SNSUN

Some England players in the reckoning to go to France (and Phil Jones ha) were modelling the England suits today, and pulling off dodgy poses. http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/england-stars-harry-kane-dele-alli-gary-cahill-and-kieran-gibbs-model-new-marks-spencer-euro-2016-a3182776.html#gallery Would Bertrand necessarily go? There's a lot of competition in that position in Baines, Gibbs (who like Bertrand modelled) and Rose (who has had a decent season.)

Rodriguez will be fit before the end of the season and will bang in hattricks every game. He goes! Seriously though, how many injuries would Holland need before Stekelenberg got back in? :-)

I wouldn't mess with the FA Cup too much if it were up to me, certainly that small sides that earn a replay at home against a big team are rewarded financially which can help keep them afloat. If anything, it's the League Cup that needs reworking.

Oops, here's the link. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/rules_and_equipment/4371092.stm

This article regarding the Henry/Pires penalty has the rules, it's legal within reason. Suarez got his hattrick with the goal, though it begs the question, why didn't he just take the penalty?

What a difference 6 weeks makes! Well done to Mr Koeman and the lads. That'll confirm us getting the whopping telly money next season then, unless something out of the ordinary occurs!

Great win. We started brightly but after a decent Yoshida goal got us in front, it looked like we were content to sit back, knowing we're the masters of the clean sheet. Sure enough that's what happened, but not how it should've happened. I thought Wanyama's red was harsh, it was late not malicious. Clattenburg must've thought so too, as he went straight to his yellow pocket. I clocked that straight away. God knows why he changed it, I can only think the West Ham lot had something to do with that. I hope we at least appeal, whatever happens. It did ruin the game as a spectacle though, as not only were we rarely able to attack after that, but West Ham seemingly couldn't! Defensively we were very good. Not outstanding, we rode our luck, especially with the Carroll fluff that went straight to Forster, the Yoshida penalty shout and missed interception, and the Soares clearance, but still very good. We seemed to want the win more than they did. I've seen great things from Payet this season but he was poor. All the West Ham players had an off day, much to our satisfaction. Good job from Koeman, I thought he'd continue not using the 352 when I saw Targett was out, but then slotted the match winner in! I still think we needed an extra midfielder, Pellé was AWOL in the first half. Hey ho, onto the next game! Manager of the month curse? Sky curse? What curses? The way I saw it: (last post of the day so I'm milking it) Forster: solid as ever, great save in the second half. Another clean sheet. Humble in the post match interviews too. 7 Fonte: Solid as ever, goes about his job in the usual fashion if overshadowed by his partner... 7 VVD: MOTM. Just, in front of Clasie. Was dominant, didn't put a foot wrong. 8 Yoshida: Well taken goal and looks better in a back 3, but still made a couple of risky errors that could have hurt us. 7 Soares: Good game, could've done better with the header in the first few minutes. Risky sliced clearance though. 7 Bertrand: Good going forward in the first half, good defensively in the second. 7 Clasie: Thought he was very good. Crisp passing and good defensively too. 8 Wanyama: was dominant until his (IMO) harsh sending off. Thankfully didn't cost us this time. 6 Mané: it's not quite going for him at the moment. Hope he comes good. 6 Long: Worked his nuts off but a lack of quality. 6 Pellé: Awful in the first half, got slightly better in the second. Needs match practice. 5 Romeu: good when he came on. Steadied the ship. 7 Austin: perhaps should've taken his chance, but worked hard defensively when he came on. 6 JWP: not much impact.

That was a badly mistimed tackle, but not malicious. A red was harsh. Clattenburg even went to his yellow pocket as soon as it happened. Still Wanyama not on the pitch is a big loss. Romeu on is correct, but for Mané is wrong. I can see why Pellé stayed on, as we'll just play long to him for the rest of the game, but Mané off is incorrect, I'd have taken off Long. Mané is better at keeping possession which we need. This will be a nervous game now, and we'll be lucky to hold on. Fingers crossed.

Pellé has been poor so far. Seemingly keeps tripping over the ball. I'd bring him off but not for Austin, for Romeu or JWP. We need a bit more solidity in midfield as I can see West Ham getting back into this. Then if Long is still feeling the effects of that earlier knock, then bring Austin on. We definitely need a second goal as I think West Ham have much more to give. I've had a sneaky flutter on West Ham to score the next goal to numb the pain of conceding, and I'd happily lose my money otherwise. Clasie and Wanyama have been very good so far. Soares had a decent half too. Mané needs to keep it simple. Overall this would be a massive win for us, but we need to play better than we did in that first half.

