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Episode 334: Festive Fixtures!
137 Plays8 days ago
Southampton – We take a look at our upcoming fixtures for December, and try and work out what we should be expecting across this busy period of games!
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Transcript
Introduction to the Daily Southampton Podcast
00:00:16
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 my good friend and wonderful co-host, Zach Inger Finch.
Missing Midweek Football
00:00:29
Global Sports Podcast Network
How you doing mate, you alright?
00:00:30
Zak
Well, like the middle of the week, mate. I am fair to middling. So, yeah.
00:00:35
Global Sports Podcast Network
That's it.
00:00:36
Zak
Whenever this episode comes out, fair to middling.
00:00:36
Global Sports Podcast Network
That's it.
00:00:38
Zak
There we go.
00:00:39
Global Sports Podcast Network
That's it. Look, it's it's the middle of the week and it's strange because we've got a week with no midweek fixtures, which, you know, leaves us feeling almost bereft of proper football. There's some Premier League action in the midweek this week, but who cares about that? That's not a good league,
Wolves' Performance Decline
00:00:56
Global Sports Podcast Network
is it?
00:00:57
Zak
I don't know. we we Keep an eye on Wolves, mate. They might beat our record. It
00:01:00
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah, well, that is interesting. Doing worse at this point than we were last season at this point, right? So... Indeed.
00:01:09
Zak
turns out if you keep selling your best players, you end up in the same position we did. I do really feel really bad for them, right?
00:01:13
Global Sports Podcast Network
Indeed.
00:01:15
Zak
like I feel like hoping you're going to replace Cunha with the striker you already have and then bringing in now a championship manager who has just immediately lost. Yeah. yeah Who knows? What a poison chalice.
00:01:28
Zak
I feel really bad about that. But yeah, because of that, Greg, you're right. I won't be watching any of the Premier League action.
00:01:34
Global Sports Podcast Network
No,
Championship Fixtures Preview
00:01:35
Global Sports Podcast Network
but we thought we would take a look ahead to the fixtures that are upcoming.
00:01:35
Zak
Championship. Ole, ole, ole.
00:01:42
Global Sports Podcast Network
you know, it's a busy period of time. Six games in December, eight games in the next 30 days.
00:01:46
Zak
Woof.
00:01:49
Global Sports Podcast Network
It is busy, busy, busy. And... There's a lot of football coming up. So we thought we'd take this opportunity of this little gap before it all goes crazy and and sort of look ahead of what we can expect and where we're at and what what we're expecting to be the more difficult games.
00:02:11
Global Sports Podcast Network
And go from there. Obviously, at time of recording, we've had no confirmation. I don't know even if we had official confirmation from the club that Tondo was going to be taking charge of the last three games, but it was definitely reported widely. We haven't heard anything from the club at all.
00:02:27
Global Sports Podcast Network
but So we're going to go on the basis that...
Tondo Eckert's Management Speculation
00:02:31
Global Sports Podcast Network
Either Tonda has stayed in charge and things stay the same, or we've got an excellent replacement who kicks straight into gear and things stay the same and assess it based off of that.
00:02:41
Global Sports Podcast Network
But I think...
00:02:42
Zak
Well, according to Alfie House, Dragan has got one person advising him that we need championship experience.
00:02:42
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:02:48
Zak
And they talked about it on on TSP, that the old guard are very much behind the management of expert manager of experience. But I just don't understand how you say no to four wins and a loss, right?
00:02:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
yeah
00:02:59
Zak
like Again, i tried to kind of point this out the other day. If you if you did not know who Tonda Eckert was and you said to a player, okay, but or you said to the fans, right, Will Stil is going to leave.
00:03:11
Zak
you are going to win four of the next games and lose what Are you going to take that manager? i think most people would have bitten off you know bitten off your hand to take that manager.
00:03:22
Zak
So I don't really...
00:03:23
Global Sports Podcast Network
yeah fully agree. And I will say that he's no longer a manager of no championship experience. I'd say he's got five pretty good games under his belt.
