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Episode 289: Crossover with Derby fan Nick Britten!
0 Playsin 15 hours
Southampton – We are joined by Nick, from the Daily Premier League podcast and the Road to the World Cup podcast to discuss our upcoming game against Derby County!
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:00:14
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hello and welcome back to the Daily Southampton part of the Global Sports Podcast Network. My name is Greg Elliott and as always today joined by my good friend and wonderful co-host Zach Ingo Finch but also today joined by our our illustrious founder of the Global Sports Podcast Network and Derby County fan Nick nick Brin. How you doing mate, you alright?
00:00:37
Nick Britten
yeah so Thanks for remembering my name then, because you had to look
00:00:39
Zak
Did you also see him look down?
00:00:42
Nick Britten
I saw you got as far as Nick, and then you thought, oh no, not to do.
00:00:42
Global Sports Podcast Network
but
00:00:46
Global Sports Podcast Network
is
00:00:47
Zak
i
00:00:47
Global Sports Podcast Network
It was just the indecisiveness of whether to go with surname or not. but that Straight
00:00:55
Nick Britten
That's great to It's great to be here, lads. I'm feeling very wanted right now. that
00:01:01
Global Sports Podcast Network
Look, we're out of practice with these with these crossovers, Nick. I'm not used to ah to having guests on the show, but how are you doing? doing all
00:01:09
Nick Britten
I'm very well, yeah, I'm
Nick's Derby Game Experience
00:01:10
Nick Britten
very well. I'm really even more buoyed by last night's stunning one-all home game against Charlton Athletic, which, by the way, I was working in Belfast yesterday and I rushed home.
00:01:21
Zak
Excuse me.
00:01:24
Nick Britten
to get there. So you get your plane over to Birmingham, up the M42, up the A38, and got to the ground literally just so kicked off. And I'd had nothing to eat pretty much all day. And I was in a riot rush.
00:01:36
Nick Britten
And, yeah, it just wasn't worth it, frankly. It just wasn't worth it. I mean, what we're learning about Derby is there's no point turning up until halftime. There's literally no point. just just Just come at sort of, you four o'clock for the second half because nothing ever happened other than conceding a goal and being booed off.
00:01:49
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:01:52
Nick Britten
That seems to be the current theme. And then second half generally sort of improves. So maybe we should have just stayed at home, had some joy and then popped along for later on.
00:01:59
Zak
like That sounds to me like we should just have 45 minutes of football because that's how we've kind of been all season.
00:02:00
Global Sports Podcast Network
That was it. I mean,
00:02:03
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:02:04
Zak
You keep calling us the second half team. but so sounds perfect.
00:02:07
Global Sports Podcast Network
yeah So all rock up at halftime.
00:02:09
Nick Britten
It's going be a belter. It's going to be belter at 4-5.
00:02:12
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:02:12
Nick Britten
Yeah, 4-5 on Saturday is going to be fantastic.
00:02:16
Global Sports Podcast Network
it's It's going to be an interesting one. Obviously, St. Loney, James Bree scoring against you last night as well, just to to add to the story.
00:02:24
Nick Britten
Oh, by the way, what a goal. I mean, you might not have seen it. And it was totally out of keeping with everything else that went on for the 90 minutes or whatever it was, right?
00:02:30
Zak
Yeah.
00:02:33
Nick Britten
But the ball's pumped up. And whoever it is, the child player, he takes it on his, he kind of controls it on his toe cap. This is like a punt from 50, 60 yards away. And I think that's what threw us because everybody expected it just to bounce off his foot and go into the stand or miss it and it bounced up in the air.
00:02:50
Nick Britten
But because he controlled it, it just gave him loads of space. it was pass, pass, pass. And then Bree came in with an absolute so rocket, absolute rocket into the far corner. And it was a great goal. It was a great goal. And you just thought, how on earth did that even happen?
Analyzing Derby's Performance
00:03:04
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah, it's ah ah it's been doing the rounds on the Saints social media this morning, for sure. But, I mean, it's going to be ah ah an interesting game. I mean, we we fared slightly better last night and and got the win, but I don't think it was convincing as as a win, would you say, Zach?
00:03:21
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:03:21
Zak
No, no. ah ah yeah This is the problem is I don't want to sound like I'm too negative all the time, despite the fact that I feel like this is at this point my caricature, right? Is that, oh, wow you know, he's miserable and hates I've done it. It's nothing to do with that.
00:03:35
Zak
is the fact that I feel like the only reason we won that game is because the referee was really bad. Because they would have equalised and were gunning to equalise. And we sat back on it a little bit more.
00:03:46
Zak
And I think that, as you pointed out yesterday, Greg, like just anyone that's watched Southampton in the last decade, we we need to kill off
Southampton's Game Management Issues
00:03:54
Zak
games. We cannot sit on a one-goal lead. It's just not how we have ever played well as a team.
00:04:00
Zak
but it paid off. So like again, though, it's not not convincingly enough for me, go you know, for the rest of the season. Like, I know you were like, oh yeah, no, it's the start, the restart.
00:04:11
Zak
And I'm like, yeah, but mate, you genuinely think we're going to win goals by a game for the rest of the season? Is that but how you want it to be?
