The L1-10 End of Season Player Review 2012/13 : Let the arguments begin!

Generous marks for Steve de Ridder

KELVIN DAVIS (5/10) started the season in goal and anyone with half a brain could see that he wasn’t good enough.  Nigel Adkins seemed to have some sort of blindspot which is strange considering he was a keeper himself.  The defending in the opening matches was shambolic and aside from saving a couple of penalties, Superkelv did not have the greatest of times regarding organization and crosses and all that good stuff.  In truth he was not helped by Fox and Hooiveld having mares, Fonte finding his feet at this level and Clyne being new.  He lost his place after a 6-1 defeat to Arsenal to the only other keeper we had on the books in 20 year old rookie PAOLO GAZZANIGA (5/10) who had signed as ‘one for the future’ from Gillingham in the summer and we gave them Tommy Dismal Forecast on loan as part of the deal.   Superkelv played second fiddle whilst Gazza improved things without truly looking comfortable and making a couple of high profile mistakes including presenting an equalizer to Swansea through trying to be too clever instead of just wellying it up the pitch and coming flying out into no-mans-land to claim a cross he was never going to get near and allowing a simple header into an empty net at QPR.  I put it down to his rat pony-tail thing.  Hard living, hard drinking, chain smoking (all allegedly) ARTUR BORUC (8/10) was brought in as a more experienced alternative but he looked like he’d been eating pies all summer and soon found himself out of the team courtesy of getting annoyed at fans barracking him in his first home game and lobbing a water bottle in their general direction.  Thanks to that (well done the fans... he said sarcastically), we ended up with Gazza and then Kelvin flapping about back in goal and the problem of us not having a reliable keeper was not going away.  Thankfully, Nigel Adkins saw sense and recalled a now slimmed-down Boruc for a home game against Arsenal where he started poorly but then grew into the game and he’s been undroppable ever since.  He hasn’t made a massive number of flash saves (last minute penalty save at Norwich aside) but he’s caught more or less everything that needed to be caught and though he is undoubtedly a nutter, has brought a calmness to proceeding which wasn’t there in the first half of the season.  He’s the first goalkeeper since Antii Niemi who I’ve had total confidence in and it’s brilliant that he’s signed a 2 year contract, at the end of which he’ll only be 35.  More surprising was that Kelvin was handed a 2 year extension which takes him up to the age of 63.  I strongly believe that we would have gone down if we’d continued with Kelvin or Gazza in goal and the signing of Artur Boruc is therefore one of the pivotal moments of the season.

NATHANIEL CLYNE (8/10) signed from Palace at the start of the season and was always going to be first choice.  In initially he struggled a bit but he didn’t look too bad because everyone else in the defence was struggling more.  After that initial few months, he eradicated the tendency to slip over on his arse whenever the ball was crossed from our left to the right.  He’s been different class for the majority of the season and if life was fair and that idiot Hodgson picked players from outside the top 6 clubs, he’d be getting a run out for the national side soon.   Hardly ever beaten in a 1v1 scenario and gets forward well too though I wanted to kill him when he missed that chance at Tottenham.  He had no real rivals for the right back berth this season so next season, someone needs to step up from the academy or someone needs to be signed to at least make him think about his place in the side.

LUKE SHAW (8/10) was much talked about before the season started and was (according to the website wankers) off to Arsenal and Chelsea, the graveyard of any young English player.  Thankfully not though and he got given a chance in the first team after Nigel Adkins lost patience with Danny Fox after the debacle of West Brom away.  Throwing a 17 year old kid in to a faltering defence is not usually the answer but this time it certainly helped stem the flow of goals that were flying past whoever was in goal.  Quick, positionally very good, decent going forward and strong in the tackle, Shaw proved to be the perfect match for Clyne on the other side.  Gets niggles occasionally and misses the odd game which can be attributed to his age and we were noticeably more dodgy when he wasn’t in the side.  Turns 18 in the summer, at which point he can sign a full professional contract and until he does, despite verbally committing, expect the media to use that to sell him to every club under the sun.  No one is trying to sell DANNY FOX (5/10) to other clubs, not ones near the Champions League places anyhow.  Fox is a decent Championship player who was never intended to be first choice this year but even in the Championship, defensively he looked a bit short at times.  We tried to sign Alexander Buttner who ended up at Man United in the summer and so Fox started the season and he started it poorly, providing the assist for Manchester City’s winner at the Etihad by heading a cross from a position of no danger, straight to Carlos Tevez in front of the goal.  In other games, crosses rained in from our left hand side as he only seemed to defend the penalty area and not the full width of the pitch until the emergence of Shaw confined him to the bench.  He played the odd game when Shaw was missing and did better as a stop gap than as a starter until he played in the abysmal home defeat against West Brom and got sent off when the game was already lost, for a horrible two footed lunge.  He hasn’t played since but managed to get recalled by Scotland so the two footed drop kick must have impressed Gordon Strachan.  He’s ok as a cover player, playing about 5-10 games a season but you really wouldn’t want him in the side for any prolonged period of time.  What we have missed this year is his excellent delivery from set pieces as none of the regular starters this year have delivered a ball into the box as well as Fox does, hence our almost complete lack of set piece goals.

