Rickie Lambert - New beginnings

This is a very good story. Keep up the good work!
 
Bournemouth 0 - 2 Southampton​

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Victor Wanyama was dropped from the side following his outburst in training meaning that Niklas Stark would start alongside Jordy Clasie in midfield. A thoroughly professional performance followed as we gradually picked apart Bournemouth in a surprisingly even game. Charlie Austin and Sadio Mane with the goals as they cement their place as key parts of the team.​
Southampton 0 - 0 Watford​
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An incredibly frustrating afternoon at St Mary's as Watford parked the bus and we failed to break them down. Charlie Austin came closest, hitting the post, while Steven Davis volley over from close range. More points dropped. Fans not happy.
 
Sporting 1 - 3 Southampton

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A bit of a dodgy start turned into a hugely professional performance as the kids got a run out in the Europa League. Jay Rodriguez played superbly to put himself right to the front of my mind for the upcoming games and Steven Caulker played solidly at centre back. The win meant that we qualified top of the group in the Europa League to claim the easier 1st knock-out round draw.
News​
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  • Van Dijks injury opens a path back into the first team for Steven Caulker and possibly even Jack Stephens.
  • Maya Yoshida is unhappy at the club and has been promised a transfer away from St Mary's.
 
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Saints down Devils
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Southampton produced a fantastic counter attacking performance to beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford. After missing a penalty in the first half, Charlie Austin came good to slot home a 50th minute winner. The Southampton defence of Bertrand, Fonte, Caulker and Martina all played superbly as Man United threw wave after wave of attacks at the Saints back line without success.

"This is a fantastic day for the club" Saints manager Rickie Lambert said to the press after the match "It was a terrific performance and every last one of my players worked their socks off and we thoroughly deserved that, it wasnt pretty, but we got the win and thats all that matter."

Louis Van Gaal refused to be interviewed after the match which perhaps gives an insight to how angry he was with his players. The question remains, can Southampton repeat this feat when the two sides meet again at Old Trafford for the Capital One Cup quarter final.
 
We've done it again!!!

Man Utd 2 - 3 Southampton​
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Southampton have recorded their 2nd victory over Manchester United in 4 days as Sadio Mane notched a late winner to send the Saints into the semi final of the Capital One Cup. In a game full of drama, a youthful Man Utd team impressed, with James Wilson and Callum Gribbin scoring for the red devils. Southampton in the end were just too strong for them with Jordy Clasie notching his first for the club before Charlie Austin and Sadio Mane completed the scoring. The injury doubt over Charlie Austin will be a huge concern for the Saints as he limped off holding his hamstring to be replaced by Juanmi.

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News
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  • Graziano Pelle returns to training after 5 weeks out with a sports hernia.
  • Southampton draw Chester in the FA Cup 3rd round
  • Southampton draw Arsenal in the Capital One Cup semi final
  • Southampton draw Fenerbahce in the Europa League first knockout round, with the winners earning a clash against either Ludogorets or Bordeaux.
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Southampton 1 - 1 Newcastle​

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Yet another match where we played superbly but failed to pick up all the points. A Morgan Sanson own goal saw us lead for nearly the entire match until a clumsy Jordy Clasie tackle (that seemed to be outside the area) saw Newcastle awarded a penalty which Cabella converted to earn Newcastle a point.

The biggest blow of all was Sadio Mane suffering a fractured wrist, leaving him on the sidelines for 6-7 weeks.
Wanyama signs new contract​

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Victor Wanyama has today performed a U-turn by signing a new 5 year contract just weeks after reports claimed he was unsettled at the club. Wanyama has been an almost ever-present in the Southampton side and his new contract will see him stay at St Mary's until 2019. "I am very happy here at the club" Wanyama said after Southampton's draw with Newcastle. "The club show great faith and loyalty in me, it's time I return the favour"
Tottenham 1 - 3 Southampton

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A wonderful win against a Tottenham fan in a game that we dominated. Its the same familiar names on the score sheet as Dusan Tadic opened with a wonderful free kick. Graziano Pelle scored his first since coming back from injury before Rodriguez poached a third that was enough to see Saints home for the win. This win could be massive for our race for the Europa League spots and puts some distance between us and under performing Tottenham.

