BallBoy

I am old enough to have witnessed the cup win of 1976. It was a fantastic, unforgettable, ecstatic experience. One of the greatest moments of my life, exceeded only by the special family moments. But despite that memory I would still take Champions League football in order to take our great club to a level I never before imagined. Yes, the FA Cup would be a wonderful moment but you only have to think Wigan and P**pey to see what it is worth in the long term.

How do you actually get to be 5th with a goal difference of 1? Answer - Luck.

Jason Puncheon. Now my favourite player!

Got there before me Saint_Tony. They have had any luck going this season..... Apart from Man Utd's share!

Quality and class are the two words I associate with Toby. I hope this is true but the source does not inspire me.

Some of the comments on here are just hysterical. It was a very poor performance but the team selection was more or less forced upon Koeman. It is simply that we do not have sufficient depth to compete when we have a few out. Nevertheless, this team should have won. Sheffield had their own problems and were there for the taking. The players let Koeman and the fans down tonight. Calls for Koeman to go are fascile.

I am worried that Mane could be sent off but, equally, he has the talent to win this game. Tough call for Koeman but I think he will prefer to keep 11 on the pitch.

Pelle suspended for Tuesday? No real options if he is.

Decent team considering Schneiderlin is still out. I, too, thought Hesketh looked good in his cameo on Monday. The game passed him by when we went long but before that he looked skilful, tidy and intelligent. The bench finally looks to have some strength there. We should be ready for all eventualities. Long and Mane are very different but they are unlikely to play together very often. I like them both. Mane can be a match winner even on an off day.

I do actually agree with this - but it's not just the "big" teams. We are now recognised as a very dangerous and capable outfit by everyone. To the best of my knowledge nobody has rested any players against us. They have shown us complete respect. United will field their best possible side on Monday night. We will have to continue to earn our right to remain where we are. There will be no surprise factor to help us get the odd good result. They will all have to be earned the hard way. The "big" teams have complained for years that others raise their games against them. I think our position means that we are now regarded as a "big" team by most others and as direct competition by Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea etc.

The worst of this is that the likes of Mark Lawrenson can now say they were right - and they probably are. To maintain a challenge for top 4 we needed to show we can compete with teams like City. Sadly we have shown that we are still short and with suspensions and injuries looming things look a little bit bleak. Back to reality. On the other hand - 3RD IN THE TABLE!

Big surprise. Lawro predicts another shock defeat for Saints. I agree with others. Eventually he will be right!

First of all I do not justify what Evans did. It suggests a lifestyle that I find abhorrent. However, I have seen little on this thread to suggest that many people actually know the facts of the case. If I could do a link I would but Alison Pearson (yes a female) the Telegraph columnist gives a very good account of what was related in court. It would help if people actually knew the facts rather than the fascile attitude that "rape is rape". There are degrees of almost every crime and mitigating factors. I am not going to venture an opinion on whether Evans should immediately return to football. I do, however, think that we need to avoid knee jerk reactions and understand that few things are black and white.

Some great memories there and good quality presentations for the times. The semi-final defeat to Everton twisted the knife yet again but I just loved being reminded of the good times. Loved the Keegan "goal" that never was. Armstrong should never have been ruled offside for that but what a way to make up for it. One of the most exciting games I have ever seen.

My favourite is still the simple (and innocent) enquiry - "who are you playing this weekend?" This could easily be followed with "where's that?" but, frankly, it's not even necessary. Fleetwood or Morcambe says it all.

Hate to say it but a full house following a good run is usually the kiss of death. Despite that, I am very confident this time.

It is true that we have yet to play any of the established "top" teams but it is also true that we have yet to play Burnley, Palace, Leicester or Villa to name but 4 from off the top of my head. It is also a fact that we have actually beaten Arsenal at the Emirates. Having said that it is also clear that we lack the depth necessary to compete at this current level for a whole season. Suspensions, injuries and fixture pile ups will hurt us. However, we are allowed to dream. Chelsea, City and Arsenal are probably the stand out teams this year. Spurs, Everton, Liverpool and United are struggling. 4th place is unlikely but not impossible.

It's a little disrespectful that the BBC headline is that Chelsea are 9 points clear of their title rivals (Man City)! It's difficult to argue with the logic of this in view of the vastly superior resources of both these teams but it is still factually incorrect at the moment. I am not under any illusions that we will probably fall away from this position when injuries and suspensions kick in but at least let us dream. It's what football fans do.

Very disappointing. The sad thing from our perspective is that Clyne will understandably think that playing for a "big" club is the best way to get selected.

I am exhausted. Excellent day.

Can't help worrying that Saints may have ....ed up on these transfers. We have precious little expertise in getting deals done quickly. I remain optimistic though because it does not make sense to let Gaston (and Jos) go if we are not confident of getting our new men in. Both players look good. Mane excites me. More importantly, we have kept Morgan & J Rod. A good window as long as these deals are completed.

This story seems to have been taken down from the Sky website. Not sure if that is significant.

So many things to be happy about today:- 1) Coming from behind away from home. 2) Dominant performance. 3) Players beginning to gel as a team. 4) Majestic performance from Morgan. 5) Pelle off the mark and playing well. 6) Beating West Ham. 7) Beating Sam Allardyce Off the mark and confidence improving 9) Silencing the bedwetters. 10) Spring in my step on Monday morning. Feels good.

I don't know where to start or even which thread to post on! 1) This just gets worse and worse and worse. 2) I don't care about keeping the young players. I want to keep the old ones! 3) If Schneiderlin and Rodriguez go to then we are down to bare bones. 4) We do not have time to build a new team from the foundations we have left. 5) We have lots of money but no bargaining power with new players. Why would they come to a club so obviously in decline? 6) There are a few positives and we still have some decent players but a few defeats at the start of the season will send us into complete meltdown. 7) The academy lads are not the Busby Babes. I feel pretty sick. We need new and experienced players quickly.

I make it we have about £50 million left. We need to spend it fast before the rest of the senior players give up. I have tried to be optimistic but we have quite literally lost our 4 best players. No team can do that and call it progress.