00:04:17
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:04:18
Zak
Like,
00:04:18
Global Sports Podcast Network
Look, I mean, winning's a habit is what they say. And so now we we won Dirty, if you like. So... So now we just cruise the rest of the league.
00:04:30
Global Sports Podcast Network
That's the easy, that's the hard part of the Get over that first hurdle and just sail on.
00:04:31
Zak
and
00:04:35
Global Sports Podcast Network
That's got to be it, right?
00:04:37
Zak
Sure.
Struggles of Both Teams
00:04:40
Zak
I'll believe it when you do, mate.
00:04:42
Global Sports Podcast Network
i mean I mean, what's really interesting to me is I've seen a lot of criticism thrown mostly from Derby fans towards Derby for...
00:04:51
Nick Britten
for,
00:04:51
Global Sports Podcast Network
playing like a low block at home specifically and it really sort sitting deep and sitting back. And that's probably something we're going to struggle against. But is that um what we're expecting on Saturday, Nick?
00:05:03
Nick Britten
well Well, the idea is that a low block makes you difficult to score against. So don't worry too much about that. we we We started we started start even them playing three at the back. or actually know Well, it wasn't three at the back. It was seven at the back.
00:05:17
Nick Britten
So you had three central defenders, two wingbacks who weren't didn't do much winging but did plenty of backing. And then two so central defensive midfielders. So we kind of seven players, then a 50-yard gap to anybody else.
00:05:29
Nick Britten
And that was part of the problem. And Last week, say for the Wrexham game last Saturday, we finally went with four at the back, which allowed us to put an extra striker on the pitch.
00:05:40
Nick Britten
And it looked a lot better. I'm not going to lie. It looked a lot better. But I think, and I don't know whether, my sense from Southampton is you're struggling sort of for the same reason we are in the early part of season. We brought in a lot of players over the summer. There was a lot of flux.
00:05:56
Nick Britten
Plus, I wouldn't he was not a new, new manager like Will still is, but Eustace only came in sort of January time. And between January and May, it was just a battle for survival. Nobody was even thinking about his season.
00:06:06
Nick Britten
It was just, can we stay up? and And so having brought in sort of 10 or so new players, half of whom or more were injured, And they are so they've either come into the team straight away and are trying to find their they rhythm and their way into it, or they're just coming into the team and trying to find their way back from injury. There's still two or three more to come.
00:06:26
Nick Britten
And as a result, it just looks really quite disjointed. And I'm not sure that John Eustace has yet found the right pattern or found the right formation. And there are just bits of it that just don't work.
00:06:38
Nick Britten
You know, they just don't work. and And the supporters are looking at it and going, well, we've got players elsewhere it can do this. wrong format you know what You know what sports are like? They get really hung up on formations.
00:06:49
Nick Britten
Well, I'm kind of like, I'm really bothered about formation. Can we just please pass to each other? I'd rather be a good start.
00:06:55
Global Sports Podcast Network
yeah Get the basics right.
00:06:57
Nick Britten
Let's do that for a bit.
00:06:57
Global Sports Podcast Network
That's it.
00:06:58
Nick Britten
Yeah. So and I sense it's are kind of the same with you guys. and Maybe you want to tell me different, but it's just a lot of flux over the summer. You lost some of your better players. You've signed a lot players. And it's just all about settling down.
00:07:09
Nick Britten
And the championship, if you can remember back far from like two years ago when you were last in it, the championship is it's an unforgiving league.
00:07:16
Global Sports Podcast Network
Nothing happened in the middle. We we don't talk about that.
00:07:18
Nick Britten
six
00:07:19
Global Sports Podcast Network
It's...
00:07:21
Nick Britten
Well, nothing happened indeed. You did beat our record.
00:07:22
Zak
Hmm.
00:07:22
Nick Britten
So well done for Or perhaps, and you know, well, no, well done for that. Because the only thing, and we had this conversation lots, didn't we, last year. I was desperate for you to beat Derby's 11-point worst team in history record.
00:07:33
Nick Britten
Because it's the only thing, it's the only thing that keeps us relevant in football in 2025. Because other than that, we're just kind of a nothing, non-entity, lower championship team.
00:07:45
Nick Britten
the last couple of years, obviously, we've been a League One team as well. So, Yeah, I'm expecting a lot better from Sampton. I just hope it doesn't start Saturday.
00:07:56
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah, I mean, it is's it's been a case of, you're right, betting in and getting the players. And ah ah think that I think that Saturday and into Tuesday this week was the first time we've named the same starting XI in two consecutive games.
Breran Diaz's Potential Discussion
00:08:10
Zak
Yeah.
00:08:11
Global Sports Podcast Network
I mean, in as long as I can remember, to be honest. It's the fact that there were no changes. So it's, you know, if seem to be finding our feet and sticking the performance on.
00:08:23
Global Sports Podcast Network
So it'll be it'll be interesting to see how it goes. Nick, I want to ask you about a couple of your summer sign-ins, but first let's ahs have a pause, let's take a break and hear a word from our partners at Buy and Eat.
00:09:12
Zak
Thank you.
00:09:14
Nick Britten
Oh, let's have it again, shall we?
00:09:15
Global Sports Podcast Network
o
00:09:16
Nick Britten
It was that good Not really, no.
