Charlie Wayman

Having done so well recently it does seem a pity to let the season peter out in this rather anonymous way. While arguably there might be a case to rest players and "give the kids a chance" surely by now Ralph and his team must know if the fringe players are good enough or not without having to put them on the pitch at the expense of team cohesion and "automatism". Make five changes to a winning starting team with high flying morale and this is what you get. Without Bertie too this is what you get. We have also found out once again just how thin our squad is. Having said that we still created enough chances and domination in the 3rd and 4th quarters 😉 to have won easily. Adams and Obafemi are all too clearly second-rate strikers who lack the craft and skills needed to be successful at this level. Redmond too is becoming a huge disappointment through ever growing indecision and his inability to find the target. Any injury to Ings and we are well and truly up the creek with only Armstrong left to paddle.

He is quite probably the best Scottish player right now. He is a potent finisher and has scored some fine goals for us. He also has bucket loads of energy. When he arrived I confess to have not been able to see why the club had brought him in but the lad has proved me wrong and deserves his regular starting place. Comes across as an old fashioned inside right.

Does anybody know how to watch BT Sport on the big screen rather than a lap-top or a mirrored lap-top. Is there an App on Android or Apple TV.

They can't win whatever they do, even the 'lucky' ones who get drawn in the ballot will moan about the seat they've been allocated.

Not watching very closely I'd say. Prowse gave them the first goal and Stevens got his feet in tangle and messed up his blocking tackle on Martial for the second.

It just shows what a good run in the side and a manager's belief in you can do. The way he has been treated over the last couple of seasons has been appalling.

They have better players we have a better team. There was always something in it for Saints but for sloppy errors from Ward Prowse and Stephens we would have taken all 3 points. The whole game was a bit lack lustre and after about 20 mins everyone seemed to be running on empty tanks. Two games a week every week is taking its toll on high pressing teams. The equaliser was no more than we deserved. Bertie was outstanding, playing like a man possessed. He's loving his football right now and it shows. What a superb block on Martial late on. Armstrong was below his best last night and we looked better and more balanced when he was replaced by Smallbone. Top marks too for Solskjaer who made no excuses post match and even took time to praise Saints.

Your attitude is perfectly understandable but the comfortable past can no longer be a guide to the future. The more one thinks about the realities of the situation, the more we come to appreciate how difficult and controversial it will be. The Club could set out some stands as double-seaters and others as singles and build safe distancing around them which will impact the total numbers able to attend. Remember 'though that whatever they do they will try to maximise the numbers they can fit in for financial reasons so there will be some midnight oil to be burned by modellers. I know they have done this sort of work for cinemas so those models might be adaptable to football grounds. Those successful in a ballot are unlikely to have any choice of where they sit: they might run a new ballot every week to allow more people to be involved but what a nightmare that would be to administer. If you really want to see the Saints in action best not to be too rigid in your mindset of rejecting options that don't suit you. My original point was in effect "why bother" with an exercise that would likely be loss-making anyway.

Fair enough, everyone will have to make their own call on this. One's chances of getting a ticket in a ballot may be only about 16% anyway so there is a bit of a safety net for even those who are prepared to risk it but may have second thoughts when the time comes.. The club will do their best to follow any guidelines the government's experts recommend but as we have seen across a broad spectrum of re-opening businesses the devil is in the lack of detail. No two stadia are the same so every club will be left with many practical decisions to be made locally like (say) removing all seats that are not to be occupied making safe access easier and mis-use more difficult etc, etc.. You need only to recall what happened on Bournemouth beach a couple of weeks ago to realise that your average football crowd with a few beers inside them will ignore any advice or warnings given to them. Once it's game on it will be a free-for-all!

Most teams that go to OT sit back behind the ball and rely on the odd counter attack for any scoring opportunities. If Saints play the high press in their faces game as well as they did on Thursday it will force United to change the way they play which will unsettle the system that has brought them recent success. Sure they are fast and efficient going forward but if they are not able to do that but have to defend more than they are used to and battle more for midfield control then anything is possible. Far from being phased by United's recent form we have a very real chance of getting a result and I am looking forward with high hopes of a victory. Keeping a clean sheet may sound too optimistic with their fire power and height in the box but as long as we can hold the ball and not make stupid mistakes and improve our finishing 3-1 to Saints looks possible.

