Table Of Content

Saturday, January 3, 2015 SSAAIINNTTSS’’ HHOOMMEEGGRROOWWNN HHEERROOEESS 55p Supporting LOCA L sport Cherries cruise Club’s proud record of Hampshire stars – see into next round pages 18-21 FA Cup match reports – pages 4 & 5 SAINTS BELIEF:Toby Alderweireld Club aiming to make history Seepages2-3 TERRY PAINE WWEE CCAANN FFIIGGHHTT IINN Return of the wizardsofdribble Seepage7 CCUUPP AANNDD LLEEAAGGUUEE NON-LEAGUE SSaaiinnttss ssttaarr ssoouunnddss bbaattttllee ccrryy aahheeaadd ooff IIppsswwiicchh ccllaasshh Live match report Seepage11 CRICKET TOBY Alderweireld believes Saints have GordonSimpson bestandcomeasfaraspossible,”hesaid. enoughstrengthtofightontwofrontsin Theon-loanAtleticoMadriddefenderadded: “It’sabigcup.It’sacupgame,athome. thesecondhalfoftheseason,astheypre- [email protected] “Ithinkit’salmostsoldout,orsoldout,soa paretobegintheirFACupcampaign. lotofpeoplewillcomeandwatchus. SPORTS REPORTER RonaldKoeman’ssidearechasingwhatwould “We’regoingtotryandgoasfaraspossible. bearemarkabletopfourfinishinthePremier Wewilldoourbest.” League,butmustnowturntheirattentiontoa WhileSaintsareheavyfavouritestoadvance, different competition, as they host Ipswich in Leaguecharge,Alderweireldbelievestheteam Ipswich will arrive at St Mary’s full of confi- thethirdroundtomorrow. cancopewithbothchallenges. dence. Whilesomemightfearthatacupruncould “Ofcourse,everyfootballplayerwantstoplay become a distraction from Saints’ Champions inthecupandreachthefinal,sowewilldoour CONTINUEDONPAGE3 Hants League WIN £18,000 IN FIND THE BALL – SEE PAGE 44 presentation Seepages40-41 2 THEDAILYECHO SATURDAY,JANUARY3,2015 SSAAIINNTTSS HHAAVVEE AANN GOINGSTRONG:Saints AdamLeitch celebratetheirfirstgoal [email protected] againstEvertonasthey CHIEFSPORTSREPORTER headintoakinderrunof fixturesinthelatterhalf Saintshaveplentystackedin oftheseason their favour as they try to achievehistoryin2015. RonaldKoemanhasguidedhis side to fourth place in the PremierLeagueafter20gamesof theseason,withfourpointsfrom back-to-back matches against Chelsea and Arsenal proving to thefootballingworldthatSaints are serious contenders for European qualification, and FLORINGARDOS maybeevenafirsteverventure into the Champions League for Saints fans theclub. Koeman is remaining ground- ed,ashedidduringboththefly- set to see ing start to the season and the lean spell that saw Saints lose fiveinarowinallcompetitions. the best Heknowssomethingspecialis brewingatStMary’s,butisstill tryingtoignoretheleaguetable of Gardos asmuchaspossible. Hesaid:“Ofcoursesometimes you watch the table, that’s nor- mal I think because not always RONALDKoemanbelieves by yourself but all the rumours Saintsarebeginningtosee about the supporters, the fans, thebestofcentre-halfFlorin the people in Holland watching Gardos. the table and the games of The26-year-oldhasbeena Southampton and are very fringeplayersincearriving impressedwithwhattheteamis fromRomanianclubSteaua doing. Bucharestinthesummer,but “Little by little we believe in hashadabiggerrolerecent- ourqualitiesandatopfinishin ly. the league but we know what Gardosstartedinthevicto- means football and you have to workhardonthatandyoucan’t riesagainstCrystalPalace doiton85or90percent. andArsenal,whilehecame “Wehavetobeeverygame100 onasasubstituteinthe1-1 per cent and if we keep that drawwithChelsea. everythingispossible. KoemansaidtheRomanian “Maybe (we look at the table) internationalwillbeparticu- when we have played the last larlyimportantthismonth, gameoftheseason. withMayaYoshidahaving “Butwhyweputsomuchpres- departedStMary’sforafew sureonourselves. weeks,torepresentJapanin “We put the pressure to our- theAsianCup. selves to play good football and “Ithinkhe’snowonhislevel, little by little we know we can finish in a high position in the whatheneedstoplay,”said table.” theSaintsboss. Itishardnottolookahead. thatwillbeimportantinthelast anddowhatweliketodoonthe inthePremierLeague. “Hehadadifficultstartafter Saintshaveamuchkinderrun fewmonthsintheleague,thatwe trainingpitch.” “It’stooearlytotalkmoreabout whenhecametotheclub,in of fixtures in the second half of don’t have that type of games Thesuggestionthatthefixtures thepositioninthetable.” aphysicalway,inatechnical the season than the first, while whatthebigteamshaveand,ok, get kinder does seem to be fair, ThekeyforSaintsmightwellbe way,todevelophimselfto theyalsohavetheadvantage of therisktohaveinjuriesisalways butKoemanistakingnothingfor howtheyhandlethepressureas thislevelwhatyouneedasa notplayinginEurope. much higher than if you don’t granted. theygettowardsthebusinessend centre-backandhehasmore Very soon they will pretty play in the week,” admitted “MaybebutIdon’tthinkthatthe oftheseason. confidencenow. much only be playing on week- Koeman programmewillbeadecisionfor It will be a massive task to “Heshowedthatwhenhe ends with time to recover and “We come back in Saturday, a top position in the league remain calm in big matches if cameinagainstChelsea,he prepare for their next fixture Saturday, Saturday games and because every game is difficult,” Europeanqualificationisinsight, showedthat[against while those sides also challeng- then you have more attention to hereckoned. butatleasttheclubhavebrought Arsenal],andthat’sgood, ingforloftyleagueplacingstrav- the training sessions. Now, it’s “What’stheresultsofthisweek? instarsusedtofightingfortitles becauseweneedFlorin, el all over playing midweek playing, recovering and prepare That’s a big example that you in other countries and with vast btheecaAussiaennCowupMaanydawiseadwoany’tto E“uTrohpaet’asntfrixuteu,ryese.s, that maybe f“oArgapinla,ywineghafovre ttihmee tnoexrtecodvaeyr. hwainveantodtfihgehrtefiosrn’tevaenryeagsyamgaemtoe ex“pYeeraiehn,cem.aybe. We can help havealotofdefenders. “It’sagoodsign,because he’snowonthelevelwhat weneedandwhatheneeds SAINTS V IPSWICH FA CUP MATCH REPORT,REACTION toplayhimself.” SATURDAY,JANUARY3,2015 THEDAILYECHO 3 EEYYEE OONN HHIISSTTOORRYY “I think so but every team sometimes has a dip in the sea- son,”admittedtheSaintsboss. TOBYALDERWEIRELD “It’s difficult to be always on thetopanditdependsalotofrea- Toby: we sons you can have a dip in the season but we are back in our wayhowweliketoplayfootball. can fight “Ithinktheconfidenceisback after the draw against Chelsea and that was important for the in cup and feelingoftheplayersthatwecan compete with big teams in the PremierLeague. the league “It was big that we can beat teamslikeArsenal.” Thisweekendseesabreakfrom FROMFRONTPAGE theleagueprogrammeasSaints MickMcCarthy’ssideare enter the FA Cup at the third secondintheChampionship roundstage. andunbeatenintheirlast11 TheyhostIpswichatStMary’s matches. on Sunday and are determined Withthatinmind, nottotaketheirfootoffthegas. Alderweireldknowsthisisa “Everygamewetakeitserious- gamethatwillbenowalkin ly,”insistedKoeman. thepark. “WedidthatintheLeagueCup andwewilldoitintheFACup. “Everybodyexpectsnowthat “I hate losing and the team is wewineasy,buttheyare good, still the freshness of the unbeatenIthinkfrom players is very positive and I October,sotheyhaveavery don’t like to change a lot and I goodteamIthink,andthe believe in the spirit of the team nextdayswewillseewhere wekeepgoingfromnow.” theirstrengthsare,”saidthe 25-year-old. “Theywillhaveconfidence andwillwanttokillus,so wehavetobegood.” Fellowcentre-halfFlorin Gardosislikelytostart tomorrow’sgameandisalso hopingSaintscanenjoya rundeepintothecompeti- tion. “FACupisanimportant competitionandIhopewe cangoasfaraspossible,” hesaid. “Ithinkathomewithanice atmosphere,it’sgoingtobe anicegameandIthinkwe haveagoodchanceofwin- ning.” them. Some players has already way to keep that position in the United and they show it thatexperience,thecoachingstaff league,butwearetryingandit’s againstArsenal. has that experience and we will possible.” “We learn of it, because helptheplayers,butstillit’squiet What is not in question is that againstChelseaandagainst andIthinktheplayersarelooking Saintsovercameamassivemental Arsenalwedidn’tmakethat verycomfortableaboutthissitua- barrier by doing so well against mistakes what we did tionandthat’salwaysthekeyto ChelseaandArsenal. againstCityandUnited,and besuccessful. Theyprovedtheybelongwhere thatwasgood.Thatbelief,you “That’s maybe a new situation theyare. need for the players to win foralotofplayers,buttheyhave Koeman agreed: “I think the against these types, like to handle that, they have to deal point against Chelsea was not Arsenal.” with that. I see it as a positive importantforthepoint,butvery Itcertainlyprovedonceand RONALDKOEMAN energytofightinahighposition important for the feeling of the forallthatthelosingstreakwasa onthetable.Butstillwe’vegotleft players,becausewewerecloseto thing of the past, and hopefully 18 games to play and it’s a long have a good result against Man nottoberepeatedthisseason. AND PICTURES IN MONDAY’S DAILY ECHO SPORT IPSWICHTOWNMANAGER MICKMCCARTHY 4 THEDAILYECHO SATURDAY,JANUARY3,2015 FA Cup Football Non-league Glory and misery BlythSpartans’RobertDale celebratesscoringhisside’s for cup hopefuls firstgoalofthegame VITALGOAL:LeicesterCity’sLeonardoUlloacelebratesscoringtheopener duringtheFACupThirdRoundvictoryagainstNewcastle BLYTH Spartans saw their Norwich. half-time but Tom Carroll and savedbeforeRyanDonaldsonmade hopesofanFACupthird-round It looked like Millwall would go Modou Barrow, with his first it2-0,andMichaelHarriman’s74th- the same way against Bradford at Swanseagoal,extendedthatto3-0. minutegoalturnedouttobeacon- upset ended by Birmingham’s The Den but Ricardo Fuller’s sec- MaxPowerpulledoneback,and solation. Brentford’sTommySmith second-half fightback at Croft ondofthegameinthe83rdminute ColeStocktonreducedthedeficitto NickBlackman’sgoalledReading slidesinwithatackleonSolly Park. madeit3-3toearnareplay. two again after Bafetimbi Gomis toa1-0winatHuddersfield,while MarchofBrighton The Evo-Stik Northern Premier HavingledthroughBillyKnott’s had scored, but Wayne Routledge the matches between Doncaster Leaguesideenjoyedabrilliantfirst earlygoal,visitorsBradfordfound andGomisaddedlategoals. and Bristol City and Fulham and half, with captain and part-time themselves behind when Scott In the day’s only all-Premier Wolveswillbedecidedbyreplays. barmanRobbieDalescoringtwice McDonald and Ricardo Fuller League tie, Leicester continued The latter was goalless, while at toputthem2-0upatthebreak. scoredforMillwall. their encouraging form as theKeepmoatStadiumMattSmith ButLeeNovakpulledonebackin But a Sid Nelson own goal drew LeonardoUlloa’s39th-minutegoal cancelled out Luke McCullough’s the 52nd minute and six minutes Bradford level four minutes later gavethema1-0winovermanager- openertoearnCitya1-1draw. later Birmingham were ahead as andKnottthoughthehadprovided lessNewcastle. ThestartofBarnsley’sclashwith Wes Thomas’ double put them on thewinnerinthe76thminute,only Wiganarestrugglingbadlyinthe Middlesbrough was delayed by thewaytoa3-2victory. forFullertohavethefinalsay. Championship and could find no fearsoveragasleak,anditwasthe Southport looked set to earn a Tony Pulis’ debut as West Brom solaceintheFACup. visitors who emerged triumphant replayagainstChampionshiphigh- managercouldscarcelyhavegone TheLaticswonthetrophyin2013 2-0 thanks to goals from Jelle flyers Derby but Chris Martin’s betterashewatchedhissidedefeat andreachedthesemi-finalslastsea- Vossen and Daniel Ayala despite injury-timepenaltygavetheRams ConferencesideGateshead7-0. sonbutwentdown1-0tolocalrivals havingAdamClaytonsentoff. a1-0win. SaidoBerahinoscoredahat-trick BoltonthankstoZachClough’sgoal A first-half floodlight failure at Two Championship sides were in 11 minutes either side of half- 14minutesfromtime. Charlton delayed matters against knockedoutbyLeagueOneoppo- time and added a fourth in injury Chris Hughton’s debut as Blackburn,whoeventuallyranout nents. time, with Victor Anichebe, Chris Brightonmanagerwasahappyone 2-1winners. Nottingham Forest’s miserable BruntandJamesMorrisonalsoon with very late goals from Lewis ChrisTaylorputRoversaheadin run continued as Peter Vincenti’s thescoresheet. DunkandChrisO’Gradyearninga the fourth minute and scored the 12th-minute penalty earned Swansea were also among the 2-0winatBrentford. winner in the 59th minute after TranmereRovers’MaxPower Rochdalea1-0victoryatSpotland. goalsatTranmereastheyranout Cambridge won the all-League Charlton, who also had Yoni celebratesscoringhisteam’s Paul Gallagher was the hero for 6-2winners. TwotieagainstLuton2-1. Buyens sent off, had levelled firstgoalagainstSwansea Preston as his second-half goals Nathan Dyer’s 34th-minute goal Robbie Simpson put away the through Johann Berg earned them a 2-0 win over wasallthatseparatedtheteamsat rebound after his penalty was Gudmundsson. 