Charlie Wayman

You are mostly right but doubt we'd start with two front runners and JRod probably will have to sit this one out as he has played a lot in the last two games. Expect --------------Forster-------------- Cedric---Fonte---VvD---Bertrand --------------Clasie--------------- -----Hojbjerg------Davis--------- ----Tadic-----Long-----Boufal---- Just possible Reed will play instead of Hojberg with Clasie at RDMF rather than the holding position in front of the two CDs

I don't know all the in's and out's of all the politics but reportedly a third kit is a requirement of the Premier League Rules. Saints didn't have one this season and the PL told ruled they had to do it, so the upshot of all this is that Saints have reluctantly issued a third kit to abide by the PL ruling. They have no intention of selling it to the public, obviously it is a very simple design that has been cobbled together quickly on the back of an envelope and produced in a very small batch. Presumably they will use it once tomorrow also reluctantly to comply with the PL ruling and never to be seen again. All very strange. Never say never, aye?

You'd have thought the staff would have made sure he had a winter flu jab back in September. Had he played he could have snuffled out any attacking threats down their left side.

These things used to happen routinely in the background without all the fuss and razzmatazz surrounding recent contract renewals of Academy grads so Gunnery is perfectly right to be a little cynical about what is really going on up there. Smokescreen for sure. Good to see that Les Reed is still alive, he has been so invisible of late that some may have feared he had disappeared for good. Now let's have a photo op for the missing chairman who's name escapes me just at the moment.

10/10

If there was serious risk of relegation then the club would have to get off their backsides and make decisions but if we bumble along the way we are, not actually losing and picking up enough points to survive nothing will change simply because MONEY is involved. MONEY to pay off Puel if they sacked him and MONEY in the transfer market to give a new manager a fighting chance of turning things around. Puel appears to be so supine that he won't ruffle board feathers so will get zilch in the transfer window whilst the new Henry will still trot out every weekend and the club's poster boy will continue to pass from opponents 18 yard box back to Forster.

We are rapidly turning ourselves into a laughing stock

Yep! Agree with you. Can't make sense of that myself.

We've got plenty of strikers who can score in the Championship.

So it goes, both results work against us tonight. Bet we drew it up as well to compound the situation. A must win for us is never a good omen.

Most probably.

Many on here have been unfairly critical of the lad since his arrival which I've never understood. He has played as well as he did today many times before but some only comment on his very few bad games. His reading of the game is second to none and he let one or two of his colleagues off the hook today by clearing up their mess.

As good a summary as any. One or two of our players were not even at the races today and no team can cope with lazy ball-watchers. The justifiable booing at HT must have resonated in the dressing room judging by the brief super-charged performance after the break. Puel is a stubborn sod that's for sure and has little idea on how and when to deploy his subs. Once again far too late to make any impact. The Tadic sub was probably pre-planned as convenient for both a returning Tadic and a not yet fully up to speed Boufal. I hope Boufal's goal embarrassed every other player in a Saints shirt. He made so easy what the others find nigh impossible to achieve.

If you take that away from him what's left to justify a place in the team? There's nothing else on offer.

Everyone is judged on their last performance these days, why should Puel be immune to this degree of scrutiny. Do you not think that maybe he - Puel - is only towing the party line by talking endlessly about developing the young players and playing the odd one now and again? He is not addressing us when he says these things he is showing Les what a good boy he is. No new players will come in in January because Puel won't have the guts to stand up to Reed and make it a make it break issue. Sadly from his point of view, he'll get the blame from upstairs whichever way this turns out as appeasement never works. Bet your life no **** will stick to Uncle Les even if we get the BIG R as reward for or season's efforts.

Must have been at the gin bottle last night if you believe 1/10th of what you have written. Sadly apologists like you ensure we will remain locked into this downward spirral which has only one logical outcome if you care to think clearly and remove your pink-tinged specs.

We played tonight without plan or purpose, passion or belief and for all the world it looked like the senior players had to make up their own game plans as they went along. Cedric ran and crossed, Bertie tried to be everywhere at once to work out his frustration. Redmond did what Redmond always does better than any other winger in the PL, made a right pigs-ear of everything he tried. Worse player of the match was he closely followed by Hojberg. Claude Puel failed tonight as he has failed so many times recently, seemingly tactically naive and unable to change the pattern of play at all. No doubt questions will be asked in the morning, if they have a name or two in mind he could be sitting very uncomfortably on Sunday. I think I've seen enough now to stop believing that he can stop our slide; if he does go let's hope Black goes with him.

If he doesn't get to start tomorrow night how about we encourage Puel with fan power and this simple chant; We Want Jose Fonte! It wasn't long ago that our mass choir's "swing him from the Itchen Bridge" saw the back of the universally hated one. It would also be a reminder to Jose where his loyalties should lie. Come on Northam, do your stuff!

It was very one sided but I liked the way Boro were set up and moved the ball around whilst finding pockets of space all over the pitch. If we let them settle they might skin us so we need a fast start à l' Everton. Gaston played a blinder against a team we found hard to break down in the final third and scored a peach at the end. He had superb game reading abilities so one wonders why he didn't settle here. Will probably turn out to be a dour affair in the end and it's pretty even steven's on the outcome. The way we have been messing about of late plus the hangover from tomorrow night will probably see us lose 0-1.

We cannot afford to let Jose Fonte go - end of story! Sounds very similar to John Terry saga. Too many big effing ego's upstairs at our club, small minded men who have struck it rich and lucky. A cautionary word Gentlemen, the fickle wheel of fate keeps turning and one day it will point at you.

Trust that Scouser **** to make sure No 35 didn't get picked out by him for a home match. Norwich away? Could have been worse. I was rather hoping for Eastleigh at St Mary's.

.... but that's how it used to happen, do you not remember? People like Leon Crouch put their own money into our club to keep it going not to become rich as he was already that but because SFC was a passion for him as it is for us and so it was for Marcus Liebherr. Now we seem to be in a different ball game where his daughter sees the club only as a cash cow for personal gain rather than a passion. Has greed overtaken altruism? I'll leave others to pass judgement on that.

Tonight's the Night! Enjoy!

Easily pleased. I suppose your idea of a good time is lying on your back with your feet and arms in the air having your tummy tickled!

I think he is really poor at this level. In one game a couple of years ago Tadic provided nearly as many goals and assists in the 8 goal drubbing of Sunderland that Redmond has contributed in all the games he has played for us so far? That's how he must be judged. Did you not see the reactions of some of his team mates yesterday? He was getting a right ear bashing from Cedric and one or two others for wasting chances when given through balls on a plate. If his team mates are not happy with how he has performed why should fans be?