SNSUN

Nope. Thought it'd be JWP. Other forums of big clubs regularly talk him up. (And rightly so in my opinion. I'm a fan of his.)

Trying to be pessimistic and I've still given us 15-16 points. Seriously could be more. A fit Boufal and Tadic feeding an in form Gabbiadini, a rejuvenated Redmond and Ward-Prowse, a new formation that we've clicked with, and Caceres filling a hole. Not to mention the injured lot to come back like VVD AND more of a gap between games for rest and training. I think we could surprise some big teams like we nearly did on Sunday and shoot up the table. Started pessimistic and finished optimist. C'est la vie.

Glad someone said it. He's stood out so far. Gangly but graceful. Only 20 too, room to get better. Definitely caught my eye. Moot if Huddersfield go up though...

Expect we might see Caceres for Stephens this half. I personally think if we can take this game to extra time then we stand a bloody good chance of winning as we'll have fresher legs. All to play for. (And I hate to say it but I thought it was game over after their second. Our defence gave them too much room.) UTS!

Hope that "offside" not offside goal doesn't indicate that luck is not with us today. Our team has talent but we'll need the extra luck to beat a very good United team.

The wife must love me, knowing I'm unable to go to the game, she's made me a bacon sandwich, she's doing Roast Pork later, and is treating me to unlimited cups of coffee. I'll be watching at home but roaring hard, win or lose I want to enjoy it. The downer on today is the "you might want to pop over and say goodbye to the dog" phone call I got from my mum, as the family dogs legs have gone. Let's hope that's the bad news done for the day. This game offers the perfect chance for an insurance bet, but I'd love history to be made today for Saints.

Heart - we'll go out on Sunday, play the game of our lives, win in style and lift the cup, guaranteeing us our place back in Europe next year, keeping all the key players in the summer (and adding to them) and becoming a real force next season, making a better stab of the Europa and a real push for the top 6. Head - I think we'll lose but We won't get rolled over and we make a good fist of it. Against Arsenal in 2003 we had a few decent chances to nick it, and it'll be the same this time. We have weapons that could surprise United this time, but they've not been beaten since October (except against Hull in the second leg when they were already going through to the final) and they'll ultimately be victorious. Mourinho will be hailed a hero. I'm going with heart! I like the sound of that.

Funnily enough when Caceres was announced I reached that same decision, but now thinking about it I don't think Stephens would let us down. He has plenty of lower league experience and has put in a couple of good shows for Saints recently. While Stephens and Yoshida have been playing together recently, the communication might be there, which I doubt it would be with Caceres. Caceres has the pedigree though. It's a tough call. Maybe Caceres for Yoshida! ;-) I'm working at Alperton today (dealing with Gent fans going to the Spurs game), and being just up the road from Wembley I can see the arch from my platforms. Gutted I can't be there this Sunday (unless some heavenly angel has a spare ticket) but my missus has said she'll do me a full Roast Pork dinner (my favourite) to compensate. :-)

The magic of the cup.

Good news. If you take into account we reportedly panic-attempted a loan for Jordi Amat from Swansea on deadline day, then we've actually done much better with someone of Caceres's pedigree. Although that begs the question - why didn't we sign him sooner? I hope he makes the same impact as Gabbiadini has had, and in his relatively short time at the club, he plays his knackers off and we finish well in the top half. (Perhaps even with a trophy to his credit!) His deal may only be until the summer - but at 29, if he impresses and stays injury free, I don't see why it cannot be extended for another season. I don't think Stephens is a bad player, but it's asking a lot for a youngster (relatively young for a centre back) to step in full time with only lower league games to his name. Yoshida is competent enough - and now with Caceres alongside him we should have enough to cope with VVD's absence. I'm excited to see what he can do for us.

There's pictures of him everywhere at the Nou Camp, he's revered there because of his playing days. I'd suggest it were more to do with experience and popularity if Koeman were to be appointed rather than managerial brilliance.

On one hand, we lose momentum, on the other, there's less chance of losing a big player to injury. It's a plus that we had a decent win against Sunderland for morale. If you can say anything about the FA cup IMO, it's that Puel wasn't interested, probably because of the League Cup final. (Although that smacks of putting his eggs in one basket.) Win the League cup and his decision will be justified. Lose and questions will be asked as to why he didn't take the FA Cup seriously.