5 SATURDAY,JANUARY3,2015 THEDAILYECHO Cherries/Pompey Spotlight CHERRIES HIT FIVE CCHHEERRRRIIEESS 2014/15 AUGUST 9:HuddersfieldTown(A).........W4-0 IN FA CUP TRIUMPH Pugh,Wilson2,Kermorgant 12Exeter(A)LeagueCup........W2-0 OG,Gosling 16:Brentford(H) ...............W1-0 Stanislas 19:NottmForest(H).............L1-2 Wilson 23:BlackburnRovers(A) .........L2-3 Pitman,Cook 26:Northampton(H)LgeCup.....W3-0 Gosling,Pitman,Wilson 30:NorwichCity(A).............D1-1 Wilson BOURNEMOUTH came from a SEPTEMBER goal down to knock 13:Rotherham(H)..............D1-1 Cook Championship rivals 16:LeedsUtd(H)...............L1-3 RotherhamoutoftheFACup. Surman 20:Watford(A).................D1-1 TheCherriesmadeeightchanges Arter butitdidnotmatterastheyranout 27:WiganAthletic(H)............W2-0 5-1 winners with Shaun Kermorgant,Francis MacDonald,JuniorStanislas,Ryan 30:DerbyCounty(A)............L0-2 Fraser and Yann Kermorgant (2) gettingthegoals. OCTOBER Rotherhamwereforcedintothree 4:BoltonWanderers(A) .........W2-1 alterations with Emmanuel Wilson(2) Ledesma and Tom Lawrence 18:CharltonAthleticH ..........W1-0 recalledbyparentclubsandScott Wilson Wootton not given permission to 21:ReadingH .................W3-0 play - and although they took the Wilson,Pitman2 25:BirminghamCityA ............8-0 leadtheywereemphaticallybeaten Pitman,Wilson,Ritchie,Pugh3,Rantie2 bytheChampionshippacesetters. 28:WestBrom(H)LeagueCup ...W2-1 Veteran full-back Ian Harte O’Kane,Wilson almost gave the visitors a ninth minute lead when he whipped a NOVEMBER free-kick off the underside of the 1:Brighton................ ...W3-2 bar. Greerog,Pugh,Kermorgant, The away side felt the shot had 4:SheffieldWed.... ...........W2-0 crossed the line and were then Surman,Fraser caughtonthebreakaminutelater 8:MiddlesbroughA .............D0-0 when full-back Richard Brindley, 22:IpswichTown.......... ....D2-2 onlyrecentlyrecalledfromaloan Kermorgant,Ritchie spellatScunthorpe,firedinashot 29:Millwall................ ...D2-2 fromtheedgeoftheboxthatbeat Cook,Pitman DECEMBER LeeCampintothebottomcorner. 6:Wolves (A)..................W2-1 Stanislas mishit a shot wide Arter,Ritchie beforeJordanBoweryshotintothe 13:CardiffCity(H).......... ...W5-3 side-netting from the edge of the Ritchie,Arter,Pugh,Kermogant,Wilson boxattheotherend. 17:Liverpool(A)LgeCup.........L1-3 imBporuorvneemthoeuirthpashsaindg pstlaayrteadndtiot ATTHEDOUBLE:YannKermorgantscoresagainstRotherhamintheFACupThirdRoundmatch G20o:sBlinlagckpool (A)........ ......W6-1 paidoffaminutebeforethebreak Ritchie(2),Wilson,Pitman,Pugh,Arter when MacDonald slid the leveller tippedwideforacorner. againcarvedopenbyaslickpass- Rotherhamdefendersagainadmir- 26:Fulham(H).......... ......W2-0 pastgoalkeeperAdamCollinafter EddieHowe’smentooktheleadin ing move. Kermorgant put Fraser ingtheattackingplay. Pitman,Arter beingplayedinbyKermorgantfol- the 57th minute when Stanislas inongoalwithasmarttouchand TheFrenchmandoubledhistally 28:Millwall(A).................W2-0 lowingalongspellofpossession. madeamendsforhisearliermiss, he finished coolly beyond Collin on72minutesaftertappinginfol- Kermogant,Arter The visitors’ dominance contin- roundingCollinbeforetappinginto intothebottomcorner. lowing Collin’s wonderful save JANUARY uedthroughoutthesecondhalfand the empty net from Dan Gosling’s Kermorgant then tucked in an fromSteveCook’spowerfulheader, AdamSmithtestedCollinfromthe pass. easy chance after latching onto a before substitute Matt Derbyshire 10:NorwichCity............ ......H edge of the box with a swerving Fraser made it 3-0 in the 64th cross from Stanislas’ centre mid- missed two late chances for 1274::RLeoethdesrhUanmiteUdn.it.e.d............... ..............AA right footed effort that had to be minute when Rotherham were way through the second half with Rotherham. 31:Watford......................H FEBRUARY POMPEY 20WycombeWanderers(H)...... ..D1-1 22Morecambe.............. ...W3-0 10Dagenham&R(7.45pm)... ........A 7:WiganAthletic............ ......A Ertl Westcarr,Wallace(2) 14ExeterCity......................H 2014/15 10:DerbyCounty(7.45pm)... .......H 27HartlepoolUnited(A)...........D0-0 29TranmereRovers......... .....L3-1 21CambridgeUnited........ ........A 14:Huddersfield............ ......H AUGUST Wallace 28OxfordUnited........... ........H 21:Brentford.............. .......A OCTOBER 9WEalxlaecteerCity (A) .................D1-1 4YorkCity(A) ...................D0-0 DECEMBER MARCH 2285::BNloatctiknbguhranmRoFvoerersst.(.7..4.5.p.m.)..............HA 7Northampton(H)................L2-1 13AccringtonStanley(H)..........L2-3 3Northampton(7.45pm)..... .........A 12Peterborough(H)LgeCup ......W1-0 Taylor Bean,Westcarr 7AccringtonStanley.................A MARCH Storey 11MansfieldTownH .............D1-1 20CheltenhamTown(A)........ ..D1-1 14LutonTown............. ........H 3:Wolves(7.45pm)......... .......H 16CambridgeUnited(H) ..........W2-1 Robinson Atangana 17CheltenhamTown(7.45pm).........H 7:Fulham................. ......A Taylor,OG 18BuryA.......................L3-0 26AFCWimbledon(H).......... ..L0-2 21AFCWimbledon......... .........A 14:Blackpool.............. ......H 19NorthamptonTown(H).........W2-0 21StevenageH .................W3-2 28LutonTown(A).............. .D1-1 28ShrewsburyTown......... .......H 17:CardiffCity(7.45pm)..... .......A Wallace,Westcarr Wallace,Storey,Devera Taylor 21:Middlesbrough(3pm)............H 23OxfordUnited(A)..............W1-0 25ShrewsburyTownA ............L2-1 APRIL Westcarr Wallace JANUARY 4CarlisleUnited............. .......A APRIL 27StokeCity(A)LeagueCup) ......L0-3 3TranmereRovers.......... ........H 6PlymouthArgyle............ ......H 4:IpswichTown............ ......A 30NewportCounty(H) ............L0-1 NOVEMBER 10NewportCounty..................A 11Morecambe.............. .......A 6:BirminghamCity......... .......H 1CarlisleUnited............ ....W3-0 17BurtonAlbion....................H 14Stevenage(7.45pm)....... .......A 11:Brighton......................A SEPTEMBER Westcarr,Storey,Hollands 24SouthendUnited......... ........H 18Bury...........................H 14:Reading(8pm).......... .......A 6BurtonAlbion(A)................L0-2 8FACup1strd:Aldershot(H) ......D2-2 31WycombeWanderers..............A 25MansfieldTown.......... ........A 18:SheffieldWednesday.... ........H 25:BoltonWanderers........ ......H 13SouthendUnited(A)............L0-2 Wallace,Hollands 16Dagenham&Red(H)...........W3-0 15PlymouthArgyleA .............L3-0 FEBRUARY MAY MAY Dunne,Wallace,Barcham 19FACupR1replay:AldershotA ...L1-0 7HartlepoolUnited.......... ........H 2YorkCity................. .......H 2:CharltonAthletic........ ........A ALL THE LATEST LEAGUE RESULTS – SEE BACK PAGE 6 THEDAILYECHO SATURDAY,JANUARY3,2015 WWIILLLL 22001155 BBEE AASS WWIILLDD AA RRIIDDEE AASS 22001144?? ANDso2014cametoanend,surelyoneof the most extraordinary years in SouthamptonFootballClub’shistory. Itwasayearofofstunninghighsandtheoddlow ortwo. consecutiveseasons. WasItheonlyonecompletelyandutterlyunsur- Theartistobalancethesquadandtoensurethe prisedatSouthampton’srather“shocking”exitat playersarekept thehandsoflowerleagueSheffieldUnitedinthe SoundlybeatingEvertonandlosingtoBurnley LeagueCup? showedustwothings. ItgoeswiththeterritorywithbeingaSaintsfan. BybeatingtheToffees,weshowedwestillhave Shockcupexitsareparforthecourseformostof depthandabilitybut,aboveall,gritanddetermi- us. nation. I barely batted an eyelid at Saints rolling over Weareasolidtoptensideandwitheitherright anddyinginfrontof4,000loyalfansonamidweek additionsortherightinternalpromotions,thereis tripupnorth. noreasonwhywecannotpushonforaEuropa Yes,theresultwasdesperatelydisappointing. place. A visit to Wembley could have elevated this DefeatagainstBurnleyshowsusthatthesedays Saintssquadtolegendarystatus. therearenoeasygamesandthatthefurtheryou How many other clubs could lose half a first pushupthetable,themoreteamsarelikelythe team, end up actually improving on last season parkthebusandplayoneupfrontagainstyou. andwindupatWembley? NoonebattedaneyelidwhenLeicesterstuffed It would have been, quite simply, one of the ManchesterUnited. greatestachievementsinEnglishfootballinghis- Noonepredictedtheirseasonhadimploded,peo- tory. ple just laughed at their misfortune and no one Instead,itjustgetsaddedtothelonglistoflame, wassurprisedwhenUnitedrosebackupthetable. insipidSaints’cupperformances. WhyshouldanyonebesurprisedthatSaintshad I’dbelyingifIsaidIwasn’tdesperatelydisap- ablipandstruggledforafewgames? pointedbythedefeat.Anycupdefeathurts,butto Themainpointbeingthatwhenquestionswere getsoclosetothesemi-finalsandthensurrender beingaskedoftheteam,theyrespondedinmag- likethatjustaddslemonjuicetothepapercut. nificentmanner. Butthelossshowsjusthowfarwe’veprogressed Januaryistherealtestingpoint. asaclubandyetstayedexactlythesame. SecurethelikesofAlderweireld,picturedbelow, I wasn’t overly worried about losing to onpermanentcontractsand,iftherumoursareto ManchesterCityandManchesterUnited,they’re be believed, entice the likes of Norweigian won- twoofthebiggestclubsinEurope. derkid Martin Odegaard, then the future looks To narrowly lose to United and the reigning extremelyrosyfortheclub. championsisnodisgrace. Saints’biggestfailingcouldbecometheirgreat- But losing to Sheffield United, when your fans estasset.There’snodoubtingthefactthatwe’re havemadealongmidweektripupnorth?It’salla yearsawayfromchallengingforthetitle. bit poor and to limp out in the fashion we did ClubslikeTottenhamandLiverpoolstillappear makesitallthemorehurtful. tobeanattractivepropositioneventhoughweall Thedefeatshowstheobviousflawsintheclub. knowthey’renevergoingtochallengeforthetitle Being second in the league was always a false and, let’s be honest here, are just as unlikely to position. winanysilverware. Saintsaren’tgoingtofinishrunnersuporchal- We’ve only just this week had the remarkable lengeforaChampionsleagueplace…atleastnot sightofAdamLallanarelishingapossibleLeague thisseason. Cupfinalappearance. This season was always one of rebuilding and Yes,that’sright,AdamLallanaleftSouthampton stability,tofinishinthesamepositionaslastyear toscalethehighlifethatistheoldMilkCup. orhigherwouldbeanimmenseachievement,. Saints’ weakness now becomes their greatest Realistically,finishinginaEuropeanplace strengthinsomuchasanydecentfootballerwho’s wouldbejustoutofourreachthissea- after more than a big pay packet will look at son. Saintsasbeingastrongoption. The point being, and it showed Odegaardisrumouredtobeinterestedin against Manchester City, that suc- Saints as their reputation of bringing cess in modern English football is throughyoungtalentisrenownedacross based around the quality of your Europe. squad,notjustyourfirstteam. Ifhesigns,itwouldbeamajor,major Fullyfitandfiringonallcylinders, coup. Southampton’sfirstteamisamatch In closing, this season has been the foranyteaminthisleague. very definition of a roller coaster ride Get a few injuries and suddenly andwe’velearnedalotfromit. Saintslookvulnerable. We’velearnedtotakethewordofthe The modern game isn’t just about ownerandchairmanoversomebloke fieldingastrongstartingeleven,it’sabout fromthepubandthatthereislife bringingonsubstituteswhocanchange after “big” name players thegame. depart. It’s the sort of muscle and fire Thefuture’sbright, powerthathelpedSaintsstorm it certainly is red up the leagues from League andwhite.Havea EXIT:Former One to the Premiership in greatnewyear. Saintsstar AdamLallana 7 SATURDAY,JANUARY3,2015 THEDAILYECHO Paine’s Jose Mourinho’s World top moans... CHELSEAmanagerJoseMourinho believeshissidehavebeen TTTThhhheeee SSSSaaaaiiiinnnnttttssss lllleeeeggggeeeennnndddd’’ssss EEXCLUUSSIIVVEE cccoolluummnn oonn aallll tthhiinnggss ffoooottbbaallll udnivfianigrlyincwrithiactisheeddaensdctraibregdetaesdafor “clearcampaign”againsthisteam RREETTUURRNN OOFF followingthe1-1drawat Southampton. Here,ThePinklooksatother occasionswhenthe‘SpecialOne’ losthiscoolinrecentyears. NOVEMBER2014 Mourinholeapttothedefenceof TTHHEE WWIIZZAARRDDSS strikerDiegoCostaafteragoal- lessencounterwithSunderland. Thein-formhitmanfailedtoadd tohis11goalsfortheseasonat theStadiumofLightbutescaped punishmentafterappearingto kickoutatJohnO’Shea,before pickinguphisfifthyellowcardof OOFF DDRRIIBBBBLLEE...... theseasonforcatchingfellow defenderWesBrownwithaflail- ingarm.However,askedifCosta’s feistyapproachtothegamewas becomingaproblem,Mourinho said:‘’Whydoyouspeakallthe timeaboutDiego?Idon’tagree,I don’tagree.Iwasjusttoldthathe wasunluckytogettheyellow card.Wedon’tcryabout injuredplayersorabout suspendedplayers.’’ INNUMERABLE kids from the 1970s tothreegamesaweek,insomecases. FEBRUARY2014 to the 1990s took to their passions Theplayerswhochosetostickwiththe ThePortuguese not by reading books or following style, like describedArsene Ronaldinho, Wengerasa“special- posts on YouTube, but by rushing found it hard istinfailure”afterthe back from school to get their home- tokeepup. Frenchmanclaimed workdonequicklyenoughinorderto Nowadays, thatotherPremier there is an Leaguebosseswereplay- allowthemabitofTVtime. increasing ingdowntheirtitlechances Thegreatestfeelingwastowatchpeople stressontheusageofthewords becausethey“feartofail”. bravethecentrestageandowntheenvi- “pass”and“release”. Itwasnotthefirsttimethepair ronmenttheywerein–whetheritbesolo Notmanycoacheswanttoseeshowsof clashed.In2007Mourinho guitarists,orsolofootballers. individualbrillianceanymore. attackedWenger’spoliciesatthe It was captivating to watch the magic Yet,recently,inagamebetweenArsenal Gunners:“UnlikeArsenal,we unfold in the World Cups, with the and Borussia Dortmund, where Arsenal soughtsuccessandtriedtobuild Brazilianstakingtheglobebystorm. foundithardtokeepupwiththepacyrun- itthroughaconceptofthegame Football was about style, illusions, nersoftheiropponents,camerascaught usingEnglishplayers.” dreams. many glimpses of Dortmund boss Andin2005,Mourinhoresponded In the late 1960s and early ’70s, Johan JurgenKloppapplaudinghisplayers toWenger’scriticismofChelsea’s Cruyff and George Best showed off their making mazy, hopeful runs at the transferpolicybysaying:‘’Ithink heisoneofthesepeoplewhoisa mesmerisingskillsontheball,inventing Arsenal defence, while the viewers voyeur.Helikestowatchother dribbles and having them named after foundithardnottogrimaceandsay people.Therearesomeguyswho, theminsomeinstances. “Heshouldhavejustpassed!” whentheyareathome,haveabig Their long, flowing locks were more a Isthisstylecomingbacknow? telescopetoseewhathappensin stampofthegenerationtheyplayedin–a WillitovertakeTotalFootball otherfamilies.Hespeaks,speaks, generationthatidolisedrockstars. and tiki-taka? Does the speaksaboutChelsea.” Laterdowntheyears,inthe’90s,when world want more unpre- FEBRUARY2006 football began to reach even further out dictability? AfterlosingtoBarcelonain2006, overtheglobe,newplayerscaughttheeye Neymar, Alexis hewaslatergivenatwo-match ofthedisciplinedschoolboy. Sanchez,SergioAguero, touchlinebanbyUEFAaftersay- Roberto Baggio, Edgar Davids, Pavel LuisSuarez–thesearea ing:“WhenIsawFrankRijkaard Nedved and, into the new millennium, few names of South (thenBarcelonacoach)entering Ronaldinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Americanswhoarebackto thereferee’sdressingroomI LionelMessi. try and haunt defences, couldn’tbelieveit.WhenDidier Ihaveleftoutthe“real”Ronaldoandthe tryingtotakethemonsin- Drogbawassentoff(afterhalf- other “real” Ronaldo, as well as other gle-handedly. time)Iwasn’tsurprised.” greats like Zinedine Zidane, Thierry The body feint might RefereeAndersFrisklaterquitas Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Luis Figo, have taken some dents anofficial,butUEFAdenieditwas justtoshedlightonthetopicofthebody overtheages,andnow duetoMourinho’scomments. feint. emphasis is going MAY3,2005 Theseplayersfounditsimplertowrong- backtohowneatly Mourinhoquestionedthevalidity foot the defender while running at him one can get his ofLiverpoolforwardLuisGarcia’s withblazingpace. feetaroundthe goalwhichputChelseaoutofthe Ronaldinho'ssolostyleencapsulatesthe ball without ChampionsLeaguesemi-finals.He perfectdribble,wheretheplayer’sentire touching it, said:“IfeltthepowerofAnfield,it bodyiscommittedtofoolingtheotherguy. but the wasmagnificent.Ifeltitdidn’t Thetrickwastoletthedefenderbelieve essence interferewithmyplayersbut thatthefishtailingofyourhairwasactu- remainsthe MASTEROF maybeitinterferedwithother allyacluetounlockthenextmove. same. THEART: peopleandmaybeitinterfered Therelaythemagicinit,theillusion. The hair- Brazil’s withtheresult. Players like Ronaldinho and styles may or Ronaldinho “Youshouldaskthelinesmanwhy Ibrahimovicthrewtheirbodiestooneside may not return, hegaveagoal.Because,togivea andthentheother,withtheirmanestrail- that is up to the goal,theballmustbe100per centinandhemustbe100per ingthem,forasplitsecond,inthewrong rockstars to decide, centsurethattheballisin.’’ direction. but one thing is cer- FEBRUARY27,2005 Itwouldnotbeasurpriseifwewereto tain,theplayersaregiv- find out that Messi built his game on ing it a go again and are Mourinhodefendedputtingafin- Ronaldinho’s, and maybe Ronaldinho willing to risk it for the gertohislipsduringtheCarling CupfinalagainstLiverpool:‘’I taughthimthistrick. loveofthegame. don’tregretit.TheonlythingI But,astheseplayersgrewolderandnew Forthegaspingsilenceinthe havetounderstandisI’min tacticsenteredtheworldoffootball,they stands, they are willing to try England,somaybeevenwhenI startedmovingontoquickerpassing, their hand at magic. The drib- thinkIamnotwrong,Ihaveto havingtoconservetheirenergyforup blerissurelyonhiswayback. adapttoyourcountryandIhave torespectthat.” MORE SAINTS COMMENT ONLINE:WWW.DAILYECHO.CO.UK 8 THEDAILYECHO SATURDAY,JANUARY3,2015 SAINTS’ FIRST TEAM FIXTURES AND RESULTS 2014/15 11 22 33 44 55 66 77 88 99 1100 1111 1122 1133 1144 AUGUST Sat17Liverpool............A L1-2 Forster Clyne1 Fonte Yoshida Bertrand Schneiderlin Wanyama Tadic* SDavis** W-Prowse Pelle Long* Isgrove** Sat23WestBrom ..........H D0-0 Forster Clyne Fonte Yoshida Bertrand Schneiderlin Wanyama Tadic SDavis* W-Prowse** Pelle Long* Cork** Tues26Millwall(LC2).......A W2-0 Forster Clyne Fonte Yoshida Targett SDavis Wanyama** Isgrove* Long*** W-Prowse Pelle1 Tadic* Cork1** Ramirez*** Sat30WestHam...........A W3-1 Forster Clyne Fonte Yoshida Bertrand Schneiderlin2SDavis Tadic W-Prowse** Long* Pelle1 Ramirez* Cork** SEPTEMBER Sat13Newcastle...........H W4-0 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Cork1*** Schneiderlin1 SDavis Tadic** Long* Pelle2 Wanyama* W-Prowse** Gardos*** Sat20Swansea............A W1-0 Forster Clyne Fonte Yoshida* Bertrand Cork** Schneiderlin W-Prowse*** Tadic Long Pelle Gardos* SDavis** Wanyama1*** Tues23Arsenal(LC3) ........A W2-1 Forster Clyne1 Fonte Gardos Targett** Wanyama Schneiderin SDavis Tadic1 Mane* Pelle Long* Bertrand** Sat27QPR................H W2-1 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand1 Wanyama** Schneiderlin SDavis Tadic*** Mane* Pelle1 Long* Cork** Targett*** OCTOBER Sun5Tottenham............A L0-1 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Wanyama* Schneiderlin SDavis Tadic Mane Pelle Long* Sat18Sunderland ..........H W8-0 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Cork1 Schneiderlin SDavis* Tadic1 Long** Pelle2** Wanyama1* Mane** Mayuka*** Sat25Stoke ...............H W1-0 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Cork* Schneiderlin SDavis** Tadic Mane1 Pelle Wanyama* Gardos** Weds29Stoke(LC4).........A W3-2 Forster Clyne Fonte Gardos** Targett Wanyama Schneiderlin SDavis* Tadic Long1 Pelle2 Cork* Alderweireld** NOVEMBER Sat1Hull..................A W1-0 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Wanyama1 Schneiderlin SDavis Tadic** Long* Pelle Mane* Cork** Sat8Leicester...............H W2-0 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Wanyama Schneiderlin*** SDavis* Tadic Mane** Pelle Cork* Long**2 Reed*** Mon24AstonVilla........ ..A D1-1 Forster Clyne1 Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Wanyama Schneiderlin Long** Tadic Mane* Pelle Mayuka* Cork** Sun30ManCity...........H L0-3 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Wanyama Schneiderlin* SDavis*** Tadic Mane** Pelle Yoshida* Long** Mayuka*** DECEMBER Weds3Arsenal .............A L0-1 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Wanyama Cork* SDavis Tadic** Long*** Pelle Yoshida* Mane** Mayuka*** Mon8ManUnited...........H L1-2 Forster Clyne Fonte Yoshida Bertrand Wanyama SDavis Long** Tadic* Mane Pelle1 Hesketh* Mayuka** Sat13Burnley..............A L0-1 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Wanyama SDavis Hesketh* Tadic Mane** Pelle W-Prowse* Long** Tues16SheffUtd(LC5) ......A L0-1 Forster Clyne Fonte Gardos Targett* Wanyama*** Schneiderlin W-Prowse Bertrand Mane** Long Isgrove* Mayuka** Alderweireld*** Sat20Everton..............H W3-0 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Yoshida1 Bertrand Reed W-Prowse* SDavis Long** Pelle1 Targett* Gape** Fri26CrystalPalace .........A W3-1 Forster Clyne*** Gardos Alderweireld1 Yoshida Bertrand1 Schneiderlin W-Prowse SDavis* Mane1 Pelle** Wanyama* Long** McCarthy*** Sat28Chelsea..............H D1-1 Forster Yoshida** Fonte Alderweireld Targett Wanyama Schneiderlin SDavis*** Tadic* Mane1 Pelle W-Prowse* Gardos** Long*** JANUARY Thurs1Arsenal.............H W2-0 Forster Alderweireld Fonte Gardos** Bertrand Wanyama SDavis W-Prowse Tadic***1 Mane*1 Pelle Reed* Yoshida** Long*** Sun4Ipswich(FAC3)........H Sun11ManUnited ..........A Sat17Newcastle............A FEBRUARY Sun1Swansea.............H Clyne out but Sat7QPR .................A Weds11WestHam.........H Sun22Liverpool ...........H Sat28WestBrom............A Schneiderlin MARCH Tue3CrystalPalace ........H Sat14Chelsea..............A back for Saints Sat21Burnley ..............H APRIL Sat4Everton...............A Sat11Hull ................H SAINTS will again be without right-back Nathaniel Sat18Stoke ...............A Clyne (foot) for tomorrow’s FA Cup third round tie Sat25Tottenham ...........H againstIpswich. MAY FrancemidfielderMorganSchneiderlinwillbeavailable Sat2Sunderland............A againfollowingsuspensionfortheBarclaysPremierLeague Sat9Leicester..............A winoverArsenal. Sat16AstonVilla...........H MidfielderSadioManeissetforascanafterlimpingoff Sun24ManCity ............A afterscoringagainsttheGunners,andhadbeenscheduled tojoinupwithSenegalaheadoftheAfricanNationsCup. JapandefenderMayaYoshidahasleftoninternationalduty attheAFCAsiaCupinAustralia. Provisional Squad: Forster, Gardos, Fonte, Bertrand, Alderweireld, Schneiderlin, Ward-Prowse, Davis, Wanyama, Tadic, Pelle, Long, Davis, Isgrove, Targett, McCarthy,Reed,Rowe. BACKINCONTENTION:MorganSchneiderlin LA LG CA CG CSA CSG LA LG CA CG CSA CSG LA LG CA CG CSA CSG ARTURBORUC 0 0 0 0 50 0 NATHANIELCLYNE 18 2 4 1 80(5) 5 SAMGALLAGHER 0 0 0 0 3(17) 2 CODYCROPPER 0 0 0 0 0 0 JACKCORK 5(6) 2 0(2) 1127(23) 3 SHANELONG 9(10) 2 3(1) 0 12(11) 2 KELVINDAVIS 0 0 0 0 292(1) 0 HARRISONREED 1(2) 0 0 0 2(9) 0 EMMANUELMAYUKA 0(5) 0 0(1) 0 3(16) 1 FRASERFORSTER 20 0 4 0 24 0 MORGANSCHNEIDERLIN 15 3 3 0218(31) 13 GRAZIANOPELLE 20 8 3 3 23 11 PAULOGAZZANIGA 0 0 0 0 18(1) 0 VICTORWANYAMA 13(5) 3 4 0 37(9) 3 JAYRODRIGUEZ 0 0 0 0 59(17) 26 RYANBERTRAND 19 2 1(1) 0 20(1) 2 STEVENDAVIS 18(1) 0 3 0 78(18) 6 JAKEHESKETH 1(1) 0 0 0 1(1) 0 MATTTARGETT 1(2) 0 4 0 5(2) 0 LLOYDISGROVE 0(1) 0 1(1) 0 2(3) 0 DOMINICGAPE 0(1) 0 0 0 0(1) 0 JOSEFONTE 19 0 4 0 200(5) 13 SAMMCQUEEN 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 JASONMCCARTHY 0(1) 0 0 0 0(1) 0 FLORINGARDOS 2(4) 0 3 0 5(4) 0 GASTONRAMIREZ 0(1) 0 0(1) 0 27(23) 8 TOBYALDERWEIRELD 15 1 0(2) 0 15(2) 1 DUSANTADIC 18 2 2(1) 1 20(1) 3 MAYAYOSHIDA 8(3) 1 1 0 55(4) 3 SADIOMANE 11(3) 4 2 0 13(3) 4 JACKSTEPHENS 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 JAMESWARD-PROWSE 7(3) 0 2 0 39(33) 1 KEY:LA:leagueappearances.LG:leaguegoals.CA:cupappearances.CG:cupgoals.CSA:careerSaintsappearances.CSG:careerSaintsgoals. 