Joe Eribo's Form Analysis
00:03:33
Global Sports Podcast Network
So...
00:03:33
Zak
Yeah, on top of that, I can understand why people are slightly confused about his comments about Joe Eribo.
00:03:37
Zak
Maybe he's not in a place where he's ready to criticise him. I tend to see these kind of things as actions speak louder than words. It'll be interesting to see if he gets in the squad anymore and he gets in the squad for the next couple of games because in regards to to that, that you know we've learned a lot, especially since doing this podcast, how often...
00:03:58
Zak
press conferences were just not like a waste of time, but there's so much smoke and mirrors, right? Like Russell Martin was very much, if he told you that a player that was injured was guaranteed to start the weekend, they're not goingnna be back in the squad. Right.
00:04:08
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:04:08
Zak
Ivan Juric, it was blood out of a stone.
00:04:10
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:04:11
Zak
Simon Rusk, almost trying to line himself up for the job that inevitably he didn't get. Will's still answering almost a bit too honestly. And so so far, Eckhart's been sort of a mix of all of them, right? Where some some of his press conference is about five minutes flat. Other times he's had to defend and answer some of the strangest questions and you know in regards to like, oh, so do you want the job? It's like, of course he does. He just can't say that.
00:04:35
Zak
Like, he there's there's no... say yeah, I think regardless of who is in charge about all of these games made, I don't know how much it's going to massively change because i don't think anyone can come in with a sweeping new system.
00:04:46
Zak
They're still going to have the same players. you know The only thing that ever...
00:04:48
Global Sports Podcast Network
And the target, importantly, right, the targets stay the same because the target at this point just realistically probably needs to be to try and win every game.
Birmingham Match Analysis
00:04:58
Global Sports Podcast Network
But what I think we should do is is see how realistic that is.
00:05:03
Global Sports Podcast Network
So, I mean, let's let's get it straight into it, mate. our Our upcoming game at the weekend... at home to Birmingham. And I mean, we were talking about yesterday in our, in our championship roundup, Birmingham and their sort of fair to middling form in the middle of the table at the moment.
00:05:21
Global Sports Podcast Network
So it's, it's going to be, you know, it's not going be an easy game. They're going to be a pushover, but do you think we've got what it takes to push past them as like the starting point?
00:05:31
Zak
Well, they're coming to us and their away form has been dire, right? They've they've scored like three or more goals at home and we don't quite know the result of of them playing Watford yet.
00:05:36
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hmm.
00:05:41
Zak
But it's not... it's not really relevant. Their away form has been shocking. And I think that we just have to capitalise on that and, you know, kind of go into that game with how we've played at home the last couple of times, right? Like we what we they're wanting St Mary's to be better, right? Because from a Sports Republic's perspective as well, like people will spend more and have more of a good old time if they're coming to see a win and not coming to just see Dross week in, week out.
00:06:09
Zak
And we've shown that we have a squad capable of that. And, you know, i think they really, really need to push to continue it. So I'm hoping that, you know, we can get something from Birmingham and hopefully, you know, capitalise on the fact that they're away from isn't very good. Because if we could, you know, we could actually get the goals that would be, if Siena's back as well, that's going to be a huge difference too, right?
00:06:33
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yes. Yeah, definitely. That'll make a big difference. and Yeah, I think that it's a game that we should be, like you say, targeting a win for and and going for the jugular because you're right, that home form is going to become such an important thing for us. It's been such a hard place to play for such a long time because of how rubbish we've been. So so hopefully we can push on, especially not least because...
West Brom Match Preview
00:06:57
Global Sports Podcast Network
Three days later, we have our second visit from a Midlands team to St Mary's because West Brom come and play on Tuesday night. So, I mean, that's another game where we'll be pushing for a win, right?
00:07:11
Global Sports Podcast Network
We have to be... These are the teams in the mid-table that if we're realistically wanting to push for promotion now and that's still the target, these are teams we need to be beating.
00:07:22
Zak
Is it the first time we've played them this season? can't remember.