00:09:17
Global Sports Podcast Network
Right. and And we're back. Right, Nick, one of the the names we're not going to see on Saturday, but seems to be, i don't know, i mean, he scored at least that one wonder goal against Wrexham for you. It's on loan from us, Breran Diaz. Is he she starting to like actually play some football for you guys? It's not something we saw from him.
00:09:38
Nick Britten
Not really.
00:09:39
Global Sports Podcast Network
LAUGHTER
00:09:43
Nick Britten
hey Look, I have memories. I have memories of Brereton Ziahs coming to Pride Park at Blackburn and absolutely ripping it to shreds. He played in the front three
Player Strategies and Performances
00:09:53
Nick Britten
and they were like three and a lap in about 20 minutes, which is not unheard of, but it was an extraordinary extraordinary performance. And that's that's kind of my memory of him.
00:10:02
Nick Britten
And... I thought when we signed him, it was a very late signing. It's probably our last signing of the day, of the of the window. And I think there was an element there of, look, we we are desperate, and I mean desperate, to get somebody in who can play and somebody can play in that kind of, in a 4-2-3-1, play yeah with width in that three behind whoever the striker is.
00:10:16
Global Sports Podcast Network
Mm-hmm.
00:10:24
Nick Britten
But he looked, he kind of just looks unfit. And I can understand that because he hasn't really played a lot of football recently. he just He just looks a bit sluggish, a bit unfair, not quite with it. And look, Derby fans, I suppose, like any other football supporter, they're quite unforgiving. And they don't give you a lot of time to improve your performances if you're not doing it on a pitch.
00:10:43
Nick Britten
And then he came up with that wonder goal against Wrexham on Saturday. And everybody went, oh, well, okay, fine. Yeah, that's the player we thought... we were going to sign, you know, is there, is there a great hope here? But last night he was just completely anonymous, completely anonymous.
00:10:59
Nick Britten
And yeah, I don't know. i still feel there's hope and you may want to tell me otherwise, but I still feel there's hope because think there is a player in there without a shadow of a doubt. And he can, I think he's got good technical ability.
00:11:08
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:11:11
Nick Britten
He looks devoid of confidence as much as anything else right now. He just doesn't, it just looks like he needs confidence.
00:11:15
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:11:17
Nick Britten
He needs to get a bit fitter, a bit sharper, and just maybe go on a run of two or three, four games where he so everything's working for him. Because he might do something and it and it looks good, and then but then a couple of minutes later, he'll do something which doesn't look good, and then he'll shrink into his shell, and it just feels like little bit too much.
00:11:34
Global Sports Podcast Network
I suppose that should hardly come as a surprise though, right? Being involved in that Sheffield United team that that didn't do particularly well in the Premier League and then coming to us and and not doing very well in a team that didn't do well at all.
00:11:48
Global Sports Podcast Network
I think it's fairly unanimous across our fan base that there's there's more of a player in there than we managed to get out of him, that's for sure. Zach, right? Like that was where we got to.
00:11:59
Zak
Yeah, I think that's think that was us being kind because we don't like to just badmouth people for the sake of it. It's not Sankuth, but he, for us, hasn't produced any anything. like We bang on about the fact the only thing we've ever seen him produce was a really good goal in open training.
00:12:15
Zak
And the fact that we keep having to reference this open training session from July 2024 says all you need to know about how well he did for us.
00:12:16
Global Sports Podcast Network
Mm-hmm.
00:12:16
Nick Britten
Thank you.
00:12:24
Zak
And the problem was, is despite the fact we were we had our worst season of all time, there were still players that were just better than him. And I think that you know he was brought in in a similar position as sort of last minute signing when we were not really having much of a transfer policy other than Well, he looks like he could play in the Premier League. Oh, he played in the Premier League. like It does feel like a lot of Russell Martin's transfer policy at the time, as stated by him, was not being controlled by anyone.
00:12:50
Global Sports Podcast Network
Mm-hmm.
00:12:52
Zak
And they just kind of winged it, right? And then he came in and they hoped that he could score a couple of goals like he did at Sheffield. And he didn't. And then... We didn't know what his best position was. And then I think you were quite forgiving for a long time, Greg. And eventually somebody took his place and then he just never got that place back. And like one of the resounding memories I remember of the last six months was he cut his hair and everyone went, oh, and then he visited Poulton's Park with his family.
00:13:17
Zak
yeah like and that And that's that.
00:13:19
Global Sports Podcast Network
but
00:13:21
Zak
Sorry, Peppa Pigwell to people that aren't local.
00:13:22
Global Sports Podcast Network
He's a highlight.
00:13:24
Nick Britten
yeah Yeah, it's difficult to Look, I remember when he burst onto the scene with Forrest as a young man, and he looked really, really good. Then, obviously, he went to Blackburn. I thought he really good at Blackburn.
00:13:36
Nick Britten
But in the last two or three years, it's just kind of, almost like gone off the rails. It's just kind of fallen away from a little bit. But he's only 26. So he's got, yeah if he if he can get up to where he was, he's got you know three good years left in him.
00:13:50
Zak
Yeah.
00:13:51
Nick Britten
But I don't quite know what the key to unlocking that is. Because, yeah.
00:13:54
Zak
we thought We thought it was Adam Armstrong, which is why we paired him back up with Adam Armstrong.
00:13:55
Global Sports Podcast Network
No.