9 SATURDAY,JANUARY3,2015 THEDAILYECHO Adam Rant TThhiiss wweeeekk’’ss bbigwtaliktihngApodinatsm Leitch It could be a very happy new year What a 2015 this could be for Saints. BOOST:Thearrivalofloan Excitement is ever building signingEljeroEliawillhelp aroundStMary’sastheNewYear provideSaints’squadwith heraldsthepossibilityofEuropean moredepth qualification via the Premier League. Thereisofcoursestillthepointy endoftheseasontonegotiate,when thepressurewillratchetupanotch andasternexaminationofmental aswellasphysicalcredentialswill comeintoplay. But you can do no more than to putyourselfinapositiontodowell. Youthenmustbackyourselftosee itthrough. Saintshavedonejustthatasthey head into 2015 in a remarkable fourthplace. schedulethattheyhadearlierinthe willbemassivegames,butbothof What’s more, this looks sustain- season when things were going so those take place at St Mary’s, and able.While you would realistically marvellously. you fear Saints facing no one on have to say that holding that spot While the clubs who have been theirownpatch. willbeahugechallenge,thereisno chasing them down start to worry The other matches all look reasontheycannotdoit,oratworst about European matches again, winnable.Towinthemallisaher- maybedrifttofifthorsixth,which travellinginmidweek,gettingplay- culean effort, but nonetheless the would represent a quite brilliant ers injured, suspended or simply pointremainsthatSaintshavedone achievement. tired,Saintswillgenerallybeplay- a lot of the hard work in many Results against some big clubs, ingjustonceaweek. ways. such as the wonderful four points It leaves the time in between for They do still require a fair wind BOWINGOUT:StevenGerrardinactionforLiverpoolagainst picked up against Chelsea and themtorestandrecover,forknocks due to the lack of depth in their Saintsin2012. Arsenal, have really hardened the to heal and for Ronald Koeman to squad. belief that Saints might be able to work his magic on the training Thoughonceplayersreturnfrom Will Stevie G be remembered lastthecourse. ground. international duty things will look It had previously seemed as Thefixturelistitselfisalsonottoo better,theycannotaffordkeyplay- though they would need to do it shabbyforSaints.Theyreallyhave erstogetinjuredatthewrongtimes as one of football’s greats? purelybasedonbeatingthebestof donethehardestbitalready. oritwillmakelifeveryhard. the rest of the Premier League, Away from home they have two Buttheyareintherefighting,with which left virtually no margin for big guns to face in the shape of a chance, and you cannot ask for errorinthosegames. Chelsea and Manchester City, but muchmore. STEVEN Gerrard has probably the amount they have won, the Theselatestresultshavesuggest- youcanhavetheluxuryofforget- Koemanhasdoneaquiteremark- pickedagoodtimetogetout sameaccusationcouldbelevelled edotherwise. ting the latter of those games for ablejobatSaintsthisseason,andit of Premier League football, atGerrardaswasthrownatMatt Addedtothis,Saintshaveawhole now as it’s on the final day of the wouldbefantasticiftheycouldnow LeTissier. host of things which are about to seasonandallbetsareoffforthat seethisthrough. but the debate over whether There were opportunities to go play into their hands for the anyway. If they can it will be one of the he can be considered a great toclubswherethatmedalwould remainderofthecampaign. Otherthanthattheyhavetoface mostmemorableandbrilliantcam- playerornotrumbleson. havebeensecured,butforwhat- Theywillgetbacktothekindof Liverpool and Tottenham in what paignsintheclub’shistory. everreasonhedidn’tmove. Tomakethatdecisionyoucan- Whether that precludes you notsimplylookatthetrophieshe fromabeingagreatisverymuch has or has not won, with those amatterofopiniontherefore,but nTheBDOwillbehopingfora whoargueagainstplacinginhim for Adam Rant it doesn’t rule classicWorldChampionship in the highest category pointing Gerrardout. afterthePDC’sdartsbonanza outthelackofaPremierLeague TheonlyareawheretheRanty hasprovedtoonceagainbe winner’smedal. onequestionsGerrard’scriteriais quitecompelling. Gerrard has had a different onthesubjectoflongevity. careerinthat,havingbeenaone Hehashadagoodcareer,buthe Thestandardseemstohave clubmanduringhisprofessional isonly34,andthereforeacouple goneupyetanothernotch,with lifeuptothispoint,hehasstuck moreyearsat thetoplevel were somethrillinggamesandthe by a Liverpool squad that have notoutofthequestion,asFrank depthoffieldnowmeaningyou been decidedly average much of Lampard, who has won every- havegenuinebiggunsfacing thetime. thing there is at club level, is eachotherasearlyasthesec- He has had to carry that team provingrightnow. ondandthirdrounds. whentheyhadsomeplayerswho Gerrard though, in most peo- TheBDOmaywellbethebreed- should never have played for a ple’seyes,hasbeenonthewane inggroundformostofthese clubsuchasthat. forafewyears. guys,butifitisn’ttofadeinto The argument with Gerrard, if It’s not that he doesn’t have obscurityitreallyneedsto youaretohaveone,shouldnotbe great class, or has games where retainsomeofitsyoungerstars that he should have won the heissimplyfantastic,buthislegs league with Liverpool, though havefadedmeaninghehasstrug- astheycomethroughtheranks obviously we all remember the gledtohaveaconsistentimpact, andofferaseriouschallenge slip last season that might have gameaftergame. whenitcomestothequalityof TAKINGAIM:PhilTaylorduringhismatch cost that opportunity, but more That remains the only hurdle playinitsshowpieceevent. withVincentvanderVoortatthePDCdarts hisambition. whichmightnothavequitebeen It’scertainlyatallorder. event ThoughLiverpoolaretradition- overcome in an otherwise bril- allyabiggerclubthanSaintswith liantcareer. MORE SAINTS COMMENT ONLINE:WWW.DAILYECHO.CO.UK 10 THEDAILYECHO SATURDAY,JANUARY3,2015 BOOK of the WEEK DON’T REPEAT POCH’S NOLIMITS:MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY BYIANPOULTER Sportsbookofthemonth.com price:£7(saving£13onrrp) CUP MISTAKES, RON IanPoulterisalongwayfrom beingeveryone’scupoftea. Oftenperceivedasbrashand morethanalittlecocky,sports psychologistswouldprobably interpretthesetraitsasran- domdisplaysofhisinherent confidence;othersmightsay hewouldhavetobeconfident todonsomeoftheclotheshe wears. Yetsetasidesomeofthenon- SimonCarter sense,suchastheoutrageous clothes(liberal,evenbygolf’s [email protected] sartorialstandards)andthe SPORTS EDITOR ridiculouslyexcessivecarcol- lectionandPoulter’sautobiog- AGAINST all the odds – and raphybecomesaclassicrags- to-richesstory. pretty sizeable ones at that – Havingstartedyoung(hewas Saints have put themselves in fourwhenhefirstplayed), withagreatchanceofqualify- Poulterworkedhiswayupto ing for Europe via their league theverypinnacleofthegolfing pyramidthroughacombination position. ofhardworkandevenmore TheirNewYear’sDaywinagainst hardwork.Moreover,Poulter Arsenal at St Mary’s kept Ronald hasneverbeenafraidtotake Koeman’shistory-chasersinfourth onestepbackwardsinorderto placeinthePremierLeague. eventually Itisasituationthatalmostnobody takethree could have imagined last August, orfour andifanyonehadbelieveditthey forward. wouldhavebeenlaughedat. Thestory ThethoughtofSaintsactuallyfin- ofhow, ishinginthetopfourandqualifying whenhe fortheChampionsLeagueistruly couldn’t phenomenal, and the rest of the getajob league-iftheyhaven’talreadydone asapro- so-mustnowtakethemseriously. fessional Even if Saints can’t go on and atapri- claim a top four finish, then fifth vateclub, would guarantee them a Europa heapplied Leagueplace. insteadtobecomeanassistant If Chelsea or Tottenham end up intheproshopat Chesfield winning the League Cup and also DownsGolfClub,highlights finishing in the top four, then a thispoint. sixth-placedfinishwouldseeSaints Itperhapsalsoshowsusthat qualifyfortheEuropaLeague. hecanbefrugalwhenneces- Chelseawillalmostcertainlyfin- sary. WhileatChesfield,the ish in the top four, and following clubpromadehimpayfull theirNewYear’sDaythrashingof greenfeeswheneverhewant- Jose Mourinho’s men, we have to edtoplayinaclubcompeti- include Tottenham as genuine top tion.Asaconsequence, fourchallengers. Poulter’shandicapremainedat ThoughMauricioPochettinowas four,primarilybecausehe coming under pressure a few MISSEDOPPORTUNITY: A below-strength neverplayedincompetitions. months ago, Tottenham are only SaintswentouttoSunderlandinlastseason’s Atthecoreofanysuccessful two points adrift of his former FACup golfer’sgameliesacombina- employersaftertheireyebrow-rais- tionofabilityandmental ingvictoryoverChelseaat White toughness.Whatisclearfrom HartLane. 1976 final – and all the fans who won’t field his first choice team I don’t see Koeman making the Poulter’sautobiographyisthat Therefore, and given we cannot helped turn Cardiff’s Millennium eitherashewillbemoreconcerned samemistake. hepossessesbothinspades. writeArsenaloffyet,itisimpera- Stadiumintoaseaofblueandwhite with the Tractor Boys’ Hehasn’tmademanyinhisshort, WhenitcomestoIanPoulter, tivethatKoemantakestheFACup 12yearsagowillneverforgetit. Championship promotion chal- sensational time at St Mary’s yet, sportsfansinvariablyblowhot seriously. Winning the FA Cup provides a lenge. hashe? orcold,butifyou’reinthelat- Unlike his predecessor, he cer- route into Europe through the I expect Targett to get another Yes,themannerofSaints’League tercategory,suspendyourbias tainlyshowedtheLeagueCupsome Europa League. And, if the win- run-outatleftback,andIexpecta Cup exit at two divisions lower forawhile,ignoresomeofthis respect regarding his team selec- ners have already qualified for fairlyyouthfulbench. Sheffield United was incredibly book’sbrasherpassagesand tions. Europe via a different route, the Otherthanthat,though,Koeman poor–butthesidehefieldedshould readinsteadaboutadedicated Though he used the Capital One runners-up will get the Europa willprobablyfieldastrongside.In havebeengoodenoughtohavewon sportsmanwhomadeittothe CuptogiveMattTargettsomegame Leaguespot. fairness,hehasn’treallygotmany thatnight.Itwasn’tasifheputout top. time at left back, generally his That is what happened to Hull options as his squad isn’t the areserveside. LeagueCupstartingXIsweresimi- City last season, as FA Cup win- biggest. To sum up, the league provides lartohisPremierLeaguepicks. nersArsenalhadqualifiedforthe Howgreatitistowelcomeinthe Saintswithagreatchancetoreach We’veteamedupwithSports TheDutchmannowneedstotreat ChampionsLeague. new year with Saints having a Europe. BookoftheMonth&havea the FA Cup with similar respect, Itwas,ofcourse,alsothescenario great chance of reaching Europe But so does the FA Cup. Please copyofNoLimitstogiveaway. againunlikehispredecessor. thatlastsentSaintsintoEurope. viabothleagueandFACup. don’tforgetthat. I wrote last season, after GordonStrachan’smenqualified Pochettinofluffedhisbigchance Thecompetitionhasbeenstripped Towinthisweek’ssportsbook, Pochettino’s below-strength side for the 2003/04 UEFA Cup as FA lastseason.GiventhattheFACup of so much of its glamour post gototheirwebsite had lost a fifth round tie at Cup runners-up, as Arsenal had represented Saints’ only realistic PremierLeaguecreation,butitcan (www.sportsbookofthemonth.co Sunderland, that Saints were not alreadyfinishedinthetopfour. chance of reaching Europe – they –anddoes–stillprovidethepoten- m)andanswerthefollowing yet a big enough club that they I do not expect Koeman to field weren’t going to finish in the top tialforlegendstobecreated. question: could treat the FA Cup with any- hisfirstchoicesidefortomorrow’s fiveorberelegated-hewasguilty ThatistheopportunityPochettino thingresemblingdisdain. thirdroundtieathometoIpswich of showing the world’s greatest saw pass him by, and hopefully Whowonthe2014Open? The competition has given the Town. club KO competition something Ronald Koeman won’t make the club their greatest-ever day – the Indeed,MickMcCarthyprobably resemblingcontempt. samemistake. FOLLOW SAINTS’ MATCH WITH IPSWICH AT DAILYECHO.CO.UK

