ExSt Peter Saint

Very disappointing. We had more possession and shots on target, but apart from the Arsenal game, really haven't looked capable of taking chances or taking control of a game lately. I expected better of Mane. We'd be lucky to get a decent price for Wanyama now or at the end of the season!

I have to say I thought that someone was having a laugh when I saw that line up. Let's hope the players out there are really on it today, because we need a result and a bit less negativity around!

I doubt many of you predicted that we'd be cruising at 3-0 up with less than 10 minutes to go. I know I didn't and it's a shame about they made it a bit nervy at the end, but there are lots of positives to take from the game with signs of continued improvement all round. VVD has made a huge difference and if he stays fit this season will be a key man to our success. I reckon he will definitely outscore all of our central midfielders. Tadic hit a few lame crosses, but overall he and Bertrand worked really well down the left and can be a key partnership. Great to have the best left back in the premiership back in our team :-) Cedric did well against Montero and is certainly a better option at RB than Yoshida! What was Koeman thinking? Stekelenburg deserved another clean sheet, but was denied by some slack defending and a rash challenge - you can't expect keepers to save pens, really. I was really excited by the mobile attacking football in mid-week against MK Dons, but they were truly awful, so we couldn't expect the same today. Only Mane survived from the front 4 on Wednesday, but it shows what depth we have in the squad that Shlong and JRod couldn't get a game after scoring twice! All in all, we never really play the perfect game, but winning 3-1 with a lot of good performances is as good as you can hope for most of the time.

Credit to Pelle. He's played some excellent balls this half. It's great to have such competition for places in the team after all the forwards played so well on Wednesday. Mane is definitely our best player and makes such a difference with his pace, but also cool finishing.

I imagine that's a suggestion and one that I'd agree with. Would like to see Pelle off at some stage in the half to bring on more pace and movement, too.

Think it's a shame to lose him as he was a very useful part of the squad, but not in the first 11 when everyone fit. He wants a club where he is playing more, so wouldn't sign his new contract. Refreshingly nothing to do with money or prestige, just wants to play football and haven't seen anyone say a bad word about him. Best of luck Jack and if he keeps improving, we may well see him competing with JWP for a place in the England squad.

I watched the second half on youtube and was really impressed with a few of them. As mentioned above, Sims looks very promising and the composure will come with age and experience, I'd say. Seager has to get a few first team opportunities this season, surely. I think he has the potential to be a top player. Flanagan looked like a very accomplished right back and if he had to cover for Clyne, I wouldn't be too worried, although I think McCarthy is more likely to get the nod first. Every time I've seen McQueen play he looks a real talent. I don't understand why Isgrove has been picked ahead of him really. Gape also looks capable of stepping up if we're short of defensive midfielders without Morgan and big Vic, I'd say.

Feel a bit sorry for Targett and McCarthy for not being given a chance, especially the latter. Not much faith shown in the youth if a midfielder plays out of position instead.

If Koeman's putting out the strongest team he has, the only changes will be Yoshida (Toby at RB and Fonte & Gardos in centre) and Mane (for Long) out, as I think they're both unavailable. Targett and Reed both deserve their chances, though.

I agree that this is creepy and a bit sad. Plenty of people disagree, though, obviously.

I think most of our players have improved this year compared to last. Clyne, Fonte and Yoshida have all looked better players this year. The midfielders have added more goal threat in their games - just need Jay Rod to come back an even better player and we'll be a real threat to the top four!

I wouldn't have started supporting the Saints if it weren't for KK. They've had years of loyal support due to his signing from someone who's never lived in Southampton.

Bertrand is the same age as Gibbs and just because he was picked for one match against San Marino (and he plays for Arsenal), he is now being hailed as contender for England LB ahead of Baines and Shaw. It's good that England has some competition in that position, but Bertrand has been the best in the league so far this season, yet he has barely been mentioned for recognition: http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/oct/11/kieran-gibbs-england-leighton-baines-euro-2016

Tim to come from behind and win again. Ron can show MP how it's done.

