty sideways p*ssing about when a speedy forward pass could have exposed their keeper. Poor tactics.

You are being unkind to parsnips . Saints were playing frisbee on the beach. I real[y don't see any point in coming to watch Mr Poches posers any more this season if this is the best they can do, nor buy another expensive season ticket because I don't believe their heart and soul is with the club now. And the watching Katherina must be wondering why she should invest in this feckless lot (Clyne and Davis excepted.)

What a crazy OS post. Where would we have been without Jack Cork this season? Nearer the relegation zone for sure.

James Milner and Scott Sinclair are on their way out of the Etihad according to The Guardian

Richard Wright is on his way out of the Etihad. Must be better and more reliable than what we have, and would surely welcome the move, though I would prefer Schmeichel or Ruddy, but top of the list has to be Begovic for me.

So sad for Jay. Now we really can appreciate what a massive impact he has been having on our play, being without him. I wouldn't be surprised that his name might be high up on Saints Player of the Year list on the other thread. And that really would be massive because Adam's play has been quite mesmerizing.

Quote, unquote

Fonte does make a habit of fouling when he is beaten, mostly shirt pulling, and I fear he has got into a habit of hoping he can get away with it. Not on this occasion.

We're not playing for nothing We are playing to maintain 8th place and then challenge for 7th. But City have much more at stake, of course, so if we get ahead early they could get rattled and make mistakes. COYR! Rickie and all, we can do it!!

But we haven't won anything yet

From The Guardian: "Pochettino on audition at White Hart Lane Mauricio Pochettino is one of several managers to have been linked with a summer move to White Hart Lane and it's not hard to see why: his endorsement of last summer's record-breaking signing of Dani Osvaldo showed him as the sort of shrewd operator who would fit right in at Tottenham. OK, that mishap aside, the appeal of the Argentinian is obvious: building on the decent work of his predecessor, he has cultivated a slick side that play with dynamism, creativity and efficiency. Chances are he could fairly chuck a gilet too, if called upon. So this match may be portrayed as a sort of audition for Pochettino. Except that billing would suggest that managing Tottenham is a more desirable position than managing Southampton. Is it? Katharina Liebherr is best placed to answer that: if the Southampton owner intends pursuing the same strategy as in recent years, spending decent amounts to supplement – rather than sell – the fruit of the club's fertile academy, then a good manager could achieve more there in the long term than at Spurs, whose make-it-up-as-as-they-go-along approach carries all the false promise of an Aaron Lennon run. PD" Ok so we have to got used to all clubs above us thinking they can help themselevs to our entire team and manager, since they can't produce their own, but the article is corect in that there is going to be an interesting tactical battle between MoPo and Sherwood. The interesting comment in the article is the acknowledgement that Pocchettino might find the current Saints set up with Katherina Liebherr more desirable. Will Saturday's match enlighten us more?

It's a standard Saints tactic that our defences been doing for years. Why?

Could this be an example of future travel economies..? From the article about the new Chairman in the club's website: "“We had a road trip last Wednesday to the England match against Denmark and it was good because the traffic was really bad!” he joked. There was six of us in the van ...."

I thought that it was a positive club statement, and a clear commitment to the future. Significantly Katherina looked happy and committed to Saints too, standing beside the new Chairman. I was worried when NC resigned, but I do feel somewhat reassured.. Next let's hear that MoPo has agreed a new contract. Then we can move on and plan positively for next season. Regarding fears about selling our best players, the new Board must understand that the value of the club is little more than the skills of our team and future success in climbing the Premiership and European football is dependent on that.

It doesn't rhyme and it's stupid

The Telegraph knows nothing. SFC doesn't have a manager. MoPo is First Team Coach. According to Les Read.

Yep. What a tragedy for both Theo and Ox that they did not continue their football education at Saints. How even better they could have become. The Southampton way at developing and improving football skills is better than Arsenal's clearly. They had the early talent. Adam had the potential, but he grafted and worked to better his all round skills-despite injuries- and truly deserves his current acclaim.

And if Ince score we'll sign him instead.

42 points. That's more like it. Now don't mess up!

Puncheon looks promising (not for penalties though). We could do with a match winner off the bench. That would be an improvement. And he wants Premiership footie.

We probably can - but at a cost. I believe that one of the reasons that players are fluffing scoring opportunities is because of the constant attacking pressure against well-drilled packed defences. We do not have a large enough squad of premiership quality players off the bench to be able to sustain this. Players are noticeably becoming more tired as matches proceed. We need more variety. We need to be able to rotate players, but we do not yet have enough quality players to do this successfully.

It isn't attacking formation that is the problem, it is not having an alternative to the high-risk high pressing game, when our small squad of first team Prem quality players, battling against solid, dense defences, are becoming increasingly more tired as matches progress. Adkins was at least learning that we needed to base our game around defence, breaking fast into spaces in attack, and his results were improving. MoPo's teams don't as the season progresses for those reasons.

Has anyone any idea how Osvaldo is getting on? Is he doing well enough to be likely to be signed by anyone at the end of the season?