andoru

Glen bloody Johnson

Morgan: I'm just so pleased to know that from time to time I'll get to see Paul Mitchell in the hallway and nod at him. That's why I signed for Spurs. Yeah, I don't think so. Stupid to try and link the two events, but any chance to remind us that Spurs are desperate to sign our best players, eh?

Won't be much good to us next season if we make the CL, since he usually rests on Sundays. Still, I heard Twente are prepared to sell him for just 50 pieces of silver, so might be worth a punt.

I once saw Cristiano Ronaldo miss a tap-in from four yards, completely unmarked, at Old Trafford. Proper s**te he is.

The thing I'm most looking forward to about this game – in fact, all of the so-called difficult games – is the inevitable writing off of Southampton if we don't get a good return of points. The likes of Man Utd can let in five against newly promoted Leicester without instantly turning into a small team, but if Saints lost against the reigning champions we'll be dismissed as idealistic dreamers, who dared to believe they could cut it at the top. Our season will be over. Nobody will consider that we lost just because … well, that's football, and every team loses eventually. If we lose, it will be because we're not good enough to compete with the big boys and nothing else. I'm really looking forward to that reaction. Not. Here's hoping for a win so we can avoid all that c**p.

They do when you own the factory. Chinese people are cleaning the world's clocks with their business sense.

My Chinese cable package. Costs me the equivalent of £160 a year for TV and broadband internet, plus another £30 for Premier League football in high-definition. They have every game, with all of them stored until the next round of games. Only problem is that the commentary is Chinese, and they sometimes miss the first few minutes of games that don't involve the big teams, but otherwise it's good. When I think about what my brother-in-law pays every month for Sky back home …

Not sure how to feel about that. Good on Ricky for getting the goal. Shame it had to be Lallana giving him the assist though.

Correction: We'd be 9 pts clear of 5th if Arsenal win and Swansea get the draw with City, as it stands. We'll be 8 pts clear of Arsena; though.

Only if Arsenal and Utd draw as well. If Arsenal win, we'll be 8 points clear, with them on 20 pts. If Man Utd win, we'll be 9 points clear, with them on 19 points along with Swansea.

I think I could do 5am. It's closer to morning. I'd get up early, then head off to work at final whistle. 4am still feels like the middle of the night though. No matter, the game will be stored for a week, so I'll just watch it Tuesday. I watched the Sunderland game about 3 times thanks to the wonders of cable.

The continuity of Hunter and Reed working together seems important to us. They've been colleagues in some capacity for twenty years, and we are lucky that they've arrived together at Saints. Knowing each other they way they do, they've been able to blend seamlessly into the established set up, and take things further forward. Also nice to see former academy graduates like Gareth Bale being prepared to speak about the club in the promo materials. I'm sure they gave him plenty of cash for it, but I doubt he'd lie for a few quid. Nice for parents of promising kids to see that.

Damn. Just realised the Villa game's a Monday nighter. That's 4 am for me. Looks like I'm waiting yet another week of waiting to see Saints play.

Our neighbours and self-proclaimed local rivals got dumped out by Aldershot I see. Too bad. They'll have to wait yet another season for a chance to get at us in the cups. http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/29999399

The question is about Pochettino's SAINTS. (i.e. Saints of 2013/14 vs. Saints of 2014/15)

Koeman's Wanyama scores from 40 yards after Pochettino's Boruc commits a howler. Pochettino's Saints lose, unable to come from behind and win.

Finally got around to listening to last week's Monday Night Club podcast. Dave Merrington was asked this question. What do you reckon?

I know there's a sizable population of Eastern Europeans in Southampton these days, but I'm still surprised to see they're teaching Polish at Staplewood. Blame Boruc for that I suppose.

The BBC has an interview with Xavi, in which he name checks Matt Le Tissier more than once. I know it's not the first time he's mentioned him in interviews either. ""I remember John Barnes, Paul Gascoigne and Matt Le Tissier. We used to watch a lot of English football. They used to show highlights and Le Tissier scored some spectacular goals." "...I always prioritise Barcelona - it's my life, it's my world. I am lucky and wouldn't change it for anything. Matt Le Tissier never left Southampton, so I think it was a good thing for him, however nowadays there are few cases of this." http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/30058904

Not really sure what you're getting at here. Newcastle have neither had a one off win like Wigan, nor do they regularly compete near the top or challenge for honours. They just have a decent-sized fanbase and a large stadium. If Morgan was to leave for Newcastle, I doubt anyone would accept the 'big club' excuse because they are not one.

Newcastle are 20th on the latest list. Are they a big club? They've never won anything, or even come close since the late 90s. That's long enough to keep them away from immediate transfer targets and for the club to reorganise and replan before they have a chance to do any damage.

Why don't football clubs put non-competition clauses in their employee's contracts? My employer does by default. They rarely enforce it in practice, but it's there. If ever, for example, the VP of Marketing tries to switch to a direct competitor, they'd invoke the clause, because our company doesn't want him sharing our market research and competitor analysis with our rivals. It's effective for six months after leaving our company. Football clubs should make their off-field staff sign something similar, preventing from working for a team in direct competition for a similar period. Paul Mitchell could leave Saints, but not work for another Premier League team until the clause expires.

It should be displayed in the away dressing room when Liverpool come south later in the season.

Let's be honest, I don't think any of us really believe we are in the title race, possibly not even the top four. But, just the fact people are even having this conversation is an amazing thing, after the way Saints were written off in the summer. We've come a long long way, but there's still a long way to go yet. I'll be dead happy if we finish top six and make it to Wembley in the League Cup.

I've forgotten what it feels like to be beaten. I know we've lost two this season, but we weren't really beaten, were we? I can't remember the last time we lost deservedly, where we were completely outplayed. It feels weird as a Saints fan to be in this situation. I expect us to win every week now. When we eventually have a bad day at the office, it's probably going to come as a shock to the system. I think I now understand why Man Utd fans have found it so to handle their drop in status – you just get used to it.