00:13:59
Zak
It did not work because Adam Armstrong ended up for six months at West Brom.
00:14:04
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:14:04
Nick Britten
Yeah, yeah, not not ideal.
00:14:05
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:14:06
Nick Britten
I'm still not 100% sure what his best position is either, because he's not a winger, because he's not got the pace of a winger. So is he sort of an inverted inverted winger where he plays more centrally?
00:14:16
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:14:17
Nick Britten
because that's what he's been doing for Derby in his very short time wins.
00:14:19
Global Sports Podcast Network
yeah kind of like an inverted winger that's not quite got this the the prowess and like poacher-style feel that you want from a striker. Somewhere right in the middle of the two seems to be the the one.
00:14:34
Global Sports Podcast Network
but Yeah, it's an interesting one. but But obviously, Aziz on loan won't be able to play a part on Saturday, so what does that do? Does that sort of give you options in attack that are sort of more promising than he has?
00:14:48
Zak
Oh my
00:14:50
Nick Britten
Well, if the answer to your question is, am I expecting a call from the manager to take my boots along and play, then still the answer would be yes, it does.
00:14:55
Global Sports Podcast Network
laughter laughter
00:15:00
Zak
God.
00:15:00
Nick Britten
No, that's cool. Yeah, it does. It does. Because at the moment, as I said earlier on, the the the manager, I think, is still searching around for what he can find, searching around for his best players, searching around for his best formation.
00:15:12
Nick Britten
And one man's misfortune ah ah in not being able to play, it just opens the door to somebody else. But it won't be, it'll just be like Andy Viman. So it's not going to be ah suddenly a kind of revolutionary, right, this is it.
00:15:25
Nick Britten
It'll just be, oh yeah, it'll just be Andy Viman then. And everyone will just go, oh, okay then. And that'll be that. That'll be that. So i don't think I don't think it's going to be, i don't think it's a huge loss to us with the greatest of respect to him.
00:15:39
Nick Britten
I don't think him not playing is going to cause a major problem in how Derby play. Equally, we don't have anybody who's much better to come in and and take that role.
00:15:49
Global Sports Podcast Network
So, so what Nick, what are your expectations coming into the game then? Are you expecting to get anything out
Derby's Home Game Challenges
00:15:54
Global Sports Podcast Network
of the game? It's...
00:15:56
Nick Britten
Well, I was quite surprised when I looked down the table the other day to see see you guys lower my table because I would have expected to see Sir Hampton.
00:15:56
Global Sports Podcast Network
or
00:16:04
Nick Britten
in the top six all season. But it's been a funny start to the championship campaign anyway. And it looks like, well, Leicester have done better than I expected because I didn't expect Leicester to really do much this season, but they've they're doing very well. Coventry have carried on that momentum they had last season.
00:16:21
Nick Britten
I thought Southampton would would would be ah ah you know be there and thereabouts. And you might still be. But with a new manager, a lot of new players, You've lost, I think, losing the likes of Dibling, Fernandes, players like that.
00:16:33
Nick Britten
They're good players. At championship level, they are good players, but regardless what happened last year in the Premier League. And having to then find them, ah ah bring in, sorry, find replacements for them. I mean, bring in new players, get used to a new manager.
00:16:45
Nick Britten
It all does take time. It all does take time. And I and know i sense totally unnecessarily a sense of panic among Derby supporters that in October we're, We're not doing what we perhaps expected to see.
00:17:01
Nick Britten
Generally, people are disappointed. I'm disappointed with the way we start the season. But it's only the 1st of October today. And there's an awful long way go. And you might just be wallowing around mid-table. But you put a run together between December and March or February, and you can shoot up the league.
00:17:18
Nick Britten
Shoot up the league, no problem at all. So... so Yeah, it's all a little bit disappointing. So far, our home performances, and you probably ah hope you don't see this on so on Saturday, but you might.
00:17:28
Nick Britten
Home performances have been terrible first half, really insipid, let a goal in. Second half, change formation, give it bit more of a go, get a goal back, draw 1-1.
00:17:39
Nick Britten
That's kind of it. That's kind of kind of where we are. kind of where we are We haven't won at home this season. We've only won one game, which was an absolute scabbiest of scabby 1-0 away win at West Brom, where you have 1% possession and score like with two minutes to go.
00:17:54
Nick Britten
Spend the rest of your time just just sitting on your box, kicking the ball away when it comes anywhere near It's one of those kind of games. But ah we've we've got a definite hoodoo over West Brom. and We really do. We've beaten the League Cup again this year, doing exactly the same. So we've beaten twice at their place with a combined possession of about 4%.
00:18:13
Zak
May you
Upcoming Game Predictions
00:18:13
Zak
say?
00:18:14
Nick Britten
so So, yeah, i'm expect I don't know.
00:18:15
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:18:17
Nick Britten
Ordinarily, I'll go, I'd expect Salvin to win this. But I'm interested hear from you guys what your what your thoughts are, because I don't think that Pride Park, at the moment, is a difficult place to go and get a result if you're on it. I just don't.
00:18:32
Nick Britten
So I'm a little bit worried, I'm not going to lie. but But equally, that said, everybody's kind of coming around to the view, and I hope John Neustadt is the same, is that we need to go out and win a home game and we need to actually start playing from the off instead of start playing in the second half.
00:18:46
Global Sports Podcast Network
from half time.
00:18:47
Nick Britten
So i'm looking for what I'm looking forward to, sorry to answer your question in a roundabout way, I'm looking forward to on Saturday, what I want to see is a much more up and at it performance from Derby from the first whistle. It'll be a full house,
00:18:59
Nick Britten
And I think that we would expect to see Samson, we expect Samson to be the best quality opposition we've had at Pride Park this season. And as a result, we need mentally to be on it from the very start.
00:19:10
Global Sports Podcast Network
Interesting. Zach, do you think this is this is where we kick on from this result on Tuesday and and finally have this sort of performance that feels slightly more decisive? Or do you think that it's going to be more difficult than that?
00:19:23
Zak
i I really want it to be, but I could see us being at 1-1. And it's it's funny because I think that the way that you feel, Nick, about Derby is often how a lot of Saints fans seems to feel about Saints. We should be doing better than we are.
00:19:35
Zak
It's taking too long. don't Some people are complaining about Steele already, calling him clueless. He's not very good. He's not very good. He doesn't what doing. doesn't know what his best XI are.
00:19:46
Zak
And like the mental trauma from last year is just still very raw. And I think that there's a lot of players, you know, we've ended up pretty much switching out our entire starting 11 over the last couple of weeks. Right. And we, our entire defensive line bar Ryan Manning is now players that,
00:20:03
Zak
who either weren't at the club last year or if they weren' weren't playing. So it's kind of, i guess, wipe that slate clean. but The problem I've got, Greg, is that we talk about this a lot and we talk about, I could see us having 80% possession.
00:20:18
Zak
I could see us having... 34 shots on target, I can see one of them going in because of just the way that we've been. We just can't seem to finish off chances. And then, as you always point out, Greg, and I always have to counter you, where it's like, oh, well, they scored with their only shot on target. And I'm like, yeah, but that's all they need.
00:20:37
Zak
And that's the problem with us in general.
00:20:37
Global Sports Podcast Network
Uh.
00:20:39
Zak
And like, I'd love us to to kind of move on and and build from the performances we've had this week and end up with seven points from the entire week, right?
00:20:39
Nick Britten
I just crossed
00:20:48
Zak
I also could see it just being like one, one, right? That's the the sad reality of of where I'm at. You're probably slightly more optimistic than me. I'm not gonna lie, but I can see half it happening.
00:20:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
Always, always more optimistic. you right That's just the dynamic we work with. All right, let's ah let's get into that and get some proper score predictions. But first, a break and a message from our partners at Zencastr.
00:21:12
Global Sports Podcast Network
Here at the Global Sports Podcast Network, we spent a lot of time selecting our delivery platform, and Zencaster came out the clear winner. With 4K video recording from your phone and AI editing that removes all those ums and ahs, it's super easy to start a podcast that sounds great and is delivered efficiently.
00:21:28
Global Sports Podcast Network
If you're ready to tell your story, check out the link in the show description and learn more about Zencaster. right, uh...
00:21:34
Nick Britten
should say before I should say, before we get onto this, Zach, I should say, and I don't wish to worry you any more than you are clearly worried, but we are the absolute masters of having one shot on target and scoring from it.
00:21:46
Nick Britten
Thank
00:21:48
Global Sports Podcast Network
but
00:21:50
Zak
Yeah, see? That's what I worry about.
00:21:55
Global Sports Podcast Network
I mean, that that is the concern, right? I mean, there's still... As good of our performances have been pretty much across the team, there's still huge question marks over our goalkeepers, right?
Southampton's Goalkeeping Concerns
00:22:08
Global Sports Podcast Network
Like, that's... I think... And I think as the season goes on and we get closer to January, that's only going to become more and more of a conversation because don't I don't know if McCarthy was properly at fault for either of the goals we conceded this week, but...
00:22:24
Global Sports Podcast Network
But it feels like if Buzunu was in goal when they went in, they'd be a lot more under the microscope. don't know. it' that Does that feel fair, Zach, or is that...?
00:22:35
Zak
Again, it's like the whole argument of like Ramsdale is just on the bench at Newcastle. He's not even playing. Why don't we bring him back from loan? I'm like, i just don't think that he wants to be here. we They've paid an extremely large loan fee for him.
00:22:48
Zak
They probably don't want to pay the wages of him being back here. And it's a position that we struggled with. like People were hoping we'd bring in a better goalkeeper. We brought in a third-choice goalkeeper to so basically just train with them.
00:23:01
Zak
And they are either happy with the situation of potentially mixing it between Pizzuno and McCarthy, or they're not, and there's not really a huge amount they can do about it because Ramsdale went out on loan and didn't go properly.
00:23:10
Global Sports Podcast Network
Thank
00:23:13
Zak
And I think we're just going to have to learn to deal with that. But I agree with you that, putting Baz under the microscope every time a goal's let in and then say and then being like with McCarthy, well, Baz would have saved that first save he made. It just doesn't really make sense to me. There's a lot of um ah My point, as my point is to you constantly, mate, is that we should realistically be putting the goalkeepers in a lot of positions where they have to make weird-looking saves anyway.
00:23:39
Zak
should get the ball back quicker, considering we're supposed to be the quality opposition. But I think that, yeah, I think that we're not, we're just not quite there yet.
