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Comment | Two Outcasts Return To the Southampton First Team Squad
at 16:01:53
YES - these two may have hoped for opportunities to move, but in the long term it may be a blessing in disguise, whilst we wait for the new recruits to "show up". Although Sam DAJFU and scored a few goals, he was not always first choice, and several times injuries robbed him of a regular run of games. Joe Aribo will be hoping to keep his place in the Nigerian squad prior to the World Cup, but he always put himself about whenever he got game time, and he will be a valuable asset on the bench in the event of injuries, or for a need to change formation.
Assuming we are challenging for promotion, (and our new players will deliver the goods), having these two in the squad will do no harm at all. After only 4 league games Will Still needs to look deeper at his various options, but we know what we have with these two.
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Comment | Does The M27 Derby Mean As Much To the Players As The Fans
at 11:53:52
Nick ..Your long diatribe (Ok go and look it up) covers most points of the history of these encounters, including that they were very few and far between covered almost a century. The fact that the geography dictates that this is a "derby".. seems only to fuel the bad feeling that seems to exists now, but it was not always so.
My late father was of a generation that recalled Billy "Farmer "Haines (a CF who played for both clubs in the 1920') and his adoration of the young Ted Drake in the early 30's before Ted went on to play for Arsenal and England. Dad also commented that often Saints fans would travel down to watch Portsmouth (twice title-winners in the late 1940's) in the post WW2 days when Saints were playing away and long travels were both difficult and costly.
The aforementioned Docks dispute between the two towns soured feelings in the 1950's and only worsened by those "on-field battling games" in the early 1960's. In retrospect I suspect that it was that generation of fans that has fueled the aggression that still seems apparent to both fanbases more than 50 years later.
Back then very few players were "local" and to my knowledge the only So'ton-born player to ever captain a Saints team for any period was Nick Holmes in the 1970's, (although we recall that over a longer period Winchester-born Terry Paine had that task in the 1960's).
Looking at the starting games so far, it was hard to find even half-a-dozen Saints players who were even born in England, let alone in Hampshire. With the latest signings we will likely see half the team more experienced playing on the Continent, and who couldn't find their way down the M27 armed with a compass and an OS map without the aid of a GPS.
Local derbies seem only important to " we locals", and (despite what they may have been told) for most of the current Saints players, it will be "just another match".
I sincerely hope that any form of violence (both on-and-off the pitch) will be avoided.
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Comment | Countdown To The Date With The Skates
at 17:05:49
Very few meetings between the clubs (as you noted Nick) but it's strange how the volume of aggression generated in both camps has seemingly covered several generations. The rather impolite name (given to Saints by Pompey fans) might date back to a 1950's Dock strike in Portsmouth, when stevedores from Soton were brought in to service the port's services which then upset the Pompey strikers.
A decade later.. in the early 1960's there was more violent reactions ON the pitch, with those notorious tussles between ..Saints' 5'7" winger Terry Paine and Pompey's 6' 4" LB Roy Lunnis which led to fisticuffs and red cards on more than one occasion with Paine never flinching when coming up against his burly ex-Marine opponent.
Another long pause in derby games, brought only bad memories and ill feeling that has sadly spilled over to both fan bases, but hopefully common sense will prevail remembering that these meetings should be about football - and not physical revenge. |
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Comment | West Bromwich Albion In Talks For Southampton Defender
at 15:39:08
Pity about this one, as Charlie seems a likeable type who can DAJFU on the pitch and will be missed on the training ground, but looking to the future is someone whose age is already against him, (but I may have to bite my tongue if he turns out to be another James Milner). |
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Comment | So What Deals Did Southampton Do On Transfer Deadline Day
at 15:34:31
Will Still continues to clear the decks of those (indirectly) responsible for the relegation and a few others who simply don't "fit the pattern" he has in mind. The oversize squad he had inherited were a combination of those who survived the "Ralph era" and the misfits who came afterwards, many of whom were panic buys from the bottom of the barrel.
A word for those who have left ..only Dibling and Fernandes were capable of demanding a decent fee, and the Board did well to pull in those deals as well as recouping much of the money originally spent on Sulemana. The loan-outs will lead to eventual departure next year, and any kind thoughts for them won't mask the fact that they are not potential Prem. material should we bounce back up this season. IF.. Ramsdale DAJFU for Newcastle, they might buy him next summer, otherwise he will return, as he is still " our player ".
As someone who follows all the Saints teams, I'm a little sad to see the departure of Dom Ballard for what I'm sure is a pittance, compared to his potential value but we may at least recoup some with the hefty "sell-on clause" mentioned when he moves up the leagues.
The new recruits all look lively and keen, but (in part) I agree with saintmark (above) in that I hoped for some key signings who don't seem to have appeared this time around.
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Comment | Southampton At Watford The Verdict
at 11:37:01
Both teams scored opportunist goals for 1-1, and two top-rated freekicks for their second.
Watford's usual line-up of 6 foot plus " muscle boys " who can brush aside "mere mortals" of a lesser stature. Jay Robinson already getting "special attention" from defenders, and some tackles are either ignored by refs. (who may give a cheap free-kick) when one or two would have deserved yellow so far this season. Jay will have to learn to put up with that.
