Rousseau

Arsenal were just gubbed 4-2 by Nottingham Forrest! Good, old-fashioned cup-tie that had everything.

I thought it interesting that Barrie McKay wasn't trusted to start in this type of game; too much of a luxury to be depended upon to put in a shift.

4 minutes ago, Frankie said:

You can check the latest leaderboards here mate:

 

http://www.gersnetonline.co.uk/ipboard/leaderboard/

Excellent! 

It's a nice wee feature. 

The names being passed around Twitter -- for what it's worth -- are rather encouraging. If we can get Cummings, Docherty etc., to go with Murphy, it would be a fantastic window. They arguably all improve the first-team, and at the very least they are all young players with a sell-on value that know what it takes to play in this league. It hints at a more focused scouting approach from Allen.

YES! I move to +8

(We need a table for this!)

*When you see the Community Reputation Score*

6 minutes ago, buster. said:

 

Seems to have scored a fair amount of centre-forward like goals.

I thought of him more as an inside-forward: He plays on the left, but is right-footed.

The magic of the Black Box. It works for players and managers. 

The magic of the black box

The black box might sound like something from a JK Rowling adventure but it is crucial to the club's success. It is a live database, fuelled by six analysts and has records of Saints players at every level, which are audited every six weeks to check whether they are hitting their targets.

But it is not just details of current Saints players that are stored in the black box - data is inputted into it from games across every major league.

Into it are loaded video clips, performance and statistical data, plus information about the character, personality and injury history of a player. When Reed discusses a potential signing with the manager he has a range of options, all of whom he knows will fit into the style the club wants.

"When you are trying to unearth potential that can be turned into excellence, you need lots of information," added Reed.

"Scouts can spot a player if they are looking at Gareth Bale - but to find a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, you need more detail."

Saints signed Hojbjerg, a 21-year-old Danish midfielder, from Bayern Munich in the summer on a five-year deal for a fee believed to be in the region of £13m.

The data in the black box helped inform them of the player's suitability for Southampton. They knew that Hojbjerg had been through an excellent academy system at Bayern, that he was bright academically and had bundles of skill and potential.

"Performance data allows us to say technically if he is what we are looking for," added Reed. "Physical information is not just high-intensity sprints. It is whether they are in high-level competition, how they hold the ball up, what the first touch is like."

A good example of how Saints' long-term thinking and attention to detail allowed them to overcome the loss of an important player revolves around the departure of defensive midfielder Victor Wanyama.

They signed the Kenya international from Celtic in 2013 and, according to Reed, he had opportunities to sign a new deal for two years.

"It was clear he was being advised not to. When those tell-tale signs started happening we began looking in the black box," said Reed.

"Potential replacements for Victor had to meet certain athletic and technical requirements. One of them was Oriol Romeu."

Southampton had started monitoring Romeu as a 19-year-old when he joined Chelsea from Barcelona. They kept feeding information into his profile during a loan spell at Valencia.

As Wanyama's future became uncertain, Southampton took an additional interest when Romeu joined Stuttgart on loan in 2014. Twelve months later, they approached Chelsea themselves, paying £5m for the player who has this season become Wanyama's replacement.

It had been the same with Lallana and Dusan Tadic. Tadic was in the system from 2010 because the club understood that Lallana was developing into the sort of player that other clubs might want to buy.

When Liverpool bought Lallana for £25m in 2014, Tadic was one of several replacements the Saints had been monitoring for years.

Three interviews and a 50-page profile

Eight weeks after Southampton won the Johnstone's Paint Trophy in 2010, Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan won the Champions League final to complete the treble. Since 2011, the Italian side have not won a trophy or qualified for the Champions League.

At the start of the month, Inter played Saints in the Europa League and lost 2-1. It was a match played just days after they had sacked manager Frank de Boer, who had himself replaced Roberto Mancini after he was dismissed in August.

Reed said: "If they go after 80 days, fingers need to be pointed at the people who recruit.

"When managers are appointed usually they want lots of changes. They want to bring their own staff, they want money to spend. If you go down that route you are putting everything you have built at risk.

"Our manager is a coach. The process is, 'are we the right fit for you, are you the right fit for us?' That is why it goes through several stages."

Reed has a dossier of potential coaches that is continually updated - and has been since the appointment of current boss Claude

Puel - but he describes it as "very private" and only he has access to it.

When the club's Argentine boss Pochettino left for Tottenham in 2014, some thought it would mark the end of Southampton's rise.

In fact, they got better, improving their Premier League placing from eighth to seventh and then sixth under Dutchman Koeman. It was the first time they had finished in the top half of the top flight in three successive seasons since 1979-82.

Reed did not expect Koeman to leave for Everton this summer - but he had to be ready when it happened.

He said: "Succession planning is a major factor in big business. You have to be ready for the surprise. It shouldn't be any different in football yet that is how it appears."

One newspaper picked 11 potential replacements for Koeman. Puel was not among them but it was the Frenchman whom Saints eventually appointed on a three-year deal.

