John Boy Saint

The VAR referee apparently doesn't have any influence on the offsides, the final decision lays with the VAR assistant referee (thats not to say the VAR Ref doesn't resist leaning over and giving his tuppence worth).

Don't worry they will no doubt find a way of making it 3-4 games on the grounds of having the temerity to lodge an appeal. No Bednarek would be a blow as he does seem to be the boss in the back line. Someone above mentioned moral would be low, after he Leicester game we played City twice in a week and everyone thought we would get battered as it turned out, yes we lost both but the scoreline was respectable and not the Cricket score most expected. Ah well just get royally drunk pre match and avoid getting emotionally involved.

Anyone paying attention knows the midfield has been our engine room, JWP and Romeu since project restart have been a pretty solid partnership, we got lucky with Diallo as whilst not being an enforcer like Romeu he has a bit of finesse that JWP can work with and like he has with Oriel quickly had a football telepathy. To lose both of them on Saturday was bloody unlucky, Ralph knew and said before the game that this would be hard work tonight, as we know the the game got harder even sooner. There is a bit of moaning about the senior players not stepping up to the plate, I think they did what they could our engine room was running on two cylinders, Ralph couldn't shuffle the pack from the bench to get the other 2 running, Djenepo and Armstrong are not suited to that solid midfield role and we have poor Ramsey (who I thought grew into the game) had a baptism of fire. We had a ragtag and bobtail squad, 2 keepers on the bench, down to 10 men playing against £660m worth of players that have recently been playing to their potential - In a weird twist if someone said on Transfer deadline day that the whole Man U squad had been transferred to Southampton every Saints fan would be Cock-a Hoop at such a coup. They played a patient game and picked us off with the players of the calibre to exploit the merest opportunity. What BT failed to show us after fawning over a failed Man U attempt from every angle was passing round the box of Kleenex, was how on more than one occasion in the first half, when they cut back to live coverage we were getting set to take a corner or potentially promising free kick!!??? It would have been delightful to have seen how we got into that bizarre position. Like everyone else VAR seems a bit off. Being cynical bugger, after FFP pretty much kicked the ladder away for any other club outside the "top 6" breaking into it - I did wonder how long it would take to manipulate VAR to also achieve the same aim - which is to ultimately protect the product that is the Premier League: Saints, Wolves, Villa, Palace, Newcastle don't secure billion pound TV deals across the globe. You only have to listen to the commentators to realise that in reality 7th down is just cannon fodder. Hey ho

.......and me.

For a minute I thought you had seen him Out at the new Costa in Basingstoke! Yeah I'm with you on the boycott - I will support you by not going to the Wolves game Sunday week. Vive la revolution!!

That is a career dissipation moment 79 seconds into your full debut and you are getting first dibs on all the hot water in the showers. He may well be 19 and was a bit over eager but most of these lads have been at this game since they were 8, they have seen mates fall away as they carried on, they know the rules of the game, most of them know to be smart. Given this lads antics, even if it was the agents doing, this week, there will be clubs who might have been interested. After tonights showing now going, hmmmmmmm. Football is a nasty business, although the lad hasn't murdered anyone, with the transfer request and a sending off at 19 he now has a "criminal record" in the eyes of prospective employers, "is he worth the risk?". They will likely turn to the next name on the list as they are less of a risk. The lad has to now knuckle down and hope he can get another chance, if he has attitude and no remorse, Saints will likely grant him his wish and send him on his way. The Golden ticket of possibly 2-3 games whilst others ahead of him are injured, he has flushed that down the toilet. Its a long way back to the top table when you err as a nipper in football.

Fucking crock of shit

Hi ain’t turning this over - Jans off

No fucking left foot!

Not THE Diego "the Bastard" Costa?:............Simeone has obviously hung up his Lion Tamers suit

Hang on you missed the plot twist - Mike Dean is on the whistle and that equaliser will come in the 89th minute, but their winner will come in the 97th minute of the game when only 4 minutes came up on the board at 90, yet no subs were made, no shonky decision has gone to VAR, and no Man U player has gone down like he has been shot by the sniper up in the floodlights................don't forget that graphic pointing out the 123 points we have dropped from a winning position will have popped up at 88.35 minutes! As has been mentioned I wouldn't be surprised to see 3 at the back, Djenepo and Redmond sliding up and down the sides. Might even see local lad Ferry given a spin out too at some point as from what I have seen of him he does have a footballing brain between his ears. Either way, we walk away from this game with a point that is a result.

Your float nearly went under (in typical Internet forum lack of context “what’s this bloody idiot talking about”) then I saw the hook glinting through the murk of the puddle.

