Preseason

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Yes, forgot to add that there were also shots of Koeman in between the goals. Surprises me how much it annoys. It's nowhere near as unpleasant as seeing the Pochettino/Lambert/Lallana era stuff, which I largely can't watch at all, but I got a zap of disappointment which surprised me.

Funnily enough, in the last 12 months [it appears, because I regularly look at several] Saints have revamped many of the earlier matches from 2009 onwards, expanding the highlights with multiple views of goals whilst expanding the commentaries. Well worth a look back. Part of a Flashback series, here's a typical, painless one. You can tell this has been edited anew as Saints have added in-fills of different quality video and crowd reactions. Anyway, enjoy a non-3-1 scoreline ;) :

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Flashing back and I'd say that the first half of that championship season is probably my favourite time as a fan in 20 odd years <yikes>

In fact 2011 as a calendar year was awesome. The team was just playing teams off the park and there was a relaxed confidence about the side which I've not seen over such a sustained period.

Sadly the pressure of promotion took hold and results became the order of the day and that sense of fun got lost a little
 
I know what you mean. It would have been nice to have won the title. And it certainly was in our grasp. We probably should have won it going away, we just collapsed in December/January.

Still, I wouldn't change a thing about that season. December and January cost us the title, but it also made it more interesting as it put us in both a promotion and title fight.

That stretch from February to March is my favorite of all time. You had the Leeds game. A couple Lambert hat-tricks. The game where Sharp scored twice. Pretty sure there was a Hooiveld goal in there somewhere. And every time Saints won, it seemed like someone else won. I was crazy nervous before every game, and then so happy every time they pulled it out.
 
Even if most youngsters will not make it into the first team this season, a trip like this with the older players is good for their development as players and as people. Feeling important and involved will increase their hunger in the U21 games...they will know it is in their grasp. Also useful for providing training partners for the senior players as some players aren't back from their hols yet. Also allows Puel to see the standard of the Academy. Good all round.
 
Even if most youngsters will not make it into the first team this season, a trip like this with the older players is good for their development as players and as people. Feeling important and involved will increase their hunger in the U21 games...they will know it is in their grasp. Also useful for providing training partners for the senior players as some players aren't back from their hols yet. Also allows Puel to see the standard of the Academy. Good all round.

Couldn't agree more.
 
Couldn't agree more.
Someone on the Saintsweb site said he couldn't see the point of this trip as we didn't have a schedule of meaningful games lined up. Amazed that anyone thinks that sportsmen arrive back from a break fully fit. Got to blow the cobwebs off. Pierre has had a longer break than the others and you can see he is puffing and only managed 20 mins in the friendly.
 
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Someone on the Saintsweb site said he couldn't see the point of this trip as we didn't have a schedule of meaningful games lined up. Amazed that anyone thinks that sportsmen arrive back from a break fully fit. Got to blow the cobwebs off. Pierre has had a longer break than the others and you can see he is puffing and only managed 20 mins in the friendly.

It's worth it just so the club can continue to have those thinly veiled digs at the Lying Dutchman.
 
Someone on the Saintsweb site said he couldn't see the point of this trip as we didn't have a schedule of meaningful games lined up. Amazed that anyone thinks that sportsmen arrive back from a break fully fit. Got to blow the cobwebs off. Pierre has had a longer break than the others and you can see he is puffing and only managed 20 mins in the friendly.
I think trips like these are even more useful when there's been a change in the management and coaching staff, too.
 
Someone on the Saintsweb site said he couldn't see the point of this trip as we didn't have a schedule of meaningful games lined up. Amazed that anyone thinks that sportsmen arrive back from a break fully fit. Got to blow the cobwebs off. Pierre has had a longer break than the others and you can see he is puffing and only managed 20 mins in the friendly.

Just dared to have a peek at their site, I was amazed how out of touch a lot of their posters are!
 
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Just dared to have a peek at their site, I was amazed how out of touch a lot of their posters are!

Know what you mean. Provoked me into popping over there to look up the comments. Think it took all of a couple of minutes to find this. On a subject about getting players to be more loyal, and focussing on the fact that MLT stayed at the club, a poster wrote:

"I don't think Matty ever needed the money, weren't his family already very well off? It was also the thing about living close to Southampton airport. One of those rare players who genuinely played for the love of the game and nothing much else."

Frankly, how you can be a fan of SFC, be a member of supposedly the most informed Saints forum there is, and be that far off the mark about the history of arguably Saints best ever player, is verging on the incredible. Not to mention obviously being sat/stood in front of a computer device where you could just as easily look everything up without asking a fellow Saints fan a single thing, if you wanted to.
 
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Know what you mean. Provoked me into popping over there to look up the comments. Think it took all of a couple of minutes to find this. On a subject about getting players to be more loyal, and focussing on the fact that MLT stayed at the club, a poster wrote:

"I don't think Matty ever needed the money, weren't his family already very well off? It was also the thing about living close to Southampton airport. One of those rare players who genuinely played for the love of the game and nothing much else."

Frankly, how you can be a fan of SFC, be a member of supposedly the most informed Saints forum there is, and be that far off the mark about the history of arguably Saints best ever player, is verging on the incredible. Not to mention obviously being sat/stood in front of a computer device where you could just as easily look everything up without asking a fellow Saints fan a single thing, if you wanted to.

Sadly when issues like Ron's leaving are happening that's where other fans and even the press look for information on what Saints fans views are.

I remind myself that when looking at other teams forums.
 
Just seen the videos of todays training session and was impressed how involved Puel is with the training. When was the last time we had a coach that actually joined in the actual games?