Charlie Wayman

I couldn't make head nor tail of this entry, what on Earth are you talking about?

A good win for Sunderland as Poyet continues to knit a silk purse at the Stadium of Light. This will not be easy for us especially as they are a bunch of old fashioned fighters and we can't seem to be able to score goals. It could be a dire 0-0 affair but there is always the chance of a freak or careless goal in there somewhere in this type of match. I'll go for a 0-0 but fear a 1-0.

Good choice of topic and it's probably how many of us feel. I didn't go down there on Saturday partly for that very reason that it all seems to have petered out a bit this season. Mid-table mediocrity has become the reality and a bit like the old mid-life crises, our whole approach seems to have become a bit aimless. A few years of success and always on the up-and-up has maybe spoiled us, so if we are not challenging at the top and not under any immediate threat from the bottom, finishing higher or lower than the North London rioters or the always grumbling Geordies does not seem much of an objective to keep us on our toes. We are where we are and we are what we have become, nothing is suddenly going to improve. Hey ho, but it is PL football, Jim but not as we would have liked it to be.

It's good news that he is on the mend and in good hands. It must be a very worrying time for your family and all Saints fans will be willing him to a full recovery. Best wishes to all of you and let's hope and pray your dad will soon be back on the terraces. Just tell him next season will be better than this.

It's the same everywhere in the PL, all coaches assume a successful side must be built on solid defensive foundations and we have followed that model under Pochettino. What it means unfortunately is that 6 of the team are committed fully to defensive duties and the other two midfielders are looking to drop back in support. How often do you see our so-called attacking midfielders passing back during a forward movement and breaking our momentum and allowing the opposition to get back in numbers rather then push on. The reason seems to be if they push on there will be a disconnect in midfield that the opposition can exploit. The defensive system requires the whole team to push forward together to reduce the effects of this disconnect but then they are vulnerable to the quick break and conceding silly goals, which often happens with us but not only us as you see it happen week after week. The attacking midfielders have to get the ball to feet in the 18 years area for the forwards to have any chance but it is not often that they do that as they are not pushing on with the momentum of the attack. On the rare occasions when they do it might be out of sheer frustration and momentarily forget what the coaches have instructed them to do and rely on their football in instinct. I think we will see more and more of this if it gets results as coaches can't afford to lose many matches before they are under pressure. Boring, boring Arsenal won a league winning 1-0 but I'll bet the fans weren't too happy about it.

What is wrong with us going forward, 80% of the play and we get about 2 cleat chances on goal other than set pieces and to cap it all we need to rely on our Goal Pole to save our skins. Wake up at the front!

That seems about right to me. Identifying likely suspects is one thing, integrating them into a fairly self-picking team without upsetting the whole apple cart is quite another. There are circumstances where it might be justified, for example where a key player may be out for the season and we have no adequate deputy but most only miss a match or two so pressing the Big P button isn't necessary. Now if Boruc or Wanyama are longer term injured than we have been led to believe maybe there's a case but even then do we really miss the Kenyan that much with Jack Cork in fine form and improving by the match.

Well there you have it from the horses mouth, Cortese in no hurry to offer anew contract so pochettino's agent is trying to up the ante to get some attention and action on the subject. It won't work with El Cortese and in fact could backfire for Poch quite badly so he may well be on his way through no choice of his own.

Keep up! Nobody's suggesting sacking our manager, it's what happens if he buggers off at season's end and leaves us in the lurch.

Will he last that long? On current form he may not. It is also extremely doubtful that Nicola Cortese is asleep at the wheel and his usual meticulous planning will surely include the possibility of Pochettino not being here for ONE reason or ANOTHER after this season. Lots of scope for speculation now of course but we have learned that NC does not necessarily hold a list of phone numbers of the usual suspects in his inside pocket, as likely as not a replacement for Pochettino will be yet another left field choice and more than probable that the FIFA World Cup in Brasil will be the place to look for likely candidates.

You don't know that, best to find these things out for yourself rather than quote the usual rabble gossip.

Oh dear Nick, rose tinted specs blocking your vision? Not scoring enough goals, conceding too many soft goals and not picking up enough points is surely the definition of playing badly. I guess you have had previous with Illingsworth but that does not automatically make his viewpoint brainless. The sycophantic nonsense that you sometimes come out with is equally puzzling to most neutral observers.

Looks like it's going to be a Saints v Gooners final just like 03. Easy draws but we need to be better than yesterday.

He was one dimensional yesterday, big slow and shoots at goal. Not what we want at all. None of Ricky's insight and deft control. Forget him we were right to get rid first time around.

Nothing in it, he wasn't there on Wednesday either. Still in Italy on holiday / tying up deals?

So, Arabelle the Obscure. It follows.

Agree with you and I wouldn't want Lovren to move on to make way ;-)

After his Everton comments it seems Mauricio is in denial about our true abilities and level. It is becoming a regular theme of his now that we were much better than the scoreline suggests and unlucky to lose due to bad refereeing. When manager resort to this kind of hyperbole it is usually a tell-tale sign that they are beginning to feel the pressure on their necks. I like the guy. He doesn't need to start making these run of the mill excuses. If he will only accept our limitations and the fact that we are heading for a mid-table finish, that we'll win some, draw some and lose some in roughly equal proportions along the way - which is what mid-table teams do - he and we will have a much better relationship as I for one do not want to see him become a whinger like half of the other managers in the PL. A top four finish even if an exciting possibility at the start of the season, is now a long forgotten memory for most; if Cortese still has such ambitions for this year than Mauricio needs to man up and tell him square "It ain't gonna happen with this squad". Honesty may cost him his job but who really wins if he fudges reality in a futile attempt to stave off criticism of his own performance.

firstrow was great today

One win from two on the road is Ok but we must beat Chelsea on Wednesday to have any chance of ending in the top 8. Morgan's creativity and defensive cover clearly missing today, Lovren especially looked vulnerable without him in front.

Had you bought a season ticket old chum.....

Hopefully at home to Chelsea in the 3rd minute in front of 32,000 adoring fans.

Phew! At least that particular monkey is off our backs. Just the right response to all the growing concern. I guess Louvren will be back in for Yoshida but with Schneiderlin on a one-match ban the Everton trip will not be easy peasy. Still a good result for now and a timely morale boost for the lads.

Sadly, many mangers have fallen by that particular sword. The fact is PL football is now a squad game involving tactical changes based on the individual abilities of players making up the squad and on match days the group on the field plus those selected for the bench. The bench is not there as a set of spares or replacement parts as in years gone by, each player selected for a bench place now is as important as the starting Xi and is expected to be able to come on at some stage of a match and help re-shape the patterns of play if called upon to do so. The manager must make sure he has the right group together on match day to meet the expected needs. is some people are absent through injury then the manager must re-shape his tactics to best use the talents at his disposal. That's how managerial success will be measured these days. That's why the plea of injury-hit squads has no resonance upstairs where football is a win-win activity only. I genuinely like what Pochettino is trying to achieve with his squad but I also genuinely fear for his future if they get nothing from these next three games... and whether we will speak its name or not, three defeats is not an unlikely outcome.

I can't believe you guys are being serious about Luke Shaw. He's worth more to us than any sum of money that the London crews would be willing to splash and we desperately need him here for ever. Be careful what you write even flippantly as you could easily give the guy the wrong messages on here, he is an ardent social media follower and probably reads this forum even if he doesn't reply. Let's be totally unequivocal about this WE WANT LUKE SHAW TO STAY HERE. EFF OFF CHELSEA, ARSENAL & MANURE!