The season started with JOSE FONTE (6.5/10) and JOS HOOIVELD (6/10) as the centre back partnership, then it was Fonte and MAYA YOSHIDA (7/10), then Hooiveld and Yoshida and then back to Fonte and Hooiveld as we went full circle.  The fact that we started the season with Fonte and Hooiveld and the only back up was League 1 standard Desperate Dan Seaborne, was a major failing of the summer transfer window.  With neither having played in the Premier League before and others struggling around them, it was no wonder that they looked all at sea and we shipped goals at an alarming rate.  Jose looked like a rabbit in the headlights and Jos looked like a slightly bigger, more clumsy rabbit in the headlights, having set the tone for the start of the season with a thumping own goal in a French pre-season friendly.  He gave a penalty away trashing Tevez at City in the opening league match and in the 3^rd game, did similar against Van Persie.  After a calamitous performance at home to Fulham when he slammed one into the top corner of his own net, Jos was out of the side and replaced with Japanese International Maya Yoshida who joined in what looked like a panic buy, from VVV Venlo in Holland.  After a wince-inducing debut at Arsenal in a 6-1 defeat, Maya settled down and Jose looked much more comfortable with him rather than the big Dutchman.  The Japanese is the best reader of the game out of the three and is comfortable in either the right or left channel and his inclusion made Jose become the ‘first knock’ centre half and with the inclusion of Shaw at left back, the defence suddenly got tighter.  Jose’s unfortunate injury in the Chelsea can’t-be-bothered FA Cup game let Jos back into the side and whilst the Saints fans collectively groaned at the prospect, the Big Man also looked much better alongside Maya than alongside his partner from last season as the defence, now augmented by Artur Boruc, continued to keep the goals against column pretty low.  Towards the end of the season, Maya had a tendency to struggle against the more physical strikers, having a mare against Carroll (West Ham) and Lukaku (West Brom) but he wasn’t alone as Big Jos seemed to revert to his early season form of own goals and clumsy challenges, prompting Mauricio to reunite the original starting combination of Fonte and Hooiveld for the last few games.  Overall, I feel we just about got by in central defence without ever really looking convincing.  All three players had good games and shockers and even though there weren’t that many goals against in the second half of the season, the ones we did let in were often as the result of individual mistakes in this area.  Expect to see one or two centre backs arrive in the summer.  Oh yeah, please see Vegard Forren in the ‘Also rans’ section.