00:07:25
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yes.
00:07:25
Zak
Yeah, I was going to say, so the last time we played them would have been the playoff final where we absolutely demolished them. right So they're going to have that to remember us by when they come back. And yeah, some things have changed, not as much as we probably would have liked. So realistically, we just got our kind of push on from that.
00:07:41
Zak
But I can see that being a good game. like We've taken one of their better players and fellows. And I feel like a lot of West Brom fans kind of feel like had their pants down for the amount of money we got him for. right And he eventually started to become...
00:07:55
Zak
Good. And by eventually, I mean that like he's he seems to have really adapted to the position he's playing in. you know yeah He's been a lot of the creative force alongside Sienza, realistically.
00:08:05
Zak
He's one of the... He's had some of the best assists and best balls into the box. I can't remember which game it was. i think it might been the Leicester game where you're talking about, don't think he missed a single ball into the box, right? Every time he went for it, he got it in.
00:08:15
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:08:16
Zak
So having him go back to play against his former side, his former side that, you know, up and down, they kind of have... sort of the last couple of seasons really gone for for the playoffs, but that isn't necessarily where they are now.
00:08:32
Zak
We are similar to them in the table currently, so we're just going to have to kind of treat them like a team that are in the middle of the table. But yeah, I think it it has it has the...
00:08:43
Zak
a has the potential for if we get a good result against Birmingham and then another good result against them, like to to get back into those sort of winning ways and show that, okay, Millwall's a bit of a one-off.
00:08:55
Zak
And by one-off, we mean we we we last minute lost to a team that are third in the table, that they're on med at merit, who have a lot of physicality whilst we're dealing with a lot of injuries, right?
00:09:07
Zak
I think that's the the other thing that we kind of ignore when we talked about our post-match review.
00:09:08
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hmm.
00:09:14
Zak
against Millwall. It's like, you know, we would have preferred to have had Flynn Downs. We'd have preferred to have had Shea Charles in the middle as well. We'd have preferred to have Sienza there. We'd have preferred to not have to bring Jay Robinson off for an unfit
Upcoming Matches Expectations
00:09:26
Zak
Joe Eribo. We would have not wanted to have happened to have brought off a youth player who's only had one senior start, full full start previously, and a sub-appearance for a veteran of who has not played in XY Matt time.
00:09:41
Zak
So, yeah I think that it kind of would... put to bed this notion that we are not where we should be on merit, right?
00:09:52
Zak
Because I think we are starting to claw our way back up the table short slowly but surely. And I think, you know, it should we should be at least targeting six points in the next two matches.
00:10:02
Zak
I don't know how you feel about that, but like you we should be beating both of those teams, right?
00:10:04
Global Sports Podcast Network
and I fully agree and want to... Yeah, I fully agree and I'm going to come on to my point actually about that, the the game directly after that and how we need to approach that as a group.
00:10:17
Global Sports Podcast Network
But let's have a little break first and hear a message from our partners at Bionic.
00:10:17
Zak
Mm-hmm.
00:11:00
Global Sports Podcast Network
Okay, mate, we are back. So straight after that, you know, three games in seven days. They come thick and fast. The game on Saturday is Norwich. Now, based on form and positioning, this is another team that, I mean, this is a team that is easy to almost look past and expect to win, right? And so this is where the the interesting point becomes, how do you structure your teams through the week to handle Norwich?
00:11:27
Global Sports Podcast Network
you know, that load of those three games in seven days, what's the priority there? Because do you want to play your best teams to, you know, play in these games that we should be winning, but are going to be difficult like Birmingham and West Brom, and then, you know, have a weakened team against Norwich because that should be
Norwich Game Strategy
00:11:47
Global Sports Podcast Network
enough to get past? Or are we at the point where we need to be, you know, hammering these teams that we...
00:11:54
Global Sports Podcast Network
are expecting a more comfortable win from. And so, you know, we end up rotating for, I guess, the West Brom game of the three because it's the the midweek one. it's It's the interesting thought path as you sort of step back and take the wider look at these games in the groups that are coming up.
