NewYorkSaint

Fantastic game. Whether we win, draw or lose, you have to take a moment to appreciate how cool it is to support a team who play such beautiful football. Lallana is pure genius. Luke brilliant, exciting. So many players had great touches. Superb to watch.

I predict 2-2. We'll have to come back at them in last 20 mins. Ramirez to score the equalizer coming in off the bench. Wonderful to Lovren back. Hope he's not rusty. Will be challenging game for him.

I think by 90/10, he means 90% chance of going... not 10%. I agree with THOSE odds.

There were a few terrific moments, and on another day result could have gone the other way. Luke Shaw played some exciting football. Lallana his usual genius... except, um, when it actually mattered. But the huge positive was Gaston. If you imagine Lovren back at heart of the defense and Gaston now firing on all cylinders, and there could yet be some wonderful results in our future. But overall, incredibly disappointing.

For me, the main problem wasn't the team selection (though that was certainly puzzling and troubling), it was that the players themselves lacked all their usual fire. But even at 60-70 minutes into the game, I wasn't that worried. it seemed obvious they would simply step it up, and at a minimum take an equalizer from a team they were clearly better than. What I think made everyone tear their hair out is that there was no increase in intensity as the game wore on. No captain chivvying his mates to get in and fight for victory. No manager urging on from the touchline. Just a bizarre lethargy ...and a growing number of inexplicable mistakes. I found myself wondering last night whether the whole team had been out drinking the night prior. They just weren't their usual selves. I would love to hear from some more of the senior players explaining what they think happened. And given the reaction here, and elsewhere, MoPo would be wise to consider acknowledging that the club let the fans down on this one.

That was very, very, very strange. It looked as if they truly didn't want to win. Every single player was misplacing passes, mucking up. Was the pitch covered in molasses? Did MoPo offer them a bonus to lose so that we had no risk of entering the Europa League? It's just makes no sense.

You know it's a bad day when even Lallana keeps giving it away. Sigh...

So pleased to see Wanyama do well. Very, very strong... and I didn't see a misplaced pass from him. Bring on JRod and Cork for Guly and JWP, add a touch of MoPo inspiration and we'll cruise this.

No Cork or Schneiderlin. That's biggest gamble, I think. They've been Saints engine for much of the past 2 years. Davis, JWP, Wanyama strong alternatives, of course. And if we're not owning midfield, I guess one or both come in 2nd half. Disappointed Gallagher still out. We'll need JRod on before the 2nd half gets too old.

Wonderful team performance. We never stopped pressing. So many beautiful one-touch passing moves. With a more clinical striker, no knowing what this team could do. Davis had a terrific game. But I also liked the midfield on at the end: Wanyama, Cork, Spider. Would love to see that combo start sometime. Could easily see us finish 6th or 7th.

I'd have liked to have seen Isgrove given 10 mins at the end. If I remember aright from preseason, he has astonishing pace. We needed to shake things up somehow.

Crazy conditions out there. It's got into everyone's heads. V v strange game. I'm going for 5-3 Saints after going behind! Glorious confidence builder for Lambert. Would love to see another from him.

Boruc my MOM for keeping us in it in first half. ...and setting up a truly glorious 2nd half. Lovely seeing Rickie turn it on. Not just the goal. Awesome playmaking. Maya had good game too. Clyne exciting cameo. What a team!

Cork on for Vic at HT... Bring on Gallagher at 65 mins. Give JRod a Red Bull. Just not clicking.

The slight puzzle is that Davies keeps his place ahead of Cork. I love Davies, but think Cork overall has been better. MP must see them as two really different positions/skill-sets. Cork breaks up opposition play and distributes, vs Davies a little more creative moving forward. I can see that... but still wish he would try Cork/Vic as partnership with Spider replacing Davies. Truth is, we have plenty of great midfield options, esp when you add JWP to the mix.

...oh, and I can't choose between Chambers and Clyne. Both really exciting to watch.

This, except I'd start Gallagher, and bring in Lambert on 60 mins.... let him back in gently. And give the kid another chance to shock 'em. Love the idea of playing Cork Wanyama Schneiderlin. Cork and Wanyama right in front of the back four, giving Spider opportunity to break forward. He can be lethal in the box.

It's probably the best negotiation that could happen in the time available. But I still doubt we'll get our money back unless he has a glorious season. I would guess there will be a big game of chicken in the summer. Juventus: He's been OK for us, but not great. We can't pay 15m of your pounds for him. Saints: But that's what you agreed. Juventus: As an option. We can't exercise that option. Too expensive. Saints: Great. We'll have him back then. Juventus: Of course, at half the price we might be interested. Saints players: Do it! Do it! We beg you! Saints: How about £14m? Juventus: Ne! £8m maximo. etc

When you back a team that plays football pretty much as entertainingly as it can be played, you have to be happy. That was really terrific tonight. Yeah, we deserved to win. But frankly the points arent' the biggest deal these days. What matters more is that we're building a side capable of truly being one of the best in the world.

Great great game. Well played Saints. Pride!

No one's mentioned how great a half Adam Lallana had. Some turns and flicks he pulled off were breathtaking. I hope he doesn't get subbed at 60 again. Hard to know who you'd take off for Wanyama. Davies also played superbly. One backheel/flick in the penalty area was divine. Luuuuuuke kickin' it too. Dream scenario... Gallagher makes up for his miss with a great goal, and then is replaced by Wanyama as we shut 'em down. More likely... we tire second half and they nick a goal or two. But right now, here's hoping....

What a fantastic half by Saints. So much commitment, athleticism, speed, brilliance. Only one team in it. Just superb. Heartbreaker for Gallagher's miss, but he's looking exciting. Schneiderlin and Cork absolutely dominant. They won unlikely possession on so many occasions. Yoshi, a couple of dodgy moments but otherwise strong. Ah, what an exciting team to watch. We're lucky, friends. Lucky, lucky.

I'd be happy with any home again... ...and quite fancy a draw against Arsenal, Chelsea, City or Liverpool. On our day we can beat any of them. Chances of getting to Wembley are fairly low. If we win a tie like that , we've truly earned the right to be there. And if we don't, at least we went out with a bang. Worst scenario is going out to someone like Brighton. Just my mindset.

The kit is a clearly an emotional issue that matters a lot more than you'd think it should matter. Here's how I see it. The stripes have the entire club's history on their side. On the other hand, they do look a little old-fashioned. And the fact we'd be pretty much matching Sunderland's kit doesn't help. The current kit (and last year's) have some appealing aspects (personally I think the striped socks work well!) but could reference the club's history a little better. So why not do the following? Brief a designer to offer 3 different styles which use stripes in some form, but with a tip of the hat to, you know, modern tastes. After all, if this is to be a big club, it really wants to appeal to global TV audiences, etc. Then invite the fans to discuss and vote. If he wanted to be really radical, he'd invite designs from the fans and include a couple of those in the vote. When you have this thing called the Internet that allows thousands of people to participate in an important conversation, that's not a bad plan to a) get to a great design and b) make everyone feel included in the decision. There's a time for dictatorship, and a time for participation.

I have a hunch we might need to rethink how we manage energy over 90 minutes. There have been a lot of games this season where we come out of the gates steaming with energy... close down relentlessly... intimidate and absolutely dominate for the first half of the game. But second half it's impossible to maintain that level of intensity, and teams gradually come back at us. I think we might be just slightly overdoing the initial all-out effort. Need to keep something in the tank. Anyone agree?