Match Day Thread Saturday 22nd February 2025, St Mary's Stadium, Southampton v Brighton, 3pm

So sorry for your loss Don, condolences to you and your family.

 

Sorry for your loss mate

 

I do read with interest the SR debate and this is a forum and it is good to hear so many opinions but I don't quite get the anger against them after each match now.

Many of us have been predicting relegation from about match 5 knowing that we don't have enough quality to compete.

We can no longer blame the likes of Djenepo, Bazunu, Manning or Martin and so it's only natural that we want someone else to blame.

Again, nothing wrong in blaming SR for decisions that they have made, they have taken some gambles and they haven't paid off. But they haven't deliberately fncked us over and they are making steps to put things right.

Even the biggest clubs in the World, Man Utd, make mistakes or wrong decisions. Sir Jim Ratcliffe was meant to be the saviour who was going to sort things out, they bring in a manager who was doing very well in Europe and yet they are stumbling from bad to worse.

So yes, not a great track record from SR , feel aggrieved but let's move on and see how things play out from next season

 

Yeah of course & maybe that’s their plan.

 

Ps I don't think it will be a stroll in the park next season

It's always a very competitive league and as well as the clubs that usually do well and the relegated teams, I can see the likes of Birmingham/Wrexham doing well.

We should however be in one of the stronger positions in terms of experience and finance.

Some sensible summer recruitment decisions are needed. SR did get that right 2 years ago and we need to see the same again

 

We are one of the worst clubs in history. Easily the worst ever Southampton side of all time.

Mistake after mistake. Not just bad performances but genuinely pathetic, playing attacking midfielders at centre back and hoping for the best.

We are a complete ****ing shambles from top to bottom. There are almost no positives.

That is why people are angry. Personally I don’t understand the people that are calm and thinking it will all just be fine.

These charlatans have proven, not just once, but over and over again that they are not fit to steward a premier league club.

My prediction is that they won’t get as lucky with promotion next season and then we will be in the football wilderness like Stoke/Sunderland etc.
Spores could be good but he’s only one man. We need root and branch change imo

 

@oldstocktonsaint. I think that the 'new and irrelevant post' was @LincolnSaint referring to Johannes Spors (the random dude) being installed as a Director of Football (an irrelevant post, in the great scheme of things). Of course, your posts are mostly random and irrelevant, but that's due to your caulkheadedness. I should know, as all of my posts are of a similar calibre (It takes one to know one)

 

Yes agree we are a shambles, just like Ipswich and Leicester, the gulf is getting too big even to teams like Brentford and Bournemouth.

You have to get it 100% right and need a bit of luck too

 

We make Leicester and Ipswich look like Real Madrid mate.

 

Sorry for your loss.

 

The irrelevant post was "director of whatever" that Spors is. Not irrelevant post(er) and certainly not you mate

 

Genuinely I think any other set of supporters would have been chasing players down the street by now, our response in context of just how rancid this season has been is very tame.

I think we all accepted relegation was a strong possibility, but the total capitulation and utter lack of professionalism is not something we should just allow to pass.

Bar a few exceptions these players careers should be utterly ruined by what has occured this season. Outside of Ramsdale, Dibling, Fernandes and maybe THB none of these players should see the PL again.

 

Excellent post, citing evidence, whatever next?

Thanks

 

I don’t think other sets of supporters are really the best role models
Watched Sunderland Till I Die a while ago and they claimed they were the best supporters in the land, as soon as they looked like missing out on promotion they struck me as being amongst the most toxic in the land, but I suspect they’re actually no different to many others

 

As a Saints fan, I am aware that we aren't entitled to anything, but 30,000+ loyal supporters turning up every home game, surely they deserve something better?
The actions of Sports Direct, especially in the last window are borderline criminal and neglectful. I am not overly concerned about returning to the Championship, hopefully without VAR, we will be entertained. However, a bit contradictory, I am also hoping that we can build a new team to get us back where we belong with a Squad that can keep us there in the Premier. Is that too much to ask for?

 

Great post, we need some perspective here


It’s Sport and sometimes things go well and sometimes they don’t even if it’s a level playing field, and in Football it’s certainly not

Dragan needs to take responsibility and learn from his mistakes and that’s what he’s doing

 

Haven’t seen much evidence of that.

They calculated that making a real go of staying up wasn’t worth the risk. Ramsdale can be sold for the same price, Fernandez and Dibling will fetch a good profit. KWP will go. Sulemana and onuachu will find homes.

At what point do a series of gambles gone wrong become bad decisions?

 

Everyone complains, but no one offers much in terms of what should be done.

We just get 'SR need to go' or 'buy a whole new squad' or other nonsense. Neither of these will happen, and ironically the latter would only be possible because of Dragan's money.

"Get rid of our billionaire owner, and then buy a whole new squad of players!"

Absolute fantasy world some of our fans live in.