Far too many uncertainties. Even if the government "grants permission" for limited attendances the logistics of getting those few thousand fans safely into their allocated seats maintaining safe distancing seems nigh impossible to arrange. A doctor or dentist can tell me to wait in my car until he/she comes out and calls me in. That is a daft proposition for even a small football crowd. Coupled with similar problems on walk-up and leaving the ground and in the concourse and mass use of loos the only safe conclusion must be No spectators. Should spectators be allowed then as for seat allocation, the Club need first to ascertain how many people will be allowed in, then hold the ballot of season ticket holders and only then send out invitations to renew. What is the point of asking me or you or Joe to renew before we know whether or not we'll get a seat? It smacks a bit of dishonest practice if they have use of our 700 quids for a few weeks before reluctantly handing them back. Are there any over 65 yo's out there who will risk going anyway? OK, OK infection rates are low - if you believe anything this government tells us - but the risk to us oldies is not that there might be a very low risk of being infected but that there is a better than 25% chance of dying unpleasantly if we do. Not attractive odds to be sure.

And so say all of us. At times last night we looked like the best team on the planet, some of our passing and running was mind-boggling-ly slick.

That was one that got away. Of course we don't do Home & Dry..... Word of advice to James "Let somebody else take the bloody free kicks and penalties FFS!"

A hat-trick from Adams will do me very nicely thank you.

Yuk! What a dog's breakfast of a mess. Hideous Is this a reminder that we are owned by the Chinese? Why couldn't we just have our stripes back without any other adornments.

Never change a winning team

Once again he shows us why he so invaluable and indispensible to our club and why Ralph loves him. The way he has been messed about in and out of the team under various managers, most players would just want away but Oriol rarely displays any signs of dissent or unhappiness with his lot, works ever harder so that he is ready when he is called, always has a smile on his face and his sheer professionalism must be an inspiration to all the young players. Of course he makes errors but who doesn't and of course he can at times be a car crash waiting to happen when his enthusiasm gets the better of him but on a day like yesterday when there was nowhere to hide and the chips were down the guy played a blinder and turned in a near word class performance. Perhaps if a few clubs were queuing up for his signature a few more of the naysayers on her might fully appreciate his worth.

Could not disagree more with any of this. The lad has played only 3 games or so for us, he's settling in nicely and his confidence is growing in every match. The first job of a right back is to defend and he has already shown that he can do that in spades. He reads the game well and is fast on his feet. Sterling was nowhere to be seen yesterday apart from that one shot at McCarthy. You talk about him not getting forward. Were you not watching when he ran forwards late in the second half to drop a pin-point cross onto Ings foot? Who is asking questions about his physicality and strength exactly? Yesterday he was in the thick of it, got battered more than once but just got up and got on with it. Levy will ask top dollar especially with the lad turning in a top performance on national TV but we can always walk away. He needs the money more than you might think and Hojberg is a strong bargaining point..

Very well done Ralph. Nice to see Linekar & Co lost for words

Ralph did brilliantly at his press conference, absolutely outstanding. No wonder hacks are queuing up to hear what he has to say and to ask questions. Good natured, never bristles and never ducks awkward or clumsy questions. We are very lucky to have him. Moments to savour.

Silly remark.

Perfect swap for Hojberg

4-0 v Liverpool. Looks like City intend to start next season on the front foot by humiliating their only rivals at the end of this one. Let's not be stupid enough to assume that the Bindippers took their collective feet off the gas - "nothing to play for" crap - City looked good and we could be in for a torrid time on Sunday. Ralph has been so focussed on getting to 40 points that some players might assume that the season's goals have been met.

This lad looks a tremendous prospect and is clearly intelligent, hard working and determined to learn. He seems to have a very good attitude and its great that he has committed his future to the Saints. From what I've seen of him in the U23's and his debut cameo appearance against the Canaries we may have a player on our hands. Seems to be very alive to what is going on around him and against Norwich found good positions off the ball and nearly scored on his debut. One day the Academy will produce another star and Nathan Tella might well be the one.

In reality it is not a binary choice as the OP has presented it, we should discard them both, neither has stepped up to the plate. We need more from a striker than pace and energy. Of the two, Adams seems to me to be the more skilful and gets his head up more than Obafemi. Adams used to knock them in for fun at the Brummie's so what are the coaches doing or not doing that has caused his goal drought? Don't give me the Championship v PL gulf crap either, many of the games against sides in the bottom third are of a no better standard than a Championship match.