Professor

Don't know about Goa, but it's certainly making me think we don't need to add to the squad now. The relevant people in the club must be wondering if new signings would only be a distraction and could have more of a negative effect. The one piece of business I'd like to see is Goa taking his money and going. The only contribution I recall him making was the disruption to pre-season by his demand that the manager and some players went on that pointless trip to China.

Tremendous performance at Chelsea. His goal had it all, speed, fitness, a clever turn and perfect strike. Still only 19, so bags of potential. Although he's chosen to use his birth in Dublin to commit to the Republic of Ireland internationally, he's as British as any child of immigrant parents, brought up here. Effectively, he's a 21st century Londoner. The decision of the club to attract him from Leyton Orient is proving to have been an extremely good one, especially with all the London clubs that missed him. Alongside Danny Ings, Michael is looking like he could be part of a truly effective striking partnership for the second half of the season. The competition from Shane Long and Che Adams can only make him try even harder.

Didn't see the game but listened on the Radio Solent feed and then watched MOTD. It was like two different matches. Saints' control of the game was very clear fr4om the commentary, but wasn't apparent on TV because the 'highlights' had to include the few efforts Chelsea actually had on goal. Viewers could have been left with the impression of a more balanced match than it was, whereas the audio feed had given us growing confidence of the win, as the game the went on. As for the team, so many individuals seem to be performing beyond expectations. Stephens looking so assured and not making the silly mistakes that crept in earlier in the season. Armstrong becoming a revelation in midfield, now the Stephen Davies dynamo we have missed. Obafemi becoming a true goal threat and I still haven't mentioned Redmond. You boys were one hell of team yesterday.

After being critical of Stephens, it was great to see his passion after the result against Norwich. Couldn't ask for more commitment

The title of the thread and the OP say it all. We have an exceptional player in Boufal so why leave him on the bench for half the game or more? Would Liverpool use Mane as an 'impact sub'? Don't be silly. You put your best players on the pitch for 90 minutes, Mr Hassenhuttl; you really shouldn't have to be told, you know, but now you have been, on Wednesday, 'Get it Right!'

Did the ball just bounce off Stephen's thigh, so it wasn't his fault that it fell to the Watford No. 23, giving him a clear path to goal? I don't think so. But if it was poor that Stephens failed to control the ball that came to him first, what seems to be worse, is that Stephens took the long way round by going outside of Sarr and then failed miserably to match the forward for pace. If only we had an experienced, international, Centre Back in the squad who could replace Stephens. Someone not only good enough to play for his country but experienced enough to captain his international team. If Southampton had a player like that, it would be so much better than the hapless Jack Stephens. But what's the use of dreaming. Hasenhutttl can only pick the players he has.......

The accusation that the club has had a policy of selling players on at a profit is pure fantasy. Players are free to decide for themselves if they will accept a new contract and how much effort they'll put into their game. Lallana, Mane, Shaw, etc., made their own decisions to move to clubs such as Liverpool or Man U where they could expect to win trophies during their career and bolster their international opportunities. Southampton cannot match those prospects or pay the kind of wages that players receive at the one of the high spending clubs. The attempt to prevent Lovren and then Van Dijk moving, showed that a player can force a move simply by going through the motions on the pitch until picking him to play is pointless. These attacks on the club we all love by people who claim to be supporters are very sad.

Fans must be tired of the manager revolving door that hasn't produced any positive outcomes, unless hanging on in the Premier League by the thinnest thread, is acceptable. The evidence of managers coming and going throughout football, sometimes with successful seasons and sometimes not successful must show that a lot of other factors determine results apart from the manager. Hassenhuttl has all the right skills but what he doesn't have are enough players who are good enough. It's comparatively easy to sack a manger, just one person, and maybe support staff whereas to replace the playing squad is a major problem and possibly not achievable in a short timescale. Already we have players registered with the club who are deemed not good enough to play here, but the club can't dispose of them. Realistically, it might take about 4 or 5 new players of proved quality to transform this teams results. Let's be honest. It isn't going to happen. Players not good enough for us aren't going to be sold on easily, so we could just end up with more dead wood. The players we need aren't going to be available in the £15m price range, which seems to be where the club has done most of its shopping. Can't really see what the club can give Ralph in the January window that is going to make any difference. This looks more and more like the relegation season, much as we fans might find that hard to believe and hard to take. If we are still in the bottom three at Christmas, I doubt if I'll go to another match this season, because its just too depressing to see the team representing my club getting such poor results at home. Sorry Ralph, I know you're trying but polishing a pile of glass has never turned it into diamonds.

My thoughts also, in fact, intentionally or not, the headline over this story was misleading because it gave the impression of a meaningful financial gesture. If all they are donating is 1/365th of a players annual wage, for a lot of fans that would be less than £100 and for many people, a lot less. More important is the report that the club plan changes in the playing staff in the short-term as well as the long term. Limited by the inability to make signings until January, the short-term doesn't seem to offer many opportunities unless there is an unnoticed star or two in the Academy. Maybe it's time for Christian Klarer and Callum Slattery to be given their chances but surely, the truth is, some significant January spending is needed if FFP and the budget will allow it.

You weren't and aren't correct. The infantile approach of 'let's sack the manager' doesn't add a single player of better quality to the squad. It's the standard Blame Game so beloved of the more intellectually challenged followers of the game and of Sun readers. Anyone whose memory stretches back beyond the last match will know that all through the close season there was a clamour from supporters for the club to deal with weaknesses in defence. It didn't happen, with the need to sell players first, being stated as the obstacle. If that obstacle arises from FFP, that's one thing, but if it's finding the money, financial common sense says it's better to borrow if necessary, rather than sink into the Championship or below. One thing that certainly can be surmised from the current situation, of expensive players on the books who aren't considered to be good enough for the squad, is that the departure of Ross Wilson now looks like a positive event.

