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Comment | Southampton At Millwall The Verdict
at 17:52:52
I wondered , not for the first time, just how fit our players are. Lots of sickness in the camp recently and outpaced by a battling Millwall team with no outstanding stars. Having Neill as their manager gives them a head start in terms of experience, add that to their workrate and we lose at the death. It should have been avoidable. |
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Comment | Southampton V Leicester City The Verdict
at 14:07:54
I don't see why Saints should rush to give Tonda the job officially if he's happy to continue as things are. He's probably in a position beyond his wildest dreams so let's see if this successful streak continues, or better still, how he and the team responds to a loss. It would be churlishto complain about anything last night but, I would say that, from my point of view, it appeared as the clock reached 65 minutes that Saints and Leicester had reached a mutual but unspoken agreement that both sides were happy with 3-0, so the game became more akin to something on the training ground. Okay, Downs got another outing but, where were the head high crosses that punctated the previous hour. Fellows did attempt to attack but, continually ran down blind alleys to the goal lline. I was not entertained in the last half an hour. I do fear that Fellows and Scienza will both be kicked off the park at Millwall. |
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Comment | Southampton V Leicester City The Verdict
at 14:07:54
I don't see why Saints should rush to give Tonda the job officially if he's happy to continue as things are. He's probably in a position beyond his wildest dreams so let's see if this successful streak continues, or better still, how he and the team responds to a loss. It would be churlishto complain about anything last night but, I would say that, from my point of view, it appeared as the clock reached 65 minutes that Saints and Leicester had reached a mutual but unspoken agreement that both sides were happy with 3-0, so the game became more akin to something on the training ground. Okay, Downs got another outing but, where were the head high crosses that punctated the previous hour. Fellows did attempt to attack but, continually ran down blind alleys to the goal lline. I was not entertained in the last half an hour. I do fear that Fellows and Scienza will both be kicked off the park at Millwall. |
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Comment | Southampton V Sheffield Wednesday The Verdict
at 19:48:23
I wouldn't take Gary O'Neill or, indeed anyone else who's been touted. I agree that Brendan would make the players sit up and take notice but, he's artless when he's speaking and not likely to get our supporters on board. When you hear the Northam chanting "We're on the pitch if Damion scores" is hardly a show of encouragement for a mere lad who made no mistakes and exerted a lot of energy in his brief appearance against SW. He showed signs of being a real footballer despite the adversity. And this is what SR are up against, core support that knows better than them but without the responsibility. It's not just about stats, SR - it's about character (which Will Still was patently short on), proven ability (over seasons not all spent in lower leagues) and appeal. I just hope they get it right. And give Damion a break, Northam, then we might find out just why we bought him. |
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Comment | Southampton V Sheffield Wednesday The Verdict
at 19:48:23
I wouldn't take Gary O'Neill or, indeed anyone else who's been touted. I agree that Brendan would make the players sit up and take notice but, he's artless when he's speaking and not likely to get our supporters on board. When you hear the Northam chanting "We're on the pitch if Damion scores" is hardly a show of encouragement for a mere lad who made no mistakes and exerted a lot of energy in his brief appearance against SW. He showed signs of being a real footballer despite the adversity. And this is what SR are up against, core support that knows better than them but without the responsibility. It's not just about stats, SR - it's about character (which Will Still was patently short on), proven ability (over seasons not all spent in lower leagues) and appeal. I just hope they get it right. And give Damion a break, Northam, then we might find out just why we bought him. |
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Comment | Southampton At Queens Park Rangers The Verdict
at 16:57:41
Let's be honest, we were overwhelmed by QPR for the last twenty minutes and, whilst our players did what they could, it was a miracle QPR didn't score more than one. Overall, our passing through the midfield was worse than awful, ball after ball being given away and that has to be addressed. We need a leader who puts his foot on the ball to stop others regularly losing their heads and direction. As for the GK position, neither Bazunu or McCarthy should be our first choice, in different ways they are error prone. Three points, yes but, confidence building, no. |
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Comment | Southampton At Queens Park Rangers The Verdict
at 16:57:41
Let's be honest, we were overwhelmed by QPR for the last twenty minutes and, whilst our players did what they could, it was a miracle QPR didn't score more than one. Overall, our passing through the midfield was worse than awful, ball after ball being given away and that has to be addressed. We need a leader who puts his foot on the ball to stop others regularly losing their heads and direction. As for the GK position, neither Bazunu or McCarthy should be our first choice, in different ways they are error prone. Three points, yes but, confidence building, no. |
