Charlie Wayman

Not watching very closely I'd say. Prowse gave them the first goal and Stevens got his feet in tangle and messed up his blocking tackle on Martial for the second.

It just shows what a good run in the side and a manager's belief in you can do. The way he has been treated over the last couple of seasons has been appalling.

They have better players we have a better team. There was always something in it for Saints but for sloppy errors from Ward Prowse and Stephens we would have taken all 3 points. The whole game was a bit lack lustre and after about 20 mins everyone seemed to be running on empty tanks. Two games a week every week is taking its toll on high pressing teams. The equaliser was no more than we deserved. Bertie was outstanding, playing like a man possessed. He's loving his football right now and it shows. What a superb block on Martial late on. Armstrong was below his best last night and we looked better and more balanced when he was replaced by Smallbone. Top marks too for Solskjaer who made no excuses post match and even took time to praise Saints.

Your attitude is perfectly understandable but the comfortable past can no longer be a guide to the future. The more one thinks about the realities of the situation, the more we come to appreciate how difficult and controversial it will be. The Club could set out some stands as double-seaters and others as singles and build safe distancing around them which will impact the total numbers able to attend. Remember 'though that whatever they do they will try to maximise the numbers they can fit in for financial reasons so there will be some midnight oil to be burned by modellers. I know they have done this sort of work for cinemas so those models might be adaptable to football grounds. Those successful in a ballot are unlikely to have any choice of where they sit: they might run a new ballot every week to allow more people to be involved but what a nightmare that would be to administer. If you really want to see the Saints in action best not to be too rigid in your mindset of rejecting options that don't suit you. My original point was in effect "why bother" with an exercise that would likely be loss-making anyway.

Fair enough, everyone will have to make their own call on this. One's chances of getting a ticket in a ballot may be only about 16% anyway so there is a bit of a safety net for even those who are prepared to risk it but may have second thoughts when the time comes.. The club will do their best to follow any guidelines the government's experts recommend but as we have seen across a broad spectrum of re-opening businesses the devil is in the lack of detail. No two stadia are the same so every club will be left with many practical decisions to be made locally like (say) removing all seats that are not to be occupied making safe access easier and mis-use more difficult etc, etc.. You need only to recall what happened on Bournemouth beach a couple of weeks ago to realise that your average football crowd with a few beers inside them will ignore any advice or warnings given to them. Once it's game on it will be a free-for-all!

Most teams that go to OT sit back behind the ball and rely on the odd counter attack for any scoring opportunities. If Saints play the high press in their faces game as well as they did on Thursday it will force United to change the way they play which will unsettle the system that has brought them recent success. Sure they are fast and efficient going forward but if they are not able to do that but have to defend more than they are used to and battle more for midfield control then anything is possible. Far from being phased by United's recent form we have a very real chance of getting a result and I am looking forward with high hopes of a victory. Keeping a clean sheet may sound too optimistic with their fire power and height in the box but as long as we can hold the ball and not make stupid mistakes and improve our finishing 3-1 to Saints looks possible.

Far too many uncertainties. Even if the government "grants permission" for limited attendances the logistics of getting those few thousand fans safely into their allocated seats maintaining safe distancing seems nigh impossible to arrange. A doctor or dentist can tell me to wait in my car until he/she comes out and calls me in. That is a daft proposition for even a small football crowd. Coupled with similar problems on walk-up and leaving the ground and in the concourse and mass use of loos the only safe conclusion must be No spectators. Should spectators be allowed then as for seat allocation, the Club need first to ascertain how many people will be allowed in, then hold the ballot of season ticket holders and only then send out invitations to renew. What is the point of asking me or you or Joe to renew before we know whether or not we'll get a seat? It smacks a bit of dishonest practice if they have use of our 700 quids for a few weeks before reluctantly handing them back. Are there any over 65 yo's out there who will risk going anyway? OK, OK infection rates are low - if you believe anything this government tells us - but the risk to us oldies is not that there might be a very low risk of being infected but that there is a better than 25% chance of dying unpleasantly if we do. Not attractive odds to be sure.

And so say all of us. At times last night we looked like the best team on the planet, some of our passing and running was mind-boggling-ly slick.

That was one that got away. Of course we don't do Home & Dry..... Word of advice to James "Let somebody else take the bloody free kicks and penalties FFS!"

A hat-trick from Adams will do me very nicely thank you.

Yuk! What a dog's breakfast of a mess. Hideous Is this a reminder that we are owned by the Chinese? Why couldn't we just have our stripes back without any other adornments.

