lickierambert

I'd love to see what their argument is because at the minute I don't see one Imagine if the boot was on the other foot. If Essex were denied promotion because of financial issues, we would all surely think that promotion be awarded to Kent instead of us given a reprieve

Whatever we say on here, I'll bet the players would rather play (and win) on Thursday than Sunday Irrespective of Inter Milan's attitude to the EL, they'll have grown up in an era of Ronaldo, Vieri, Eto'o and Mourinho, and will remember watching games at the San Siro. We play teams like Burnley week in week out, who knows when we'll play there next?

Bransgrove is right and just fighting his club's cause but it really does come across as tasteless. I've had enough of Kent's bleating though. The rules clearly stated 2 down, 1 up, which has been adhered to. Tough luck.

He's winning me round and he's adapted the rigid diamond formation which didn't work in the first few games. Ever since the Arsenal game we've played pretty well. He's trusted Romeu and Austin more which has helped. Having Romeu at the base instead of Wanyama means we play out from the back better and we're less prone to be down to 10 men. I still think we're a striker short but I suspect we'll fix that soon enough

I hope all of this doesn't distract from the fact that we desperately need a top order batsman and a front line seamer for next season

They've agreed to this I think. It's the only thing they can do to stop them going under

Trevor Kettle is the worst referee I've ever seen at one of our games. Interestingly, there is a point in the Guardian this morning about Martin Atkinson, our ref for this weekend. Out of the last 10 games he's refereed involving Saints, we've won 7 of them, losing twice. The last 10 he's reffed involving Leicester, they've only won 1, losing 5

I'd be amazed if it was 10 current managers. 4 of them have been here less than 3 months, and 4 or 5 others recently become PL managers. Pretty much all of the rest would have to be implicated If it is 10 current and former managers, I think we can all think of a few likely names, although I won't be guessing here

Attendance does not always translate to atmosphere. Apparently there were 56,000 at West ham yesterday but it was a pretty 'friendly' environment for us to play in. European away games are tough even in lesser footballing countries and if you look at their home record it's pretty formidable.

Think we might be in for quite a shock here and would take a point if offered. I'd be inclined to go with those who have the most international/European experience. I'm a big fan of Targett/JWP/Hesketh but I'm not sure I'd count on them to adapt well to the atmosphere

Stock piling attacking midfielders, selling our most valuable assets, ignoring lack of fit strikers, great bank balance, stubborn French manager. Sounds like another club...

So, final game tomorrow and quite simply we have to win. A draw could keep us up in theory, but is highly unlikely. The two teams above us are playing each other. If we win and there's a result in the game between Warks and Lancs game, it's almost certain we'll stay up. Bonus points will be important as it could be close. A 21 plus point haul should keep us up. You'd hope that we produce a 'result' wicket, but with cloud around, that plays into Durham's strength, which is their seam bowling (Onions, Rushworth, Stokes, Wood). Stokes and Wood may well be rested but we'll wait and see. Part of me thinks we'll be better off for going down and letting the youngsters play in Div 2, but it's a bloody tough division to get out of, especially with just one promotion spot.

I think JWP would be the tallest of the front 6. No way are we going to be that weak

Not for me

Is there a better centre back in the PL than Van Dijk? None immediately stand out

He is good, but wins against Sunderland, West Brom and Stoke aren't enough to suggest Everton are 'back'

McCarthy, Cedric, Fonte, Yoshida, Targett, Hojbjerg, JWP, Davis, Tadic, Austin, Redmond 1-1

Jonno Quick was the fastest

Long

Right on cue, limps off before the end of the game

I really hope relegation is the kick in the teeth the club needs. Gut out the side of the older underperforming players, give the talented kids a go in div 2, and recruit a few good players. And probably get a good coach in too

I don't know if anyone listens to the Guardian Football Weekly podcast, but they were saying yesterday that Inter Milan have some issues with Financial Fair Play. They've bought c100 million worth of players and sold around 10 million. They are in danger of flaunting the FFP rules and one of the punishments could be to ban all new players from playing in the Europa League. One to keep an eye on, especially in the next 24 hours if they sell a couple

If we fail as a club long term, it won't be because of these 6 matches

I had forgotten Alderweireld was so late but generally we're talking one or two players per window. All of the above were heavily trailed for a week or two beforehand too. This window, we're looking at four or five in/out in the last week. Having watched SSN on previous deadline days, the Saints stuff has been a mere footnote. This year looks like we'll be one of the busiest clubs. That's what I was referring to when I meant un Saints-like

Feels very un-Saints like to be leaving 2 or 3 deals to the last few days. I guess that's part of the brinkmanship involved with these transfer fees. Transfers are basically like a housing chain now