OptiNews - Friday 13 to Thursday 19 January 2017

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Sourced from Southampton FC - Official Site article

Long: It was hard work

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Match-winner Shane Long admitted it was tough for Southampton to kill off Norwich in the Emirates FA Cup, but he was relieved to do so in 90 minutes at St Mary’s.

Long bundled the ball in from close range during stoppage time at the end of the game to avoid the prospect of extra-time, which also secured a fourth round tie at home to Arsenal.

The striker conceded that the Championship side dug in, which made it more difficult, with Saints leaving it late to score the all-important goal.

“It was hard to break them down,” said Long. “They had three big centre backs with five across defence and two sitting in front, so it was tough.

“We passed it well I thought,” he added. “It was frustrating at times and we didn’t have too many clear-cut chances, but we were always threatening.

“It was tough and hard to break them down, but we were confident a chance would come our way, and we did have a few in the end, but it took us until the last minute to take the one that counts.”

Long scrambled in the winner and explained that it was a tougher chance than it appeared.

“It was a great ball in and I just headed it down,” he began “The ‘keeper made a good save, and I think I was in a headlock as I tried to kick the ball in and it squeezed inside the post.

“And both teams have a busy schedule so I think they might have even celebrated that we won the game in 90 minutes!

“It’s a hectic month for us with a lot of games and we didn’t need 30 more minutes so we can kick on in the FA Cup, and we’re still in three competitions which means we’re in with a shout.”

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Sourced from Southampton FC - Official Site article

Arsenal cup ticket details confirmed

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Southampton will take on the Gunners on Saturday 28th January, with a kick-off time of 5.30pm GMT.

Tickets will go on sale in the following order:

Thursday 19th January (9am GMT): Season Ticket holders

Monday 23rd January (12pm GMT): 2016/17 Official Members

Tuesday 24th January (9am GMT): General sale

Due to competition regulations, some Season Ticket holders will be displaced from their usual seat in order to accommodate the allocation given to Arsenal. The following seats will be unavailable for purchase:

Block 41

Rows A-H, seats 1059-1069

Rows J-P, seats 1068+1069

Rows Q-OO, seats 1064-1072

Block 42

Rows A-OO, seats 1073-1103

Displaced Season Ticket holders can purchase in the above window, and will also have an exclusive period to purchase an alternative seat between 9am and 12pm on Monday 23rd January.

Tickets are priced as follows:

Adults: £15

Concessions (18-21 year-olds & 65 years+): £12

Under-18s: £8

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Sourced from Optimus trousers summary article summary

Summary of non-mainstream articles: 19/01/2017 02:04:51

|

| Late Long goal sees #SaintsFC through to FA Cup fourth roundSTMARYSMUSINGS |
| | Stats: Southampton v NorwichVITALFOOTBALL |
| | Shane Long’s late goal sees Southampton through to FA Cup fourth roundCLUBCALL |
| | Injury-time Long winner sees Southampton through - TEAMtalk | Latest Football News & Transfer RumoursTEAMTALK |

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Sourced from Daily Echo article

Southampton 1-0 Norwich: Long saves Saints’ day

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Shane Long spared Saints’ blushes by bundling the Premier League side past Norwich in a last-gasp 1-0 win in Wednesday’s FA Cup third round replay.

Norwich goalkeeper Michael McGovern parried the Republic of Ireland striker’s last-ditch close-range header, only for Long to force the rebound home.

The underwhelming Saints struggled for rhythm all night, but finally squeezed past Championship outfit Norwich inside normal time, after the 2-2 draw at Carrow Road on January 7.

Southampton will now host Arsenal in the fourth round at St Mary’s on Saturday, January 28.

Former Norwich forward Nathan Redmond spurned three fine second-half chances as this tie looked to be heading for extra-time, only for Long to produce his rescue act.

A dire first-half served up just one morsel for the paltry and wholly-underwhelmed crowd.

Sam McQueen’s shot was tipped onto the post by McGovern, before bouncing to safety.

