Saints Stuff

Well you'd have hoped not, but someone somewhere has certainly cocked up!

 

Nice article in the Times today about us.

Hopefully not paywalled link:

 

I like Matthew Syed. Smart cookie.

 

Any news on J-Rod's injury ?

 

That is a good article. I had to read a lot of words though until I got to the best bit, right at the bottom:

Puel gets his first victory thanks to Austin’s powers

Someone had to get that line in for us!

 

From Gardos


În ultimele două săptămâni am reintrat în programul normal al echipei, iar în week-end voi juca primul meci din noul sezon, pentru echipa a doua. E deja a doua mea revenire pe teren de când joc la Southampton și sper că accidentările nu-mi vor mai face nicio "vizită" prea curând
Vă mulțumesc pentru mesaje!

In the last 2 weeks I managed to consolidate training with the squad and in the weekend I'll play my first game of the season for the U23's. Hope everything will go well and I'll be injury-free

Thanks for the support!

 

I missed where he became injured again, so that he couldn't be in contention to start the season. Training injury.?

 

Back injury early in pre season, pretty sure he posted something on his facebook about it at the time.

 

See message #90 on the Palace thread!

 

Niall Quinn has written an article about Cortese, for some reason.
http://www.skysports.com/football/n...ueprint-for-others-to-follow-says-niall-quinn

 

"Success in the modern game gets measured in different ways. If any Southampton fans are distressed that the club hasn't won the Premier League or the Champions League by now, they should try to remember how happy they were to win the Johnstone's Paint Trophy in the spring of 2010. How happy they were just to still have a club to follow."

Niall clearly read the forum.

 

I think Niall has done his research there. Clearly, he realises Cortese's involvement and how He, helped by Les Reed, developed the systemic method of due diligence throughout and the recruitment of department heads who would fit in. Also, so many articles on Saints refer vaguely to "the good [system or] academy they've got down there", whereas he goes as far referencing the Black Box technology, if only in naming it. The only outside person I've heard reference it more closely was Steve Claridge, and he only got that second-hand from his Salisbury chairman after Saints had allowed him a glimpse of what it could do.

It think Quinn gets his article pretty much right. The Southampton Way could be a model for clubs who don't have a billionaire owner. Only we do have one of those as well.

 

After the ast few home games, as I exited the Itchen Stand (turnstiles A) there's a couple of guys with a camera and mic asking if anyone would be willing to do an interview for them.

Does anyone know where these interviews end up?

 

Not sure if the same ones. But I've seen a few on Ugly insides YouTube channel.

This guy made me laugh.

 

Could be these guys.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDGZ3IVpkTRnPauJHMsocAA/videos

 

"They aren't a top-six club. Not yet" Anyone fancy reminding him where we finished last year?!!

 

Yes, I took a little issue with that myself, but I think he meant that you could name 6 clubs who would be expected to finish above Saints in any given season. It irked a bit, but I think I saw what he meant.

 

Yep, I know. I thought the same TSS, just think it's a shame that pundits keep referring to it as if the 'big 6' as if they are the 'top 6' each year, and it's some kind of divine right. We could easily finish 2nd-6th each of the next five years and still not be one of the biggest 6 clubs in the country for following, but we'd be a regular top-6 club. Overall though it was a decent enough article bar for that.

 

That is probably the one thing that sickens me most about the football media above all things. They don't work to a level playing field. It's not just for Southampton FC either. Look at Leicester City. Surely, as League Champions, they have earned the right to have as much attention placed upon them as other top clubs, because any publicity gets the name out there. But I doubt if even they are considered top 6 in terms of the big 6, and that's shameful of the media. Like us, they are simply overlooked.

However, like I said before, I thought it was a good article overall.

 

BBC Gossip
Manchester United are also linked with Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos - again - while Southampton could move for Paris St-Germain forward Hatem Ben Arfa, despite the winger only joining the French champions in the summer.