All posts by h79snht.top

Being Crystal Palace manager isn’t exactly the most glamorous role you can have in world football, but they have some players to make it a mighty fun save on FM16.

The Eagles are full of talent, but your management will need to be at its very best if you are to push on in the PL as the money comes flooding in for every club.

What you start with…

Depending on expectations, you will be given between £6 million and £8 million from the board. Wage budget isn’t as generous as some other clubs around Palace’s stature, so you will need to be shrewd.

What’s expected…

Premier League – You can try and claim that you will finish in the Euro Cup spots if you really back your ability as manager, but it would be most sensible for you to stick with the top half finish. This still brings you a nice little budget, but less pressure.

FA Cup – The Cup can be a lovely way to build a bit more fan and board support. The Palace board will be chuffed if you can make it to the fifth round and anything more than that would be a huge bonus.

Capital One Cup – Typically, the league cup doesn’t mean a great deal to most boards, but a bit of surprise success will always give you a bit more leniency from the bosses at the club.

Three to buy…

Luka Jovic – A long-term FM wonderkid, Jovic, if you can keep him injury free, is a great asset for any FM squad. The striker develops into a prolific finisher and would add even more pace to the Palace attack.

Miroslav Klose – Quite a left-field suggestion, but Klose is still a lethal goal scorer on FM and his off the ball movement would thrive off the way that Bolasie and Zaha drag defences around the pitch with their terrifying dribbling.

Alan Dzagoev – CSKA always ask for a big transfer fee for Dzagoev, but the Russian would be a great addition to the Palace squad. Aside from Cabaye, the Eagles are a little short of natural creativity and Dzagoev can play in a number of different roles.

Three to sell

Joe Ledley – With McArthur, Cabaye, Jedinak and Mutch, Ledley will quite quickly become surplus to requirements. He is currently a useful member of the squad, but the midfielder can bring you a decent bit of revenue which can be invested in a new centre forward.

Dwight Gayle – Often transfer listed when you start your save, Gayle is a player you should look to move on as quickly as possible. He has provided occasional real-life heroics, but the striker isn’t even up to the standard of a reserve player for a club targeting the top half.

Frazier Campbell – Campbell can provide a bit of cover for you in wide roles, but, as that isn’t really needed, the striker is short of the quality that you should be after. Wickham can do the job of centre forward if needed, but Campbell won’t be up to that standard at any point and should be moved on.

Youngsters..

Jonny Williams – Having become a bit of an outcast at the club, Williams is somewhat of a forgotten man at Palace. Loans are going to be the basis of this man’s future, but that doesn’t mean he should be forgotten of.

Connor Wickham -Wickham, remarkably, is still only 22. No one, including me, has any idea how he isn’t about 30 by now, but the striker still has plenty of potential on FM16. Whether you want him as a wide target man or a complete forward, Wickham will produce for you for a long time.

Wilfried Zaha – He’s a regular starter for Palace nowadays, but Zaha still has tonnes of potential. After his brief stint at United, the winger has plenty of potential in the game and you need to manage him correctly.

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As the wonderful football game becomes ever more modern, certain positions become even more fundamental in terms of scoring goals and keeping clean sheets. The goalkeeping position and striker area is proved to be key in order to win the game. However, the so called number 10 role, just behind the striker, is becoming ever more popular and certain teams are altering their formations just to include their most creative to fill that position in order to damage the opposition. A mixture of goals and assists are the key attributes in order to become a good number 10 playmaker.

Five players this season have proved to make the number 10 role their own with the contribution to goals and assists they’ve accumulated have seen them being talked about being the player of the season when this exciting and strange season arrives. Here are the five and you can only pick one who you think is the best number 10 in England’s top flight.

Mesut Ozil is having the best season in a Gunners shirt since his £40m arrival from Real Madrid last season. From August to November, Ozil managed to create more chances than Chelsea, has created more chances in the Premier League than any other player , was the first player to register an assist in six consecutive games and has the best assist average in Premier League history.

Dimitri Payet is arguably West Ham’s best player and even manager Slaven Bilic has stated that he is and has no shame in admitting it. The magician has the same playing style as the likes of Hammers legends Paolo Di Canio and Carlos Tevez as the fans respond to his brilliance. Only Ozil has created more chances than Payet and eight goals and six assists this season means he is highly regarded by the Premier League.

