Nordic Saint

Vestergaard was dropped. We lost 5 and drew 1 of his last 6 games. Since he was dropped, we've won nearly every game and now there are only 5 teams in the league who've won more games than us. He slowed our game down, confused the rest of our defence and we had to play an extra central defender to cover for him, leaving us short in midfield, which let opposing teams push us back into our own half and take control of the game. Of course that's not the only factor but just look at how much better our central defenders are playing now that he is out of the way. The central defensive partnership of Stephens and Bednarek is the foundation on which our recent success has been built. We now have a very good defence.

I think he has put his team together. They have just beaten Chelsea, Spurs & Leicester and have as many points as Koeman's team did after the same number of games in 2016. All we need now is for them to stay together.

The Isambard Kingdom Brunel? I was in there one Saturday night and there was a bunch of young Saints fans in Guildhall Square singing OWTS. With results like this, that could become a regular occurrence.

What an incredible turnaround we have seen this season. Yet more points won after going behind and another top six side beaten. You come to expect it now.

He's got his mojo back. The great team spirit is lifting the game of every player.

The point is (and the lost points were) we were robbed so many times by unfair decisions from officials and, no, they didn't even out over the pre-VAR seasons. Although it's good that has ended, you can't help wondering what might have been.

Stephens and Ward-Prowse could also get surprise call-ups for the Denmark game.

It keeps on ensuring that results are fair. How many points would we have lost this season through unfair decisions without it?

With Kane injured, Ings will be in the England squad for the Denmark game and get on the pitch at some stage. Let's hope he does what Lambert did when he came on as a sub.

I agree and there are some who make long journeys to do that. For a fan who's chosen to live in the north to think he is more loyal than other fans because he goes to a handful of games which are nearest to his home is delusional.

I remember when we beat Wolves 9-3 at home, we later drew the away game 1-1. With Saints' away form being so good, a draw looks possible.

I sit in line with where a lot of offsides occur. Most assistant referees are 5 to 10 yards behind play when they make offside decisions so they have to make educated guesses. Typically they get about 70% right. The 30% they get wrong largely pass unnoticed, except by those fans sitting in line, as they don't affect goals scored. Sian Massey-Ellis, who moves up and down the line very quickly and never loses concentration, is one of the few who gets about 90% right. I've also noticed assistant referees raise their flag in reaction to shouts from the crowd. External factors, such as a baying crowd and the possibility of getting post-match criticism from a high profile manager of a big club splashed across the media inevitably have an influence. At St Mary's, the away fans behind the goal at the Northam end ensure that more than 50% of close decisions at that end, including free-kicks, penalties, offsides and red cards, go the way of the away team. There is at least one penalty given against us every season at that end which wouldn't have been given if the incident had occurred at the Chapel end. These are all human errors that VAR is helping to eliminate.

The human factors determining the results should be the players not the referees.

Absolutely. If the pre-VAR incorrect decisions had been evenly distributed, then they would have been tolerable but they weren't. They put us at a disadvantage, which has now been removed. It's the same for everyone now.

+1 Best possible draw.

(I'm reposting as the video link didn't work) Yes, he has lightning pace:

Yes, he has lightning pace:

Rochdale teenager Luke Matheson looks like a star of the future. He had too much pace for Newcastle's defence today and would be a useful addition to our squad.

Once, when we did, they tried to continue it. That was the only time I heard them attempt to sing it.

Yes, our central defensive pairing has suddenly become so good that you expect them to hold out now. We were comfortably in control of the whole game until Djenepo was subbed. Then for the first time in the game Spurs took control of midfield and started to put some pressure on our goal. But, as you say, Kane being subbed seemed to take the threat out of their attack.

There were a couple of hushed chants of 'Yid army' and they even tried OWTS once but it was great walking back after the game. The Spurs fans were hiding. Usually they are full of themselves.

Let's hope he does because the transformation in our defence since Vestergaard was dropped is remarkable. You could almost say that was the catalyst for the turnaround in our season. In Vestergaard's last 6 games, we drew 1 and lost 5, including the Leicester defeat. In the 9 games since he was dropped, we've won 5 and drawn 2. Today, Stephens played better than Alderweireld.

I think you mean 'that fairness' or 'impartiality'.

What's happened already this season indicates just how many offside goals were typically given against us before VAR. If this is anything to go by, we were losing at least 6 points per season because of wrong decsions from referees going against us, but rarely for us: How VAR decisions have affected Saints so far this season: Disallowed goals against: 5 Game: Sheffield United (A; Sept. 14) Incident: Oliver McBurnie's goal disallowed for offside, 52nd minute - FOR Game: AFC Bournemouth (H; Sept. 20) Incident: Josh King scored for the Cherries, but he was offside, 25th minute - FOR Game: Wolves (A; Oct. 19) Incident: Raul Jimenez goal ruled out for offside against Patrick Cutrone, 42nd minute - FOR Game: Leicester (H; Oct. 25) Incident: Ryan Bertrand sent off for challenge on Ayoze Perez, 12th minute - AGAINST Game: West Ham (H; Dec. 14) Incident: Goal for Michail Antonio ruled out for handball, 52nd minute - FOR Game: Crystal Palace (H; Dec. 28) Incident: Goal for Max Meyer ruled out for offside by Wilfried Zaha in the build-up, 15th minute - FOR VAR overturns - decisions against

Because, as Duncan says, some people just love to moan. They are the same people who loved moaning about Maradona's handball goal in the World Cup and Doucoure's handball goal against us last season, and they were hoping to see us relegated with more of the same unfair decisions to moan about. The fairness of VAR has taken that pleasure away from them.