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One of those "Who would you keep next season?" Threads


Lighthouse

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Let's just dare to suppose we did get promoted, after an 8-8 draw with Posh at Wembley in the playoff final and a nerve biting 11-10 penalty shoot out win in which every smoker and/or lard arse in Southampton is killed by a massive infarction.

 

So who would you keep next season? My $0.02:

 

'Keepers:

Bart - In

Forecast - Out

Kelvin - Undecided(getting on a bit, hardly commanding at this level)

 

Defenders:

Harding - In

Richardson - In

Fonte - In

Martin - In

Mills - In Would be my first choice NPC LB in all honnesty.

Jaidi - Out

Butters - Undecided Good enough for the top of NPC?

Seaborne - Undecided I don't particularly rate him at this level if I'm honnest.

Dickson - Undecided Never understood that singing at all. We bought him in, then farmed a much better player out on loan to the League above us.

 

Midfield

Lallana - In If he wants to stay

AOC - In As above

Morgan - In I really don't think Prem teams will be fighting over him, regardless of how highly some posters rate him.

Chaplow - In

Hammond - In

Holmes - Out Just too injured

Forte - Undecided Haven't seen all that much of him.

Gobern - Undecided Been flirting with the first team for a few years, but really needs to start making an impact.

 

Strikers

Lambert - In A decent pre season should get him fit again.

Barnard - In

Connolly - Out

Guly - Undecided He wont be sold having only just signed, but I'm not convinced yet

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Not sure how many players Norwich signed or how changed they are from last season, but we know that they signed Surman. Leeds signed seven players last summer and released quite a few.

 

I think we will see Jaidi, Puncheon, Forecast, one of Dickson or Harding, N'Guesson and Connolly leave. Just replacing them one for one means six new players. I would expect us to bring in players who can immediately compete for the first team squad so we could see a dramatically different team to the current one.

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We'll need a few additions instead of an overhaul IMO. We play so much better against sides who will play football, and on much better pitches. In this league I fancy us more against any of top 6 at home rather than the bottom 6 away, simply due to the pitch being in good condition and knowing we're not coming up against a team that's gonna park the bus.

 

With our current squad I think we'd survive comfortably enough in the NPC, replace a few of the regular starting 'squad players', with a bit of quality, and I reckon we would push for top 6

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Some people in this forum keep overestimating the Championship.

 

It really isn't that great...

 

- Saints 3rd choice left back Joseph Mills is playing on loan for a mid table Championship side.

- Saints "rejects" Wayne Thomas and Simon Gillet are playing for a mid table Championship side.

- Saints 3rd choice winger Jason Puncheon is on loan in the Premier League.

- Leeds and Norwich have very similar squads to those of their League One promotion campaigns and are both in the Championship playoff places. Millwall not too far behind.

 

Forte - has played 120 games at Championship level!

Hammond - has played 88 games at Championship level!

Harding - Has played 91 games at Championship level!

Butterfield - Has played 356 games at Championship level! 7 in the Premier League.

Richardson - Has played 96 games at Championship level! 4 in the Premier League.

Chaplow - Has played 177 games at Championship level! 11 in the Premier League.

Holmes - Has played 58 games at Championship level!

Lallana - Has played 46 games at Championship level!

Schneiderlin - Has played 30 games at Championship level!

Fonte - Has played 88 games at Championship level! Plus 37 in the Portuguese top flight!

Bialkowski - Has played 17 games at Championship level!

Davis - Has played 350 games at Championship level! Plus 33 in the Premier League.

Jaidi - Has played 68 games at Championship level! Plus 61 in the Premier League.

Connolly - Has played 232 games at Championship level! Plus 22 in the Premier League.

Mills - Has played 22 games at Championship level.

Puncheon - Has played 21 games at Championship level! Plus 3 in the Premier League.

Barnard - Has played 3 games at Premier League level!

Dickson - has played 5 games at Championship level!

Guly - A key player in a promotion winning Serie B side.

 

...all have good experience of the Championship or higher. Admittedly Connolly, Holmes and Jaidi may well be released at the end of season for age and injury reasons.

Edited by Matthew Le God
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We'll need a few additions instead of an overhaul IMO. We play so much better against sides who will play football, and on much better pitches. In this league I fancy us more against any of top 6 at home rather than the bottom 6 away, simply due to the pitch being in good condition and knowing we're not coming up against a team that's gonna park the bus.

 

With our current squad I think we'd survive comfortably enough in the NPC, replace a few of the regular starting 'squad players', with a bit of quality, and I reckon we would push for top 6

 

I'd be inclined to go along with your assumptions Jack. Admittedly, Jaidi is getting near the end of his career but --if he has a year left on his contract ?..he'd be worth keeping IMO. The goalie situation seems uncertain: KD is ok for the most, but Bart is still inexperienced, and Forecast..cannot be assessed).

 

We ought to have another central defender (just in case) but I'm most concerned about the stability of the midfield.

Will Alex stay?, what will happen to Puncheon?. Holmes may still be a find if he stays fit because he's still quite young.

 

We need a couple of dependable strikers. Connolly may not recover fitness, Barnards "legal" standing is still uncertain

and no-one's certain if Ricky can cut it a third season ..and, in the CCC.

If nothing else we need at least 4 good strikers if we are to continue pressing onto a return to the Prem.

 

Thats where NC's new investment is needed.

Edited by david in sweden
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I'd be inclined to go along with your assumptions Jack. Admittedly, Jaidi is getting near the end of his career but --if he has a year left on his contract ?..he'd be worth keeping IMO. The goalie situation seems uncertain: KD is ok for the most, but Bart is still inexperienced, and Forecast..cannot be assessed).

 

We ought to have another central defender (just in case) but I'm most concerned about the stability of the midfield.

Will Alex stay?, what will happen to Puncheon?. Holmes may still be a find if he stays fit because he's still quite young.

 

We need a couple of dependable strikers. Connolly may not recover fitness, Barnards "legal" standing is still uncertain

and no-one's certain if Ricky can cut it a third season ..and, in the CCC.

If nothing else we need at least 4 good strikers if we are to continue pressing onto a return to the Prem.

 

Thats where NC's new investment is needed.

 

Peterborough to stay down and CMS to sign please.

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you will have pain wished upon you now..

I agree..apart from a purple patch, I dont think he has done much.....

 

barny any day for me....hassles defenders, alway busy and gets free kicks..

 

Barny is twice the player Guly is. Don't worry about the insults, I'm used to it. While I'm here have to say I'm still baffled by us signing Ryan Dickson. Just seems so unnecessary when Mills is still our player.

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I'd give Jaidi another deal. Having two units at centre back is priceless in the championship as we found out to our cost. Yes he is old slow but he isn't really slower than he was at Brum when he was vital in getting them promoted.

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if we really want to get ahead of ourselves the masterplan behind the project must be to build a Prem team this summer...

 

 

But before we start making offers for the likes of Heskey, Phillips and Bramble, shall we gather a few more points and book the automatic place out of the third tier?

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Out of interest; The side that Norwich put out last night contained only 3 players from their side that finished League 1 last season, Martin in defence, Holt and Hoolahan, the others may or may not be on the bench or injured, I don't know but it's a myth that they're in 2nd place in the NPC with last season's squad.We also will need serious strengthening at both ends of the pitch.

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Out of interest; The side that Norwich put out last night contained only 3 players from their side that finished League 1 last season, Martin in defence, Holt and Hoolahan, the others may or may not be on the bench or injured, I don't know but it's a myth that they're in 2nd place in the NPC with last season's squad.We also will need serious strengthening at both ends of the pitch.

 

That's a very telling piece of information. Earlier in the thread I said 6 new players, but I'm now thinking 7-8 is more likely with a similar number leaving.

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Agreed, Norwich and Leeds both changed their keeper in the close season.

 

Because Ankergren is pony. Norwich changed their keeper because Newcastle loaned him to Celtic. Norwich were desperate to keep hold of him. I like KD and think he deserves a chance back in the Championship but he is always prone to dropping a huge clanger but in fairness makes up for it with a series of saves he has no right to make. I remember Brentford away last season. It was probably the finest display by a keeper I have seen since Niemi was here and nothing was made of it.

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