mrfahaji

I've always felt that while seeing Manchester City spend £300m in one transfer window is a bit sickening, the actual transfer fees are not a problem, because there is a trickle-down effect to sides in the lower reaches. The real disparity and problem in terms of having good competition is due to the phenomenal wages. There is no trickle down or domino effect there. If you pay Player X £300k a week, the only one (in football terms) to benefit from that is Player X. Capping squad size is a good idea - part of the issue at the moment is that top clubs can afford and attract as many players as they want, regardless of whether they NEED them. A team salary cap would be excellent but just can't see it happening due to all the legal implications.

Schneiderlin will no doubt be keen to score against us, as he will be desperate for a chance to "not celebrate", an accolade on par with the goal itself in the modern footballer's eyes...

That looks good, thanks!

Van Dijk looked comfortable today but didn't really have to get out of second gear - so basically West Brom wouldn't be out of place in the Scottish Premiership

Should've done better than going from League 1 to Premier League in two seasons? I wouldn't have turned my nose up at that when he got the job!

I think Davis is exactly the KIND of player we need in that position, unfortunately he lacks something in the final third. He was arguably our best player against Newcastle but for every game he plays well at the moment he has a couple (some would say more!) where he doesn't. I really want him to prove me and most others wrong but I don't think JWP even fits into the category of being the right kind of player for that position, nor as a DM.

West Brom have lots of old school big centre halves, they lap up floated crosses and long balls. Pelle wasn't great but it was always going to be a difficult one for him, a bit of pace in behind would have worked a lot better today.

The most frustrating thing is how many times we lost possession through bad control or woeful passing. If someone is tackled when trying to get to the byline, or an incisive pass is cut out it's ok, but we were messing up passes which were pretty straightforward. There were some encouraging signs - we looked pretty solid and we did look the better side, away from home against a notoriously awkward side. I don't think our shape was wrong, just some players have individual failings.

It did look like Rodriguez was going to get in Tadic's way, if there was any justification for not hitting it. But that was terrible from JWP.

Ha, think I know the one you mean. Although cutting them out is not his problem, is catching them when they're played in behind! J Rod should score there. Tadic looking most likely to create, as usual.

I said "much faster", as I know it is possible to improve a bit, but most players have pace from a young age - I can't think of many who developed it in their twenties (admittedly Lallana did improve, but he didn't play in a way that you saw his straight line speed a lot). I hope I'm wrong, but that through ball does seem to cause him problems at the moment.

No matter how much experience Targett gets, I'm not sure he's going to get much faster, and that is one of his biggest weaknesses at the moment. Lots of sides will target that and use their quick wingers (most sides have them) against him.

Why is mid-October a particularly bad time to spend money...? A lot of Hallowe'en stuff can be picked up in Poundland nowadays.

Eddie Howe. Also think Garry Monk would do well but can't see him leaving Swansea to come here.

I bought my membership in the hope that I would be able to get tickets to games like Chelsea away. It's a 10 minute walk from my house, so I'm bitterly disappointed that I won't get the opportunity. I'm not saying I should be placed in a queue ahead of those that have season tickets, but due to the small allocation I won't even get the chance! Starting to regret that £25!

Tadic's penalty against Vitesse was pretty good though wasn't it? I know one swallow doesn't make a summer...

It just takes longer to get the recognition playing for a smaller club. When a player plays well for a season, everyone (well, most) outside that club think "he's done well but probably just going through a purple patch", whereas if you start for a big club the assumption is you're obviously good enough to start internationally. I remember when Louis Saha was tearing it up for Fulham but never got picked for France. United signed him and before he'd even played a game up there he was called up. There is still a sense of satisfaction seeing all our ex-players playing for England though, a bit like seeing a band hit the big time that you saw play in your local pub. "I remember watching the Ox play before he sold out"

Can he not be used as a winger? I was recalling how when I saw some of those inevitable YouTube clips when he signed, a lot of his best bits seemed to be out wide and beating players. He's never really been put there at Saints, so I'm guessing not, but it might be easier to give him a run out in that position.

My condition for wanting to do the right thing even if emotionally I might feel like doing the other? Not sure I've ever viewed supporting Saints as leisure - a mixture of obsession and duty more like!

Cheer, it seems the equivalent of "not bringing yourself down to his level". I might be seething inside but wouldn't allow myself to boo.

Yep, so frustrating that everyone can see what they're doing but doesn't seem to be any way to prove it, nor any punishment or disincentive for them to do it. Just keeping my fingers crossed that this time it all backfires horribly.

Maybe Berahino should call up Daniel Levy and ask him why he doesn't value him more highly? The audacity of the player to blame his own club for not accepting a derisory offer, a la Victor and Morgan and every other player that Spurs seem to want to sign, is both sickening and depressing.

Whereas if you are playing Southampton, the probability of scoring on the break from a corner are extremely high...!

Levy thinks he's smart by leaving it to the last minute as it not only gets them a new player but also messes up the other club. Hopefully the clubs involved will stand firm and leave him with egg on his smug punchable face.

Agreed, I'm not saying that is the reason we lost, but rather why it's wrong to write off a 3-5-2/5-3-2 formation on the basis of our performance in that game. But equally, we do have to pass the ball a bit for the system to work!