Dele Alli is most definitely the hardest working number 10 out of the five and has covered more distance in games than any of the five playmaker’s mentioned. His temperament is his only demon but the former MK Dons player has deservedly earned himself a place in the England squad and his extraordinary volley’s that rippled the back of the net against Everton and Crystal Palace shows his quality.

Ross Barkley has no doubt got fantastic quality and should definitely be on the plane to France in the summer for Euro 2016. His vision, flair, power, strength and eye for goal means he is only going to get better seeing as the Everton youth product is still only 22 years old.

Riyad Mahrez has had a bit of the limelight taken away from him at Leicester City because of the brilliance of Jamie Vardy. However, the combination of Vardy and Mahrez this season is equal to Barcelona’s deadly frontline of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi. 15 goals and nine assists means the Algerian international means a plethora of clubs, including, Barca, Real Madrid and Manchester United are all looking to nab him away from the Premier League leaders.

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There’s a storm brewing in Manchester. “No change there then” some would say, given the North-west city’s predilection for rain, drizzle and grey skies.

Warmer air moving in from the south, via Germany is set to mix with a lingering cold front making for periods of turbulence – unpredictable but nevertheless exciting. Strong winds and high pressure should be expected whilst lightning, thunder and the occasional blizzard will feature intermittently.

A change to the landscape is inevitable, and residents should buckle in for the ride, hunker down and enjoy the spectacle. For if, as expected, Jose Mourinho ends up in charge of Manchester United, following the dull, damp period at Old Trafford under van Gaal, there could follow one of the greatest rivalries and compelling periods in the cities footballing history.

‘Pep’ is already confirmed across the way at City, charged with taking the team of superstars with potential and making them into world beaters. And it seems more than likely that his old foe from their time in Spain will move in next door, turning his music up full blast and not letting the Spaniard settle into his new pair of slippers.

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Yes, the cool, calm blue of City under Guardiola will come face to face with the devilish charms of Mr Mourinho, giving the Premier League a storyline so gripping it would grace any bestseller list and is likely to become one of the most fascinating chapters in the top-flight of English football. Well at least since the days of the great Fergie/Wenger rivalry during the early to mid 2000’s – still probably the best in Premier League folklore.

The dynamic is different of course, both managers arriving at new clubs in the same city, but the results should be no less compelling. Back then, Sir Alex’s dynasty at Old Trafford was in full swing, the Scot looking on as the new “intellectual” arrived from Japanese football of all places, throwing down a cerebral challenge to the Manchester United regime that had gone largely unhindered in it’s quest for silverware.

What followed for the preceding decade or so was a confrontation and relationship that dominated the Premier League landscape, the two managers and their respective sides trading blow after blow in their efforts for domestic supremacy.

Clashes between United and Arsenal during that period were filled with drama and contempt, both on and off the pitch. Who could forget the look on Martin Keown’s face following a Ruud van Nistlerooy penalty miss, or the alleged slice of pizza that Cesc Fabregas threw at Sir Alex in the tunnel following defeat at Old Trafford and end to their unbeaten run.

The two managers oversaw one of the greatest periods in Premier League history, at the helm of two of England’s biggest clubs. The sides battled each other, occupying the top two spots in the Premier League for six straight seasons, until Abramovich’s money changed things again.

The managers traded blows in press conferences, the strength and venom in Ferguson’s outbursts consistent with the threat he felt from a genuine rival to both his and Manchester United’s supremacy. Wenger often gave as good as he got though, unafraid of Ferguson’s wrath and mind-games. Labelling the Frenchman as a “disgrace” following ‘Pizzagate’, Wenger replied: “He has lost all sense of reality. He is going out looking for a confrontation, then asking the person he is confronting to apologise.”

Similar tete a tete’s will no doubt ensue should Mourinho adopt Manchester as his new home, much as Pep will. The thinking man of continental football, Guardiola’s manner will come in stark contrast to Mourinho, the former Chelsea manager akin to Ferguson in his preference for a fight, creating conflict for conflicts sake, hoping to eat away at his rivals by poking and prodding them till they react.

It may not manifest itself in physical poking, as it did to Tito Vilanova’s eye, the coach an assistant manager to Guardiola at the time, but there are sure to be fireworks. The flare-up’s between Real Madrid & Barcelona rarely need a catalyst, but the Portuguese boss used all his antagonistic, siege-like tactics to fan the flames of contempt between the two European giant’s when in charge of Los Blancos

Expect much of the same should he get the job at Old Trafford in the summer. The pressure on Guardiola will be intense enough as it is, as he attempts to transfer his footballing philosophies into the English game and onto Manchester City.

