Shandy_Top_89

People calling for JWP off are definitely watching a completely different game to me, he has put in a number of good deliveries so far in this game. I think Romeu (having a good game defensively) and Davis are slowing our advance though, we are missing Lemina or Højbjerg to link play going forward, reverting to sideways and backwards passing in this area. Hoedt was looking poor before that goal and has to take responsibility for it, very weak.

This must be the lowest points 8th place finish ever, surely? (well ignoring that there are two games left of course, but i don't see anyone going over 48)

Technically we walk out to 'The Saints are coming' which isn't half bad, except we get about 20 seconds of it before all of that 'My Way' trash. As mentioned above 'This is the one' and 'Local hero' are pretty neat. Also Everton / Watford and 'The theme from Z Cars' and another skids song 'Into the Valley' at Dunfermline and Charlton. Honourable mentions for 'Liquidator' at Chelsea and 'Falling in love with you' at Swindon.

Has anyone else noticed that all the talk of dressing room unrest against Puel died the second Fonte left...

I think this summer depends on the outs; If no major outs then I think we will only see a CB and CM in, and even then it will only be if the player is 'right'. If VVD stays I don't even think we will look for a starting CB as a Fonte replacement, as the club appear to think Yoshi is now good enough (which to be fair he is demonstrating). Stephens is also good enough for the regular CB sub spot. Maybe the club would opt for a promising up and coming CB instead. If Swansea go down then Siggurdson all day everyday with Davis dropping to the bench for me. (i think Clasie would actually do well given a decent run in Davis place too). Likely outs; Rodriguez (any chance of a return to Burnley) Martina (end of contract, probably back up player for Everton) Taylor Gazzaniga Isgrove Possible; VVD Bertrand Tadic Long Gallagher

One of the worst halves i've seen Saints play since the Liebherr revival, quickly followed by a cracking second. Pros; Hojbjerg Hojbjerg Hojbjerg Redmond looked fantastic in the second half and the goal was well taken, looked out-muscled in the first half but started to get into some really good positions and it paid off. Pied was unexpectedly great when he came on (although 10 men probably helped). We seemed to benefit from extra emphasis on fitness training, outlasting Watford imo, which caused the game to turn. Tadic, VVD and Targett all looked strong. Interplay on the disallowed goal was sublime, if we do more of that but stay onside I can see a few wonderful team goals this season. Cons What the hell was that first 45 Romeu struggled as the sole holding midfielder Cedric..... wow Yoshida traditional suicidal backpass (which was a shame as other than that I felt he had a solid game) Felt Long had a weak match, but his pace did create the red card situation. Standard of play through the entire second half was extremely strong. PS Shout out to the delightful gent behind me chanting 'sacked in the morning' at Puel in roughly the 70th minute. Quality support.

Odd move as it will put the sponsor at odds with the clubs supporters. Doesn't appear to be a great bit of decision making regarding the clubs own fans, I wouldn't blame Virgin Media as I'm sure the idea probably comes from the club and VM are probably having to fork out a fairly large sum to subsidise. That said I imagine this is targeted at enhancing the clubs reputation in the league as a whole and is a general PR stunt that will probably go down well in the PL and media, it shouldn't take the shine off of what VM have done so far, if they continue to make offers like the Utd one then I think we will have a pretty sweet deal in the long run. Overall a decision that will give the club some good PR, but will annoy most of us unless we suddenly get a nice ST rebate or all away games subsidised in return (the former obviously won't happen, but we may see more of the latter), we are definitely getting the short end of the deal here mind. At least the hideous gap in the Northam might shrink.

I cant help but look at Arsenals CB situation and think it wont be long before they are linked, he is literally exactly the player they need. Don't believe he would leave for Neverton (although I thought that about Koeman too) and I don't actually think Man Utd will bring in another CB either.

Surprised we are likely losing him to a club that are at best level with us, despite what they say about their "history", as if its relevant. Bit of an unexpected blow for us, but if there is one thing that the Liebherr regime has taught us, its that the club is always prepared for every eventuality and I would trust them to find a decent successor. Emery would be my first choice, if a tad ambitious. Glad we tied VVD and Forster down before this, only shows that cash is king (as in fairness it would be to all of us in all of our working lives). We have the better squad prospects and hopefully we will cream the scouse menace next season be it red or blue, who not content with just the football side of things, seem happy enough to try and hijack this city's primary industry through the backdoor of government funding. Aggravated but hopeful, as I think we are one of, if not the best run club in this league and we have shown that we can beat the mercenaries before, we will do it again.

I know England generally do it every time, but the Drinkwater omission behind Wilshere and Henderson, has to be the single worst squad pick in English history? Also the numbers (unreliable, but this IS Hodgson's England we are talking about), indicate this as the preferred lineup and tactic; --------------Hart--------------- -Walker-Cahill-Smalling-Rose- -------------Milner-------------- ------Lallana-----Sterling------ -------------Rooney------------- --------Vardy-----Kane--------- Ok I won't argue the GK, defence and strikers, as they are reasonable even if Clyne and Bertrand are arguably better full backs (the difference is marginal for me). But that is one hell of a botched midfield, it's as if Hodgson has gone missing for the past 12 months.

