saint-crinny

He hardly had a kick - but you would have been looking to him to get on the ball and play. He probably wishes he'd forced a move away - Valencia looked absolutely awful tonight. Bizarre in the second half when half the fans behind the goal just left the stand and went and stood in the concourse for 15 minutes. They're on the road to nowhere at the moment, financially and on the pitch. Swansea showed what they are all about though - if they get in front they can pass you to death, especially when you're down to ten men.

Still think Lambert has done more than enough to justify selection for the next games, although he will need to produce a few decent games for us in the interim. A far better option than Carroll, who he would appear to be competing with, so hopefully he has shown that in training and in his performances. On the England front, that showed exactly why in the scheme of things, we are just making up the numbers in in the international game. No creativity, no ability to pass to each other. Poor (and effectively gave Lambert nothing to go on). To be honest, the warning signs were there against Moldova (and have been for the last 5 years) when we turned over possession shockingly quickly at times - Moldova were just woefully short of quality as you would expect and gave it back to us within seconds, so no-one really noticed.

--------------------Boruc------------------ Clyne--------Fonte--------Lovren--------Shaw -----------Morgan-----Wanyama-------------- Rodriguez-------Ramirez-----------Lallana ----------------Osvaldo----------------------- Tough call to drop Lambert - the guy is a hero and has done an unbelievable job for us - but ultimately, I think Osvaldo is the man to help take us on a level, and he needs to play up top. For him to be a success, I think we need someone behind capable of playing that pass that no-one else sees and for me that is Gaston. He frustrates at times, but with an extended run I hope he can show some consistency, because when he is good he is superb and is a match-winner. Wanyama has shown enough for me that he is going to be a top top player once settled so he gets the nod over Corky and the Fonte-Lovren pairing looks like it might be shaping up to be a good partnership, despite the fact that I think Yoshi is probably the better player (than Fonte). Centre back is all about the partnership for me. Then we have great options off the bench with Cork when required in the centre and JWP and Davis who have shown that they can step in when needed. Lambert has also shown that when he comes off the bench he not only gives us a different option in terms of style but that he can make a real impact, whoever the opposition - Chelsea and City for example.

to give it up after year in which he performed really well - feels highly unlikely. If he was off, would imagine other Prem clubs would also be involved

No agenda, and yes, I can accept that some are disappointed with what Gaston has produced - I would put myself in that category as well, having seen in flashes what he can produce. That I can accept, but this whole putting him in the "bad transfer" category in this thread, and some of the ludicrous chat in dozens of previous threads about him being a total waste of money, "Gashton" etc, I find tougher to accept. Will reiterate what I have said all along about him, that I think he is one of the most talented players in the squad and am hoping that after a year to settle in, he will start to produce on a more consistent basis next season. I will also reiterate, that if he does do exactly that, I believe that some on here will genuinely be a bit annoyed about it - not directing this directly at you Alps - as they won't be able to slag him off every week.

the thing that get's me with the Gaston-bashing is that there are some on here who, because we spent a lot of money on him, appear to actually want him to do badly. They passed no comment on him when he did produce some telling moments last season, appear blind to see that he is clearly a talented player even if he undoubtedly struggled to produce anything like his bets form on a consistent basis, and seem to be wishing away the days until we apparently inevitably sell him at loss, which I doubt we will. It is bizarre attitude that leads me to think that some on here would in fact be happier if we were relegated and "good solid pros who always give you 100%" blah blah blah, rather than trying to bring in talented young players from around the world, who could turn out to be top players. For what it's worth, although I agree that the signings of Banega, Damiao and Osvaldo are very ambitious for where we currently are, and quite probably won't happen, as far as I am aware none of them have moved elsewhere, so can we say that they are 100% dead in the water?

I actually think Hartson is quite a good pundit on TV usually, speaks some sense. With regards to this article, the obvious thing is that he is a bit of a hero for Celtic - the reason why he has been asked to comment on this story in the first place - so he is hardly likely to want to damage his rep with them by saying what a great move it is to Saints from Celtic. All this talk of whether Celtic are a big club or not is ridiculous. They are a big side, who has had major European success in the past and competes yearly in Europe's biggest competition. They are hampered by the poor standard of their league, especially with Rangers situation, but in terms of international recognition, they are a bigger club than us, with a bigger fanbase. No need to get hung up on this though. We are a fast growing club with big ambition, who are competing in the richest league in the world, giving us significant financial clout over a team like Celtic, and making us attractive to players like VW who want to play in the Prem.

