| News Comment | Southampton V Sunderland The Verdict at 10:48:42
Unfortunately the facts don't back up your assertion that the Bednarek/Harwood Bellis centre back partnership is the answer to all our problems. In the past month we have shipped 3 goals against each of Huddersfield and Bristol City and then 2 goals against Hull with Bednarek and Harwood Bellis at centre back. Admittedly it's been no better with Bednarek and Stephens but it hasn't been any worse either. Therefore I would suggest that the problem lies elsewhere. Whatever centre back partnership we use we don't seem to deal very well with teams pressing us high up the pitch. That is not necessarily the backs problem. If we're not prepared to go long then the onus is on the midfielders to get themselves into positions to receive a pass from the backs. I would suggest that that is not happening which is why we end up putting ourselves under pressure. I would concede that Harwood Bellis is a better centre back than Stephens. But equally Stephens is a better right back than Harwood Bellis so if we're going to play both of them then in my view they should swap positions. Finally, I would suggest that losing Ross Stewart for the season has been a massive loss. In the few minutes that he played you could see that he was very adept at receiving a long out ball and that would have been a very useful option to have at the present time to deal with that high press that teams are using against us. |
| News Comment | Southampton At Birmingham City The Verdict at 16:26:39
The centre back pairing for the defeats against Bristol City and Hull and the almost defeat against Huddersfield was Harwood Bellis and Bednarek so the facts show that the poor results are nothing to do with disrupting that partnership. As felly1 has said the common factor in our poor performances has been Flynn Downes missing from the side. Keeping him fit from now until the end of the season is key. |
| News Comment | Russell Martin Expected To Be Appointed Southampton Manager Within Hours at 19:17:12
Russell Martin on the face of it is a strange appointment. If the fans are to get behind him Sports Republic need to set out their reasons for choosing him and quickly. An answer along the lines that his name popped out of Rasmussen Anderson’s mythical black box will not cut it. I fear the next fans revolt is not far off! |
| News Comment | Southampton At Nottingham Forest The Verdict at 13:31:02
The new owners tried to make up for 5 years of lack of investment in the team by buying a lorry load of youngsters in the last 2 transfer windows. It hasn't worked because it takes time to adapt to the Premier League. But those youngsters will have learnt a lot over the season and will be better players if and when we come back up. As for the Forest fans, when it's your first season in the Premier League for 25 years you're bound to be loving every minute of it. Let's see how positive they are when they've had 5 years in the Premier League like the ones we've just had! |
| News Comment | Southampton at West Ham United The Verdict at 10:17:48
We're 1-0 down, 15 minutes to go. We should be starting to commit players forward in search of that equaliser. But we never did. It looked to me like Selles has accepted relegation and is trying to put forward his credentials for managing us in the Championship next season by making sure nobody embarasses us. Therefore, he wasn't unhappy with a 1-0 defeat. If we are to have any chance of staying up then we need to try to get Potter or Rodgers in asap. They might not want to join us but we've got to give it a go. |
| News Comment | Southampton V Brentford The Verdict at 12:22:28
Brentford were by far away the better team up to their first goal. They pressed high and, as wessexman has pointed out, pressurised us down their left flank (our right flank) by putting Schade, a big forward, on KWP and pumping long high balls in his direction. Not surprisingly, given KWP's lack of height, he won every ball. It was clearly a problem and yet we did nothing to combat it. They were getting corners from that tactic and eventually one of them led to a goal. After that it was even stevens until we bizarrely gifted them a 2nd right at the end. So to my mind Selles lost the tactical battle in those first 30 minutes. He needs to be more proactive if we are going to have any chance of staying up. |
| News Comment | Southampton V Wolverhampton Wanderers The Verdict at 12:10:29
I think everyone has forgotten that we were 1-0 up and playing against 10 men. Yet you would never have believed that from the 2nd half performance. JWP, as the senior player and supposedly our best player, should have been able to take the game by the scruff of the neck and dictate proceedings. But he was anonymous. Ffs how can you be anonymous when you're playing for a team with an extra man? I'm not saying that Nathan Jones shouldn't have been sacked but the players must take the lion's share of the responsibility for yesterday. They were a rabble yesterday for most of the 2nd half and they've now contributed to a 2nd manager getting sacked. They need to step up quickly or ship out. |
| News Comment | Southampton At Fulham The Verdict at 12:11:23
