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Does anyone know a decent Saints-related football forum that isn't dominated by two or three people pretending to be lots of other people? I can see that this wheeze may have been momentarily funny to some but it is just tedious now for anyone genuinely looking for news or who has a sense of humour that didn't cease developing when they hit puberty.

And you say this, with confidence, based on the word of an unnamed mate of someone you don't know? OK.

It's just a thought but, if there is to be no deal with Hughes, don't you think something would have leaked by now? Not necessarily from the club but from Hughes, his agent or his backroom team. They will all be looking for their next job and it does them no favours for prospective employers to think they are settled here. Why don't we all calm down, stop working ourselves into a lather over the speculations of the usual ill-informed posters and wait for an announcement? I'm reasonably confident it will be Hughes but, if it isn't, it will be someone else and there's nothing much I can do about that. As a much-loved manager once said "control the controllables."

I expected us to lose. Liverpool are a very good team. But the manner of the second half collapse was appalling. What the hell did Pellegrino say at half time? "OK lads, we'll try to hold on with what we've got." Simply awful but probably too late this season to get rid of him.

I'm amazed that most people on this board aren't multi-millionaire football agents, what with their insight into how transfers work.

While Jay certainly looked good yesterday, I don't think we should be trying to rewrite history. Most people on this board agreed that he was, sadly, no longer good enough for Saints and were amazed we managed to get so much money for him. Yesterday he looked like the old J-Rod. This might be due to any number of reasons: luck, a change of manager or team set-up or perhaps a change of attitude from the player. It may last and WBA may have got a bargain. But I don't think anyone here predicted that at the time he left.

Kreuger is not CEO. Neither is Krueger.

Only going on Solent commentary but why do we sit back on a lead? We are good going forward and so vulnerable in defence. It must be what Pellegrino tells them. Does he not learn?

I think you mean "re-open". Getting in famous footballers at the sunset of their careers worked for Lawrie McMenemy and kept us safely around the bottom of the league (but just out of the relegation places) for years.

I'm not one for knee jerk reactions and don't normally call for the manager's head. I didn't especially like Puel's style of football but wouldn't have been too upset if he'd stayed. But we are simply poor under Pellegrino. Yesterday we were good for about 5 minutes before our goal and for the rest of the first half. For the rest of the game we were awful. And it's been like that for too many games. The performances against Everton and Arsenal were exceptions but, instead of building on those, he changed the system and the team and we have reverted to boring, unsuccessful football. We have talented players in Boufal, PEH and Gabbiadini. Why are we not building our team around them? Redmond is talented but his decision making is poor. Why is a coach not helping him to improve? Why do other teams break on us with speed and purpose while we seem to give them a sporting chance to get back into position before attacking and then passing it back? I'm sorry, my patience is exhausted. He needs to go.

I was shocked when I saw it live and thought it must have been accidental. TV shows Austin had plenty of time to pull out of the challenge but failed to do so. Ban inevitable and deserved.

Puzzled as to how "Uncle Les" is involved in this, unless you've heard we've made Torres an offer?

No I don't agree. It shouldn't be a decision. If the contact make a you fall over, you fall over. If it doesn't you stay on your feet and try to get the ball back and hope the ref has spotted any foul. I know that the modern game brings enormous pressure to exaggerate the impact of the slightest touch in the box and I know I'm being overly simplistic and idealistic. But this "he's entitled to go down" attitude is awful. I hate it when opposition players do it to us and I hate it when our players do it as well.

Boufal not Hours. Bloody auto-correct.

Just back from the game. That was so much better than last week. We were positive going forward and attacked with purpose. At times we had all our outfield players in their half, bar Yoshida. It's difficult to say what was different. Is it as simple as not having Redmond stopping play when we get into an attacking position? I thought almost all of our players had a good game today. I see some have criticized Long but as well as creating a few chances he did some great tackling back. The goal was, of course, superb and Hours I deserves a start. Forster made a good save but he made it very obvious why he's normally reluctant to leave his line. Today he did leave it and lost the ball both times. How bad is McCarthy if he's not getting a game? But it does feel good to win at home.

As we moan on about our lack of goals, I thought I'd remind us all that we used to score them. And that Tadic overwhelmingly topped the poll.

First game I've been to this season (I've been working abroad). I'd been warned not to expect much and my low expectations were duly met. Why are we so slow to bring the ball out of defence? It was Yoshida to VVD to Cedric to Forster again and again. Every now and then we'd get over the halfway line and then pass it back into our own half again. There were times in the game when we showed we could be so much better than that but clearly the players have been told to retain possession at all costs. It makes for a very frustrating afternoon and risks a misplaced pass or Forster fumble gifting the opposition a goal. Some of our players looked very average today but I know they can be better. VVD gave the ball away leading to the first goal, although Forster taking a lie down didn't help. I remember when Bertrand and Redmond used to have good understanding bombing up the left wing but today I rarely saw Bertrand cross the halfway line. And Redmond just seemed to stop when he got the ball in an attacking position before passing it back. Our players haven't just become rubbish. They are clearly playing to instructions but those instructions need revising. On the plus side, Gabbiadini took his goals well, Long was his usual probing, committed self and Boufal looked good when he came on. He tracked back and won the ball back several times. Lemina was our best player. I thought Newcastle looked good. They attacked swiftly and with purpose as exemplified by their second goal. We need to change something. While there will be calls to spend on a striker in January I'm not sure that the problem is the personnel but more the system giving them no service. Much though I hate to say it, I'm not convinced that Pellegrino is an improvement on Purl.

There will be some brilliant years and some not so good. It's all part and parcel of supporting a football club. For the biggest clubs, perhaps, the not-so-good years will generally be better than ours (although over the past few years Chelsea, Man U and Arsenal have had disappointing seasons). At the moment we're going through one of our not-so-good stages. Of course I wish that this were not so and am happy to voice my opinions about how things could be better. But I'm also confident that those in charge of the club also want to improve our performance and will do so. It is, after all, their job. Last season was poor by our recent standards but brilliant when you compare it to when we used to flirt with relegation every season. Of course, we all want to see us continually improving. But so do the supporters and owners of every other club. I think we are generally on the right track and am not too concerned about the occasional setbacks in our progress. They will happen and we will overcome them. I do wish we could score a goal or two though.

Nobody is worth that or anything approaching it. But, given the stupid state of PL wages, wouldn't it be worth splashing out on a player who would lift the team and supporters alike? But, it's not going to happen.

Only the professionally ****ed off on here would be disappointed with that. I think he'd be extremely good for us. He'd have a point to prove to his critics at Arsenal and would be a big fish in a small pond. That's always been good for our best players. Sadly, I can't see it happening though.

I come on the forum for news mainly but I find myself reading nonsense like this thread. As far as I can see, it's the same small group of people who get a kick out of being perpetually unhappy with some aspect of the club's behaviour. We all disagree with some things (for example, selection of team, bloody awful food, worse beer and so on) but this group will find something to whinge about in any situation. Just remind yourself that they are a tiny (if tediously persistent) part of a tiny forum. No, you are not alone.

For all his faults, Lowe never sold a player at a cheap price. Neither have his successors.

Two summer's ago, the financial position (lack of debt) was not the same as it is now.

I like the "challenge for a place" bit. No guarantees, Mr Big B*******.