Matthew Le God

My mistake, Barnard broke this rule... A goalkeeper is considered to be in control of the ball: • while the ball is between his hands or between his hand and any surface (e.g. ground, own body) • while holding the ball in his outstretched open hand • while in the act of bouncing it on the ground or tossing it into the air

For what offence though? The keeper only had it in one hand and Barnard only touched the ball.

I'm still unsure why Barnard's goal in the first half was ruled out. Keeper has the ball in one hand held away from his body. A player runs up from behind him and heads the ball out of his hand (not touching the keeper) and then kicks the ball into the net. Fast forward until 3:35, the incident is then shown from numerous angles. http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/articles/20110110/all-angles-covered-saints-2-0-blackpool_2264122_2263254/0,,10280~2263254~1,00.html Is the referee right to award a free kick? I can't understand what Barnard did wrong, as the keeper only had it in one hand and Barnard didn't touch anything apart from the ball. Is there really something in the rules of football that say this is wrong or has the referee made it up?

18 minutes of highlights now on Saints player.

TBF Davis' kicking isn't great either.

Lallana, Puncheon and Guly may not be the fastest, but are certainly not slow by any means.

As I said earlier...

Man Utd since 1960 have been far better than Man City (or indeed pretty much every other team bar maybe Liverpool). Thus they have progressed further in the FA Cup meaning it is more likely if Saints go on a cup run they will draw them at some point than a side that rarely progresses to the later rounds of the FA Cup in the last 50 years.

Why accept an offer so quickly? If Cortese has large funding behind him and will be spending money anyway then it makes no sense to cash in on Chamberlain. Bale ended up going in a similar deal and is now being talked about as a potential £30m - £40m player. In the past Saints have never been in a financial position where it didn't matter if bids were turned down. It would seem the club may well be in that position now for the first time in its history. Chamberlain still has 2 and a half years left on his deal, he shouldn't be going anywhere.

That Sky article is wrong and has taken quotes from a longer interview out of context and patched them together. Adkins said those things about Lallana, watch Saints Player and you will see the full interview where he says ""He's a marquee player. He's a joy to watch. His attitude is tremendous. He's signed long term, he's committed himself, for me he is a magnificent signing", all in reference to Lallana and not Guly. When Guly signs it will be on the OS, they have no reason to keep it a secret. Guly's loan runs out on January 23rd according to Adkins so he may not sign until after that point (and if his partner is allowed into the country).

I don't think it has been mentioned, but Nigel Adkins was due to play Man Utd in the League Cup with S****horpe but missed out on it as he moved to Saints a couple of weeks before the game. He now gets his chance.

£30 I think for adults.

A point which didn't take into account the effects of supply and demand. 28k home tickets will all be sold vs Utd soon after going on sale, with many left disappointed without tickets so the price can be higher as I'm sure Man Utd would want as well. Saints were never going to sell 31k home end tickets vs Shrewsbury no matter what the price.

I'm glad Dune isn't running the club...

Remember only 28,000 Saints fans can get tickets as there will be 4,000 Man Utd fans. Those 28k tickets will sell out very fast (especially if the 14k season ticket holders are given a +1)

Dune is also forgetting Man Utd get a large share of the gate. They will know that Saints could sell out the stadium with £30 tickets and still have many people unable to get tickets, so why would they agree to lower? Both teams decide together the pricing structure. As long as I get 1st option on my season ticket seat and a +1 seat before they go on general sale, I'l be happy.

There is a difference though. I wouldn't pay £30 to watch Saints vs Shrewsbury, but I would to watch Saints vs Man Utd. As a lot of other people would as well and Saints will have more people wanting to go then they have seats at St Mary's. Supply and demand...

Unlikely Saints would play that way if the opposition were playing with width. Adkins knew Blackpool would play their usual 433, which is very narrow.

Brighton vs Pompey The man leaning against the back of the dugout is Gus Poyet. Brighton have missed a number of penalties recently, including that one against Saints. So he couldn't bare to watch. Brighton scored this time...thankfully

Blackburn vs QPR 10k Bolton vs York 13k Bristol City vs Sheff Weds 11k Burnley vs Port Vale 9k Coventry vs Crystal Palace 8k Fulham vs Peterborough 15k Hull vs Wigan 10k Reading vs West Brom 13k Sheff Utd vs Aston Villa 16k Stoke vs Cardiff 18k Sunderland vs Notts County 17k and... Southampton XI (8 changes from last league game) vs Blackpool Reserves (9 changes from last league game) = 21,464 Only West Ham and Arsenal had higher so far in the FA Cup 3rd round. Which considering Saints have a League One team and we all knew Holloway was bringing the kids and reserves from Blackpool just shows the fanbase size of this club compared to others.

It was more 4-3-1-2 with Lallana and then Guly behind the front two and the three midfielders behind them quite narrow.

Something for Lallana's Spanish roots instead?

Still two and a half years left on Oxlade-Chamberlain's contract.

Lots of Lallana songs then tomorrow.