00:12:12
Global Sports Podcast Network
What's the best way to approach all three of those games to maximise the points?
00:12:17
Zak
Well, we've got potentially players coming back from injury. I don't know how quickly they're going to be back from injury. But, you know, we've really now we've already established that Romain is a little bit way off. We've got a full week of rest and training before the game at the weekend against Birmingham, right?
00:12:31
Zak
And then obviously West Brom will come thick and fast. But you're right, they're probably going to approach it as a block of at least sort of three games that we need to, you know, have plans for each of them.
00:12:37
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:12:41
Zak
Norwich are a difficult one are going to be a difficult one to prepare for because, again, like they've been pretty dire most of the season. Liam Manning is gone. Clement didn't get the immediate reaction, but they have won their last game, so we don't really know necessarily. I'm sure that Eckert will do is is like sort of...
00:12:57
Zak
there is due diligence and we need to almost remove the fact that we beat them once already because we beat them in the cup and we also beat them under a completely different manager. So is it is going to be difficult to figure that one out and and yeah figure out what personnel will be fit. like We don't know what the next couple of games will be i always Whenever we start proving too far away, I always kind of worry about injury concerns because we didn't think we were going to lose Shea Charles and Stewart and everybody in such quick successions.
00:13:17
Global Sports Podcast Network
hmm
00:13:21
Global Sports Podcast Network
e
00:13:27
Zak
right and That game, we lost Shea Charles, we also lost Archer, and then obviously we lost, got batted, and that turned out to Woppy Wilson. It was like final game. So a lot has changed since then as well.
00:13:35
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:13:38
Zak
So when we we look forward to to to these games, it's kind of like...
00:13:38
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yes.
00:13:42
Zak
I find that that really difficult. All I know is that Norwich will probably require a little bit more preparation than the others because of the fact that it's going to be a bit of an enigma until we see how they work out.
00:13:54
Zak
like If they lose their next two games, maybe they'll treat it different.
00:13:55
Global Sports Podcast Network
But...
00:13:56
Zak
I don't know.
00:13:58
Global Sports Podcast Network
But to compress it and try and think about it in that sort of block mentality... what's What's the acceptable outcome of those three games?
00:14:08
Zak
Seven.
00:14:08
Global Sports Podcast Network
Six points? Seven points? Yeah? All
00:14:12
Zak
I would say where we are on the table and where we want to be in the table, I don't know if six does it. maybe But at the same time, I think that that's realistic because, again, it's the championship.
00:14:21
Global Sports Podcast Network
right.
00:14:26
Zak
We're not we're not quite at the level that we want to be. We're still growing to that level. and And, again, like even it's night and day, right? It's been like a week and a half or like two weeks.
00:14:37
Zak
And where we're what we're talking about now is us shooting back up the table. where previously we were flirting with relegation. And realistically, we were talking, you know, maybe four points would have been the best outcome for these three games. so it's difficult, but as so long as they can manage things correctly and we don't get any sort of stark injuries, yeah, it should be, in my opinion, we should be like aiming for nine.
00:15:00
Zak
Seven would be kind of like, okay, I wouldn't really like six.
00:15:02
Global Sports Podcast Network
aiming for nine, expecting at least six.
00:15:06
Zak
Yeah, I think that's probably realistic, yeah.
00:15:06
Global Sports Podcast Network
Is that a fair way to put it? i may Then, you know, the the second part of the month, it really gets tasty.
00:15:16
Zak
Let's do it.
00:15:16
Global Sports Podcast Network
We get we get a week a midweek off, right?
00:15:17
Zak
See
00:15:21
Global Sports Podcast Network
So we go from Saturday to Saturday, and on the 20th of December, we welcome Coventry City to St. Mary's. Now... That's going to be a challenge, right?
00:15:31
Zak
Yeah, got it i hate see ain't too confident about it.
00:15:32
Global Sports Podcast Network
thats There's no two ways about it.