The distinct lack of movement from statuesque forward pairing Jay Rodriguez and Long undermined every Saints attack.

Cuco Martina and Josh Sims grafted manfully enough down the right, but to entirely no avail.

The hosts upped the tempo after the break, but that was hardly any challenge.

Sims’ low cross forced Ivo Pinto to turn the ball round the post, before Rodriguez flicked the ball across the face of goal.

Just when Saints sniffed the faintest scent of blood, Norwich broke with two quick passes.

Kyle Lafferty just failed to connect with Josh Murphy’s teasing cross though, letting the home side comfortably off the hook.

James Ward-Prowse curled a smart free-kick just wide, with the rippling netting tricking the home faithful into thinking the midfielder had made the breakthrough.

Replacement and ex-Norwich man Redmond then fluffed three fine openings for victory, all in the final stages.

First he failed to dig the ball properly from under his feet with a shot, then he fired too close to McGovern. And most wasteful of all, he scuffed wide from the penalty spot.

Long failed to gain any purchase attempting a header on Redmond’s cross, as Saints finally found fluency at the death.

And just when the clash looked odds-on for extra time, McQueen’s cross let Long grind the ball finally over the line for the winner.

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Sourced from Mirror.co.uk article

Southampton battling struggling Swansea to sign Young Boys assists king Ravet

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Southampton are battling with struggling Swansea to sign French midfielder Yoric Ravet.

The 27-year-old has caught the eye of clubs around Europe after scoring six goals and deivering 14 assists for Swiss club Young Boys this season.

Ravet only joined the Berne side from domestic rivals Grasshoppers a year ago and is under contract until 2020.

Meanwhile, Porto midfielder Sergio Oliveira has snubbed a move to Saints because they have ‘no championship ambitions.’

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Sourced from Daily Mail article

Liverpool turn down Mamadou Sakho loan bid from Southampton

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Southampton have been rebuffed in a request to take Mamadou Sakho on loan from Liverpool.

The south coast club made their move after West Ham made further enquiries about taking transfer listed Jose Fonte.

France international defender Sakho is available but Liverpool are looking for a permanent sale and have been asking for £20m for the 26-year-old.

Crystal Palace, Swansea and Sevilla have also enquired.

Sakho has not featured for Liverpool at all this season after falling foul of manager Jurgen Klopp during their pre-season tour of the United States.

Fonte has been excluded by Southampton since making a formal request to leave St. Mary’s at the start of the transfer window.

He has been with the Saints since 2010, when he joined them from Crystal Palace.

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Sourced from Optimus trousers’ RSS Feed rss feed

Read Southampton

New content from (- Read Southampton)

| Spurs the latest to join the chase for Fonte | The latest club to join the chase for Southampton defender Jose Fonte is Tottenham Hotspur, according to a report … 19-01-2017 |

Older content…

| West Ham step up Fonte pursuita day ago |
| Liverpool reject Saints’ Sakho loan bida day ago |
| Last time out - Southampton vs Norwicha day ago |
| Saints linked with Yoric Raveta day ago |
| Saints considering Gabbiadini loan move2 days ago |
| Saints linked with Lorenzo Pellegrini2 days ago |
| Saints linked with Pedraza move2 days ago |
| Scouting Report - Manolo Gabbiadini2 days ago |
| Southampton vs Norwich - Predicted XI2 days ago |

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Sourced from Southampton FC - Official Site article

Puel relieved to have got through

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Saints had to wait until added time for the all-important breakthrough in the third-round replay with the Canaries, as Shane Long managed to force the ball home from close range to give the hosts a 1-0 win and set up a home clash with Arsenal.

Puel was relieved to have avoided extra-time, and believed it was, in the end, a deserved result for his team.

“It’s an important result,” he said. "It was important to win this game. It was a difficult game.

"Our first half did not have a good enough rhythm, and it was important in the second half to control the game and the ball.