The agent's comments don't show either of them in a good light do they? Even complaining he didn't get a big pay rise by moving to QPR last summer? Surely he views that as a lucky escape in a footballing sense, but that doesn't seem all that important to them does it - all about the money. If we did offer terms as they claim, given the chat about Gaston's big money, I doubt it was a derisory offer either. Bit bored of this one now

If we sign another winger, you know it will be one made to improve the team. Add Banega's potential signing in there as well, and with MP's clear admiration for Jay, and it's tough to see Adam starting games, especially given the way he finished the season. To be honest though, a spell not being an automatic choice might not be a bad thing for him. He has had four seasons of being a shoe-in, and by and large, performing well. Suddenly fighting for his place might bring the best out of him - we all know he has bags of talent but the problem for the second half of last season was that there was rarely an end product. Competition for him can only be a good thing for me, not least because it will also inevitably mean we have signed a really good player as well!

think if we pulled this off it would almost certainly see JWP off on loan - see the Cherries rumours are knocking around. Would be good to see how he gets on playing week in week out in the champo - would certainly come back a tougher player

Said this on another thread, but for me, he produced the two best individual performances of the season - against Villa at home and Newcastle at home. He was untouchable in both games and showed exactly the kind of talent we have on our hands. Also, his composure and finishing is excellent (Wigan away aside) - thinking the clinical way he took his goals against Arsenal and West Ham in particular. Can only echo what others have said about next season - don't think he will ever be a week in, week out consistent performer, but he will improve and next season, after a year to learn what the PL is about, I have no doubts that he will have far more impact on our campaign, particularly at SMS. Hope we don't sell him off and to be honest, hard to see why we would. Don't think we would recoup the £12m for him and as this one was a signing driven by NC, I doubt he will be willing to let him go so soon, otherwise it will be admitting that he wasted money on him. Would imagine that MP will be under pressure to get the best from Gaston next season, and I'm confident he will. A big part of our future.

One of the things that makes me look forward to next season is that MP managed to impose his style quickly on to Adkins' team, and get some success. We didn't get the results we should have at the end of the season especially (and some of the crazy dropped points earlier on - Swansea at home really grates on me, hilarious defending from Gazza and Yoshida for the equaliser, although not funny at the time) but armed with a decent transfer budget and the opportunity to bring in his own players, adding depth and quality to the squad, you have to feel confident that MP will get better consistency and better results next season. One thing is for sure, none of the top 6 sides will be relishing a visit to SMS next season. Most impressive performers for me this season were: - Clyne and Shaw - cracking to watch them flying forward and both good defensively too - Morgan and Cork - Cork's return began the revival and Morgan was exceptional all season - Puncheon - unbelievable turnaround for him at Saints really but he always had talent, always willing to take on his man and take on shots (Lallana should take note) J Rod - showed what he can do when his strengths are utilised, think next season will be a big one for him Rickie - fair play to him, always delivers. great to see him getting goals at this level - think he showed a lot of people (especially that moron Merson) what we always knew - he is great front man and has so much to his game. Saints legend Not seen this as a question, might have missed it somewhere, but stand-out individual display of the season? Two games for me and while he hasn't floated everyone's boat, it has to be Gaston against Villa and Newcastle at home for me. He was untouchable in both and while his season has gone up and down and ended on a sour note, those two displays should be enough to show everyone we have a superb talent on our hands. Really hoping he will perform consistently next season and sure he will be better for a season under his belt. Our most naturally talented player for me. All in all, it was job done. A few terrific wins to savour, lots of promise, a brutal sacking that IMO has moved us forwards and now looking forward to an exciting summer of speculation and pushing on next year!

Also interesting in the context of the MP BBC interview a few weeks back which suggested that two deals for players had 'already' been done

If we beat Stoke and sneak up into 11th, given the start we made after 10 games, as a promoted side, I would imagine that would be pretty much unheard of in Prem history. And we've done it playing nice stuff, shocked a few of the big boys, with a team that we have seen develop from League One to comfortable(ish) at the top level. I'm happy, and looking forward to what's next.

Appreciate that you care about the club, as we all do on here by and large. But i'm not totally sure what promises you feel haven't been delivered on over the past few years, given that we have won back to back promotions playing some exciting stuff, made it to the Prem from League One in rapid time, continued to play some nice football in the Prem, held our own to stay up, and turned over a few of the big boys along the way. Over the past three years the only player we have lost who we would really want to keep was AOC, but we weren't in the top flight and got a huge offer for a player who hadn't even played in the Championship that we would have been crazy to turn down. The test will be with the like of keeping Clyne, Shaw and Morgan this year, which i am hopeful we will do. Think we have improved year on year - have signed some not so great players along the way - but the likes of Lambert and Fonte took us to a different level to begin with, then people like Jos, Cork, Sharp in the championship did the same, and i'm in the camp that the likes of Gaston and JRod, Clyne, Boruc and Maya have improved us again this time round. Overall, i'm happy and find it hard to comprehend why people have anything more than minor gripes about things we could do a little better, particularly after we just confirmed our spot in the Prem for next season and seem to have an exciting summer ahead. But that's just me...

Bit obvious but yeah, RVP. That was ruthlessly heart-breaking!

