mrfahaji

If Everton manage to land Koeman despite being a pretty poor side, they are a bunch of jammie dodgers.

Have been enjoying the biscuit puns but this made me laugh more than any of them.

No, he looked out of position. The idea that you can be man of the match against the Netherlands, be one of the best midfielders in the Premier League and then be 'completely out of your depth' against Australia is preposterous. Presumably Sterling also looked out of his depth because he was dreadful?

Yet Drinkwater was motm against Holland. If we discarded a player every time they had a bad game there wouldn't be any left! Although I think to say Drinkwater was garbage against Australia is a bit harsh, first half I thought he was decent, hardly ever gave the ball away, which can't be said of Wilshere. He was also being played somewhere on the left of midfield which is hardly his best position - much better to have tried him alongside Dier.

Worth bearing in mind that La Liga could boast an attack comprising Suarez, Messi, Neymar, Ronaldo, Bale & Griezmann. All different nationalities. You could have 3 from Barca and 2 from Madrid and still comply with the rules...!

It's just utterly ridiculous. Alli is the only other English midfielder that could claim to have outshone Drinkwater this season. A friend has sent me the squad numbers - not always reliable as an indicator of what's to come but the first 11 numbers are Hart, Walker, Rose, Milner, Cahill, Smalling, Sterling, Lallana, Kane, Rooney & Vardy. I've often defended Hodgson but this has been a huge disappointment. Same sh1t, different tournament, regardless of manager. Rinse and repeat for England failure, then wonder why we can't get it right.

Couldn't agree more. In addition to Wilshere and Henderson, you also have Milner, who isn't really very good at anything, or in any position, and has done nothing in an England shirt for seven years.

I wish we could be a big club with millions of fans so that when I say I support Southampton, people look at me as if to say "oh, another one".

I'd be quite happy to say he was rubbish but I thought he did ok.

Based on what? I thought he had a decent first half, hardly ever gives the ball away. Unlike Wilshere who has two great touches and then loses it.

I'm not sure. While I wouldn't agree with ousting replays completely, once you reach the quarter finals no-one really wants a replay, do they? Watched the re-run of the 1990 final and the idea that the actual final went to a replay now seems ridiculous. I had an idea that if both teams voted not to have a replay (regardless of round, in advance of the game), then there wouldn't be one! Regarding the Champions League spot, I fear the effect would instead just be to give one of the out of form big teams a lifeline. The fact that since 2009 there has been at least one typically CL-club in the final (and usually winning it) shows that they do still take the competition seriously, and how frustrating would it be if Chelsea managed to get back in the Champions League this season by winning the Cup? Most teams just want to win the cup for the moment itself, but for smaller clubs qualification for the Europa is also seen as an exciting prospect and potential to take the club forward.

I liked Boa Morte at Arsenal, in fact he was probably one of my favourite non-Saints (as irrational as that may seem), so was ecstatic when he signed for us. Perhaps I was biased but I remember him coming on in a few games for the last 10 minutes and making a real difference, could never understand why he didn't get more of a run. The fact he went on and did well at Fulham after suggests that he could have been a lot better.

Bit of a vicious circle as well, the more you put teams on TV, the more likely they are to pick up new supporters...

Teams with big enough stadiums that there is at least a remote possibility of getting a ticket.

Ah yes, completely forgot about them dropping into the Europa.

Kane used to strike me as quite a humble, hard-working pro, but - a little bit of ITK here - he is apparently top dog in the Tottenham dressing room - is quite happy to tell other players (no matter what standing) to pull their finger out etc. While it's obviously a good trait to be something of a leader, I have noticed (unless it is confirmation bias) a selfishness and arrogance more recently in his Spurs performances, and now in an England shirt too. Penalties I can understand, but since when did he take free kicks?!

Why are City technically guaranteed 8 games? Don't they have to play a qualifier for finishing fourth?

I'm going to be away for our first game. Hope that if it's a home game my lack of appearance doesn't prevent from being able to get along to any others...

As much as I hate to say it, I think there's a much higher chance of Schneiderlin going to Spurs than coming back to us. In fact if he were to leave United, he'd probably see them as perfect suitors...

I'm just pleased we're no longer having to play Yoshida at RB.

I don't think it's a bad squad. Due to his conservative nature I didn't think Hodgson would ever take just three CBs, but pleased he has done, gives a chance to use an extra place for a good player rather than an average one. Think Rashford will be left out the 23 and is there for development purposes. Even though I'm not against his inclusion per se, I think his style/positioning is similar to Sturridge and Vardy, so not sure when he would be used, as opposed to Carroll or Deeney who at least offer a different strategy. I can see that Wilshere has got ability but his tendency just to run into players annoys me, and not having played all season is ridiculous. Really can't see how Delph gets in. Not a huge Noble fan, but he has to be more deserving of a place. Other than that, there's not much I'd argue with. Obviously the Starting XI is a different kettle of fish. I believe you should either pick a formation and put the right players into it, or you pick your best players and find a formation that works. Too often we have meshed our best players with our 'favourite' formation, which results in players being shoe-horned into a position which they don't suit - think Scholes LM, or the whole 'Gerrard & Lampard can't play together' fiasco. In addition to adriansfc above, the reason why I think Dier & Drinkwater would be a successful pairing in the middle is that the dual CM, one primarily a tackler, the other a tackling/passing hybrid has been extremely successful for several sides. Last season we had Wanyama & Schneiderlin, this season Leicester and Spurs have had fantastic success with Kante/Drinkwater and Dier/Dembele. England might not have the best players, but the squad is at least good enough to think that we can compete if we utilise our squad the right way.

Just watched a video on the Saints twitter feed interviewing the players on an "alternative award - who is the toughest player at Saints?" Romeu gets voted pretty consistently across the board, with comments about how much he enjoys getting stuck in. Was surprised Wanyama wasn't the consensus.

Everyone seems quite optimistic that West Ham won't beat Stoke. Don't get me wrong, it's far from impossible, but Stoke have been pretty poor of late, have been surprisingly underwhelming at home this season and don't have anything to play for. West Ham, on the other hand, have been pretty good for most of the season, seem equally adept away from home as they are at Upton Park, and have a chance to secure European football at their new stadium.

Maybe we have stronger squad? I'm surprised there isn't a thread somewhere discussing just that question.

I haven't got commentary but I really bloody hate Peter Drury. Always have done.