But should Jose find his way to Old Trafford – as many would expect – there is no doubting Guardiola’s job just got that little bit tougher. Now wouldn’t that be a poke in the eye?

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Whilst one other team are having a fairy-tale season, West Ham are enjoying the best campaign in their history in the Premier League.

In fairness to the club, not many people thought that the Irons were anything more than a settled midtable side. The aspirations were always there, but in the past they sold their best players, lost Premier League status twice and had to fight to get back at the first time of asking.

When the board at Upton Park failed to entice their first choices as manager last summer, they turned to Slaven Bilic and everyone knew that it was a risk. However, West Ham fans always enjoy seeing one of their own return and the Croatian was welcomed with open arms.

The new manager, with his own ideals and tactics, plus an avalanche of new players, has simply gone beyond the remit of ‘keep us in the Premier League ahead of the move to the Olympic Stadium’ and the Hammers have become actual contenders for a European place, and possibly a top four finish. The club’s sights were very firmly on the FA Cup until last week as well, and Bilic always fielded his strongest possible squad in all of their matches.

As it stands, West Ham are 6th, which if the league finished today, would be their best ever finish – and with a points total that has also broken the club’s own records.

But with all of that good work comes expectation. Next season will have to be as good or better, and whilst West Ham fans don’t think they are title winners yet, there must be progression.

With the team vying for a place in Europe, they will need to strengthen and replace. So who might Bilic bring in through the gates of their new stadium?Here are SIX ambitious targets…

Luka Modric

A bit of a surprise, or is it? Bilic is a huge fan of Modric and is quick to liken players to the Croatian midfielder. Modric is quick, intelligent and superb in possession, whilst working hard to regain the ball once out of possession. In short everything Bilic would want.

However, Real admire the player so much that even though Modric earns far less than Bale and Co., he is on decent money. It might not stop Bilic from enquiring and if Zidane steps down, as some think he might, then the ex-Spurs man may decide to move on.

Theo Walcott

He may be dropping down the pecking order at Arsenal, but Walcott at 27 still has a lot to offer. He needs first team football, to be playing regularly and an injection of confidence, which are all things West Ham can give him. His lack of starts this season has put his England place in doubt and the likelihood is that he will leave the Emirates with three years still remaining on his contract.

Andre-Pierre Gignac

It’s not news anymore, but West Ham need to find strikers that can score goals, so expect a change up front for next season. Despite the well-reported interest in Marseille forward Batshuayi, the Belgian may prove impossible to attain, so other options must be assessed.

Gignac made a surprise move to Mexican Club U.A.N.L Tigres over the summer on the back of netting 21 goals in Ligue 1 during his final season in France with Marseille, and has thrived in the Mexican league. 24 goals so far in 29 games brings his name back to the attention of the Premier League, and at 29 he has lots still to offer.

Pablo Zabaleta

Another surprise? Maybe not. West Ham need to ensure that they stop leaking goals as they have done over recent weeks, and although they haven’t played with a settled back line for most of the season, someone like Manchester City’s Zabaleta could be a solution.

The Argentina right-back has made just 10 Premier League appearances this season due to a combination of injury and the form of Bacary Sagna, and with a year left on his contract, as well as a new manager coming in, he may decide to move on.

Edin Dzeko

The Bosnian moved to the Italian capital to join Roma last summer from the Etihad, but he has managed to find the net just eight times this season. The 30-year-old is likely to be growing frustrated at his situation, and sporting director Walter Sabatini has already held talks with the player. He is said to favour a return to the Premier League and with West Ham’s ambitions, despite his age, east London could be appealing.

Adrien Rabiot

The PSG midfielder was on Bilic’s radar last summer and it was reported that officials from both clubs had met to discuss a possible loan/transfer. Currently valued at north of £20m, the youngster would eat up the majority of any war chest that the board would give to their manager, especially if £20-£25m is being put aside for a striker. However, Bilic is a fan of the Frenchman and after another improving season, he could bolster the options in midfield and become a key member of the first team.

According to their official club website, Manchester United have confirmed the appointment of Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese has been linked with the Old Trafford hot seat ever since being sacked by Chelsea in December, following an abysmal run of results that left the then-reigning champions just two places above the relegation zone.

