Players heading for St Mary's exit (From Daily Echo)

Much as I like some of our peripheral players, they need games and if they cannot get them here, it would be to their advantage to move on, no room for sentimentality in this League, we do need to bolster the first team squad, but where available players of the quality that we want are coming from is anyones guess. NC did say that there were funds ready to ensure our survival, and seeing our rivals are already making moves I would like to see some action sooner than later, not a repeat of the Ramirez saga.

Saints have moved on now and need to step up the quality of players in the squad. We still have quality coming through the academy and it is better to give them a chance and bring in a higher calibre of players.

Cork showed he is a better right back than Butterfield and Richardson for me. I'd also have Reeves in at left back ahead of Dickson or Fox.

De Ridder hasn't made much of an impact since joining the club...he may have had the odd chance but I'd expect him to be sold.

With these players all you can do is thank them for their efforts and allow them to move on if possible. The likes of Barney, Chappers, Butterfield all did fantastic jobs in the lower leagues andf hopefully they will all be able to find new teams with similar ambitions to themselves. Suprised no mid table sides in the championship have looked at Chaplow

I agree that for most of these players it is time to move on but i think Chaplow should get a chance to stay, he can play across the middle and likes a scrap.

Our wage bill is bigger than people realise. We need to offload a fair few players but bringing in new ones on even higher contracts is a gamble when you're sitting around the relegation zone. I reckon one good centre back and that is all or we risk upsetting the good dressing room harmony and spending even more on wages. Sending them out on loan is a good short term solution so we seem to have it mostly under control. In Cortese I trust.

We do need to off load several players who are not good enough for the Premiership even though most have helped to get us there, no room for sentiment.
However the most important thing is to bring in 3 or 4 new signings who are BETTER than what we have got.
1. A Goalkeeper (Butland or better)
2. A Centerback (Dawson / Astori quality)
3. An influencial Midfielder (Lampard quality)
4. A quick winger who can cross well
5. Possible fullback as cover.
6. And what about Henry on loan ? He and Lampard would give confidence.

NA & NC need to get these asap before the Aston Villa game which is a vital six pointer as we will only have 16 games after that to get more than a point a game which includes against all the top six teams.

Come on NC/NA don't leave it too late, others are already making signings, together we can do it.
Come on you red & white pin stripes !!

I agree on Dawson at Spurs. Forget Lampard, he is still on the England scene and will set his sights a bit higher than us. I do think that Joe Cole is a possibility though. We need to be ruthless with our goalies though; Shelve Kelv and get Friedel in, then we will have 2 higher level experienced guys battling it for the shirt with a youngster learning off of them.

Nicola needs to get the marketing team to get some fresh blood in the stands. There are two in the row in front of me who are always groaning and moaning - and likely at least 2000 all told who are falling short. Weak support if fine for Div 1, but not for the dogfight that is the Prem. We need to step up the quality and move on.

Admittedly these people helped get us where we are, but we can't afford to be sentimental. They should now go to Bournemouth where they will be more useful.

We should at least offload all those who boo our own players or boo when the half or full time whistle goes when we are trailing or have lost.

Come on Nicola - get moving and sort 'em out.

SO50 Saint wrote:
With these players all you can do is thank them for their efforts and allow them to move on if possible. The likes of Barney, Chappers, Butterfield all did fantastic jobs in the lower leagues andf hopefully they will all be able to find new teams with similar ambitions to themselves. Suprised no mid table sides in the championship have looked at Chaplow

I feel really sorry for them. They have helped us to get here. I am particularly fond of Chaplow, who I thought (obviously in disagreement with NA, which disqualifies my thoughts) would make a great addition to our team since he is so good as a holding midfielder. I still think he is PL quality, given the chance of playing 2-3 games in a row. He could be the man we need to strengthen our relatively weak defense.

Clear these players out , bring in a new centre-half a keeper and maybe Trotter the goal-scoring centre-midfielder from Millwall and we are set ready for the fight ahead COYR

Off Subject :

Looking forward to VILLA AWAY.

Now Saints have established themselves in the premiership the games are very competitive.

WIGAN AWAY will also be another Target games for Maximum Points.

Regarding the CUP and Chelsea.

Give Artur Borac game time. Do not put Kelvin back in goal.

Put out a Strong Team - (not like Leeds) and Give our Team the opportunity to play against the European Champions - not as a warm up game - but gain valuable experience.

We have to play them in the League. Let Nigel and the Team make a name for themselves.

