Finn Azaz

[Holmes_and_Watson]

2 hours ago, Gloucester Saint said:

He’d got into the Championship team of the year at Swansea and Leeds also wanted him, was linked with PL clubs. It was assumed that he’d probably follow Martin (and did) but very underwhelming first season, slightly better last year but this season going forward is what we had expected in terms of set pieces and assists. 

This. He was considered a key part of Martin's Swansea side. Their inverted full back approached worked well with Manning moving across and forward to support. Even then, I recall him being considered better going forward than being a standard full back.

At Saints we had KWP, who was given Manning's role and more, resulting in Manning having to adapt to being on the other side of Martin's system.

Given decent defensive midfield support, we could see good things from him even in a 4. If Still wants a more solid back 4, he'd still be an important game changer from the bench.

[Football Special]

1 hour ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

This. He was considered a key part of Martin's Swansea side. Their inverted full back approached worked well with Manning moving across and forward to support. Even then, I recall him being considered better going forward than being a standard full back.

At Saints we had KWP, who was given Manning's role and more, resulting in Manning having to adapt to being on the other side of Martin's system.

Given decent defensive midfield support, we could see good things from him even in a 4. If Still wants a more solid back 4, he'd still be an important game changer from the bench.

I'm sure Will Still watched the Ireland game last night , Manning was playing as if he had a point to prove , they play again on Tuesday evening away in Armenia so will be up against that Krasnador mush we'd been trying to sign , might watch that one rather than England 

[gio1saints]

4 minutes ago, Football Special said:

I'm sure Will Still watched the Ireland game last night , Manning was playing as if he had a point to prove , they play again on Tuesday evening away in Armenia so will be up against that Krasnador mush we'd been trying to sign , might watch that one rather than England 

Nice spot. Think you are right. Certainly watching that Ireland match with Saints players instead of another episode of same old boring boring England. 

[revolution saint]

2 hours ago, gio1saints said:

Nice spot. Think you are right. Certainly watching that Ireland match with Saints players instead of another episode of same old boring boring England. 

Yes, it was actually a good competitive game last night.  Quality wasn't all that but had a lot more excitement than the England game.  Shea Charles Vs Germany tonight.

[AlexLaw76]

11 minutes ago, revolution saint said:

Yes, it was actually a good competitive game last night.  Quality wasn't all that but had a lot more excitement than the England game.  Shea Charles Vs Germany tonight.

At least it is a weeks’ gap between games, assuming no injury for him

[Sheaf Saint]

2 hours ago, Football Special said:

I'm sure Will Still watched the Ireland game last night , Manning was playing as if he had a point to prove , they play again on Tuesday evening away in Armenia so will be up against that Krasnador mush we'd been trying to sign , might watch that one rather than England 

Oh great. I might get the chance to make use of that box of Armenian flags I bought 🤞

[Draino76]

Is this on Amazon Prime? 

[gio1saints]

Just hope both Ryan and Finn play well, ideally Finn scores from a Ryan assist, the ROI win and they get rested early second half so can come back undamaged. 

[Patches O Houlihan]

1 hour ago, Draino76 said:

Is this on Amazon Prime? 

Yes

[JohnnyShearer2.0]

You have to pay for it though in the UK.

[gio1saints]

Put your vpn onto IRELAND.download the RTE player. Go to RTE2. It’s on live and free. 

[gio1saints]

Interesting..they are playing Ryan at left back instead of the lm he ( successfully) played last match….they putting a left midfield in front of him…

[disconnect]

8 minutes ago, gio1saints said:

Put your vpn onto IRELAND.download the RTE player. Go to RTE2. It’s on live and free. 

Do they ever have other matches (e.g Championship), or just ROI games?

[Sheaf Saint]

10 minutes ago, gio1saints said:

Interesting..they are playing Ryan at left back instead of the lm he ( successfully) played last match….they putting a left midfield in front of him…

Looks like Finn is playing in more of a 10 role as well...

[Turkish]

Interesting that Ryan Manning is currently the top chance creator in the championship, which is some going considering i think he started 2 of the 4 games on the bench.

[gio1saints]

Spertsyan playing on the right hand side if a two man CM - with 4 more advanced players ahead of him. Interesting. Thought he was a more offensive #10 style player but looks like they want him to have as much ball as possible. Let’s see what the fuss is all about! 

