eurosaint

It could be argued that all the emotion was spent on the home game v Bompey and that they will revert to normality come Saturday ! I’m not suggesting that their misfortune should help us but like all of these sad, dramatic events they do tend to wear off fairly quickly ! Big game for us and we need to be up for it ! COYS

Pretty good summary but you never mentioned Palace and they have signed Batshuayi who could make a big difference and take them out of the relegation equation !!

I have to agree that RH was not tactically astute last night, 3 at the back meant that we had little option but to pass it around between themselves or spray long balls over their 2 solid banks of 4 (unfortunately they do not possess Beckenbauer type skills) ! IMHO Armstrong should have replaced a CB (Stephens would have been my choice) much earlier and it was clear that we improved as soon as the change of shape was made !

Just watched the highlights and to be absolutely fair to Hoedt the second booking was a joke as the other guy fouled him ! Defensively though he looked pretty cr@p (moaned at his teammates too!) and we are well shot of him, shame that Hughes couldn't see what everyone else appeared to !

All three have had their fair share of injuries recently so I do not consider my statement to have been over the top but TBF I didn't think that it would stir up a hornet's nest either !

RH clearly thinks that he can improve Gallagher's game or he has a sneaky incoming transfer up his sleeve, otherwise we are pretty short of strikers in the squad ! Ings, Long and Obafemi are all injury prone so we are not exactly prepared for a rainy day ! Anyway, in Ralph we trust !

Back three were magnificent today IMO and with Yoshida back I don’t think that is our most immediate problem ! Another pacy forward is much more of a priority as Redmond is now irreplaceable !!

Surprised Austin not in squad as Ralph mentioned him a number of times in the pressures !

I always saw Boufal as a 'show pony' and wasn't unhappy to see him leave, however, given that he belongs to us and we have a new manager (well known for his player improvement skills) then it makes sense that he comes back in the summer, has a full pre-season and let Ralph decide !! You could say the same with Carrillo but I doubt he has enough natural ability to make the step up to the PL ! Clasie doesn't bring any more to the table than the likes of JWP or Slattery, is not as effective as Romeu or Hojberg so it's probably best that he spends his final year elsewhere IMO !

Update on my abdominal hernia which was repaired on Thursday evening : Surgeon told me no golf for 6 weeks ! I'm guessing that Lemina is a tad fitter than me (:)) but it gives some indication that any sort of strain is not advisable for injuries in this part of the body ! I guess the anaesthetic is still in my system so please ignore this if you consider it bollards

I am in hospital right now having just had an umbilical hernia operation ! Sore but not too bad but absolutely no chance of getting to the Everton game on Sat ! COYS

Surely VAR is to decide between right and wrong ? In this case he was offside, tight but correct ! Can’t see a problem with that !!

And Hojberg of course !

Sorry, didn’t see that it was already on another thread, forget it

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46864005 Not sure it will make much difference but who knows ??

Think you’re wrong on Armstrong - he’s an intelligent footballer with great positional sense, keeps the ball moving (mainly forward) and has a good eye for an incisive pass. Not afraid to shoot either ! Charlie Nicholas on Sky sang his praises today and more importantly Ralph seems to rate him quite highly ! I reckon that you should look a bit deeper and analyse his performance before being blandly negative !!

Not any more, Willian just scored !

The much maligned JWP and Shane Long both involved in the goals !! Sure the defence was immense but they won the match for us

Would you prefer the Danish bacon or the Spanish jamon ?? :)

Stevie D teams up with Stevie G ! Good luck and thanks for everything !

Why does it have to be one or the other ? There are comings-together throughout matches and not every situation is necessarily defined by a yellow ! TBF there have been many contentious decisions of this type lately and it seems that Liverpool in particular get the rub of the green !!

Same here !

There is no perfect way of picking a mascot but blatantly charging (£700) for it is risible !! No discussion required IMHO !

I read somewhere that Yoshida was actually the quickest in a sprint !

This is one league table I'm happy to be at the bottom of ! Despicable behaviour from some clubs !!