WE CAN WIN AGAINST ANYONE AT HOME.

LET'S CONTINUE THE MOMENTUM.

NIGEL DO NOT - JUST PUT OUT A WEAKENED SIDE.

WE ARE SOUTHAMPTON. COYR.

I would like to see two new players, Goalkeeper, proven PL experience, Jack is too young and similar to Gazza, so not likely to do anything this season. I think a strong holding midfielder like a Veria type. Cork and Spider have being OK, but they get bullied with stronger teams and if one was injured we would be stuffed. If we then had money to burn a new winger/striker with pace and ability and perhaps another defender. I still believe we are throwing away too many points regularly; goalkeeping is still a big concern. We should have played Borac earlier and decided if he was good enough, we wasted our time playing Kelvin again; he had already failed on many occasions at this level. If I was the manager asking for money for another goalkeeper, the board might say, you have not played the last one you got. I partially believe Nigel expected to get beat by Arsenal and Borac would have proven he is not capable at this level, instead, he may just need more games and he will get better. Secondly Nigel will have to raise his game in the second half; QPR raised the bar last night and instead of holding on for a draw with Arsenal, Nigel will have to go for the win. We will need an additional 7 wins to stay up. All the teams around us will strengthen and I know it sounds obvious, once January ends it will be too late.

Another post off topic :

The only time I can foresee any Trouble with Supporters this Season at St Mary's may be when we play Chelsea.

They are not called Chelskum for nothing with their blue travelling fans.

NO-ONE DICTATES TERMS AT ST MARY'S.

We have seen off leeds millwall etc ..

WE ARE SOUTHAMPTON. COYR.

Out of interest, why has the Echo essentially repeated the Chelsea and transfer window stories with slightly different headlines. Bit strange.

Has anyone ever thought what would happen if Arsenal issued libel writs against every single opposition fan who had accused Arsene Wenger of meddling with children? Even if a meagre £100 out of court settlement was reached with each of them then that would give Arsenal more than a billion pounds to go out and spend in the transfer window.

They could probably just about buy Luke Shaw for that, so it's a bit of a worry.

NikkkoNik wrote:
I would like to see two new players, Goalkeeper, proven PL experience, Jack is too young and similar to Gazza, so not likely to do anything this season. I think a strong holding midfielder like a Veria type. Cork and Spider have being OK, but they get bullied with stronger teams and if one was injured we would be stuffed. If we then had money to burn a new winger/striker with pace and ability and perhaps another defender. I still believe we are throwing away too many points regularly; goalkeeping is still a big concern. We should have played Borac earlier and decided if he was good enough, we wasted our time playing Kelvin again; he had already failed on many occasions at this level. If I was the manager asking for money for another goalkeeper, the board might say, you have not played the last one you got. I partially believe Nigel expected to get beat by Arsenal and Borac would have proven he is not capable at this level, instead, he may just need more games and he will get better. Secondly Nigel will have to raise his game in the second half; QPR raised the bar last night and instead of holding on for a draw with Arsenal, Nigel will have to go for the win. We will need an additional 7 wins to stay up. All the teams around us will strengthen and I know it sounds obvious, once January ends it will be too late.

Saying Nigel put in Boruc because he knew we'd be beaten is nonsense surely and, from what I heard of the QPR game they showed absolutely no desire to win the game, but happened to sneak a lucky win (deserved though on their effort and commitment) with a rare attack.

If anything, the QPR result is proof that there are other ways of winning than going gung-ho - you can hold out for a draw, hang on in there and sneak a result on the break.

Obviously agree we need to strengthen and shore up the defence though - without silly individual mistakes from players who aren't up to it we would have got far more points on the board in the early part of the season, and against Stoke, when we brought one or two of them back in. Clearly need cover all across the back.

Off subject. Is Schneiderlan now on 5 bookings for the season ? If so he will miss the Chelsea game

legod7 wrote:
Off subject. Is Schneiderlan now on 5 bookings for the season ? If so he will miss the Chelsea game

Yes... and no. The 5 bookings are written off as of 31st of December. So he doesn't miss the game.