Never change a winning team

Once again he shows us why he so invaluable and indispensible to our club and why Ralph loves him. The way he has been messed about in and out of the team under various managers, most players would just want away but Oriol rarely displays any signs of dissent or unhappiness with his lot, works ever harder so that he is ready when he is called, always has a smile on his face and his sheer professionalism must be an inspiration to all the young players. Of course he makes errors but who doesn't and of course he can at times be a car crash waiting to happen when his enthusiasm gets the better of him but on a day like yesterday when there was nowhere to hide and the chips were down the guy played a blinder and turned in a near word class performance. Perhaps if a few clubs were queuing up for his signature a few more of the naysayers on her might fully appreciate his worth.

Could not disagree more with any of this. The lad has played only 3 games or so for us, he's settling in nicely and his confidence is growing in every match. The first job of a right back is to defend and he has already shown that he can do that in spades. He reads the game well and is fast on his feet. Sterling was nowhere to be seen yesterday apart from that one shot at McCarthy. You talk about him not getting forward. Were you not watching when he ran forwards late in the second half to drop a pin-point cross onto Ings foot? Who is asking questions about his physicality and strength exactly? Yesterday he was in the thick of it, got battered more than once but just got up and got on with it. Levy will ask top dollar especially with the lad turning in a top performance on national TV but we can always walk away. He needs the money more than you might think and Hojberg is a strong bargaining point..

Very well done Ralph. Nice to see Linekar & Co lost for words

Ralph did brilliantly at his press conference, absolutely outstanding. No wonder hacks are queuing up to hear what he has to say and to ask questions. Good natured, never bristles and never ducks awkward or clumsy questions. We are very lucky to have him. Moments to savour.

Silly remark.

Perfect swap for Hojberg

4-0 v Liverpool. Looks like City intend to start next season on the front foot by humiliating their only rivals at the end of this one. Let's not be stupid enough to assume that the Bindippers took their collective feet off the gas - "nothing to play for" crap - City looked good and we could be in for a torrid time on Sunday. Ralph has been so focussed on getting to 40 points that some players might assume that the season's goals have been met.

This lad looks a tremendous prospect and is clearly intelligent, hard working and determined to learn. He seems to have a very good attitude and its great that he has committed his future to the Saints. From what I've seen of him in the U23's and his debut cameo appearance against the Canaries we may have a player on our hands. Seems to be very alive to what is going on around him and against Norwich found good positions off the ball and nearly scored on his debut. One day the Academy will produce another star and Nathan Tella might well be the one.

In reality it is not a binary choice as the OP has presented it, we should discard them both, neither has stepped up to the plate. We need more from a striker than pace and energy. Of the two, Adams seems to me to be the more skilful and gets his head up more than Obafemi. Adams used to knock them in for fun at the Brummie's so what are the coaches doing or not doing that has caused his goal drought? Don't give me the Championship v PL gulf crap either, many of the games against sides in the bottom third are of a no better standard than a Championship match.

As Ralph said of Liverpool, you win things through consistency as well as skill. If we played every game as we did on Sunday then it would be possible with other results going our way. Sadly, we are not consistent enough to secure 8th place. We are a work in progress still.

Yep! Agree exactly. Best we have at the moment. There's a good chance of getting something out of this match. I will take a punt on 1-2 to Saints!

No "if only's", this was a superb team performance and suddenly anything seems possible. Isn't it great to see the new found team spirit and everyone playing with a smile on their faces? Amazing what self belief can do. Perhaps contract renewal time and shop windows might also have had a little to do with it. Of course Danny Ings was the star of the show but what great performances from our fringe players, Romeu, Vestergaard & Walker-Peters who totally eclipsed their rivals for positions Hojberg, Stevens & Valery. We looked a much better balanced and more skilful side with this line-up and Ralph must think carefully before he even considers reverting to his preferred line up. Oriol Romeu has always seemed to me to be an indispensable part of our team, I've never really understood why he isn't a first team regular and yesterday he showed what a huge loss he would be if he were to leave. OK, OK, sometimes he can be a car crash waiting to happen but his performance yesterday showed that he can be committed but disciplined which shows how players can iron out their mistakes. Just give him a new two-year contract Ralph. How impressive was Walker-Peters, surely we will sign him on full time as part of a Hojberg deal? Lets face it who could we get that's any better for the sort of small change that we are likely to have to spend in August. He also comes across as a very likeable lad. Danny Ings may well win the golden boot and get called up for England. Both events scare the poo out of me, I cannot see our owners - greedy & skint - turning down offers of £80+m even if the lad loves it here. People are starting to take notice of us again and that can only lead to troubles ahead. Maybe we are OK for next season but just suppose Ralph breaks into the top six.

You should be ashamed to have posted this.