Him and Gaston in the same boat for - they've done OK, excellent at times, had a couple of injuries that have interrupted things, but mostly pretty inconsistent and we probably all expected better from both. But, think they have had a decent enough season all told, and I certainly expect them to be better and deliver on a more regular basis next season - they'll benefit from this year's experience and be better players next year.

Cant view the Suarez incident in isolation - he has already had a 7 game ban in his career for the same offence, so it was always likely to be a longer ban this time round, the same as a minimum. Consider last year's racism charge as well, and he was always looking at a big ban.

I did read the piece and i'm in pretty much total agreement with the sentiment - excited about the prospect of what he could become and a big fan of his. My comment was more just saying it would be good to have those stats for say, Adam, Punch and JRod all alongside to compare, although I appreciate that the article does a lot of comparisons throughout it. Got sidetracked really by my annoyance at the reaction of the supporters to him around me on Saturday (Northam/Kingsland wing) and over the last few weeks, and some of the post match stuff on here, and just wanted to highlight the point that over the course of the season, he has probably had as much impact as Lallana for me. Lallana does not get anywhere near the level of criticism that Gaston receives - not that I want him to I will add, don't think either should be getting stick. For me, both have had decent enough seasons and hopefully, both will be improved next time round, producing on a more consistent basis.

Not sure exactly what these stats show - but would suggest that they back up my feeling on Gaston in that he has had a decent enough, if not outstanding first season with us. The big price tag has added pressure and expectation on him, which it seems a section of fans are now using against him when he makes errors in games. As an example, his dead ball stuff was appalling on Saturday, but outside of that, I thought he was OK and that was a clinical finish as he has done with most one-on-ones this season (wigan away aside). He is an outstanding young talent, taking time to settle in to a new league, new culture etc and am very hopeful that he will have a far greater impact next season - talk of selling him in the summer is way too premature, and the chat after Saturday from some about "why are we singing his name" etc was idiotic. Final point - I would say that he has had as much of an impact as Lallana on this season - a couple of outstanding games (Villa and Newcastle at home), some decent moments in others, and a few games where he has offered practically nothing. As Adam is a homegrown player he gets a lot more slack than a signing with a big fee, and i'm sure if people were putting a value on both, some on here would make divvy comments like Adam is worth double Gaston blah blah blah. When you look at their stats, both have played 24 league games this season (20 starts), Adam has three goals and Gaston has 5. Not sure on assists, but I imagine they are pretty similar as well. I hoped for more from Gaston this season, given what he has sporadically shown he can do, but both he and Adam will be better next season after going on a steep learning curve this time round.

Nice to see these all in one place - hilarious that anyone ever pushed any of them really (I say that, trying to think of whether I ever openly agreed with any of them...!!) Looking forward to a whole new set over the summer. Would argue that number 7 was never really relevant for us - despite what he does in the media, I think MP has always been able to speak English well enough to talk to the players, while using the translator to keep the media at arms length

Would like to get involved as well - can't PM so drop me details here - cph103@googlemail.com

Think Flamini is a better player than people are giving him credit for on here - he was superb in his last season at Arsenal and has been good at a top side in Milan. Still only 29 so hardly over the hill. Cork is a really good player and has been brilliant this year and it would be harsh on him to lose his place. But if we stay up, which it looks odds on that we will now, people on here talk about moving up a level in terms of players - I think Flamini does that from a central midfield perspective. Besides, if you are playing the two midfield players like Poch has with Cork and Morgan, I think you need three top players in that position anyway to have a real decent squad - account for injury, bans, loss of form, tiredness etc. JWP is a fantastic prospect, but I see him as a more attack-minded player anyway, and i'm not sure many of us would really be comfortable if Cork or Morgan were injured, to have JWP playing that role for a lengthy period of time. Just my opinion of course, and probably, wage demands and interests from "bigger" clubs would rule us out of this one anyway.

As much as NA will have a point to prove in the game against us, MP will be in exactly in the same boat. Losing the game will be very embarrassing for him given the circumstanes that he was appointed in and the players will be well aware of that. Besides, winning the game will be all the players care about - it'll be nice to see Nige in the bar after the game and all that, but staying in the Prem and earning Prem wages will be far more of a concern.

Some of these posts are odd for me. If we stay up we have to invest in better than we have. While everyone will be betetr for a year in the Prem, that improvement wont be significant enough to necessarily keep us out of the dog-fight again. So the suggestion that we already have the players we need because are youngsters are good is a strange one. The fact that we were bidding for Coutinho shows the standard of players we want. He is better than Puncheon for example, who has been pretty much a regiular this season. So, if we can get someone better than Punch, someone better than Adam, someone better than Jay, that is going to really take us forward, considering all three have performed well at times this season. Oh, and the constant let Gaston chat go is mental. He clearly has bags of talent - one season getting used to the Prem, full pre-season under his belt with us, he could be a real star next year.