Bit tough getting into the Liverpool squad when Salah - Mane - Bobby the teeth are ahead of you as first choice then the Ox comes in well versed in Premier League football. If he is like Yoshida was for us, in that he would come in and be notably ring rusty then vanish to the bench more often than not as soon has the player he had covered for had recovered, due to Mayas odd lapse through lack of games. Given a steady run Yoshida would get better and better. A few players can be likewise without a steady run for 90 mins each week. If you are that type of player at Liverpool, with their embarrassment of riches across the pitch and hungry nippers, then it is a tough gig “to get on stage”. Lukewarm performance due to rustiness and you are back on the bench for weeks and the odd cameo where you just ain’t doing much. Klopp obviously saw something to have gone for him (that said he did weirdly go after Caulder a matter of weeks after he had seen him as part of a defence his team rattled 6 past and said player was the stand out cause of our car crash). Given our issues with Theo broken, Djenepo likely to snap at any moment, Armstrong fading in games - Redmond probably in that fragile category too. Minamino is a good fit across the pitch in those positions, helps us out, and helps Liverpool out as their man most likely gets game time, they can reassess him for their future needs, and if he sparkles with us they can recoup their initial outlay if they choose to unload. Only time will tell, just got to hope he comes in like Theo did and slot straight in, and not like KWP who looked like a fish up a tree first outings. As last day of the window goes - most of us have seen he can play and score - so that’s a plus if you factor in the £20m absolute cock up that we ended up just giving away eventually.

He was in a TV ad with his Dad around Christmas time, I immediately thought he was round John Salakos every couple of weeks for a dip in his fountain of youth as he looked like a nipper still himself - 18 year old son!? Jeez!

I would have thought given that they are all bubbled up and having a kiss and a cuddle after scoring (despite being told not to) the facilities would be good to use.

Whilst watching that yesterday, took me back to our game when the commentator said where would Leicester be without Vardy (I mentioned in a thread same place we are without Ings) - you could see yesterday Leeds weren't having to keep half an eye out for Albert Steptoes love child lurking to pounce at any given moment on any loose ball.

A cynic would say that was PGMOL “apologising” for the Man City fiasco. it is what it is. we are creating chances just seem to be so wasteful with them - this Weekend Midweek championship style game frequency is costing us no chance of recovery especially as we can’t use the kit at Staplewood.

Have word with yourself - if someone is crossing his palm with a wheelbarrow full of gold - then he is walking - if no one is tempting or in for him you stay exactly where you are and wait to get sacked and have your contract paid up. AvB sacked by Chelsea £16m pay off of contract - got the Spurs gig not long after, got binned £16m pay of of contract. Ralph signed 4 years? In June he ain’t just walking because no money to spend unless he has rocks in his head!

Just watching the analysis the ball has already left the foot when the line is drawn. Jeez

Mike dean doesn’t check offside it’s VAR limo only

YOU CANT UNDERMINE DEAN................that’s why

That is sad news. Most with recall back to the Lawrie Mac days will know him as assistant manager. Hampshire chap too. Always seemed a quiet man, was well respected by his peers in the game. Think the last time I saw him was walking into St Marys alongside Bobby Charlton their chat seemed to be a full catch up carrying on from where they had arrived in the same car. RIP

Just like anyone trying to do everything because they are good at it no one ever notices because they are use to it having been done already. Even last night when an attack broke down he was outside the Arsenal box, but then suddenly appears between or behind Jan and Jack as if he has been there all along. I've noted that of him in a few games where he is on one side of the pitch then almost in the blink of an eye he is over on the other side of the pitch breaking up play. I think if he gets broken everyone will realise what he does in games, because a big black hole will appear in midfield.

Think Ralph’s comment about not filling the gap between the centre back and full back, the cause, Jan and Jack spent time looking out for the green players on the outside of them, when you have Kyle and Ryan out there the 2 in the middle know pretty much where the outer 2 are and their capabilities. With Valery and Vokins you had 2 youngsters holding a box of matches each, in Valerys case one of those big cooks boxes: looking at him tonight it’s hard to believe it’s the same player who showed no respect to Paul Pogba at OT and rifled in a cracker of a goal. He doesn’t seem to believe in himself, which is a shame, “Im going to try this, hope it works” “blimey it did work how about that” “bugger while I was thinking how good that was the ball has gone”. At the end of the day we are playing Championship weekend, midweek football, our style of play does not fit that frequency of games, especially with a squad so paper thin due to injuries. Game pretty much summed up by Pepes goal, for weeks the bloke has been spraying chances everywhere except at the goal, tonight he gets a chance and pretty much mis kicks the ball past Alex into the net. Bizarrely I feel a bit “ah well, hey-ho” about the result.

What a car crash