JACK CORK (8.5/10) gave an interview in the second half of the season in which he said that playing in midfield in Pochettino’s system required you to have two hearts.  Amusingly, this got reported as ‘two lungs’ which as far as I’m aware, most people have.  On the subject of hearts, Jack Cork was our heartbeat this season, being ideally suited to the pressing game and winning the ball back high up the pitch which he does using intelligence and speed of thought.  He’s a very modern midfielder who barely commits any fouls and therefore barely gets booked.   Another thing he barely does of course is to get shots on target and there have been a few lucky Corky lottery winners this year who have had to dive for cover as he shoots into the seats, usually around Row 25.  Injured at the start of the season and his arrival in the team coincided with Nigel Adkins picking him and Schneiderlin as our midfield screen and sorting his formation out.  He was another massive contributing factor to our relative defensive solidity as the season wore on.  Should be on the fringes of the England squad by now and of course, should have been called up for the end of season friendlies but Jack Rodwell is obviously a better bet having played 5 games all season for Man City.  As mentioned, the other defensive midfielder was MORGAN SCHNEIDERLIN (9/10) who has had the best season of his career, playing at the highest level.  He used to get lost in the scuffle of League 1 but as we’ve moved up the leagues, so his level of performance has risen.  Out of nowhere this season he started chipping in with goals as well, notching 6 in all competitions and therefore beating his club total for the previous 4 years combined.  Unlike Corky he does throw himself into tackles a bit and managed to dodge suspension this year with a masterly piece of avoidance by reaching 5 bookings about half an hour after the deadline and then ending the season on 9.  He has controlled games this season and like Corky, I wonder how he’s not in his full international squad yet, that being the French one.  As long as he stays, I see him as the long term captain of the club.  As a pair, these two have been superb, never more so than in a losing cause at Manchester United when they dominated Carrick and Jones from start to finish.  We were lucky that the two of them stayed more or less 100% available for the rest of the season once Corky returned and it wouldn’t surprise me to see more competition brought in for this area of the team in the summer.

STEVEN DAVIS (7/10) joined in the summer from the Ashes of Glasgow Rangers when the Scottish FA treated them as they deserved to be treated and dumped them at the arse end of the bottom division in almost a direct opposite of what the hardline English FA did with Portsmouth.  Was in and out of the team a bit at the start and when we switched to 4-2-3-1 found himself on the bench more often than not.  His early season averageness was put down to a nagging groin injury and once he got into the side around February, became a fixture and performed well in just about every match.  He gets forward well but also fills in to help out Corky and Morgan, winning possession and keeping it and always being on the move.  The one thing he needs to add is a bit more confidence in front of goal as he seems to have at least one decent chance every match and always looks like he’d rather be anywhere else then taking responsibility for scoring a goal.  Playing a similar way is JAMES WARD-PROWSE (5/10) who should possibly be in the ‘also ran’ section but made enough cameo appearances to warrant being in the main squad for this review.  Another tidy player who helps to close down games by keeping possession or one who can create something up front as he did in the 1-1 draw at Sunderland.  I feel that he has been a bit under used this season but I’m sure that if you’d offered him the amount of games he has played at the age of 18, he’d have been quite happy.  With the new signings that will doubtlessly arrive in the summer, I don’t expect him to start next year in the first team but he’ll be trusted more and should make progressively more appearances as the season goes on.  JWP’s average performance has been more of a 7/10 level but he’s only played a few games, hence a low mark.

JASON PUNCHEON (7/10) was expected to be a benchwarmer at best this season but did well in pre-season and started off in the team.  His rehabilitation following his seasons out on loan and rant against the Don appeared to be complete as he became one of the first names on the team sheet and rattled in enough goals to put him second to Sir Rickie in the goalscoring stakes.  Scored what was probably the most wildly celebrated goal of the season when he volleyed the equalizer in the 2-2 draw at Chelsea and provided laugh of the season in Mauricio’s first match when he had to go off for a shite in the middle of the game.  His next goal at SMS was celebrated with a bum wiping goal celebration which I thought was hilarious until I saw one of my Under 9’s team doing the same thing when he scored.  It's all about role models isn't it but all good fun I guess.  Got awarded a much deserved new contract and then lost his place for some reason and had to make do with bench patrol for the rest of the season which annoyed me a bit as we misfired and limped our way to the end of the season with a distinct lack of goals and creativity coming from the attacking midfield players on the pitch.  His last contribution was to confirm our safety with the equalizer at Sunderland about 2 minutes after coming on.

GULY DO PRADO (5/10) should possibly be in the ‘also ran’ section but he started a few games so here he is.  Gets slaughtered by those sit the Moron sections at St.Mary’s, mainly due to his languid playing style and his lack of goals.  People forget that he scored lots of goals in League 1 and a few in the Championship because he was playing as an out and out striker whereas now he’s put on the wing when he does play and this is for his defensive capabilities and tracking back.  He’s changed his game to suit the English way of playing and should be applauded for this and not vilified and seeing him doing the hard yards racing back towards his own goal is not something you would have expected when we first saw him play.  Sure he missed the Stoke sitter which wouldn’t have won the Saints FC ‘Miss of the Season’ competition but if it’s just about scoring goals then I reckon that given the same amount of appearances that he wouldn’t score less than some of the others who play in those wide attacking midfield positions. 

