BallBoy

I would love to keep VVD but, realistically, I think he will go. Football fans have short memories and I think the board can ride the storm but ONLY if we get top dollar and re-invest quickly. We desperately need a more mobile and scoring midfielder. What I would find difficult to forgive would be a below value sale at the end of the window and no improvements to the first team.

Obvious from my username too. Bally gave his whole heart and whole soul to any club he played for. And to his country. Certainly the greatest captain we ever had in my humble opinion. There have been many greats in my 50 years of supporting. Players with huge skill and others who were great club players but Bally edges it for me. Just love the guy.

Obvious from my username too. Bally gave his whole heart and whole soul to any club he played for. And to his country. Certainly the greatest captain we ever had in my humble opinion. There have been many greats in my 50 years of supporting. Players with huge skill and others who were great club players but Bally edges it for me. Just love the guy.

Why wait almost 4 weeks? As usual, we are behind the game in any transfer activity.

I am not as concerned about fans being given information as I am about the players. It may well affect how they respond to enquiries from other clubs.

Always the same though. It's gone very quiet. No vote of confidence. No news. Next step is Les Read issuing a "reassuring" statement saying that everything is under control.

Has to be Shane Long at Anfield for me. One of those moments we live for as football fans. Injury time, anticipation as Josh brings the ball from our own penalty area, pass, intake of breath, it's Shane Long!!!, Goal!!!! We are in the final.

I agree that 8th place (or even 9th or 10th) with a cup final is a good performance for a team of our resources especially with the loss of key players. I think it would be difficult to let Puel go on the back of that record and I am not even suggesting it. However, having supported this club for over 40 years, I have to say this is the most BORING season I have ever endured. Admittedly I have only seen home games (live) and unfortunately I missed a few of those but when I look back and realise that the most entertaining premier league game I saw was Crystal Palace then I can understand why many fans and, possibly, players are disenchanted. For the most part the games I have seen have been turgid and robotic with far too many low points. There were some high points in the cups (Liverpool, Sparta Prague and Inter Milan) but, apart from those, it has just been hard to watch. To sum up, the games have been about as exciting as a Claude Puel press conference. It would be harsh to let him go but it would give some hope back.

His record indicates that he is some sort of Bobby Moore.

I say play him in the final. He has experience and pedigree. He can handle it. He has a week to gel with his team mates who are all international defenders. Tough on Stephens but he has a good future ahead of him.

I believe Caceres will play this weekend as long as he is fit and available. He has the pedigree and the experience to come straight in and will represent less of a risk than Stephens or even Yoshida. Gabbiadini came straight in so I think Cacaras will too. I hope so.

Keegan made the front pages and first item on the teatime news. Can't think of any others who did that.

This wasn't rotation. It was capitulation. I really wonder if Wenger and Puel had an "understanding". You take the EFL Cup. We take the FA Cup!

Gardos not even on the bench! Please don't let Yoshi or Stephens get injured.

Amazing. 4 pages in half an hour! This has made me even more depressed.

I have just seen the highlights and I have to say that I cannot remember giving away 2 such poor goals. Lewis showed his inexperience by miscontrolling a back pass, chasing a ball that was going away from goal and then needlessly clattering the forward. I feel for him but it was a catalogue of errors in the space of 5 seconds. The equaliser was just ridiculous. On 92 minutes, holding a 2-1 lead, how is a player allowed the freedom of our 6 yard box! This result does require some perspective. It is not the end of the world but it does our confidence no good at a time when we needed to push on. We could, and should, have won this. We have put ourselves under needless pressure.

When are we going to start looking forward to the Norwich game?

I think some of the posts in this thread are on the hysterical side and could only follow a heavy defeat. I do, however, agree, that FF has not recently been the rock that very nearly became England's Number 1. His kicking has been very poor and he sometimes appears static. I am not an ITK but I have heard from a source close to his family that FF is not fit and should not really be playing. If that is correct then I think the current situation is one of pragmatism by the club. We currently have no viable alternatives. Having said that, I don't think his performances have been bad. Just not up to his normal standard.

So we are going to get a proper, red blooded cup tie at home to, hopefully, see us through. Tonight we all feel rubbish but this should be a cracking game with a cracking atmosphere. The permutations are mind boggling but we have to go for the win. Really looking forward to it.

We need to stop being surprised by results like this. It is becoming normal now.

Totally agree with this. I was screaming at the screen. Very unusual for Prowsey to make such a poor choice.

I am 50 years a fan and I consider myself to be very blessed to be a Southampton lad and a Southampton fan. I don't think I could be described as a fair weather fan. I have been there through thick and thin. Sadly, I too, am struggling to maintain the same level of enthusiasm as in previous years. I agree that our achievements in recent years have been phenomenal and I rejoice in that. So what is missing this year? Soul and excitement. In years past we have always had exciting players who lift the spirits. Terry Paine, Ron Davies, Peter Osgood, Kevin Keegan, Wallace brothers, Alan Shearer, Matt Le Tissier, Marian Pahars, Rickie Lambert, Sadio Mane to name but a few. I don't see any players now in that sort of category and the spark is gone. Add to that a manager who sends me to sleep and I am struggling. I hope that Boufal will provide that spark. He looks promising if we can just get him on the pitch and keep him there. I too hoped we could kick on this year. The reality is that we are weaker. I will always be a Southampton fan but there is a void at the moment.

I appreciate that there is a language barrier but he must be boring the players to death.

I envy those who can feel relaxed about our summer transfer dealings. I accept that we are in a wonderful position and we are still punching above our weight. I do not see us as being relegation threatened just yet. However, the simple fact is that we have sold, and not replaced, two players who have scored 12-20 goals each in recent seasons. Rodriguez and Austin are fantastic players but if we are relying on them to be fit enough to score that many goals then, in my opinion, we are taking a massive risk. I hope I am wrong. We have a net gain of about £30million pounds on our transfer dealings so far, plus TV money. Is this what Koeman meant by showing ambition?

In all my years of watching football I don't think I have witnessed a more abject performance. I have seen Saints play worse but this was the cream of English talent. Individually and collectively just awful.