00:23:48
Nick Britten
But Alex McCarthy is a very experienced keeper.
00:23:48
Global Sports Podcast Network
Okay.
00:23:50
Nick Britten
He should be easily good enough at this level, surely. All
00:23:53
Zak
I think it's more that he's getting on more than anything else. I think, and I know that...
00:23:56
Nick Britten
right, yeah, fair enough. you Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:23:57
Zak
And, it you know, match fitness and stuff like that was my big concern of not having a a proper ah proper proper keeper or third keeper is that like he played a bit for us last year when Ramsdale broke his finger.
00:24:10
Zak
And then he went out injured after like two or three games. And we ended up with Joe Lumley in goal, who then put out the quote, I want to be like England, next England goalkeeper. and proceeded to let in like five and then five again and then four, which to be clear, probably wasn't entirely his fault.
00:24:27
Zak
However, didn't make it make us have any less worries about the goalkeeper situation. And the same with Buzunu is that he had an ACL, which is why he was out when we got Ramsdale in.
00:24:33
Global Sports Podcast Network
and
00:24:37
Zak
and then went back out on loan last January to, I think he went, where was it? Standard Bruges or Standard Leash, had a couple of games then also came back with an injury. They weren't very happy with him, which has left all these question marks over the both of them.
00:24:51
Zak
And it's more of, okay, so if we keep McCarthy in and he keeps making mistakes and we swap Baz out, or if they both pick up injuries, we're then relying on this third-choice goalkeeper from Norwich, who when we signed him, they were setting off party poppers.
00:25:04
Zak
like yay he's out the building and then we're all a bit like that's not we're not going to be like that for a new side we've not seen him play but there's just a lot of worry around it
00:25:10
Global Sports Podcast Network
is
00:25:13
Global Sports Podcast Network
It's also, like, slightly stat-based as well, right? I think that Bozunio has the lowest save percentage of versus shots against, which which sounds like a made-up thing.
00:25:23
Zak
yeah which isn't ideal for saving the goal
00:25:27
Global Sports Podcast Network
that But, yeah, don't know. It's an interesting one. But, I mean... Both of McCarthy's goals have famously gone in at his near post, which he seems to be quite happy to leave open pretty routinely.
00:25:42
Global Sports Podcast Network
So, don't know.
00:25:42
Nick Britten
All right.
00:25:43
Global Sports Podcast Network
It's going to be a really interesting interesting one.
00:25:44
Zak
It was always going to be a problem when Ramsdale went on loan because I think if the idea is that he might come back if we get promoted, but I don't know how true that's going to be. And I think it's more frustrating from a fan perspective that you see him sat on the bench at Newcastle when he could be playing.
00:25:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hmm.
00:25:59
Zak
Him knowing full well that the only way he's going to get into the England squad isn't going to be playing championship football. People then bring up the argument of James Trafford and it's like, it doesn't matter how much we argue about it. The reality the situation is we have two goalkeepers who are fighting for the place and it will be decided by the manager off the back of training and performances which one's in goal.
00:26:18
Zak
And yeah, going to be frustrating when they let goals in, but they are going to let goals in because that's just unfortunately the nature game.
00:26:24
Zak
I don't know what else there is we can do about it, Greg, other than debate it every week and go, I think Brazuni is better than McCarthy and vice versa.
00:26:24
Global Sports Podcast Network
said
00:26:31
Zak
And then one of them will make a mistake and then everyone would be like, no, we should get McCarthy back in goal. It's not going to...
00:26:35
Global Sports Podcast Network
and
00:26:36
Zak
That's it.
00:26:38
Global Sports Podcast Network
the background here, I I ah did a bit of research and we've only scored three goals in the first half of a game all season. so So safe to say that the the advice of the day is the second half should be good, right? That's it.
00:26:57
Zak
Unless both teams decide this is the game they're going to start the first 45 minutes with, nothing happens the second.
00:27:01
Nick Britten
just
00:27:04
Global Sports Podcast Network
That's it.
00:27:04
Nick Britten
I think that... Well, look, it could be that. It could be that. I mean, I'm just, you know, when i'm when I'm looking down at Derby's results, last night, second half goal.
00:27:15
Nick Britten
Wrexham away, second half goal. Lost at home to Preston North End with zero goals.
Second-Half Scoring Patterns
00:27:22
Nick Britten
ah West Brom away, second half goal, very late in the day.
00:27:27
Nick Britten
Ipswich away, which is probably the best performance of the season, and second half goal. So we don't score in the first half. We just don't score. I don't think scored. I'm sure we have scored at some stage this season in the first half, but I'm not convinced.
00:27:40
Nick Britten
So, yeah, it's going to be, maybe it's just going to be a really good three-all draw or something where it's 2-2 at halftime and everybody in the stadium is going, where's that come from?
00:27:46
Global Sports Podcast Network
yeah
00:27:51
Nick Britten
Including Southampton supporters. Literally, where has any of this come from?
00:27:56
Zak
I
00:27:56
Nick Britten
I don't, I'm not, but I'm not betting on it.
00:27:56
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah. I was going to say, that is not where my money would go.
00:27:58
Nick Britten
I'm not betting on it.
