Dusic

For me its @trousers as I can't help but admire a man who posts so frequently yet manages to avoid committing to a particular side of the debate about pretty much anything. Balancing for that long on the fence takes a strong core... so fair play - keep it up for next season! (Other opinions available of course)

Lallana makes sense IMO. Probably on a one year playing contract with some form of coaching thrown in, as he wants to coach when he does retire. Clearly won't be expected to play many minutes but has invaluable PL experience and has played under some of the best PL managers of recent times. I know his leadership was very much valued at Brighton despite limited playing time and he is someone who keeps standards high within the squad, with similar feedback from Liverpool too. For minimal outlay it seems a solid move to bring in another British player and one who has a strong link with the club and might be seeking a longer term role here. Was noticeable we signed British players last summer and I reckon we will try to keep that core.

If ABK's shoulder is fixed I would keep him. One vs one he was very strong and think he would be worth another shot in a proper structure. Clearly will need a new LB and personally would go for Broja - price should be affordable after a poor year but the potential and attributes to be a very good PL striker are still there.

If ABK's shoulder is fixed I would keep him. One vs one he was very strong and think he would be worth another shot in a proper structure. Clearly will need a new LB and personally would go for Broja - price should be affordable after a poor year but the potential and attributes to be a very good PL striker are still there.

Top job over the season! Really pleased for him. Its almost like it didnt matter that he only finished 10th with a different team in a different set of circumstances.

Makes complete sense but I think Adams is more likely to be a sub. Assuming Stewart can only play 20mins or so we would be quite light in terms of impact from the bench if Adams starts, especially if ET is required.

Big clubs especially are looking for a manager that can evidence coaching a specific style of play which is inline with how they want to operate. Kompany has obviously done that at Burnley. When they were in a league where they had a squad up there with the best then it worked extremely well. When they were at a level where their squad was poor it didn't. Bayern will always be the first scenario so they will be viewing him in that context, just like Saints expected RM to finish higher than 10th and despite finishing 2nd in the Bundesliga we obviously didnt expect Ralph to do the same here. Sean Dyche could have gone to a CL club and tried to do the same that has been semi successful elsewhere but I don't think those clubs want to play in that way and probably aren't looking for the same abilities that he showed at Burnley or Everton.

Brighton situation definitely one to watch. Seems they thought they would get McKenna and may have been caught out by the supposed Chelsea and Utd interest. Interesting that apart from McKenna they havent really been strongly linked with any other managers...might that be because one of their other targets has a huge game this weekend and they are waiting for that to be over before making a move? Hopefully McKenna picks the sensible option and picks Brighton. Will also be interesting to see who Leicester would go for if Chelsea take Maresca - seems a lot of clubs looking for possession based managers. @Kermitzasaint - you realise that shoukd we win tomorrow whoever we have as manager its going to be extremely difficult to stay up? Look at Forest's points tally this season and they have the likes of MGW, CHO etc. Our best chance IMO would be to go up playing a way the players know, with our best loans wanting to stay and play under RM and then really its down to SR and recruitment, especially in attacking areas - only chance we would have to stay up would be if we made good signings. I think thats actually more important than who the manager is.

Strongly hope RM is considering the use of Bree as a front sweeper for this one, covering the entire width kf the pitch to stop their attackers. ----------McCarthy------- KWP ----THB---JB-----JS <<<<<<<<Breezy>>>>>> -----Downes-----Safri----- Brooks-------Arma-----Fraser

Absolutely yes. Someone will get a bargain. As we saw there is a player there, pace, power and finishing ability. Just needs some love and continuity.

Yes but also the teams going up are better than the teams coming down. We would still be a 'big fish' at this level next season and even if we lose some we would sign some and due to the way we play we should still be in line with getting some good loans from the PL. Added to that have two or three young players of real quality who would get more games. I would be very suprised if we didnt start the season with one of the strongest teams/squads.

Think no Adams would be a massive blow. We were struggling to make much stick up front against WBA over two legs until we went ahead and Leeds are miles better. I fesr a bit that we will get hemmed in at times and they have the forwards to be a threat. Also think it makes our sub pool look a lot less impactful, especially as this could easily go to ET. Even if Adams could do a 20min cameo it would hwlp but he clearly isnt really fit (hobbled off at Elland Road) and if he isnt training and hasnt for nearly 3 weeks then would he be much use anyway? Its definitely a big blow and puts lot of pressure on Brooks to have a good game and he has been patchy.

I think so. Loads of clubs are recruiting managers based on style and coaching ability over proven results. RM has shown he can coach a team very well in possession and as expected with better players here than at Swansea he has achieved much better results. Brighton play a possession heavy style so obvious why he would be of some interest.

I doubt either of them will be fit to feature in any meaningful way.

With Adams (unlikely) and Stewart (impossible) being unavailable from the start I think its almost certain to be the same lineup as for the semi final with Fraser vs Manning the only real decision to make. Big blow not to have a fully fit Adams, especially after having such a good game against them a couple of weeks ago. We did look pretty lightweight in attack both legs until Smallbone's goal.

Potentially yes if he gets what he perceives as a better opportunity, same as for any manager. But extremely unlikely the club actively looks to change, as Parsons essentially says. Personally I think the clubs coming down are a good bit weaker than those going up so even if we lose on Sunday I think we would have a good crack at auto promotion again next season despite the inevitable departure of a few players. Consistency in playing style and ability/knowledge to recruit for that would be advantageous rather than suddenly moving to something totally different. For the best players at this level we would be an extremely attractive proposition after this season I think.

Have a listen to it and if you still think its a distinct possibility that Saints might actively sack Russell Martin between this season and next then let me know!

The club already addressed this with Parsons confirming they feel he is doing a good job and has driven a lot of promising change, so zero chance we would be actively looking to make a change regardless of what happens next Sunday. Hopefully Brighton are looking elsewhere as, if we don't go up, the last thing we need is another change.

Tactically superior to the supposed king of tactics over these two legs despite no Adams or Stewart for the majority. Pragmatic subtle changes e.g use of Stephens tonight and good subs.

Good to see @franniesTache get involved in the stuff before the game. Get that gear in the wash asap bro.

Goats Manning and Stephens are good at escaping from a press.

He might though. Especially with a euros on the horizon.

If Adams is out and Stewart (as expected) not fit enough to start then IMO its a no brainer to go back to the 4-3-3 that beat WBA twice and start Fraser and Brooks either side of Arma, with Edozie, Kamaldeen, Stewart (and maybe Che) as sub options.

I think Downes potentially more attainable than THB, especially as he has a very strong link to RM, but agree its pretty unlikely - and I think both City and WH will want to sell rather than another loan anyway. Fraser we could probably sign if we don't go up, but I wouldn't be signing him if we did get promotion.

From the horses mouth, if we go up he is signing permanently and is more than happy to. Been a great signing, likely driven by Jason Wilcox.