Old Brendan doesn't stop, even when he's not even Liverpool manager any more! This time casting lustful eyes over VVD. http://outside90.com/brendan-rodgers-i-tried-to-sign-southampton-star-for-liverpool/

I would have put a fat wedge of money on Hull, Sunderland and Swansea in December (had I had a fat wedge of money spare) as I thought they were all nailed on for relegation, but my God what a job Clement has done for the Swans. I thought selling Williams in the summer was like shooting themselves in the foot, but Mawson looks an astute purchase, Llorente and Sigurdsson look decent and their midfield is solid. Nobody has been cut away yet though so it could be anyone from Bournemouth down. However I think Sunderland's time is up, despite their usual late season resurgence, Moyes and his Everton rejects won't have enough about them defensively. Then there's Hull, who flogged their best players in January. Too risky of a strategy that. That's two spots taken. That leaves one slot between Palace, Leicester, Boro and Bournemouth. Wilson's injury could hurt Bournemouth, but they might just have enough with 26 points. It's hard to choose between the others. All three have some good players. What a story it would be for Leicester to go down though! However I'll go for Boro, despite their resilience in recent fixtures. Draws aren't enough at that end of the table. That'll make Newcastle's season.

Big of a Mangina going on in that beach pic. Also looks like Cesc Fabregas has put on a bit of weight...

If he curls in a cracker of a goal against a Manchester team first, I don't think we'll be complaining. :-D

Thanks! I'd have to go back through my post history but I mentioned Caceres in terms of a transfer last year before Fonte was even thinking about leaving. Although, as with any HCDAJFU thread, it's more a case of 'throw enough mud and some of it will stick' when recommending players for Saints!

For anyone into that sort of thing, there's a picture of Caceres's willy on the Holmesdale Palace forum. It's not what I was expecting when I clicked on the thread...

Signs, gets fit, gets MOTM keeping Ibrahimovic quiet in the cup final. Tis the dream.

Have we ever "panic" signed a player in the Premier League since promotion? Elia and Djuricic felt a bit like that. There were plenty in the Championship relegation season! As for Caceres? Worth the risk. It might knock Stephen's confidence but it's a risk worth taking. Caceres has pedigree. Make it so Reed.

West Ham are 1/9 to win this. It's like printing your own money! (Seeing if reverse psychology works...) Saints are making it very difficult for us 'glass half full' people at the moment. I can't see a new manager making much of a difference, we'll still have a makeshift central defence for the rest of the season. Our only hope is a freak League Cup win instilling some morale in the squad. Today's loss makes it harder that it's West Ham too.

Jesus I'm glad I'm not watching this, it's bad enough getting the updates from Sky Sports News. What a joke we are. At least Palace are outdoing us for crudness at the moment. It all started so well too. It's still within our capabilities to get a point, but we've given West Ham a morale boost. Chris Samba anyone?

I will be working on the Sunday of the final and thus I cannot go, so my seat will be at home, behind the sofa, sticking pins into a voodoo doll of Zlatan's cock. (Which I have yet to procure...) If he bends over double a few times during the game, you can thank me afterwards. Hey, I got to the JPT final, so I'm reasonably content.

"Hey Swansea, we'll let you win if you loan us a centre back!" "No." "Ok, then we'll just let you win." Yoshida, third choice at the start of the season and prone to the odd error. Stephens, young, raw, a lot of faith being put in him. Gardos, out for a couple of years and rusty. That's our centre backs until we get VVD back. That's worrying. A last minute announcement doesn't seem likely. Finally we've addressed the attack, and it's at the other end we're weak. I don't think we'll get relegated, but we need to put in a performance from heaven to win the cup. No more injuries, please!! Martin Caceres is still a free agent. Anyone? :-)

Is Les there? You think he'd be absent trying to find us a centre back! I echo what Allardyce said earlier, it's odd having a game on deadline day when managers are keen on strengthening their squads, but then I guess any manager worth his salt would have done his business already. As for this match - well I guess it can only get better. At least we have Boufal on the bench - I can only assume we'll see him sooner rather than later. I'll take a draw right now if you offered it (even though I think we are good enough to win.)