mitch01

He has absolutely fantastic technique. His delivery from free-kicks and corners are going to earn us a lot of goals in the coming years.

I'm a bigger and bigger fan of Davis every time I see him play. Really underrated him when he first signed, but he is a very neat player indeed. Knows his limitations and plays within them, rarely gives the ball away. That volley would have been unbelievable.

..the 'horrific' back-up players that is

...but last week they were really good..?

There's a bloke at the back of Block 36 who might be certifiably mental. Screams all sorts of horrible stuff whenever a player misplaces a pass. I can understand getting upset if there's a lack of effort or continuous mistakes, but our team is full of good young players trying to play good football. Just no reason to get that upset at the moment. Then again, footy always will attract some nutters who just love to have a shout and pretend to themselves that it could/should have been them out there.

I thought Rodriguez was excellent. Always looking to do something positive and has a great knack of ghosting past defenders.

He was great but made the wrong decision a couple of times when he was in good positions. That will come with time and experience. Another technically gifted player in our squad, very pleased. He and Cork really stepped up to the plate yesterday.

FWIW I thought Rodriguez, Lallana, Davis and Lovren were all excellent last night. Can't believe we lost the game.

I thought Lallana was one of our better players; did his chances no harm at all. Certainly seems more suited to international football than Rodriguez at the moment; he's just so versatile, happy to drift in from the wing or stay wide and his footwork is phenomenal. Not sure whether he will ultimately make it to the WC but he'd be a great option to have in the squad.

Correct - although 'back to his best' suggests we have ever seen him play quite this well before, and we haven't. He's now doing to PL defenders what he was doing in L1 and the Championship. He had a frustrating time towards the end of last season but I never doubted how good he was - he has such good feet and can turn past defenders so easily. We don't have anyone else like him, and haven't for years. Absolutely delighted to see him getting the plaudits now.

Just keeps getting better. Defenders have no idea which way he is going to go, this has always been his best trait as a winger. I am still amazed at how he has noticeably got faster in the last few months. Must be benefitting from the training regime and staying clear of injuries. I

Bloody iphone: *terms of *relation

We are getting ahead of ourselves. I'd be absolutely delighted with top 8, but wouldn't be surprised with lower. Stoke will be tough, and we are still streets behind the top six in terms are strength in depth. Enjoy the ride, no need to worry about where we are in ration to the big clubs.

It's not as simple as that, though. I honestly think it has always been obvious that he has warrants a place in the first team, even when things aren't quite going for him. He has a very rare ability - to beat players with his first touch, going left or right. His final ball hasn't always been top class, but if it was we'd probably be looking at a player who had already left us for better things. He is growing with us almost seamlessly, stepping up to the next level time and again. Frustrating sometimes, sometimes for a couple of games in a row, but it would take a hell of a lot more than that for me to lose faith in an inspired youth player who has shown great loyalty and endeavour to go from exciting in L1 to adapting to the PL in less than three years. He is exactly what I love about our club at the moment - talent and hard work.

Many thanks. I like being right (so far, long season etc)

I grew up in Farnham and didn't get to my first Saints game until 2001 when I was 11, but have been to around 175 since despite lengthy stints in Central America, British Columbia and Nottingham. I have never lived in, or even gone for a night out in, Southampton. My mother grew up there, my uncle still lives there. I haven't bought a shirt since 'Lambert 7' in 2009 (modern classic). Am I allowed to be a Saints fan?

Do you think that maybe, just maybe, his handful of appearances for us don't accurately reflect his actual ability as a football player?

I never understood the criticism lallana received on here. He had a mildly frustrating season last year, not helped by an injury before Xmas when he looked on really good form. In the eyes of many he warranted absolutely no respect for his massive contribution to the double promotion, and loyalty while we were in L1. Even putting that aside and focussing absolutely on his what he offers to the squad now, I still feel he merits his role as part of the starting eleven. Despite not possessing the shedloads of pace that most PL wingers can call upon, lallana is still very wel capable of beating his fullback and providing a cross with a neat piece of footwork or clever first touch. Trying to make that potentially match-winning bit of space for himself invariably carries a risk of giving the ball away, but this is a small cost for the constant threat he poses even when it doesn't look like he is playing his best. I don't see him as a regular international player but he is a great option to have in our squad. Would be great if he could continue his great start to the season, but regardless of that we should value a player with his creativity and attitude.

There is absolutely no way we will finish in the top four. We might well come top 10.

Don't be ridiculous. I agree with those who consider him not good enough to play for us in this division. Far worse players have played in the Premier League, but we are aiming for far higher standards than we ever have before and Sharp isn't even nearly at that level. Sharp, in my eyes, fits into the same bracket as the likes of Earnshaw, Chopra, Kenny Miller (when in their prime) - great to help get you out of the Championship but not what you need to flourish in the Premier League. He is a great goalscorer in lower leagues, excellent finishing and positioning, but to be worth your place in the team in this league you have to do far more than that - bring others into play and have the strength and/or speed to compete physically. As much as I like him as a player (most clubs in the Championship would be lucky to have him), I don't think he has the required attributes and I predict he would be handled with relative ease by most PL defenders.

He was great for us in the short time we had him, I thought he was going to end up in the PL.

I was very impressed with Wanyama in the first 2 games. Less so in the third. I am yet to be particularly impressed by Osvaldo in the 135 minutes of action he has had in a Saints shirt. Still pretty sure they are both improvements on what we already have, and will contribute very well in the coming years. Thats's because I'm not a so short-sighted as to write of signings based on one poor performance away at Norwich.

Huge fan of Hammond. Great pro, exactly what we needed in 2009.

He was fantastic today. His set piece delivery could earn us plenty of goals this season.

This works and would be good and original. So hard for new ones to catch on though.