Professor

My view exactly. Was very pleased when we he came to Southampton and found it hard to understand the reaction of those who thought he shouldn't have been signed because of the price.

Unlikely I think that an Appeal Panel would find that Clattenburg had acted unreasonably in showing a red card. Only the TV replay showed contact wasn't made but that was luck, not judgement, as the tackle certainly looked reckless without concern as to whether the player would be injured. RK's response that Vic needs to learn from his mistakes makes sense to me.

We were 4 goals better than them a month ago, We will have Soares at wing back in place of Martina and the extra threat of Austin off the bench. It's coming at just the right time, so bring it on. I see us being confident but not complacent, and another win for Saints. The real bonus will be if Liverpool lose to Leicester and we move up to 7th.

Very true SOG but I wonder who the fans can count on to highlight the shirt-pulling. The MotD commentator referred to Smalling's behaviour, twice I think, but the studio broadcast discussion did not. Whether Saints will include it in their report on the referee might be questionable as there may have been occasions when our own players have done the same thing. But whether or not our players do shirt-pull, the problem needs to be brought out and stamped on. As a serial offender, Smalling would be a very good place to start. Maybe the Echo should have a go, or some of us should e-mail the Echo.

The shirt-pulling by Smalling justified at least two penalties. As a tactic that is clearly being condoned, maybe even encouraged , by coaches it is long overdue time for the FA to take action. Players should not have to fall to the ground to draw attention to an act that is blatant obstruction and impeding of an opponent.

Rubbishing players who have left Southampton is always a jolly way of warming up a cold Saturday afternoon but there is still a need to be careful. "Man U the worst united side in 30 years" - The current team is 5th in the Prem and still 4 points above Saints. They finished season 2013-14 in 7th place in the Prem under David Moyes, so not quite confirmed the worst side yet. Argue with this list by all means, but Caulker, Alderweireld, Schneiderlin, Lallana, Clyne, Lovren, Lambert, Shaw, Boruk, Dyer, Puncheon, Surman, Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain are on the books of eight other Premier league clubs. Ten of those players are with five of the clubs who are currently above Saints in the League table. For different reasons. Loveren, Lambert and Shaw are making little or no contribution to their present clubs but overall the defectors haven't done too badly by their moves. Sorry as I was to see several of them go, I'm more than content with their replacements. It could be argued that whilst the strongest players in that list would be the equals of what we now have that is about as far as you might go.

Already there is a tendency among the pundits to put this result down to Man U being a poor team, playing badly. That suits their agenda of Van Gaal being a failure but that disregards that Man U came into this fixture off the back of an away win at Liverpool, last week, and according to the league table there are only 4 teams in the Prem with a better record at this stage of the season. Football is not just about attack, it's also about defending and midfield control. Saints were set up to prevent Man U playing to the best of their ability and succeeded in doing that, before going on to take advantage of the frustration that caused as the game went on. This result is all to credit of RK and the Saints' players and shouldn't be attributed in any way to a failure by LVG. Its just that on the day, his team were the second best.

How sad to see Arsene Wenger behaving like a spoilt brat in his MotD interview claiming all four goals were 'discussable', while failing to mention that Saints' actually had the ball in the net 6 times as well as hitting the post. His a team were thoroughly outplayed but all he could admit was that he team should have won a few more tackles while blaming the ref for the result.

Just as well that decisions on players are taken by management and professional coaches at the club and not by the fans.

My vote is for 4 points but 5 wouldn't surprise me. What would surprise me is if some of the dire predictions of 3 defeats were to occur.

Mourinho - is he a suitable case for treatment? A man in his position should not have lost his temper so spectacularly at the first match against Swansea or treated the club doctor so badly but his behaviour continued to appear irrational, as shown by his statements after Saints' beat Chelsea 3-1. If Chelsea, as a club, gave their manager the advice and support he needed to calm his behaviour and he failed to accept it, then dismissal was inevitable. If they did not, the club would have to share the blame for how things have gone. An apology after the Eva Carneiro incident saying his outburst was just in the heat of the moment could have changed everything.

There does seem to be a lesson to be learned - which is that the players need more advice on when and how to take a shot on goal and need to practice shooting on target when under pressure. I'm sure Koeman and the coaches know that far better than any of us fans. It's stating the obvious to say that yesterday was a bad result, whereas I wouldn't say that about the defeats to Stoke, Man City, or Liverpool. Stoke and Man City are looking like better teams than Saints, whilst we would not have let so many goals in against Liverpool if that had been a league game. But we should have been several goals clear of Aston Villa by half-time from the possession and chances. And the goal conceded was very poor defending. This could be the first season in 5 or 6 years that we will not have improved our league position at the end of the season. If so, that would be quite a defining moment but there is still time to do something about it.