I thought Azaz put on a good show considering he'd barely shaken hands with everyone in the dressing room. Good to see Archer in the goals, and we can be glad that Will didn't discard Fraser too quickly on first showing. Manning is beginning to show that he might just become " the new Prowsey ". An away point is always a good result.
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Comment | Southampton At Ipswich Town The Verdict
at 12:38:21
Aside from the obvious own-goal blunder, I thought we looked strongest in the first half.
Sadly the second period proved to be a mix of ill-mannered tackles and petty arguments, which the ref. decided to ignore and kept his yellow card count down to sensible numbers.
Who can fail to be impressed by Jay Robinson's apps. A handful of games last season, and he isn't afraid to take on defenders, shooting chances. Nicely-taken goal, too.
Fraser might have been an occasional bench candidate but he now he shows pace and made a nice assist for Robinson's goal. As others have pointed out (above) - we haven't found a secure backline yet, but with half-a-dozen to choose from it may take time, but it's interesting to note we haven't conceded a goal from open play yet, so maybe they aren't so bad ..for the start of the season ..only 44 games to go.
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Comment | Southampton At Ipswich Town The Preview
at 12:57:56
I'd go along with mgprobert (above). We need to see who scores amongst our striker force.
OK if we have 4 or 5 who can make double figures, or one who finds form and reaches 20+, but just now it's hard to see which combination we start with and how they work together.
On paper we are overloaded with defenders, but again..what combination will work best.
If we are anticipating Fernandes and / or Dibling to move then we need to find the balance in the new midfield set-up after the departures... and possible new arrivals.
It's still early season and hope we have a better picture before the end of the window...or ?
As both Ipswich and Leicester were "equally bad" as we were last season, those two clubs will set the marker for how we need to perform. Ipswich ?... One point at least. |
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Comment | Southampton At Northampton Town The Verdict
at 09:01:14
to Hythe Peer..... there may be a similarity in names, but my 1950's class teacher taught these names were loosely adapted from the old Roman place names; "South-home town" in this case "North home town" and there are several other places with a similar sounding translation... e.g. Littlehampton. ...
"Derby games" (no-one has been very convincing as to why they are so called)...are usually between clubs that are geographically close and have some decent history of fixtures.
Until 10 years ago .No-one would ever have called games v. Bournemouth.. a derby fixture.
Just look at the results and difference in League positions since then (!).
We played them regularly back in Div.3 South in the 1950's since Bournemouth twice avoided relegation from the Football League / bankruptcy in the intervening years and rarely ever got above League 1.
There are a dozen other league clubs who are geographically closer than... "No'ton" with whom we have had a longer history of games. Nowadays it's B'mouth and that other side to the east ..along the M27. |
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Comment | Southampton At Northampton Town The Verdict
at 09:55:18
At least we got the win, but an untidy match at times and thankfully Northampton's poor finishing saved our blushes, and the win came from the only player who really looked dangerous in attack. I'm concerned that our midfield hasn't started to "click" yet and although they are good as individuals, they need to find each other better in attacks.
Regardless of the fact that we have 4 or 5 strikers on the books none of them looked like scoring, and we can be grateful the Wrexham game was won by two "veteran" defenders.
At 36 , I don't see McCarthy as a reliable no.2 ..and if Bazunu has any injury / form issues it could be very embarrassing. One issue that annoys is the likes of Harwood-Bellis and Flynn Downes get yellow-cards for.. arguing with the referee(!)..bl**dy nonsense. If you do get carded let it be for an important reason. There is no VAR ..and the ref. is unlikely to change his mind and apologise. Playing the game out with a yellow to your name can be restricting in critical situations and a second card then creates two problems in the longer term.
Back to the beginning ...at least it's a win and we hope for a good draw in the next round. |
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Comment | Southampton At Northampton Town The Preview
at 17:29:35
We still have a large squad and a number of them will get minutes against Northampton, with a view to catching Will Still's eye, or conversely getting into the shop window for those who want away and to avoid sitting on the bench for the rest of the season.
Wood-Gordon, Kayi-Sanda and even one or two U21 hopefuls may get some game time.
A start for McCarthy to prove to Will that he is a reliable no.2 goalie a- voiding mistakes.
I shall look for another front line with Stewart, Downs and even Brereton-Diaz to start.
Some of Saturday's starters may be on the bench, and come on later depending on the state of the game after 60 minutes. If we are to succeed in this league, this level of opposition, one hopes that they shouldn't be too much of a problem. |
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Comment | Southampton V Wrexham The Verdict
at 20:49:30
Irony of ironies. With 25 shots ..yet no goals in the 89th minute, we win a free kick, and the thought came to me ..where is Prowsey when you need him?. What happened then and 6 minutes later became the most ironic happenings in almost any game I can remember.
Manning and Stephens (two players who most of us would have been happy to see the back of just a month ago) came up with the goods and saved Will Small's bacon in his first game as a manager. Whilst looking to introduce young talents into the side, it was the veterans who finally delivered the result.
