austsaint

Long, Stephens and an out-of-position Ward-Prowse starting (what is his right position?) spells trouble.

Damage done in the first half, but a much, much better second stanza. Lemina particularly and Armstrong added intensity and run. Redmond's second half was very good. Surely we have seen the last of Stephens - he was awful. Felt sorry for Sims - the intensity Newcastle played with overwhelmed him and having JWP behind him at RB meant the right side was very vulnerable. I know I'm a serial JWP critic - but even if he was played out of position today - what has to happen for him to be dropped or at least subbed? That's four very ordinary games in a row.

The shape is all wrong today - no back up right back and trying to shoehorn Ward-Prowse in somewhere has meant we have been caught out time and again. Put Stephens at right back, bring Lemina into an attacking midfield role. I'd like to see Sims given more time with a different set up but maybe Long on for him - Armstrong is another attacking possibility

Quite so. I understand it took a while for Ralph to assess Josh Sims given all the "figuring out" he had to do with the squad, but this lad has had the qualities to be a bigger part of Saints squad for some time and it's more of a sleight on Hughes, Pellegrino and even Puel that he languished in the U/23s and then at Reading. It's not just the runs he makes, the space he finds and the ability he has to turn the defence around - in the Spurs game he showed he has a good eye for a killer pass and deft touch. Really pleased for him.

Well said - the lad has clearly suffered a complicated injury. There's no evidence that he has adopted a VVD, Lovren, Lallana etc attitude towards the Club - players do suffer genuine season ending injuries.

Eh? Let me substitute among for "in and around". The point, well made by Verlaine is the likelihood that if Boufal returns and plays with a better side and a better Manager he could be quite a player for Saints.

Agree with this. Boufal is a more talented attacking player than any other in our current squad. If, and it's a big if, he gets his chance to impress Ralph then I think he will win his way back and be a positive influence in and around better players and a superior Manager. That's assuming Celta Vigo don't cough up the 15k euros to keep him.

Don't think he went missing; more that until Romeu came on, Wolves were streaming through our midfield and Redmond, Ings and Sims saw little of the ball. Having said that, bringing Long on at the same time as Romeu was a good move the midfield was strengthened and Long's energy and harassing of tiring players steadied and then turned things around. Sims showed plenty of quality and it's good that Ralph has seen what he can do - he will get better with more game time and confidence.

Great summary - we scored when it mattered even though Wolves played us off the park for much of the game. I thought Ralph should have brought Romeu on at half time but the game changed when the changes were made on the hour - Romeu steadied the midfield and Long did very well in his harrying, energetic cameo. We will play better than today and not get a result but what a big result it is! Ralph has re-energised the Club and brought us to the brink of safety.

Romeu has to come on immediately to shore up the midfield and help Hojbjerg - even the most ardent Ward-Prowse fan must admit he has been shocking in CM. A big test for Ralph here - he has to strengthen the midfield and replace JWP - if not, a CB has to come off, but Romeu has to be brought on

As usual when it comes to JWP, you are over-the-top with your unconditional praise. He played really well for 6 - 7 games but has been largely anonymous against Brighton and again today. Redmond on the other hand played very well today - take your blinkers off and just watch the game.

To answer your question re the difference between calling someone a "black bastard" and a "ginger ****" go and read up about the reasonably recent (200 - 250 years) history of Afro-American slavery and the ensuing discrimination against black people...that should give you a few clues.

Blinkered more like it.

Good call - I too hope he has a look at Boufal - all your outs are justified.

I get where he's coming from - I assume you are a white bloke like me Whelk; by the way I enjoy reading your posts - cut through the BS and straight to the point. Thing is though, all over the world, including the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Australia, NZ etc for some strange reason some white people seem to enjoy taunting and abusing black players - go figure?

Yes, I did - quite comical that Glasgow Saint isn't he.....in a David Brent kind of way. Getting back to the game, I really hope Ralph sees the wisdom of leaving Austin, Long and Gallagher on the sidelines - maybe Long as a sub, and starts with a trio of Armstrong, Redmond and Sims. Only chance we have is pace and movement up front and on the break - long balls into the box isn't going to cut it. Given that JWP's form before the Brighton game was good, play him in a more central midfield role with Hoj and Romeu - he really isn't suited to that wide right role - that leaves Bednarek and Yoshida to round out the 4-3-3 formation. Having said all that I expect Ralph to play 3CBs and to start with Long.

Agree entirely. Will be frustrated if it's Austin or Long isolated up front with no impact while we sit deep to try and absorb the pressure. Hoping Ralph will deploy Redmond, Armstrong and Sims as a mobile trio to keep their defenders under some pressure.

Agree with your comments - yet hard on Josh Sims; the half he played v Spurs was exceptional and by any measure, even with tactical considerations he should have been rewarded on merit with more playing time. Difficult to "do something consistently" if you turn in a match changing performance one week and barely feature the next (game).

Agree with your comments - yet hard on Josh Sims; that half he played v Spurs was exceptional and by any measure, even with tactical considerations he should have been rewarded on merit with more playing time. Difficult to "do something consistently" if you turn in a match changing performance one week and barely feature the next (game.

A bitter/sweet satirical piece from Turkish which nails the uncomfortable truth - Gallagher is not up to standard and should have been able/forced to pursue another Club (Championship) some time ago. I thought Ralph erred in not replacing Ings with Sims who deserved a longer stint on the basis of that second half v Spurs. Sims pace, movement and direct running would have eased the pressure on our defence and given us a counter attacking outlet.

Did we switch off though? Or was it more a case of retreating deeper and adopting a hold on at all costs for an ugly but precious three points. Once Armstrong, Ings and finally Redmond were all replaced all our attacking shape, speed and penetration was gone and Brighton had nothing to fear in conceding a second. Hate to be critical but Gallagher showed in his half hour he's not up to this standard - slow and almost clumsy, like a younger version of Austin but without the clinical finish - where was Sims? We could have used his pace and run earlier and it was disappointing his excellent display v Spurs wasn't rewarded. On the plus side Yoshida, Hojbjerg, Romeu, Armstrong and Redmond all very good today. Much quieter games from JWP (who is not a wide player and was found out for pace today) Valery and even Gunn in goal looked far from convincing. Great result. Ralph said he wouldn't might playing badly away from home and picking up points after really good away displays which yielded nothing - and he got his wish. Liverpool now becomes an "anything is a bonus" game. A pity Wolves couldn't do us a favour.

Armstrong hasn't played badly but Sims should replace him. The nightmare outcome is Murray scoring from a scrappy set piece - Saints doing well in midfield.

Well done for a good humoured reply Do you think we can get by with 6 on the bench?

Indeed, I'm not a JWP fan but he fully deserves his place. The other two odd things about Nic75Sfc's team is the absence of Sims and Forster over McCarthy.

Like him as a player; like the sort of person he seems to be and now I like his politics.