It is possible to feel some sympathy for the Chelsea manager. On MotD, the TV camera clearly showed the ball hitting the arm of a Bournemouth player who was flat on his back on the pitch and the Ref DID NOT give a penalty. When are referees going to understand that Chelsea must be awarded a penalty in every match to improve their chances of getting a result. I'm surprised the Chelsea manager doesn't winge about it more often in order to pressurise referee's into making more pro-Chelsea, decisions.

The size of the defeat is immaterial as the attempt to get back to 3-2 ended when we went 4-1 down and from then on there was no way back. It was conceding those three goals in the first half that really mattered. According to RK, Liverpool only had 8 shots on target from which 6 shots went in. That must raise a doubt over the goalkeeping so for once it does look like we badly need Forster back as soon as he is recovered. As for the result, personally, I'm not too bothered because the two-leg semi against Stoke would have been very hard and a distraction from the League and the FA cup. Even if we had got past Liverpool and Stoke, the prize would be a defeat by Man City in the final, so not much to look forward to.

I am saddened by the negative attitude of posters on here who fail to understand the support for our French neighbours being shown by the Premier League. If that atrocity had happened in London and the French Football League had shown their solidarity with us by playing the British National Anthem before football matches, I think many English people would be deeply moved. It is a shame that French people who read this thread will see such a poor response by some Saints' fans.

Back on the subject of injuries, the International break must be very welcome for once as it gives JRod and Shane Long a chance to recover and regain fitness. Without them available, RK's options have been limited. Still a good starting XI but the bench has looked light without one or both.

Of course referees get decisions wrong. They are human and they have to reach conclusions about incidents in a matter of seconds. Over time, and even over one game, errors will often even out. The unhealthy thing that seems to be happening at present, more than usual, is that some managers seem to be trying to intimidate referees into favouring their club. Mourinho has been accused of that with his claims of bias. It is perfectly acceptable for a manager to say he disagrees with a decision but that should not then be linked to accusations of favouritism or discrimination. The latest manager to have tried verbal bullying of a referee appears to be Tony Pulis. Swearing at a referee in the tunnel or after the game isn't going to change as decision, which suggests that the objective is to influence that official's future behaviour when officiating that club's matches. Or maybe, some football managers are just a bit thick and are in the wrong career. How refreshing that at Southampton, we have a thoroughly reliable and honest manager.

Sunderland are there for the taking. A change of manager doesn't change their squad which is clearly one of the poorest in the Division. If Allardyce is trying to change their playing style, that may well make things worse for them as they won't be used to a new way of playing, whereas if he leaves it alone, things will go on for them as before. Difficult situation for Sunderland and hard to see them improving. As for Saints, 7th against 19th, an easy away win.

RK has said he will start with his strongest XI today. It will be a surprise if we aren't 3 goals up by half time. This could be a very big defeat for Boscombe, especially given the players they are missing.

It may just be my sensitive Southampton bias showing, but it seemed to me that Liverpool (or their manager) got far more credit for the 3-1 win at Chelsea than Saints, or Koeman, did for Southampton's 3-1 at the same place. I seem to recall our win was said to be due to Chelsea's failings rather than Saints' performance, whereas against Liverpool, whilst the result has led to speculation about Mourinho's future, Liverpool are getting most of the credit for the result, with less focus on failing in the Chelsea team. I only saw the MotD highlights but from that it didn't look as if Chelsea played badly and there was an element of luck with at least 2 of Liverpool's goals. I did think there was some very good advice on MotD for Mourinho, from Ruud Gullit. Being humble when your team lose instead of constantly moaning, would do him a world of good. You can't really complain that your team lost because they had to play against 11 men, especially when one of your own players (Costa) should have been sent off for deliberately kicking an opponent in the chest while they were both on the ground. Interesting that Mourinho's rant against Dr Carneiro on the first day of the season seems to have set him on this road to destruction. Maybe, instead of considering a new manager, Chelsea should employ a psychologist to help out.

John Stones should be thanking Everton most sincerely for refusing his move to Chelsea. As for Mourinho, please, please, please, Mr Abramovich, please don't sack Mourinho. So many people are loving it very much and want it to go on and on and on... which rather proves that Mourinho was right when he said that people wanted to see Chelsea fail. They should stick with him; he could be just the man to get them back up out of the Championship.

Just noticed that Jack Stephens has played the full game for Middlesbrough at Old Trafford. Great night for him.

Please bring on the first XI for 2nd half.....

Chambers selection for England in 2014, immediately after his transfer to Arsenal wasn't a high spot of Roy Hodgson's managerial career. Blinded by the inflated transfer fee into giving an inexperienced player two caps, before realising his error. Doubt if Saints will ever get the add-ons to the transfer fee that would have taken it up to £16m but even so, you can't help smiling at Arsenal being taken to the cleaners.

Some in the media saying RK will rotate the squad tonight but that can only be speculation. RK tends to limit the changes he makes for the cups and this time he has the enforced resting of Mané, together with the unavailability of JRod and Long, so tonight's team is likely to be quite similar to last Saturday's starting line-up. My guess would be no more than three changes and a strong bench.