sandwichsaint

He can start from tonight then, it's a big ask but he'll never have a better chance of a trophy with Saints. We padded out the squad for a Europa campaign and most people think we now have more depth than before (though he/we would always like more) though possibly a slightly weaker starting X1 too. He has probs with Fonte and RB to contend with, beyond that he has a fit and partly rested squad. He needs to conjure decent performances from Wanyama/Bertrand/Mane that reflect their real ability. On our day we play some great stuff and are a match for anybody. He needs to stick to his job which is to pick the right team, call the right tactics, make the right subs. Together as one!

Rested Clasie, Tadic, Soares, and we also have an involuntarily rested Pelle to come back too; and kept the GD to -2, well played RK. Isn't this what everybody wanted for cup games?

If you read one thing today, read this piece. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/11/david-cameron-letter-cuts-oxfordshire Now tell me, are the Government merely incompetent or do they really not care? Looking at this exchange Cameron (or the lackey who actually wrote the letter) have absolutely no idea how their austerity plays out in real life.

School boy error, I though LVG was known for his thorough preparation?

Completely owned by MLG, not a good look.

Great thread, dream PL for me based on nothing more than 50 yrs of mainly hurt: Man U Arsenal Spurs Chelsea L'pool Everton Villa (why?) Leeds Wolves Forest West Ham (reluctantly, would rather have Palace) Man City Newcastle Ipswich (Bobby Robson, European nights, Portman Rd, CMFG) Derby Saints WBA That's 17 proper football clubs, the rest can argue it out amongst themselves for the other 3 places, Cardiff/Swansea Stoke Brighton Midds Sunderland Watford QPR Burnley Blackburn Fulham Cov Leicester

Where do you start? Really looking fd to the game but the optimsm barometer was sent spinning when hearing that KD was playing! WTF? Last time I wanted to ever see this guy was at the Etihad last season and he didn't let anyone down that day, A couple of worldies and an honourable defeat. Here's your watch, thank-you, and enjoy. Spin fd 6 months and we're playing a challenging-but-winnnable PL game at home to leicester chuffing City! Can't believe how many on here consider 2-2 at home to Leicester, after being 2-0 up, to be a decent result! Slow start from us and Leicester looking purposeful-but-limited, we've just won away at Chelsea, they've just been stuffed at home by Arsenal. We finally shake ourselves, decent corners for once, we're 2-0 up and cruising, Leics a shambles at the back and Saints looking set for a comfortable 3 points. Memo to Saints' backroom staff, all Leic have got is spirit, pluck, effort and more effort, they will throw the kitchen sink and then some. Match them and you win the game, you've got a two goal start, if you keep it to 0-1 second half (and you will have plenty of chances to extend your lead) you will take a relatively comfortable 3 points, all you have to do is match them: one-on-one, man-for-man, eye-for-eye. tooth-for-tooth. you close out the game. Simple? T-H-E-Y A-R-E- R-E-A-L-L-Y N-O-T A-N-Y-W-H-E-R-E N-E-A-R A-S G-O-O-D A-S- S-O-M-E O-N H-E-R-E A-R-E M-A-K-I-N-G O-U-T !!!! Really disappointed to see comments that they 'wanted it more than us'; move to Southampton, live the pre-dream, ride the tiger, move to a big club. Win enough games to ensure the fans stay onside, they'll always cut you some slack that lot. KD 2 nuff said Cedric 6 jury's still out but i think he will be alight Fonte 7 cracking finish, spiteful kick behind the knee from Vardy VVD, 6 (loving his) work in progress, a sort of Dutch Mark Wright, but he needs some to find some PL streets asap RB, WTF? 2 a game too far, prob his weakest ever Saints performance. Will get (much) better. VW 5, picked up a nonsense booking and some sort of hammy/groin problem, and really looked like he wished he was anywhere but here. JWP 7. I'm not feeling the hate, our most improved player this season. Mane 3, he just had one today Davis 7, usual stuff, we collapsed completely without him. Tadic 2, ok first half, totally anonymous second half Pelle 3, after the Lord Mayor's show, two stellar performance against MU and Chelsea, living the dream as Italy's number 9, back to reality today. Yoshida 6, usual, willing whole-hearted performance, i didn't see him do much wrong. Clasie 2, poor substitution, wrong player, wrong time, there's deep-end and there's drowning. JRod 2, why? wrong player, wrong time, We needed to stop Leic playing, protect the back 4 and keep the ball, J offered none of these options. Things can only get better, quick, someone tell me we were in lge 1 five years ago and we're lucky to have a team to support!

