SaveloyMush

These 2 quotes pretty much cover it. Valery was indeed Southampton's best player. In the past, I have made a case for Shane Long, on the basis of his possessing the twin attributes of running like a gazelle and leaping like a salmon, both of which now seem to have deserted him. He was shocking yesterday. It appears to me that Hassenhüttl's philosophy needs both Ings and Redmond on the pitch together, the combination really stretches the opposition. With either one missing, the other is relatively ineffective. Premiership survival may well rest on the availability of Danny Ings, which, given the decline in both his form and fitness since his arrival in the summer, is troubling indeed. A crocked Monsieur Ings may well see Southampton eating at the Championship table next season. For those who purport to crave relegation, do you appreciate how difficult it is to climb out of that league? It is brilliant to watch for a neutral, but I would not want a dog in that fight. Some credit must go to Neil Warnock; Cardiff really are the worst footballing team I have seen in the Premiership in recent years, something of which their manager must be aware. Therefore to be able to set the team up accordingly and snatch points wherever they can should be acknowledged. Their main threat was from the long throw-in for the big man to flick on and then hope to bundle in a goal. I was surprised to see Southampton nearly get caught out by this tactic twice in quick succession in the first half - surely the coaches would have highlighted this danger in preparations for the match? If not, at least learn from the first scare and stop the big man getting his head on the ball, but no, both times he was clear. If Vestergaard (who I thought was OK, not that he had much to do) wasn't able to mark and out-jump their big man, he could at least have sat on him, or something? Man of the match? The BBC gave it to Etheridge, which says it all. I would give it to Gunnarsson, purely because the amount of spin he was able to put on the ball for his long throw-ins was really quite mesmerising.

I heard that too and thought exactly the same as you. Ralph evaded the question. Something is amiss.

Exactly. I thought Valery acquitted himself as anyone else in the Southampton side tonight.

Indeed. Beast.

Losing 3-1 to Manchester City is no disgrace, but for the fact that they had Liverpool on their minds in the second half and concentrated on preserving their energy, rather than going for the hat-full of goals that were on offer to them, should they have so chosen. From the team selection, it appears that Ralph decided to let this one go. I applaud his tough guy stance on players whose heads have been turned, though giving Ramsay his first-team debut against Sterling was a touch brutal. I am no fan of Ward-Prowse, but he did put in a hell of a shift, albeit a largely ineffective one. Höjbjerg is clearly the intelligent midfield general, around whom Ralph wants to shape the side, backed up by Romeu's physicality. Getting sent off on 85 minutes was a bit daft, though. Given the squad's limitations, playing a back three of Bednarek, Yoshida and Vestergaard makes perfect sense. The fact that 2 of the 3 were omitted today is clear evidence that Ralph expected nothing from this game. Shame that Yoshi will be absent soon. Maybe a purchase is in the air? I can't see Ralph's patience with Long lasting for, ahem, long. He has the pace to be a pest, but if he is not proving a nuisance, his days are numbered. A real shame, as he did play a blinding cross to Austin for the third goal against Arsenal. What was abundantly clear from today was that no Ings equals no threat; he brings others into the game and his talent seems to rub off on them (Redmond in particular). He looked knackered against West Ham, so no surprise he wasn't played today. In fact, as highlighted many times before, the entire squad looks unfit in the extreme - rectifying this is not the work of a moment. McCarthy has got some stick of late, some of it justified. He is a bloody good shot-stopper and saved 2 or 3 chances today that few other keepers would have, but his distribution is woeful and his positioning, at times, questionable. City are a delightful side to watch. Their refusal to play hoof-ball, even when it might cost them, is laudable, however I wonder whether this will cost them in the long run. Finally, should Southampton simply give up on throw-ins and corners and give the ball back immediately to the opposition? I have a feeling that fewer goals would be conceded that way...

I thought I saw glimpses of a player when he first arrived, but have decided that he should be named Elyoun-useless.

Elated. Fantastic atmosphere, the club is back. Shane Long remembered how to play football! Glad to see the back of Bellerin though, one of the fastest players in the league against Targett was only going one way.

More worrying than the poor individual performances (of which there were 7 or was the dissent within the team; Hoedt arguing with McCarthy just one example. Bertrand clearly is not captain material (and I don't think he will feature in Southgate's dreams again), someone needs to show genuine leadership on the pitch and pull the team together. At one point I thought Southampton were going to hit full melt-down - a few more pathetic performances like that and I suspect it will happen on the pitch, which is never pretty. Something is very wrong deep in the heart of the club.