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Comment | Southampton At Queens Park Rangers The Preview
at 12:52:13
I agree with A1079 however, it's not just midfielders losing possession, it's our atrocious passing all over the pitch. As for the probability of starting Armstrong and Archer upfront, neither at this point in time deserve to be opening the game but, what else do we have. A radical decision to start both Robinson and Oyekunle would bring the same problem, no height but, probably more enthusiasm than has recently been on display. If we play wingers they must be instructed to cross the ball at ground level. And neither Roerlev or Manning are wing backs. It rather looks like same old, same old to me. If Scienza is off-colour, quite frankly I can't see us creating many chances. Is Tonda a member of the Magic Circle, because he'll need to conjure up something different. |
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Comment | A Big Decision Week For For Southampton FC
at 13:34:14
Like the majority of fans I am starting to become disillusioned with not just Will Still but, with Saints as a whole however, what happened with Still's claim on arrival that the first thought in players' minds should always be forward? If anything our build-up to attacks have, in general been pedestrian at best and, if anything, slower and less incisive than they were under Russell Martin. There are exceptions i.e., Scienza, Robinson, Fellows but, are the bulk of the players just ignoring Will Still and doing their own thing. That wouldn't surprise me as, in his interviews, Still is faltering and unconvincing. If this is the same in the dressing-room it's no wonder we aren't playing as a team. On the managerial front, asking for Still's head isn't necessary for the best. Who foresaw what Nathan Jones has achieved with Charlton, and he was driven out partly due to vitriol from supporters (of which I was one). Spors, if he isn't looking to sack Still, needs to urgently provide him with a top-drawer mentor. Btw, the bookies have us finishing ninth and 40-1 against relegation. They're more optimistic than I have become! |
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Comment | Southampton At Blackburn Rovers The Verdict
at 13:05:07
I have to admit that I was shocked by the decision to remove Scienza from the field of play. I surmise that Will Still thought he should try and hang on to a point as we were certainly under the cosh but, to extinguish our brightest spark, that seems to me to be simply outrageous. I, too, would like to hear about the mystery illness ravaging our side. If Still has lost the dressing-room he's sunk, but that seems odd after the promise of the Swansea display. If the services of Will Still are dispensed with, we really will be seen as a poison chalice by any decent manager. This reminds me of the situation when Mark Hughes came, we barely stayed up but, I bet he was happy with his paycheck. Another thing, when is Spoors going to make a statement, it's overdue. If Still is to be retained I think we should receive some reassurance that he will be ably aided in the transfer market |
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Comment | Southampton At Bristol City The Verdict
at 17:50:34
I'm not a happy clapper, last night's performance in the first half was somewhat boring and very dismal in the second. Sadly, Wood had been very competent in recent games, receiving the ball then spreading it around with few inaccuracies however, last night he had a stinker and Bristol City ran straight through our defence as the game progressed. But, in the case of Will Still, we all had high expectations, perhaps too high but, if we don't give him time we'll never find out what he can achieve. And all the talk of relegation is rubbish, several new players brought in or back were players of the season at their previous Championship clubs - Edwards, Charles, Azaz, Fellowes, add to that Scienza and Jander and we know we have a group that can perform in this league. Making them do so will not happen overnight, whether it's Will Still or anyone else in charge. The lack of an onfield general and a half decent centre forward is costing us. These omissions can be remedied but, they haven't been up to now, partly because of our managerial merry-go-round and partly because Will Still hadn't seen the squad until he was appointed. I have no doubt he will be addressing those positions at the first opportunity, if the process hasn't already begun. Stop clamouring for his dismissal, it isn't helpful. |
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Comment | Southampton V Swansea City The Verdict
at 13:04:59
I have to say that yesterday, despite our inability to score, I felt that I had been entertained and I haven't felt like that for a long time. Will Still found a way to open up the Swansea defence, time and time again. The players really put in a shift but, you can't lay the blame for no goals at Still's door. Obviously, Scienza looks to be a real find and Jelert and Jander looked promising. Still built his reputation on chopping and changing to suit the type of opposition faced and I wouldn't relish having to operate with a squad laden with new faces, under-performing old guard and the loss of my preferred centre forward. The guy needs time, not a fickle support constantly criticising his experiments. |
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Comment | Southampton At Derby County The Verdict
at 12:26:22