00:15:35
Zak
like I'm not going to lie. like even Even now, a couple of games off, you've seen what Coventry City are doing this season.
00:15:36
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:15:40
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hmm.
00:15:40
Zak
Sure, why why not break their streak against us? But they broke their streak and then came back tenfold, right? You know, the the goal difference is plus 32, mate.
00:15:47
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hmm.
00:15:49
Zak
Like that, when you think about it in that way, it's nuts. They they have really just put in teams to the absolute sword.
00:15:52
Global Sports Podcast Network
Let's...
00:15:54
Zak
Like they they looked at the playoffs last year when we went, we want do this again. Right. And admittedly, well, they lost to Sunderland, right, who are now actually in the Premier League. So like, you know, sure, whatever, and doing really well in the Premier League. So it makes it even more kind of...
00:16:11
Zak
stark how how good they are. And, you know, Lampard's had time to build this team into whatever it is and who knows how they'll do next season.
Coventry City Challenge
00:16:21
Zak
But they are someone that I'm kind of worried about us playing and like, what are we going do? where i don't think we... do we do we do defensive football anymore? Do we do 10 men behind? You know, doesn't feel like the way we're not going to massively rapidly change everything.
00:16:36
Global Sports Podcast Network
No, oh yeah.
00:16:36
Zak
and But i also i also don't consider us to be able to outscore them either.
00:16:41
Zak
So I kind of see like if we lose to them, up it's not the end of the world. But also it's like the beginning of the season. That's that's kind of where we want it to be, right?
00:16:50
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah, 100%.
00:16:50
Zak
This isn't where...
00:16:52
Global Sports Podcast Network
Look, yeah, it's going to be a tricky day at the office. And, you know, it probably... It's probably going to be the first game of the season where I don't put us as favourites going in.
00:17:09
Zak
Eh...
00:17:11
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah. it's not but I mean, look, like you say, we get nine points from the three games before that, and all of a sudden we're coming in with a head of steam again. And, you know, it only takes a couple of slip-ups, and maybe they don't get all three of those games. And...
00:17:25
Global Sports Podcast Network
I mean, football's funny thing. Anything can happen. It's is a scary one, though. It's definitely the scariest fixture of the month, for sure.
00:17:31
Zak
a
00:17:34
Zak
If we were defeated, i wouldn't be upset. And I think that that shows you you how good Coventry have been. And I don't think that we should necessarily accept that.
00:17:45
Zak
But at the same time, it's like when City came to play against us and Arsenal came to play against us. I love the idea that you know we should realistically... be going out there and beating this team.
00:17:57
Zak
But like, it's the reality of the situation at the moment is the Coventry City are a much better outfit than us. And as much as that's hard to hear, it's the reality of the situation. So if we, if they come to us and we manage to get a point away from it, i think that'd be really, really good. If we get a win, absolutely fantastic. If we lose, it's kind of what I'd expect.
00:18:19
Global Sports Podcast Network
Indeed.
00:18:19
Zak
know I'm sorry for being pessimistic, but what I like to think of at this point is it's actually a bit more realistic.
00:18:22
Global Sports Podcast Network
you're right, mate. It's... Yeah, indeed. I mean, look, it's a tricky game. it's gonna be i mean It's going to be a big test. And yeah, I mean, it'd be a big win, put it that way, if if we got it.
00:18:34
Zak
Mm-hmm.
00:18:35
Global Sports Podcast Network
Right, let's have another little break before we head into the Crimbo Limbo period and hear a message from our partners at Zencaster.
00:18:35
Zak
Mm-hmm.
00:18:43
Zak
Mm-hmm.
00:18:44
Global Sports Podcast Network
Here at the Global Sports Podcast Network, we spend a lot of time selecting our delivery platform. Zencastr came out the clear winner. With 4K video recording from your phone and AI editing that automatically removes all those ums and ahs, it's super easy to start podcast that sounds great and is delivered efficiently.
00:19:02
Global Sports Podcast Network
If you're ready to tell your story, check out the link in the show description and learn more about Zencastr.
