andoru

Quite like it, I suppose. The fluorescence should come in handy during evening games in the dark.

Light on his feet, switched on, gives good (power) supply, makes charging runs ... what's not to like?

I heard he's quite bright. Got AAA on his GCSE's. As a player, he's the current top scorer in his league, and he can alternate between the two wings. Good attitude too apparently. Conducts himself well.

It's worth looking at hotels elsewhere in Holland as well though. The Randstad is similar to the London metro area in size, so it's only a short train ride from the likes of Amsterdam, de Haag, Delft, Utrecht, etc to Rotterdam.

I swear it's a coincidence that I'm arriving in Salzburg on the 10th of July and leaving on the 12th.

I dunno. I remember who the runners up were in 1976.

Wasn't it at the QPR and Crystal Palace games some Saints fans posted pics of their terrible views, with the top of the pitch totally obscured at Selhurst Park and the media box in the way at Loftus Road?

I'm inclined to agree. After years of investment in a player, the club deserves to see a return on that where it really matters – on the pitch. Of course, the counter argument is that the club cuts plenty of players by choice that it's invested in. Still hate it when it happens though.

When do loan deals typically end? I notice the official site has a piece about Djuricic playing for Serbia in current weeks. Presumably they still consider him a Saints player then.

Still don't think this has been confirmed by Saints, but Red Bull Salzburg put it on their website two months ago it seems. http://www.redbulls.com/en/fc-red-bull-salzburg/news/saison_2014_15/red-bull-salzburg-to-face-big-name-opponents-in-2015-16-pre-season.html "On Saturday 11 July 2015, there will be a season-opening tournament at the Red Bull Arena. Joining the Red Bulls will be a number of top clubs from the biggest leagues in Europe: SV Werder Bremen, Southampton, the club of former Bulls player Sadio Mané, and FC Valencia." Purely by coincidence, I'm arriving in Salzburg that very day with my wife.

I recently email the club about getting in on the Chinese social media action by opening official accounts with Weibo and the like. Even Sunderland have 45,000 (ish) followers, and Aston Villa around 325,000. Spurs have over a million. We're the only top seven team not to have an online presence in China. There are several unofficial ones, including my own and a much more widely followed one by a girl called Zoe who I think studied in Southampton. She has around 5,000 followers. I think now is the time to be making the push, because our profile has never been higher in the PL era. The club got back to me pretty quick to say they would look at my proposal before next season. We'll see what happens.

Last weekend I watched all our season's goals in order. I was struck by how involved Long was in many of them. I don't recall them all of the top of my head, but some that I can are: 1. Assist for Pelle's second against Spurs – the perfect cross 2. Scored both in the 2-0 win against Leicester after 75 mins of frustration 3. Do I need to break down what he did in the 6-1 win against Villa? Didn't think so. 4. He made a run across Sunderland's box in the 8-0 win, drawing away the centre back and leaving Jack Cork unmarked to score. Also created four chances in that game according to Stats Zone. 5. Should have won us a penalty against Everton but the ref wrongly gave a corner (from which we scored). 6. Assist for Elia's second away at Newcastle 7. Won the penalty for the opener in the 2-0 win against Hull 8. Scored the opener in the 2-0 win against Burnley There was at least one other game where his cross led to an assist for a goal, which you could call an indirect assist.

The differences in tackling are so small as to be statistically insignificant. Nine fewer attempted, seven more won across 38 league and a handful of cup games isn't such a big deal. They'll never be perfectly aligned. Passing stats are a little more interesting, although they only hint at the full picture. Are players making more runs? Do we have lower possession? (after all, you can't pass if you don't have the ball as much) Are we making longer passes and so require fewer to cover the length of the pitch? Stats are great, but they're always open to interpretation.

The differences in tackling are so small as to be statistically insignificant. Nine fewer attempted, seven more won across 38 league and a handful of cup games isn't such a big deal. They'll never be perfectly aligned. Passing stats are a little more interesting, although they only hint at the full picture. Are players making more runs? Do we have lower possession? (after all, you can't pass if you don't have the ball as much) Are we making longer passes and so require fewer to cover the length of the pitch? Stats are great, but they're always open to interpretation.