"Every candidate to replace Ronald was in the system a year before and had a 45- or 50-page document, with a profile. The interview criteria were four pages long. Claude went through three interviews to get the job."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37954971

What do the little red exclamation points signify?

I'd take Docherty.

Seems to be a standout player in the league -- although I've not been paying too much attention -- and a player we could use; box-to-box, creative, and can take the physical side.

6 minutes ago, ian1964 said:

I watched the Fleetwood v Leicester match yesterday and he was rank rotten!, can't judge on one game but he was pish!

I watched bits of it too: he didn't get a sniff of the ball, but he didn't do anything noteworthy; he looks powerful and quick, though. Hopefully he has some of his father's guile!

It's a good deal: We get to try him out, guaranteed to get him at the end of the season if it works out, and we don't have to fork out all the money now.

Most importantly, he improves the first-team; very few coming in have actually done that.

"If I profane with my unworthiest hand/This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:"

12 hours ago, blueflag said:

@Rousseau code for the spreadsheets from google sheets should also still work

 

Oooh, the notification is a nice touch.

Yes, I checked that the spreadsheets work; they do. 

Good job guys!

10 hours ago, Bluedell said:

We could do worse than him. 

How do you unlike a post?

Murphy is potentially a very good signing and exactly what we needed for the left side of our attack.

 

Ok, some fans may have preferred Morgan from St Mirren but Murphy is more proven and at a supposed £800K represents good value as he reaches the peak of his career.

As with Docherty, Morgan is perhaps just the latest 'prospect' who's name has been flung around; without even seeing them play, we jump on the bandwagon of thinking we need to make a move for them.

He certainly 'improves' the first-team, and fills a position in which we are short.

SSN: Jamie Murphy to have medical at Rangers after fee in region of £1M agreed with Brighton.

And he’s hoping Cruz Azul can thrash out a deal with the Ibrox club.

 

Caixinha, speaking to Mexican TV, said: “Carlos Pena is a player we are trying to sign. “From my first day in this job, I said we need a holding midfielder and Carlos would be perfect. He is among our possibilities.

 

“He is a player I tried to sign for Santos Laguna and I brought him to Rangers.“Despite not reaching the levels in Scotland that he reached in Mexico, Carlos is still a wonderful player.“Carlos is someone who won’t make powerful runs forward, but he has a gift to arrive in the box at the right time to score goals.

 

“In one of my last games in Scotland, he did exactly that and scored two goals in the game.“He’s had to make many sacrifices to get where he is today.“We are happy with my squad, but Carlos would be a very good addition.”

 

Sun

I think it was revealed on Twitter that the translation was a No.10 ("Enganche"), not a holding midfielder.

Typical Sun.

I'm not sure what system Murty wants to play, but we are in desperate need of a number 10 if he is going to persist with 4-2-3-1 or the diamond. If Pena goes we don't have anyone to play that position. In those systems, it's THE most important position on the park. However, it's also the hardest and most expensive one to fill. Maybe we have to wait until the summer to plug that almighty gap.

I think we're fine, if not ideal, in the No.10 position: Windass and Kranjcar can play there; as well as Dorrans if he returns this season, or even Holt. We are desperately short out wide, particularly on the left flank.

Left flank options (sic!) ... in January:

 

Defence: Wallace, John, Hodson, Halliday

 

Midfield: John, Halliday, Dorrans, Kranjcar

 

Attack: John, Dodoo, Windass, Candeias, O'Halloran, Morelos, Miller

 

... and as far as I know, we are working on two attacking options in terms of Jones and Murphy.

Ah, yes; I had forgot about those returning.

Makes sense to recall them; they provide more depth in problem areas -- regardless of whether they are any good!

NB: Primary positions used, and I left out Miller and Dorrans because it looks unlikely they'll feature this season.

we have halliday, mccorie, jack (who murty says is fine just bruised), barjonas, krancjar , windass, holt, pena, candeias, plus two long term injuries. Gomes is still here too i think.

 

we have no left winger or back up for right wing and we have only two strikers and one player to play the point of the diamond. CM should be down the pecking order just after CB

 

And before anyone says we are in for Murphy we are not in for Murphy its usual crap from FF posters. We offered £200k for the player and got told he is not for sale. That's the real story from actual people in the club. Sick of seeing the crap coming out of FF, that literally just people guessing or on the wind up. Should be kept in mind a broken clock is correct twice a day.

I think Goss is not a bad option, if he is good enough to play; bringing another defensive option. However, yes, you are right we need players in other positions more urgently. The left is completely missing!

NB: Primary positions used

Actually, wide players on the whole are missing, so it's no surprise we've adopted a diamond that removes the need for them!

If he caught the eye of Van Gaal -- whatever that means -- there may be something about him.

No harm in taking him on a 6-month loan.

Rangers Sign Goss On Loan

https://rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/gers-sign-goss-loan/

At least we're moving quickly.

He's not a marquee signing, so I'm not going to be too negative on the signing. We'll see what he can do. He adds depth at least, and perhaps gives more options in midfield.

Confirmed, according to SSN. Sean Goss signs on loan until end of the season.