There has been much debate over Southampton's transfer policy this season; whether the football club ought to be signing young players with potential, or older players with proven premier league experience. I read on the saintsweb forum; "That is something we have missed terribly this season at times, a Terry Hurlock (he was a better player than people give credit for as well), a good player no doubt but a Ramirez is not the type of player we needed." Where would Saints, with a team full of Terry Hurlock types, who from my recollection was an ageing thug who struggled to pass wind, let alone a football, be this season? In my opinion, a Terry Hurlock type wouldn't get anywhere our current first team, I think the players we have signed that are playing regularly (Davies, Rodrigues, Ramieres, Yoshi, Clyne and Boruc), have been excellent additions to the squad. If you'd like to watch 10 Terry Hurlock's, plus a goalkeeper, chase a football and kick people for 90 mins, 19 home games a season, then you're well within your rights to be disappointed with our transfer policy. Personally, I enjoy watching the quality football players we have signed combine with the excellent footballers already on our books, play a brand of high tempo, exciting football. So, my question is, would we rather continue watching the standard of football we play, or should we accommodate a Terry Hurlock type and push on to champions league qualification?
Time was when every team needed a destroyer, who did little more than that. Nowadays, every player has to have ability, and the destroying job can be done within the duties of one or two players. For Saints, both Jack Cork and Morgan Schneiderlin do the job, when they are not doing other things for the team. No, we don't need a team of Terry Hurlocks.
I don't see Swansea with this type of player in their team. I think many Saints fan would gladly take their current season, as our next season. Tiote, Cattermole, Barton, Diakete, Mbia. They add nothing positive to the PL in my opinion. They all need to have a look at Toure, Mulumbu, Rameires, Diame (Vieira, going back a few years).
I love the way we play football, right now everything about the club is how it should be. I don't mind seeing a proper tackle but I'd rather see us carve a team to shreds with our passing
Cortese wants a team on the lines of Barcelona...luckily so do we. He would not understand or appreciate a player like Hurlock and he's the one who signs the cheques.
What we may have needed, was not a Terry Hurlock, but a Steve Williams; we have one much like that now. I think that a certain Frenchman is filling that mould now without being nasty. Williams could be very nasty, whereas Morgan tends to jsut nick a foot in, sometimes fouling the player, usually winning the ball. I never thought I'd ever put anyone in the same bracket as Steve Williams.
Those people wanting a Terry Hurlock (or team of Hurlocks) are probably the same ones that think that the Strachan era was pretty football to watch. Marsden was probably a better representative of what they want. It wasn't long ball by any means but it was workhorse, gritty destructive stuff epitomised by Marsden. Was very effective but the football under Adkins and Poch is a million miles away. Football has moved on and 'effective' teams like George Graham's Arsenal are long void of any success. Teams that don't have fluidity and flexibility have no more ambition than just to 'cling on' in the 'big league'. Look at West Ham and Stoke. They are struggling away and they aren't going to get higher in the league playing in the style they do. Unless those types of teams progress in style then it's only a matter of 'when' regarding relegation. Not this year but next? or the season after? Similar to Saints. You can cling on and cling on but sooner or later you're going to have a bad season. Pardew's Newcastle and MON's Sunderland along with Reading haven't been much better than hoof and destruct either. I guess that's why Adkins has replaced McDermott. Not just about results because they are pretty like for like in terms of what they have done BUT Adkins will start Reading on a forward progression to.......playing modern football.
