Saint Albert

I wonder if the panel that reviews dubious penalties will take a look at the first Palace pen - Zaha might have gone down before contact.

Yes you’re right. I now don’t have a clue where the 2-0 came from.

David Sullivan throws Fonte under the bus in the Guardian: “The manager said he wanted Fonte from Southampton and Snodgrass from Hull. My kids begged me not to sign them.” https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/dec/08/david-sullivan-west-ham-worked-my-socks-off-not-good-enough

Yes Lawro went 1-1, and the celebrity Lawro’s up against this week went with the 2-0 Saints prediction.

I wish Nigel all the best.

A 30 year old winger, who is presently nursing a ruptured knee ligament incurred while celebrating a goal. Sign him up! I remember watching a college football game over here a few years ago, and a Notre Dame player did his knee in while celebrating a touchdown. Putting aside the excruciating pain and potential career death involved, it must be a little embarrassing.

I think there would be a real feel-good factor to bringing Theo back, for me at least. I’m not sure if the club will make a decision based on that though. I also suspect that both Everton and West Ham will throw more money at him, if they really are interested.

The Mail is claiming today that Everton are interested in Theo, as well.

Yes Lemina should start every game if he’s not injured.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Pellegrino reverts to a back three and employs the same conservative system and a similar line up as the City game, with the only change being Pied for Cedric if he’s still out injured. I think that he will start Long, if he has recovered from his knock.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/42126647

JWP did him no favours with that back pass.

My main thing with the team selection is Lemina should start, unless he is injured.

Unnecessary back passing leads to a Bournemouth goal.

Probably a statement of the obvious but Pellegrino has said that Pied will be in the starting lineup tomorrow in place of Soares: http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/15697550.Pellegrino_backs_Pied_to_shine/ Also, as expected he’s hinting at a return to the formation that beat Everton: http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/15697521.Pellegrino_prepares_to_freshen_Saints_up/

Those instructions were probably for the City game, against one of the most dangerous sides in Europe, where he lined up with a defensive formation. I hope and expect that he approaches Man City differently to Bournemouth.

Romeu talking to Jeremy Wilson in the Telegraph mainly about Pep’s antics on Wednesday but he has a few interesting comments about Pellegrino’s tactics towards the end of the article. Pellegrino apparently wants more forward, line-breaking plays from his team... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/12/02/southamptons-oriol-romeu-handed-lasting-impression-pep-guardiola/

Very harsh. Pep is a bit of a dickhead, it seems. If our owner had the ability to provide the same level of financing to Saints, all while somehow defeating FFP (I’m not even sure if FFP is a factor anymore or if City are just taking the ****) then perhaps Pellegrino would consider playing in a formation and style that is more to Pep’s liking.

Perhaps we could get Moyes after W. Ham fire him later on this season... The performance against Liverpool was genuinely troubling for me. I am still baffled by some of his team selections. The last two games suggest a recovery, which has pushed me back on the fence, especially in light of the lack of decent managerial options out there.

I thought he was pretty good last year. This year I don’t even want him on the bench.

Ultra-defensive it is then. I’m interested to see how the 3-5-2 works. It could end up being something like a 3-6-1 with Long as the lone striker. Shame he’s not very good at scoring goals. I’m happy that Hoj gets to prove himself against strong opposition after Sunday’s gem against Everton.

Your source was correct, it seems.

Even one of Everton’s own sponsors are trolling them (again)... http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/everton-sponsor-sportpesa-delete-second-11608316 Over to you, Angry Birds.

I can see dropping Austin if he is unable to play three games in a week. Redmond must be great in training.

This appointment has divided their fanbase. They’ve gone from smashing the glass ceiling to scrambling desperately out of the basement. Some Evertonians are so disgruntled they’re saying they’d prefer relegation to Allardyce. And the reported 6 million a year for his services seems like an awful lot of money for Sam Allardyce. If they have to pay Koeman, plus Crystal Palace as reported in the media then Everton may end up spending around 14 million on managers this season.