andoru

We're not allowed to choose both? How about neither? As Saints fans, we should just be grateful to survive another season in the Premier League, right? 4th for me. Winning the FA Cup would be awesome, but you know the story would be tainted by those pointing out we played lower league opposition, and had to get through a replay against Ipswich ... blah blah blah. Finishing 4th is not something anyone can downplay. We play the same fixture list as all other clubs. And it's been so long since anyone other than the big-money clubs made it in that I think it would go down as one of the greatest achievements in the PL era. At least, that's what Robbie Savage said.

It's the Villa and Burnley games that most annoy me. Against Liverpool, Arsenal and Utd we played brilliantly. That's all we can ask for. We weren't so good in the Spurs game, but not terrible either, and Mane's miss was just one of those things that happen. I've seen Ronaldo miss an open goal from three yards before. But the games against Villa and Burnley, we barely turned up. The performances were well below what we should expect, and were against weaker teams as well. I very much consider those result four points dropped. Mind you, every team can point to their own example. Man City dropped two points to Everton at the weekend. Anyway, my prediction is 5th. I'm too much of a pessimist to go for a top fourth place.

We've now cancelled out the points we dropped to Man Utd and Arsenal just a few weeks ago. All we need to do is match what the teams below us do and it's ours, and we still have the chance to get back the six points dropped to Liverpool and Spurs. It's in our hands. My question now is, would you rather we qualify for the Europa and do well in it (i.e. at least get out the group stage) or the Champions League and perform poorly? I'm in no way suggesting it's impossible for us to do well in the CL, but I do think with a stretched squad and the higher quality of opposition we might struggle to make a decent impression, whereas I think genuinely think we could go places in the Europa. Still, hard to say no to a CL place, isn't it?! COYR.

Hey, I only report what I see.

I had an incredibly vivid dream this morning about this game. We won 3-0. My wife said I was cheering in my sleep and yelling 'get in'. The first goal was a goalmouth scramble, with Clyne getting the final touch over the line and the goal confirmed by GL technology. The second was Yoshida knocking it through De Gea's legs at the near post from six yards out, following a corner. The third was Long in the last ten minutes, on the break, to put the game to bed. Sounds about as convincing a prediction as anything Lawro has ever come up with.

I assume you are responding to my post. American or not, you clearly understand what 'jerk off' means or you wouldn't recognise the joke, so …

I never got why more jokes weren't made about Yuri Zhirkov when he played for Chelsea.

Don't forget of course, that part of what makes the Kop special is the wall of scarves, banners and giant flags being waved around. It's not all about the song. You can sing 'We are sailing' as much as you like, but there needs to be colour there as well. Probably easier to start with that to be honest, than trying to force a song in. Stick with OWTSGMI and everyone holding a red and white scarf over their head.

It is completely ridiculous, until you remember that YNWA is a song from a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical about a fairground ride. Imagine someone suggesting it as their anthem today! We* could do 'My Heart Will Go On' ironically, just to take the **** out of the Liverpool fans who take their silly song too seriously. Could also do a sea shanty to show we are still in touch with our nautical heritage, or if someone can lead it, get the four sides of the ground doing 'Sloop John B' in a round. Alternatively, there's Craig David's excellent canon of work to dip into. *By 'we', I mean those of you who go to matches. I'm on the other side of the world, but I can join in in spirit.

Maybe he's been incorrectly labeled? I played in just about every part of the pitch as a younger man, but was always considered a right back no matter where I was put. I was actually best doing a Wanyama-style job, but when I did I was a right back being played as a defensive midfielder, rather than just a defensive midfielder. Perhaps Long is carrying a label based on nothing more than having been played in a certain role in the past. Do we know for sure that Saints bought him to play as he's always been played before? He said himself he was being played in a different position to what he was used to.

We overpaid, but that's not Long's fault, so ignoring the transfer fee and just focusing on his contribution, I'm still fairly satisfied. His energy is infectious, and perks up tired players when he comes on, and his running causes defenders problems. Just look at how he created space for Jack Cork to score against Sunderland. He's also a scrapper who chases balls down and forces defenders and midfielders into errors by snapping at their heels. He also won us the game against Leicester when we were struggling to break them down. I'm not saying he's amazing, but plays his part. He certainly isn't crap.

I don't really get it. What's their intended message?

RE: all of the above. Interesting that everyone's gone for defensive options, isn't it? Even the midfielder is the DM.

As you all know, at the end of the season the fans pick their 'Player of the Year'. Now that we're past the midway point, who are you leaning towards? I find it pretty hard to single any one player out this year. They've really been playing as a team. If I had to pick though, I think I'd go with Wanyama. He's been immense so far, and you can see that he's worked hard to iron out his weaknesses, particularly his passing, which was pretty erratic last year. Toby and Bertrand have been consistently good as well.

Excellent. I've always had a soft spot for Maya, mostly due to having once lived in Japan and fallen in love with the place and the people. I really wanted Tadanari Lee to come good for us as well, but it wasn't to be. Incidentally, I've wondered if Maya's nationality has something to do with his being happy as a squad player. Japanese culture is collectivist, and people usually put the group before themselves. It's in Maya's culture to be part of a team and not stick out "like a nail that needs hammering down", as they say in Japanese. I can't imagine too many Japanese players doing a Lallana.

Leicester have scored twice in as many minutes to level 2-2 with Liverpool. Love it.

I tell you what, Forster is proving his worth against Arsenal for the second time this season. I make that three big saves now. Plus, get in!

He's only gone and one it again. What is it with Mane and dealing with keepers rushing out? That's the third one in a row, and arguably the best of the bunch. I take back (almost_) everything I said about him.

He's a midfielder, right? We already have one of the best midfield set-ups in the PL, with Reed and JWP on the fringes. Would Odegaard really have that much more of a chance to break through at Southampton? Possibly if we lose Morgan in the summer the competition will open up, but as long Morgan and Wanyama are fit, that's basically two places taken care of.

And there it is. Their first shot on target.

It was a great goal, and been a decent showing from everyone so far, but this being Saints, and Chelsea being Chelsea, I still get the feeling we've just got our consolation goal out of the way nice and early. Prove me wrong lads!

Oh, very very nice. Calm as you like. More of that please. And I put my hands up and say I was one of those questioning this guy's technique.

Nigel Adkins is available. I'd love to see him back in the Prem, although maybe he's not the right fit for Palace.

Surprised by the amount of negativity on here. It's a loan deal, for crying out loud. If he works out, great. If not, he's gone in six months. It's not we get lumped with him, like Osvaldo. I can't see much to complain about.

In the Guardian too: http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/dec/25/adam-lallana-liverpool They've got a very nice set of fixtures coming up, so no doubt they'll start winning, close the gap on the teams above, and the media will begin their Liverpool love in all over again. They'll overlook that they're playing the likes of Burnley, Leicester, Sunderland and Aston Villa in four of their next five league games.