Professor

The disappointment in Koeman's post-match interview understandable. Pleased that is how he feels as he clearly knows where improvement is needed. He didn't show frustration because, as he said, it is still pre-season, some players are new to the team, and JRod is still regaining fitness. The goal conceded was poor. No one marking the Espanyol scorer - should have been Matt Targett but he'd had to cover for someone else in the centre but even then, a better keeper might well have saved the shot. On that evidence I doubt that Kelvin is still good enough to be the No.2, which may be good news for Gazzaniga.

How much game time Jack Stephens gets is really in his own hands now, and whether he can show that he has the natural talent. He made his league debut for Plymouth 5 years ago at 16 which shows he has natural ability and the extended contract shows that Saints' coaches must rate him but as others have said, not many CBs get a first team slot in the Prem at 21. A Boro fan may think he'll start off as 4th choice but it's likely he'll have opportunities to move up the order. If he does he'll know that he will have every chance of featuring for Saints next season.

With Stephens' loan to Middlesbrough having been confirmed, and given the comments by RK ahead of the Vitesse game about the possibility of bringing one or two more players in, another CB signing looks more likely now. The extended contract for Jack Stephens indicates they do think he has a long-term future here. It will be very interesting to see how well he performs in what should be a top Championship side.

Juanmi setting up Long for the third goal was a highspot. All this and JRod still to come!

As a former Saints' player our interest in what Rickie does with the dog days of his career ended when his contract ended. The years when you could rely on him to score in almost every game were fantastic, and it was incredible that he kept raising his game from L1 through to the Prem and even into the England squad but all of that is now history. When he was sold to Liverpool, it did seem to open the floodgates that allowed the other defectors to leave but in retrospect it now looks like good business to have got £4m for a player who was struggling to keep a place in the Saints' team and who would only get a place on the bench at his new club. If he does leave Liverpool common sense says he should make a move that gives him the most money as his time is running out, but I can't see that it matters at all to Saints' fans, where he goes.

Good to see a serious block of former Academy products with squad numbers.

I'm the last person to be ITK but I did believe what Les Reed was reported as saying in his interview - that we need a CB to replace Alderweireld and that the club does its business directly with any potential selling club to try to avoid conducting negotiations in the media spotlight. Whether we do sign a CB may also depend on how the coaches feel that Jack Stephens is coming along, as signing will relegate him down the order for another season. If Stephens is thought likely to make the grade he's coming to the age where he needs to be given a chance.

According to press reports over the last few weeks, van Dijk is an ideal transfer target for Norwich, but is subject to a swoop by Sunderland and a swoop by Swansea while Tottenham have joined the race along with Everton and Arsenal. One thing is certain. They can't all be right but they can all be wrong. After Van Dijk has played in the second leg of Celtic's CL qualifier on Wednesday we may hear more.

Seems to me that Jack Stephens is likely to get his chance this season which could avoid the need to sign a CB. There is time for him to be tested before the transfer window closes so I'm not expecting an early bid for Van Dijk but I'm sure Les will have his options open.

I blame Cortese. Making the players play in Liverpool/Man U/Arsenal colours a year or two ago probably turned the player's heads because they liked the shirts so much better than stripes.

As RK might say, its difficult because we don't know if we can retain Morgan, or sign Toby, so that's two places that might or might not need replacing but it's difficult because we don't have control over those decisions.

Unfortunately, CB Fry is on my ignore list so I only have the repeats of his posts by others to be aware of his contributions. The original CB Fry was a genuine sporting legend who, over a century ago, chose Southampton as the professional club to play for; sadly, the imitation, in talking up a northern club does little service to the original.

Surprised if the quoted fee is correct as I see Morgan as a fringe international, not first choice for France and short of world class. Replaceable and bearing in mind his record on Yellow cards a replacement might have better availability as the season progresses. Liked him, but it looks to be a good deal. What it does to the squad is entirely dependant on who takes his place.

Quite a few people have said they thought Clyne's game had deteriorated as the season went on. If he isn't quite the player he was last autumn, it's probably in his best interests to move now while a big wage packet is still on offer.

Another potential; star coming out of the Academy is something to celebrate, just as the club are, not to get all depressed and miserable about it. If we can believe the press, Callum has already had the opportunity to move his development elsewhere, although believing the press is a very big IF, but the fact is that by taking a two-year scholarship and undertaking to sign a contract on his 17th birthday in February, he, and no doubt his family, have made the decision that this is where he wants to be. As for whether he will move elsewhere in time, there are so many imponderable factors that it is pointless to speculate. We don't know what level of competition this club might be in in another 4 years; o one knows whether any of the super rich clubs will implode if a wealthy backer walks away, and new rules to create a more even playing field for clubs to hold on to their talent and compete fairly remains a possibility that some administrators do want to see. We have a great potential first team payer in Callum Slattery, just as we have in others such as Ryan Seagar. The production line is still flowing.

