SNSUN

Anyone else going to breathe a sigh of relief when we sign a centre back today? I'm trying to hold my wee-wee but relying on our 3rd, 4th and 5th choice centre backs (as they were at the start of the season) for a while (especially with a cup final in a month) has me worried. Gabbiadini will add something extra to the front 3 (as long as JRod stays) which should strengthen our attacking options, and of course the new Keeper means we're not relying on Taylor or Lewis if Fraser got injured. A busy deadline day for us. I still wonder if there is a surprise later. The game gets in the way really!

Ah, the old 7-4-6-2 formation - I reckon we'll scrape a few 1-0's with that. Anyone else rather that we didn't have a game on deadline day? I always feel like it gets in the way of late business! Seems the Gabbiadini deal is done now. So if we bring in a centre back, I think we've done OK business. 2 centre backs AND a keeper and we'll have done brilliantly. Gabbiadini's sister is a bit of a looker too, so that'll add glamour to St Mary's.

Shortchanged? I'm sure if you told people at the start of the window that we'd be signing 3 players they'd be delighted, and that's before the VVD injury. I don't know much about Tasci but he has decent pedigree, and will add to the experience of the defence in Virgil's absence. That leaves Maya and Tasci as first choice and Stephens and Gardos as the back ups. I can live with that for this season. The keeper is young and back up while McCarthy recovers from injury, and Gabbiadini will add to the attacking options with versatility. In a season where we're unlikely to finish in the top 7, and unlikely to get relegated, and really have one game left that truly matters, I'd say those signings plug some vital gaps. I can't believe how much Hull are selling their jewels. Surely relegation favourites? Livermore, Snodgrass, Robertson and also no Mason. That's some loss.

Yep. Reading RAWK and it's almost like they didn't care about the trophies, they just want to finish top 4. Madness. Of course they "don't care" about the trophies now they're out of them. That line up today was pathetic, showing Wolves no respect. I'm very glad they got their just desserts today. Even we coped without Mané at times. They've completely folded their season because of his loss.

£14 million for Van Aanholt is insane. Sure he gets a few goals from left back but defensively he's poor. There's a reason Sunderland struggle defensively. Sunderland have the better end of that deal, especially if they invest the money wisely. As for Palace, they seem to love throwing huge money at players. They overpaid for Benteke too. As for the Mariano Diaz link for us, I'd never heard of him, but at first glance he looks to have a promising future with a decent pedigree. However if the club think Gabbiadini can offer us something, I'm behind it.

John Terry? Absolutely yes... If the choice were between him and, say, Oliver Lancashire. I'd marginally rather have Jagielka over Terry if we were talking about geriatric old duffers. We can do better than both.

At quick glance, the bloke at the back on the far right has a touch of the "Hojbjerg" about him...

I was working through the game, but was sneaking glances at Sky Go throughout the night. I caught the goal live, and went ballistic. What a run from Sims, what a finish from Long! Great stuff. Needless to say I was going mental, and my cleaners and contractor on site were puzzled as hell until I explained. I then watched the game all the way through on Sky+ when I got home. (A lot easier after knowing the result!) Stephens, Yoshida and Romeu were exceptional, I gave Stephens MOTM as he looked like he'd been playing for us for years, rather than being a youngster thrust into the spotlight after losing VVD. Liverpool offered very little, it's surprising how much better we cope with the loss of Mané than they have! Losing more players to injury as a worry. JWP has really stepped his game up of late, but he went off with a knock, and Jay too. As good as the team spirit may be at the moment, we still need reinforcements. Especially at centre back. Overall I was delighted with the game. We thoroughly deserved to win both games with our counter attacking style, especially with a depleted defence. Now it comes down to one game against (most likely) United, and a great performance and a bit of luck sees us with a trophy. Who'd have thought that a month ago. As ungracious (and wrong) as Klopp was last night, neither penalty claim was a penalty), he did praise us. He even said we were a better team than Swansea. I liked that. Finally, Puel has made a few mistakes this season, but he has also done some decent things, like bringing through the youth. Next season, if we can keep VVD (the one player I think we're in real danger of losing, albeit for huge money), with the right additions I think we can be back up the top of the table fighting for the European spots. Sadly I'm working for the final as it stands.

Strong line up but no centre back cover presumably means that Bertrand will be the man shifted across if the worst happens. I do think we'll be beaten tonight but it's just a case of how many by. If we score once, they have to score 3 in 120 minutes, and we could park the bus. Saints really need the first goal tonight - hence why I'd go gung ho for the first few minutes. Score one - park the bus. I don't care if it's ugly - as long as it gets us into a final. Unfortunately I'm working, and not the good kind of work where I have a telly I can keep an eye on - literally I can only check on here or on the Beeb for score updates. UTS!!!!! We can do this. We're good enough. Tonight we need the attack to take any chance they get.

If he is out for "3 months", and if his recovery doesn't go as well as expected, and if he's truly off in the summer, could this be the first time a Saints player was officially made captain and never got to represent the club in that capacity? Lots of "ifs" but it's possible... One thing for sure... We need a centre back this window.