Did you watch the game? I'm not sure KD reached the halfway line with any kick in the game? Your's might be a good Plan B but I spot a massive flaw ... KD should've kicked beyond their CB's ... I'm sure he'd have loved to!

Just in, still fuming, 69 points down 'til someone nails it!

When I read the title and the basic resume I assumed the punchline was that the money grabbing barstewards had refused a refund. Imagine my horror when reading on whereby I discovered that the club had in fact refunded the money within a week, which goes well beyond anything they are obliged to do. Great work Saints, and I hope your dad continues to enjoy following Saints in whatever form that takes.

Zero chance that Pelle would let his hair go in goal nor would he allow his knees to get muddy.

Definitely VVD in a sort of rush goalie stylee, dribbling it out from the back to make the 11th man. And going up for every corner too, and heading it away rather than catching it, think he'd be a pretty good all round sub goalie. Or Juanmi, just to continue his beefing-up process.

That was kinda my point ...

Good to see that we are comfortably above Leicester on a weighted current-form table.

TORQUAY 2-3 DOVER ATHLETIC, Dover up to 4th in the Conference, a long way to go but Dover are traditionally slow starters, very solid in the middle third of the season, and then blow it on the run-in. Maybe this year they could bring Lge football to a place it's never been?

As per the 9 above, in the reality of 'game play' this shot isn't saveable. The GK has to cover a number of different (and more likely) options, a ball hit high and fast and dipping into the top left corner (going in via the post) is one option that he has to give the forward (on the basis that the keeper holds 90% of the cards). Stek facing that shot on the training ground can just about reach it (it's fast and it's high) but he can probably physically reach it. If Willian pulls out a finish with a difficulty of more than 1/10 he scores .. he did .. get over it.

Dover Brighton Wolves Ipswich Charlton West Brom Family and friends innit. I'm not sure that many people follow the results in a way that they once did (talking about my generation .. 'It's sports report...de dum de dum de dum de dum toody a doo te too!' ) That shared collective has gone, Sky rank 'champions league' group tables above Championship/Lge 1/Lge 2 on their app. I can honestly say I am not that aware of Champ/Div1/Div2 results unless I actively seek them out and I would consider myself a football fan of nearly 50 years standing....

When have we ever got the ball quickly to Pelle 'on the deck', is that likely against Chelsea's midfield? What's he gonna do, bend fd and trap it with his chest? Pelle has the turning circle of a supertanker and isn't a 'to feet' player. Why will we have an absent midfield? 3 from VW, Rom/SD/JWP are more than capable of DAJFU. Ideal scenario is to scrap and frustrate, score from a set piece/penno on 80 minutes and then battle to hang on. I predict heroics from VD (ooh), and Stek, hope Fonte is up for it, JWP to continue his recent performances, maybe an assist from Tadic. I doubt we will have time to breathe. let alone 'get runners around him'.

Confused, most of my friends are ****s, and i don't even have Facebook.

Forum gold, one man comparing another man's (hypothetical) choices of players to buy and sell on a fans' forum chat site to a computer simulation game.

Aren't people over-thinking this a bit? Mostly managers are either a) sacked (cos the team's doing poorly) or b) leave you in the lurch for a mega-money/spiritual-home type walk-out. I'm quite happy with c) we contract a manger who stays for three seasons, he shakes hands and walks away at the end of the contract, hopefully having left us in better shape than when he started (and we get fully 12 months to plan the succession).

Pictures? Is this the biggish guy that sits up towards the back of Block 39 and starts random songs, loudly, on his own? Wears a (tartan?) cap/tam'o'shanter type of thing on his head?

Agree, massive pressure on Fonte (again) and Wanyama; Pelle played really well yesterday (wish he would lose the attitude and the moaning at team mates tho, that's really not the Southampton way), Mane excellent yesterday, green shoots with JWP too, he has put in a decent shift in all of the last three games. Really fear for us if/when we lose Wanyame and Mane tho, black box seems to have lost it's way somewhat.

This season: we retained Wanyama, and added: Soares/Romue/Martina/Juanmi they retained De Gea, and added: Schweinsteiger/Schneiderlin/De pay/Martial. Fine margins yesterday, we were out-played/we stopped playing for the middle third of the game, there was an an off-side goal, a horrendous individual error and a ridiculous humiliation of a third goal, apart from all that we looked pretty good at times and their keeper was the man of the match. Funny old game football.

I'm not sure about a Hotpoint washer/dryer, we've always used a Filipino.