Ivan Katalinic's 'tache

Arsenal have rejected Maybe this was the double-barrel surname player they are really after and not Ward-Prowse (he says hopefully).

Doesn't seem like a £25m player based on that so I guess we'll see what happens if/when he signs up for them. Whilst I accept a higher transfer fee doesn't guarantee success, wouldn't it be good to be able to spend that sort of sum on a player if we deemed him worth it...

Maybe that's what Sangare perceived as us moving too slowly?

Depends on who you believe, I guess: Ibrahim Sangare explains why he snubbed Southampton transfer move in favour of PSV - HampshireLive

They also brought in an Ecuadorian lad as an eventual for replacement for Bissouma for a smallish fee too, who they have high hopes for. [They probably saw the stunning success we had with Delgado and Chala back in the early 2000s and thought they wanted a piece of that]

I have a feeling Ibrahim Sangare, who PSV beat us to (for moving too slowly?!) before we turned our attentions to Diallo, was perhaps more physical but still able to play when on the ball. He's 6ft 3in and seemed to have a greater physical presence than Diallo. No idea how he got on at PSV but I wonder if he was more of the destroyer we were after.

5 if we were to get Shaun's son D'Margio who's been at City too and is a U-23 player at Stoke. [Shaun Wright-Phillips having a son old enough to play pro football makes me feel very old...]

Leeds (and apparently others) linked with a move to keep Harrison Reed in the Premier League: Leeds set to make summer swoop for Fulham star Harrison Reed | Daily Mail Online

Don't think he could've done much more, other than score one of his trademark free-kicks. Pressed & tackled well, kept the play moving in possession and demonstrated his set piece abilities when required. If Southgate picks someone else, it's because he's clueless not because Prowsey hasn't been good enough.

There's a bit of me that thinks Southgate is going to wait until after this weekend's game in case someone else gets injured or it becomes more obvious that one of those already with an injury is unlikely to take part. That way he doesn't have to make a decision between the likeliest choices of JWP and Lingard, he could pick both. Gutless or sensible? Probably both...

It'll be Arsenal where Zaha ends up. So many areas of their team need improvement to try for the top 4 again yet they will buy another forward and hope it fixes everything!

Southgate has been a bottler since he missed that penalty. It's always easier to drop someone from a smaller squad and include a half injured player from a so called bigger team. I mean what sort of weak twat drops Lingard from the squad then says he'll play him in this week's first friendly...?

Lingard omitted too apparently...

Looks like Minamino might be up for sale after all, as part of an Anfield clear out, according to this (it is the Sun, I accept...): https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/15097753/liverpool-transfer-cull-wijnaldum-origi-shaqiri/

Southampton's social media department have finally revealed their true feelings towards Ralph... “Yes, he [Oriol] was training today so only Will Smallbone is out and Ché Adams is out," the nagger said. "Ché cannot play at the weekend as he has a small groin injury, so he will also definitely be out. The rest are fit.”

We have form for that even pre Les. Think Imants Bleidelis and Kleber Chala...

I wonder if Blackmore is slightly irked by the fact that he wasn't chosen to run the last fans forum, given he's been on the mic for previous ones? Maybe he's not quite as 'in' as he was and he's decided to be a bit more vocal as a result?

Could be a "name on shirt" money spinner. Just like Jelle van Damme was...

For me, yes, just ahead of KWP and JWP. Fantastic player and an absolute steal at £7 million.

Well that was a pleasant surprise. Everything I wanted from a Saints team. Resilient, confident on the ball, worked hard for the full 90 minutes and (Danny) took our chances when they came. Thought Salisu looked better than Bednarek when he came on and nice for Jack to get away with his momentary lapse of concentration for once. Minamino flattered to deceive for me, was calling for Theo or Tella to come on and make the most of what was coming his way. Nice to see a Saints keeper stop a penalty for once too. And fair play Ralph, you got this one right. More please!

Never a red but great to see us finally show some fight at last. Salisu was immense and maybe even threatens Jannik's position. Stephens gave us some much needed voice and belligerence. Adams worked so hard and Armstrong gave his usual hard running performance. Dare I say it, Ralph even got it right tactically when we went down to 10...

But surely he will want to protect his legacy? Oh...

I do wonder how much our ability to adapt if things aren't going well is hindered by the playbook Ralph spent the summer producing. It's great if it's working but, if it doesn't or it starts to fail, unpicking it across all levels when you've spent the initial months of a season trying to embed it must be pretty impossible in the short term. Maybe it's too rigid and doesn't allow for greater tactical flexibility and/or maybe it's been quickly sussed out by the rest of the league but it might explain why we try the same thing week after week, game after game regardless of how we are doing. It could be the players are starting to feel the same - there's only so many times hit your head against a brick wall before you realise it hurts! I guess it would also require the author to admit it's not quite perfect or, worse, completely flawed and I'm not sure Ralph would want to show such loss of face.

Be honest now - are you Ian Branfoot? Do you want to make us the new Crystal Palace? 😀

As per normal, great first half, poor/ran out of steam/ideas/Ings second half. Not the thumping I thought we'd get but still no points. On a worse run than Sheff Utd in 2021 tells its own tale. Salisu and Tella did ok, Ings looked better and took his goal well, KWP was his usual effective self and Armstrong drove us forward in the first half. Not much from the others really. I can't believe my own apathy at the result but that mirrors the general lack of enthusiasm about our club at the moment. I don't think watching the same system fail week after week, with no variations to formation or approach really helps.