Southampton, respect where it's due.

Looked very impressive on MOTD last night, as mentioned they have rebuilt after losing several key men - we get 85m for Suarez and we're fu**ed!?!?

Koeman has boxed very clever with the funds he was given & boy have they worked out well for him the club & team, you would think Pelle, Tadic & Alderweireld all were season PL players! they have fitted into the system & style of Koemans play.

Southampton have done very well from us & we have done poorly in return.

Think they were most people's second team last season. Loved watching them. Good to see they've kept it up.

My Anfield tour guide was a Southampton fan and he was lovely, too. Talked to him for half an hour about football.

Dusan Tadic looks absolutely brilliant. Pelle looks a f**king beast. Nat Clyne....I'm his biggest fan.

Don't forget the Schneiderlin lad. The one player from Saints I really wanted Brendan to have a go at.
They knew who their most important player was and didn't let him leave.

Very, very impressive.  Bit jealous with the way they go about their business, too.  They buy cheap, proven players from the continent for pennies.  Then sell big.

Would love to see them nip 4th as long as they're below us.

But I was thinking about this today, wouldn't their ground be too small for CL matches?  correct me if I'm wrong but isn't there some sort of minimum capacity rule for CL games?  40,000 or something?  I think theirs is below 30,000, isn't it?

But I was thinking about this today, wouldn't their ground be too small for CL matches?  correct me if I'm wrong but isn't there some sort of minimum capacity rule for CL games?  40,000 or something?  I think theirs is below 30,000, isn't it?

Err what the hell have you been smoking?! Never heard such rubbish.

So how do you explain Basel at 38000, Monaco 18500, Apoel 22000 or even Panathinaikos at 16000?!

The only minimum capacity thing for the competition is when Platini said he wanted the final to be held in stadiums of like 70000.

Err what the hell have you been smoking?! Never heard such rubbish.

hmm... weird, I could have sworn I heard something about that---maybe it was for the Euro 2016 matches.

Or maybe it was the "ranking" or "quality" of the stadiums; I remember that Otelul club in Romania had their stadium ruled ineligible for some reason (capacity of about 10,000 I believe) and so they played their games in Bucharest.

hmm... weird, I could have sworn I heard something about that---maybe it was for the Euro 2016 matches.

Or maybe it was the "ranking" or "quality" of the stadiums; I remember that Otelul club in Romania had their stadium ruled ineligible for some reason (capacity of about 10,000 I believe) and so they played their games in Bucharest.

You really make me chuckle at times Fed.

hmm... weird, I could have sworn I heard something about that---maybe it was for the Euro 2016 matches.

Or maybe it was the "ranking" or "quality" of the stadiums; I remember that Otelul club in Romania had their stadium ruled ineligible for some reason (capacity of about 10,000 I believe) and so they played their games in Bucharest.

Was this what you were maybe looking at pal? It's only from Wikipedia but it is something;

Although the minimum stadium capacity for category four is 8,000, no stadium with a capacity less than 40,000 has been selected to host a UEFA Europa League Final, and no stadium with a capacity less than 60,000 has been selected to host a UEFA Champions League Final, since these regulations were introduced in 2006.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_stadium_categories

Maybe it was the standard of the stadium in general because if it's the club I looked up they have capacity  of 13500 and couldn't see anything about having to play elsewhere.

Either way, I'm sure Southampton have a stadium more than adequate of being in the Champions League and will give them credit, I've been there a few times and it is pretty nice. Certainly no Anfield though that's for sure!

I'm fairly certain by the end of the season they won't have to worry if their stadium is up to standard

I'm fairly certain by the end of the season they won't have to worry if their stadium is up to standard

Think you're right, they have some tough fixtures coming up and I can see them slipping and finishing similar to last season.

Think you're right, they have some tough fixtures coming up and I can see them slipping and finishing similar to last season.

I think so, once players wake up to the signings they have made and start watching how they can stop them playing..

I genuinely think they will struggle to get results in the second half of the season

I'm fairly certain by the end of the season they won't have to worry if their stadium is up to standard

 

They are a good side but I agree Jon.

Mid table somewhere likely at the end of the season. Still good for a club like Southampton.

Something is right with their coaching/scouts though.

Indeed. 

Although slightly 'tongue-in-cheek', I wrote this in July:

"Tell you what tho: irrespective of whether or not this is true, or we do or don't sign the lad... when this window closes, the club should seriously consider going back to raid Southampton... For their scouts (maybe even their youth coaches) - Brendan obviously rates them very highly."
 
http://www.lfcreds.com/reds/index.php/topic,46439.msg1648653.html#msg1648653

That Tadic looks quite a player for a team that fancies to attack (us) how can you go past an attacking midfielder who scored 16 goals and had over 20 assists last season granted it was the Eredivise but at 10.9m it is low risk.

Crazy.

Was watching Southampton's game yesterday as well as their last few games with the intention of focusing on Schneiderlin. I really really really can't believe he wasn't our 1st or 2nd choice this summer. Something about him that reminds me of Vieira. I think he could be better than Matic too.

Just curious, anyone here watch Schneiderlin much? am I over hyping him? How is he in big games? Always thought he was a good player, but I admit, I never really focused on him until this season.

Reality check for them coming up in their ganes now. They will either sink or swim.

Reality check for them coming up in their ganes now. They will either sink or swim.

They are only a couple of injuries away to key players from dropping down the table I feel. But if like us last season they are lucky enough to go injury free for the season they will finish in the top 6.

I've decided to irrationally attribute ALL of Southampton's success this season to the fact Sammy Lee is the assistant manager. Nice one, Sammy!

Well in Sammy

I've decided to irrationally attribute ALL of Southampton's success this season to the fact Sammy Lee is the assistant manager. Nice one, Sammy!

SAMMY!

Something tells me they sent us the wrong person when we asked for a Southampton centre back

Something tells me they sent us the wrong person when we asked for a Southampton centre back

hahaha this is funny

But I agree, I think the do deserve some credit. They have played most of this season and any team that can go into Old Trafford and pull out a win deserves, if nothing else, respect.

So we handed them almost £50m in the summer and all we got out of it was Lallana, essentially.

And then if they qualify for CL they'll get another £40m from BT for the TV rights.

So they earned £90m without actually losing any key components to their team.

now THAT is how you do business John Henry.

So we handed them almost £50m in the summer and all we got out of it was Lallana, essentially.

And then if they qualify for CL they'll get another £40m from BT for the TV rights.

So they earned £90m without actually losing any key components to their team.

now THAT is how you do business John Henry.

Hindsight Fed mate.

Lovren had a great season and was highly rated.

Don't forget the Luke Shaw figure in your sums too...