qwertyell

Not the rule. Denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity isn't invalidated by the keeper being in position - otherwise no-one would ever get sent off when fouled going clean through. Handball that denies an obvious goalscoring opportunity is a red card. Except when the officials bottle it. Edit (from the FA): "Where a player commits an offence against an opponent within their own penalty area which denies an opponent an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and the referee awards a penalty kick, the offender is cautioned if the offence was an attempt to play the ball; in all other circumstances (e.g. holding, pulling, pushing, no possibility to play the ball etc.) the offending player must be sent off. Where a player denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by a handball offence, the player is sent off wherever the offence occurs (except a goalkeeper within their penalty area). The following must be considered: distance between the offence and the goal general direction of the play likelihood of keeping or gaining control of the ball location and number of defenders"

Well, we're on the board - and surely taking with us a little bit of positivity and momentum after a decent comeback. Another must-win game slips by without the desired result, though. The next four don't look likely to yield a win. Five at the back is absolute shite for us. Can't defend no matter how many muppets are back there, and it just kills what little attacking threat we have. We muddle on.

He's joined Harrogate on a permanent transfer. We'll win this, somehow - in spite of ourselves. It just seems a very Saintsy outcome at the end of a shitty week.

I think it is a failure of management, though, to not have been better prepared - they knew weeks ago that Perraud was a major doubt for the start of the season. Yet they only took one left back with them on tour - and then immediately loaned him out. They could have, for example, spent the last month bedding in Vokins into the LWB role he often played at Ross County last season in a relatively decent loan. You could argue Scottish football is crap and Vokins doing all right in it isn't worth a damn, but then we signed Aribo based entirely on his exploits in Scotland. I'm not saying Vokins would've pulled up any trees - and may have made no difference at all - but having a full back playing in his natural position, with a month of well drilled, well organised preparation in that five man unit under his belt might have been a more viable alternative than trying to blag it with Djenepo. But they're not well drilled. They're not well organised. And the preparation thus far has looked a shambles.

Jake Vokins - an actual left back with a little bit of Premier League experience. Salisu - who has filled in at left back on occasion (might as well make use of having seven CBs in the squad). Is it Matt Carson who is quite highly rated among the youngsters? We didn't think that picking an 18 year old in midfield was an outrageous gamble. Why not give him a go? The worst he can be is not up to it - and completely indistinguishable from the rest of the team. So there's three square-ish pegs to fill the square hole that doesn't require shoe horning a shit winger we don't want into an unfamiliar role that he's even shitter in.

What should he have done, broken down in tears and begged forgiveness, while kissing the badge? The degree to which he puts his body on the line to be one of the leading defenders in the league for blocked shots should tell you there's nothing much wrong with his attitude. He's just a bit shit at the moment.

We're always one injury away from being much weaker. Most sides are. It's not realistic to expect us to have a squad of 22 starters. Better to have 11 absolute belters and mediocre back up than a squad that is more quantity than quality. A "first name on the team sheet" striker, with Armstrong, Mara, perhaps a late loan, as understudy could work. What did we used to have in reserve when Lambert, Lallana and Rodriguez were going gangbusters? Fuck all.

Playing devil's advocate, perhaps the Adams money goes towards an absolute howitzer of a striker in the pipeline who costs a bit more than our usual range, and the plan is to play one up. For Adams' qualities as a hard worker, he's not good enough to play as a lone striker. Doesn't score enough, no pace to get in behind, can't head. Armstrong isn't good enough either, for that matter. But maybe this fictional goalscoring behemoth I'm imagining bursting forth through the hallowed Staplewood gates, two parts shock to three parts awe, will be the talismanic line leader we've been crying out for. And Chesus is the sacrifice that must be made for our sins. It's a big maybe, granted.

Not really bothered about his distribution, but a couple of Spurs' goals were concerning for me. Gunny didn't really make lots of mistakes - his problem was that he was simply too easy to score past. He never saved anything; like having a hologram in goal. Bazunu couldn't do much about Sessegnon's point blank header or Salisu's donkey defending, but Dier's header wasn't in the corner and he got nowhere near it. No spring in his dive, just flopped to the floor. And Kulusevski's side footed finish wasn't in the corner either. Again Bazunu's dive didn't get within a yard of it. He's not the tallest keeper, and if he hasn't got the spring to cover the ground, I think he's going to have problems. It's only one game, of course, but he looked very easy to score against - the saves he did make were straight at him - and gave me a few Gunny flashbacks.

Bit tragic that we've reached our first "must win" game one week into the season, but here we are. If we don't manage to pull off a result, our next best chance won't be until halfway through September. Lot of pressure on the manager. Or there should be. Absolute busted flush.

There are other websites.

The "give him 10 games of the season before judging him" brigade are off to a bad start. 9 games of this shite left.

No pace. Probably the slowest front four in the league. I think you'd have to play Adam Armstrong instead of Adams just to give the attack something in behind.

Starting the season with Valery, Djenepo, Elyounoussi, and no recognised striker wouldn't be a great endorsement of our transfer window.

Historically, that should be the game you're most pessimistic about - we've only won once on day one in about a decade.

Understandable. Although these pre-season prediction articles are by and large only good for a laugh at their superficial knowledge of what's going on at any club outside of the top six. In the Telegraph yesterday, their Southampton expert (from the Ugly Inside no less) predicted Thierry Small would be our breakthrough player this term. He's on loan for the season at Port Vale...

I don't think a striker is the last part of the jigsaw, though. I hope it isn't viewed that way, in any case. Who's creating the quality chances for them? We've still got the same rubbish, plus some guy from Scotland with worse goals-and-assists per game numbers up there than Elyounoussi managed - and he's shite. How have we solved a calamitous defence that shipped 135 goals in the last two seasons? And what's going on at full back? We've added bulk to the squad, for sure, but have been operating in the transfer market like a club established in the top 8 trying to build an exciting team for the future to take us to the next level, when we're actually a side on a relegation path that desperately needed big improvements to the first XI that haven't happened. Yet.

Bottom 5.

He started in midweek against Monaco. So that's 55 minutes under his belt after three months out.

Just want us to get through it with no serious injuries. Villarreal are a dirty lot. Even in friendlies - as Wesley Fofana and his broken leg can attest.

Needs to sign a new contract. But he certainly looks a more rounded player than, say, Tella - good technique on him.

Roma.

IIRC Man City took Max Alleyne from us last summer for the same amount: £1.5m.

Wouldn't be the first footballer to be a bit dim.

Interesting...