"Of course, we should have scored before we did, but we prevented extra-time and this is important for the recovery of the players.

"All the players kept a good attitude, with good concentration. We gave no chances to the opponent during the whole 90 minutes, and in the second half we had many opportunities.

“We were perhaps unlucky, or not clinical enough, but the most important thing was to qualify and now we have an important game against Arsenal in this competition.”

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Sourced from Daily Echo article

Southampton 1-0 Norwich: Puel reveals “opportunity” for wantaway Fonte as Stephens stakes his claim

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Jack Stephens last night staked his claim to fill the boots of Jose Fonte with Saints boss Claude Puel admitting there is an “opportunity” the skipper could leave the club in the coming days.

Fonte has made it clear he wishes to quit St Mary’s and is not being played this month with his future up in the air.

England under-21 international Stephens was handed the chance to impress at centre half last night, and kept a clean sheet as Saints progressed to the FA Cup fourth round with a 1-0 win in their replay against Norwich at St Mary’s.

West Ham are supposedly poised to bid for Fonte, and Puel said: “I cannot comment on other things about Jose.

“I think he has some opportunity, for Southampton is the same, and we will see if Jose leaves Southampton or not. We will see in the next days.”

Without Fonte, Saints will have Maya Yoshida and Virgil van Dijk as experienced centre half options, with Stephens seemingly the next in line.

Forgotten man Florin Gardos was on the bench for the third round replay last night, but has been out of action for almost two years.

Puel was pleased with how Stephens did, and when asked if the youngster was ready to take over from Fonte, replied: “We will see this, but it was important to try Stephens in this game.

“He played two games at right back and it was important he start in his first position, centre back.

“He is an international under-21 player, and it’s important to see him and I am happy he stayed with a clean sheet, with good concentration.

“This game seems easy to play behind because the opponent didn’t have chances, but it is always hard because the situation needs to keep the good concentration and keep the counter attack of the opponent.

“It was good work from Yoshida and Stephens because it is important to keep the good concentration.

“To keep a clean sheet without chances for opponent is always important.”

Puel made Yoshida captain for the Norwich tie and reflected: “Maya made a very good season, interesting every moment, giving satisfaction and good concentration, winning duels, and he made progress since the beginning of the season.

“With all the young players around him it was important to give him the captain to give him confidence and it’s a good deserved for him for his good spirit.”

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Sourced from A tweet by SouthamptonFC tweet

@SouthamptonFC - Southampton FC

Check out the best images from #SaintsFC’s #EmiratesFACup success against #NCFC: http://sfcne.ws/Gallery190117

Retweets: 6

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Sourced from Optimus trousers summary article summary

Summary of non-mainstream articles: 19/01/2017 03:05:29

| | Jose Fonte has options to leave SouthamptonBTSPORT |
| | Claude Puel admits Southampton have received enquiries for captain Jose FonteCLUBCALL |
|

| 5 things we learned from Saints last gasp win over NorwichSHOOTCOUK |

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Sourced from Sky Sports article

Claude Puel says Southampton have received several enquiries for Jose Fonte

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Claude Puel says Southampton have received several enquiries for Jose Fonte

Claude Puel says Jose Fonte is fielding several “opportunities” to leave Southampton in the January transfer window.

Saints ground past Norwich 1-0 in Wednesday’s FA Cup third-round replay courtesy of Shane Long’s last-gasp bundled goal, to book a home clash with Arsenal on January 28.

Euro 2016 winner Fonte’s future remains of top interest however, with Southampton boss Puel predicting progress on a possible deal in the week ahead.

“I think he has some opportunities: he studies these opportunities,” said Puel of Fonte. “And for Southampton it’s the same. We will see if Jose leaves Southampton; we will see over the next few days.”

Puel handed England Under-21 cap Jack Stephens his first start in his preferred position of centre-back against Norwich, but remained coy on whether the 22-year-old is yet ready to step into Fonte’s shoes.

