Forester

If you have a read of some of the comments in the first few minutes, and again when Reed was taken off for Davis, it is truly embarrassing. We are 7th in the Premier League with two home games to go before the halfway mark and in the semi final of the League Cup. To be as negative as some on here are can only mean that they are closet Pompey fans, or really have lost all sense of proportion. We were playing League on football losing to Rochdale not long ago.

These stats all reinforce the point that Puel is doing a good job, getting performances and creating chances but is working without the requisite goods upfront. He needs help in January and did so even before Austin's injury.

Having got back at 130am I am glad I didn't look at the knee jerk cyber warrior comments immediately after the game. Very frustrating not to take all three points, and I felt we started really well until the red card which changed the dynamic of the game completely. Stoke no longer looked to push on, which previously was leaving us space to use. We should be good enough to still win, but it just exposed what we know which is we lack a cutting edge which needs fixing in January. However bigger picture is 9th in Premier League, semi-final to look forward to and three of the next four games are all against teams who I think we have a chance of finishing above in May so important to win as many, and lose as few, as possible of those matches. Final word on four clean sheets in five Premier League games, which is not just down to a great defence (with changed personnel) but also a manifestation of the possession football that some on here hate. We really are one good strike away from being a top six team in my opinion

If we win we are likely to go eight, above Koeman's Everton and possibly one point off Man Utd. Not that you would know it by reading some of our friends on this forum

I am one of many who went to Milan and Prague, and want some more. So really disappointed. From a football point of view we misfired in three of the six games. The home wins and away performance in Milan were very good. But we just needed one of those other games to have seen one more goal. And that is the nub of the issue as others have commented on. With hindsight, the original thinking of sending JayRod out on loan was right - despite most on here kicking back after he scored against Sunderland. But I said we needed two strikers in, and we still need that. Redmond is a good player and will get better, but he needs taking out of the team and recharging his batteries as he looks mentally shot right now. Our league position is fine, and we have the opportunity to be better placed at the halfway mark than we were last season, and semi final of the league cup. So I don't buy all the anti Puel stuff, but he needs significant help in January transfer window or we will lose lots of games 1-0 in the second half of the season.

This is a daft comment. Play his first eleven in all competitions? So the same line up to play eleven games in thirty odd days, leaving disenchanted others kicking their heels at the training ground watching their mates get burnt out? Have you managed a whelk stall?

Agree with this, thought Clasie was our best player tonight in a very poor team performance. Can't recall their goalkeeper making a save second half. Our fans applauded Sparta players off at the end following their lengthy celebrations.....

Sunderland have a home game kicking off at lunchtime Saturday, so I would expect them to play a second string side on Wednesday evening. A superb opportunity for us to book a quarter final place with lots of juicy Premier League clashes knocking some good sides out of the competition

Sunderland have a home game kicking off at lunchtime Saturday, so I would expect them to play a second string side on Wednesday evening. A superb opportunity for us to book a quarter final place with lots of juicy Premier League clashes knocking some good sides out of the competition

Some changes, but keep it a strong team a la the Prague game. Without knackering people, we need to keep some momentum and that winning feeling if we can

Anyone else experiencing frustrations with online booking today? Froze once at payment screen, now freezing at the "enter your passport" stage?

A good performance at a tough place to go. Thought diamond formation looked good, with our midfield very effective, albeit Tadic lacking impact other than one superb free kick. As someone who saw us get a point last season there, this was a far better performance. As others have said, the concern is a lack of a goal scorer, but for those trying to blame the manager I can't see what more he could have done today to prepare a good performance but be done by poor finishing, a freak overhead kick and a dubious penalty. We need to back him, give him time and be fair in judging performances. This was a good one, and Saints fans that travelled felt robbed at the end.

I would have thought that, given average tenure of Premier League manger now is less than two years, it would be crazy to hand over recruitment decisions lock, stock and barrel to a 1st team manager. They should be able to recommend, and also to veto, but not to just go freestyle. Our success over recent years has transcended four managers who in their different ways have all done a good job under Les Reed. More of the same please

Agree with this. I can see a regular theme of self pity and "why us again" but reality is that if someone had offered us 14th, 8th, 7th and 6th three and a half years ago under Nigel, who we all are eternally grateful to, we would have bitten their arm off. If other clubs continue to court our manages it means things are going well. Don't get me wrong I hope Ron stays as any change is a gamble, but sooner or later he will go. The abuse Les gets on here is mad given the facts of progress listed above.

And fine by me. Barca or Holland, and most Saints fans would understand and wish him all the very best. But not Everton or the like! I think he will see his contract out, and then who knows

A good day out, disappointed to lose and frustrated with Mane for not burying a one on one rather than the referee. Having a read of some of the cyber warriors on here I thought I had logged on to the wrong forum. We have just lost 1-0 to a side about to win the league. We look set for a third consecutive top 10 finish, possibly top 8, and have a great manager and a good squad. Do people remember going to Dagenham & Redbridge six years ago? The world has not ended

Fully agree

I am one of those generally positive posters and certainly not a critic of Ron and the Board. But I think it is foolish to write off a relegation battle. We need to pick up a win each month, including May. I think the two home games this month are huge. A month ago I would have expected us to win both - now I would happily buy one win against either WBA or Watford. If you assume we get nothing at Old Trafford, failure to win either of these home games I think will see us within three points of the drop zone, or worse. When things are that tight, it becomes less about quality and more about confidence and resilience and I am not sure our team, as attractive on the ball as we are, are cut out for that type of battle. So on balance I think we will be ok, but if January doesn't go well.......

Spot on. I think this has been the big penny that needs to drop. What we need is to be able to play our usual 4231, or 352, or 442 whenever the situation demands. It doesn't mean that last night proves we don't ever play Pelle and 4231 ever again! Can't see why people dont see this. Koeman deserves big credit for his tactical approach and I think we will see three formations used more going forward - not just seeking to replicate last night week in week out which won't happen.

Back row with crap view granted, but what is your interpretation of the stats on shots for last two games? Or is this a good conversion level....?

A breath of fresh air on her. I went yesterday, as disappointed as everyone else, but the knee jerk swing from a few weeks ago when we were 8 or 9 games unbeaten is amazing. In my opinion, and the stats back this, the last two weeks is about shocking conversion of shooting opportunities. Something like 30 shots have yielded one goal. Sometimes it is as simple as that

I am optimistic because we have a better squad. We can all remember that there were times when we were struggling to be able to rest players or make changes without a big drop in quality. We have good options in midfield and across the back, Forster sounds like he will be ready to play around Xmas, and Long and JayRod will be fresh. Be interesting to see how Leicester and Wet Spam cope at that time....

I think Stek has improved as the season has progressed. I wasn't a fan in the first few weeks, but I think (Willian apart) he has looked good over the recent period. One other aspect that these stats don't touch on, which is crucial in the modern game, is he is a very good footballer on the floor which you would expect from a Dutchman. Comfortable with both feet

Link please

Can't do this trip, but very interested in similar day return deals for future games assuming we make the league stages so thanks for highlighting