GASTON RAMIREZ (6/10) arrived after a protracted transfer and we all drooled at the prospect having seen him play superbly for Uruguay in the Olympics in London.  He obviously has an amazing amount of skill but the problems were always going to be of acclimatization.  By the time we finished pissing about with the transfer, the season had already started and Gaston showed great promise and provided one of the best individual performances from a Saints player in recent years in the home demolition of Villa before getting injured for 6 weeks.  Post Christmas, he’s struggled with lasting the pace and the radar has been off beam on a few occasions where it looked like he didn’t know what kit we were playing in.  Regardless of acclimatization problems, there is no excuse for taking set piece after set piece and repeatedly putting it into the wrong areas, usually about 10 foot over everyone – the ball is round, the players you are aiming at aren’t 12 feet tall and the goals are the same height whatever country you play in.  Always a goal threat though and aside from Punch, always looked the most likely to hit the net out of the midfield players.  There have been countless rumours about him returning to Italy and countless fans saying we should get rid but hang on, he’s 21 and has now had a season.  We have to at least see what he performs like next season before making a decision like that.  If he doesn’t do it and Italian or Spanish clubs are offering us our money back next summer then maybe it’s time to go but not now.

ADAM LALLANA (6/10) is a bit of a mystery, wrapped inside a conundrum, encased in an enigma.  He’s a brilliant footballer with fabulous technical ability but... and we all know the but... 3 goals all season tells you the story.  The amount of times he gets into position for a free shot at goal and either scuffs it or balloons it or backpasses it is ridiculous.  Winner of this years ‘Miss of the Season’ for his sidefoot over an empty goal against Norwich and that was just the tip of the iceberg regarding finding new ways to not score.  It’s so frustrating because he has enough ability to play for England – there is the usual opening for a player who is comfortable on the left hand side and if he could score the 10-12 goals a season that he’s capable of, even the idiot Hodgson would have to look past the club that he plays for.   I can see why Nigel Adkins made him the captain of the side even though he’s not the most natural candidate we have though in my opinion, the captain should be a centre back or a central midfielder.  Personally, I’d give it to someone else to give Adam free reign to concentrate on his own game to work on sticking the ball in the net rather than missing the target or bobbling it through to the keeper.  I don’t think Mauricio is 100% convinced by him either as though he’s been selected to start most game, he has invariably been the first player substituted quite a few times around the 70 minute mark.

JAY RODRIGUEZ (6/10) arrived from Burnley for a fee which was universally judged as being too high and at the start of the season he set about proving that the naysayers were right.  He’d do good work, make a position for himself and either smash it straight at the keeper or at the moon.  There didn’t seem to be a position for him in the 4-3-3 that Adkins was playing which begged the question why we paid £7million for a striker who was spending all his time chasing back towards his own left back.  He was eventually dropped and played the odd game here and there before he scored a good goal in the FA Cup game against Chelsea which was the only good thing to come out of it.  Back in the side where he remained when Pochettino came in, he started to produce, hitting a little purple patch of 3 goals in 3 games and finally looking the part before tailing off again at the end of the season.  Like Adam Lallana, the worst part of his game is his finishing where his unerring accuracy in hitting the goalkeeper from any position is quite remarkable.  One of his best goals this year was at home to Liverpool where he picked it up on halfway and drove towards the penalty area before finding himself 1v1 against the keeper – needless to say, his shot was straight at him but luckily it was parried straight back to him and he stuck it in the net.  Scored about 9 goals this season but with a bit more confidence in himself could have been up near double that. 

SIR RICKIE LAMBERT (8.5/10) is the focal point of the team and has been for 4 years and it was plain enough to see in the half hour after he had to go off against Swansea, how reliant we are on him for our way of playing to have a chance of success.  15 goals in your first season in the Premier League and finishing as the top scoring Englishman are magnificent achievements for a man who thinks he should have got more goals, a statement I’m inclined to agree with.  He also of course, created more goals for others than any other player.  When we were in the lower leagues it was generally thought that his lack of pace meant he couldn’t play up front on his own and Adkins obviously had his doubts as well as he preferred Guly up front in the opening game of the season.  Once he got started though there was no question that he could adapt and complete the transition to being a genuine effective Premier League centre forward.   Looked tired at the end of the season, as he did the season before but is forced to play every game due to the lack of a serious alternative in our squad which is something we need to sort out and at the end was even rumoured to be playing despite a back injury.  It seems to have been decided by the idiot Hodgson that he’s not good enough and/or too old to play for his country.  The only way he’s going to get in the England side is if he rattles in 20-25 goals next season and Hodgson realizes that Brazil 2014 is in a months’ time and the fact that Sir Rickie is 32 really doesn’t matter when you’re a month before a tournament.  He’s still improving and I see no reason why even at the age of 31, he won’t improve even more next season.