I dislike Redknapp quite a lot, but we are doing so well that it seems a bit daft at the moment to hold on to grudges against former managers who are so much worse than what we have now. I care more about beating Spurs than QPR from a revenge point of view, but that's because I really want to make sure we finish above them and hasten MoPo's exit :-)

Dare I say Clyne's goal was a little Koeman-like! How is he getting all our players to have such a goal threat? Well, nearly all... Chuffed with this team and the way the club is going. How could we ever have doubted them?

Seen people complaining elsewhere about spending £10m on him. I really don't see why. He's made the team better and GK is one place in the team where if you get it right, it pays off week after week and inspires confidence throughout. The fewer goals you concede, the fewer you have to score (and it's not like we haven't thrown money at the forward positions). No complaints about FF so far!

Very sad if we have dropped down to the level of all the other teams who are pretty close to each other in terms of (lack of) quality. From a team challenging near the top of the table, we could easily slip to a position of fighting to stay up unless we get some better attacking players to create and score chances. I wonder how long Clyne will be top scorer for...

It's much easier to ignore the really obnoxious fans in real life, unless you have a season ticket next to them. Well done BlakeySFC for reporting the racist - that just isn't saintly! You can fundamentally disagree with someone, but as long as they're not being abusive, it's all just about opinions isn't it?

Just watched the full match after having seen the highlights yesterday. Very impressed by almost everyone on the pitch. Pelle has taken some stick and I can see why, but I am still hopeful that he can score goals in this league, as well as setting them up, as you could see from the great chest down for Morgan when Mignolet made the wonder save to stop us from getting a point. I hope Gardos will be an upgrade on Yoshida because he really does make too many silly errors, even if he is excellent 90% of the time. Clyne made a few errors early on, but that was a stupendous goal and he learned from the early part of the game to carry out his defensive duties better. He is definitely better than Johnson of Liverpool and I wouldn't have picked Chambers ahead of him, either. I'd be worried if he gets injured, though, as Cork isn't nearly as good a right back as he is defensive midfielder and looking at the U21s, their best defenders seem to prefer CB to RB as their best position. Bertrand was better than I expected and hardly put a foot wrong, as well as being a real threat going forward. Just needs to find that killer ball in for Pelle. Wanyama did one thing wrong all game, which was the weak header in the lead up to their winner, but otherwise was superb. Morgan also was a bit weak in the tackle with Henderson before he put Sterling through for the first goal, but we really need him to stay if we're to finish anywhere near last season's position. I was impressed with Ward-Prowse playing further forward. I'm not sure if that's where he'll be all season, but he showed promise there. Tadic is going to be one of our key players without any doubt. Not everything he does comes off, but his record last season for creating chances was incredible and he looks like the best hope we have for unlocking defences most of the time. Fonte was showing real captain's qualities and lead well from the back. Davis did his usual thing - not much to criticise further back, but a bit more composure in front of goal could have given us a winner. Forster was solid and couldn't be blamed for either goal. Distribution looked decent, too. Long and Isgrove didn't seem to improve them team when they came on. They may have provided fresh legs, but I didn't think either looked likely to have the quality to make something happen. They were the most disappointing, although neither had a great deal of time. I would have liked to have seen Taider given a little time on the pitch as his shooting and passing look more likely to cause problems. Overall, well done Ronald Koeman on shaping this new team in time to make such a positive impression for the first match of the season. I am sure we won't be near the bottom of the table come the end of the season.

Thanks for that. Great to see the match in full and get a better idea of how well we really played!

Man U looked pretty awful from what I could see. Well done Swansea! It'll be hard for us to emulate that tomorrow, but if Liverpool get complacent and Koeman has us set up right, who knows...

Ok, I wasn't keen on it, but having see the Blackburn one, I now want to say "It's genius, I love Kat and Ralph and Les!"

Welcome to Saints, Shane. I hope you become a very important player for us this season, regardless of the fee we paid.

I think Forster will be thrown straight in. Unless a top class and match fit CB is signed at the start of the week, I think there are only three positions where there is any doubt. ------------Forster Clyne--Fonte--Yoshida--Bertrand ----------Wanyama ------Davis--------Taider Ramirez----------------Tadic --------------Pelle Subs: Boruc, Stephens, Targett, JWP, Cork, Isgrove, Gallagher That is what I'd go for assuming noone else comes in and Morgan's head doesn't return. Very short of strength in depth other than in centre midfield.