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But reports of the 53-year-old taking over at Manchester United escalated drastically after Louis van Gaal was relieved of his managerial duties on Monday morning – just days after leading the Red Devils to the 2016 FA Cup.

The Special One and agent Jorge Mendes have been in talks with United since Tuesday and it the parties have reached an agreement, with Manchester United confirming him as their new manager on their official website.

The Portuguese has agreed a three-year contract with the option of a further year, which could see his stay at Old Trafford span beyond 2020.

Chief executive Ed Woodward said; “José is quite simply the best manager in the game today. He has won trophies and inspired players in countries across Europe and, of course, he knows the Premier League very well, having won three titles here.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome him to Manchester United. His track record of success is ideal to take the club forward.

Mourinho, meanwhile, told reporters; “To become Manchester United manager is a special honour in the game. It is a club known and admired throughout the world. There is a mystique and a romance about it which no other club can match.

“I have always felt an affinity with Old Trafford; it has hosted some important memories for me in my career and I have always enjoyed a rapport with the United fans. I’m looking forward to being their manager and enjoying their magnificent support in the coming years.

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Last season was yet another year of frustration for Derby fans.

Under Steve McClaren the club very nearly made the play-offs after a good first half of the season, and then that was followed up by play-off misery under Darren Wassell.

It was the second time in three years that Derby were involved in the play-offs, losing the 2014 play-off final to QPR.

This year under the guidance of Nigel Pearson, Derby will be looking to go one better and get the promotion that they’ve come so close to getting so often in the past.

Optimism must be rife at the iPro Stadium when you consider Pearson’s record of achievement. Having taken Leicester up to the holy land that is the Premier League and keeping them there in exceptional circumstances, the County supporters know that the right man is in the hot seat.

Equally, if you consider that eight of the Leicester team that won the title last year were Pearson’s players, Derby fans can relax in the knowledge that this guy knows a decent player when he sees one.

As with every Championship season, it will not be easy. Big clubs are on their way next season and will be looking to secure an immediate return. If Villa and Newcastle both get promoted, as could be expected, then that one last place in the Premier League is about to be fought out by at least a dozen clubs that are capable of putting up a fight.

Derby have been in the second tier since the fateful 2007/08 season when they finished bottom of the Premier League with just eleven points.

So, this is the year that Derby need to make a statement of intent. The best manager for them is in place and Championship ready players have seen it and done it before, but this time promotion is certainly a distinct possibility, as the three relegated sides will not have it all their own way.

According to the new boss, the squad look very talented. “Seeing the players in the early days has backed up what I, and as we as staff, suspected in that we have some very talented players here,” Pearson said to the Derby Telegraph.

Pearson still has players to return from international duty, but the ex-Foxes boss knows how hard life is in The Championship.

After spending £24m on transfers throughout the past season, the loss to Hull last year was a massive failure to an ambitious club.

Pearson knows what it takes to get out of the division and will be looking to add that missing ingredient to get them over the line on this occasion.

“Derby County is one of the biggest clubs in the country, a club in excellent shape and one with strong ambitions,” Pearson said. His track record shows that he knows how to set up a team, he knows how to win and how to win in the Championship, most importantly for now.

Derby have been installed as one of the favourites to go up, but escaping from the Championship will be no easier next season. Indeed, it promises to be tougher than ever.

The two automatic promotion places in the Championship will be fiercely contested, as will the battle for top-six finishes. Play-offs offer an alternative route to the Premier League although they offer an arena in which anything can happen, as Derby have found to their cost and pain in two of the last three seasons.

Derby’s aim has to be promotion, that has become expected after the last three seasons. Pearson, however, will be no different to other new managers, head coaches or players in that he may need to be given time to get his message, his methods and his thoughts across.

If Derby don’t get promotion, there is the danger that the consequence is stagnation in a tough league as many other ex-top flight clubs have found out over the years.

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Everyone enters a new season full of hope and optimism.

Then the first day happens and you begin to wonder if the next 37 games will ever be what you had imagined. And so it came to pass with Arsenal when, on day one of last season at home, they unbelievably lost to West Ham, a team that traditionally never stood a chance against The Gunners.

With only one signing all summer, Gunners fans were almost begging Arsene Wenger to spend some money, but again, in his own stubborn way, he refused to pay over the odds for players or rock his wage structure to accommodate a talent that would be the difference between league champions and runners-up.

This coming season sees the Frenchman admitting that he needs to revamp the tired side that showed few signs of actually, really wanting to be champions.