The days when travel to Europe was an expedition are long past. Many European airports are as easy to get to as Manchester or Newcastle so I wouldn't think the club feel it matters too much where they go, especially as The Netherlands is so close. I sometimes commute to Paris or Brussels for the day, which at one time would have been unthinkable.

Just read the on line reports of the match by the Daily Mail and The Guardian. From The Mail's report it didn't matter who Man City were playing as they only reported on, and photographed, one team. The Guardian, on the other hand has a well-balanced report that recognises the reality of the game, that City scored from a spectacular Lampard strike and that Saints remained in contention until the 87th minute. I'm pleased that I never waste money on buying the Daily Mail and this report has confirmed what a good decision that has been.

Back from the game. Thank you BA for easy travel. In the first half it looked to me as if only one team was likely to win and I'm afraid it wasn't us. City really did dominate the play and it was only due to determined defending and not a little luck that we were only one goal down at half time. I had a good view of Long's chance and it really was just a half chance as the defenders were closing him down and the shot he took which Hart saved was really his only option, so no fault of his. Second half more balanced but you could sense that City were content to be 1-0 up. The fact is that their squad is filled with talented, quality players and is virtually a world XI. To hold our own as well as we did and only lose 2-0 at their stadium was a credit to our players and coaches.

To CB Fry, a word of regret for upsetting you with my criticism of Lawro, who it appears has your respect. If you had read my post more carefully you would have seen that I was actually being critical of the BBC for continuing to employ him but your misunderstanding is understandable. I had no intention of giving personal offence and if any was given, I do apologise. PS. You are on my ignore list so I had to make a special effort to read your post, but I can't promise to do so every time....

Why the BBC continue to give licence-payers' money to Lawrenson is a mystery. All they get back is boring, opinionated, comments from the sort of scruffy individual you wouldn't want to be stuck next to at a match. It's shame they didn't dispose of him when they did away with that other pundit, the one who used to mumble in a scots' accent whose name escapes me. Like the Scottish one, Lawrenson played football back in the last century but while he's entitled to his opinions, it's hard to see why the BBC continue to inflict them on the TV audience. The only thing to the BBC's credit in relation to Lawrenson's match predictions is that they are compared against predictions by random, non-football celebrities which helps to demonstrate that he's about as expert as they are.

What can we take from the Arsenal draw at home to Sunderland? The obvious, of course, is that with second place assured, Man City now have nothing to play for on Sunday except their pride. But even if we win, Saints can only go up to 5th or 6th if Tottenham or Liverpool don't win their games. We can go above Tottenham if they draw (or lose) but Liverpool need to lose for us to have a chance to go above them. Otherwise we stay in 7th and entry to the Europa League depends on the Cup Final result. It's tempting to think that Arsenal are going to be easy winners in the Cup Final, and that our result against Villa tends to confirm that. But now we have Arsenal's result against Sunderland to increase the doubts. On top of that the old cliché I also true, that cup final is a once-off game and anything can happen (just as in 1976). To win on Sunday and still not move up a place would be terribly frustrating but Ronald has to fire the team up to go for that win with fingers crossed that one or both of the other results go in our favour.

Question: If you don't think Gazzaniga is a good keeper, just name anyone who is better...

This looks like good point. With two young CBs available for the squad Gardos is looking surplus to requirements. If the fee being talked about is correct that would be helpful money to boost the team elsewhere.

Palace winning at Anfield was totally unexpected and now we have this huge incentive to beat City. If Saints reach 63 point, Liverpool and/or Tottenham only stay above us if they win their games at Stoke and Everton. Clearly a strong possibility that one or both of those games will be a home win or a draw. If Tottenham, lose, then even a draw at City would move us up to 6th but getting above Liverpool would be fantastic after Roger's raid on our club last year. Last season petered out very tamely, but this couldn't be more different.

Sorry Charlie, but I don't think you can say a player was outstanding and still doubt that he was worth buying. Yesterday, Shane Long not only scored two goals but made two of Mané's three. His role in the third goal was world class. Long got the ball in his own half and deceived two Villa defenders with a clever flick between his legs. He then made a blistering run down the wing with a one-two on the way, ending with a pin-point cross for Sadio to put the ball in the net. My only complaint about Long is that he hasn't been given enough playing time.