Tony F

Interesting weekend.... only Wigan and Newcastle from the bottom clutch (ie below us) are not playing each other!

But then...... you'd really have to say Lallana's one-two with Jay Rod, followedby tucking away to score at Reading was also darned impressive......

If the above factors (which I agree with) lead us to pick up AT LEAST 6 points from the next 7 games (and lets be honest - most of us expect it will be more) then we can all breathe easy and look forward to next season on the PL.

No, I don't think it is particularly unreasonable. As for him tipping us to lose 9 in a row (which I believe he has) - maybe he is confusing us with the other South Coast lot?

And the answer is..........Saints to lose again.......for the 9th time in a row according to The Great Expert

Lord Mawhinney according to his speech at the end-of-season dinner last May

So were you at the game or did you have a live feed or did a mate go ...... or....... ? This is a polite question asking for the source of your judgement. I am in no way question it BTW

Apparently a new record for Saints at home in a prem fixture. Certainly all exec boxes were full and it was hard to spot many empty seats except those in the separation zone

I don't want to sound like a "Jos knocker" but I thought he started the match pretty poorly and was looking a liability. His injury and the subsequent introduction of Jose was a significant turning point in the match in my view. From that point on, I felt that the likelhood of a real mess-up in defence was much less than when Jos was on the pitch. I thought Jose and Maya had a good game - however our backs were AWESOME

That's the problem y'see Jillyanne. I said Venice is a MUST GO ONCE sort of place. You say you've been there loads of times. Spoiled the effect. I won't spoil the effect by saying how many times I've been - suffice to say I thought it was a great crack but I'm not necessarily in a rush to go back a second ti.........urrgghh it got out!!

This ..... obviously there would need to be a reshuffle so all leagues start with an even number of teams in.

If its fresh air, country views and a city you want, with the hassle of driving, take the train to Bradford on Avon. Walk to Bath (about 2 hours - more if you stop for lunch). Then explore Bath and back on the train, for supper in Salisbury. Americans'll be amazed you can do all that without using a car. Alternative version; hire bikes in Bradford (by the canal bridge, not too far from the station) cycle along the canal path to Bath, explore and then back again by bike as opposed to walking.

I'll add my name to the list of Languedoc promoters; I took my missus there last October and we're going again this year, but more towards Perpignan. Even in October the water's warm enough to swim in the Med, if that's your thing. , or ride bikes, canoe rivers, walk, hike.... great place. However, Venice is a real MUST GO ONCE sort of place - if you've never been (by which I mean neither of you) then take her for her 40th; you won't regret it. Yes its expensive but its unique too. You can visit Milan at the same time if you hire a car and have the time; depends how many days you can go for. Final suggestion - Guernsey or Jersey. Cheaper, but charming and probably reasonable weather in September; often lots of good offers, too. You can fly or go by car from Weymouth, Poole or the other place beginning with P. However be careful about taking your own car - roads are REALLY narrow with walls each side and lots of opportunity for coming back with a scrape. Better to hire something small.

Thing is, the question has already been decided. Alan Shearer said on MoTD last Saturday that Saints will stay up. So that's that. We're safe. Don't know why anyone is worried about "the other outcome" as that clearly will not happen now Mr Shearer has spoken.

I detect a problem with young CBs breaking into the team. Its such a critical position - where one error can easily lead to a goal - that it's hard to see how and when we might blood a youngster. Not in the Prem at least - Cup games being the only real opportunity?

This is really excellent today. best free stream I've managed to get up and working for a saints match :-)

I suggest that his less-than-impressive showing in our Leeds (away) cup match may have been part of the reason why he hasn't played at all in the Prem League this season...?

I agree but then we deserve the chance to ride our luck - given the harsh outcomes we had to live with in the first 10 or so matches of the season. Its that old "rub of the green" thing.....you either have it or you don't. And what was that golfing adage about "the more I practice the luckier I get?"

Steve, According to my bank I have paid my subs some while ago...... yet I am still "downgraded" to Registered User. Please can I be promoted back to Full Member? p.s. - I would have PM'ed you but I am no longer allowed PMs!!

I couldn't help but notice - in the (somewhat meagre) highlights of the Sants/Man City game on TV, Punch seemed to be involved in pretty much ALL the action when Saints were attacking Man C's goal - and seemed to be linking really well with Rickie. He was in the right place, and finished it nicely, for the first - he put Lambert in for the second (finished off by Davies) - he was the target for Lambert's cross for the third (could say, if Lambert's cross had been better, it would have been a Punch goal, not an OG). Plus he had a really good volley chance in the second half from a Lambert pass. Its also worth noting that he was back in our goal area when Citeh scored their goal too - no-one can accuse him of just watching from afar. The monment he started to flag, MP subbed him - in my view an excellent substitution as the guy was spent. Whether he needs to show a higher level of fitness/stamina is probably worthy of another discussion, since I'm sure people like Morgan and Corky had committed no less physical effort to the cause. My mates who were not at the match, but watched the highlights, came away with the opinion that Puncheon was almost the key to our success on saturday. Highlights don't give the whole story - but they do give a fairly good flavour.

Hmmm. As I recall, the one specific "moment of challenge" we had against Citeh on Saturday was that we went 2-3-5 for a corner, which then went over everyone's head, and Man City came back at us far faster than we could go to 8-1-1..............

Need to add Newcastle into the mix if we win or draw up there in 2 weeks' time......

And they were there for £5 at Chelsea away - complete with the match date (so no reuse value). I guess they are really for tourists who have got hold of a Prem ticket as part of a tour package - seems that its mostly the clubs in the larger cities that do this. So while you might be surprised to see them at "football minnow outfits" like QPR (but nonetheless a London club) you can be pretty sure you won't see any at Wigan, or Reading (or indeed Southampton)...

Hey Badger - if it falls apart, the "next stage" will be Championship not Champions league. There's a difference, right???

I think that a lot of the frustration is that we have seen a lot of poor first touch (resulting in lost ball) or poorly placed passing (ditto effect) from Guly this season. Against Everton he seemed to be resolving those two issues and - as a bonus - his work rate seemed to be that much higher (new manager factor??) I was happy to chant his name and applaud him when he was subbed. It has not always been like that. You (or in this case Guly) reap what you sow.