ThorpG

Given our upward trajectory over the last five years or so, is it just possible that Cortese did a good job and the current Board are building on that to do an even better one? Just a thought...

Not quite sure that European football is almost guaranteed, but can't argue with most of this. Europa Cup would be a massive achievement for the club, in its own right and particularly given our turbulent recent history. Who else in the top seven was playing in League One a few years ago...? This sort of non-hysterical reaction won't go down well on Saintsweb though...

Good work - 'the dream died' - if dropping to fourth is a disaster we have come a long way... I still look at the league table in disbelief. We are slugging it out with teams whose resources are significantly greater than ours, some of the biggest clubs in the world - and we are giving them a scare. I hope Koeman goes into work today with a more positive attitude than most on here - the defeatist, loser mentality on here is remarkable. How many of you expected to be in 4th in mid-Feb out of interest...?

I hardly think it is left wing to suggest that in a business where some employees earn tens of thousands each week, the Living Wage could be paid at the lower end of the scale. It would just seem a reasonable thing to do...

Our defensive record away from St. Mary's is quite remarkable - doubly so when you think how many times we have played without our first choice defense and central midfield. As organised a team as I have seen in my time supporting Saints. Now if we just had a bit more firepower up front.... (to be fair we ain't that bad, but goals look hard to come by currently, with Pelle off his game)

Really...? They are sat just above the relegation places - if they finished 17th, that would be a huge achievement given the investment. Leicester have spent a fair bit of money and look much, much weaker than Burnley. I think Dyche is doing a great job and so, I suspect, do the Burnley Board.

Not easy, but the last four are all winnable, given that we look a better team than Newcastle, Swansea, QPR and West Ham. I think we will win the home ones, but I never expect much away from home, all Premier League teams are tough to beat away, even those struggling at the bottom like QPR. Would take 9-10 points from those six games to be honest, although suspect that would see us dropping out of the top six.

I reckon his form is just a bit off. Let's be honest, if he played as well as he can game in game out, he would play for a bigger club than Saints...

Not enough games to judge, would still go for Michael Svensson (in my time watching Saints). If he carries like this for the whole season, may start to agree though, he does look to be a top class player.

Fair do's. Agreed on today's performance.

Odd isn't it - I genuinely think we are a far superior side to West Ham, yet the table says these is not much between us... Rose tinted glasses, I guess...

Did not see that at all - I think questions remain on Long's finishing and real quality, but on work rate and commitment he has no issues at all. The few moments of respite we got near the end of the game were when balls were played out to the left for Long to chase and I think he drew a foul and a throw on at a time when we desperately needed some breathing space. Odd to pick out a player like this in a performance where every single player seemed to give 100% commitment in a great rearguard action. I guess some people are never happy...

I agree. What comes across to me is that Koeman (as a player and as a manager) is a guy who is used to winning. I don't think he has the mentality of 'this cup vs. that cup', I think he wants to win every game regardless. A winner mentality at a club that has too often had a loser mentality.

I agree, I thought at the time Mane was fouled. Hard to tell sometimes though, he is a bit partial to going to ground easily... Would fit well into the Chelsea team, they seemed to struggle to stay on their feet. Seeing big guys like Matic and Mikel hitting the deck after the slightest of touches got pretty boring after a while...

I reckon he did as good a job as a make shift right back as can be expected, given he is a centre back. Was he as good as Clyne? No. Did he put in a good shift against one of the best attacking players in Europe? Yes. Part of a back four that kept Chelsea down to one shot on target. Good performance. I wonder how Yoshida compares with the back up defensive players of most other Premier League clubs? Pretty well, I am going to say...

Players Best player - Clyne Best signing - Alderweirweld Worst player - Mayuka Worst Signing - Gardos, which shows just how good our buying has been, he ain't bad. Best goal - Pelle, QPR. Games Best team we've played - Chelsea Best player we have faced - Hazard Worst team we've played - Sunderland Worst player we have faced - Mannone Best Saints performance - Newcastle (given they are top half and we wiped the floor with them, whereas Sunderland were/ are just crap). Worst Saints performance - Sheff Utd by a country mile. Makes me shiver just to think about it. Glad I made the trip... The Premier League To win - Chelsea To go down - Leicester, Hull, Crystal Palace Other team which has over performed - West Ham Other team which has under performed - Liverpool Best player - Alexis Sanchez Worst player - Lovren (how good does it feel writing that...)

Agreed - how good was Davis all game - led an inexperienced midfield and stepped right up in Schneiderlin and Wanyama's absence. Also thought Long gave a masterclass in how to run the channels, stretch a defence and create space for other attackers. His best performance since he joined us.

You can't judge a player when he gets that level of service. Willing runner, worked hard to find space and on the rare occasions we played him the ball to feet in space he was dangerous (i.e. In the 1st half when he ran at their defence and drew a yellow card). Too many balls played in at his throat though.

Agreed - depressing to see our fans berating the players and shouting at each other, because we are on a bad run. The players are still clearly playing for the manager, the effort is there, it is just that the confidence is shot and the squad is looking thin. Hearing our fans booing and hurling abuse at the players who were man enough to come over and applaud the fans despite a poor performance ain't great - it was one bad game, other defeats in recent weeks have been unlucky.

Fatigue is the key - it is clear that a small squad is struggling with a combination of injuries and tiredness. We have players like Fonte, Clyne, Bertrand, Wanyama playing every minute of every game and in recent weeks we have had a tough schedule. This result was coming unfortunately and against a fired up opposition on a wet, heavy pitch, we couldn't match up in terms of physicality or work rate. The players were clearly trying, but the tank looked empty... Some smart dealing needs to be done in the transfer window, otherwise the second half of the season could be more of the same. Tough for Koeman, but I believe in him and the club. COYR!

I hope Koeman and the team show less of a defeatist attitude. The Premier League is tough and it even tougher when you are fighting it out at the top, rather than settling for mid table - you are mixing with some of the best teams in the World. It ain't meant to be easy, but you have to show a bit more resilience than accepting your fate after one defeat. If we can go to Arsenal and get a result, we will learn far more about this team than we will be beating Leicester or Hull or Sunderland (no disrespect intended to those teams). We are 3rd, if we can re-find September / October form we could end the year in or around the top four. I am not sure we really have enough in the squad to finish higher than 6th, but I hope I am wrong and 3rd place currently says I might be. COYR!

Odd thing - most journalists / pundits take a stance and seem to stick it regardless of facts. Savage has been big enough to admit that he has called it wrong and has written a positive article about us. Maybe not the most insightful article and a clear error regarding the nearly ever present Davis, but from what I can see, it would appear that he is mostly positive about us. Why are we so chippy about this...? The hair and clothes are awful, I do agree...

I think is that sort of player - gets onto then end of things, gets in the right positions, but misses a fair few chances...

These are the games that win you titles, winning 1-0 when struggling...