00:19:09
Global Sports Podcast Network
all Alright mate, we head into a period of time where time isn't real as it occurs. Boxing Day, where my wife was devastated to not be part of the Boxing Day family tradition of heading to St Mary's for a game. And we face Oxford away. i mean, this this is another one where we should just be...
00:19:36
Global Sports Podcast Network
putting them away, right? You just need to be burying them, getting it done early, job done, rest the players for the the next game a couple of days later.
00:19:45
Zak
You're right. they but they you know they've They've been beaten by some teams, but in other teams, they've managed to you know get away some results. you know Beat Ipswich the other week. they They managed to draw against Middlesbrough. They also managed to draw against Millwall. So they are doing better against sort of quote-unquote bigger sides. does that start you know you know they beat They beat Bristol. They they drew with Leicester.
00:20:09
Zak
They were beat by Sheffield United. But they're doing better than... I'd expect them to, and I worry that that game will be treated like we should just put them to the sword, and then they end up beating us in upsets, especially from a mentality point of view. If we lose to Coventry, we don't quite recover. I could see that could see that happening, mate.
00:20:29
Zak
But I'd also like to think that you know maybe that's kind of how I felt about Swansea two two years ago, and then we came out and just destroyed them on Boxing Day, right? Was it Boxing Day we destroyed Swansea?
00:20:37
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah, it was Boxing Day.
00:20:38
Zak
Yeah.
00:20:39
Global Sports Podcast Network
One of my favorite memories of my kids sat in
00:20:41
Zak
Yeah, I should. Is the word destroyed alright for me to use with in regards to that game?
00:20:45
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah, yeah I think it's fine, as as you don't put on TikTok.
00:20:48
Zak
Okay, good. Okay, good. Yeah.
00:20:50
Global Sports Podcast Network
mean, look, it was great. my I had to move from my season ticket seats and move somewhere slightly quieter in the stadium because we had the whole family with us, and what it eventually led to was just my kids leading the normally slightly quieter part of the stadium into a fairly raucous amount of chanting.
00:21:08
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:21:08
Zak
you're You're right, bringing them up in Chapel is this is not exactly what you've done, mate. That's why you've brought them up in Northern, where I still remember the story of you telling me, hey, you do realise that's the rowdy part of the stadium, and you being like, it'll be good for them.
00:21:22
Zak
LAUGHTER LAUGHTER
00:21:22
Global Sports Podcast Network
yeah but They will not fit in anywhere else, I assure you. And then, you know, and then we head from from Boxing Day, you know swift, sharp coming of games. Friday is Boxing Day, heading into Monday the 29th, as we have the reverse fixture from earlier in the month, and we play Birmingham at Birmingham.
00:21:49
Global Sports Podcast Network
So...
00:21:50
Zak
Yeah, that. Everything's starting to swap around now, isn't it? So we're starting to get those second fixtures where we can't we can look back at the fixture, but it's a complete waste of time because it was under a different manager with probably a different set of players and whatever, really.
00:21:52
Global Sports Podcast Network
i
00:22:02
Global Sports Podcast Network
That's not going to really really be the case in this one though where it's so tight between when we play them both games. It's going to be it's almost like two legs of a semi-final, right?
00:22:13
Global Sports Podcast Network
You're going to know pretty much exactly what you're expecting to come up against and I don't know if that always makes it easier or if it makes it harder, right?
00:22:21
Zak
I don't know if that's true because injuries at this point could be playing a factor for both teams, right?
00:22:21
Global Sports Podcast Network
It's almost like
00:22:26
Zak
Because again, you're you're talking, you know, we've've we've fired from so many quick games forgetting that all of this is taking place in under a month. Like this is under, under you know, from from from today before like the 30th, that's how many of these, like all these games are just appearing out of nowhere.
00:22:33
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:22:39
Global Sports Podcast Network
This is yet going to be 27 days time. like We could to have played all these games.
