eelpie

I'd better translate for those not used to your irony 'He is a special man now in charge of a now ordinary club that has an ordinary place in all our hearts. Such an ordinary time to be a fan of English footbal'l

lol

There have been many anti-Austin comments in various threads since the summer, but no-one has seriously and effectively analysed what his weaknesses might be to support their comments..

No one can replace Pelle

Steve Davis is for me Saints most improved player so far this season.

Well that's that then. Let's all go home and save ourselves some money.

Let's see what happens when we play them

There is no way that Mane will allow himself to be saddled with four years at Saints (even if we win trophies). Salzburg couldn't keep him and that is how Saints came to sign him.

Mady Toure's Generation Foot is where the next Mane will emerge from, and I trust Saints will already be monitoring this amazing Senegal academy. Why send them to France and Austria when we have the better facilities and proven record for progressing brilliant young footballers to the top.

Don't Arsenal have more ex Saints players than Liverhapton now? They should receive the accolade too . Arsehampton

This is The Guardian's take on the match: 'Don’t tell José Mourinho, but exasperating loyalty to under-performing players is a distinctly Arsène Wenger-esque trait. Actually, do tell Mourinho, as that may be the best way to convince him to drop Branislav Ivanovic this weekend. The Serb is one of the Premier League’s finest defenders of recent times and has given years of excellent service to Chelsea but he has been utterly hapless so far this season, much more so than the benched John Terry. It has been almost painful to watch a once-great defender be targeted by every opponent. Continually picking him does not appear to be doing him any favours and certainly isn’t helping the team. If Ivanovic plays this weekend, expect Sadio Mané and Dusan Tadic to take turns tormenting him, with the fit-again Ryan Bertrand raiding forward to join in the fun on a regular basis. The solution is not merely staring Mourinho in the face, it is grabbing him by the lapels and bawling “Cesar Azpilicueta on the right, Baba Rahman on the left” at the top of its voice. Mourinho’s refusal to pay heed is mystifying. PD'

On recent form - and if we can perform as well away as at home - we could play Chelski off the park in the first half. Crucially, it will be whether we can sustain this into the second half. That will decide the outcome. I will be overjoyed if we hold on for a draw. 2-2 for me.

Very good summary.

That is why I like Mane behind Pelle. Pelle gets the attention. Mane speeds through and assists or scores.

That could be one of the reasons a top Prem club didn't buy him

Last season our first choice team was very strong, but we suffered when they were injured. Now we have very good replacements, so it will be interesting to see how the season pans out. However we are not stronger in four positions, that of Alders (who I rate better than an excellent VVD), Clyne, FF and Schneiderlin. Against the top five we may not have the edge that we had last year, but since we are getting better each week......... who knows? It will also be interesting to watch how clubs who benefited from stealing them do when we play them.

I wouldn't even wish that on the skates

I'm more worried about our second half relapses. But I agree that we are getting stronger each week. Chelski beware. This is the week that we start winning away!

They didn't two matches ago either.

Coasting when we were three up. Lacking in killer spirit. I agree.

Brilliant More rhymes to catchy well known tunes please

I'm glad you are not a football manager

it would be interesting to see Pelle coming on in the second half, after Long has worn the defence out (unless Long continues his excellent Cup form).

Just got in. Blimey

It must roughly average out with easy goals won.