Professor

I'd thought Gardos was our 3rd choice CB but not so sure now because Koeman brought Yoshida on as sub against Man City despite having Gardos on the bench.

Disappointing - Yes, but it looks like we may have to may have to accept that we are not a top 4 side after all. At least if you accept that, there's no point wrist-slitting. Lets just hope for the best that we can do, and who knows, maybe we won't lose these next two games...........

Shame about today with just one goal in the Arsenal and Liverpool games. Another reminder that luck plays a big part. We are a better team than the ones that have run all the 'big' clubs very close so we should remain optimistic as long as we don't lose more players to injuries. Having Steven Davis and JWP both out is good example of luck being against us, and we'll see tomorrow if Davis is fit. Getting JWP and Sam Gallagher back this month would be a great step forward and would have us in good shape for the Xmas games.

It was written by Chris Bevan of BBC Sport. Says so at the end of the article. Still no evidence that Robbie Savage can write.

If the Mirror link Southampton to virtually every European player who might potentially move, there's still no certainty they will get it right. Les Reed plays his cards so close to his chest they are virtually inside his shirt.

Apart from the lottery numbers, for which thanks, its really useful to have the time of the second Man C goal as the team now know they have to keep possession during added on time to change the outcome.

Mané was bought as the fast wide player we needed, but not sure he should start every game. Long could better in the starting XI but Koeman admitted that playing Long out of position didn't work. With JWP injured we don't have cover for Steven Davis unless one of the Academy boys could be moved up. Dom Gape not even making the bench yet he seems an obvious one to be grooming in the absence of JWP and Mané as the impact sub.

If Forster had not made the mis-judgement that gifted Villa their goal, the game would have been quite different and very likely our goal would have come sooner. A timely reminder though, that football has one important element that you can't influence - Luck.

Saints got 64% possession but a Villa player is given the MoM award (puke)

Hope Fraser Forster is called in for a stern interview Dave Watson at the earliest opportunity. Words of advice needed. Probably just me, but did I detect a Villa bias in the Sky commentary and noticed that it was Villa players called in for the first post-match interviews.

All through the autumn, pundits have been pointing to the 'tough run of games' pre-Xmas. Soon we shall see. But as we get closer this period doesn't look as tough as it once did with some of the teams we're due to play having struggled in recent matches . One obvious thing is that until we play Chelsea, none of these games are against teams that are currently above Saints in the table. With the gap between us and 4th place it is possible that this could remain true despite some defeats or draws. As the table stands ahead of the Villa game we are due to play teams in the following league positions:- 17; 2; 8; 4; 19; 9; 15 and then home to Chelsea at 1. Chelsea's run looks easier at: 14; 10; 5; 16; 11; 6 and then away to Southampton, currently at 2 Game by game we'll see what develops, but if we really are second on merit we could still be there come the Chelsea game. On the other hand if we start slipping up, well, let's not go there.... If the 28th Dec is Second at home to First, that will be a hell of a match. In the meantime , there is the little matter of playing away to Villa tonight and then 3 games in 9 days from Sunday. I'd still call that tough.

Let's be grateful that Gaston is out on loan, but the downside is that he's making himself harder to off-load for any reasonable fee. You can't allow yourself to be provoked because that plays into the hands of the opposition. You must hope the ref will protect you and usually he will but if you try to punish the player yourself, sending-off and suspension is inevitable.

Its not all bad for Liverpool, though. Rickie has lived his dream and scored for the club he loves. Dejan was only 3 goals off a clean sheet, and when Adam was subbed in the 72nd minute the score was still 1-1 so it wasn't his fault. And Liverpool are still 4 points above the relegation zone. It's a good thing the Sale of Goods Act doesn't apply to footballers, otherwise Liverpool would be asking for their money back.

Sorry for not making it clear. Football should be about winning within the rules of the game. There is no place for cheating in sport but money now dominates football so all that matters is the result by fair means or foul. In some other sports, cheating is severely punished, even with life bans but in football we have commentators who fail to take it seriously at all. That rubs off on amateur players and young footballers to the detriment of the game.

That's your football expert for you. I asked 'Bloke in the Pub' why Southampton are doing well and he said:- team packed with full international players; virtually same team every week; a top coach with experience at the highest level; a system of playing that all the players understand. Maybe Sky should employ Bloke in the Pub because he seems to know as much, if not more, about football than Merson and I suspect he would be cheaper.