I really don't think we need too much to be brought in in order to stay up this season. I think a GK and CB and maybe a pacey winger on loan would do it. I really do think as has been said above that the home draws have cost us this season. For me apart from 5/6 teams the rest of the leage is a much of a muchness with everyone quite capable of beating everyone else. We just need to ensure that when the vital games Villa and Wigan away we pick up the 3 points. I also think we are more than capable of beating the likes of West Ham, Stoke and West Brom at home along with a few other mid table teams who are still to visit

I thought Jack Cork did well at right back against Arsenal. What trying this. Leave him at right back then play JWP as a holding / creative midfielder in front of the defence and Spider Ramirez and Davis in the middle. I thought jwpblooked lively when he came on against Arsenal he is composed and a good distributor of the ball moreover he's not frightened to get stuck in! Just a thought!!!

have cost us this season means being in the relegation scrap rather than being comfortable mid table :)

Saints n Winners wrote:
I agree on Dawson at Spurs. Forget Lampard, he is still on the England scene and will set his sights a bit higher than us. I do think that Joe Cole is a possibility though. We need to be ruthless with our goalies though; Shelve Kelv and get Friedel in, then we will have 2 higher level experienced guys battling it for the shirt with a youngster learning off of them.

Looks as if JOE COLE is going back to West Ham.oNE WEST HAM PLAYER WHO WOULD DO OK for SAINTS is VAZ TE.

saintlysoul wrote:
I thought Jack Cork did well at right back against Arsenal. What trying this. Leave him at right back then play JWP as a holding / creative midfielder in front of the defence and Spider Ramirez and Davis in the middle. I thought jwpblooked lively when he came on against Arsenal he is composed and a good distributor of the ball moreover he's not frightened to get stuck in! Just a thought!!!

Like te idea playing J W P , but whatwouldyou do with Clyne??. He has worked well with Puncheon so far and can defend.

CB FRY LIVES wrote:

Saints n Winners wrote:
I agree on Dawson at Spurs. Forget Lampard, he is still on the England scene and will set his sights a bit higher than us. I do think that Joe Cole is a possibility though. We need to be ruthless with our goalies though; Shelve Kelv and get Friedel in, then we will have 2 higher level experienced guys battling it for the shirt with a youngster learning off of them.

Looks as if JOE COLE is going back to West Ham.oNE WEST HAM PLAYER WHO WOULD DO OK for SAINTS is VAZ TE.

Yeh, Vaz Te misses even more spectacularly than Do Prado. Dawson would be a good shout if he weren't so injury prone. We need to out the likes of Barnard, Butterfield, Seabourne and De Ridder, Fox, Boruc and Do Prado who aren't good enough. I feel sorry for Chappers, deserves more of a go but experienced English speaking premiership players are a must (less time required to settle). Paul Robinson and Joelyn Lescott fit the bill and Wayne Bridge is on loan at Brighton so we could wangle a deal for him as City might recall to sell. Players with something left in the tank who know the score and would add quality and experience if the wages can be done sensibly. Also how about Landovan Donavan who
I believe is out of contract . Cole wouldn't have helped, too injury prone and inconsistent these days and look at how Everton use loans in January, lessons to be learnt.

See we've been linked with benayoun from chelsea wonder if lallana will b out 4 a long time then??!!

Young Hoskings on lan to STEVENAGE for rest of season.

LOAN this keyboard is like POMPEY ,make your own minds up.

SaintJD wrote:

NikkkoNik wrote:
I would like to see two new players, Goalkeeper, proven PL experience, Jack is too young and similar to Gazza, so not likely to do anything this season. I think a strong holding midfielder like a Veria type. Cork and Spider have being OK, but they get bullied with stronger teams and if one was injured we would be stuffed. If we then had money to burn a new winger/striker with pace and ability and perhaps another defender. I still believe we are throwing away too many points regularly; goalkeeping is still a big concern. We should have played Borac earlier and decided if he was good enough, we wasted our time playing Kelvin again; he had already failed on many occasions at this level. If I was the manager asking for money for another goalkeeper, the board might say, you have not played the last one you got. I partially believe Nigel expected to get beat by Arsenal and Borac would have proven he is not capable at this level, instead, he may just need more games and he will get better. Secondly Nigel will have to raise his game in the second half; QPR raised the bar last night and instead of holding on for a draw with Arsenal, Nigel will have to go for the win. We will need an additional 7 wins to stay up. All the teams around us will strengthen and I know it sounds obvious, once January ends it will be too late.

Saying Nigel put in Boruc because he knew we'd be beaten is nonsense surely and, from what I heard of the QPR game they showed absolutely no desire to win the game, but happened to sneak a lucky win (deserved though on their effort and commitment) with a rare attack.