Southampton 1 - 1 Aston Villa​

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A change in tactics may be in order as once again Aston Villa parked the bus and one again we failed to pick up the win. Harrison Reed scored his first goal in a saints shirt and we looked like hanging on until some penalty area pin ball saw Crespo score for Villa following a corner.
 
December Review​
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A fantastic month for the club where we go unbeaten, meaning we haven't lost a match since the 1st of November. If I had won the games against Villa, Newcastle and Watford and drawn against Utd and Tottenham I would have been very happy, so the same amount of points is very welcome. It is a very worrying trend that we are not wrapping up wins against the smaller clubs and that will need to be looked at.
Tables​
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A 7th place finish would match last seasons effort and give us a shot at qualifying for the Europa League depending on the cup winners. Progress is slow but hopefully either Everton or Liverpool will fall away and give us a shot at bettering last year. The Europa League final table is fantastic. We qualified top of the group and drew Fenerbahce. A 2nd place finish in the group would have seen us drawn against Athletic Bilbao.

Player of the month​
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Dusan Tadic - The Serbian playmaker has been in wonderful form, contributing a goal and two assists with an average rating of 7.78.
What happened to the players in danger?​

Shane Long has featured a couple of times. He is transfer listed and we are seeking a move that benefits both parties. Not part of my plans.

Jay Rodriguez has really impressed me this month and has started banging in the goals and has made the left wing spot his own since Mane's injury. He seems happy and is enjoying his football. Definitely staying put.

Graziano Pelle has bucked up his attitude in the last couple of weeks and is starting to hit his stride now Austin is out injured temporarily. A very good player who is playing well but will he be happy with a rotation role in the squad? will get until the end of the season to prove himself.

Jose Fonte is another play who, like Jay Rodriguez, has impressed. Much like John Terry at Chelsea he is the heartbeat of the team both on and off the pitch. Captain, Leader, Legend. Definitely staying. Would love him to finish his career with us but will need to settle for reduced game time and importance the older he gets.

Maya Yoshida has asked to leave the club. He has barely featured this campaign but with Jack Stephens asking to go out on loan can I afford to lose him as cover? Will need to give this one a lot of thought.

A look ahead to January​
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An interesting month ahead with Liverpool in the league and fixtures in both the Capital One Cup and the FA Cup.
 
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Forster to return for Saints​

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Fraser Forster is set to make his return for Southampton after almost 9 months out injured. Forster, 26, suffered a nightmare Knee Injury against Burnley last season and hasn't played first team football since. "I'ts been a really long road, and incredibly frustrating, but I'm finally ready to resume my Saints career and earn my place in the team back."

Forster has returned to full first team training and could make his return against Chester in the FA Cup 3rd round.

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Southampton 3 - 1 Liverpool​

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Yet another fantastic result against higher opposition to close the gap on the front runners of the league. Dusan Tadic and James Ward-Prowse gave us a 2-0 lead heading into half time. Fernando Llorente caused a scare with an accurate header before a Simon Mignolet own goal secured the win for us. A brilliant result from a tight match. Great football.
Chester 0 - 1 Southampton

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The kids got a run out once more in the FA Cup as Chester parked the bus, perhaps having seen others teams have success this way. It was working as well, until Steven Davis curled a beautiful free kick into the top corner of the net. A hard fought win where we dominated possession and attempts but failed to work a goal through open play. Fraser Forster made his comeback in a Saints shirt and helped keep a clean sheet which will be good for his confidence, even if he didn't have much to do.
 
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There's very few manager stories that catches my eye on this site but this is great, keep it up!
 
Crystal Palace 1 - 0 Southampton​

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Gutted. The team have lost that spark, the goal scoring touch is gone. Time for change. We started brightly but failed to make our chances count. Pelle gave away a penalty which Joe Ledley scored and we couldnt work our way back into the game. The worst news of all...

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Time to dip into the transfer market.
 
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Natalie Sawyer - "And now we bring you the very latest breaking transfer news, just this minute Southampton have announced the signing of Italian midfielder Lorenzo Insigne from Napoli for a fee believe to be in the region of £12 million. Insigne has been in wonderful form for Napoli so far this season, scoring 7 goals and creating 6 assists in just 16 appearances. It is thought that Insigne will play in the wide positions for Southampton and is their first transfer in the January window."

