Chez

With all that higenamine (why the **** would a player need this if they did the right fitness work?) you'd think he would be in great shape. Banned substance or not, I wonder why we are considering going near a player that has had problems at Liverpool? If we sign him you have to ask questions about our due diligence process. This would be a huge investment for a club our size. We took a risk on JRod and Austin fitness and it has not worked. Are we going to now start taking risks on players with potential personal issues too?

The first Puel quote suggests that if Fonte leaves they will look to bring someone else in, be that as cover or to challenge Yoshida.

or any minute now someone will say into Kats back pocket.

Hopefully paying off the debt we built up, but I suspect just on wages. Although saints fans like to think we don't pay anyone big wages, I would think the next set of accounts will show yet another big rise. England goalkeepers don't sign five years deals unless they are offered a lot of coin. If someone pays £16m for you, you expect to get paid, if you sign for nigh on a free transfer having scored 18 premiership goals the season before, you want a big old weekly pay cheque and six year deals for CBs valued at £40m are not signed unless they get a kings ransom each and every week. Mark my words these guys are now earning serious money. Probably a lot more than a lot of saints fans want to believe.

will have to take your word for it, as I've not seen that much of him and when I did there was nothing to wrote home about. I wonder if any other clubs are looking at him? I have read a lot of desperate come get me type stuff probably put out by Liverpool, but not much saying anyone is having talks. Why are West Ham not looking at him rather than Fonte I wonder.

I dunno, the game away at Plymouth was pretty special. Bloody glad I was able to witness it. The Cov game too.

Is Sakho better than Yoshida?

Please tell me they have signed: "You know Paul, playing for Portsmouth is very much like making love to a beautiful woman. First, compliment the old lady excessively on the size of her fan base. Once you've been selected, be prepared to give that fan base a good hard sucking so as to ensure that she is a little more forgiving when you prove to be less than cable when performing. It's critical to find a goal quickly. This lady can be very impatient, so be prepared for your confidence to be dented should you fail to offer much penetration. If things do go well you will probably start thinking about a more an attractive alternative. At that point, its best to pull out as quickly as possible. Don't worry, that smell will eventually rub off."

very good point. Even the most positive Saints fan must be worried we will get tonked. We will see though.

With season ticket holders getting first dibs and the efforts of those travelling up to Liverpool being unrecognised I suspect?

I could not give a ****ing monkeys about Cortese's dreams.

Jason Puncheon. How do I collect those ten points and where can I spend them? Oh, and the football genius that was Paul Wotton went in the January window I believe. That's got to be worth another ten?

If we go out of both cups I would expect you will get that wish.

Didn't seen to get enough game time when he looked good and then when he did he fell short and was effectively dropped, although still getting the odd UEFA game. Badly need him to come good. We can't continue to rely on Romeu to carry Classie, JWP and Hojbjerg.

The game somehow lacks that once in a lifetime feeling that Milan away offered. The league cup doesn't capture the imagination anymore for many. But its still a semi final and that's huge in my book, especially considering how few `big' games we've had during my 30 odd years of following Saints. I am extremely keen to attend, but not yet got ticket as I am struggling to move things around at work that would enable me to do it. I suspect I will still go though.

He was fekking woeful, but you are right he was not alone.

West Ham plan?

You didn't travel up to the Sheffield United game then? the worst CB performance I have seen since the dark days of Ollie Lancashire being dropped in the deep end. I know he has had better games since, but to say he hasn't put a foot wrong is ********.

at this moment in time he looks a poor mans Ben Reeves. Still young and judging a player on a single game is folly, but I've seen all his first team outings and I'm far from convinced. Needs to be playing. No idea why we have not loaned him out.

good point. Slow build up mean defenders behind the ball all the time, so you really have to beat them with skills and tricks and stuff that the likes of Messie and Coutinho can offer. We have Boufal, when not injured, Tadic and Redmond. They do offer some tricks and ability to create something, but right now not nearly enough.

Classie is the biggest culprit in my eyes. He is a total non entity in games and offers pretty much nothing to either attack or defence. He is slow across the ground, woeful in the air, can't dribble, shoot, cross, play long balls. His touch is decent enough, but there is not enough with the ball to counter the lack of presence without it. I see one half decent pass and/or moment of pressure applied to an opponent a game and that seems to be enough for most Saints fans. At this moment in time I would pick JWP ahead of Classie, although that is saying nothing. What I noticed yesterday was that we had thrtee midfielders that all pass the ball and their first though is to then drop off to give the receiving player an option. Now there is nothing wrong with that, but all three did it all the time and no one was willing to run beyond the receiving player or even level with him. There were several occasions when Classie was the midfielder furthest forward and in decent positions between the lines, but he gets nose bleeds, doesn't want the ball and chose to just jog back into a deeper role. He is a limited squad player that has somehow found his way into a starting berth. We wont replace him and that is a big worry. We desperately need Hojbjerg to find his feet and solidify his game.

RK played Bertrand as CB and then Targett as a totally ineffective wingback. I would suggest McQueen would do a far better job and we know Cedric is handy bombing on. That formation might help us get out of this rut as it did last year.

Two or three comments. McQueen, head and shoulders the best player on the park, although too many crosses didn't beat the first man. Reed, no idea what fans have been bleating on about. Slow, short (obviously, but in the smallest midfield in history it does matter) and very limited on the ball. Needs time out on loan, not the odd game here and there. Classie, passenger, again. Why one earth we played three exactly the same midfielders is beyond me. They pass square, then drop off. We went no where all night.

What a fascinating suggestion.

Nope, he'd just keep handing out bigger and bigger contracts that the club can't afford.