If anything, the QPR result is proof that there are other ways of winning than going gung-ho - you can hold out for a draw, hang on in there and sneak a result on the break.

Obviously agree we need to strengthen and shore up the defence though - without silly individual mistakes from players who aren't up to it we would have got far more points on the board in the early part of the season, and against Stoke, when we brought one or two of them back in. Clearly need cover all across the back.

QPR have allot to do, but this win may give them hope, secondly Harry can go to the chairman and ask for a few more players, had they lost that game it might have been throwing more money and hope something sticks. They may start to build momentum. Perhaps they believe the 5 or 6 teams above them are vulnerable. Over Christmas Reading made 4 points, we mustard 3 good results and 1 poor one and came away with 3 dropping 12. This division is brutal and if we are in with a chance we have to go for it. Taking off Rameries was a poor decision, he had not played the game before at Stoke and who cares about the Chelsea game? You could argue the more games Chelsea play in the FA Cup, League cup and Europa league the better for us as they may put in weaker teams at the end of the season once they have secured a top four position. We have to get tougher and will need to find these 7 wins.

All of them are welcome to leave maybe the only one i would keep is Richardson,Steve De Ridder has done nothing since arriving even in the championship,Hopeful
ly we can add more depth & quality another striker is key capable of scoring 10+ goals a season we can't keep relying on Lambert.COYR

So Chelsea sold out their allocation for the FA Cup within 30 minutes.

This is not a rant - but I hope Nigel does not let down the fans and City of Southampton by fielding a weak side.

He has much to gain by challenging his players to WIN this tie and then go on to beat VILLA AWAY.

RED ARMY 2013. WE RULE THE SOUTH. COYR.

hedge end bob wrote:

saintlysoul wrote:
I thought Jack Cork did well at right back against Arsenal. What trying this. Leave him at right back then play JWP as a holding / creative midfielder in front of the defence and Spider Ramirez and Davis in the middle. I thought jwpblooked lively when he came on against Arsenal he is composed and a good distributor of the ball moreover he's not frightened to get stuck in! Just a thought!!!

Like te idea playing J W P , but whatwouldyou do with Clyne??. He has worked well with Puncheon so far and can defend.

Good point. Does anyone know what's wrong with Clyne or when he's due back?

NA has ruled out bringing in a goalie - stick with Boruc for Villa?

Beer Monster wrote:
NA has ruled out bringing in a goalie - stick with Boruc for Villa?

Boruc needs game time - that is for sure (and the goal keeping coaches need to challenge him with greater intensity)

NIGEL IS NOT ALWAYS RIGHT.

He insisted that he would continue to play the same way up to 10 games into the Season and it almost cost him his job.

Saints have become more Defensive and WE are all proud of the way they battled against Arsenal.

HE IS NOT RIGHT ABOUT THE GOAL KEEPING SITUATION.

Getting a Top Quality Keeper gets you one quarter of the total of points needed to remain in the Premiership.

BUY A TOP KEEPER - Move up the Premier League.

Kelvin and Gazza have given away 8 points.

WE SHOULD BE ABOVE WET SPAM.

Think again Nigel - 10 Million is money in the bank to get in a Top Quality Keeper. Some things you cannot cut back on. This is one of them.

BUY !!! NIGEL IN THE JANUARY WINDOW.

I was at FULHAM AWAY and you cannot outscore goalkeeping mistakes.

Nigel - do not allow stubbornness to put your job in jeopardy again !!!

WE ARE SOUTHAMPTON. COYR.

Oh dear, oh dear, just seen this on the BBC breaking news feed. In Nigel we trust and all that, but have to say I'm a little surprised and disappointed:

Southampton manager Nigel Adkins plans to bring in new faces this month but has ruled out signing another goalkeeper.

Kelvin Davis, Paulo Gazzaniga and Artur Boruc have all started this season, with all three guilty of notable errors. However, Adkins, himself a former goalkeeper, has vowed to stand by them, ending talk of a move for Birmingham's Jack Butland or Blackburn's Paul Robinson.

"They are the three goalkeepers we've got now and I do not anticipate another goalkeeper coming in during this window," said Adkins.

.... then again, at least Butland and Robinson aren't coming, both of whom seem to offer more of the same.

half way through the season and i have not a clue who are number 1 keeper is.get one in or one settled before the villa game

Confucious wrote:
Nicola needs to get the marketing team to get some fresh blood in the stands. There are two in the row in front of me who are always groaning and moaning - and likely at least 2000 all told who are falling short. Weak support if fine for Div 1, but not for the dogfight that is the Prem. We need to step up the quality and move on.