Refusing to confirm Saints would chase a replacement for Fonte, Puel said: "It was important to see him in his main position of centre-back, having had a couple of starts at right-back.

“It’s interesting to see Jack Stephens in this situation for example. Because we know Jose Fonte’s situation, he might leave the club, so it’s important to see Jack’s performances.”

Fonte now has less than 18 months to run on his Southampton deal, and has squabbled with the club over a potential contract extension.

Fonte’s potential departure would heap strain on Saints’ defensive options, with just Maya Yoshida and Stephens to back up Van Dijk.

Yoshida captained Southampton in their flimsy win over Norwich, with Puel praising the 28-year-old’s form.

“Maya’s made good progress since the beginning of the season,” said Puel. “It was important to give him the captaincy to give him confidence, it’s good for him, for his spirit.”

Norwich boss Alex Neil admitted his injury-hit side had little choice but to adopt a defensive approach at St Mary’s, before insisting Robbie Brady will not leave Carrow Road on the cheap.

Burnley are among a number of clubs circling Ireland midfielder Brady, but Neil believes Norwich will only let him leave on the club’s own terms.

“We came with a gameplan to sit behind the ball,” said Neil. "We had all our midfielders suspended, injured or at the African Nations Cup.

"We had to put a makeshift team together but I couldn’t have asked any more of them.

"We would have liked to have offered a lot more going forward, but to lose it in the manner in which we did at the end, I felt for the players.

“There’s been ongoing negotiations and contact from other clubs about Robbie (Brady), but I’m not going to be specific. So far it’s not at the level we would expect. It will be at our timescale, it will be at our terms.”

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Sourced from A tweet by SouthamptonFC tweet

@SouthamptonFC - Southampton FC

A winning goal from @ShaneLong7 on his 100th appearance for #SaintsFC!

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Sourced from Premier League - Official Site article

Tadic threat hints at imminent impact

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A Gameweek 22 home encounter with Leicester City affords Southampton’s Dusan Tadic (£7.0m) the chance to play his way into the plans of Fantasy Premier League managers.

Having scored only one goal this season it is perhaps no surprise that the attacking midfielder currently sits in 1% of FPL squads.

But Tadic has considerably upped his goal threat since returning to Claude Puel’s starting XI in Gameweek 19.

Assessed against his previous displays, the playmaker’s average number of goal attempts per match (from 1.8 to 3.3) has improved markedly in the last three matches.

His efforts inside the box (from 0.9 to 2.0) have also more than doubled, yet he has been let down by some wayward shooting - all of those recent attempts have failed to hit the target.

With his threat on the rise Tadic’s creativity has dropped - a previous average of 2.1 key passes has slipped to 0.7 - yet he still earned an assist for Southampton’s only goal over the last three matches, setting up Shane Long (£6.1m) to score in a 2-1 loss to West Bromwich Albion in Gameweek 19.

When compared with other FPL midfielders, Tadic’s numbers are encouraging.

A total of 10 attempts on goal over the last three rounds of fixtures is more than any team-mate and ranks joint-third behind Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez (£11.9m) and Manchester United’s Paul Pogba (£8.5m), with 15 and 11 respectively.

Tadic sits joint-fourth in terms of shots inside the opposition penalty area, with a tally of six on par with Nathan Redmond (£5.8m) and Tottenham Hotspur’s in-form Dele Alli (£8.7m).

Up against a Leicester side who have mustered only one clean sheet away from home, conceding 21 times in 10 trips, the Serb’s contribution looks vital at a time when Charlie Austin (£6.4m) and Sofiane Boufal (£6.8m) remain sidelined through injury.

The upcoming schedule also suggests that investment in the Saints could prove profitable for FPL managers.

According to the Fixture Difficulty Rankings (FDR), five of their next six matches score no more than two.

In addition to Sunday’s hosting of the Foxes, they also face West Ham United, Swansea City, Sunderland and Watford - sides who all currently sit in the bottom eight of the Premier League.