In came Granit Xhaka in midfield, up front Wenger went for an unknown, but potentially talented Japanese forward and in defence, the Arsenal boss clinched the deal for Bolton’s Rob Harding.

That’s it so far, although Arsenal have been linked with a few strikers, most notably the Juventus bound Higuaín and the stay-in-France Lacazette.

With Per Mertesacker now injured, Wenger will have to splash the cash, but it’s almost as though he does so reluctantly.

As time goes by, so do the players of any note. The longer Wenger leaves buying in the players that he considers a benefit to the club, the longer he will end up buying no one.

Someone needs to remind him that it isn’t actually his money that he’s spending and that Arsenalsupporters want to see exciting players at The Emirates and a return to early Wenger winning days.

In reality the Arsenal fans will get Giroud up front again, no further additions to midfield and a dodgy fill-in for Mertesacker. Transfer window shut, cheque-book put away and a team that finishes up second or third next year.

It was remarked by someone at Arsenal that a top finish is considered success. Not according to the Arsenal fans that I know it’s not.

To be eliminated one step after the Champions League groups seems to be a given with Arsenal and likely as not, the team are just not strong enough and Wenger not sharp witted enough to out-gun the major clubs in Europe, all of whom will strengthen before September.

Wenger has the money and has done so much for the club, but his perpetual reluctance to open his purse and spend is mystifying if you believe the rumoured £200m sitting in the bank.

As reported in the Mirror, according to Ravi Lockyer, a senior city analyst at Collins Sarri Statham Investments Ltd, the figure so often quoted by Wenger’s detractors is misleading.

CSS have penned a special report on Arsenal’s finances, which you can download and read in full here.

“Ever since Highbury was sold, Arsenal have held significant cash balances,” Lockyer writes. “But do Arsenal really have £200m for spending on players? No.”

This, CSS claim, is because there are deductions that must be factored in.

It appears that in reality, Wenger has financial constraints – there are always two sides to every story.

Next season could be Arsenal’s year. With top managers coming into the league and spending big, this coming year will be a big test for Wenger and in his final year in charge, under his current contract, he will surely want it to memorable.

For all the right reasons.

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There were many things to take from the opening weekend of Premier League action.

Manchester United looked like they could be a force again, Leicester City are going to find defending their title incredibly tough and Pep Guardiola has begun to leave his mark on Manchester City with Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy taking up very narrow positions for full backs.

Meanwhile Arsenal and Liverpool played out the game of the weekend – culminating in a 4-3 win for the Reds but it was another full back that grabbed the attention, for all the wrong reasons. Alberto Moreno put in another performance that seems to be his trademark, poorly timed challenges, complete lack of positioning and a terrible haircut to boot saw him bailed out only by the creativity of Liverpool’s attack.

Question marks over the Spaniard’s future on Merseyside have been rife for some time and this latest instalment only compounds them, surely Jurgen Klopp will be looking at replacements? Some are of the opinion James Milner will be the Reds’ first choice left back this season once fit but that smacks of poor planning – something the Anfield club can’t afford any more.

With the assumption the Reds do actually have a plan then, here are FIVE left backs we at FootballFanCast think Liverpool could look to sign before the transfer window shuts…

Ben Davies

The former Swansea man has found playing time hard to come by at Tottenham with Danny Rose being Mauricio Pochettino’s first choice.

Davies may get extra chances to play with Spurs’ Champions League campaign ahead of them but despite this he’s still not guaranteed a place week in week out.

The Argentine boss likes to rotate his full backs at times and whilst that must keep them fresh, you’re not telling me they wouldn’t rather play every week. Davies would get that at Anfield and would certainly provide a far more solid option than Moreno.

Jetro Willems

Willems has two Eredivisie titles under his belt as well as a number of caps for the Netherlands national team and at the age of 22, he’s only going to get better.

The PSV man fits Liverpool’s transfer policy in terms of his age and potential to improve and if they act quickly to sign him they should be able to get him for a decent enough price before the end of August.

Ricardo Rodriguez

It’s surely only a matter of time before Rodriguez moves to one of Europe’s biggest clubs.

The Wolfsburg man is adept at both attacking and defending – already trumping Moreno – and possesses a threat from set pieces with his left foot.

\He’s 23, so like Willems he suits the Reds’ transfer policy, and Klopp may fancy him given his Bundesliga pedigree.