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Saturday, January 3, 2015 SSAAIINNTTSS’’ HHOOMMEEGGRROOWWNN HHEERROOEESS 55p Supporting LOCA L sport Cherries cruise Club’s proud record of Hampshire stars – see into next round pages 18-21 FA Cup match reports – pages 4 & 5 SAINTS BELIEF:Toby Alderweireld Club aiming to make history Seepages2-3 TERRY PAINE WWEE CCAANN FFIIGGHHTT IINN Return of the wizardsofdribble Seepage7 CCUUPP AANNDD LLEEAAGGUUEE NON-LEAGUE SSaaiinnttss ssttaarr ssoouunnddss bbaattttllee ccrryy aahheeaadd ooff IIppsswwiicchh ccllaasshh Live match report Seepage11 CRICKET TOBY Alderweireld believes Saints have GordonSimpson bestandcomeasfaraspossible,”hesaid. enoughstrengthtofightontwofrontsin Theon-loanAtleticoMadriddefenderadded: “It’sabigcup.It’sacupgame,athome. thesecondhalfoftheseason,astheypre- [email protected] “Ithinkit’salmostsoldout,orsoldout,soa paretobegintheirFACupcampaign. lotofpeoplewillcomeandwatchus. SPORTS REPORTER RonaldKoeman’ssidearechasingwhatwould “We’regoingtotryandgoasfaraspossible. bearemarkabletopfourfinishinthePremier Wewilldoourbest.” League,butmustnowturntheirattentiontoa WhileSaintsareheavyfavouritestoadvance, different competition, as they host Ipswich in Leaguecharge,Alderweireldbelievestheteam Ipswich will arrive at St Mary’s full of confi- thethirdroundtomorrow. cancopewithbothchallenges. dence. Whilesomemightfearthatacupruncould “Ofcourse,everyfootballplayerwantstoplay become a distraction from Saints’ Champions inthecupandreachthefinal,sowewilldoour CONTINUEDONPAGE3 Hants League WIN £18,000 IN FIND THE BALL – SEE PAGE 44 presentation Seepages40-41 2 THEDAILYECHO SATURDAY,JANUARY3,2015 SSAAIINNTTSS HHAAVVEE AANN GOINGSTRONG:Saints AdamLeitch celebratetheirfirstgoal [email protected] againstEvertonasthey CHIEFSPORTSREPORTER headintoakinderrunof fixturesinthelatterhalf Saintshaveplentystackedin oftheseason their favour as they try to achievehistoryin2015. RonaldKoemanhasguidedhis side to fourth place in the PremierLeagueafter20gamesof theseason,withfourpointsfrom back-to-back matches against Chelsea and Arsenal proving to thefootballingworldthatSaints are serious contenders for European qualification, and FLORINGARDOS maybeevenafirsteverventure into the Champions League for Saints fans theclub. Koeman is remaining ground- ed,ashedidduringboththefly- set to see ing start to the season and the lean spell that saw Saints lose fiveinarowinallcompetitions. the best Heknowssomethingspecialis brewingatStMary’s,butisstill tryingtoignoretheleaguetable of Gardos asmuchaspossible. Hesaid:“Ofcoursesometimes you watch the table, that’s nor- mal I think because not always RONALDKoemanbelieves by yourself but all the rumours Saintsarebeginningtosee about the supporters, the fans, thebestofcentre-halfFlorin the people in Holland watching Gardos. the table and the games of The26-year-oldhasbeena Southampton and are very fringeplayersincearriving impressedwithwhattheteamis fromRomanianclubSteaua doing. Bucharestinthesummer,but “Little by little we believe in hashadabiggerrolerecent- ourqualitiesandatopfinishin ly. the league but we know what Gardosstartedinthevicto- means football and you have to workhardonthatandyoucan’t riesagainstCrystalPalace doiton85or90percent. andArsenal,whilehecame “Wehavetobeeverygame100 onasasubstituteinthe1-1 per cent and if we keep that drawwithChelsea. everythingispossible. KoemansaidtheRomanian “Maybe (we look at the table) internationalwillbeparticu- when we have played the last larlyimportantthismonth, gameoftheseason. withMayaYoshidahaving “Butwhyweputsomuchpres- departedStMary’sforafew sureonourselves. weeks,torepresentJapanin “We put the pressure to our- theAsianCup. selves to play good football and “Ithinkhe’snowonhislevel, little by little we know we can finish in a high position in the whatheneedstoplay,”said table.” theSaintsboss. Itishardnottolookahead. thatwillbeimportantinthelast anddowhatweliketodoonthe inthePremierLeague. “Hehadadifficultstartafter Saintshaveamuchkinderrun fewmonthsintheleague,thatwe trainingpitch.” “It’stooearlytotalkmoreabout whenhecametotheclub,in of fixtures in the second half of don’t have that type of games Thesuggestionthatthefixtures thepositioninthetable.” aphysicalway,inatechnical the season than the first, while whatthebigteamshaveand,ok, get kinder does seem to be fair, ThekeyforSaintsmightwellbe way,todevelophimselfto theyalsohavetheadvantage of therisktohaveinjuriesisalways butKoemanistakingnothingfor howtheyhandlethepressureas thislevelwhatyouneedasa notplayinginEurope. much higher than if you don’t granted. theygettowardsthebusinessend centre-backandhehasmore Very soon they will pretty play in the week,” admitted “MaybebutIdon’tthinkthatthe oftheseason. confidencenow. much only be playing on week- Koeman programmewillbeadecisionfor It will be a massive task to “Heshowedthatwhenhe ends with time to recover and “We come back in Saturday, a top position in the league remain calm in big matches if cameinagainstChelsea,he prepare for their next fixture Saturday, Saturday games and because every game is difficult,” Europeanqualificationisinsight, showedthat[against while those sides also challeng- then you have more attention to hereckoned. butatleasttheclubhavebrought Arsenal],andthat’sgood, ingforloftyleagueplacingstrav- the training sessions. Now, it’s “What’stheresultsofthisweek? instarsusedtofightingfortitles becauseweneedFlorin, el all over playing midweek playing, recovering and prepare That’s a big example that you in other countries and with vast btheecaAussiaennCowupMaanydawiseadwoany’tto E“uTrohpaet’asntfrixuteu,ryese.s, that maybe f“oArgapinla,ywineghafovre ttihmee tnoexrtecodvaeyr. hwainveantodtfihgehrtefiosrn’tevaenryeagsyamgaemtoe ex“pYeeraiehn,cem.aybe. We can help havealotofdefenders. “It’sagoodsign,because he’snowonthelevelwhat weneedandwhatheneeds SAINTS V IPSWICH FA CUP MATCH REPORT,REACTION toplayhimself.” SATURDAY,JANUARY3,2015 THEDAILYECHO 3 EEYYEE OONN HHIISSTTOORRYY “I think so but every team sometimes has a dip in the sea- son,”admittedtheSaintsboss. TOBYALDERWEIRELD “It’s difficult to be always on thetopanditdependsalotofrea- Toby: we sons you can have a dip in the season but we are back in our wayhowweliketoplayfootball. can fight “Ithinktheconfidenceisback after the draw against Chelsea and that was important for the in cup and feelingoftheplayersthatwecan compete with big teams in the PremierLeague. the league “It was big that we can beat teamslikeArsenal.” Thisweekendseesabreakfrom FROMFRONTPAGE theleagueprogrammeasSaints MickMcCarthy’ssideare enter the FA Cup at the third secondintheChampionship roundstage. andunbeatenintheirlast11 TheyhostIpswichatStMary’s matches. on Sunday and are determined Withthatinmind, nottotaketheirfootoffthegas. Alderweireldknowsthisisa “Everygamewetakeitserious- gamethatwillbenowalkin ly,”insistedKoeman. thepark. “WedidthatintheLeagueCup andwewilldoitintheFACup. “Everybodyexpectsnowthat “I hate losing and the team is wewineasy,buttheyare good, still the freshness of the unbeatenIthinkfrom players is very positive and I October,sotheyhaveavery don’t like to change a lot and I goodteamIthink,andthe believe in the spirit of the team nextdayswewillseewhere wekeepgoingfromnow.” theirstrengthsare,”saidthe 25-year-old. “Theywillhaveconfidence andwillwanttokillus,so wehavetobegood.” Fellowcentre-halfFlorin Gardosislikelytostart tomorrow’sgameandisalso hopingSaintscanenjoya rundeepintothecompeti- tion. “FACupisanimportant competitionandIhopewe cangoasfaraspossible,” hesaid. “Ithinkathomewithanice atmosphere,it’sgoingtobe anicegameandIthinkwe haveagoodchanceofwin- ning.” them. Some players has already way to keep that position in the United and they show it thatexperience,thecoachingstaff league,butwearetryingandit’s againstArsenal. has that experience and we will possible.” “We learn of it, because helptheplayers,butstillit’squiet What is not in question is that againstChelseaandagainst andIthinktheplayersarelooking Saintsovercameamassivemental Arsenalwedidn’tmakethat verycomfortableaboutthissitua- barrier by doing so well against mistakes what we did tionandthat’salwaysthekeyto ChelseaandArsenal. againstCityandUnited,and besuccessful. Theyprovedtheybelongwhere thatwasgood.Thatbelief,you “That’s maybe a new situation theyare. need for the players to win foralotofplayers,buttheyhave Koeman agreed: “I think the against these types, like to handle that, they have to deal point against Chelsea was not Arsenal.” with that. I see it as a positive importantforthepoint,butvery Itcertainlyprovedonceand RONALDKOEMAN energytofightinahighposition important for the feeling of the forallthatthelosingstreakwasa onthetable.Butstillwe’vegotleft players,becausewewerecloseto thing of the past, and hopefully 18 games to play and it’s a long have a good result against Man nottoberepeatedthisseason. AND PICTURES IN MONDAY’S DAILY ECHO SPORT IPSWICHTOWNMANAGER MICKMCCARTHY 4 THEDAILYECHO SATURDAY,JANUARY3,2015 FA Cup Football Non-league Glory and misery BlythSpartans’RobertDale celebratesscoringhisside’s for cup hopefuls firstgoalofthegame VITALGOAL:LeicesterCity’sLeonardoUlloacelebratesscoringtheopener duringtheFACupThirdRoundvictoryagainstNewcastle BLYTH Spartans saw their Norwich. half-time but Tom Carroll and savedbeforeRyanDonaldsonmade hopesofanFACupthird-round It looked like Millwall would go Modou Barrow, with his first it2-0,andMichaelHarriman’s74th- the same way against Bradford at Swanseagoal,extendedthatto3-0. minutegoalturnedouttobeacon- upset ended by Birmingham’s The Den but Ricardo Fuller’s sec- MaxPowerpulledoneback,and solation. Brentford’sTommySmith second-half fightback at Croft ondofthegameinthe83rdminute ColeStocktonreducedthedeficitto NickBlackman’sgoalledReading slidesinwithatackleonSolly Park. madeit3-3toearnareplay. two again after Bafetimbi Gomis toa1-0winatHuddersfield,while MarchofBrighton The Evo-Stik Northern Premier HavingledthroughBillyKnott’s had scored, but Wayne Routledge the matches between Doncaster Leaguesideenjoyedabrilliantfirst earlygoal,visitorsBradfordfound andGomisaddedlategoals. and Bristol City and Fulham and half, with captain and part-time themselves behind when Scott In the day’s only all-Premier Wolveswillbedecidedbyreplays. barmanRobbieDalescoringtwice McDonald and Ricardo Fuller League tie, Leicester continued The latter was goalless, while at toputthem2-0upatthebreak. scoredforMillwall. their encouraging form as theKeepmoatStadiumMattSmith ButLeeNovakpulledonebackin But a Sid Nelson own goal drew LeonardoUlloa’s39th-minutegoal cancelled out Luke McCullough’s the 52nd minute and six minutes Bradford level four minutes later gavethema1-0winovermanager- openertoearnCitya1-1draw. later Birmingham were ahead as andKnottthoughthehadprovided lessNewcastle. ThestartofBarnsley’sclashwith Wes Thomas’ double put them on thewinnerinthe76thminute,only Wiganarestrugglingbadlyinthe Middlesbrough was delayed by thewaytoa3-2victory. forFullertohavethefinalsay. Championship and could find no fearsoveragasleak,anditwasthe Southport looked set to earn a Tony Pulis’ debut as West Brom solaceintheFACup. visitors who emerged triumphant replayagainstChampionshiphigh- managercouldscarcelyhavegone TheLaticswonthetrophyin2013 2-0 thanks to goals from Jelle flyers Derby but Chris Martin’s betterashewatchedhissidedefeat andreachedthesemi-finalslastsea- Vossen and Daniel Ayala despite injury-timepenaltygavetheRams ConferencesideGateshead7-0. sonbutwentdown1-0tolocalrivals havingAdamClaytonsentoff. a1-0win. SaidoBerahinoscoredahat-trick BoltonthankstoZachClough’sgoal A first-half floodlight failure at Two Championship sides were in 11 minutes either side of half- 14minutesfromtime. Charlton delayed matters against knockedoutbyLeagueOneoppo- time and added a fourth in injury Chris Hughton’s debut as Blackburn,whoeventuallyranout nents. time, with Victor Anichebe, Chris Brightonmanagerwasahappyone 2-1winners. Nottingham Forest’s miserable BruntandJamesMorrisonalsoon with very late goals from Lewis ChrisTaylorputRoversaheadin run continued as Peter Vincenti’s thescoresheet. DunkandChrisO’Gradyearninga the fourth minute and scored the 12th-minute penalty earned Swansea were also among the 2-0winatBrentford. winner in the 59th minute after TranmereRovers’MaxPower Rochdalea1-0victoryatSpotland. goalsatTranmereastheyranout Cambridge won the all-League Charlton, who also had Yoni celebratesscoringhisteam’s Paul Gallagher was the hero for 6-2winners. TwotieagainstLuton2-1. Buyens sent off, had levelled firstgoalagainstSwansea Preston as his second-half goals Nathan Dyer’s 34th-minute goal Robbie Simpson put away the through Johann Berg earned them a 2-0 win over wasallthatseparatedtheteamsat rebound after his penalty was Gudmundsson. 