Not to ignore the aging Ryan Fraser who had a good game without getting any reward. Whilst Wrexham were tearing up the pitch in the first half, they were rapidly running on empty in the last quarter when Saints came on strongly and forced the win.
In the days of VAR, we would have got two penalties and we must learn to adapt to the shortcomings of short-sighted officials, who can't keep up with the game and are too often badly-placed to see these offences. Hopefully we won't get too many games with finishes like that as it's likely to play havoc with my blood pressure.
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Comment | Will Still Speaks Ahead Of His First Competitive Game In Charge.
at 19:32:57
Your headline is...Will speaks ahead of his first game ..etc, but I think it's more interesting to hear his comments AFTER the first game. Did things go the way he hoped? ..and was his formation the right one for that game ...or, if it didn't - what's the next move?
I have the feeling that the line-up will change a bit in the first month, and with the "possible departure" of the players mentioned, who will come in as replacements?
Quite frankly, I don't think we will get a picture of Will's best line-up for at least 3 or4 games, but most importantly how many goals we can score?. We must expect to concede at times, but we'll need to score 90+ goals - if we are looking at a promotion spot.
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Comment | Southampton Technical Director Defends Jack Stephens Contract
at 10:40:41
Certainly last season was not he best in many ways and the red card incident involving the team captain was pretty low on the scale of approval. However, one thing that came out is " Captain Jack's" profile behind the scenes, in the dressing room and his reputed encouragement to younger players seems to weigh heavily in a rapidly-changing squad.
His 14 year tenure with the club stands alone as our veteran player. Since Jan.B's departure (after 7 years), the longest serving outfield player is probably Adam Armstrong (?)...and so there is very little " club" experience from any of the others, since Lallana's retirement.
I buy into all the arguments above (Nick). A long contract for "an average player" but in Jack Stephens we have someone whose dedication to the club goes way beyond his salary.
In time, he may not be an automatic first-choice in every match, (beside the new, younger defensive talents we have), but his very presence in the club may weigh more heavily (psychologically) for the playing staff than may seem apparent to fans on the outside. |
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Comment | Tyler Dibling Trains Alone As Southampton Supporters Say Club Should Sell
at 16:15:31
Clearly TD has got the bit between his teeth and has (supposedly) spoken with the Everton personnel and has his mind set on a possible / likely move, although Spurs may not be out of the picture and Newcastle has liked him since his U21 hat-trick up there a while ago.
It's must be a no-brainer for Tyler (given the U21 salary he's on at present) and so it's only a matter of time before someone meets our demands and a deal will be done.
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Comment | Southampton Weighing Up Signing Keeper Is The Target Already Identified !
at 16:15:49
Ryan is a good choice (all said in above article). Perhaps Bazunu has come back improved, but McCarthy is still with us for this season but isn't a first choice in the event of injury.
McCarthy's already extended contract will go out next year, and regardless of Ramsdale's future, we would still have a quality keeper in Ryan, and in the event of promotion Rambo might return , or if sold permanently to Newcastle(?)..we would still have a good keeper.
With the ongoing chaos at Sheffield Wednesday..who knows what will happen to those on their staff if everything goes pear-shaped. Shea's brother would easily find a home here.
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Comment | Southampton Set For Yet Another Turkish Transfer Stand Off
at 16:05:44
Agree with you (Nick) and kenchilds 70 (above).
Tell them them the price we want and not to waste the cost of the phone call unless they are prepared to pay up. If we don't get an offer near the 9..10mill. quoted from someone else, at least we wouldn't get screwed again. |
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Comment | Southampton Go Into Championship Opening Weekend In Strong Position
at 14:44:41
Over a period of 50 years or more, I 've made it a rule of never taking a serious look at the League tables until after game 7 or 8. Lucky goals, a VSR gift once in a while, one or two good displays and some indifferent results all play a part, but by then we can look at starting line-ups and see the gaps that need to be filled on the last day.
Few of the "old brigade" that Will inherited have shown up better any than they were before, whilst those youngbloods who got game time did well in their limited minutes.
By the end of the month we should have sorted the "wheat from the chaff" and Will Small will have some semblance of an acceptable squad.
With the " slo-mo RM possession formation" now a forgettable page in the club's history, we can look forward to some good attacking football, and even if we concede goals, can end every game with one point ..or more ..than the opposition, with the given knowledge that most promoted clubs need to score upwards of 90 goals in order to get promotion.
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Comment | Southampton Lose To Brighton In Behind Closed Doors Friendly
at 11:37:29
I never pay too much attention to " friendly games " - even those are aren't so friendly.
At best they are unsophisticated kickabouts, with regular players expecting to hold onto their squad places, and young talents looking to show-up and get the manager's attention.
The result doesn't cost the team any points, but to finish undefeated looks nice.
This season is different with a new manager who is cleaning house and (presumably) gave everyone a clean sheet from Day 1. I'm sure he has decided on most of those who will be leaving , who to bring in and will be looking to spend a little on some new names.
I think I was more interested to see the names of those who didn't get to play, rather than those who did get some minutes under their belts. |
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