Saint Albert

Borini on for Larsson

Tadic is tormenting the Sunderland defenders so far this half.

He just grazed the top of the ball with his studs.

Denayer went in over the ball on Tadic. Could have been a pen

I'm thinking it was Mane's record setting hat trick.

Sunderland started off well, and Saints looked overrun in midfield and tentative in defence (particularly Bertrand, surprisingly) Credit to Saints for playing themselves into the game, gaining control of midfield and taking the wind out of Sunderland's sails with two goals by a player who looks like a fantastic addition to the first team.

Boos at HT for the home team.

Looks like the away fans have gone with 7 Nation Army for Gabbiadini

YESSSSS!!!!!!

Ridiculous dive by Defoe.

He's only gone and done it again! Looks to have scored with his shoulder.

I had to read this post twice to make sure that it was as gratuitously offensive as it seemed at first blush. It was.

The Mail's Secret Scout has done a bit on him: Southampton may have found a new defensive mainstay in Alfie Jones, a rising starlet with the whole package

Virgil: My injury may keep me out for the rest of the season. Mail: VIRGIL VAN DIJK WILL NEVER PLAY FOR SOUTHAMPTON AGAIN!!! Good to see the tabloids back in form.

There's some information out there that he is perfectly happy as a Saint, and he and his family are settled and reluctant to move out of the area because of a newborn. We must at least have a chance of getting him to stay for one more year, almost like the Morgan situation but with longer left on the contract and no public tantrums.

Crook is reporting in the Star that VVD will stay for another season after this, after being sounded out by the club before getting the captaincy: http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/586612/Transfer-news-Virgil-van-Dijk-snub-Man-City-and-Liverpool Feels odd to read a tabloid reporti that a Saints star will stay.

A few papers have described Chelsea as being in the driver's seat for a VVD summer deal and some have linked Ake to the deal. I can't recall reading anything re an actual first refusal deal, but sometimes I forget the names of my own children so that probably does not say very much. Here's a recent VVD to Chelsea report by the Telegraph. The Mail said something similar as well: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/02/01/chelsea-already-planning-summer-spending-spree-avoid-another/

A lot of the stuff I have read on this has it in that range, something like a total of 750k for the rest of the season.

Tabloid newspaper blows things out of proportion and sensationalizes facts to sell newspapers. Shocker.

Some posters insulted each other, and there will be no announcement on this signing until a work permit is secured, which could be end of this week, beginning of next.

This signing has the feel of a "Hail Mary" pass to use the NFL terminology. Les and/or Ross screwed up royally on the CB side of things during the transfer window and this is their emergency remedy. That being said he looks like a classy replacement. Injury record is a major concern. It's also the reason we were able to sign a player of this pedigree as a free agent. If the Saints training staff could just keep him going for the next few months during VVD's absence and he plays to his ability, it will hopefully work out OK. Les may just have pulled his nuts out of the fire.

Don't hold your breath if you're waiting for an announcement today: The 29-year-old has been at the club’s Staplewood training base for a medical and has agreed a deal until the end of the season, with the club now waiting on a work permit before making a formal announcement. That is expected later this week or at the start of next week. -Wilson's Telegraph article.

You'd hope that the reviewers won't take a mechanical "rules is rules" approach and instead note that it is impossible to play internationally when recovering from a long-term achilles injury.

Surely something that goes with a Barry Manilow song is necessary. I forget the name of the song. Coca cobana I think, where he sings about show girls falling in love and all that guff: He was in Naples Now he's a Saint He scores goals without restraint Chorus: Gabbiadini's a scoring machine And the Saints crowd, they fell in love

My understanding from what I read yesterday is a team can only change one of the 25 in exceptional circumstances. The example provided of an exceptional circumstance was a goalkeeping crisis.