Chez

Win today. Right back in the mix. If we don't win today though, its going to start to look a little bleak.

Orsic's been a non entity, and a complete waste of a shirt in his first two outings. He will hopefully find his feet at some point, but right now I couldn't care less if he is on the bench or not. Realistically, neither is playing more than five minutes today max. Win, lose or draw, Orsic's selection or non selection has little bearing on this game. DCC's non selection is more interesting. He was woeful in the Forest game, but reasonably solid in the Palace and Everton wins. Not sure he was great against Newcastle. Is Lyanco selected on bench because he can cover a full back position too?

Hopefully its still 0-0 and they can come on and win the game. Everton winning adds to the need.

Picking him after those two substandard displays would be poor management. You have to respect the other players in the squad.

I am guessing you have to make that post. He's been rubbish in the two starts, so being dropped to the reserves seems reasonable.

lot of attacking options to come off the bench. If Che plays, Tall Paul doesn't.

Just looked at the Brentford results since the World Cup and they haven't lost in the league. A few draws (Spurs, Forrest and Leeds), but beaten West Ham, Bournemouth, Man City and Liverpool. Impressive and quite daunting. They took us to pieces at the end of last season (Ralph should have been sacked after that game IMO) and we are not much better really. Not sure how we win this game...hope Jones has a good plan.

he says as they score from a set piece. Shit. Last thing we need.

They certainly have some experienced solid players, but when it comes to creativity, flair and goalscoring, they are very much in the `relegation fight' territory.

what a good point. Newcastle is a great place to go and watch football...except for the god damn terrible position of the away end. I can understand why they do it, who else wants to sit right up there, but away fans bring more atmosphere to a game, so the home fans are actually missing out a little. I guess it could even be worse, they could put you in the top tier AND in the corner.

I wonder if his extra height defensively (plus Bree replacing KWP for the next few games) will allow Jones to stop worrying about the need to play an extra CB to ensure we have enough height.

Not sure about most of the signings. Hopeful, but very circumspect. I'm far from convinced by Jones either. I've tried to stay positive, but running out of steam.

yeah, I agree with this. Diallo scared the life out of me several times, taking that extra touch, but he was brave on the ball (the old Strachan thing) taking it in tight areas and willing to back his talent. Risky, but it just about worked. Without that extra few touches, the ball becomes a hot potatoe and the opponents are always on top of you and in the end it goes long. He wasn't perfect, but he's been better in the cup games than perhaps all the other games he's played for us. You are absolutely right that he was swamped. No one else did nearly enough in the first half. Lavia did the same, but just with that little extra bit of quality, taking the ball in THE tightest of areas, and backing his own talent. It was easier for him though, as Newcastle sat back. We've maybe got the basis there, with Lavia/Diallo, Carlos and JWP, maybe even bringing Aribo off the bench in that attacking midfielder role as happened last night if teams are sitting back. Jones needs to get that midfield three working well for us to have a chance of survival

I know Chelsea offered silly money. Impossible for him to turn down. You can talk about the lack of pathways, but the long and short of it is he's getting paid now and not five years time. The fee is also huge. Saints academy well and truely paid up for a while. He will go out on loan straight away, I think.

It's a profession. He will spend three or four years earning vast amounts while learning the game. It's a no brainer.

Spent a lot. 16 signings in two windows, but is there enough quality in there? Not sure I feel a lot more confident now than I did four weeks ago. Perhaps the demoralising defeat last night is the cause of that.

It was much more than that. I'd say Newcastle took us to pieces for half an hour, not too dissimilar to the first game. They played some nice triangles to beat our pathetic press. They dominated in the middle. They carved us open with quick, quality passing and we didn't get near them. It was a rout. We looked out of our depth. We looked lost, with overloads everywhere. We couldn't cope with their pressure. Our passing was sloppy. We got what we deserved.

Being regularly subbed is a major concern.

Bloody nightmare seeing genuine talent leave. Not a great advert for the academy. However, I'm not sure what Saints could do other than match Chelsea's offer, but they are paying 'other level' amounts. The fee is huge at least.

Absolutely not what you want to hear. Feels like we have been mugged due to our desperate situation. That said, our wide players are offering little right now so there is a great opportunity for him to show what he can do.

is ours not a scattergun approach? Potentially 16 players in two windows. Bazunu, Callabero, Lis Larios, Bree ABK, DCC Lavia, Alvarez, AMN Osic, Edozie, Aribo, Sulemana Mara, Onuachu

is their a position we didn't/don't need to strengthen?

it's a problem. The 4-2-3-1 formation (which seems to be a good fit for us) needs wide players that assist and score and neither of ours does.

Playing five at the back is such an easy stick to beat Jones with, but it really is a shite formation. I really don't know why h keeps trying it. Every time he does we are shit, Every time we switch to a four we are better. He found a formation and tactic that worked against City. Stick with it.

Great weight of pass by Bree. Looks like he can play to me.