Quite surprised Stekelenberg would come back to sign as a permanent back up keeper. He isn't quite as good as Forster, but could be a reasonable number 1 for a lower half PL team or back abroad. Plus at the end of a 3-year contract (just assuming that's what we would give him), he would be right at the tail end of his career. Would be a decent permanent signing mind.

This game was an abomination before it even kicked off. What a terrible advert for the FA cup, especially in light of the fantastic PL season.

Literally a Doncaster Rovers home kit.

I would love to have Benitez (which I would have called unrealistic until he ended up at Newcastle) or De Boer. Pellegrini, Howe (although I don't think he would move here) and Sanchez Flores are other names that stick in my mind. Maybe Erwin would like a crack at the big seat. Ultimately I can see us picking someone from the left field though. Also I think people here are being a bit harsh on Pearson, he may be a mentalist but he is Leicester's equivalent of Adkins, built 90% of the current Leicester team and their current run of form started under his tenure (not to take anything away from Ranieri who has pulled off a modern day footballing miracle).

Also worth noting that Sunderland were celebrating throughout injury time up until the goal, a lot of congratulatory hugs and little high fives going on during breaks in play up until the equaliser. Not what you need in a relegation scrap, they are lucky that those around them seem to be imploding on a massive scale.

Can't complain about the result, I don't think Sunderland offered much (bar Defoe, who was his usual dangerous self) Sunderland were utterly terrible in that first half and gifted us all sorts of wide open spaces, but we failed to capitalise despite Bertrands best efforts. Once they tightened things up (and became noticeably sharper) in the second we had no response and it took the sending off to really open the game up. VVD motm by so far it's unreal, our best threat up front as well as a defensive rock. Romeu also had a good game, I don't think we are missing Wanyama too much as a result of his consistent performances. Bertrand had a cracking first half, but wasn't as noticeable in the second. Martina wasn't as bad as is being suggested, but is solid and nothing more. Pelle had some neat work in the build up to the goal, but I honestly don't see him ever scoring again for us. He just doesn't get in the positions and his hold up play seems to be deteriorating. Tadic was ok first half and again some neat play in the build up to the goal, but I don't feel overly convinced. Mane poor, while he's obviously talented he is in a real rut at the minute. Fonte red card was fair, but he didn't have much of a choice. Supporting Saints is the ultimate blue balls experience, as soon as we show signs of promise we collapse into a heap. It's disappointing to see when sides like West Ham and Leicester (who we are definitely capable of competing with on paper) are pulling that bit extra out of the bag. Still it could be much worse, but it would be nice for us to deliver that next level, especially when we know it's there.

Most of these clubs expanding / building their grounds have larger support bases than Saints (Liverpool, Spurs, West Ham, Man City, Chelsea, Crystal Palace) or are smaller clubs that are simply growing beyond their current facilities (Bournemouth). I'd also argue that despite Saints upturn in fortunes, we are not the dominant force in the local area that we once were. Pompeys brief spell as the top team on the south coast will probably have cost us 5-8 years of young supporters in the m27 corridor and Bournemouth will now retain support in Dorset and the Western portion of the New Forest / Ringwood. Also Eastleigh may well start to hold their own support if they continue to improve. We don't sell St.Marys out for most fixtures, where a lot of Premier League clubs do and I'd say it would take Champions League football for that to change. As much as I'd love to see a 42,000 capacity and significantly spruced up St.Marys (because at 15 years old it already looks like a bit of a tin shed on the exterior), it's going to be a few years of support building before it becomes warranted. No shame in having a 32,000 capacity stadium when it meets our needs, ticket revenue isn't a huge part of club turnover so it's unlikely to mean we will fall behind.

I think S. Davis potentially has another season as a starter in him (for us, can see him being a handy starter at another PL level side or maybe Rangers again for a good few seasons yet), although I think he will ultimately be replaced by JWP in the long term and create the midfield you've suggested. Although the mantra seems to be 'don't look back' for most players, I think AOC would be a good fit for saints and vice versa.

Is that the strongest bench in Saints history? Even when we are lacking Wanyama, Gardos and Rodriguez we can field a side like that. We have come a hell of a long way!

Also, most importantly; Manager: Nigel Adkins

Wonder if Fonte will line up as Saints or the Promotion XI? Can't see Lallana being there and I kind of hope he won't be, mainly because people will spend all game shouting him down, when it should be about KD. Promotional XI guesses? ------------------Bialkowski---------------- ----Richardson--Jaidi--Hooiveld--Fox----- -----Cork---Hammond--Schneiderlin------ ----------Guly----Lambert------Ox------ Subs; Forecast , Martin, Harding, Chaplow, Connolly, Barnard, Sharp. Probably missed out someone blatant. Left out Puncheon as he didn't feature much in those seasons.

Did great things for S****horpe, seems to be turning things around at Sheffield United too. Also when Adkins was sacked weren't we in a similar position to now (with improving form), at a similar point in the season having spent far less? Not necessarily calling for him to return. But I don't think he was out of his depth in the prem, just never really got a chance. A bad patch at Reading doesn't change that for me.

..... I hate to tell you

I sense Watford away mk.2.

Hopefully at right back. Hard to think of many better 3rd choice CBs in the league though. It's a shame that our lack of depth at right back seems to be ruining his overall reputation with some of our short sighted supporters though. I can't quite understand why Cedric can't play these games.