That's a real shame about Stewart, he was playing really aggressively and stretching the Derby defence when he got injured and our game was seriously disrupted by that incident. Having said that, we still created a fair few chances, several of which could or should have ended up in the Derby net. Our bigger problem was our centre back trio who were bullied by Derby and thanks to McCarthy, we came away with a point. Wood didn't play so well as he has done and Edwards and, particularly Quashie were easily bypassed . Scienza looks to be a bag of tricks. It is true that the wealth of talent in our squad has yet to come together but, when it does, somebody is in for a thumping. The sooner that happens the premature mutterings about getting rid of Still will quite properly be buried. |
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Comment | Southampton At Derby County The Verdict
at 12:26:22
That's a real shame about Stewart, he was playing really aggressively and stretching the Derby defence when he got injured and our game was seriously disrupted by that incident. Having said that, we still created a fair few chances, several of which could or should have ended up in the Derby net. Our bigger problem was our centre back trio who were bullied by Derby and thanks to McCarthy, we came away with a point. Wood didn't play so well as he has done and Edwards and, particularly Quashie were easily bypassed . Scienza looks to be a bag of tricks. It is true that the wealth of talent in our squad has yet to come together but, when it does, somebody is in for a thumping. The sooner that happens the premature mutterings about getting rid of Still will quite properly be buried. |
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Comment | Southampton At Derby County The Preview
at 17:25:42
I can't believe Will Still's position would be under any threat prior to Christmas barring a run of drubbings. We need some managerial stability at our club after the various shambles that have followed Ralph's departure. I wonder what he would have been able to achieve with the players we now have. Pity he was given the elbow at Wolfsburg. |
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Comment | Southampton At Sheffield United The Verdict
at 14:02:45
I thought Wood was outstanding. Everything seems to go through him at the back and he's always talking to his fellow central defenders. The problem we have seems to be getting the ball from defence past midway in the opposition's half. Last night the first half became tedious as we went regularly backwards instead of taking on their defenders but, Will Still must have geed them up at the interval as things did improve. As for Stewart, his pre-Saints record shows him to be a potentially prolific goal scorer, so let's hope the floodgates have now opened for him. We definitely have a way to go to be promotion candidates and some players will fall by the wayside as others grasp their chances, that's inevitable, as is some disappointing results on our way up but, thing are looking brighter. |
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Comment | Southampton V Middlesbrough The Verdict
at 21:02:44
I thought that Wood came across as the man directing Saints play from the back and, to my mind, he looked pretty good doing it. Edwards and Quarsie, playing alongside him also looked more confident so, Will Still is on his way to solving that centre of defence peoblem. He also seems to be making progress with the midfield pairing of Charles and Jander. Now that leaves the goalkeeping dilemma which we'll have to live with for the time being but, he might remedy the scoring problem by giving Robinson more time if Stewart doesn't click. This performance continued the improvements seen at Liverpool. |
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Comment | Southampton At Liverpool The Verdict
at 19:59:24
I thought this performance showed quite a lot of promise, better than what we've seen this season. Just a thought, I'm not sure I've seen Wood have a really poor game so, how come he's often overlooked in favour of the currently out of form TH-B and the permanently risky JS? Quarshie gave us much-needed aerial presence at the back. Downes sadly looked out of his depth and Ross Stewart appeared far too late on. As for Alex McCarthy - well, we've seen it all before, a useful shot stopper and useless with the ball at his feet. We need the same effort on display yesterday in every game. That has not been the case on the pitch thus far. |
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Comment | Southampton At Hull City The Verdict
at 23:13:49
I guess that this week's question is does the Will Still system work or, more importantly, does it work in England. I think either is a little premature, I'll go with where there's a will there's a way. Our new signings haven't just come here for the pay packet, they're here to be on a winning side, at least on most weeks and either rise to the EPL with Saints or use Saints as a known stepping stone to football heaven. They didn't arrive to have their promising reputations tattered. At the moment everything that Will Still has to deal with is wrong. He's competing with the residue of the Russell Martin style, the inadequacies of our defence to play as a unit (and that's not new) and his inability thus far to find one (although it might take two) of our four centre forwards to stake a firm claim for the starting spot. It can't happen overnight, unlike our patience which can wear thin instantly. Perhaps I'm being too charitable but, it is too early to judge as any reasonable and seasoned supporter knows. This guy is also here to strengthen his CV. Hard as it is now, he really needs some breathing space. Success is more often than not built on a foundation of small steps. Total disaster is the prospect of throwing him to the lions. I think Christmas and the January window action is the time to utilise our discernment. |
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