Made my point about this in the match thread before I knew this discussion was here. I completely agree with the OP, but then I've been saying this for some while now. Even the True Geordie said the other week that Saints were The Real [insert expletive] Deal, and I quote him because he's been more accurate than any professional pundit so far, bar Claridge. Steve's viewpoint is that, to his eyes, Saints have, on the whole, been playing better football than Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs, Everton, ManU, with perhaps ManC and Chelsea matching or being better. All the sides that are considered to be those who will be a truer test of Southampton FC. As for competing with those sides, his opinion was that we'd probably relish playing them at this point, because we'd have an excellent chance of beating them. Another valid point - we don't have any European games to worry about. Most of the established top 4-6 do, so the question of tiredness might be a misnomer. If Saints stay relatively injury free and they stay on this level of form [or get even better, and why not..?] there is no reason why a top 4-6 position can't be achieved. Whatever the outcome, it's superb fun watching them try.
So what you're saying is, is that Liverpool are like Dagenham & Redbridge + Suarez, only they don't have Suarez..?
Tiredness will be a factor in December and January; we don't have European football, but we do have the cups, particularly the midweek League Cup fixtures, and we don't have a second XI like many of the teams playing on the continent. How we fare with the Nov 30 - Jan 1 fixture pileup will determine whether we're contenders for Europe, more than the particulars of which sides we have/haven't played.
I'm not a big fan of this 'pundits are not taking us seriously' talk. Because we haven't achieved anything yet. When we do, I'l be glad to rub their noses in it, but it's premature to do it now. It seems as if you lot hurry to take the opportunity before it's gone.
With one or two exceptions, so do they. Although I agree that match congestion will probably play a bigger part in Saints success rather than who we play.
But they can rotate the squad far more aggressively than we can. Last year, the December dip in form brought about by injuries and exhaustion was effectively what separated us from the contenders for Europe; we took just 5 points from 8 matches from Dec 1 - Jan 1, versus a 1.7 point/game pace over the other thirty games. If we ride it out better than we did last year, we can easily compete for the top six; if we get through it without batting an eye, the top four isn't unreasonable. Today's pretty hopeful in that regard...we were clearly tired after the midweek grind, but still easily the better side.
Unlike last season I think we will do reasonably well against the usual top 4-6 sides...combine that with consistency against the rest of the league and we will do well.
Yes, I did edit my post to reflect that. I didn't quite mean to post so quickly. Taking phone calls and typing at the same time is not the way to accurately express one's views. I even said [in answer to an invitation over the phone] yeah, they scored after 3 minutes..!
I think that our squad is better equipped than last season to withstand injuries/suspensions....Last season we were forced to play players that were clearly not Premier League standard together ie Gazzaniga, Fox and Hooiveld in defence and it cost us dearly. That is not the case this season, we have International quality back up and we have never had as many options in midfield and attack as we have now, especially when JWP and Jay return. The squad is stronger overall than last season, most crucially in defence, but there is also the option to strengthen in January too.
Absolutely agree. But I really, really, really think we need to strengthen up top. Graziano and his style of play are so vital right now to our success, that we'd struggle if he gets injured. It would require a change of system and style....not something I'd fancy right now (though if anyone can, Koeman can...)
Totally agree. In my mind we need 2nd Keeper- Maybe someone from Eastern Europe who would be happy to sit the bench as long as he no longer got paid in chickens. Striker - Pelle pretty much needs to start every game at the moment..he seems the sort of guy who would want that but it will lead to fatigue or injury General attacker - Someone versatile who can slot in Shane Long style and add overall. I know JRod is on his way back but there is no telling how long it will take until he gets into full stride or if he will be out the door come January.
We won't be seeing JRod any time soon...we need another front man. We will be lucky if Pelle stays fit...big men tire easily. And nearly on a suspension.
Not at all. Massive difference and I'll explain. Dagenham & Redbridge + Lambert had a good manager, I suggest at that level he was streets ahead of the rest of the division. Dagenham & Redbridge + Suarez have a ****e manager that is out of his depth at the level he is expected to be performing at. I think those that are talking about us not having european competition making the 'squad depth a bit of a misnomer' are a little off the mark. We play a nearly first 11 in the cup(s) The rets of the top half of the Prem rest their first 11 for the early cup rounds and for some of the CL ones. What are the stats on this season compared to last season r.e. players used? I would bet Koeman has used more players than MP did. The main problem with MP was that he would use the same players every game if they were fit and that was one of the factors that assisted the bad spells along with the injuries. We saw today that 3 games in a week and a lot of our players looked pretty tired in the second half.
Yeah; the dropoff is nowhere near as steep as last year, but we'd still struggle to cope with injuries. That's not a slight against the squad, but the advantage of the big spenders has always been in the sheer number of good-to-excellent players they can roll out when fixtures/form/knocks necessitate. As for adding an additional striker, I'm torn. We'd definitely have difficulty coping if Pelle was out (heh, that's a phrase I didn't expect to be uttering three months ago), but the biggest need for me is another creative attacking mid in the mold of Tadic. We have one of the most consistent starting lineups of any PL team, possibly the most consistent. 15 players have started, but we also have 7 that have started every game, plus Davis who has started 9 of 10. Those same 15 are the only players with more than cameo appearances, as well; at 46 minutes, Gardos is 16th on the team in time on the pitch.
We just have that few more good players than under Poch...whether it is enough, we won't find out till the end of the season.
We don't need to. There's always the January Transfer Window. If Saints are serious they may well strengthen then. Nobody out, but a couple more in. Mind you, we mustn't forget someone called Jay Rodriguez. If he comes back and quickly gets upto speed he'll be like an instant new signing. We are so close to taking the next big step I doubt whether Katherina will be able to hold back on the purse strings. Mind you, there's £30M burning a hole in her pocket, so I doubt whether she'd have to make the decision. Let's face it, we may be able to realistically ask incoming players if they'd like to make history.
Ings in January. He isn't going to save them from the drop and they may as well take something for him...........if he is good enough for where we are now???