Well, look at how angry Utd fans were at finishing 7th last year, and how disappointed Liverpool fans are at finishing 6th this year. They can't handle even a slight drop off. I just wonder whether this is the peak of happiness for us. While there is still the outside chance of breaking the top four or of getting a cup one day, that is a big ask, just because the teams there now are so established, and of course, loaded. Our next step is to establish ourselves as a regular top-seven finisher, while slowly trying to chip away at that glass ceiling. Becoming the new Everton would be great, but over time is likely to feel less enjoyable, the same way regular fourth-place finishes no longer satisfy Arsenal fans despite it being a real achievement.

As you said about choosing the high-scoring wins, it's also an easy choice to choose the big defeat, but I wouldn't include this one. Yes, we lost, but then we kind of expected to. Man City were just pure class that day, which I take as a sign of respect for us. They turned up to play because they knew they had to, and we got to see a masterclass. I never like losing, but I have no complaints about losing to that performance. For me, the worst games were the ones we dropped 'easy' points in, like losing to Burnley. My best five (in no particular order): Saints 8-0 Sunderland Saints 6-1 Aston Villa Saints 2-0 Arsenal Man Utd 0-1 Saints Saints 3-0 Everton (ending the run of five straight defeats) My worst five: Saints 0-2 Liverpool Burnley 1-0 Saints Leicester 2-0 Saints Stoke 2-1 Saints Sunderland 2-1 Saints (these last three all come in quick succession)

We might have better seasons, statistically speaking, but I wonder if we'll ever have a happier one. Maybe next year we'll finish fifth with 70 points, but will we see another 8-0 win? Will Mane score a sub-three minute hat-trick again? Will we beat Man Utd away from home? Will we stay undefeated against Chelsea? Will we enjoy more days in the top four than Arsenal? Will we have 15 clean sheets? Will this summer's defectors fail to make an impact at their new clubs, just like last summer's? I'm not so sure. A great finish next season probably won't feel quite as wonderful as finishing 7th this year, simply because it's relative to our expectations. After the summer we had, and the low most of us felt back then, coming 7th and getting 60 points has felt like winning a cup final. Few of us can have expected to be flying so high and for so long. It's definitely the best season I've ever had being a Saints fan. Add to this the brilliant off-field stuff, like Benali's amazing 1000-mile run, the greater openness and friendliness from the post-Cortese board, the return of the stripes, the brilliant marketing video released last week ... it just feels like a whole different place to where we were 9 months ago. I hope we can keep hold of it.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/11616110/20-worst-Premier-League-signings-of-the-201415-season.html?frame=3309907 Calum Chambers, Dejan Lovren and Luke Shaw have all made it onto the list of this season's 20 worst signings, relative to price. Hehe.

This. Although when Rodgers comes in with the alleged bid he wants to make for Fonte, we'll see ...

Yeah, I'm sure he had to pass a rigorous Googlesque interview with problem solving questions and the like. Not. Intelligence had nothing to do with him signing for Man Utd. How clever do you need to be to take a carrot dangling in front of you? Donkeys manage it all the time.

My top five for the season (league goals only): 1. Pelle v QPR (overhead kick) 2. Long v Aston Villa (the 40 yard screamer) 3. Mane v Arsenal (chipping the keeper from virtually on the bye line) 4. Schneiderlin v Newcastle (the perfect curler into the top corner to make it 4-0) 5. Wanyama v Hull (the 40+ yarder in the 2nd minute, just for the audacity and the accuracy) Pelle's goal must be one of the most under appreciated in PL history. I don't think it even got goal of the week in the Premier League's top five video they put out. Ridiculous. If it had been scored by Costa or Rooney people would still be raving about it. The control on the volley, the flick up, the acrobatic skill, the perfect loop over a defender and the goalkeeper into the top corner ... it was incredible. Deserves more coverage.

I'll start the jokes: 1. Bread Ormerod: Super Sub. 2. What's the oven for? It's where the subs warm up. 3. What's the sub of the day? Dejan Lovren.

Google Translate doesn't work in China. What does your link say?

Anyone heard a rumour about Gardos going back to Romania for 6.8 mill? There's a post on Chinese social media of a screenshot from Romanian TV. Can't read it, but seems like that's what it's hinting at.

I was so glad we broke the 60-point barrier for the first time on Saturday, then to have wrapped up at least 7th place yesterday just made the weekend all the sweeter. Throw in a club-record Premier League win against Sunderland, the fastest ever top-flight hat trick, our best ever goal scoring record in an 18-team PL season (54 and counting), our best ever defensive record (still one game to play, but unless we lose 15 nil next week it's a new record), equal most clean sheets for a goalkeeper this season (13 for Forster) and most clean sheets for a club (15). It's been a terrific season.