ThorpG

Given our upward trajectory over the last five years or so, is it just possible that Cortese did a good job and the current Board are building on that to do an even better one? Just a thought...

Not quite sure that European football is almost guaranteed, but can't argue with most of this. Europa Cup would be a massive achievement for the club, in its own right and particularly given our turbulent recent history. Who else in the top seven was playing in League One a few years ago...? This sort of non-hysterical reaction won't go down well on Saintsweb though...

Good work - 'the dream died' - if dropping to fourth is a disaster we have come a long way... I still look at the league table in disbelief. We are slugging it out with teams whose resources are significantly greater than ours, some of the biggest clubs in the world - and we are giving them a scare. I hope Koeman goes into work today with a more positive attitude than most on here - the defeatist, loser mentality on here is remarkable. How many of you expected to be in 4th in mid-Feb out of interest...?

I hardly think it is left wing to suggest that in a business where some employees earn tens of thousands each week, the Living Wage could be paid at the lower end of the scale. It would just seem a reasonable thing to do...

Our defensive record away from St. Mary's is quite remarkable - doubly so when you think how many times we have played without our first choice defense and central midfield. As organised a team as I have seen in my time supporting Saints. Now if we just had a bit more firepower up front.... (to be fair we ain't that bad, but goals look hard to come by currently, with Pelle off his game)

Really...? They are sat just above the relegation places - if they finished 17th, that would be a huge achievement given the investment. Leicester have spent a fair bit of money and look much, much weaker than Burnley. I think Dyche is doing a great job and so, I suspect, do the Burnley Board.

Not easy, but the last four are all winnable, given that we look a better team than Newcastle, Swansea, QPR and West Ham. I think we will win the home ones, but I never expect much away from home, all Premier League teams are tough to beat away, even those struggling at the bottom like QPR. Would take 9-10 points from those six games to be honest, although suspect that would see us dropping out of the top six.

I reckon his form is just a bit off. Let's be honest, if he played as well as he can game in game out, he would play for a bigger club than Saints...

Not enough games to judge, would still go for Michael Svensson (in my time watching Saints). If he carries like this for the whole season, may start to agree though, he does look to be a top class player.

Fair do's. Agreed on today's performance.

Odd isn't it - I genuinely think we are a far superior side to West Ham, yet the table says these is not much between us... Rose tinted glasses, I guess...

Did not see that at all - I think questions remain on Long's finishing and real quality, but on work rate and commitment he has no issues at all. The few moments of respite we got near the end of the game were when balls were played out to the left for Long to chase and I think he drew a foul and a throw on at a time when we desperately needed some breathing space. Odd to pick out a player like this in a performance where every single player seemed to give 100% commitment in a great rearguard action. I guess some people are never happy...

I agree. What comes across to me is that Koeman (as a player and as a manager) is a guy who is used to winning. I don't think he has the mentality of 'this cup vs. that cup', I think he wants to win every game regardless. A winner mentality at a club that has too often had a loser mentality.

I agree, I thought at the time Mane was fouled. Hard to tell sometimes though, he is a bit partial to going to ground easily... Would fit well into the Chelsea team, they seemed to struggle to stay on their feet. Seeing big guys like Matic and Mikel hitting the deck after the slightest of touches got pretty boring after a while...