BallBoy

I know we are almost back to full strength but we are really missing Oriol right now. Not only did he have an excellent understanding with JWP but HE COULD TACKLE. We really needed him in front of that back four to break up the danger. No excuses but we do miss him.

JWP not even on the bench tonight according to BBC. Please don't let him be injured.

Ralph is putting it all out there. Players need to step up.

There is a worrying sense of inevitability around here today. I totally understand that. Our league form has been either atrocious or unlucky, depending which game you choose to focus on. It is also difficult to erase the memory of those last 25 minutes against an ordinary Brighton side. Our most influential players are missing. On the other hand we have beaten Arsenal and Wolves to get here. We deserve to be in the 1/4 final and we are playing the lowest ranking side left in the competition. Over the years I have been here many times before with our team. I am really nervous but looking forward to that euphoric feeling of victory.

The common theme today was that we could not win the ball or keep it when we did get it. We consistently and constantly lost the 50/50 balls. Is this something that can be corrected by coaching? I seriously don't know.

Very very disappointed by that. Ings & Romeu are massive miss and just afford to have so many play poorly. Diablo & Tell a very poor today. We just seemed totally unable to win a tackle. If you lose 80% of the 50/50 balls then you are likely to lose. As we did! Painful watch.

I think the odds on us going down are still slim. Too many poor teams have to do worse than us and I do think we have started to turn the corner. Nevertheless, the Fulham result today still feels like a real kick in the guts.

Missing tackles. Misplacing passes. Need to do the simple things. Really missing Romeu.

JWP - Please stay on the pitch!

Sadly, they are probably seeing this as a relegation 6 pointer with a bit of local rivalry thrown in.

My watch stopped at 18.50. Battery gone. If only.

McCarthy even worse than Shilton on pens. Try!!!!!

Have to agree with all of this. As my username suggests, Alan Ball, was one of my all time favourites. He wasn't the most gifted player. Couldn't dribble, couldn't shoot, couldn't head a ball, couldn't even take a corner. But he had endless energy, was always talking, always knew where to be and did the simple things to perfection. Yes, he was a leader. Ironically JWP is very much like him as a player with the added bonus of dead ball brilliance. He has even added a touch of steel to his game and attitude. I find it difficult to understand why JWP has not found that little bit extra to be a real leader. I have concluded that Bally had the advantage of being surrounded by winners. Keegan, Channon, Osgood, Rodrigues and more. Our current team has no history of winning. Mentally they are weak. Oh to have Bally back though. I have sort of defeated my own argument but it makes no difference. We have no-one like him.

Not able to watch but seems like we are mentally fragile again. Let our heads drop too easily. Need to fight when things go wrong.

Been covered many times before on this forum but I never tire of reminiscing over this. I was at my office at work. Large office of about 200 people. It started with me getting a phone call from my mum (not a football fan). Mum :"Have you heard", Me: "Heard what?" Mum: "Kevin Keegan has signed for Saints" I don't remember my exact response but I found it hard to believe her but my Mum does not lie. The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around the office and everyone repeating the exact same words: "Have you heard?" Then everyone going home at the first opportunity to check it out on TV, Radio and any other means possible. It really was true. Southampton had arrived. To those who don't remember or don't understand it was equivalent to Saints signing Lionel Messi or Christiano Ronaldo, not today but 5 years ago. Totally remarkable and nobody knew until that press conference.

This game is tight as our relative league positions recent records and demonstrate. For both teams it is more or less season over if they lose. The cup gives us our best chance of any success this year. We can afford to drop a few league points. As Ralph himself said "they can't take our 29 points away from us". We have to make this game our priority IMHO.

Dreadful defending. Lack of pace and imagination. Danny way off his best. Redmond can't cross. Unable to implement a plan B. Dare I say it but 2 great goals and if we had defended like earlier in the season we would have won. Sorry for the slight note of optimism.

Just watched Ralphs' pre match press conference. The man is just class. Every answer thoughtful and bang on the money. Sounds like he is genuinely attached to this club. Legend.

The morning after the night before. Just horrible. I gave up on this at half time. I have never done that before in my life. I knew I just would not be able to endure, let alone enjoy, the rest of the game. After 54 years of supporting Saints nobody can accuse me of being a fair weather supporter but yesterday I hit my limit. I went downstairs and watched "The Drowning". Very appropriate. As it happens Che scored just after half time. And he DID score. It wouldn't have changed the result but it could have changed how we feel and avoided this humiliation. The players must have felt totally helpless at that point but the reality is that we have a mental fragility that is always lurking under the surface. We could and should have defended better even with 10 men. Much has been made of the appalling refereeing and the flaws in the interpretation of the laws of the game. I totally concur. Inept is one word. Corrupt would be another. Probably somewhere between the two. How these people can actually study the same pictures and then still come to the these conclusions is beyond belief. How can it happen two games in a row. We seriously need a change of luck soon to help these players believe again. I do worry that our game is so high intensity that we seem to have no plan B. We play right on the edge so any reversal is dangerous. But I accept that this is the only way we can play and get the positive results we had earlier in the season. I still support Ralph 100%. He is one of the best we have ever had. Still hurting.

I have lost the plot now. Someone remind me who we have available if nothing changes.

I hate to say it but I have practically given up on this one. A point would be a bonus but please not a 1 nil defeat. I hate losing 1 nil.

Nothing is going to happen.

Ralph can be very stubborn sometimes. For a long time it was anyone but Bertrand. I think we have to put Valery in.

I would really like Burnley to go down. They are just a horrible team. However they brought 4th place within reach again if we can get back to our early season form. We can dream.

This news has depressed me. The Telegraph is a reliable source so I have to accept that Danny is open to a move to a "Champions League" club. Any hopes I had that he was happy in this area and that loyalty would play a part are now gone. I don't blame him but he is not going to be another Matt Le Tiss. I am depressed because our recent success has been largely built on his form and fitness. His current form has dipped and Covid has possibly taken its toll. I do find it alarming that he was the only Saints player (recently) to catch the virus. This would appear to be personal carelessness rather than a club issue. We need him at his best and I am not sure we are going to see a repeat of early season form. That would have a big impact. He is also a big figure in the dressing room so this will not help. The above is the "glass half empty" version. I am sure there is an upside but, right now, I am not seeing it. We really need a good cup run which will mean beating both Arsenal and Wolves. A big ask. Our league form is dipping and injuries are killing us. Danny can do better but the big question would be "where". Please not Spurs or, even worse, West Ham. Bottom line is that, however much we might get, we can't replace him. Someone cheer me up.