5 SATURDAY,JANUARY3,2015 THEDAILYECHO Cherries/Pompey Spotlight CHERRIES HIT FIVE CCHHEERRRRIIEESS 2014/15 AUGUST 9:HuddersfieldTown(A).........W4-0 IN FA CUP TRIUMPH Pugh,Wilson2,Kermorgant 12Exeter(A)LeagueCup........W2-0 OG,Gosling 16:Brentford(H) ...............W1-0 Stanislas 19:NottmForest(H).............L1-2 Wilson 23:BlackburnRovers(A) .........L2-3 Pitman,Cook 26:Northampton(H)LgeCup.....W3-0 Gosling,Pitman,Wilson 30:NorwichCity(A).............D1-1 Wilson BOURNEMOUTH came from a SEPTEMBER goal down to knock 13:Rotherham(H)..............D1-1 Cook Championship rivals 16:LeedsUtd(H)...............L1-3 RotherhamoutoftheFACup. Surman 20:Watford(A).................D1-1 TheCherriesmadeeightchanges Arter butitdidnotmatterastheyranout 27:WiganAthletic(H)............W2-0 5-1 winners with Shaun Kermorgant,Francis MacDonald,JuniorStanislas,Ryan 30:DerbyCounty(A)............L0-2 Fraser and Yann Kermorgant (2) gettingthegoals. OCTOBER Rotherhamwereforcedintothree 4:BoltonWanderers(A) .........W2-1 alterations with Emmanuel Wilson(2) Ledesma and Tom Lawrence 18:CharltonAthleticH ..........W1-0 recalledbyparentclubsandScott Wilson Wootton not given permission to 21:ReadingH .................W3-0 play - and although they took the Wilson,Pitman2 25:BirminghamCityA ............8-0 leadtheywereemphaticallybeaten Pitman,Wilson,Ritchie,Pugh3,Rantie2 bytheChampionshippacesetters. 28:WestBrom(H)LeagueCup ...W2-1 Veteran full-back Ian Harte O’Kane,Wilson almost gave the visitors a ninth minute lead when he whipped a NOVEMBER free-kick off the underside of the 1:Brighton................ ...W3-2 bar. Greerog,Pugh,Kermorgant, The away side felt the shot had 4:SheffieldWed.... ...........W2-0 crossed the line and were then Surman,Fraser caughtonthebreakaminutelater 8:MiddlesbroughA .............D0-0 when full-back Richard Brindley, 22:IpswichTown.......... ....D2-2 onlyrecentlyrecalledfromaloan Kermorgant,Ritchie spellatScunthorpe,firedinashot 29:Millwall................ ...D2-2 fromtheedgeoftheboxthatbeat Cook,Pitman DECEMBER LeeCampintothebottomcorner. 6:Wolves (A)..................W2-1 Stanislas mishit a shot wide Arter,Ritchie beforeJordanBoweryshotintothe 13:CardiffCity(H).......... ...W5-3 side-netting from the edge of the Ritchie,Arter,Pugh,Kermogant,Wilson boxattheotherend. 17:Liverpool(A)LgeCup.........L1-3 imBporuorvneemthoeuirthpashsaindg pstlaayrteadndtiot ATTHEDOUBLE:YannKermorgantscoresagainstRotherhamintheFACupThirdRoundmatch G20o:sBlinlagckpool (A)........ ......W6-1 paidoffaminutebeforethebreak Ritchie(2),Wilson,Pitman,Pugh,Arter when MacDonald slid the leveller tippedwideforacorner. againcarvedopenbyaslickpass- Rotherhamdefendersagainadmir- 26:Fulham(H).......... ......W2-0 pastgoalkeeperAdamCollinafter EddieHowe’smentooktheleadin ing move. Kermorgant put Fraser ingtheattackingplay. Pitman,Arter beingplayedinbyKermorgantfol- the 57th minute when Stanislas inongoalwithasmarttouchand TheFrenchmandoubledhistally 28:Millwall(A).................W2-0 lowingalongspellofpossession. madeamendsforhisearliermiss, he finished coolly beyond Collin on72minutesaftertappinginfol- Kermogant,Arter The visitors’ dominance contin- roundingCollinbeforetappinginto intothebottomcorner. lowing Collin’s wonderful save JANUARY uedthroughoutthesecondhalfand the empty net from Dan Gosling’s Kermorgant then tucked in an fromSteveCook’spowerfulheader, AdamSmithtestedCollinfromthe pass. easy chance after latching onto a before substitute Matt Derbyshire 10:NorwichCity............ ......H edge of the box with a swerving Fraser made it 3-0 in the 64th cross from Stanislas’ centre mid- missed two late chances for 1274::RLeoethdesrhUanmiteUdn.it.e.d............... ..............AA right footed effort that had to be minute when Rotherham were way through the second half with Rotherham. 31:Watford......................H FEBRUARY POMPEY 20WycombeWanderers(H)...... ..D1-1 22Morecambe.............. ...W3-0 10Dagenham&R(7.45pm)... ........A 7:WiganAthletic............ ......A Ertl Westcarr,Wallace(2) 14ExeterCity......................H 2014/15 10:DerbyCounty(7.45pm)... .......H 27HartlepoolUnited(A)...........D0-0 29TranmereRovers......... .....L3-1 21CambridgeUnited........ ........A 14:Huddersfield............ ......H AUGUST Wallace 28OxfordUnited........... ........H 21:Brentford.............. .......A OCTOBER 9WEalxlaecteerCity (A) .................D1-1 4YorkCity(A) ...................D0-0 DECEMBER MARCH 2285::BNloatctiknbguhranmRoFvoerersst.(.7..4.5.p.m.)..............HA 7Northampton(H)................L2-1 13AccringtonStanley(H)..........L2-3 3Northampton(7.45pm)..... .........A 12Peterborough(H)LgeCup ......W1-0 Taylor Bean,Westcarr 7AccringtonStanley.................A MARCH Storey 11MansfieldTownH .............D1-1 20CheltenhamTown(A)........ ..D1-1 14LutonTown............. ........H 3:Wolves(7.45pm)......... .......H 16CambridgeUnited(H) ..........W2-1 Robinson Atangana 17CheltenhamTown(7.45pm).........H 7:Fulham................. ......A Taylor,OG 18BuryA.......................L3-0 26AFCWimbledon(H).......... ..L0-2 21AFCWimbledon......... .........A 14:Blackpool.............. ......H 19NorthamptonTown(H).........W2-0 21StevenageH .................W3-2 28LutonTown(A).............. .D1-1 28ShrewsburyTown......... .......H 17:CardiffCity(7.45pm)..... .......A Wallace,Westcarr Wallace,Storey,Devera Taylor 21:Middlesbrough(3pm)............H 23OxfordUnited(A)..............W1-0 25ShrewsburyTownA ............L2-1 APRIL Westcarr Wallace JANUARY 4CarlisleUnited............. .......A APRIL 27StokeCity(A)LeagueCup) ......L0-3 3TranmereRovers.......... ........H 6PlymouthArgyle............ ......H 4:IpswichTown............ ......A 30NewportCounty(H) ............L0-1 NOVEMBER 10NewportCounty..................A 11Morecambe.............. .......A 6:BirminghamCity......... .......H 1CarlisleUnited............ ....W3-0 17BurtonAlbion....................H 14Stevenage(7.45pm)....... .......A 11:Brighton......................A SEPTEMBER Westcarr,Storey,Hollands 24SouthendUnited......... ........H 18Bury...........................H 14:Reading(8pm).......... .......A 6BurtonAlbion(A)................L0-2 8FACup1strd:Aldershot(H) ......D2-2 31WycombeWanderers..............A 25MansfieldTown.......... ........A 18:SheffieldWednesday.... ........H 25:BoltonWanderers........ ......H 13SouthendUnited(A)............L0-2 Wallace,Hollands 16Dagenham&Red(H)...........W3-0 15PlymouthArgyleA .............L3-0 FEBRUARY MAY MAY Dunne,Wallace,Barcham 19FACupR1replay:AldershotA ...L1-0 7HartlepoolUnited.......... ........H 2YorkCity................. .......H 2:CharltonAthletic........ ........A ALL THE LATEST LEAGUE RESULTS – SEE BACK PAGE 6 THEDAILYECHO SATURDAY,JANUARY3,2015 WWIILLLL 22001155 BBEE AASS WWIILLDD AA RRIIDDEE AASS 22001144?? ANDso2014cametoanend,surelyoneof the most extraordinary years in SouthamptonFootballClub’shistory. Itwasayearofofstunninghighsandtheoddlow ortwo. consecutiveseasons. WasItheonlyonecompletelyandutterlyunsur- Theartistobalancethesquadandtoensurethe prisedatSouthampton’srather“shocking”exitat playersarekept thehandsoflowerleagueSheffieldUnitedinthe SoundlybeatingEvertonandlosingtoBurnley LeagueCup? showedustwothings. ItgoeswiththeterritorywithbeingaSaintsfan. BybeatingtheToffees,weshowedwestillhave Shockcupexitsareparforthecourseformostof depthandabilitybut,aboveall,gritanddetermi- us. nation. I barely batted an eyelid at Saints rolling over Weareasolidtoptensideandwitheitherright anddyinginfrontof4,000loyalfansonamidweek additionsortherightinternalpromotions,thereis tripupnorth. noreasonwhywecannotpushonforaEuropa Yes,theresultwasdesperatelydisappointing. place. A visit to Wembley could have elevated this DefeatagainstBurnleyshowsusthatthesedays Saintssquadtolegendarystatus. therearenoeasygamesandthatthefurtheryou How many other clubs could lose half a first pushupthetable,themoreteamsarelikelythe team, end up actually improving on last season parkthebusandplayoneupfrontagainstyou. andwindupatWembley? NoonebattedaneyelidwhenLeicesterstuffed It would have been, quite simply, one of the ManchesterUnited. greatestachievementsinEnglishfootballinghis- Noonepredictedtheirseasonhadimploded,peo- tory. ple just laughed at their misfortune and no one Instead,itjustgetsaddedtothelonglistoflame, wassurprisedwhenUnitedrosebackupthetable. insipidSaints’cupperformances. WhyshouldanyonebesurprisedthatSaintshad I’dbelyingifIsaidIwasn’tdesperatelydisap- ablipandstruggledforafewgames? pointedbythedefeat.Anycupdefeathurts,butto Themainpointbeingthatwhenquestionswere getsoclosetothesemi-finalsandthensurrender beingaskedoftheteam,theyrespondedinmag- likethatjustaddslemonjuicetothepapercut. nificentmanner. Butthelossshowsjusthowfarwe’veprogressed Januaryistherealtestingpoint. asaclubandyetstayedexactlythesame. SecurethelikesofAlderweireld,picturedbelow, I wasn’t overly worried about losing to onpermanentcontractsand,iftherumoursareto ManchesterCityandManchesterUnited,they’re be believed, entice the likes of Norweigian won- twoofthebiggestclubsinEurope. derkid Martin Odegaard, then the future looks To narrowly lose to United and the reigning extremelyrosyfortheclub. championsisnodisgrace. Saints’biggestfailingcouldbecometheirgreat- But losing to Sheffield United, when your fans estasset.There’snodoubtingthefactthatwe’re havemadealongmidweektripupnorth?It’salla yearsawayfromchallengingforthetitle. bit poor and to limp out in the fashion we did ClubslikeTottenhamandLiverpoolstillappear makesitallthemorehurtful. tobeanattractivepropositioneventhoughweall Thedefeatshowstheobviousflawsintheclub. knowthey’renevergoingtochallengeforthetitle Being second in the league was always a false and, let’s be honest here, are just as unlikely to position. winanysilverware. Saintsaren’tgoingtofinishrunnersuporchal- We’ve only just this week had the remarkable lengeforaChampionsleagueplace…atleastnot sightofAdamLallanarelishingapossibleLeague thisseason. Cupfinalappearance. This season was always one of rebuilding and Yes,that’sright,AdamLallanaleftSouthampton stability,tofinishinthesamepositionaslastyear toscalethehighlifethatistheoldMilkCup. orhigherwouldbeanimmenseachievement,. Saints’ weakness now becomes their greatest Realistically,finishinginaEuropeanplace strengthinsomuchasanydecentfootballerwho’s wouldbejustoutofourreachthissea- after more than a big pay packet will look at son. Saintsasbeingastrongoption. The point being, and it showed Odegaardisrumouredtobeinterestedin against Manchester City, that suc- Saints as their reputation of bringing cess in modern English football is throughyoungtalentisrenownedacross based around the quality of your Europe. squad,notjustyourfirstteam. Ifhesigns,itwouldbeamajor,major Fullyfitandfiringonallcylinders, coup. Southampton’sfirstteamisamatch In closing, this season has been the foranyteaminthisleague. very definition of a roller coaster ride Get a few injuries and suddenly andwe’velearnedalotfromit. Saintslookvulnerable. We’velearnedtotakethewordofthe The modern game isn’t just about ownerandchairmanoversomebloke fieldingastrongstartingeleven,it’sabout fromthepubandthatthereislife bringingonsubstituteswhocanchange after “big” name players thegame. depart. It’s the sort of muscle and fire Thefuture’sbright, powerthathelpedSaintsstorm it certainly is red up the leagues from League andwhite.Havea EXIT:Former One to the Premiership in greatnewyear. Saintsstar AdamLallana 7 SATURDAY,JANUARY3,2015 THEDAILYECHO Paine’s Jose Mourinho’s World top moans... CHELSEAmanagerJoseMourinho believeshissidehavebeen TTTThhhheeee SSSSaaaaiiiinnnnttttssss lllleeeeggggeeeennnndddd’’ssss EEXCLUUSSIIVVEE cccoolluummnn oonn aallll tthhiinnggss ffoooottbbaallll udnivfianigrlyincwrithiactisheeddaensdctraibregdetaesdafor “clearcampaign”againsthisteam RREETTUURRNN OOFF followingthe1-1drawat Southampton. Here,ThePinklooksatother occasionswhenthe‘SpecialOne’ losthiscoolinrecentyears. NOVEMBER2014 Mourinholeapttothedefenceof TTHHEE WWIIZZAARRDDSS strikerDiegoCostaafteragoal- lessencounterwithSunderland. Thein-formhitmanfailedtoadd tohis11goalsfortheseasonat theStadiumofLightbutescaped punishmentafterappearingto kickoutatJohnO’Shea,before pickinguphisfifthyellowcardof OOFF DDRRIIBBBBLLEE...... theseasonforcatchingfellow defenderWesBrownwithaflail- ingarm.However,askedifCosta’s feistyapproachtothegamewas becomingaproblem,Mourinho said:‘’Whydoyouspeakallthe timeaboutDiego?Idon’tagree,I don’tagree.Iwasjusttoldthathe wasunluckytogettheyellow card.Wedon’tcryabout injuredplayersorabout suspendedplayers.’’ INNUMERABLE kids from the 1970s tothreegamesaweek,insomecases. FEBRUARY2014 to the 1990s took to their passions Theplayerswhochosetostickwiththe ThePortuguese not by reading books or following style, like describedArsene Ronaldinho, Wengerasa“special- posts on YouTube, but by rushing found it hard istinfailure”afterthe back from school to get their home- tokeepup. Frenchmanclaimed workdonequicklyenoughinorderto Nowadays, thatotherPremier there is an Leaguebosseswereplay- allowthemabitofTVtime. increasing ingdowntheirtitlechances Thegreatestfeelingwastowatchpeople stressontheusageofthewords becausethey“feartofail”. bravethecentrestageandowntheenvi- “pass”and“release”. Itwasnotthefirsttimethepair ronmenttheywerein–whetheritbesolo Notmanycoacheswanttoseeshowsof clashed.In2007Mourinho guitarists,orsolofootballers. individualbrillianceanymore. attackedWenger’spoliciesatthe It was captivating to watch the magic Yet,recently,inagamebetweenArsenal Gunners:“UnlikeArsenal,we unfold in the World Cups, with the and Borussia Dortmund, where Arsenal soughtsuccessandtriedtobuild Brazilianstakingtheglobebystorm. foundithardtokeepupwiththepacyrun- itthroughaconceptofthegame Football was about style, illusions, nersoftheiropponents,camerascaught usingEnglishplayers.” dreams. many glimpses of Dortmund boss Andin2005,Mourinhoresponded In the late 1960s and early ’70s, Johan JurgenKloppapplaudinghisplayers toWenger’scriticismofChelsea’s Cruyff and George Best showed off their making mazy, hopeful runs at the transferpolicybysaying:‘’Ithink heisoneofthesepeoplewhoisa mesmerisingskillsontheball,inventing Arsenal defence, while the viewers voyeur.Helikestowatchother dribbles and having them named after foundithardnottogrimaceandsay people.Therearesomeguyswho, theminsomeinstances. “Heshouldhavejustpassed!” whentheyareathome,haveabig Their long, flowing locks were more a Isthisstylecomingbacknow? telescopetoseewhathappensin stampofthegenerationtheyplayedin–a WillitovertakeTotalFootball otherfamilies.Hespeaks,speaks, generationthatidolisedrockstars. and tiki-taka? Does the speaksaboutChelsea.” Laterdowntheyears,inthe’90s,when world want more unpre- FEBRUARY2006 football began to reach even further out dictability? AfterlosingtoBarcelonain2006, overtheglobe,newplayerscaughttheeye Neymar, Alexis hewaslatergivenatwo-match ofthedisciplinedschoolboy. Sanchez,SergioAguero, touchlinebanbyUEFAaftersay- Roberto Baggio, Edgar Davids, Pavel LuisSuarez–thesearea ing:“WhenIsawFrankRijkaard Nedved and, into the new millennium, few names of South (thenBarcelonacoach)entering Ronaldinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Americanswhoarebackto thereferee’sdressingroomI LionelMessi. try and haunt defences, couldn’tbelieveit.WhenDidier Ihaveleftoutthe“real”Ronaldoandthe tryingtotakethemonsin- Drogbawassentoff(afterhalf- other “real” Ronaldo, as well as other gle-handedly. time)Iwasn’tsurprised.” greats like Zinedine Zidane, Thierry The body feint might RefereeAndersFrisklaterquitas Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Luis Figo, have taken some dents anofficial,butUEFAdenieditwas justtoshedlightonthetopicofthebody overtheages,andnow duetoMourinho’scomments. feint. emphasis is going MAY3,2005 Theseplayersfounditsimplertowrong- backtohowneatly Mourinhoquestionedthevalidity foot the defender while running at him one can get his ofLiverpoolforwardLuisGarcia’s withblazingpace. feetaroundthe goalwhichputChelseaoutofthe Ronaldinho'ssolostyleencapsulatesthe ball without ChampionsLeaguesemi-finals.He perfectdribble,wheretheplayer’sentire touching it, said:“IfeltthepowerofAnfield,it bodyiscommittedtofoolingtheotherguy. but the wasmagnificent.Ifeltitdidn’t Thetrickwastoletthedefenderbelieve essence interferewithmyplayersbut thatthefishtailingofyourhairwasactu- remainsthe MASTEROF maybeitinterferedwithother allyacluetounlockthenextmove. same. THEART: peopleandmaybeitinterfered Therelaythemagicinit,theillusion. The hair- Brazil’s withtheresult. Players like Ronaldinho and styles may or Ronaldinho “Youshouldaskthelinesmanwhy Ibrahimovicthrewtheirbodiestooneside may not return, hegaveagoal.Because,togivea andthentheother,withtheirmanestrail- that is up to the goal,theballmustbe100per centinandhemustbe100per ingthem,forasplitsecond,inthewrong rockstars to decide, centsurethattheballisin.’’ direction. but one thing is cer- FEBRUARY27,2005 Itwouldnotbeasurpriseifwewereto tain,theplayersaregiv- find out that Messi built his game on ing it a go again and are Mourinhodefendedputtingafin- Ronaldinho’s, and maybe Ronaldinho willing to risk it for the gertohislipsduringtheCarling CupfinalagainstLiverpool:‘’I taughthimthistrick. loveofthegame. don’tregretit.TheonlythingI But,astheseplayersgrewolderandnew Forthegaspingsilenceinthe havetounderstandisI’min tacticsenteredtheworldoffootball,they stands, they are willing to try England,somaybeevenwhenI startedmovingontoquickerpassing, their hand at magic. The drib- thinkIamnotwrong,Ihaveto havingtoconservetheirenergyforup blerissurelyonhiswayback. adapttoyourcountryandIhave torespectthat.” MORE SAINTS COMMENT ONLINE:WWW.DAILYECHO.CO.UK 8 THEDAILYECHO SATURDAY,JANUARY3,2015 SAINTS’ FIRST TEAM FIXTURES AND RESULTS 2014/15 11 22 33 44 55 66 77 88 99 1100 1111 1122 1133 1144 AUGUST Sat17Liverpool............A L1-2 Forster Clyne1 Fonte Yoshida Bertrand Schneiderlin Wanyama Tadic* SDavis** W-Prowse Pelle Long* Isgrove** Sat23WestBrom ..........H D0-0 Forster Clyne Fonte Yoshida Bertrand Schneiderlin Wanyama Tadic SDavis* W-Prowse** Pelle Long* Cork** Tues26Millwall(LC2).......A W2-0 Forster Clyne Fonte Yoshida Targett SDavis Wanyama** Isgrove* Long*** W-Prowse Pelle1 Tadic* Cork1** Ramirez*** Sat30WestHam...........A W3-1 Forster Clyne Fonte Yoshida Bertrand Schneiderlin2SDavis Tadic W-Prowse** Long* Pelle1 Ramirez* Cork** SEPTEMBER Sat13Newcastle...........H W4-0 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Cork1*** Schneiderlin1 SDavis Tadic** Long* Pelle2 Wanyama* W-Prowse** Gardos*** Sat20Swansea............A W1-0 Forster Clyne Fonte Yoshida* Bertrand Cork** Schneiderlin W-Prowse*** Tadic Long Pelle Gardos* SDavis** Wanyama1*** Tues23Arsenal(LC3) ........A W2-1 Forster Clyne1 Fonte Gardos Targett** Wanyama Schneiderin SDavis Tadic1 Mane* Pelle Long* Bertrand** Sat27QPR................H W2-1 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand1 Wanyama** Schneiderlin SDavis Tadic*** Mane* Pelle1 Long* Cork** Targett*** OCTOBER Sun5Tottenham............A L0-1 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Wanyama* Schneiderlin SDavis Tadic Mane Pelle Long* Sat18Sunderland ..........H W8-0 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Cork1 Schneiderlin SDavis* Tadic1 Long** Pelle2** Wanyama1* Mane** Mayuka*** Sat25Stoke ...............H W1-0 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Cork* Schneiderlin SDavis** Tadic Mane1 Pelle Wanyama* Gardos** Weds29Stoke(LC4).........A W3-2 Forster Clyne Fonte Gardos** Targett Wanyama Schneiderlin SDavis* Tadic Long1 Pelle2 Cork* Alderweireld** NOVEMBER Sat1Hull..................A W1-0 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Wanyama1 Schneiderlin SDavis Tadic** Long* Pelle Mane* Cork** Sat8Leicester...............H W2-0 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Wanyama Schneiderlin*** SDavis* Tadic Mane** Pelle Cork* Long**2 Reed*** Mon24AstonVilla........ ..A D1-1 Forster Clyne1 Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Wanyama Schneiderlin Long** Tadic Mane* Pelle Mayuka* Cork** Sun30ManCity...........H L0-3 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Wanyama Schneiderlin* SDavis*** Tadic Mane** Pelle Yoshida* Long** Mayuka*** DECEMBER Weds3Arsenal .............A L0-1 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Wanyama Cork* SDavis Tadic** Long*** Pelle Yoshida* Mane** Mayuka*** Mon8ManUnited...........H L1-2 Forster Clyne Fonte Yoshida Bertrand Wanyama SDavis Long** Tadic* Mane Pelle1 Hesketh* Mayuka** Sat13Burnley..............A L0-1 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Wanyama SDavis Hesketh* Tadic Mane** Pelle W-Prowse* Long** Tues16SheffUtd(LC5) ......A L0-1 Forster Clyne Fonte Gardos Targett* Wanyama*** Schneiderlin W-Prowse Bertrand Mane** Long Isgrove* Mayuka** Alderweireld*** Sat20Everton..............H W3-0 Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Yoshida1 Bertrand Reed W-Prowse* SDavis Long** Pelle1 Targett* Gape** Fri26CrystalPalace .........A W3-1 Forster Clyne*** Gardos Alderweireld1 Yoshida Bertrand1 Schneiderlin W-Prowse SDavis* Mane1 Pelle** Wanyama* Long** McCarthy*** Sat28Chelsea..............H D1-1 Forster Yoshida** Fonte Alderweireld Targett Wanyama Schneiderlin SDavis*** Tadic* Mane1 Pelle W-Prowse* Gardos** Long*** JANUARY Thurs1Arsenal.............H W2-0 Forster Alderweireld Fonte Gardos** Bertrand Wanyama SDavis W-Prowse Tadic***1 Mane*1 Pelle Reed* Yoshida** Long*** Sun4Ipswich(FAC3)........H Sun11ManUnited ..........A Sat17Newcastle............A FEBRUARY Sun1Swansea.............H Clyne out but Sat7QPR .................A Weds11WestHam.........H Sun22Liverpool ...........H Sat28WestBrom............A Schneiderlin MARCH Tue3CrystalPalace ........H Sat14Chelsea..............A back for Saints Sat21Burnley ..............H APRIL Sat4Everton...............A Sat11Hull ................H SAINTS will again be without right-back Nathaniel Sat18Stoke ...............A Clyne (foot) for tomorrow’s FA Cup third round tie Sat25Tottenham ...........H againstIpswich. MAY FrancemidfielderMorganSchneiderlinwillbeavailable Sat2Sunderland............A againfollowingsuspensionfortheBarclaysPremierLeague Sat9Leicester..............A winoverArsenal. Sat16AstonVilla...........H MidfielderSadioManeissetforascanafterlimpingoff Sun24ManCity ............A afterscoringagainsttheGunners,andhadbeenscheduled tojoinupwithSenegalaheadoftheAfricanNationsCup. JapandefenderMayaYoshidahasleftoninternationalduty attheAFCAsiaCupinAustralia. Provisional Squad: Forster, Gardos, Fonte, Bertrand, Alderweireld, Schneiderlin, Ward-Prowse, Davis, Wanyama, Tadic, Pelle, Long, Davis, Isgrove, Targett, McCarthy,Reed,Rowe. BACKINCONTENTION:MorganSchneiderlin LA LG CA CG CSA CSG LA LG CA CG CSA CSG LA LG CA CG CSA CSG ARTURBORUC 0 0 0 0 50 0 NATHANIELCLYNE 18 2 4 1 80(5) 5 SAMGALLAGHER 0 0 0 0 3(17) 2 CODYCROPPER 0 0 0 0 0 0 JACKCORK 5(6) 2 0(2) 1127(23) 3 SHANELONG 9(10) 2 3(1) 0 12(11) 2 KELVINDAVIS 0 0 0 0 292(1) 0 HARRISONREED 1(2) 0 0 0 2(9) 0 EMMANUELMAYUKA 0(5) 0 0(1) 0 3(16) 1 FRASERFORSTER 20 0 4 0 24 0 MORGANSCHNEIDERLIN 15 3 3 0218(31) 13 GRAZIANOPELLE 20 8 3 3 23 11 PAULOGAZZANIGA 0 0 0 0 18(1) 0 VICTORWANYAMA 13(5) 3 4 0 37(9) 3 JAYRODRIGUEZ 0 0 0 0 59(17) 26 RYANBERTRAND 19 2 1(1) 0 20(1) 2 STEVENDAVIS 18(1) 0 3 0 78(18) 6 JAKEHESKETH 1(1) 0 0 0 1(1) 0 MATTTARGETT 1(2) 0 4 0 5(2) 0 LLOYDISGROVE 0(1) 0 1(1) 0 2(3) 0 DOMINICGAPE 0(1) 0 0 0 0(1) 0 JOSEFONTE 19 0 4 0 200(5) 13 SAMMCQUEEN 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 JASONMCCARTHY 0(1) 0 0 0 0(1) 0 FLORINGARDOS 2(4) 0 3 0 5(4) 0 GASTONRAMIREZ 0(1) 0 0(1) 0 27(23) 8 TOBYALDERWEIRELD 15 1 0(2) 0 15(2) 1 DUSANTADIC 18 2 2(1) 1 20(1) 3 MAYAYOSHIDA 8(3) 1 1 0 55(4) 3 SADIOMANE 11(3) 4 2 0 13(3) 4 JACKSTEPHENS 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 JAMESWARD-PROWSE 7(3) 0 2 0 39(33) 1 KEY:LA:leagueappearances.LG:leaguegoals.CA:cupappearances.CG:cupgoals.CSA:careerSaintsappearances.CSG:careerSaintsgoals. 