That was clear before either loan deal. Hauling Vokins off after an hour, for a midfielder to play LB, against Arsenal. Choosing to play Djenepo at RB in the second half against Villa, not Valery. I don't blame Ralph, to be honest. Especially in relation to Valery (harder for me to comment on Vokins).
True, but Ely was always imo way too slight for the PL. He got pushed around too much, amongst other things. Minamino personally looks a better quality bet to me. No one knows, but good risk-free move for me. Competition for places is never a bad thing.
And if anyone thinks our defence is screwed, just be grateful we're not Liverpool now, with Matip's season declared over with about 20 minutes left of the window.
I guess the good news about not signing a full back is that Vesty can't be far away from a return and KWP will be back soon. When they're back Stephens can cover RB and if Bertrand is out KWP csn move over to the left.
I have a feeling we'd be going mad on here, though, if we signed an unknown 20-year old and a Championship CB, to replace VVD!
I’m okay with it all. It’s not ideal, but it is Southampton. Tom’s analysis re full backs above is correct. As DTLW said, we’re finishing mid-table bar either a disaster or a miracle. And most importantly, your name has changed.
We do have players that can provide makeshift cover, I suppose, but it's also an issue of who covers for the people covering. We aren't awash with depth at either CB or CM, so having Stephens/JWP at RB not only diminishes that position, it also means our options elsewhere are diminished, too. If we're punting the reason of the season, I hope we really give the kids a genuine chance. As it stands, none of the Academy players have gotten any significant game time: Smallbone looked like he might before injury, but he's our leader in minutes among the kids with less than the equivalent of two games of action. Let's actually provide real minutes to them over the rest of the season.