Ryan Bertrand

Southampton to Liverpool is now a well-worn path with varying degrees of success.

The likes of Nathaniel Clyne seemed to fit in seamlessly whereas for Rickie Lambert the move just didn’t work.

If Bertrand was to make the switch though he’d surely make a positive impact, he’s quick and that’ll help him adopt Jurgen Klopp’s tactics and he can defend which will help him win over the Anfield crowd.

Domenico Criscito

One criticism of Liverpool’s performance yesterday was that at 4-1 up they shouldn’t have given Arsenal a sniff.

As it transpired the Reds let the Gunners back in twice and had to hold on, suggesting some experience is needed in the side.

Liverpool certainly need another assured player at the back and someone like Criscito, who’s been around the block a fair few times, would offer this.

Arsenal may not be top of the tree when it comes to what happens on the pitch these days, but they’re certainly up there when it comes to attracting the opposite sex.

That’s no surprise either, because for whatever reason, Arsenal have always boasted some of the best looking footballers in the Premier League. Don’t try and tell me Olivier Giroud isn’t a good looking chap, because he is. Or even summer signing Granit Xhaka, because he’s also a handsome looking young man.

Anyway, good looks attract stunning women. And these five Arsenal stars have certainly scored off the pitch as well as on it by bagging these beauties.

And of course, they’re all on Instagram, so make sure you’re falling all of them…

Leonita Lekaj (Granit Xhaka)

A photo posted by Leonita Lekaj (@__ll.gx__) on Aug 23, 2016 at 11:00am PDT

Mandy Capristo (Mesut Ozil)

A photo posted by FC Bayern & DFB Wags (@spielerfrauen_fans) on Apr 15, 2016 at 1:05pm PDT

Colleen Ramsey (Aaron Ramsey)

A photo posted by Colleen Ramsey (@colleen_ramsey) on Jul 27, 2015 at 12:15pm PDT

Laia Grassi (Alexis Sanchez)

A photo posted by Laia Grassi (@laiyls) on Oct 5, 2015 at 11:06pm PDT

Berta Requeno (Hector Bellerin)

A photo posted by Berta Requeno Fans (@bertarequenofans) on Oct 9, 2015 at 6:38am PDT

Southampton suffered only their second home league defeat of 2016 on Sunday as they were beaten 2-0 by Chelsea at St Mary’s thanks to goals from Eden Hazard and Diego Costa.

The Saints’ other loss this calendar year? Yep, you guessed it. It was against the same opposition back in February, when Branislav Ivanovic scored the winner in a 2-1 win on the south coast.

In fact, the result yesterday wasn’t too surprising given Southampton’s recent home record against the Blues.

They are renowned for being strong at home, especially in the last few seasons, but have taken just one point from the last 12 available against Chelsea at St Mary’s and been beaten seven times in their previous 11 home matches.

That got us thinking here at Football FanCast – do Southampton have any other bogey fixtures against clubs in the Premier League?

We pick out three games that Saints fans must dread each season…

ARSENAL VS SOUTHAMPTON

Whether it was a trip to Highbury or now to the Emirates, Southampton never travel well when they face Arsenal in the capital.

Incredibly, they haven’t won an away league fixture against Arsenal since 1987, and have taken just five points back to the south coast from 18 matches during the Premier League era.

One of those five came against the Gunners back in February, when a brilliant performance from goalkeeper Fraser Forster saw them record a rare 0-0 draw.

EVERTON VS SOUTHAMPTON

Another one of Saints’ bogey trips is their one to Goodison Park.

Their record on Merseyside isn’t quite as bad as away at Arsenal, but they haven’t won there since 1997, when goals from Matt Le Tissier and Kevin Davies – an incredible solo goal, by the way– saw them claim a 2-0 success.

It was a bit of revenge after they had been humiliated 7-1 the season before.

There have been 11 games between the two at Goodison since then, with Southampton taking just three points.

The term’s fixture in January takes on extra added significance for Saints as they will come up against former boss Ronald Koeman.

SOUTHAMPTON VS MANCHESTER UNITED

They may not be the force they once were, but Southampton just can’t seem to beat Manchester United when they host them in the Premier League.

Since they made the move from The Dell to St Mary’s in 2001, Saints have recorded just one win from their eight home fixtures against the Red Devils, with James Beattie netting an 88th-minute winner in 2003.

A solitary point in 2014 is all they have to show from their seven matches since.