Good news! I still think we're a defensive midfielder light in terms of squad depth, unless Reed proves himself soon, but keeping Romeu (who has improved massively this season) is huge. By plucking unwanted players from Chelsea, we've come up trumps with Romeu and Bertrand. Maybe a decent transfer policy for the future - as neither were expensive. With the top 6 starting to power away with the league, I reckon some decent squad players can be had from them for reasonable sums of money.

Hypothetically, a mate was asking honest, if a Saints fan were to be a bad Saints fan and put an insurance bet on tomorrow's game, what would be best? Liverpool appear to be big favourites. Would it be a Liverpool -1 handicap for the win?

FFS get the bloody check book out Reed. Perfect example of why we need a new centre back THIS window. The thought of relying on Yoshida, an inexperienced Stephens (at this level) and a long term injured (and therefore possibly rusty and with the possibility of setback) Gardos fills me with dread. Stephens did OK the other night, but no VVD is worrying. Especially before the EFL second leg.

Yep, or weaken Newcastle and get Lascelles. Not that I think Newcastle would let their captain go. Klose? Koné? A few domestic based ideas.

Back from the game - I think the cheers for Long's goal were more because we didn't have to sit through another half an hour in the bitter cold watching that turgid crap than for the winning goal itself! Honestly it was a dull game, but we were in total control of it. I've never felt so calm about our defending, especially as the back 4 worried me pre-match. Norwich offered nothing; they came for penalties and we struggled to break them down. Thank God for the winning goal. Even the wife (Norwich fan sitting silently to my left in the Chapel) was relieved when Long scored. Ratings as I saw it: Lewis 6 - never will a keeper have less to do. This was not a test for him. Martina 6 - poor in attacking sense until the last 15 minutes when he started to care a bit. Stephens 6 - looked composed at centre back, though was not tested. Yoshida 6 - again had little to do. Distribution was OK. McQueen 7 - our most promising attacking outlet. Clasie 6 - needs to dictate a game more. Reed 7 - thought he was composed before he was replaced. JWP 6 - tried a few things, but tried too hard at times. Sims 7 - tried hard to make things happen, looked lively. My MOTM just... JRod 5 - bad day with little service. Looked frustrated at times. Long 7 - was really trying all game, never gave up. Looked better in the middle. Subs: Redmond 7 - looked bright when he came on, we picked up in attack when he was on. Romeu 7 - bossed the midfield when he came on. Showed more offensively than Reed. The ref wasn't flashing about the cards which was good. One thing to note negatively about our performance besides the misplaced passes was that for all our possession, which we had a lot of, there was no cutting edge. We're missing an attacking midfielder to link midfield with attack. Maybe the formation needs tweaking...

I'm having a lucky w*nk in the Chapel but getting some weird looks. FFS I paid for the ticket, I can do what I want. ;-)

First game tonight since the Royal Oak closed that I've been able to have a couple of pre-match pints. (As wasn't drinking last time.) Where's a good pub on the South side of the stadium? Chapel Arms? Standing Order? Or should we just aim for the stadium and drink there? (Usually park in Eastgate) I miss the Oak for pre-match atmosphere. :-( Suggestions please!

"That's our left back spot sorted for the next 10 years" was one comment from the Mancs when Shaw signed for them. Yes he had a nasty injury, but he's just not hit the heights he did when he was with us. He's still got talent - he has "Spurs signing" written all over him.

I think I read that away goals count in the second leg, but only after extra time. Keeping a clean sheet at home tonight was huge. Great win! Whatever happens at Anfield we deserved a win, actually we deserved more goals. Performance was good all over the park, my man of the match was Maya. He was immense and showed we don't miss Fonte. He got his head to everything. Jay worked hard, as did Redmond who might have got it had one or two of his other chances gone in, and Romeu was close to getting MOTM. But Maya - great performance. I worry about Tadic's petulance a bit, he doesn't look himself at the moment...

Well that was unexpected. Only 160 minutes against Liverpool's attack to go to keep a clean sheet... We can do this! A second for us would calm the nerves a tad! COYR

Tough game. I reckon Liverpool will be well up for this after their young side was embarrassed in the FA Cup. They might see this as their "bonus trophy", when at the end of the season, if they win nothing else, they can say "at least we won one cup." Then throw in the fact that they will likely face United in the final if they win, which the TV stations will get all excited over. But God do I hate them. I really, really want us to show up tonight, put recent form behind us and give ourselves a great chance going into the second leg. My prediction? Head says: We put on a performance tonight but for all our huff and puff it's a lack of converting chances that lets us down. I'm having it as a score draw tonight, with them getting the better of us in the second leg. Heart says: We stuff 'em!

I saw a couple of games of his when he was at Sheffield United. Thought he'd be a decent signing for us at the time, one for the future. As for players outside the Prem currently, Lascelles at Newcastle would be a decent signing, as would Fulham's left back sensation Sessegnon if we ever sell Bertrand.

All the more reason we should be signing him, weakening our relegation rivals. #firstattemptattrolling Sigurdsson does a lot in an attacking sense but he's not worth £35 million by any stretch. I was reading Planet Swans the other day and some on there don't even rate him that highly.

I see the replay is Wednesday 18th and he club are already selling tickets. Is that set in stone or can it be messed around with by the BBC sniffing a cupset? Anyone know?

I always thought demanding new players means you've failed at coaching the ones you already have...?