RinNY

I should think Mane's red card will be appealed and rescinded: he barely touched the Stoke player, in a perfectly normal "coming together"; certainly no elbow. Mason just misread it.

Wanyama did an outstanding job in keeping Liverpool from easily getting at our defense; and Clasie played well alongside him, looked very promising. Mane was a pest to them al game, and got his reward with the goal, Sending off doesn't matter. Defense solid except for that one moment when Benteke scored. On the whole, well done, a good point.

Hazard was switching throughout the match. Cedric did a terrific job on him too; but I just wanted to point out how well Bertrand handled Hazard whenever he came down the left.

While I agree that Mane was MoM, Pelle, Tadic and Cedric were excellent, VvD was a rock at the back: a word for Bertrand. He harried Hazard all game long, didn'y give him a look in, didn't fall for any of his quick-feet tricks, just kept him under control. I can't think of a bad performance by a Saints player, but Bertrand was definitely excellent.

This is right, I think. What was it Les Red called us: a show-case club? We buy fairly low, sell high, and buy fairly low again. So long as the old black box keeps identifying the right players to buy fairly low, and the academy keeps producing, we can stay on the fringes of the top 6 or 8 in the Prem and remain a fiscally sound club. I think we did very well this summer: took in nearly 40 million from sale of 2 players, and replaced them with similarly talented players while strengthening elsewhere: Romeu and Juanmi in particular are additional to what we had last year (granting that Cedric, Clasie, and VvD replace Clyne, Morgan, and Toby). That's excellent business, and along with JRod's return means we bid fair to be better this year than last.

Targett may lack (at present; only 19 remember) Bertrand's attacking flair, but defensively he's very sound. Had Redmond in his pocket the whole game against Norwich, for example.

JWP played very well today, partnering the outstanding Romeu very well in CM, getting forward occasionally, helping set up a goal with a determined tackle and good pass, and putting in some excellent dead ball plays. Why does he need defending?

Romeu was my man of the match: immense performance from him, breaking up their play superbly and initiating our attacks. Who needs Schneiderlin? Romeu today at least looked every bit as good. Outstanding performances from Mane, Tadic, and Pelle, obviously, and Cedric was excellent too. But anyone else notice how much better we were in the second half with Rodriguez instead of Davis? I get that Steven Davis is versatile and grafts and always gives maximum effort and all that, but what does he really bring in terms of quality, attacking flair? I think with Tadic, Mane and Rodriguez playing behind Pelle we should be able to score against anyone; so long as our defensive platform is good, and that's where Romeu starred and made us look so much better than in recent games.

Ummm, maybe I'm missing something, but I could've sworn we signed some attacking bloke from Spain called Juanmi, supposed to be rather good ... no?

Liverpool are looking very ordinary so far this season. Lovren has not solved their defensive problems, and they are heavily reliant on Sturridge for goals: a player who is always just a kick or a stretch away from being injured for several weeks. I think we could well finish above them. Spurs have not adapted to MoPo's style of play, and it's doubtful they really have the right players for it. And a team relying on Adebayor and Soldado for goals is always likely to be inconsistent. We could well finish above them. Everton, I think, overachieved a bit last season, and have come back down to earth a bit. I don't see why we could not finish above them. I don't see why 5th to 7th is not very doable.

Seems to me there's not much doubt we should be a top 10 club again: the question is how high can we go. I'm always an optimist, but it does look to me that the club, facing the necessity to re-build after MoPo's exit led some key players to insist on leaving, got some things very, very right. Our form last season was certainly strongly influenced by the likes of Lambert, Lallana, and Lovren, but focus on those three, and on Shaw's precocious talent, led to the real basis for our success being overlooked: the stable platform for both effective defense and good transition from defense to attack provided by our central midfield. The decisions to retain Schneiderlin, Cork, and Wanyama -- all three of whom, though to differing degrees, were subject to trade rumours -- kept the heart of the team intact, along with Davis (S.) and Ward-Prowse. And that has made the re-building process relatively seamless. Like-for-like replacements in Pelle for Lambert, Tadic for Lallana, Bertrand for Shaw, and Alderweireld/Gardos for Lovren/Chambers, were able to fit in around the retained core: that stable central midfield group to begin with, Fonte as leader in defense, and the excellent Clyne. That's the basis for a really effective re-build. But the club didn't stop with that: they strengthened two key areas. In goal, a younger, more consistent keeper in Forster adds to our defensive stability. In attack, the pace and nuisance value offered by Long gives us better balance than we had last year. And then, of course, there's the wild card: Sadio Mane. If he lives up to his promise, I can seriously see us challenging Everton and Tottenham -- neither of whom really strengthened their squads this summer (because Everton already had Lukaku last year, & lost Deulofeu) -- for 6th place. Fingers crossed, and if all goes well, that is. Yes, the glass is half full, and filling. Barring injuries or other unforeseen issues, the season looks very promising.