00:28:01
Global Sports Podcast Network
Nil-nil at halftime seems to be the starting point of any bet builder, right? right, just to wrap up quickly then, some quickfire predictions.
00:28:11
Global Sports Podcast Network
Zach, traditionally, or throw you under the bus first. So just wait for you to...
00:28:16
Zak
I'll try to be more positive for your sake. Let's go with 2-1. I still think we'll concede. I think we will concede that one shot. And think maybe we can roll two in. And last time I said Adam Armstrong to score two.
00:28:31
Zak
I now think, I don't know if Ross Stewart will start Saturday just because of the fact that he looked prettynackerd but pretty looked pretty leggy, got taken off for Cameron Archer. Maybe Cameron Archer scores two, mate.
00:28:42
Zak
Stranger things have happened.
00:28:42
Global Sports Podcast Network
I get all of the strikers firing.
00:28:44
Nick Britten
Thank you.
00:28:44
Global Sports Podcast Network
I like it. I like the way it's moving.
00:28:45
Zak
Yeah, yeah i just I'm just glad that we're no longer being like Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Jack Stephens as the two goalscorers. It's quite nice that the outfield players are doing the job of the outfield players.
00:28:57
Global Sports Podcast Network
It's good. It's good.
00:28:58
Zak
but
00:28:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
How about you, Nick? How how do you see it playing out?
00:29:02
Nick Britten
Well, I'm just thinking back. I knew we'd scored in the first half some stage. Very early on in the season, which seems a long, long, long time ago, we scored twice in first half against Coventry. in fact And then we scored once in the in the second half. We scored three goals at home.
00:29:15
Nick Britten
Amazing. But we let in five. So, not...
00:29:18
Zak
it was that 5-3 game.
00:29:18
Global Sports Podcast Network
We did.
00:29:19
Zak
We covered that game, Greg. It was good.
00:29:21
Global Sports Podcast Network
we date
00:29:24
Nick Britten
have so
00:29:26
Nick Britten
Since then, it's been one goal or no goals. That's it. That's all we've been managing at home. I think a lot will depend. I'm hoping that John Eustace has looked the last two home performances and last night in particular. We've got a real issue in midfield where we play...
00:29:39
Nick Britten
Ebu Adams and Lewis Travis who's been brought in by Eustace who's captain at Blackburn under Eustace but the two of them are the same person they can do one job which is win the ball back neither of them can pass a football but we've got a guy called David Ozo on loan from Crystal Palace who's a really really good
00:29:44
Global Sports Podcast Network
Mm-hmm.
00:29:59
Nick Britten
progressive forward passing midfielder. But he can't get in a team because for for reasons that no Derby County supporter can understand whatsoever, Eustace wants to have Adams and Travis in there.
00:30:10
Nick Britten
And what we're seeing is Ozil's now starting to get introduced off the bench earlier and earlier. yeah earlier Came on at half-time last night and made a massive difference because he's just... Here's what you'd call a kind of... just a classic defensive midfielder in as much as he'll sit and he'll just get the ball and then he'll get it moving and allow players to play.
00:30:27
Nick Britten
And if he plays from the start, he must play from the start. We were all astounded when he got left on the bench again last night.
00:30:31
Global Sports Podcast Network
Thank
00:30:33
Nick Britten
There wasn't a Derby county. so I mean, I know Twitter is not ever the greatest a barometer of common sense. But when the Derby town team was announced last night, just literally every comment was Ozo, ohzo Ozo, Ozo, Ozo on the bench.
00:30:46
Nick Britten
So if he plays Ozo from the start, that'll make us much more progressive. The other thing that needs to happen, I think probably, is Carlton Morris, who's been our best signing so far, you veteran striker, really, really, really good signing, scored four and four at the start of the season, but has now been kind of relegated to number 10 position to allow our multi-million pound signing, our big signing in the summer, guy called Patrick Adjeman, who we've signed for Charlotte FC in America, to come in and play as a nine player.
00:31:17
Nick Britten
i like it I like them both. They they were probably arguably our better two players last night, even though even though it was it was a pretty poor performance, but they were and they're good. But by moving Morris back into 10, you're losing that goal-scoring threat.
00:31:29
Nick Britten
But i'd still quite like to see Adjaman on the pitch. So whether he can find a way of getting Morris forward, I don't know. It's going to be a funny one. So it kind of depends on how he sets up. If he sets up how he's set up in the last two or three games, I expect to see exactly what we've seen in the last two or three games, so which is a one-all draw.
00:31:46
Nick Britten
That's how I expected to see. if If he decides, no, this is the game where i'm going to going to really, really go for it. There's nothing to suggest that's in his character whatsoever. then we can't we can win.
00:31:57
Nick Britten
But i'm I'm not confident. I'm not confident, if I'm honest with you. I don't think there's and anything to suggest we should be confident because we're in the bottom three and we haven't won a home game all season.
00:32:08
Nick Britten
So it's difficult. So
Final Score Predictions
00:32:10
Nick Britten
i'm goingnna i'm just listen I'm going to play the percentages here.
00:32:11
Global Sports Podcast Network
green
00:32:13
Nick Britten
going to play the percentages and go for a one-all draw.
00:32:15
Global Sports Podcast Network
I mean, that all all does sound quite promising from a Saints perspective until you think about the fact that they're the sort of streaks that we'd love to break.
