qwertyell

Wages way above our budget. We're not spending £120k+ a week on a 33 year old any time soon. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

It is what it is. Would've been happy for us to have sacked off this match and focused solely on the next important league game, so a much changed XI struggling to a draw is no disaster. Chucking away a 2-0 lead is pretty galling, though - feeble defending once more our undoing. Long and Elyounoussi can't play for this club again, however. They don't make up one single footballer between them. Austin might poach a goal or two off the bench between now and the end of the season, but there'd be no tears shed if we could get shot of him too. He has no business starting any more games. Redmond looked full of beans - that's a good sign. And a couple of kids got a run out and a bit of experience (even if Barnes and Johnson barely touched the ball). Not sure what else to take from the match. Magic of the cup, etc. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Long would miss. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Alternatively, he could be playing through an injury - as the manager has stated - and is "mucking in" as best he can. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

It's not that weird. He's been an important part of the England set up at every level - and I think called into the senior squad as cover while at Norwich due to a late injury pull out. He's very highly rated and probably would've gone to the world cup if he'd been playing in the Premier League and not the championship. It would've been weird for England to pick him ahead of McCarthy when he wasn't getting a game, but as and when he becomes our confirmed number one (quite possibly in the next few weeks), he'll be straight into the England squad, because A) he's got the potential to take the massively overrated Pickford's place, and B) Scotland want him, and it'd be a terrible waste for the FA to have invested in his development for all this time only to lose him because (for some reason) managerial fraud Aidy Boothroyd is seemingly freezing him out of the u21s. A bit of encouragement goes a long way. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Bartolec - the right back we were supposedly lining up last summer if Cedric left - has got a Rory Delap long and flat throw on him. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

The squad aren't fit enough to play all these games in a short space of time. We're over the worst of the schedule madness now, so it'd be a good time for the first stringers to get in some proper recuperation and training and prepare for our next important league game in ten days or so. We a absolutely can't afford another injury or suspension in midfield, so those boys need to be wrapped in cotton wool for a while. Give squad players, those returning to fitness and youngsters a game - see who steps up. Maybe no-one will, in which case, what have we really lost? The cup is of minor importance compared to our critical league situation. I suspect Derby will prioritise the league too. Gunn; Ramsey, Stephens, Klarer, Vokins; Slattery, Davis; Sims, Elyounoussi; Long, Austin. Assuming Davis is still here and Sims has been recalled from his loan. (We're a bit light on central midfielders at the moment. Who else could come in? Smallbone? Rowthorne?) Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Gunn's played 4 for Saints, all away from home against PL opponents, and has 3 clean sheets. A late Theo Walcott break away goal is the only time he's been beaten. I think he's a really solid keeper in the making. Not spectacular, but does the basics calmly and with a touch of extra quality - a Van Der Saar type. Well played, chaps. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Any chance of us going back in for Karlo Bartolec? He seems to think Saints had him lined up in the summer to replace Cedric if he left (which looks likely now). Recently capped by Croatia, 23, attack-minded full back, relatively cheap. The youtubes make him look half decent (as they tend to) but he's only playing in Denmark. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Three suspensions in half a season is Lee Cattermole levels of idiotic liability. But he does a good line in empty public apologies, so I guess that's all people seem to care about. He'll pick up another five yellows before the season is out - and that'll be at least eight games he'll have been unavailable, in a relegation battle, due to his own reckless indiscipline. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Brilliant. Four match ban. Thanks skipper - great leadership when we're bang up against it. Moronic. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Wasn't a pen. Dive. Falling apart now. Bednarek completely lost Aguero. Whelp, we were never winning this anyway with our "best XI" let alone a bunch of blokes not even good enough to play in this league. Ramsey's done pretty well. Elyounoussi looks fitter and sharper than previously. Hojbjerg has become our best player by a distance. Nothing else to take from this. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Wouldn't exactly be "nicking him". Rice has played for Eire at every youth level and has a couple of senior caps already (in friendlies). If he was seriously considering playing for England - where he was born and raised - I think he would've been in the system by now. The FA aren't known for their competence, but I doubt even they'd have let him slip through the net if they were getting any meaningful encouragement from his side. His dad's Irish and wants him to play for Ireland. I'd say it's pretty much a done deal. Don't worry, though, we'll still have Eric Dier... Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Amateur hour defending - from our own corner! Rubbish. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Goal of the season! Think Redmond punched that in. He's not the new Henry - he's the new Maradona. Ah nuts, equaliser. McCarthy again poorly positioned for a long shot. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Hanging on, really. We're desperately limited in possession - no quality, pace, incisive passing. Lemina's having one of his off days. Rice is absolutely dominating the midfield on his own. Not sure what we've got that can turn things around - seems like only a matter of time before West Ham make their superiority count. Hoping Ralph has got a cracking team talk up his sleeve. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Obafemi not in the training photos. Cedric back. Johnson and Ramsey still working with the first team squad. No Bertrand still. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Redmond MotM. Romeu very good. Even Vestergaard was decent. Nice cameos from Obafemi and Lemina. Bank the points, ride the momentum, take the confidence from back to back wins. Plenty of areas to work on, but at least we've now got a competent manager who relishes the hard work ahead. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Oh McCarthy... That's terrible goalkeeping. Panic stations now. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

REDZZZZ!!!! First bit of quality play in what is frankly a stinker of a game so far. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

It's been a while since Les has had a platform to publicly big himself up. Wonder if he'll try and take credit for Hasenhuttl? No doubt he'll be talking up his "discovery" of Pochettino... Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Who's buying McCarthy, and for how much? I mean, he's an all right keeper, but he's not going for £25m-£30m to an elite team, is he? I doubt his market value is much more than the £13m we paid for Gunn in the summer. Nothing in this story, IMHO. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

That's a list that highlights there are some relativity decent right backs around who are somewhat interchangeable - but few outstanding ones. Aurier, for example, can be quite good one game, but an amateurish liability the next. Valencia's race is run. Young is an out of position winger who can't defend. Moses doesn't even play right back. Also, your list only actually represents nine clubs. It's disingenuous to leave Cedric off your list yet include the guy he has often been selected ahead of for Portugal. He might not be a world beater, and his form hasn't been too flash this season, but there'd be better teams than ours happy to take him on board if we were let him go. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Cedric at his best plays every time. We don't yet know what effect Hasenhuttl might have on him - if he bucks his ideas up a bit, he's one of the better right backs in the league. Valery has shown some promise, though, and can provide competition, back up and get some minutes under his belt once/if our situation becomes less critical. He's been solid, in the main, in a back five. Playing in a four against Cardiff, though, his naivety was exposed. Murphy had the beating of him in their first foot race and he was really spooked from that moment on - almost like he didn't think there was any other way to deal with the winger other than race him. When the much slower Stephens came on at half time, he snuffed out Murphy's threat fairly comfortably. I think Valery looks pretty good for the long term. Athletic, quite aggressive in the tackle, generally (one game aside) a cool head. Doesn't seem to have a change of gears, however. A bit like Glen Johnson - everything he does is at the exact same pace, a leisurely trot. That might prove to be a problem, but hopefully it's a legacy of our terrible coaching and with a manager that's going to push players to their physical limit, Valery might find a bit more intensity and running power over time. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

All the way to the bank. Total fraud of a manager. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk