I know there has been plenty discussed on this subject already and we should really move on but with nothing else much going on i thought what harm could another thread on our shocking display on saturday do. So i'm going to look at it from another angle, This summer is going to be massive for Saints and i think that Saturday's result could possibly affect whether certain players still want to be involved in Saints a team which appears to have zero cup ambition. The likes of Shaw and Lallana have already spoken publicly about there disapointment in not progressing and some might say well then they should of played better but thats another issue. I honestly feel that certain players will now be thinking if i stay at Southampton then yes i can play every week but i won't ever win anything as the club although very ambitious are only ambitious in a competition which in all likeliness they will never win. So the question is, Could this one result mean that some players will begin doubting their future at Southamton and look to move away in the summer, some might already be thinking of moving on and this result just confirms it to them. Also on a side note, its obvious to me that MP has prioritised the league even though we will finish somewhere between 9th and 7th, is finishing above Man Utd in the league more desirable to foreign clubs than getting to a domestic cup final. (just mentioned that in case MP is looking to promote himself as an available manager)
Kitch, it may be another angle but surely it's been done to death? I'll comment though without trying to tread on old ground. If a player thought like that then they'd be off to United, Chelsea, City as they could think that Saints had done well, progresses to a cup final and the chances if it happening again are a lot lower than at one of those other teams. It's a flip view to your OP. I don't think the players would be affected by it in that way.
doubting their future at the club because we got knocked out of the cup?. Do you not think that is a bit OTT?
Who says that Saints are not ambitious and not bothered if they progress in a cup competition? Sorry...... I find that unbelievable...Saints had a bad day on Saturday, but that should not be seen as that they don't care, or are not interested in progressing!!!! They turned out a team that they felt could beat Sunderland but that was not what happened. So that to a point, responsibility falls on Pochettino's shoulders. Although I would not argue that the players themselves did not do so well. Even remotely, it is ludicrous to suggest that Saints or any other team for that matter would not be interested in moving forward in the competition. A lot of the talk that is going around about teams not treating the FA cup matches with respect is because the bigger teams tend to put out their fringe players in the competition. Lets face it teams like Arsenal, Man U and co have back up players that would win most games against some of the opposition. Certainly that is a matter for discussion but I repeat that it should not be seen as a don't care attitude because that is not true. Did Arsenal or Liverpool do that yesterday........they certainly had some fringe players in but could you tell from the football that was played? I certainly couldn't....and I would argue nobody in either team thought as the OP is suggesting.
Correct, there is no doubting our ambition. Poch has bought an energy to our game that has been outstanding this season. However, there's no denying the disappointing performance at Sunderland. The selection of fringe players, the lack of energy in our game, the inability to assert ourselves in the second half, should all give Poch much room for thought. The silver lining could be that he now knows exactly what to do strengthen the squad to ensure we are a consistent force next season.
I have some sympathy for the OP, but I think "ambition" will be demonstrated by the transfer targets that we reveal in the summer. If we're chasing some snotty kid from a League One team I'd ponder my future if I were Shaw. But if the targets are young bright international players (as Gaston was (is?) when he signed) then this shows real intent. I'm confident that players are being tracked as we speak, but Fraulein Liebherr and Mauricio need to be watching the World Cup with interest. We'll be battling with Moyes in all probability, but even so, I can't think that an FA Cup win would have swung it for a South American player, for example.
The one think this defeat has maybe done is to make Poch doubt the future of fringe players like SKD and Gully? Think if we are to move on next season we need to move players on, as painfull as it may be. By the way Baldbarbarian welcome to the Saints forum.
I'm sure Mauricio is aware of the players that he needs to move on...just as they are aware that their days are numbered. What is very clear is that we have a starting 11 with 2-3 decent subs. We can tolerate the odd player needing replacing, but struggle when several are. To lose Fonte with an injury was just another blow...anyone who thinks he hasn't got a sore and swollen leg needs their head examined. He was there only for dire emergencies. Our team can be brilliant because they are trained like clockwork...but remove a cog and it stops. We are skin and bone and need quality players in the summer...I'm not saying each of them has to cost a fortune...we've got some bargains already, but they have to be the right players.
Could Boruc really have done much about that goal, though? He failed to save a similar, but much more saveable, Adam Johnson goal last time out.
Nothing at all Kelvin could have done for that goal, and moreover he did actually help to keep us in the game late on. But his distribution, particularly to Shaw, was awful. I made a similar point yesterday to Dell Boy, in that the Sunderland defeat may actually help us. Yet again we rely on a few fringe players, and let again we perform badly and lose. If we're going to challenge for top seven finishes on a regular basis, not to mention challenge for the Cups and qualify (and then win some matches) in Europe, then we need to improve our squad depth badly. Now that there is little to play for the league, I do hope that we turn to kids to fill in from now till May, rather than the likes of Hooiveld and Guly.
I know fans on other sites are talking about a bonus available to Mauricio if he finishes in the top 8, but I will give the man credit that he does his best in every game. He knows that winning is contagious...can't see him wanting out of the Cup just to get a bonus. But then I am not a conspiracy theorist.
That's the old figures. Not sure, but I think there's a bigger difference now. Either that, or everyone simply gets more money and the differences are the same.
Totally agree. The one good thing to come out of this miserable weekend it the fact that we are very, very short on depth.
Well it's not good Dellboy but I am sure you mean that the fact has now been so obviously highlighted.
Avoiding a mass-exodus in the Summer will be down to KL communicating her ambition for the club to players and staff, and persuading Pochettino to stay. I personally think everything is going to go tits up in the summer in a pretty big way, so am enjoying this peaceful run to the end of the season while it lasts.