00:32:24
Zak
Yeah, I was going to say, Greg, like we love, we absolutely love, like any striker that hasn't had a goal for 10 games.
00:32:26
Global Sports Podcast Network
LAUGHTER
00:32:32
Zak
this Any strike, like when when we play Hull, Oli Book Burnley had never scored against us. And then we talked about that and then he went on to score and it was like, well, it was written in the stars. It very much feels like that, Greg, doesn't it?
00:32:43
Global Sports Podcast Network
well Yeah, but like i I still think we're going to kick on.
00:32:45
Zak
but
00:32:48
Global Sports Podcast Network
I think we're going to be all right. I think things going to come together. And ah joe I actually agree with your scoreline. There's that, I think two one I don't think we're going to put ourselves far enough out in front.
00:32:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
I think it's going to make for some rather uncomfortable watching for probably for both ends, because that's just what football has to do to you, right? is
00:33:08
Zak
If we do it without the help of the ref, the entirety of the second half, mate, I will probably feel more confident alongside you.
00:33:08
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:33:15
Global Sports Podcast Network
and
00:33:15
Zak
That's where I'm at. Because, you know, yesterday was just a bit...
00:33:17
Global Sports Podcast Network
I just still don't think that years of watching Saints have prepared me well for trying to sit on a one-goal lead.
00:33:19
Zak
well
00:33:20
Nick Britten
So.
00:33:26
Global Sports Podcast Network
It's just not something that's ever going to be comfortable. So...
00:33:30
Nick Britten
Well, I'm hoping i'm hoping that the you've and you've had your refereeing luck for the season. Because we had it when we went to Ipswich and we drew two all away Ipswich. And we got some we got some massive decisions in our favour.
00:33:43
Nick Britten
I mean, so and a couple of them were ridiculous. I mean, Ipswich had such a clear penalty and he booked the Ipswich player for diving. And then right under his nose, travis Lewis Travis kicked a player in the face and he just went, yeah, that's fine. Let's get with it.
00:33:55
Zak
Oh, gosh.
00:33:55
Nick Britten
that No problem.
00:33:57
Global Sports Podcast Network
Bye.
00:33:58
Nick Britten
Lying on ground. Polak's. And then we had the Wrexham refereeing performance, which was just payback, frankly. So, yeah, I'm hoping that that we can get a referee in our favour because we're going to need, i think we need all the luck we can get.
00:34:08
Nick Britten
If you guys won 2-1, it wouldn't surprise me. wouldn't surprise me at all. But, you know, I don't know. So we've got to win a game sooner or later. So Saturday's as good as any, isn't it?
00:34:19
Global Sports Podcast Network
That's it. Well, it's going to be interesting interesting either way, and I can't wait to talk more about it tomorrow and build up to the game. Nick, thank you so much for joining us. ah You can catch Nick on the Daily Premier League roundup.
00:34:29
Nick Britten
Not at all.
00:34:32
Nick Britten
Daily Premier League podcast, yeah, Daily Premier League podcast, which goes out obviously every day because it's called the Daily Premier League podcast.
00:34:33
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yep.
00:34:37
Nick Britten
And once a week, our Road to World Cup 26 podcast, which I do with Ken Davis, my co-founder and good buddy. And that still remains the only World Cup podcast on the entire planet.
00:34:50
Zak
no
00:34:50
Global Sports Podcast Network
There we go. Absolutely. Go and give it a listen.
00:34:52
Nick Britten
It's great, I think. I think it's what you're meant say. It's great. That's what you're meant to say.
00:34:55
Global Sports Podcast Network
Oh, it's fantastic.
00:34:55
Zak
it's good To be clear, it's great.
00:34:56
Nick Britten
but
00:34:57
Zak
It's not so bad, but it's great.
00:34:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah. <unk> It's, it's.
00:35:00
Nick Britten
Thank you. What I'd really like to gents, if you'll have me back on, is come back and discuss the game after we play it.
00:35:05
Zak
Oh, for sure.
00:35:06
Global Sports Podcast Network
Oh, Absolutely. Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. ah Loads of space for fun episodes like that because we've got everyone's favourite and international break coming up. So absolutely.
00:35:19
Global Sports Podcast Network
Brilliant. Yes. Thank you very much, Nick, for joining us. It's been brilliant.
00:35:22
Nick Britten
Thank you for having think it's been great.
00:35:23
Global Sports Podcast Network
Lots to think about. Zach, as always, thank you for joining me and thank you everyone for listening. Go and give the Daily Premier League and the World Cup podcast on the Global Sports Podcast Network listen.
00:35:36
Global Sports Podcast Network
They are fantastic. They're really good.
00:35:38
Nick Britten
That's the spirit.
00:35:39
Global Sports Podcast Network
We will be back tomorrow to talk more about the Derby game, but let us know your score predictions and what you think the game's going to play out in the comments on all the social medias. We're on all of them. We're on Facebook, Blue Sky, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube,
00:35:54
Global Sports Podcast Network
X, all of them. Probably have got some in there somewhere. But hit us up. We'd love to hear from you on all of them and look forward to it.
00:35:59
Zak
Thank you.
00:36:02
Global Sports Podcast Network
But until tomorrow, thanks for listening, everyone, and have a great day.
00:36:18
Nick Britten
you