You are assuming that JRod will be happy simply to watch Aguero, Dzeko, and Jovetic in training, and get an occasional close-up view of them in games from the bench, while making a lot of money of course, and getting the odd winner's medal for doing nothing. Maybe he is that kind of guy, but I doubt it.

Pretty sure it means elder world: other would be ander, with an n not an l.

Very good, thoughtful analysis here. I'd add the following. If Boruc stays (no sign of him leaving yet, with just a few hours to go) we are vastly stronger at gk than last year: Forster/Boruc vs. Boruc/Davis/Gazzaniga? Obvious massive upgrade. Long is a huge upgrade over a non-playing Osvaldo. If this guy Mane does sign, as seems likely, the addition of pace and directness he apparently offers gives us a dimension we just didn't have last season. At cb, Fonte/Alderweireld/Yoshida/Gardos is surely better than Fonte/Lovren/Yoshida/Hooiveld. Good as Lovren was, Alderweireld was class playing for Belgium at the WC, and indications are Gardos is a bit of a beast. So all in all, things look good. If we reach 11pm this evening with Morgan, Rodriguez, and Boruc still ours, and with Alderweireld and Mane signed, I think we're at least as good as last year, probably better on paper. If it all gels, we could challenge Everton & Spurs for 6th place.

Skysports has a guy called Roger Clarke at Staplewood reporting that two platers are undergoing medicals (the medicals not necessarily at Staplewood, by the wording), and that they are Alderweireld and Mane. Excellent deadline day business, so long as no major player leaves. Sky don't usually make such definite statements without good reason.

While it's too early to say, it is entirely possible that Tadic and Pelle will turn out to be as good as or even better than Lallana and Lambert: need to wait 15 or 20 games to be able to make that judgement. We also do not know whether Gardos will turn out to be better, worse, or equal to Lovren. Bertrand will never be as good as Shaw, but he is a very good left back and we have Targett now pressing his claims too. Where are we stronger? Taider represents extra strength in depth in midfield; and Long is a net addition to the side, offering something in attack we did not have last season (even if a bit over-priced). So along with Forster, there is a case to be made that we are stronger in some areas, even if somewhat weakened in others. And, we are told, there are still one or two -players to come in, who may yet turn out to add significant strength. So your absurd judgement "shocking business overall this summer" is at best completely premature; at worst simply factually untrue.

Agreed that first half was about as bad as I can recall Saints playing. Second half, thogh, showed what the team could be: much more energy, much crisper, more incisive passing, players seemed to actually know each other and what to expect. I thought Long played well in that second half: good running down the flanks, stretching the defense and making space inside. Clyne and Targett played well, both defensively and providing overlaps in attack. Pelle missed a few, but also brought out an excellent save from Forde, and shaved the post with a terrific header. And his goal was class. The way he stuck to it, made himself available, and got on the end of scoring chances, promises well. Hope the goal will be the first of many. Cork made a big impact obviously, coming on and being more forward thinking in midfield. My MoM though: Tadic. Almost everything good we did in the 2nd half flowed from or through Tadic. Skill, control, vision, touch: this guy is key to the way we play when we play well, so far. Hope he stays fit, because I don't see another creative force in the team at the moment.

Spoke too soon: a nice goal from a very deft finish in extra time: Pelle is off the mark! Looked very good in the 2nd half, I must say.

