Dusic

Overall, very poor performance with multiple players showing they are finished at Saints. Gunn - made some solid saves, could do nothing with goals. 6 Cedric - decent enough. 6 Vestergaard - Awful. Sloppy pass out of play lead to first goal. Seemingly cannot play in a back 4 as too much space to cover. 3 Stephens - also cannot play in a back 4. Should have scored. 3 Targett - not for me, Clive. Awful defensively and tentative going forward. If we wasnt from the Academy he wouldnt be near the first team. 3 Slattery - ok for a debut. 6 JWP - promising performance, but needs a partner who wins duels. 7 Elyounoussi - no lack of effort, massive lack of quality. Will be another who is loaned out for a few years. 1 Redmond - excellent. Our player of the season so far. So much rests on him staying fit. 9 Austin - waste of space. Should be his last game for us. 3 Long - see Austin. 3 Barnes & Johnson - fairly anonymous in brief appearances. Ralph will know he needs additions, as there is no quality outside the starting XI he has used. Sent from my SM-T820 using Tapatalk

I'm yet to be convinced that a 5'4 Japanese player who hasn't played in a good league is what we need right now, but he is definitely talented. One to watch in the Asia Cup perhaps.

Will be amazed if we get a fee for him. Loan with a vague option far more likely. All the clubs know we are desperate to get rid of his wages and have no use for him.

From the Liverpool end it should be noted. They certainly put across the figures they are told by Edwards, see also Ings.

Second part of RH presser he said Bertrand due to start training tomorrow and then hopefully shortly with the team. Said he knows he is a good player and wants him fit quickly and to understand what he needs in that role. Cliche but he will be like a new signing. Miles better than Targett, despite the wallies earlier this season begging for Targett to get a chance!

To me he almost seems a bit too casual, like he doesn't realise he is actually playing in the PL, against top players. Defensively, he is quick and has made some really good tackles. Decent in the air. He probably needs to be a little more aggressive and robust. Going forward its interesting. He has shown brief glimpses that he could threaten the opposition, but also seems to lack a bit of confidence. Same with his passing. I do remember Luke Shaw being similar, his attacking developed but he was solid defensively from the start. He probably isnt ready to play every week, but is a very good prospect. Hope he is on a long contract.

Ings and Obafemi are the only ones with a future at Saints I think. Its just a question of how quickly we can get rid of the others.

On the way back. Great point, with a bit more quality in the final third it could have been three. All 3 CBs were grest, plus Gunn. Valery kept to his task against Hazard, he definitely has something. Cedric put a shift in at LWB despite it not being his preferred side. Certainly a far, far better option than Ramsay and I prefer him to Targett even on the left. JWP fought hard, even if he and Romeu did get sliced open at times. Stuey was very good. Long was dreadful on the ball - he really shouldn't be playing PL football.

By so many clubs do you mean just Juventus? Also, widely said by the Manager that he has been carrying an injury for the last two games, the ones he has been poor in. We have far bigger problems than Lemina.

Easy to see what is missing. Difficult to fundamentally change the physical and mental makeup of a player. JWP will always have a good right peg. He will never be strong, quick, ruthless, aggressive.

A midfield two of JWP and Romeu would get massively overrun - both extremely one paced. I hope Lemina is fit to play - he is much better than the two above and this will be a tough game where you need your best players.

All gone quiet really. A bit suprised we haven't brought in a DoF. Right to wait for the right person but surely a bit of a void at the club, and especially during a transfer window.

Good to see a picture of Cedric working hard in Novikov tonight.

He isn't good enough, but I haven't seen any reason to question his professionalism, attitude or effort.

Post match Ralph was interesting on transfers. Said he has been able to see most of the players now and determine if they are useful to him or not. Said he knows a few positions he would like to strengthen and the window* gives us a chance to do that. Sounded like there could be quite a lot of change, and given our position and fixtures the sooner it arrives the better. * The one thing I miss about Puel is him whispering "window mercato" as if it was a secret (As an aside I asked an Olympiakos fan about the Norweigan RB we have been linked with and he said he is a good, strong, physical RB who can cross and makes good forward runs. Not rapid but quick enough.)

A game we thought we would lose, that we deserved to lose, but a game where, with slightly better players, we could have made it a lot tougher for them. The positives: - We could have lost by more but fought hard - Bednarek was good - Watching David Silva The negatives: - Ramsay shouldn't have played, he is nowhere near PL ready. Barely played a smooth short pass. - Elyounoussi shocking - will never make it in the PL. - Austin - a waste of time - Targett - poor as usual - JWP - can't run The Abysmal: - Hojbjerg's utter stupidity. Jesus wept. The Manager: - Needs a settled defence - Needs Bertrand

Great achievement. He had a good impact during his time at Saints. He clearly wasn't PL level though - no room for sentiment. Essentially replaced by Jay Rod.

The Senegalese Longy was last spotted playing for Italian Serie D side U.S. Folgore Caratese A.S.D. Probably our best player never to have played hugher than League One.

Sounds like Kayne Ramsay will get a start at RB tomorrow. Big call when Cedric is fit and available and we are in a poor position. Ralph is unafraid of these decisions, which is great - even if personally Im not sure about it.

Whats your opinion of Targett and ehat he offers to the team? Also, presume you have missed my Redmond thread: https://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?60170-Nathan-Redmond#.XCZtNmmnydM

He is also out of contract in just over a year. Assuming he won't sign a new one he needs to be sold this summer or we fsce losing him on a free, which is the worst secnario for our buy & sell business model. Has Cedric played his best the last year or so? No Is Cedric better than Valery for a team in a relegation scrap? Yes

Has seemingly been fit and available for the last few games but not selected. Leaving in January? Not selected for tactical reasons? Something else? Odd one IMO. Clearly would improve the side and well suited in theory to the Manager's style. Will find out soon enough but if no fitness issue then we aren't a good enough side to leave him out given our situation.

The same player aside from fake tan and a tattoo sleeve? Nice left foot, good cross but dreadful otherwise. Will never take anyone on and get taken to the cleaners by anyone with a little bit of pace. Fox wasn't PL quality and neither is Targett who I can barely remember having a really good game at this level.

A couple for you...

Fair enough that its not for you. Its not for me either, but its 100% harmless and does not bother me in the slightest. Reality is that over the last 30 years following any PL team has changed, just like most things in life change. It will never be how you want it to be, or how it was and in some cases that is probably for the better. In this specific case, it does absolutely no harm and I tend to watch the game more than I watch other supporters.