The Kraken

What is selective about it? You yourself said "Yoshida was bloody awful for us for about his first 3/4 matches". I just gave the match threads for his first 2 games. when he very clearly wasn't "bloody awful". Which other threads should I look at? I didn't see those you mention, although I asked you to suggest some as I haven't read them. Are you getting what my actual point was? That when he played full back he was pretty awful, but when he played centre back he was instantly better than what we have. I feel you've missed this from the start. But if there are threads in addition to the match threads (which typically said Yoshida did well) saying Yoshida is an absolute liability at centre back then I'll have a look at those if you can point them out to me please. My view is that he was seen as instantly better at centre back than Jos. He played a ropey 3/4 of a game at RB against Fulham, and a bit of a shocker at LB against West Ham. Aside from that, his first game against Arsenal was well received, and as the thread I identified showed after the Villa game he was seen as a bit of a revelation. So, at centre back, not the "absolute liability" that you contend he was.

I don't know, Alpine was proved absolutely spot on with his 5-game predictions wasn't he?

Are you offering odds on that? I'd have a tenner they'll get more than 3 points in 6 games if you're offering?

Come on Dave, its not that difficult to grasp. Yes, against the top sides and especially away from home there is definitely a logical case to be made that playing Lallana and Ramirez in the same side could leave us too open. Its a perfectly understandable point of view. Our best 11 players won't necessarily cohesively fit into our strongest side for every single game. The dynamics will change according to who we're playing and where. For example, against Stoke NA dropped our most creative available player to the bench; that worked out pretty well. Against a lot of sides in the league and particularly at home there's very much a case to play Ramirez and Lallana together. Against the better sides and especially away from home there's also a definite case to change things around and play a tighter, more discplined XI.

I genuinely can't listen to that again; so cringeworthy.

I would have hated it had he come here, and would have gone to less games than I already do had he been appointed. But if he had come and been allowed to do things his way, he'd have kept us up with little trouble IMO. But then I'm not someone who puts a huge amount of stock of playing in the Premier League in any case; I hope we stay up but I won't be too bothered if we go down either. So I'm very glad he's not here.

He should be, yes. But given that we've already spent £7M and £3.5M on two players who aren't considered first choice players, anything could happen.

Alan Brazil is either still drunk or massively hungover when presenting, so often makes little sense. My favourite one from him was concerning John Thaw's death: Alan Brazil: "I was sad to hear yesterday about the death of Inspector Morse, TV's John Shaw." Mike Parry: "John Thaw, Alan." Alan Brazil: "Do you know, I've been doing that all morning. John, if you're listening, sorry mate."

My guess is that Butland's true ability level lies somewhere in between those two yardsticks. Just my guess though. Seriously though; I'd have enormous reservations about this signing. If Boruc had turned out to be in his Celtic prime then it would make more sense. But we're crying out for an experienced and reliable head in there, Butland isn't it for me. And quite where it would leave Gazzaniga is a guess; fairly small transfer fee but significant enough nonetheless, and it looks like he'd be the third choice keeper. Very odd.

Quick google search throws up this thread on one of their forums: http://www.smallheathalliance.com/read.php?1,1111569 "Is Butland the most overrated player in Blues history?" Its a mixed bag of answers. This one sticks out for me: "Butland is potentially the best keeper in the world. At the moment though there are gaps in his game, he's learning his trade with us. He's nowhere near the finished article, but how can we expect him to be at 19?"

Ha ha, I listened to that and turned it off, it was utterly cringeworthy! Brazil is such a p*ssed up ignorant old lush, and with the braindead Irani next to him its often car-crash listening.

Agreed. Kelvin has been a good servant but is not a Premier League keeper; and even if we go down would probably not be the answer for us in the Championship. Its worth keeping Boruc as he's probably the better of the 3 we currently have. As I've said though I don't think that makes him the answer for the rest of the season, we need someone more reliable IMO.

Was he f*ck. Go back and read the match threads from his first few games. I read them earlier; hardly a cross word said about him when he played at centre back. At full back, yes and justifably so. Not at centre back (even the Arsenal game he attracted little negative comment). Unless you can point out some other sources where, as you claim, he was written off by loads of fans? Here we go. Arsenal post match reaction thread. http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?40074-Arsenal-6-1-Saints-Post-Match-Reaction&highlight=arsenal+post+match A thread started on Yoshida after his first full game against Villa. http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?40187-Yoshida&highlight=yoshida First comment: "I thought he was excellent today. Wont win everything in the air but very combatative and reads the game well. Very calm and composed, looks like he might be a class player for us." And plenty of other similar comments. What a liability.

March and April will be massive for them; 8 league games, and 7 of them against teams that occupy the current bottom 8 along with QPR. By then they should have bedded in some new signings and could well be well on their way to safety. That's how I see it anyway.

Only a matter of time. QPR are nowhere near as bad a team as their position would indicate, and 'Arry will get them together. They'll also spend a fortune this month, I think they'll stay up comfortably. And if we're going to stay up we should only rely upon ourselves and not get all emotional with what happens between other teams. If we can't finish the season with more points than sides like Reading, Villa and Wigan then we don't deserve to stay up.

Kenwyne Jones once outjumped the keeper's reach with a standing jump to score from a corner at St. Mary's. It was phenomenal how high off the ground he got with zero run up. When he fancies it he's absolutely ridiculous in the air, totally unplayable.

Jack Cork. He's made the midfield noticeably stronger since he returned and put in 8/10 performances in pretty much every game he's played. Rickie Lambert has stepped up to the PL really well too, plus Morgan, so they'd be my top three.

Here's the interview. http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11688/8373506/Billy-Sharp-says-Nottingham-Forest-want-to-sign-him-permanently

Not according to BS in a recent interview; he said he wanted the security of knowing that he couldn't be recalled midway through the season.

Irrelevant question; he is contracted to Forest for the season without a release clause so could not be recalled even if we wanted to. And he doesn't seem to want to return either, given the nature of his recent comments in the press. It seems like he's hankering for a permanent move there, as his missus is rumoured to be unkeen to move back down south. He would also be third or fourth choice striker here and get limited chances to play; and he's probably not good enough for the Premier League in any case IMO. So in short; no.

Ideally a new keeper. If there is no new keeper that arrives then Boruc; he's the best of a bad bunch.

The amount of bold and underlining in this thread is giving me a migraine. By the way, Dave; you probably want to include our point against Arsenal yesterday.

Its possible I suppose, but I'd very much doubt it. Lampard is a clever man and well educated; he's also completely loaded and won't need to continue in employment in football just to make ends meet. It's unlikely he's got any coaching badges at the moment. I'd suggest a career in the media may be his first step, unless he truly has a desire to be a football manager (can't see him wanting to just be a coach or assistant to be fair). He'd have plenty of offers from Sky and the BBC, surely; and that's a much easier gig than the demands of footy. Before 'Arry went to QPR I'd have suggested that Lampard wouldn't ever play for any other club than Chelsea. With Redknapp there its possible. And if Juinor Hoilett can reportedly attract £60K a week wages, I'd suggest there's enough flexibility to allow them to get close to Lampard's financial demands. Maybe....

QPR are chucking more money than sense at player wages, so they'll naturally be a more attractive option for a lot of players. That they're even being mentioned in the same breath as Frank Lampard just highlights the level of their overspending.

Not really; I find it much more value to laugh along instead.