Jim White - "And that's not all the news from St Mary's Natalie! Southampton manager Rickie Lambert has confirmed to our sources this evening that Shane Long has been sold to Brazilian side Palmeiras for a fee of £7 million pounds. Also on the way out of Southampton is defender Maya Yoshida. The Japanese international has today completed his move to stoke city £1.9 million"

Natalie Sawyer - "Yesterday, after the dissappointing defeat to Crystal Palace, Saints confirmed that midfielder James Ward-Prowse would be out of action for anywhere up to 10 months as he has damaged his cruciate ligament following Connor Wickhams robust tackle."

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Southampton announce Gray​

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Southampton have completed the transfer of 18 year old Birmingham City winger Demarai Gray on a four and a half year contract for a fee of £8 million. The Saints have moved swiftly to replace Shane Long, who was sold to Palmeiras yesterday, and James Ward-Prowse who has been ruled out for the season with injury. Gray has only scored the one goal so far this season but has created 6 assists for his team mates. Gray is very much considered a raw talent and it is yet to be seen if Southampton can polish yet another bright young talent.
 
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Reporter - "Hi Rickie, Thanks for taking the time to talk to us, were half way through the season now, you find your Southampton team sitting 8th in the league, you qualified from your Europa League group Are you happy with how its gone so far?

Me - "Yeah I think so, the lads have worked so hard ad we have had some fantastic results along the way, but the hard work starts here, you dont qualify for anything after 21 games of a season."

R - "You also have your Capital One Cup semi final coming up against Arsenal, will that be a big occasion for you?"

Me - "Absolutely, its reward for all the hard work the boys have put in, we all dream of Wembley finals and its a fantastic chance to book our place, the fans alone deserve some success, and we hope to give them some."

R - "Your form has been... indifferent in the league. Winning against Manchester United, your former club Liverpool and Tottenham... but dropping points against teams like Crystal Palace, Sunderland and Watford, how do results like this effect morale?"

Me - "We try and take the whole season one game at a time.. when we win, we win as a team... when we lose.. we lose as a team. we dont get too high when we win, we dont get too low when we lose.. I think thats the key to it. Not to panic and to look at the situation as a whole rather than focussing on single results."

R - "You just lost James Ward-Prowse to cruciate ligament injury, the same injury that ended your playing career, how is he coping? do you worry for him?"

Me - "James is very disappointed, naturally.. he loves football and he loves Southampton and to miss so much football is hard for anybody. Look, James is a lot fitter and a lot younger than me, I'm sure that he will be back and better than ever, but for the time being we need to patient and support him where we can."

R - "two new signings in the door. Lorenzo Insigne and Demarai Gray, your thoughts?"

Me - "The club have done fantastically well to bring them in, its great business. Both are young, talented and technically excellent. Ambitious is another word you could use for them, and if they work hard they can realise that ambition here. Lorenzo has already started training with the boys and is doing great, Demarai is due to arrive tomorrow and then we can assess where he is."

R - "do you see Demarai as one for the future?"

Me - "I see him as one for right now.. he has the talent, he has the attitude, its just the experience he's lacking. We brought him into the club because we believe he is a wonderful player and believe that he can improve us, to do that he needs to be in the first team squad."

R - "Looking forward to the second half of the season, what would you class as success?"

Me - "The main thing for me, and the board as well is that we qualify for Europe.. If thats through the league, through winning a cup or by qualifying for the Champions League by winning the Europa. This club needs to be in European football where it belongs, if we can do that through the league, brilliant.. if not, we will take it any way we can."

R - "Thanks for your time Rickie, good luck for the rest of the season"

Me - "Pleasure"
 
Really good going mate, specifically in the Cups!

EPL should be better for you in the second half, with certain fresh players maybe?

Also, Shane Long going to Brazil- wow! could never have thought of that!

BTW, Insigne would be an amazing capture! F9 as ST, or attacking winger else IF(S) at left wing.. he's perfect!
also, a 30m+ player in no time, he's a bargain at that price.
 
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