Thiis is the 6th season in succession that we've been fighting relegation. In the previous 5 seasons I've always felt that we had a decent side but were just short of quality in 1 or 2 key positions, such as the need for a top class striker. Now I look at the side and I'm thinking we're short of quality all over the pitch. We've sold a lot of our experienced players, the more experienced players that we've kept/recruited look miles off it and the young recruits don't look ready for the Premier League and may never be good enough. It would be a tough ask for any manager but is an impossible ask for a manager with no top level experience. In the past 5 seasons I've always had hope of surviving the drop but not this season. We're down! |
| News Comment | Southampton V Leeds United The Verdict at 13:05:22
I agree the defending was abysmal. It seems that the more defensive minded players we have on the pitch the worse we defend. It could be that individual responsibilities are a lot clearer when there are fewer defenders on the pitch. The first Leeds goal was a case in point. At that point we were playing 5 at the back but nobody seemed to take responsibility either for closing Harrison down to stop the cross or for picking Rodrigo up at the near post. |
| News Comment | Southampton At Leicester City The Preview at 10:33:23
Ffs prize money in the Premier League is £2.2m per place. Since when were we a club that could turn down that sort of money? So there's plenty riding on today's game - £2.2m in fact. And there was plenty more riding on the games over the last 2 months that we haven't shown up in. To throw away the prospect of earning another £10-15m is nothing short of scandalous for a club with our finances and someone should pay the price. |
| News Comment | Southampton v Liverpool The Verdict at 09:09:55
There was nothing riding on this match for us so it was an opportunity, win or lose, to put on a display for the fans who have had to put up with some really dire performances over the last coupe of months. Instead we play as though we're in desperate need of a point and we try to defend for the whole 90 minutes. It was Liverpool's B side for f***'s sake. I've never felt quite so deflated at the end of a season since we came back up to the Premier League. I always stay for the lap of appreciation but not last night. Hassenhutl, 'In the name of God, go'. |
| News Comment | Southampton At Brentford The (Damning) Verdict at 17:27:21
So If I've undesrstood your article correctly, Nick, you think there are 3 reasons why we've had such a disastrous end to the season: 1. A lack of leadership on the pitch 2. A lack of quality coaches 3. Some players have downed tools because they fear they have no future at St. Mary's under the new owners Let's look at each of these in turn: 1. Ralph as had 4 years to sort out any issue with leadership on the pitch. 2. I find it beyond belief that Ralph wouldn't have input to the selection of his coaching staff. 3. I haven't see any players downing tools at Newcastle, a club that is going to have a much bigger turnover of its playing staff than us this summer. Yes, the players have got on the beach too early this season and I think it's got a lot more to do with their relationship with Ralph than you would have us believe! |
| News Comment | Southampton V Crystal Palace The Verdict at 11:34:43
Fully agree with JoeEgg. Steve Cooper is the standout up and coming manager who's been schooled at the top table. Let's get him before anothe club does |
| News Comment | Southampton V Crystal Palace The Verdict at 11:17:37
Quite simply Palace wanted it more than us. They worked hard all game, closed us down all over the pitch and ran themselves into the ground. Villa showed that this was the way to play against us back at the beginning of March and since then every team we've played has copied their blueprint with a lot of success. We looked like we were already on the beach yesterday and that is arrogant because we're not yet safe from relegation. And that arrogance comes from the top as all the communications I'm receiving at the moment from the club are talking about 'securing my seat for all Premier League games at St. Mary's for 2022/23'. That arrogance may yet come home to bite us. We were 750/1 to go down before the start of yesterday's game and 150/1 to go down at the end of it. What will the odds be if Everton get something against Chelsea this afternoon? I got £10 on at 750/1 because I've seen enough this season to know we may not get another point. I sincerely hope it doesn't pay out! |
| News Comment | Southampton At Burnley The Verdict at 10:12:14
Southampton seemed to lack energy and the will to compete. That has been a feature of a number of our games recently. It suggests to me that all is not well and that maybe Ralph's reign is drawing to a close. |
| News Comment | Southampton V Chelsea The Verdict at 11:18:32
We can implement the high press but we don't seem to be able to defend against it. Bizarre. It's clearly a coaching and tactics issue and for that Ralph has to take the blame. He's now had 4 years of treading water. There has been little progress since Mark Hughes left. Therefore, unfortunately it is now time to change the manager. |
| News Comment | Southampton V Watford The Verdict at 13:52:10
All teams have off days. It just so happens that we've now had 3 off days on the trot. The trick is to dig in and still get a result somehow through sheer endeavour and by not making mistakes. However, the work rate has not been been good enough in those 3 games and the centre backs, particularly Salisu, have been making mistakes by the barrowload. There seems to be a collective lack of concentration which, if it was Chelsea, you could maybe understand. But what have our players got to worry about? |
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