The board also held the cards in the summer. Hughes didn't put a gun to their heads, forcing them to give him a permanent contract. They're hardly going to tie themselves into a contract which would bring a significant cost to them to get out of later.
We know the club are in serious debt as Gao took out a £210m loan to buy the club from KL so this isn't any thing new but all the time we are in the Premiership we are sustainable
Didn't count though did it? It doesn't matter if it should have, the only thing that matters is what happened and that was it wasn't given. Watford should have got a pen... we should be a better run team... Reed should have gone ages ago... Hughes should be sacked.... all means nothing. Austin just doesn't work hard enough in a struggling team. You may like old fashioned strikers, but he isn't even that as he simply doesn't score enough to be labeled one.
I know Chaz hasn't been anything like the player he was from even last season but it does feel like some fans are picking on every thing he does atm. I'm sure that he is still putting the effort in he just does not look mobile enough (possibly down to previous injuries).
Never mind Hoedt and Charlie, I heard someone say the word “christmassy” earlier, cuts right through me that does , makes me a bit stabby.
I agree that Austin isn't what he was and the goal doesn't count if it wasn't given, but if I was his manager or team mate I would still put my arms round him and say...that proves you can score. Whatever we might wish, Austin is one of our strikers (especially with Long and possibly Ings out), so he needs to take a positive from that goal and even try and use some of that anger in a positive way.
December should be fun I am pleased we are struggling as it will make us stronger I loved Charlie Austins post match insighful comments and i am 100 % behind him and the team we was robbed
I'm afraid that's a ridiculous thing to say. If he's paid to get the ball in the net, he should be praised for doing it. The blindness of the referee is irrelevant to whether he did his job. You've had a downer on him since you posted the other season that you were disgusted by his behaviour off the pitch. I think it colours your view of everything he does and has turned into blind prejudice where you even use a bad refereeing decision to negate a good job by him. And what he did on Saturday (lest your preconceptions makes you forget) is that rare thing for Saints, namely getting the ball in the net. He didn't "chill offside", a ludicrous claim belied by the fact that he was onside at the end of a cross and kicked the ball into the net (I won't say "scored" lest you get pedantic). Vin
Lets take any positives, we need them all. Allowed or not that ‘goal’ will help to instil some confidence for Charlie and the team. The team need to know Gabby, Ings and Charlie can score when the situation presents itself. This might help in getting the ball moving a lot quicker in the forward direction than at present. Strikes me that all the sideways/backwards movement might be down to trying to get the ball in too perfect a place. Saturday’s effort might help them realise there are other options now?
Not really, I just see him as a player that shouldn't be playing for us (I will say the same for a few players). He doesn't offer enough sadly and if he isn't scoring he doesn't offer much, unlike Ings, Gabbi and even Long. We can't afford that atm. It isn't just Austin that is the problem. Saints need a clear out and have done for a few years now. But then we have seen what happens to players that come here and seem to play 2 good games then have everything they start with simply disappear. Saints as it is are easily going to be relegated sadly. Getting rid of Reed and Hunter who were a big part of the problem isn't enough
As RK said in his recent interview we have a "very deep roster", translated into English, we have a massive squad and sadly most are very average players. Not having any money to invest in players and no decent players left to sell for a small fortune to Liverpool, we must sell lots of players on the cheap and buy one or two new key players for a fortune. There are plenty to choose from to sell at a discount to make them more attractive to other clubs
We will be doing bundle deals to get rid of some of our squad. Buy Long, get polish international CB free. Looking for a battling midfielder? Take Romeu and we will throw in a deadball specialist. Former England LB interest you? You can have him, actually, been useless lately.
This is an interesting thought. This is the observation by many fans of clubs like Arsenal and Everton. They traditionally seem to be clubs you go to if you want your career to regress. This is clearly not always true, but it happens often enough to make fans outside of those clubs to ponder if there might be a problem with the set-up. I am trying to think of examples of what you describe. Gabbi is the most obvious candidate, but there are probably others. Hmmmmm .....
But is the regression solely the fault of the set up, or a lack of ambition/pride/motivation in the individual players? I work for a company that has the worst bunch of managers I have ever worked for. They are disorganised, unable to motivate, unable to see the bigger picture and have extremely poor people skills, yet I consistently leave my department in the best possible condition for the incoming shift, because I am self motivated and have pride in my work. I would suggest it is a combination of a poor set up allied to a lack of individual self motivation. The latter indicating that perhaps we aren’t putting enough effort into due diligence, with regards to a new player’s character, before signing him. I love Hojbjerg’s character, and his anger when things go wrong, but there are times when he loses the ball and stands still in frustration, rather than get back into the right position. Having said that, I want him to be given the captain’s armband, as he seems to be the most driven of the team.