[revolution saint]

This Ireland team is so poor.  Although he didn't see much of the ball Finn didn't have a good game either.  Disappointing from a Saints perspective.  Spertsyan looked decent and lovely through ball for Armenia's second goal.

Edited Tuesday at 17:56 by revolution saint

[Dusic]

2 hours ago, revolution saint said:

This Ireland team is so poor.  Although he didn't see much of the ball Finn didn't have a good game either.  Disappointing from a Saints perspective.  Spertsyan looked decent and lovely through ball for Armenia's second goal.

Spertsyan is clearly a very good player. Shame he will likely play his whole career in Russia but he doesn't seem too bothered.

Whilst they play in a similar position I think he and Azaz are quite different profiles.

[Spoonman]

5 hours ago, disconnect said:

Do they ever have other matches (e.g Championship), or just ROI games?

No Championship but you’ll get some champions league/europa, plus the odd LOI game.

[Nordic Saint]

9 hours ago, gio1saints said:

Just hope both Ryan and Finn play well, ideally Finn scores from a Ryan assist, the ROI win and they get rested early second half so can come back undamaged. 

I think you may have overestimated them slightly. According to the BBC  player ratings, Manning was one of the worst players on the pitch while Azaz was the worst:

Republic of Ireland

C. Kelleher
5.62

E. Ferguson
4.47

A. Idah
3.99

L. Scales
3.66

J. Knight
3.60

M. Johnston
3.58

K. McAteer
3.57

K. Phillips
3.49

D. O'Shea
3.47

C. Ogbene
3.44

J. O'Brien
3.44

R. Manning
3.32

N. Collins
3.29

J. Taylor
3.23

J. Cullen
3.22

F. Azaz
3.10
 

World Cup Qualifiers: Republic of Ireland World Cup hopes dealt major blow with defeat by Armenia - BBC Sport

 

 

[benjii]

Aribo is probably better, right?

[Football Special]

7 hours ago, Nordic Saint said:

I think you may have overestimated them slightly. According to the BBC  player ratings, Manning was one of the worst players on the pitch while Azaz was the worst:

Republic of Ireland

C. Kelleher
5.62

E. Ferguson
4.47

A. Idah
3.99

L. Scales
3.66

J. Knight
3.60

M. Johnston
3.58

K. McAteer
3.57

K. Phillips
3.49

D. O'Shea
3.47

C. Ogbene
3.44

J. O'Brien
3.44

R. Manning
3.32

N. Collins
3.29

J. Taylor
3.23

J. Cullen
3.22

F. Azaz
3.10
 

World Cup Qualifiers: Republic of Ireland World Cup hopes dealt major blow with defeat by Armenia - BBC Sport

 

 

Saving themselves for Sunday hopefully 

[gio1saints]

Both thoroughly anonymous. Disappointed for them - and Saints! Ireland looked clueless whenever Armenia pressed hard. 
Oh- and that Spertsyan guy- he’s a good player it’s obvious. 

[skintsaint]

On 07/09/2025 at 14:33, gio1saints said:

Certainly watching that Ireland match with Saints players instead of another episode of same old boring boring England. 

[gio1saints]

1 hour ago, skintsaint said:

It was actually. I’d got a little bit too excited bout them two and that negative debacle has now altered my perception. Indeed they looked tired to me and I would not now be surprised to see them “rested”- they’ve done a fair bit of travelling what with transfers and Dublin & Armenia and back to Soton and families etc. 

In any case i managed to win £xxx on England on the basis that it was time to stop playing turgid football and I expected decent goals supremacy. TQ Spreadex. 😎. 

As for the ROI match - it was a rubbish performance by them  especially our two. 😤. BUT id rather watch ANY international match with a Southampton player or players than England without if on a same time. Nb yes I know they were not but you know what I mean. 
Jelert & Scienza might just get some  minutes yet come Sunday..

Edited Wednesday at 10:22 by gio1saints

[pimpin4rizeal]

On 09/09/2025 at 18:56, revolution saint said:

This Ireland team is so poor.  Although he didn't see much of the ball Finn didn't have a good game either.  Disappointing from a Saints perspective.  Spertsyan looked decent and lovely through ball for Armenia's second goal.

