andoru

This. I've never understood this "short career" argument. Playing wise, perhaps, but it's not as if they drop dead the minute they stop. They can always get more normal jobs, as players of old used to do or, as you say, go into coaching, punditry, etc. The average Premier League salary is £1.6 million a year. In my lifetime, at my salary, I can expect to earn about that or less in 30 years. So even if they have a one-year career at the top flight, and never invest a penny, they'll earn enough to fund a normal person's lifestyle until they die. Problem is, they want a luxury lifestyle, not an ordinary one. But that's easily achieved. If you're getting £1.6 million in a short space of time, you can easily turn it into more with investments (see Robbie Fowler and his property empire). This idea they need to maximise their earning while they are still playing used to be true, but it's out of date now. Modern footballer salaries have rendered this argument invalid. Even average players earn enough for five lifetimes, and that's before they've invested and increased their net worth in other ways. Even if they are stupid enough to blow their money they can still get work – they just don't want to. The modern footballer is too proud to 'step down' to our level.

Of course, I don't think much of this idea at all, but a small selfish part of me would love to see Saints here in Shanghai. I get to watch all the games thanks to the broadcast deal here, but I never see them live.

Why was that not a red then? If the ref thinks it's a foul, he has to send the player off.

Haha! Love it. Outside the box, but that just makes it all the more funny.

That celebration just made me sick. F*****g c**t.

Reporter: How are you enjoying your first season at Liverpool, Adam? Lallana: I'm lovin' it. The club should start selling "Lallana burgers", and when Liverpool come down, we need a burger-themed chant ready.

Hard to disagree with any of that, but then I wasn't anyway really. I'm not suggesting we take head injuries less seriously, just that teams shouldn't get an extra substitute for it. If a player has a head injury, a team should have to use one of their three regular subs, or play on with ten men. Just as with all other injuries. Sometimes teams lose their star players for months at a time to injury. It's just hard luck, and hard luck is and always will be part of the game.

Another good example. Just leave it as it is. No need to complicate matters. If it happens, it happens. Sometimes you've used all three subs and a player gets injured. Nothing you can do but play on with ten men. It's part of the game. And let's face it, how often is a team likely to face this concussion situation anyway? Once a season at most I'd say. Less even.

The theory seems sound, but it could be open to abuse. If you're a 'big' club with an impact sub worth tens of millions of pounds sitting on the bench, someone could fake or exaggerate a knock to enable that player to come on for ten minutes. Imagine, for example, you're leading Man Utd 1-0 and they've used all three subs with ten minutes to go. Then Luke Shaw goes down clutching his head. Because of the 'blood sub' rule, they can bring on Falcao to see out the game, and he grabs the equalizer. Unless it was a like for like replacement (i.e. another left back for Shaw), it wouldn't be very fair. Teams could completely change their shape and tactics.

Robbie Savage: What a goal from Jagielka … and that one from Charlie Austin for QPR as well! Fletch: … and Pelle's was even better. Savage: (unconvinced) Yeah … Plank. Of all three goals, he picks Austin's as the best? It was a nice bit of skill, but surely Pelle's finish was on a whole other level?

Get in! Another player gets on the scoresheet, and as things stand we're four points above Swansea in third, Liverpool let in a last minute equalizer, Man City have thrown away a two goal lead and Wayne Rooney just got sent off. Good Saturday so far.

Hmm ... Mane having an interesting debut so far. Needs to watch those offsides, and that challenge just then was pointless as well as awful, but good pace and working tirelessly.

"Koeman, Koeman, Koeman, Koeman chameleon." "Koeman police ..." (Radiohead) I'll get my coat.

Woh, Nathaniel Clyne! Oh, oh, oh, oh, Nathaniel Clyne. To Guns and Roses' 'Sweet Child O' Mine'

A bit of Neil Diamond: Nathaniel Clyne! Oh, oh, oh. He never seemed so good. Nathaniel Clyne! Oh, oh, oh. But we always knew he could. Suggestions for improvements welcome.

What's more insane are these rumours that Tyler Blackett is going to be fast tracked into the England team. WTF?!

I wouldn't read too much into this. We have a great academy, but not always great academy teams. Youth players are all at different stages of development. Compare a 16 year old Theo Walcott to a 16 year Adam Lallana. They were world's apart, but both ended up as senior players at one stage or other. While it would of course be great to bring through a 'Class of '92' type group all at once, that rarely actually happens anywhere. The academy's role is to develop each player at their own pace, and bring through as many into the first-team as possible.

Not the greatest performance, but three points, a first Saints goal for Wanyama (right?) and a third clean sheet of the season. Plenty of positives.

They just ran a really great piece about Benali's run here on Chinese TV, presumably the same one they showed in the UK but translated. Was great to see, especially the footage of him coming in to the stadium. I didn't get to see it last week as they cut away at half-time to these pre-recorded packages all the time. Shame they didn't cover it during the run itself, but was still awesome to see it mentioned on this side of the world. I'd been telling my Chinese wife about it but she wasn't much interested, but when she saw the film she was quite touched. Benali = legend.

Midfield needs a rocket up its arse. Get Wanyama on and start winning the 50-50s. Swap Gardos in for either of the two CBs because I can see a second yellow coming.

I'd say only in terms of some of the prices, in particular the £12m paid for Long and, arguably, selling Chambers too early, for less than he'll likely be worth next summer. We'll see.

I think it's pronounced a bit like 'fella' but the 'e' at the end should be like the 'e' in words like 'bed' or 'pen'. Something like that. Note that I'm not an Italian speaker, I just read the IPA of his name on Wikipedia. Some kind of song with 'fella' then (e.g. "He's a jolly good Pelle …" but better).

Not exactly. If you read the article, they say Newcastle would have gone for him if they'd been looking for a new manager earlier, not that they plan to go for him now. They have Pulis and Moyes down as the favourites. http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/399727/EXCLUSIVE-Newcastle-line-up-replacements-as-pressure-on-Alan-Pardew-grows

Unbelievably only one Saints player in it, but still better than the usual none. Pelle got picked as one of the strikers: "The Italian looked good and his two goals against Newcastle made a bad time for under-pressure Magpies manager Alan Pardew considerably worse. After a mass exodus of players at St Mary's during the close season I tipped Southampton to go down. I think I may owe Saints fans an apology." http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/29200736

BBC just posted the link to Benali's fundraising page.