Professor

Unable to go to he game due to ill-health. Enjoyed watching on line but a shame it was so close..... Apparently Robbie Fowler couldn't understand why people were contacting him on Twitter!

At least we can look forward to an apology from the officials for wrongly denying Southampton a goal.

Addictions are hard to overcome. I'm addicted to football and desperately wish I wasn't as money has made the game thoroughly sick, but I just can't walk away from it. I don't know much about cocaine though, whether it is addictive or just a drug of choice. But with a lucrative career in football depending on being drug-free the stupidity of players who do this is really amazing.

Can't see Gazzanega ever reaching Prem standard. Today was his opportunity to impress and he did the opposite. Unimpress.

I gained the impression during Ronald's press conference that he thought there was an element of end of term syndrome causing performance to drop. That would make sense as it seemed that the team upped their effort against Sunderland when they were reduced to 10 men, as if that made them refocus. Thing is, will a talking-to have made any difference if the players are in holiday mood?

Feel sure they will get promoted but not sure whether it will work out well for Eddie Howe. Can't see them surviving in The Premier League and poor young Eddie is likely to get the blame. Totally unreasonable but it usually happens so he could be out of a job by this time next year.

Toby Alderweireld; Filip Djuricic, and Eljero Elia are all due to return to their respective parent clubs when their loans finish at the end of the season. Like most fans, I hope the club are able to take up the option of converting Alderweireld's loan into a permanent transfer although the decision probably lies with his club, Atletico Madrid. Neither Djuricic nor Elia appear to have made a great impact. It could be argued that opportunities have been limited but that suggests neither have made a huge impression on the manager or the coaches. Keeping Toby would be a major coup but I suspect it will be Goodbye to Filip and Eljero.

Davis has been good for the team but he's in a position where we could improve. Id like to see the club recruit a new attacking midfielder with a goal scoring record. Whether Davis should stay as cover and competition, would for me depend on his resale value.

From Saints' first choice back four, Clyne, Aldeweireld, Fonte and Bertrand, I would not have had Bertrand ahead of the other three for this accolade. I don't mean that he doesn't deserve it but so do the others. Clearly the people responsible for this selection wouldn't pick all four and it's Ryan who has got it but it rather makes a mockery of these subjective awards.

Contact is immaterial because the diving player will manufacture the contact. Players like Mane do this by initiating contact through trailing a foot against the defender and then pretending to trip. In other sports, cheating can result in a life ban. It's long overdue for the football authorities to take strong action to eliminate cheating by retrospective action against the cheats.

Agree entirely. I doubt that Koeman will be keen to embarrass the player by going public on this but I'd be interested to see how he would reply if the question was asked at a Press Conference. If we see Mane staying on his feet in his next game it might indicate that he's been spoken to but it also needs him to take notice.

Why on earth doesn't the club employ ART as Assistant Manager (Substitutions)? Every Little Helps...

Good game and a fair result, although if anyone should have won it should have been Saints. Both Davis' must be kicking themselves, Steve for his abysmal shooting and Kelvin for not being Fraser Forster. The other disappointment is Mane. Good as he is he ruins it for me by his blatant cheating. I want Saints to win by being the better team, not because a player has got a free kick or a penalty by diving. Ultimately its no help to the team if genuine fouls go unpunished because a player has got a reputation for simulation and neither is it any help if he gets sent off for cheating. Koeman should have a serious discussion with Sadio if he is to be retained for next season.

If a journalist offers a player a fee for an interview you can hardly blame a player who might be struggling along on a measly £45,000 a week, to agree to talk to the journalist for a few quid and say 'yes' to a few leading questions. You only have to see the players turning up for training in their Renault Meganes and Nisan Primeras to realise how badly they need the money.

Can't agree that he's not ready when he was ready enough a year ago to get a string of substitute appearances in the Premier League and to score a goal. I'm not sure I'd prefer him over Shane Long who is an incredibly hard-working player but maybe they could both be on the pitch at the same time if Sam came on as sub for Pelle.

I was there - travelled down from Oxford where I was working at the time. Malcolm Alison was a huge celebrity then and was loved by the press. I recall seeing the Crystal Palace coach (motorised variety) arrive at the ground with Alison on board wearing the Fedora that he was using as a trademark. Although we didn't score until the second half, I don't think any of us fans doubted that we would win but the euphoria when we did was fantastic.

I do feel sorry for Steve Bruce. It looks very likely that his team will be relegated this season. Frustrating for him as he knows that its not his fault. The problem lies with referees who keep making decisions that don't favour his side and he is having to pit his team of 11 up against 11 opponents. If only they could play against 10 men instead of 11, things could be different.

I wonder if leaving Clyne out yesterday was a response to his refusal to sign a contract extension but good as Aldeweireld is, he is no Clyne so I suspect Koeman will reinstate Clyne. If so, I imagine the usual back four will be used with Yoshida moving to the bench. JWP is the usual first choice cover in midfield so he will probably be in for Victor with the front four unchanged.

You wouldn't think Shane saved Ireland from the remarks attributed to Martin O'Neill in the BBC Report. According to those remarks, Wes Hoolahan's contribution through the 90 minutes was crucial and bringing on James McClean in the 68th minute helped their efforts. All Shane did was to come on 7 minutes from the end and score the gaol but O'Neill was 'delighted' with the team! Could this be a manager who didn't want to admit that Long should have been on from the start?

We shall soon discover whether Koeman thinks Gazza or Cropper are good enough. They should be as you wouldn't expect players to be kept here if they don't have first team potential. Artur returns at the end of the season so maybe there is some scope there.

Don't really agree with the criticism of Mr Hodgson. I'm sure he has the makings of being a good manager. If England give him time and stick with him for a few more years I feel sure he'll get the hang of it.

Refs are not wrong as often as the talking heads on MotD would have the viewers believe. When the ex=-players expound their so called 'wisdom' they frequently talk about whether there was 'contact'. There must be fans who now think that there can't be contact between players in the area without a penalty being awarded. But referees know better. They know the 10 offences for which a direct free kick, of if in the area, a penalty, may be given and that for 7 of those offences the referee must consider that defaulting player was careless, reckless or used excessive force. Football is a contact sport and the criteria for a penalty are the same as those for a free kick anywhere else on the pitch. The ref won't always have a clear view of an incident and he certainly won't be able to peer at half-a-dozen replays in slow motion from three different angles. But one thing is certain, that referee's opinions are independent and unbiased, not like the managers who criticise them having seen very little of the incident from up to some 50 yards away.

Having read the reports on here, it may be helpful that Gaston can't play against us in the next home game but I do wonder if loan players are healthy for the game by giving the loaning club an unfair advantage, not just against the loanee club but in relation to other teams where the borrowing club can play their strongest team.

Nothing 'stupid' about that question at all, as long as a person understands English. Improving or on the decline, seems clear enough but Pearson was being aggressive at any questions asked. Can't see him lasting in the job much longer but Saints' fans should look at that and see some indication of why he wasn't kept on at St Mary's.

Your wife doesn't understand you, in fact it seems she doesn't understand men or football at all. You may have to remind her that the wives of football fans can only ever be the second love of their man.