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Reply | Benefits - essential safety net or invitation to abuse?
at 09:45 20 Sep 2024
It's ironic that Tories are blaming Starmer for the mess they created over their 12 years in power. The Express, the Mail, the Telegraph and GB News have been at it with their anti-Starmer headlines nearly every day since the general election, and it's only 3 months since he inherited the mess their party left behind. It took 12 years to create this mess; it's going to take more than 3 months to sort it out. [Post edited 20 Sep 9:47]
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Reply | Top 3 things about being in the Prem
at 09:26 20 Sep 2024
It will be interesting to see how the teams in Europe are affected by the extra fixtures this year. It might mean some surprise teams finish in the top six and even win a cup this season.
2015/16 still remains my favourite season so far this century.
I can remember nearly all the players I've seen in the Premier League, many of whom have been among the best in the world, but most of those I saw in the Championship and League One weren't really good enough to leave much of an impression. Having said that, looking at the current Ipswich squad, they look like a typical Championship side, with very few players you'd remember. If we lose to them, then we're not good enough for the top flight this year and so, of course, we're not going to be as happy as we were in 2016.
In many ways, choosing which level of football you like best is a bit like choosing which level of accommodation you stay at on holiday. 5 star hotels suit some people, but they're not for everyone and they are too expensive for many; others prefer B&Bs, which are not only a lot cheaper, but may be more hospitable. It's the levels in between, like the drab 2 star hotels that many of us end up in, that are generally characterless and less enjoyable. That's how I feel about football. I like watching Saints in the top flight, but my preferred alternative is non-league football. Eastleigh v Gateshead appeals to me a lot more than any Championship fixture.
Saints have got more than enough fans to fill St Mary's, so if you genuinely don't like top flight football, why not watch one of the local teams, like Sholing, Totton or Eastleigh? I'd also recommend reading The Bromley Boys.
Top thing about the Premier League: the football [Post edited 20 Sep 10:24]
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Reply | Benefits - essential safety net or invitation to abuse?
at 13:16 19 Sep 2024
"3.9m people are on sickness benefits in the UK.........there is a suggestion that this is a problem caused by or made worse by Labour being in power rather than something that has been going on."
Blimey, Labour have only been in power for about 3 months. It would be incredible if they managed to not only cause but also process that many claims in that time.. Something tells me you didn't vote for them. [Post edited 19 Sep 13:22]
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Reply | Penalties
at 09:38 18 Sep 2024
It doesn't really matter anyway, as when they do get the ball in front of goal they all appear to be under instruction to pass it sideways out of the penalty area again. [Post edited 18 Sep 9:39]
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Reply | Penalties
at 09:28 18 Sep 2024
You know what he's going to do, don't you? Put the one player who showed he can't strike a ball accurately or hard enough to score a penalty at centre forward.
[Post edited 18 Sep 9:30]
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Reply | THB
at 09:14 18 Sep 2024
The acid test is whether we can beat the next worst team in the Premier League, Ipswich, on Saturday. If we do, then we're starting to turn a corner.
Any victory is a morale booster though. |
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Reply | Everton Carabao Cup Game Matchday Thread
at 08:57 18 Sep 2024
"75% possession but we barely create anything. It really is baffling."
We get those possession stats up by staying in our own half. The closer you stay to your own goal, the fewer opposition players you have to contend with so the easier it is to keep possession. Sideways and backwards passes are easier to make than forward ones, where there are defenders waiting to intercept them. Our priority is to retain possession, not score goals. That's Russell Martin's tactics in a nutshell. [Post edited 18 Sep 9:01]
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Reply | What was congestion like yesterday ?
at 16:32 17 Sep 2024
That footbridge and the steps leading up to it have been packed before and especially after games for years. It's nothing new. |
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Reply | The Incredible Central Defensive Saga
at 16:00 17 Sep 2024
Tall Austrian we signed from Rapid Vienna as a teenager. He was one of the brightest stars in our academy for a few years. He was in the Saints U23 team tht won Premier League 2, then he moved to Fortuna Dusseldorf. |
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Reply | What was congestion like yesterday ?
at 13:58 17 Sep 2024
No congestion at all walking along Marine Parade to and from Itchen Bridge. If anything, better than ever, perhaps because there were no away fans mingled in. [Post edited 17 Sep 15:46]
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Reply | Everton Carabao Cup Game Matchday Thread
at 12:19 17 Sep 2024
I wouldn't make more than 5 or 6 changes to the team that started on Saturday. Do we really need to rest players this early in the season? Ramsdale has only played 1 game so it would be stupid to rest him for McCarthy, who has played a lot more.
This would be my starting lineup:
STEWART
SULEMANA .... DIBLING .... AMO-AMEYAW
UGOCHUKWU... FERNANDES
TAYLOR .... BELLA-KOTCHAP.... HARWOOD-BELLIS.... SUGAWARA
RAMSDALE
Unfortunately, I expect we'll see a drab lineup with the usual suspects, like Smallbone, Aribo and even McCarthy. [Post edited 17 Sep 12:24]
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Reply | The Incredible Central Defensive Saga
at 12:07 17 Sep 2024
No, I remember all that. That's why we let him go and we all, myself included, thought the Club was right to do so at the time.
I was also very happy when we managed to sell Vestergaard to Leicester, but one Championship trophy later, he's still there, playing in a defence that looks better than ours.
Finding good central defenders isn't easy and I'm not saying I'd have done any better. I thought that Christoph Klarer was going to be the answer to our prayers, but he's now playing for Birmingham in League One. [Post edited 17 Sep 12:10]
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Reply | The Incredible Central Defensive Saga
at 11:30 17 Sep 2024
Yes, he's worth a lot more now, but we saw so little of him here, mostly played out of position, that few of us would have predicted that, although his first 2 Premier League games for us and the only ones in which he played more than 45 minutes, were a 2-0 win at Brighton and a 1-1 home draw with Man. United. We also had a few good cup results with him in the starting lineup. [Post edited 17 Sep 11:40]
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Thread | The Incredible Central Defensive Saga
at 11:08 17 Sep 2024
Since Van Dijk and Fonte left, a phenomenal number of central defenders have passed through St Mary's, yet we still ended up with Stephens and Bednarek starting against Man United on Saturday.
Hoedt £15 mill
Vestergaard £20 mill
Danso £3 mill
Md Salisu £10 mill
Lyanco £5 mill
Holgate
Klarer
Caleta-Car £15 mill
Bella-Kotchap £10 mill
Harwood-Bellis £20 mill
Wood £3 mill
Edwards £3 mill
There are probably still 1 or 2 more I've forgotten. [Post edited 17 Sep 11:10]
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Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 556 | | Comment Votes: | 1499 | | Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 2055 |
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