9 SATURDAY,JANUARY3,2015 THEDAILYECHO Adam Rant TThhiiss wweeeekk’’ss bbigwtaliktihngApodinatsm Leitch It could be a very happy new year What a 2015 this could be for Saints. BOOST:Thearrivalofloan Excitement is ever building signingEljeroEliawillhelp aroundStMary’sastheNewYear provideSaints’squadwith heraldsthepossibilityofEuropean moredepth qualification via the Premier League. Thereisofcoursestillthepointy endoftheseasontonegotiate,when thepressurewillratchetupanotch andasternexaminationofmental aswellasphysicalcredentialswill comeintoplay. But you can do no more than to putyourselfinapositiontodowell. Youthenmustbackyourselftosee itthrough. Saintshavedonejustthatasthey head into 2015 in a remarkable fourthplace. schedulethattheyhadearlierinthe willbemassivegames,butbothof What’s more, this looks sustain- season when things were going so those take place at St Mary’s, and able.While you would realistically marvellously. you fear Saints facing no one on have to say that holding that spot While the clubs who have been theirownpatch. willbeahugechallenge,thereisno chasing them down start to worry The other matches all look reasontheycannotdoit,oratworst about European matches again, winnable.Towinthemallisaher- maybedrifttofifthorsixth,which travellinginmidweek,gettingplay- culean effort, but nonetheless the would represent a quite brilliant ers injured, suspended or simply pointremainsthatSaintshavedone achievement. tired,Saintswillgenerallybeplay- a lot of the hard work in many Results against some big clubs, ingjustonceaweek. ways. such as the wonderful four points It leaves the time in between for They do still require a fair wind BOWINGOUT:StevenGerrardinactionforLiverpoolagainst picked up against Chelsea and themtorestandrecover,forknocks due to the lack of depth in their Saintsin2012. Arsenal, have really hardened the to heal and for Ronald Koeman to squad. belief that Saints might be able to work his magic on the training Thoughonceplayersreturnfrom Will Stevie G be remembered lastthecourse. ground. international duty things will look It had previously seemed as Thefixturelistitselfisalsonottoo better,theycannotaffordkeyplay- though they would need to do it shabbyforSaints.Theyreallyhave erstogetinjuredatthewrongtimes as one of football’s greats? purelybasedonbeatingthebestof donethehardestbitalready. oritwillmakelifeveryhard. the rest of the Premier League, Away from home they have two Buttheyareintherefighting,with which left virtually no margin for big guns to face in the shape of a chance, and you cannot ask for errorinthosegames. Chelsea and Manchester City, but muchmore. STEVEN Gerrard has probably the amount they have won, the Theselatestresultshavesuggest- youcanhavetheluxuryofforget- Koemanhasdoneaquiteremark- pickedagoodtimetogetout sameaccusationcouldbelevelled edotherwise. ting the latter of those games for ablejobatSaintsthisseason,andit of Premier League football, atGerrardaswasthrownatMatt Addedtothis,Saintshaveawhole now as it’s on the final day of the wouldbefantasticiftheycouldnow LeTissier. host of things which are about to seasonandallbetsareoffforthat seethisthrough. but the debate over whether There were opportunities to go play into their hands for the anyway. If they can it will be one of the he can be considered a great toclubswherethatmedalwould remainderofthecampaign. Otherthanthattheyhavetoface mostmemorableandbrilliantcam- playerornotrumbleson. havebeensecured,butforwhat- Theywillgetbacktothekindof Liverpool and Tottenham in what paignsintheclub’shistory. everreasonhedidn’tmove. Tomakethatdecisionyoucan- Whether that precludes you notsimplylookatthetrophieshe fromabeingagreatisverymuch has or has not won, with those amatterofopiniontherefore,but nTheBDOwillbehopingfora whoargueagainstplacinginhim for Adam Rant it doesn’t rule classicWorldChampionship in the highest category pointing Gerrardout. afterthePDC’sdartsbonanza outthelackofaPremierLeague TheonlyareawheretheRanty hasprovedtoonceagainbe winner’smedal. onequestionsGerrard’scriteriais quitecompelling. Gerrard has had a different onthesubjectoflongevity. careerinthat,havingbeenaone Hehashadagoodcareer,buthe Thestandardseemstohave clubmanduringhisprofessional isonly34,andthereforeacouple goneupyetanothernotch,with lifeuptothispoint,hehasstuck moreyearsat thetoplevel were somethrillinggamesandthe by a Liverpool squad that have notoutofthequestion,asFrank depthoffieldnowmeaningyou been decidedly average much of Lampard, who has won every- havegenuinebiggunsfacing thetime. thing there is at club level, is eachotherasearlyasthesec- He has had to carry that team provingrightnow. ondandthirdrounds. whentheyhadsomeplayerswho Gerrard though, in most peo- TheBDOmaywellbethebreed- should never have played for a ple’seyes,hasbeenonthewane inggroundformostofthese clubsuchasthat. forafewyears. guys,butifitisn’ttofadeinto The argument with Gerrard, if It’s not that he doesn’t have obscurityitreallyneedsto youaretohaveone,shouldnotbe great class, or has games where retainsomeofitsyoungerstars that he should have won the heissimplyfantastic,buthislegs league with Liverpool, though havefadedmeaninghehasstrug- astheycomethroughtheranks obviously we all remember the gledtohaveaconsistentimpact, andofferaseriouschallenge slip last season that might have gameaftergame. whenitcomestothequalityof TAKINGAIM:PhilTaylorduringhismatch cost that opportunity, but more That remains the only hurdle playinitsshowpieceevent. withVincentvanderVoortatthePDCdarts hisambition. whichmightnothavequitebeen It’scertainlyatallorder. event ThoughLiverpoolaretradition- overcome in an otherwise bril- allyabiggerclubthanSaintswith liantcareer. MORE SAINTS COMMENT ONLINE:WWW.DAILYECHO.CO.UK 10 THEDAILYECHO SATURDAY,JANUARY3,2015 BOOK of the WEEK DON’T REPEAT POCH’S NOLIMITS:MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY BYIANPOULTER Sportsbookofthemonth.com price:£7(saving£13onrrp) CUP MISTAKES, RON IanPoulterisalongwayfrom beingeveryone’scupoftea. Oftenperceivedasbrashand morethanalittlecocky,sports psychologistswouldprobably interpretthesetraitsasran- domdisplaysofhisinherent confidence;othersmightsay hewouldhavetobeconfident todonsomeoftheclotheshe wears. Yetsetasidesomeofthenon- SimonCarter sense,suchastheoutrageous clothes(liberal,evenbygolf’s [email protected] sartorialstandards)andthe SPORTS EDITOR ridiculouslyexcessivecarcol- lectionandPoulter’sautobiog- AGAINST all the odds – and raphybecomesaclassicrags- to-richesstory. pretty sizeable ones at that – Havingstartedyoung(hewas Saints have put themselves in fourwhenhefirstplayed), withagreatchanceofqualify- Poulterworkedhiswayupto ing for Europe via their league theverypinnacleofthegolfing pyramidthroughacombination position. ofhardworkandevenmore TheirNewYear’sDaywinagainst hardwork.Moreover,Poulter Arsenal at St Mary’s kept Ronald hasneverbeenafraidtotake Koeman’shistory-chasersinfourth onestepbackwardsinorderto placeinthePremierLeague. eventually Itisasituationthatalmostnobody takethree could have imagined last August, orfour andifanyonehadbelieveditthey forward. wouldhavebeenlaughedat. Thestory ThethoughtofSaintsactuallyfin- ofhow, ishinginthetopfourandqualifying whenhe fortheChampionsLeagueistruly couldn’t phenomenal, and the rest of the getajob league-iftheyhaven’talreadydone asapro- so-mustnowtakethemseriously. fessional Even if Saints can’t go on and atapri- claim a top four finish, then fifth vateclub, would guarantee them a Europa heapplied Leagueplace. insteadtobecomeanassistant If Chelsea or Tottenham end up intheproshopat Chesfield winning the League Cup and also DownsGolfClub,highlights finishing in the top four, then a thispoint. sixth-placedfinishwouldseeSaints Itperhapsalsoshowsusthat qualifyfortheEuropaLeague. hecanbefrugalwhenneces- Chelseawillalmostcertainlyfin- sary. WhileatChesfield,the ish in the top four, and following clubpromadehimpayfull theirNewYear’sDaythrashingof greenfeeswheneverhewant- Jose Mourinho’s men, we have to edtoplayinaclubcompeti- include Tottenham as genuine top tion.Asaconsequence, fourchallengers. Poulter’shandicapremainedat ThoughMauricioPochettinowas four,primarilybecausehe coming under pressure a few MISSEDOPPORTUNITY: A below-strength neverplayedincompetitions. months ago, Tottenham are only SaintswentouttoSunderlandinlastseason’s Atthecoreofanysuccessful two points adrift of his former FACup golfer’sgameliesacombina- employersaftertheireyebrow-rais- tionofabilityandmental ingvictoryoverChelseaat White toughness.Whatisclearfrom HartLane. 1976 final – and all the fans who won’t field his first choice team I don’t see Koeman making the Poulter’sautobiographyisthat Therefore, and given we cannot helped turn Cardiff’s Millennium eitherashewillbemoreconcerned samemistake. hepossessesbothinspades. writeArsenaloffyet,itisimpera- Stadiumintoaseaofblueandwhite with the Tractor Boys’ Hehasn’tmademanyinhisshort, WhenitcomestoIanPoulter, tivethatKoemantakestheFACup 12yearsagowillneverforgetit. Championship promotion chal- sensational time at St Mary’s yet, sportsfansinvariablyblowhot seriously. Winning the FA Cup provides a lenge. hashe? orcold,butifyou’reinthelat- Unlike his predecessor, he cer- route into Europe through the I expect Targett to get another Yes,themannerofSaints’League tercategory,suspendyourbias tainlyshowedtheLeagueCupsome Europa League. And, if the win- run-outatleftback,andIexpecta Cup exit at two divisions lower forawhile,ignoresomeofthis respect regarding his team selec- ners have already qualified for fairlyyouthfulbench. Sheffield United was incredibly book’sbrasherpassagesand tions. Europe via a different route, the Otherthanthat,though,Koeman poor–butthesidehefieldedshould readinsteadaboutadedicated Though he used the Capital One runners-up will get the Europa willprobablyfieldastrongside.In havebeengoodenoughtohavewon sportsmanwhomadeittothe CuptogiveMattTargettsomegame Leaguespot. fairness,hehasn’treallygotmany thatnight.Itwasn’tasifheputout top. time at left back, generally his That is what happened to Hull options as his squad isn’t the areserveside. LeagueCupstartingXIsweresimi- City last season, as FA Cup win- biggest. To sum up, the league provides lartohisPremierLeaguepicks. nersArsenalhadqualifiedforthe Howgreatitistowelcomeinthe Saintswithagreatchancetoreach We’veteamedupwithSports TheDutchmannowneedstotreat ChampionsLeague. new year with Saints having a Europe. BookoftheMonth&havea the FA Cup with similar respect, Itwas,ofcourse,alsothescenario great chance of reaching Europe But so does the FA Cup. Please copyofNoLimitstogiveaway. againunlikehispredecessor. thatlastsentSaintsintoEurope. viabothleagueandFACup. don’tforgetthat. I wrote last season, after GordonStrachan’smenqualified Pochettinofluffedhisbigchance Thecompetitionhasbeenstripped Towinthisweek’ssportsbook, Pochettino’s below-strength side for the 2003/04 UEFA Cup as FA lastseason.GiventhattheFACup of so much of its glamour post gototheirwebsite had lost a fifth round tie at Cup runners-up, as Arsenal had represented Saints’ only realistic PremierLeaguecreation,butitcan (www.sportsbookofthemonth.co Sunderland, that Saints were not alreadyfinishedinthetopfour. chance of reaching Europe – they –anddoes–stillprovidethepoten- m)andanswerthefollowing yet a big enough club that they I do not expect Koeman to field weren’t going to finish in the top tialforlegendstobecreated. question: could treat the FA Cup with any- hisfirstchoicesidefortomorrow’s fiveorberelegated-hewasguilty ThatistheopportunityPochettino thingresemblingdisdain. thirdroundtieathometoIpswich of showing the world’s greatest saw pass him by, and hopefully Whowonthe2014Open? The competition has given the Town. club KO competition something Ronald Koeman won’t make the club their greatest-ever day – the Indeed,MickMcCarthyprobably resemblingcontempt. samemistake. FOLLOW SAINTS’ MATCH WITH IPSWICH AT DAILYECHO.CO.UK

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