The depths to which football has sunk in relation to diving was highlighted after the Wilshire headbut on Fellani. The MOTD commentator said that if Fellani had 'gone down' then Wiltshire could have been sent off. The BBC should be more responsible that allow their commentators to effectively condone cheating. Another cheating incident in that game was Shaw pushing an Arsenal player in the penalty area to stop the attacker getting to the ball. A clear foul and therefore a penalty, but no coverage of the incident by MOTD in the post-match analysis.

If Schneiderlin and Davis are unable to play on Monday, we have the midfield cover but who do people think would come onto the bench if Long, Mané and Cork are all in the starting Xi?

No, No. No. No. It does matter!!!!!! To close the gap above and to widen the gaps below is not just down to our results but depends on the results of the others. Getting 'enough' points won't work because we don't know how many is enough. We need rivals to get less than us.

Lawrenson's problem is that he's still making predictions based on what he thinks of as THE BIG CLUBS. Of course Saints could lose or draw at Aston Villa but so could Chelsea lose or draw their game with WBA. Fact is that between any two clubs, all three outcomes are always possible in a ione-off game which is why there are results that don't reflect form. Its the luck element in football. But Lawrenson is promoted as being an 'Expert' so he shouldn't be guessing on the basis of luck. He might just as well have put Chelsea down to lose - after all West Brom beat Tottenham away, so why not Chelsea? His predictions are not based on logic so apart from the opportunity it gives to slag him off, the whole thing is pointless.

When I first read this in Saint1977's post, that Boruk can now be recalled at any time I felt much better as GK cover was our weak spot, as it was last year. Like most people, I feel our strength in depth is much improved but it was Boruk's broken hand and having to use Gazzaniga that contributed to our pre-Xmas slump in 2013. The cover this year is even better than if Boruk was not out on loan, because he is getting match practice every week in a decent Championship side.

Its not entirely unusual for some criminals to think they are innocent but Evans needs to accept that the Jury did not agree with him and neither did the Court of Criminal Appeal when it rejected his appeal in 2012. That's why he's been in prison for the past 2 and a half years. But there is a system, so what he should have done, is stay away from football while the Criminal Cases Review Commission deals with his request for them to look at his case. In the meantime there are other jobs he could do to earn a living like any other released prisoner. He is a convicted rapist who has only served half of his sentence and instead of keeping his head down by training in private, he has dragged the name of Sheffield United through the mire.

Has anyone done any real analysis on the atmospheric pressure when we win, lose or draw? Would be about as relevant. Sky, and other broadcasters, mostly pick the games featuring their favoured 'Big Clubs' so Saints' games on TV have mostly been when playing against Man City, Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal, etc and usually away. If the form book has changed so that Saints are the form team when the games are broadcast, the results are more likely to reflect that. Remember as well, that TV cameras are there for every Premier League game, so all that changes from being shown live is the time of KO.

I feel sorry for the decent Sheffield United fans who have had the good name of their club dragged through the mire. I like to think it could not have happened here. You only have to look back to 2008 when Nathan Dyer pleaded guilty to taking part in the theft of mobile phones at a night club. He had a light sentence for a comparatively minor offence - just 60 hours community service and a fraction of a week's wages in compensation - but Southampton moved him on as soon as they could. I'm proud to have long supported a club that has high standards, on and off the pitch, regardless of who is in charge. Even if Sheffield United now bow to the inevitable and accept that the high profile role of being a professional footballer is not a suitable job for a convicted rapist the damage to their reputation is already done.

I've been shocked by what looks to me like a substantial change of personal image and style by Pochettino. At Southampton he seemed to me to look cool, calm, collected and confident. At press interviews, although the translator gave the reply, you always felt that MP was listening to the questions in English and knew what his response would be even before the question was translated into Spanish. At Tottenham, its not just the simplistic way that he tends to struggle with the interviews, but he now looks rough and unkempt by comparison to last year and with a poorly performing team his confidence has deserted. It wasn't unreasonable for Tottenham to think that in his second year in England he should have mastered the language and having dispensed with the translator they can hardly bring one back, but it is looking like a mistake.

A jury - that is T W E L V E adults - listened to the E V I D E N C E - presented on both sides and concluded that Evans was G U I L T Y - beyond any reasonable doubt. And yet there are a few people posting on here who suggest that because they have read a few headlines, they know better than the Jury. OMG. Even if Sheffield United stop digging the hole they are in, its going to take a lot of effort now to fill it in.