SNSUN

He'll get the Championship trophy in two years if he stays put! 😄 Seriously though it'd be a hollow victory if a team he joined won a trophy and he had very little to do with it anyway. Liverpool were his best bet (and under contract he could have stayed and got a Premier League trophy) but he came here. City and Chelsea are my bets to dominate for years now and I don't see them wanting him. United want him and is probably their best bet but with Cavani, Greenwood, Rashford and (currently) Martial there I can't see him getting that much game time. Bar cups perhaps. Even their young striker Elanga scored on the last day of the season and they may not want to block his pathway. I can't see Liverpool taking him back so that leaves Arsenal and Spurs, neither who I can see challenging for much in the next couple of seasons. All IMO of course.

He scored an overhead kick for England this season and is IMO better than Watkins. If Saints had had a season similar to Villa’s, and had Danny not picked up niggling injuries, he’d have gone. Gutted for him as he’d have been included last year. The crux of the issue now is: does Danny want playing time or is money more important to him? I can’t see him getting game time at the top level. That said it must be demoralising and frustrating to be a good player when surrounded with sub-standard players around you! 😋

Areola would be a good signing if we can get him. Nip that position in the bud before it gets any worse. Actually I'd take any of the relegated keepers over McCarthy. If it is him and Forster next season, I truly hope Fraser is the favoured one.

We haven't learned from the Shane Long saga. He has more to offer than Long yes but for £75k surely we could have signed somebody better... and on less wages.

Next year's starting XI should read: -----------New GK----------- KWP New CB Salisu New LB ---------JWP-New DM------- Armstrong-----------New AM ----Ings-----New ST. We are 6 quality first choice signings away from being back to a European place challenging team, and that's even before we factor in the potential loss of Ings and possibly even JWP (if a big club fancies him). Add the loss of those two hypothetically, and maybe Vestergaard, and then add a back up right back, and we are not far away from needing an entire XI of top players. Ain't gonna happen unless some twat like Celtic decide Elyounoussi is worth £100 million. It's going to be a long summer and we need to work miracles. Thank God we have the Euros for a distraction.

One minor positive is Minamino hasn't looked completely useless today. There are signs there if we are going to persevere with signing him that it wouldn't be a completely awful signing... though I'd still rather we sign someone proven or more of a creative midfielder which we lack. I do think we have a goal in us today... if it is the next one, West Ham may implode. Maybe dreaming though. Romeu coming on!

We don't have a big defensive midfielder to break up play (a la Wanyama). We don't have a left back that can constantly get forward. (A la prime Bertrand.) We don't have a goalkeeper that anyone can rely on for a full season. (A la Niemi.) We don't have a top centre back. (A la Van Dijk.) We don't have a creative midfielder that can unlock a defence. (A la Tadic. ) We don't have a striker to partner and complement Ings regularly. Until these problems are rectified, we will be relegation fodder every season. And to fix these problems, we need money. Seeing as the chairman is unlikely to fund us a big spending spree, I can see us going down our usual route of selling Jewels. This could be a few people's last game, and include the manager in that now.

Will these new padded seats be on general sale for the second round of the League Cup against crappy League Two teams? Just a general wondering on behalf of my arse... 😏

I think Carter-Vickers should sign just for double barrelled funsies. But he is a Spurs player. I do think Bournemouth could be pulled apart though. Danjuma looks good, the Buendia/Benrahma of 2021. Should try signing him. Pleased for Brentford! But as I work on the Tube at Boston Manor, Northfields, South Ealing, Acton Town etc I'm not looking forward to the crowds next season! 😝

This. Though a note for the FA Cup game against Wolves. It showed that we wanted the cup this year... which is even more depressing when you see the abject performance we gave against Leicester.

I agree he is our most important player (not best, in terms of best at their role then I would probably say Ings) and our engine, and in no way will he be dropped... ...IF he stays. I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if he weren't here at the start of next season, and Delaney is more a replacement than a partner. All IMO of course and probably a conversation for another day, but he's a jewel in our crown and we all know what SFC does to jewels in our crown. The money he would fetch alone would fund for a bloody good rebuild of the squad at the prices we tend to pay for players.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/euro-2021/0/england-euro-2021-squad-verdict-premier-league-players-football/ Telegraph reckon Ings could go as a 'wildcard' due to the expanded 26 man squads. When you look at other English players that could be picked, I can't see it. Greenwood/Maddison/Barnes/TAA/James/Dier/ Lingard/Bamford/Watkins are all possibles for it and I think Southgate will look to build for the future and go for someone like Greenwood, Maddison or Barnes. It'd be nice to see Ings in there, after all he probably would have gone if the tournament had been last year. At least JWP should be in, irrespective of how little game time he will probably get.

