macca155

Grumpy about extra time, made me late for my curry. Great run out for the U21s, who equipped themselves well. There is some real talent there. Williams came on for the excellent Romeu and looked very good. Very strong in the tackle and always available. Oyekunle was equally a handful. Saints don't need to keep buying players, the future is right there under their noses. Bragg showed his class, keeping him out of the 1st team will be difficult now. The defence was really solid, Leicester struggled to get through. Took an overhead kick to score a goal. They really do have a lot of problems. For once Saints dominated midfield. Bragg, Williams, and Azaz really clicked at the end. Same old story though, not enough of an outlet up front. Archer missed his 2nd 6 yard sitter of the week. Another good win, into the draw we go

There's real quality there, just look at how the U21s are playing. Williams is knocking at the door, and like Sesay will no doubt grab any opportunity. O'Brien Whitmarsh was highly fancied before his injury, so it will be good to see him on the pitch at some point. Romeu better be up to speed, otherwise he needs showing the door. No Robinson which is a surprise

What a mental league 8 teams separated by 3 points. Well after that we're right in the mix. I need to lie down

That is class what a half he's had. COYS

No that didn't happen

Lot of broken tea cups in the away dressing room

OMG what a game

Manning !!!!

Day ruined

No issues with Archer being selected, one advantage of Armstrong leaving is it opens up a space for him. I've always thought he was a sharper player than Armstrong, but for some reason he hasn't really clicked. He either responds positively or will quickly drop down the pecking order. No Bragg again, What's going on there. Hopefully see him week Saturday.

We mustn't forget the lad is exceptionally talented. Game changing players like him are very rare. Everton paid for the potential, but seem to have forgotten their responsibility to nurture that talent. Particularly as he is quite introverted and in need of a gentle touch. RM was good at that, it certainly isn't Moyes's style. Now they have a broken player on their hands. They should have paid less, but arranged a loan back to Saints. The one place he was comfortable with. Both teams would have been winners. Both Chelsea and City are good at loaning youngsters, and retaining those that live up to their billing. It seems a good model.

No Bragg for the U21s so he may be in contention if Downes is unfit. I'm not sure Charles is a Downes replacement, nowhere near the energy levels.

It's a pretty tall order, 9 wins (or equivalent) the very minimum. If they can get some momentum, the gap will shrink pretty quickly, and the other teams will be wary of Saints. Good news is Saints are hitting a run of fixtures against sides below them in the table. QPR the exception. They should be able to get some form going with those games. Then its Coventry, Ipswich, Wrexham, and Derby. That's where the season will be defined. Probably not worth even thinking about it until Saints are knocking on the door. They aren't making up 15 points to the autos. I think we can be sure of that.

Fantastic header, any comparison with Downs ended.

Jack you aren't Maldini .... stop it

Watford focussing on cutting out the triangle balls. They've done their homework, working so far

As FF said SR dropped a massive bollock signing Downs and letting Ballard go. Ridiculous decision. Keeping both Archer and Armstrong was equally daft they are far too similar. Nobody sells a decent striker in January, unless stupid money is involved, or they are disruptive. We're loaning out our shit, no surprise others are trying the same trick. I'd say sell Armstrong, keep Stewart and Archer as the main strike force. Use the talent in the U21s as back up. Save the cash for the summer when there will be movement. Edozie is a natural replacement for Leo, use him. Main problem is Downs and BBD are still on the books. Going to have to get rid of them at some point.

We need Champions league form now but .... in this league once you hit a winning streak it tends to run on for a while. Coventry, Boro, and Ipswich have shown that Despite our jitters the team remains a force to be reckoned with, and Tonda seems to be learning fast. I can easily see Saints going on one of those runs, equally they could fall flat who knows. What we do know is that finally the formation seems to have been sorted, and players who have not been performing have been dropped. That in itself makes for a more cohesive team. A decent signing by Monday and it's game on. So with that in mind I'm going optimistic on this one Watford (H) win Leicester (A) draw Charlton (H) win QPR (H) win Sheff Weds (A) win 13 points from 15. The QPR game is the big one. By then teams will have worked out how to nullify our new tactics. That will be Tonda's big test.

I guess Azaz will be most people's choice for MoTM, and deservedly so, but the quality of defending from Stephens, and sheer hard work from Downes, really made a difference. Since his handbags at Pompey, Flynn seems to have been regenerated into the footballer we thought we had. Excellent game from him.

We're you watching in black and white ? Seemed pretty differentiated to me Agreed though the commentator was pretty spot on. Enjoyable watch

That's 3 penalties, THB dragged to the ground by his shirt

Excellent get in, pleased for Flynn

Dive from Azaz , defender pulled his leg away Edit Just seen the replay from a different angle , blatant contact should be a Pen

What a pass from THB that was fantastic. Well finished and I'm glad Stewart left that, as he was coming from an offside position. Not sure if that would have counted but sensible anyway. Great goal

But we've been dog shit, things have to change