woodsaint1

Guess we'll need to worry about WBA and their CL form until the end of the season since Fulham have hit the skids. Pish poor performance. Cant complain about lack of preparation or players missing. We were just out fought and out thought. Very concerning but not surprising that we can go from the highs of last weeks comeback to that abysmal performance tonight. That being said, win on Sunday and all is forgiven

Aye because they'll be relegated and he'll be back at Arsenal next season still getting no game time

He wasnt on Vydra, he was dealing with McNeil in front of him. Definitely on Bednarek for losing the header and Vestergaard for not shifting across and providing cover/pick up Vydra's movement. The CBs cant be passing the buck for not dealing with a simple lump up front. Will be a different task on Monday as WBA tend to play just Diagne up top with Pereira roaming around in the no10 position

Why are you always so angry? Cheer up

Whats prolific enough to be a PL striker? Didnt know there was a threshold players had to reach

Not this question again. For our second best striker, a club of our size is not going to get a better option than Che. Yes hes frustrating in front of goal but id be more worried if he wasnt getting in them positions. He has contributely alot to our team, not just in goals but his build up play and physical presence which at times goes unnoticed. As has been pointed out previously, if you take the contributions of other 'second strikers' in the PL he is above the majority of those outside the top 6 clubs

Its more than likely not our choice. Probably wants a new challenge with reaching the twilight years of his career. Hes been with us for nearly 7 years so who can blame him (some fair ups and downs in there)

Think Ings is almost certainly gone (if the reported interest materialises), but I can definitely see Vestergaard signing a new deal with us, just didnt want to commit to talks until we were pretty much safe. Think he needs another good season with us before he could genuinely be considered by bigger clubs. Although it doesnt work out that way and Spurs have issues at CB (not short of options though with Toby, Dier, Rodon and Sanchez - one of whom would need to be moved on)

If hes a replacement for Long and Obafemi should they leave (cant see us replacing both given Redmond and Walcott's versatility) then I'd be happy with that. The replacement for Ings needs to be a proven scorer at a decent level. We should be looking at Calum Wilson should Newcastle go down. Across Europe theres bound to be a number of players worth a chance in the PL. I see the top scorer in the Eredevisie is Giorgos Giakoumakis for VVV Venlo (where we signed Yoshida from) who has scored 24 in 26 this season!!

Falorin Balogun? The kid has certainly got plenty of potential but if we're replacing Ings with him then we're taking a ridiculous risk. Has no PL appearances for Arsenal and bar goals against poor opposition in the EL, he is untested at the level required. Brewster to Sheff Utd springs to mind

With his injuries this season, his position of power isnt as strong as it was. The club arent playing hardball in the instance I've suggested, far from it. They're giving Ings his move but it needs to be a sensible fee (cant see us getting more than £18m personally) and be completed by mid July say so they club can move forward with integrating a replacement. Means the likes of City, Spurs or whoever need to act early if they want him. Thats very reasonable to me

Hoping the club take a firm stance with any proposed transfer of Ings and dont let it drag its heels. For example telling his agent that he can leave for x amount, but it has to be completed by x date (this date being well in advance of the first game of the season). Then we'll see how much he's sought after then. The last thing we need is to be going into the first few games of the season with this still hanging over us (Ings possibly not wanting to play), or get to deadline day and have to bring in a replacement at late notice for an inflated price (wouldnt be like us 👀). We need to be proactive on any possible replacement and start making that contact now. Clubs like RB Leipzig and Dortmund do this very well - within days of a big sale, they have a replacement lined up and they're in the door in no time. The recent sale of Upamecano and purchase of Simakan was a good example from Leipzig. I imagine we'll have alot more knock backs than these clubs would, but if we have 3/4 priority targets then you would imagine we'll get one

You can sense a few on here are furious inside that we won, means they cant wade in with their 'Ralph is out of his depth', 'we have no balls or leadership' drivel. Bizarre behaviour. Some need a reaiity check on who they're supporting - we will lose more than we win, so when we do win lets enjoy it and praise the team. Being a miserable f*** all the time cant be good in the long term

Great fight and determination to come back from the dead, definitely been a while since we've seen that. Could have easily been a 6-3 game with the chances we squandered. Lets push on and finish strong like last season.

You do know that strikers regularly switch positions to get the best matchups and if you've played football beyond under 8 the best way to deal with that as a defender is to pass the player across. You dont start crossing over each other as its chaotic. Bednarek needs to just deal with the physicality when Wood does move onto him

Vestergaard equally to blame for the 2nd goal. Switches off and doesnt see Wood peeling off onto Bednarek and leaving Vydra free. Needs to shift across with him. Despite the power, Forster has to do better with the shot

They have won 4 games all season and regardless of the result today, they're gone. Would need to win 5 of their last 8 to possibly get safe imo. Too little too late for Fat Sam

A goal is a goal to a striker and keeps his confidence high. He will start

Yes he was stupid, but to say Alex is only entitled to once chance is ridiculous. Hes young and deserves another chance and soon. Hopefully wins against Burnley and/or WBA will all but confirm our safety and he can be given a chance in league games in the run in

Not just that, but just became the most capped british player of all time beating Shilton's record. NI legend and will be very fondly remembered by Saints fans (although theres a few weirdos who never rated him)

Lets smash Burnley and then pick up another 3 points against WBA. Be safe as houses then and focus can shift to reaching the FA Cup final

Thought Stanciu was excellent for Slavia against Rangers. Could fit the creative playmaker role we desperately need. Established international too

Think Ings is gone, but not convinced about Bertrand or Veatergaard leaving. Think theres a good chance we could tie both down to new contracts, but our guaranteed safety is stalling negotiations/signing on the dotted line. If this holds true and if nobody else of note leaves, then think we're still looking at 4 players to plug the gaps. In terms of priority - CF - will be the difference between fighting relegation and mid table. This is how crucial Ings has been. Without replacing his goals, we will be in the s***. We cant afford a Carillo or Delgado moment of madness. RB - for competition with KWP LB - for competition with Bertrand AM - we need a no10 type playmaker to improve our creativity. Outside of Armstrong and an in-form Redmond (not often), it is non existent Cant see us ever paying close to 40m for a player, let alone that player being Tammy Abraham. Im not going to pretend to know who we should target, but there has been plenty of success stories from the Championship. We should perhaps look there, particularly for the full back depth. Also very surprised that after two and a half years with Ralph in charge we havent brought more in from the German or Austria Bundesligas, although Danso didnt work out. Seeing the success of Slavia Prague this season and how Soucek/Coufal have fared for West Ham, the Czech league could be another option if we likely dont have much to sopend

Given what I've just read, he's already in your scapegoat territory, as are alot of our players if you read your miserable posts. Of course hes a midtable player, thats why he plays for us. I'm not advocating him to be a world beater, nor are many on here, but he's a crucial player for us. Of those attributes you've described, theres been plenty of players who've had great careers at the top level doing exactly what hes doing. He maximises his ownpotential. Hes not the quickest, nor the most skillful, but hes one of our best players and his set plays are excellent. And how do you know hes a poor, poor captain? You dont see what goes on in the dressing room or on the training ground. You're probably basing it some weird notion that all captains have to be Roy Keane-esque, running around booting people and giving other players bollockings. The games moved on, those players are a dying breed, if not dead already

Surprisingly havent seen it mentioned elsewhere, but Jankewitz has been getting alot of praise for what was described as a dominant display against England under 21 at the Euros yesterday. Anybody catch the game?