Sensible post. Chelsea are a little bit better than most pundits believe, very close to the the deified Manchester City and Liverpool. Better teams than Southampton will score against them (Saints' missed two sitters, others would not be so charitable) but it is clear that, under Sarri, the players are enjoying their football again. Hazard and Willian are two of the best players to grace a pitch, in any league. From 1 to 11, Chelsea have the measure of most other European teams, let alone lowly Southampton. Regarding the Hoedt-Giroud penalty, sitting in the Chapel, it looked a lucky decision for the defender. Having said that, a lot of yellow cards subsequently dished out to Saints players seemed harsh. Few Southampton players disappointed me. Lemina is a bit lazy, but when he lost possession, he always looked to win it back, usually successfully. He has quality, I suspect his ego sees him at a bigger club. I thought that Gabbiadini had an excellent game - lots of movement and no little skill, he looked the international player that we signed, as good as he was when he arrived. The one disappointment was Ings; clearly a very talented player, notwithstanding his missing of a sitter, but he seemed a little off the pace - will he ever reach the heights his natural ability suggests, or have his injuries done for him? It was great to see Yoshi back in the starting eleven, though he had his customary brain-fade moments, reminiscent of when he was an irregular starter a few seasons ago, moments which were eradicated when he was a regular starter. Hoedt's problem is that Wesley is not as good as Wesley thinks Wesley is; spraying Hollywood passes is all very well when your first name is Virgil, but he was criminally wasteful yesterday. Oddly, though, he seemed very good in the air. The fact that Vestergaard was dropped yesterday would suggest that Saints may, yet again, have spunked money at the wrong wall. In summary, Chelsea have £50m players in most positions, Southampton have £15m players (at best); 0-3 was no disgrace.

If his head has gone, we won't be playing for anyone, anywhere.

I forgot to add that I suspect Yoshi to be this season's Billy Big-Balls, which would be terribly disappointing.

I too thought that this was a pretty good performance. The only weaklings were Ings (who I understand was struggling with a massive blister) and Cedric; I would consider Stephens for right-back (as an aside, I always thought that Pied made a decent fist of wing-back, but he is gone now - I haven't seen enough of Valery to comment). Hojbjerg played the midfield general extremely well, though of course, if he dived, that tarnishes his report. I will say that the referee seemed extremely keen to book him and delighted in sending him off - did Pierre roger his missus or something? Leicester were clearly targetting Saints' right side (Puel has the inside skinny, after all); Cedric is a known weak-link that is increasingly obvious to all. Hoedt has a lot of talent and showed it on a number of occasions, but his frequent brain-farts are a worry. If he can cut these out, he could be a hell of a defender. I thought Long was brilliant, as long as he was not considered as a goal-scorer. He occupies a fairly unique role as super-pest - can Saints afford to give a place in the 11 to such a player? I reckon yes. Elyounoussi is clearly a player, though he has little pace, so trying to skin Leicester's full-back was ill-advised, something which seemed to drive Hughes to distraction. Self-awareness may be lacking there. Austin, reasonable record notwithstanding, is not fit (pun intended) to grace a Premiership field. Lemina played extremely well, I suspect his game is better partnered with Hojbjerg than with Romeu; love the latter but he and Mario don't work. Overall, lots of positives to take from today's performance.

Named one of the players of, arguably, the best World Cup ever.

Hope he is not being sold...

Regrettably, his goose is cooked.

Perhaps foolishly, yes, I have renewed. Can it really be worse than the last 2 seasons (in terms of football, not cup runs)?

Pied was much better than his recent treatment deserved, he always looked committed, capable and dangerous.

Voted one of the centre backs of the (best ever?) World Cup - heavens to Betsy...

Not sure I witnessed any encouraging performances today, at least on the Southampton side...Positives? Elyonoussie looks a player, with the flair of Boufal but, hopefully, the temperament to turn in a team performance. I like the look of Armstrong, as I did on Wednesday night, but early days. Redmond looked feisty, in a good way; could be a super-sub, could be used as second out-and-out forward. Yoshi - has attained legend status after the World Cup, looked good to me. Otherwise - errr...

And Ronaldo!

Unfortunately for McCarthy, there isn't a dearth of good English goalkeepers at the moment; however his form over the last few months must have him close to contention for a World Cup spot. Uncle Les' insistence on keeping Forster in the shop window to get his fee up (why else extend an already lengthy contract and why appoint a clear yes-man as manager?) rather spectacularly backfired though...

Could it be that the players have a good idea of the owner's situation and intentions, explaining the couldn't-give-a-toss attitude of most?

Time for 3-5-2, surely, with both Gabbiadini and Carrillo up top and the Holy Trinity in midfield, flanked by Sims and McQueen? Why must we wait until the final roll of the dice to bring on the players who make something happen?

Fat Dyke...

Victor???