Already starting to see why he was divisive for boro fans, he seems the type of player that can be invisible for majority of game but still capable of  popping up with a goal contribution 

[goodymatt]

5 minutes ago, pimpin4rizeal said:

Already starting to see why he was divisive for boro fans, he seems the type of player that can be invisible for majority of game but still capable of  popping up with a goal contribution 

There’s a reason why Spertysan and Rudoni were higher up the list, but we can accommodate him drifting through some games if he hits double figures for goals and assists again. That could be the difference between autos and playoffs for us.

The challenge is going to be balance as we could have a few players on the field that don’t work hard off the ball: Scienza, Azaz, Archer (sometimes he does press but mostly not).

[revolution saint]

1 minute ago, goodymatt said:

There’s a reason why Spertysan and Rudoni were higher up the list, but we can accommodate him drifting through some games if he hits double figures for goals and assists again. That could be the difference between autos and playoffs for us.

The challenge is going to be balance as we could have a few players on the field that don’t work hard off the ball: Scienza, Azaz, Archer (sometimes he does press but mostly not).

Yep, that’s been my thinking too. If we’re expecting a front four of Archer, Scienza, Azaz and Fellows to press high up the pitch then it’s probably only Fellows who has done that effectively in the past. 
Defensively we’re not blessed with much pace in the cbs if we play Stephens and THB either so playing a high line to condense the play is going to come with some risk.

I reckon we’ll play more of a mid block which might not be a bad thing as it should invite the opposition onto us a bit and leave a bit of space for the forwards to exploit 

[Dusic]

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/25454357.kieran-scott-explains-rav-van-den-berg-finn-azaz-middlesbrough-exits/

Interesting comments from Boro DoF that Azaz was aware their fans were a bit indifferent about him.

Hopefully he gets off to a good start here.

Edited yesterday at 08:07 by Dusic

[goodymatt]

1 hour ago, Dusic said:

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/25454357.kieran-scott-explains-rav-van-den-berg-finn-azaz-middlesbrough-exits/

Interesting comments from Boro DoF that Azaz was aware their fans were a bit indifferent about him.

Hopefully he gets off to a good start here.

It’s encouraging that their head of football implied that it was strange some of their fans didn’t take to him, given the numbers he produced for them. He was clearly well rated internally but when a player wants to go, it’s usually best to allow it, as we know all too well.

I’d much rather have a player that produces numbers consistently than someone who works incredibly hard but it doesn’t amount to anything. Very interested to see how Azaz does with so called better players around him.

If he scores and/or assists on Sunday then he will be off to the best start possible with our fans. Watford was a free hit for him after 1 training session and he still went close to an assist and forced a good save. I think he will be a success here.

[SNSUN]

9 hours ago, pimpin4rizeal said:

Already starting to see why he was divisive for boro fans, he seems the type of player that can be invisible for majority of game but still capable of  popping up with a goal contribution 

One of our best ever players fit this exact description. And if he's half as good as Matt was, he'll prove to be an excellent signing.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

On 09/09/2025 at 23:23, Nordic Saint said:

I think you may have overestimated them slightly. According to the BBC  player ratings, Manning was one of the worst players on the pitch while Azaz was the worst:

Republic of Ireland

C. Kelleher
5.62

E. Ferguson
4.47

A. Idah
3.99

L. Scales
3.66

J. Knight
3.60

M. Johnston
3.58

K. McAteer
3.57

K. Phillips
3.49

D. O'Shea
3.47

C. Ogbene
3.44

J. O'Brien
3.44

R. Manning
3.32

N. Collins
3.29

J. Taylor
3.23

J. Cullen
3.22

F. Azaz
3.10
 

World Cup Qualifiers: Republic of Ireland World Cup hopes dealt major blow with defeat by Armenia - BBC Sport

 

 

Well done Azaz, for acclimatising so quickly to the Southampton way. 

[pimpin4rizeal]

55 minutes ago, SNSUN said:

One of our best ever players fit this exact description. And if he's half as good as Matt was, he'll prove to be an excellent signing.

Hehe don’t think it’s the same thing .. I’m getting the feeling azaz is getting a bit overhyped on here .. the fact Middlesbrough fans where a bit torn on him probably says something when he’s got as many goal contributions as he had there .. he seems to not get into space as well  if those ireland games are anything to go on 

no agenda against azaz from me I watched the Ireland games out iof excitement to see our new signing  but he was poor in both . And seems to amble about in crowded areas which in turn makes him see little of the ball 

Edited 19 hours ago by pimpin4rizeal