And then there were the also rans....

FRAZER RICHARDSON saw Nathaniel Clyne brought in last summer and saw himself consigned to the role of back up.  Made a few appearances but just when it looked like he may get a run in the side with Clyne moved to the left, he got injured and by the time he was fit again, Luke Shaw had emerged on the left and Frazer was then left on the bench at best.  A very good player at Championship level and it remains to be seen whether he’ll be happy to remain another season as back up or will want to move on.  Personally, I wouldn’t be too unhappy for him to stay though having said that, the out of position Yoshida and Cork have been used this year in preference to giving Frazer a run. UPDATE: Moving on - will do a great job for someone.

DANNY BUTTERFIELD got a years extension to his contract last summer which must have been based on him reaching an agreed number of appearances in the Championship.  If it wasn’t then it was odd considering he had about as much chance as I did of playing in the Premier League this season.  Went out on loan to Bolton in January and was there during their charge up the league which ended with them finishing just outside the playoff places.  Did a job for us in League 1 and the Championship but will now no doubt be moving on. UPDATE: Moving on....

RYAN DICKSON’s main contribution to the season is the profile picture of his girlfriend on Twitter, where she is defying gravity.  He on the other hand didn’t play a minute in the Championship (when he really should have done) and matched that in the Premier League.  Had a loan spell at League 2 Bradford and then got injured.  I think he’s out of contract now so will be on his way in the summer and will be a decent acquisition for someone, maybe Yeovil who are defying gravity themselves by starting next year in the Championship. UPDATE: moving on... check out the gravity defying girlfriend though... can she stay?

VEGARD FORREN – Now here’s a strange one.  Signed on the day that Adkins left and Pochettino arrived for £3million plus, his arrival got buried somewhere whilst the manager story was breaking.... and he’s remained buried ever since.  A few appearances on the bench but never actually made it onto the pitch.  There have been a few rumours kicking about regarding him being saved for next season and acclimatization and all that but you have to feel that it’s bullshtt as no one is ever given a 5 month acclimatisation period, not even players who arrive from South America having never set foot outside their native land and not speaking a word of the language.  I’ve never heard of a Norwegian who doesn’t speak English and of course, there’s no track record of Norwegian internationals doing well in the Premier League.  Caps for Norway doesn’t necessarily make you a good player (anyone remember Mikkel Nilsson - who was actually Swedish but you get my drift) but surely we should have seen him in action by now.

AARON MARTIN was loaned out to Palace at the start of the season and started the season but was soon dropped and found himself not playing which is not the idea of going out on loan.  Eventually ended up on loan again at Coventry in League 1.  He may in time develop into a central defender in the mould of Big Jos (hopefully without the own goals) but long term, I can’t see it being with us.  I see the local boy being shipped out for another Championship loan spell next season where hopefully he’ll prove he has what it takes at that level.

DAN SEABORNE is a player who at times, didn’t look good enough for League 1 and a three year contract and promotion bonuses meant that he was as far out of his depth this season as you could possibly be unless you were chained to the bottom of the English Channel.  He was our only cover in central defence as the season started which was a shocking state of affairs and managed a couple of Capital One Cup appearances before being loaned out to Charlton and then to Bournemouth where he enjoyed another League 1 to Championship promotion.  Out of contract so will be leaving and if he gets himself a team in the Championship then he’ll have done very well for himself. UPDATE: Bye...

JACK STEPHENS is another who needs to kick on next season having been given a new contract.  Is obviously well thought of at SMS but hasn’t as yet pushed on to be anywhere near the first team.  Assuming that that remains the case next season, he could probably benefit from a short loan spell in League 1 or the Championship.  He also doesn’t appear to have settled on being a centre back or a right back as yet.