Best decision I made was not to go tonight. The impact on goal difference of this result is equal to another lost point. The only escape from relegation is to spend in January on several established players but would anyone with ambition come here? Relegation looks certain and after just fluking avoidance in recent years it’s not even a surprise.

My confidence in Ralph is, or was, based on what he has said more than on what he has done. Some manager stability would be a nice thing, but that's much easier when you have an obviously successful man in the job, such as Eddie Howe, down the road. We do have some quality players in a decent squad but as a team, they aren't performing to the expected level, at least, not all of them. Dropping Adams at Tottenham, was IMO the right thing although sticking with Vestergaard after the pre-match loss of Cedric was questionable. I can't see what Ralph is doing wrong, which is why he's a professional football coach and I'm not, but surely he should be able to see what's wrong, and more crucially, put it right. He says the right things in his post-match assessments and appears very frank and honest in the press conferences but he's going to be judged on deeds more than words, and specifically more on results than anything else.

I like Ralph, as a I think, do a majority of Saints' fans, but he doesn't seem to know his best team. Bertrand is our best left back and was fit, otherwise he wouldn't have been on the bench. Cedric is a European championship winner and Yoshida is captain of Japan. They should be the first three names on the team sheet. Danso was bought as a CB. so it should be a matter of him or Bednarek com[letting the back four. Romeu is a given at DFM as is Højbjerg. Redmond and Boufal pick themselves from performances leaving only two spots in the strike force. Djenepo is another cert and since Adams has yet to deliver at this level, the other spot must be Danny Ings. Of that eleven, only Djenepo wasn't available yesterday, giving Adams his place, but the rest of yesterday's selection was down to Ralph. It was a mistake and even if he learns a lesson I still wish we had been able to get Eddie Howe here.

For managers like Wilder it’s understandable that results are all that counts. Winning within the rules of the game doesn’t matter when your excessively over-paid job depends on getting points by fair means or foul. Wilder has bleated to the press that the ball hitting JWP’s arm in a crowded penalty area should have given his team a clear shot from 12 yards out is ludicrous. But that’s not what the laws of the game provide. You don’t get a penalty for the ball simply hitting an arm and it would be madness if they did. Next time it happens to one of Wilder’s players, he’ll be the first to say it’s not a penalty. The pressure on managers to make excuses when their team loses is one of the sicknesses in the game, with money the route cause.

Incorrect to say Adams didn't take his chances early in the game. Both shots were on goal, subject to one just hitting the upright, while the downwards header was only stopped by a fantastic save. As for the claim of handball, against JWP, no luck was involved. The ref had it right, in accordance with the new handball rules. That is confirmed by VAR not intervening, which, as a penalty decision, it had the power to do. Some, so called fans, would do better supporting the team instead of looking for excuses to be critical;.

A disappointment for me was that I didn't recognise my team in yet another bastardisation of the club shirt. Sticking a couple of white oblongs on the front of a red and black shirt does not amount to red and white stripes. Hadn't realised until today how, that from the back, the shirts could belong to any team with solid red colours. And that's not Southampton. The shirt scam, where fans are supposed to fork out for over-priced variations every year, has become a scandal. My advice to fans would be to buy a simple red and white striped shirt instead of being fleeced for even more cash to watch players who are already earning more in a day than most of us earn in a year. Sorry if this is the wrong thread for this comment but it is how I felt after watching the game.

The optimism quickly turns back to depression with our squad, who look OK in training, but aren’t so good when faced with another team on the pitch. But why do people immediately try to allocate blame? Even if half the team aren’t good enough players can’t be returned to the seller and the club can’t spend money beyond its resources to replace them. The manager has to do the best he can with what he has.

In that case, I look forward to seeing what Dave can do with Djenepo.

Ralph should be congratulated on his new haircut. The shorter style suits him but also makes him look more professional. A very good job well done.

Sorry Northam but 'of' instead of 'have' makes my teeth grate. You can have a need but you can't 'of' anything. You're right that sending Adams with the group to China seems odd. Long and Valery might wonder why they've been sent as well when the first team are going to Ireland. Shame if this is politics over football because it's hard to believe that Ralph would have chosen to go to China over being with his players in Dublin. And he'll miss out on he craik!

I was optimistic when SFC signed Austin. His local links were in the tradition of our playing squad and he was talked about as being on the fringe of England selection. The fact is he didn’t perform at the level expected and he is well behind the other strikers at the club. It would be a waste of training resources to include him in the pre-season programme. If he doesn’t like it, he should try harder to find another club.

I'll be sorry to see Charlie go. Players with local connections have long been part of the Saints' appeal. OK, so in Charlie's case, Berkshire and Dorset might be a bus ride away but the language difficulties aren't as pronounced as they are for players from Africa and South America. The international talent is most welcome but keeping it mixed with locally developed players gives many fans a good connection to the club. I still support the decision to cash in if a decent offer is received, though. With Che coming in space up front is limited and it would have to be Charlie who would miss out.

There's a line between giving an opinion and being opinionated. The latter doesn't make for entertaining reading.

MEPs have no work to do and no responsibilities to represent the UK. Like Farage, he'll just be on a gravy train. .

Man City did not win the FA Cup, they bought it. That’s what the Premier League has come and as a competition for 20 clubs it’s a waste of time.