00:22:45
Zak
so So whilst we should be able to, like we have seen what happened with us missing Sienza and how much of a problem that was. and even i don't don't know if if it was necessarily down to Flynn Downs, but you know we saw what happened at Millwall by not having that creative outlet and we do not know what our team is going to look like at that point. That's what I mean by trying to predict so far off because...
00:23:08
Zak
This conversation we're having now, couple of months ago, like even a month and a half ago, it contained Ross Stewart as the answer to what i' called goal-scoring problems before we eventually remembered that we could just pass the ball to Adam Armstrong.
00:23:16
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:23:19
Zak
We just can't head it to him or kick it into the sky to him, right? like
00:23:23
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:23:24
Zak
So I kind of... I worry that we're going to pick up an injury. I don't want to, like, forebode it. But it does feel to me like by that point, you know, we're either going to have everybody back and we're going to have so many good rotation options.
00:23:39
Zak
You know, might even end up seeing a Dozie at this point, mate, if he ends up getting back on the training ground.
00:23:42
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah. That'd be good.
00:23:45
Zak
so So, yeah, we might have something f different to offer. Who knows? But... Yeah, obviously with with a quarter past eight kickoff, so that's that's kind of them to to make us have to record a ridiculously late night during during the winter months.
00:23:54
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:23:58
Zak
Nah, it's all fine.
00:23:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
i mean it's so It's all part of the fun. look It's going to be in a period of time where time isn't real anyway. It doesn't matter. No one no one exists in like the normal time frame at that period of time.
00:24:06
Zak
Crimbo Limbo isn't real. We're aware of this.
00:24:11
Global Sports Podcast Network
We're going to be so full of gammon and mince pies. It's to be crazy. And then like rounding out that week technically in the new year, but still literally Monday to Thursday,
00:24:23
Global Sports Podcast Network
on New Year's Day, home to Millwall.
Packed Schedule Overview
00:24:26
Global Sports Podcast Network
So, that's the reverse fixture.
00:24:28
Zak
Yeah, it's not it's not the den. And it's not the den.
00:24:30
Global Sports Podcast Network
No?
00:24:31
Zak
I reckon it will probably change the way they are a little bit. It's always always fun when they have an away game, right? And we'll have to see how that works out.
00:24:38
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:24:49
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:24:50
Zak
Especially with the physicality around them.
00:24:52
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hmm.
00:24:53
Zak
And so, yeah, the reverse fixture, again, like it will really depend on how we're doing at that point. I think if we picked up some points against sort of like Oxford and Birmingham stuff, you know, we go into that game. We don't know how, i don't know how the rest of their season's looking at that point.
00:25:07
Zak
But again, like at the moment, still have to treat them of where they are on merit. And it will probably be quite a tough game, especially if it's the last sort of run of a extremely busy run of games.
00:25:11
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:25:18
Global Sports Podcast Network
Well, it's not even the last one because actually it then goes on. the you know That's the Thursday and then on the Sunday we play Middlesbrough away as well. so So the month's really like... Packed together in a fascinating way because you've got that block of three at the start and then we've got Norwich and Coventry as like a block of two but with a nice gap in the middle between them and then a block of four games, Oxford, Birmingham, Millwall and Middlesbrough across the course of nine days.
00:25:30
Zak
Mm-hmm.
00:25:48
Global Sports Podcast Network
So that's you know that's a lot of football in nine days.
00:25:53
Zak
That is. but That is. And also, like again, we're playing one team twice in what I consider to be quite short succession, really. i don't know quite how that's worked out, but that'll either be a good thing if we manage to get the win on Saturday or or you know a learning opportunity if we don't, and hopefully we can go at them again. but it's some It's going to be, to take your phrase, mate, an interesting turn of events, right?
00:26:18
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:26:18
Zak
I'm looking forward to it.
00:26:19
Global Sports Podcast Network
Well, so, right, so...
00:26:19
Zak
I'm looking forward to just having so much football to watch after what felt like a drought over the summer of like no football whatsoever and just us going, there's been a transfer, news there's transfer news.