RICHARD CHAPLOW and DEAN HAMMOND are two players who could well have done a job in some games in the Premier League this season but with our intention to have a pathway through to the first team for the academy graduates, it makes no sense to have these guys blocking the way.  Hence Deano went out on loan to Brighton for the season and Bald Psycho made a few appearances here and there but eventually went out on loan to Millwall before getting injured.  Both players were instrumental in our rise up the leagues and would both be excellent acquisitions for Championship clubs.  I can see Deano being either back at Brighton or maybe at Reading next year and Chappers could be anywhere as he’s out of contract and a Northerner at heart.  It would have been nice this season on occasion to have got Chappers on the pitch to kick someone like Nasri or Nani up in the air.

BEN REEVES got a few minutes on the pitch at the start of the season before going out on loan to Southend.  At 22 I can’t see him improving sufficiently to become a regular in the Premier League so it’s probably best for all concerned that he moves on.  I’m not falling into the trap of saying he’s too small for the Premier League but when you’re not allowed to be the mascot dog because the suit is too big for you, then I think the writing’s on the wall.  UPDATE: Sammy Saint's job is safe.

STEVE DE RIDDER – It’s fashionable to have a player from Belgium at the moment.  Off the top of my head, in the Premier league you have Mignolet, Kompany, Vermaelen, Vertonghen, Hazard, Fellaini, Dembele, Mirallas, Lukaku and Benteke – all superb international players.  How did we manage to get the only Belgian import who can’t even make the bench.  Made the odd sub appearance here and there this season when he wasn’t away on a months spectacularly unsuccessful loan to Bolton.  I think it’s time to look at the facts that he barely played in the Championship and three managers this season (Adkins, Pochettino and Dougie Freedman) haven’t been sufficiently impressed to want him in the first team.

CALUM CHAMBERS, LLOYD ISGROVE and SAM HOSKINS are all kids out of the academy looking to be the next Luke Shaw or JWP and make it into the first team picture.  My limited exposure to these players (Highlights on Saints Player) leads me to believe that all three are decent.  Of the three, the one I particularly like the look of is Calum Chambers who seems to play Right back, centre back, right wing and central midfield.  Isgrove is a tricky and quick left winger and Hoskins a striker who was loaned out to Stevenage this season where he scored a few goals. UPDATE: Hoskins released... ah well.

Little African bloke, EMMANUEL MAYUKA has done nothing in his year with us to convince me that he’s not a complete waste of space.  He’s quick in a straight line but appears to have no trick, not much strength and the first touch of a poor park player.  In his defence it’s his first year in a new country, he’s young and people who know considerably more than me about the beautiful game have seen something in him that made it worth shelling out £3m quid for.  Playing with one striker like we do though, it’s hard to see how he’ll fit in unless we turn him into a wide player as he’s totally unsuited for playing up front on his own.  With the little African bloke’s lack of impact, it makes you wonder if TADANARI LEE would have been any better.  Scoring the 4^th goal in a 4-0 in the Championship does not make you an exceptional player no matter how good a goal it was and getting caught speeding three times in six months does not make you the sharpest tool in the box but at least Lee can play wide on the left and let’s face it, he couldn’t have contributed less.

Then of course there’s BILLY SHARP who was the star of pre-season before finding himself on the bench and then loaned out to Nottingham Forest for the season where he rattled in his usual quota of goals despite finding himself on the bench when they changed manager mid-season and brought back that horrible little anti-football shtt, Billy Davies.  Sharp was used to being a lone striker when he was at Doncaster and could well have provided useful backup for Sir Rickie at the end of the season when the big man had a back injury – certainly he would have been better than the Little African Bloke.  

We have two other strikers but they are the forgotten men, so much so that I actually forgot them myself until I looked through the squad list.  LEE BARNARD spent the season out on loan at Bournemouth and Oldham and as far as I know, didn’t get in any rucks, break any bones in his hand or get arrested which is an improvement on his contribution from the previous season.  Barney did contribute well in the League 1 promotion season but JONATHAN FORTE who has graced the pitches of Notts County and Crawley this season, will only be remembered for one game in a Saints shirt, when he scored twice in 5 minutes against MK Dons.  Surely they’ll be gone by the time September rolls around.

I think I remembered everyone...