Jesus Christ himself couldn't make 3 at the back work with Smalling, Jones, and Evans. Let's see hoe van Gaal does with 3 at the back when two of the three are Rojos and Daley Blind (assuming ManU do finally get Blind). I think either Jones or Evans could make a go of being the 3rd (or perhaps even Carrick when fit). Smalling belongs in the Championship. For saints, a back 3 of Alderweireld Fonte and Gardos might work, though I expect Koeman will stick to 4 at the back. We definitely need more depth at CB, regardless of whether we play 3 or 4 at the back. If we do sign Clasie and Alderweireld (as rumored), would you trade Schneiderlin for Townsend+cash? I would: with Cork, Clasie and Taider, we wouldn't miss Morgan much if at all; Townsend would give us the pace and directness in attack that we lack; and Alderweireld would improve our defensive options hugely.

We lost some excellent players, but lets not overstate. Chambers has huge promise, but he was hardly key to our team success last season: a bit part player, albeit a good one. Shaw was fantastic, but left backs don't make or break a team, and we have good replacements. Lambert was an important player for us, but he's on the down slope of his career. The big losses are Lovren and Lallana, and how Gardos and Tadic fare will be key to our season. Each of these transfers made sense individually: fantastic offers from Champions' League playing teams (or a top club in the case on ManU). The problem was that we were much quicker to sell players than to replace them: that was bad management from the board, but we now see that very decent looking replacements have been brought in, and we have even been strengthened in goal and up front! The whole "exodus" thing was exaggerated news paper repetition (journalists are incapable of thinking for themselves these days).

Well, numbers 13, 14, and 15 are still unassigned, so we might still see one or two coming in to strengthen the squad further: back up CB and a wide attacking player would be one's hopes!

As things stand now, we're stronger at goalkeeper, with Forster and Boruc, versus Boruc and Davis/Gazzaniga. No question that's a huge upgrade. In defense, it depends on how well Gardos adapts. If he is close to being as good as Lovren, we are much the same: Clyne/Chambers/Fonte/Lovren/Yoshida/Shaw to Clyne/Fonte/Gardos/Yoshida/Bertrand/Targett. If reports that we are still in for Vlaar and/or Wollscheid are true, and we actually do sign one of them, we'll be significantly stronger, I'd say. Defensive midfield is the same, or stronger if we count Taider as a defensive player (which he seems to be). Granted that the team means what they say about keeping Morgan (I believe they do), and that he behaves sensibly (if he wants to play for France and earn a big move eventuially, he will); and assuming we're not really dumb enough to sell Cork to Palace for 3 mill. Creative/attacking mid: not obviously weaker, since Tadic looks a fully adequate replacement for Lallana and we still have the rest of our players here. In fact, if Ramirez starts to play up to his talent, he'll be almost like a new signing, and Isgrove and/or McQueen may step up and contribute too. Still like to see a wide player brought in though. Strikers: last season we had Lambert/Rodriguez/Gallagher (since Osvaldo was either injured, suspended, or out on loan). This season we have Pelle/Rodriguez/Long/Gallagher. That is stronger, so long as JRod comes back fully fit and up to his old level (or better), and so long as Pelle pans out. So on paper the squad and team look as good or better. There are obviously question marks over how Pelle, Tadic, and Gardos will pan out in the Prem; and it would be nice to see just one more good defender and wide attacking player come in. But as things stand, we look strong so long as players gel well and play up to their talent. Btw, management: we have a very strong team with R Koeman, Erwin K, Sammy Lee and Dave Watson. No fears in that department, in fact it looks stronger than last year!

We need a CB, esp if Lovren goes: either or both of de Vrij or Martins Indi from Feyenoord/Holland would be great. Koeman knows them, young and talented, should only get better & already very good. Both tall & good in the air too. Problem: there'll probably be bigger clubs in for them. I'm not even going to mention Blind, because he'll deffo go to a CL club.

Osman was going down before the slightest contact from Lovren, and the ball was going out of plat too, so no way it was a penalty. But the ref was wrong to book Osman, cuz it was no dive either. Just one of those things, neither a foul nor a dive: two players stretching & going down with the slightest coming together.

Pompey were not owned by seriously rich people, with the possible exception of Gaydamak who was a crook. If the people what at various points "owned" Pompey had been honest & had the wealth they claimed, that whole meltdown wouldn't have happened the way it did. Saints are not now owned by people of the Lowe/Wilde/Crouch ilk who have a few million: the Liebherr's are serious billionaires, and Cortese is a serious money man. Stop worrying, our situation as a club is in no way similar to Portsmouth's. It's just not a valid comparison to draw.