Ok make that 16th as the lowest we can finish. Burnley can't catch us now. However looking at the fixtures, Wolves could easily lose against United, Brighton will probably lose against Arsenal (though admittedly both are Jekyll and Hyde sides), Newcastle have a tough away fixture at Fulham and Palace will probably lose against Liverpool. 12th isn't beyond the realms of possibility if we can miraculously find a win which would polish the turd of this calendar year. Even a point and we finish potentially 13th. As long as Brighton and Newcastle lose (and it's very possible unless Willock has a say in things) then 14th should be the lowest we go. Crap but not as crap as it could be. West Ham have something to play for though so it will be tough. It'd be sweet to get one over on the Hammers though and if Ings feels this is his last appearance for us, maybe he'll be hungry for a goal or two.

It's nice of all these linked players to contemplate joining a team that pays them with magic beans, because I very much doubt we have the money to pay for any of them without selling! 😄 I don't mind who we sign as long as the left back is great. A striker than can miraculously come and do a Michu would be nice too, and an AM that can create like Tadic. I also hope I grow wings and fly to the Maldives.

12th up for grabs as it stands, 17th more likely. We'll know where we stand after the rest of the games this midweek. After Brighton's impressive win today they are in catching distance of us, as will Newcastle be if they win tomorrow. I feel we will end up closer to 17th, as I can't see us getting anything from West Ham. The extra prize money would be nice though, I just can't see us getting it after today.

No standouts this season but I went for Captain JWP. The ticking heartbeat, Mr Reliable, of our side and gets better every season. I’m glad his form has been recognised by Southgate and hopefully he’ll go to the Euros. Honourable mentions to Armstrong and KWP. While not in my running I also think Vestergaard has had a decent season, especially early on.

Oh I know what I was going to say... Is it standard to get VAR to check every saved penalty? There was no way Fraser's foot was off the line and it stopped me mid-celebration when they were checking it. It's almost as if VAR (or the rule makers) want the penalty taker to score. (Which is the opposite of strikers when it comes to the offside trap it seems...)

Agree, I’m not saying he didn’t do anything good because he did a couple of decent things, and he at least seemed to be trying and pressing, but he was too easily knocked off the ball and he gave it away a lot. If you count all Minamino’s touches and result thereof, I’d say he had far more bad ones than good ones. Maybe playing on the right isn’t his best position but I wouldn’t want him back after his loan as I think there would be players we could sign much more suited to the Prem. Could he change and bulk up? Perhaps but at 26 and entering his prime, I can’t see it. I enjoyed last night’s match, more as I thought Palace were decent. Che in particular started very quietly but grew in confidence and ended up with a goal and assist. A good night’s work. I also thought KWP did well bearing in mind who he had to contend with. Zaha must hate playing Saints. Oh while the way Clinton Morrison talks does grate on me, he seems to know his stuff, like how key Romeu is to us.

Shit a brick their passing is great in attacking areas. Really hope our defence can hold out but it’s fucking tense! Minamino off now! Need to attack Palace, their weak spot is in defence. Need a third I’d say... Obafemi for Ings Apparently...

Nah, you’re ok Liverpool, you keep him. For the price you’d want, just nah. Not for me ta.

First half of the season was good, second half crap. If it were the other way around, we'd be lauding Ralph as some of managerial genius for taking a shit squad (probably languishing at the bottom of the table all season) and turning it round. Questions need to be answered but I don't think our situation is terrible going into next season. We play high intensity football in a season with fixtures coming thick and fast and just don't have the squad for it, especially with the injuries we suffered. It's Gao that needs to put his hand in his pocket (ha) and find some money to improve the first team. Improve the first team and you improve the squad automatically as the existing first teamers have to fight for their places. (Can't see it but live in hope.) Still it would be nice to finish on a high. I can't see us sacking Ralph so we just have to hope the second half of this season is the worst form we ever see again. Who's to blame? For me a bit of everyone really.

Keep playing Tella. Against Liverpool I was much more impressed by his vision that the mere speed-merchant I had previously seen. The more he plays, the more experience he gets and the more confident he will become. I suspect we will see a strong side not too dissimilar to the Liverpool game but with Minamino in, although I'd like to see Salisu given more run outs for the last few games as well as Jankewitz (to see if he really 'has it') and Obafemi to see if he can be an answer up front next season. The last 4 fixtures are winnable if we can find some early season form. I have a sneaking suspicion we may get something tomorrow, despite Palace winning their last game. 6/ 7 points more could see us finish above Burnley, Brighton and Newcastle and, yes, I know that still sounds terrible but it would still finish the season on a positive note.

Saints should sign Toby Savin. 20yo and looks unbeatable!

Accrington Stanley? Who are they?

Yep playing some decent stuff. I don't think we've tested their iffy centre back pairing enough but Allison has made a few good saves and Liverpool probably have a gear or 3 they haven't used but still good. Ooh Adams should have done better there. Nick a point please!