Admittedly these people helped get us where we are, but we can't afford to be sentimental. They should now go to Bournemouth where they will be more useful.

We should at least offload all those who boo our own players or boo when the half or full time whistle goes when we are trailing or have lost.

Come on Nicola - get moving and sort 'em out.

Don't forget the ones who leave ten minutes before the final whistle. Presumably so their Mummy doesn't tell them off for being late home.

SO50 Saint wrote:
I really don't think we need too much to be brought in in order to stay up this season. I think a GK and CB and maybe a pacey winger on loan would do it. I really do think as has been said above that the home draws have cost us this season. For me apart from 5/6 teams the rest of the leage is a much of a muchness with everyone quite capable of beating everyone else. We just need to ensure that when the vital games Villa and Wigan away we pick up the 3 points. I also think we are more than capable of beating the likes of West Ham, Stoke and West Brom at home along with a few other mid table teams who are still to visit

You say that...quite rightly...BUT how many three pointers have we managed to turn into one?? The last THREE matches, for a start....Of course we are capable of beating them...what worries me is that we have "beaten" teams but have not collected all the points!!

Brad Friedel is the only keeper I would consider worth getting, even on loan until the end of the season. Why does Boruc always looks as if he's been on the Wacky Baccy? and why isn't Gazza even getting on the bench, or is he still injured?

starlitdragstar wrote:
Brad Friedel is the only keeper I would consider worth getting, even on loan until the end of the season. Why does Boruc always looks as if he's been on the Wacky Baccy? and why isn't Gazza even getting on the bench, or is he still injured?

Brad Friedel if available would be an option.

The TOP SIDES in the top half of the Premiership have excellent Keepers.

WE DON'T.

Singing "There's only one Nigel Adkins" is good - but too early in the game distracts the players - the Manager and the concentration of the Keeper.

Playing Arsenal - as we we were singing that - they scored.

WHEN WE ARE WINNING 3-0 OR HAVE WON A FAMOUS AWAY VICTORY - (Like QPR) Fair enough !!

THE LEAGUE DOES NOT LIE and we should be higher than where we are.

WE ARE SOUTHAMPTON. COYR.

You say that...quite rightly...BUT how many three pointers have we managed to turn into one?? The last THREE matches, for a start....Of course we are capable of beating them...what worries me is that we have "beaten" teams but have not collected all the points!!”

What amazed me the last 2 games was walking out gutted we only got a point knowing we deserved more. The Fulham game I didnt go too but on the tele it certainly looked like we were the far better side

batesieboy wrote:

Confucious wrote:
Nicola needs to get the marketing team to get some fresh blood in the stands. There are two in the row in front of me who are always groaning and moaning - and likely at least 2000 all told who are falling short. Weak support if fine for Div 1, but not for the dogfight that is the Prem. We need to step up the quality and move on.

Admittedly these people helped get us where we are, but we can't afford to be sentimental. They should now go to Bournemouth where they will be more useful.

We should at least offload all those who boo our own players or boo when the half or full time whistle goes when we are trailing or have lost.

Come on Nicola - get moving and sort 'em out.

Don't forget the ones who leave ten minutes before the final whistle. Presumably so their Mummy doesn't tell them off for being late home.

And don't forget the Guly moaners. I've got a guy near me who would give him stick if he missed a chance for his double hat trick. At least the Gaston Ramirez moaners mite now shut up too after the Ars game. Obvious quality and always has been. That's why we paid 12M for him. SUPPORT the TEAM!!

Look, it doesnt really matter who's in the squad or on the pitch. It also doesnt matter about all the quality players we have signed who all disappear into room 101 at St Marys never to be seen again until Cortese says so.
As long as Adkins is in charge and Guly is fit to start, why is there anything to worry about??

bigfella777 wrote:
Look, it doesnt really matter who's in the squad or on the pitch. It also doesnt matter about all the quality players we have signed who all disappear into room 101 at St Marys never to be seen again until Cortese says so.
As long as Adkins is in charge and Guly is fit to start, why is there anything to worry about??

Is that you kent141

Now it's a job that just suits me
A window cleaner you would be
If you can see what I can see
When I'm cleanin' windows

Where's the banjo...

Xmas is over and Santa has gone back to the North Pole - no need for greedy Santa lists to go to SMS.

Que Sera Sera - COYR