It says something about the apparent egos in the team when Poch plays mason and capoue over dembele and paulinho. I know paulinho had a bad world cup but he was a key player in the first half of last season. Does anyone think that one paper we have a better central midfield and full backs at the moment, with central defence debatable and attacking players fairly equal (although eriksen is better than any of ours I would think). Our main struggle could be that it is away so the home team are likely to have crowd and ref support. Also Lloris seems to be on fire
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/sa...Pochettino__Who_was_best_for_Saints_/?ref=mac An article from Echo comparing MP and RK. It is very early days...we won't be able to get the true picture until the end of the season. I think we all know we are in a false position (and loving it), but it is important to get these points whilst you can...may be that we have played the easier teams, but that is exactly what happened last season. All about points on the board. As they say, comparisons are invidious...we didn't have a choice between the two managers...that choice was made for us. Better just to say we have a very good manager, a good side and looking forward to a successful season. I am also happier with the regime in general...we are seeing more of our owner, I feel closer to this manager, and the club is trying to be closer to the fans. I hope and believe we will finish 6-9th, but the important thing is that the club is thinking long term and we can survive changes.
We mustn't get hung up on direct comparisons...need to give Ron time. He has done everything right so far, but he admits himself he's surprised at how well it has all panned out. Ride the wave for now, but think long term.
I hate this Sunday business (especially as not even televised). We will probably slip a spot without the chance to defend it. I don't think for one minute we will finish in 2nd, but I like it.
Hello again Saints. I think a lot of you have nailed it with the egos. It seems its a very difficult job to get this squad playing as a unit, or to "gel". I think we're the only squad around that takes 1-2 years to gel rather than a pre-season. With yourselves and teams like Swansea the chairman seems to have a knack of picking managers that come in and evolve the team rather than overhaul it. Ours seems to jump from managers with one philosophy to the next meaning the players have no clue what is going on on the pitch. We've been surviving on individual skill for like 2 seasons now, we're not really a team at all
we're not really a team at all ____________________- Oh come now, you're clearly two unbalanced teams & one Adebayor!
Well you must know the solution to that..... someone needs to sack Levy, or at least get him to go away for two years and let a manager do his job for 2 years and see what happens. MP got our lot onboard within a few days, so he can do it.
My boys' team kick off at 2pm! I'll have to avoid my phone while coaching them, or they may get confused with the shouting.
We have been lucky (?) with our managers: Pardew (coup in League 1 and got us a day at Wembley), Adkins (2 promotions, enough said), Poch (gave us some exciting wins, but perhaps a cul-de-sac), and Koeman (early days, but class). Our chairmen (but also Les Reed) have avoided the mistake of getting one of the usual suspect managers...we've got managers that bring something else to the table.
But don't things like this always come out when managers leave. No manager will be popular with everyone. As soon as MP left, it 'came out' that he had favourites and some players were unhappy.
What I mean is, it wasn`t MPs team. He inherited a good squad, and improved it a bit with Lovren and Wanyama. (Not Osvaldo though!)
paul merson says 1-2 to saints. lawrenson says 2-0 to spurs... they cant both be right... I'd take a 1-1 now to be honest... tough fixture
Lets face it, he improved it significantly. He got the best out of Rodriguez as well, which Adkins failed to do.
Ha! At least I get to choose when to referee. Maybe I should ref it and move it back to 10am (kids spend too long in bed anyway).
We are only likely to drop to 3rd, that is if Man City beat Villa away (a draw would be nice) Of the other teams that can catch us Arsenal play Chelsea at the same time as our game on Sunday (another draw would lovely) and Swansea would need to beat Newcastle by 5.