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 19/01/2017 07:06:14

| | Southampton fans blast manager despite FA Cup triumphFOOTBALLFANCAST |

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Sourced from A tweet by SouthamptonFC tweet

@SouthamptonFC - Southampton FC

It’s back to #PL action for #SaintsFC on Sunday, as #LCFC visit St Mary’s. Secure your seat here: http://sfcne.ws/LCFCHTickets

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 19/01/2017 08:06:18

| | CLICKLIVERPOOL |
|

| Southampton line up highly rated Swiss based midfielderSHOOTCOUK |

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Sourced from A tweet by SouthamptonFC tweet

@SouthamptonFC - Southampton FC

#SaintsFC’s @ShaneLong7 looks ahead to a clash with #Arsenal in the next round of the #EmiratesFACup: http://sfcne.ws/SLFAC1617

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Sourced from Daily Mail article

Claude Puel admits Southampton have received enquiries for Jose Fonte

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Claude Puel says Jose Fonte is fielding several ‘opportunities’ to leave Southampton in the January transfer window.

West Ham have been rumoured to be interested in want-away Saints defender Fonte, and manager Puel has accepted there are several offers on the table for the 33-year-old.

Saints ground past Norwich 1-0 in Wednesday’s FA Cup third round replay courtesy of Shane Long’s last-gasp bundled goal, to book a home clash with Arsenal on January 28.

Euro 2016 winner Fonte’s future remains of top interest however, with Southampton boss Puel predicting progress on a possible deal in the week ahead.

‘I think he has some opportunities: he studies these opportunities,’ said Puel of Fonte.

‘And for Southampton it’s the same. We will see if Jose leaves Southampton; we will see over the next few days.’

Puel handed England Under-21 cap Jack Stephens his first start in his preferred position of centre-back against Norwich, but remained coy on whether the 22-year-old is yet ready to step into Fonte’s shoes.

Refusing to confirm Saints would chase a replacement for Fonte, Puel said: 'It was important to see him in his main position of centre-back, having had a couple of starts at right-back.

'It’s interesting to see Jack Stephens in this situation for example.

‘Because we know Jose Fonte’s situation, he might leave the club, so it’s important to see Jack’s performances.’

Fonte now has less than 18 months to run on his Southampton deal, and has squabbled with the club over a potential contract extension.

The long-serving defender now looks set to leave the club, with Southampton’s board therefore desperate to hang on to the highly-prized Virgil van Dijk.

Saints are understood to have slapped a £50million price tag on Van Dijk to discourage suitors in this transfer window.

Fonte’s potential departure would heap strain on Saints’ defensive options, with just Maya Yoshida and Stephens to back up Van Dijk.

Yoshida captained Southampton in their flimsy win over Norwich, with Puel praising the 28-year-old’s form.

‘Maya’s made good progress since the beginning of the season,’ said Puel. ‘It was important to give him the captaincy to give him confidence, it’s good for him, for his spirit.’

Norwich boss Alex Neil admitted his injury-hit side had little choice but to adopt a defensive approach at St Mary’s, before insisting Robbie Brady will not leave Carrow Road on the cheap.

Burnley are among a number of clubs circling Ireland midfielder Brady, but Neil believes Norwich will only let him leave on the club’s own terms.

‘We came with a gameplan to sit behind the ball,’ said Neil. 'We had all our midfielders suspended, injured or at the African Nations Cup. We had to put a makeshift team together but I couldn’t have asked any more of them.

'We would have liked to have offered a lot more going forward, but to lose it in the manner in which we did at the end, I felt for the players.

‘There’s been ongoing negotiations and contact from other clubs about Robbie (Brady), but I’m not going to be specific. So far it’s not at the level we would expect. It will be at our timescale, it will be at our terms.’

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Sourced from A tweet by SouthamptonFC tweet

@SouthamptonFC - Southampton FC

Tickets for #SaintsFC’s game against #Arsenal in the #EmiratesFACup are now on sale to Season Ticket holders: http://sfcne.ws/AFC280117

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