00:26:30
Zak
And like at the moment,
00:26:31
Global Sports Podcast Network
Well, then we get back to... I mean, we'll be back to that by the end of this run of football, right? Transfer window just around the corner. So, right, let's...
00:26:37
Zak
Oh, yeah, but transfer window whilst we're playing is a bit different to just just just watching websites update on an almost daily basis.
00:26:42
Global Sports Podcast Network
crazy Right, so if we take that block of three at the start and and call that hopefully nine, maybe six, then you've got Coventry as the middle layer of this Big Mac, the the middle layer of bread.
00:26:45
Zak
So, but a day a daily basis, we do a daily podcast. You're aware of this. We're literally called the Daily Southampton.
00:26:57
Zak
Mm-hmm.
00:27:01
Zak
Yep.
00:27:10
Zak
which i could which i could which I could put as zero. and I genuinely am like, if we lose it, we lose it.
00:27:13
Global Sports Podcast Network
yeah it
00:27:15
Zak
I wouldn't be surprised and I wouldn't be cross about it.
00:27:16
Global Sports Podcast Network
And then four games in nine days, realistically, knowing how you know how much of a physical challenge that is, relevant to who we're playing, what's a reasonable outcome from four games in nine days? Another six?
00:27:30
Zak
Nine?
00:27:31
Global Sports Podcast Network
Nine?
00:27:31
Zak
It depends.
00:27:32
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:27:32
Zak
it depends you're asking me You're asking me what the target should be. At least nine. Reasonable wouldn't be too mad.
00:27:36
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:27:40
Zak
Seven. i still think we should not lose two of those games.
00:27:40
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah. yeah
00:27:42
Zak
We should at least draw one of them.
00:27:44
Global Sports Podcast Network
right.
00:27:44
Zak
so
00:27:44
Global Sports Podcast Network
I'll take it. I'll take it. I mean, obviously, eight games for me, you know that my target would be, yeah, 24 points.
00:27:50
Zak
win every single one of them by at least three goals.
00:27:52
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah. twenty four points yeah
00:27:54
Zak
Well, at least two goals because obviously we're always going to concede, but you need to make sure we outscore the opponent. So yeah, I get that
Exciting Football Month Ahead
00:28:14
Global Sports Podcast Network
Well, I'm excited. to Put it that way. Who doesn't love it?
00:28:17
Zak
that's Especially where we feel like they're very winnable games, right? So it should be actually a nice time to go.
00:28:22
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:28:24
Zak
It's not like last year where it was like, yay, two trips to St.
00:28:26
Global Sports Podcast Network
I don't know, mate.
00:28:27
Zak
Mary's in four days where we're going watch us hopefully not get beaten by more than four goals. And usually that wasn't the case.
00:28:31
Global Sports Podcast Network
I don't know, mate. One of those winnable games against the Midlands teams comes with more pride on the line a little bit closer to home than...
00:28:38
Zak
For you, yeah, I guess that's also true.
00:28:41
Global Sports Podcast Network
Right. Well, that's what we've got to look forward to this month, and cannot wait. That's all we've got time for today. Zach, thank you so much for joining me and thank you everybody for listening. Let us know in the comments or on socials, 8 games in 30 days.
00:29:03
Global Sports Podcast Network
How many points are we coming away with from them? What's what's the magic number? Let us know. We love to hear from you. We're on all the socials. You can let us know on them. We are on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, X, Blue Sky, all of them.
00:29:21
Zak
That's all of them.
00:29:22
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah, everywhere.
00:29:22
Zak
That's that's the ones we're
00:29:23
Global Sports Podcast Network
looks Look us up. We are GSPN Southampton everywhere. And we love hearing from you. So let us know. we want to know what that magic tally is that we should be aiming for.
00:29:34
Global Sports Podcast Network
We will be back tomorrow, as is the nature of our daily show, to talk more about Saints and all the good stuff that is coming. in But until then, everyone, have wonderful full day and we'll see you then.