Southampton sit in 7th position, one position and five points behind West ham. Where do you think you will realistically finish this season? Good enough to finish 5th from where we sit, but likewise we're capable of shooting ourselves in the foot and finishing 15th. Realistically if we keep up current form, 6th-9th should be our target. I'll take 7th again. Which three teams do you tip for relegation this season? Villa, obviously, Sunderland (they've ridden their luck for years despite now having Sam there), and Norwich. While Newcastle are poor defensively, I think they've bought enough offensively to stay up. How do you rate Slaven Bilic first season as a manager in the Premier league? Impressive, got through an injury hit spell with minimal damage, and made good signings in Payet and our old player Antonio. Consistency is what West Ham need now, and to stay clear of injuries. Same with Saints. West Ham sit in sixth place after 24 games having briefly occupied the third spot but what league position can West Ham realistically achieve this season under Bilic? Same as Saints above, and it's a crazy league this year. If you beat us on Saturday, I'd have West Ham as finishing sixth, injuries pending. If you could have any current West Ham player in your team who would you choose? Payet. We'd be a top 4 team with him creating chances. Do you understand what the 'West Ham way is' and what it means to Hammers fans? Not really. But all fans want their team playing attractive football. However if you're, say, a Villa fan this season, and Pulis and his horrific but effective brand of football had become manager and Villa stayed up? You'd be singing his praises. I'd take a Premier League title whilst playing crap football. Which Saints player should we include in our Fantasy dream team? Fonte is the one constant in my fantasy team all season. Always plays, always gets points and scores the odd goal. Which Saints player should West Ham players fear on Saturday 2nd Jan? Copy and paste error there! Anyway, Mané. Been off form of late but he still puts the effort in and one goal and his confidence will shoot. I just have a feeling he's due a goal soon. 14 Supporters' Trusts came together to petition the Government for a public inquiry about West Ham's occupancy of the Olympic Stadium. Does the fact that West Ham got a good deal bother you personally as a football fan? Let's see how you cope with that stadium first. Will you fill it? What will the atmosphere be like? Then there's not having a place you can truly call home. However I don't know much about the FInancial fair play but I'd assume it will be more revenue = more to spend? How do you rate Ronald Koeman's season? Up and down. And then up again. He's a decent manager but even despite a bad patch he's turned it round admirably. How do you expect the Saints to set-up against West Ham on Saturday Team/formation prediction? I think we might go back to the 3-5-2 we've used until the Arsenal game. Just a hunch. Forster, Fonte, Van Dijk, Bertrand, Soares, Wanyama, Clasie, Davis, Targett, Mané, Long. Bench: Stekelenberg, Yoshida, Ward-Prowse, Tadic, Romeu, Pellé, Austin. One of the strongest benches we've ever had. What is your score prediction for the Saturday? 2-1 Saints. You won't make it easy for us but our defence is on fire right now, especially Van Dijk and Forster. We're a different proposition now to late December, even though we had a decent first half that game.

I went for Kelvin. Leeds completely outplayed us that day but not only did we keep the clean sheet but we robbed all 3 points with the Rickie goal. Completely Arse-loved Leeds that day and helped us go up. Forster was outstanding last night, but he has a bloody good defence in front of him, and needed JWP in the right place.

Shame Charlie wasn't fit enough to come on and win this for us! Great point though, Fraser awesome and MoTM. 4 points and two clean sheets against Arsenal this season, thanks Gunners. Adrian Durham will be spitting blood on Talksport Drivetime tomorrow. Morecambe's goalkeeper equalised in injury time against the Skates too. Decent night all round! Now to close the gap on sixth by beating Whammers.

Fonts getting booed as he went back on the pitch despite a legitimate injury! Jeez. Forster has been amazing tonight. Fouls starting to get sloppy. Need this point! Don't throw it away Saints.

After 3 wins, I'd take a draw tonight. It's almost a 'free shot' for Saints. Decent line up though.

I still think JWP would have nailed this had he played against Watford, for his 2 goals against WBA and the key assist in the winning goal at Old Trafford, but it has to be Long again from what I've seen. From squad player to Key player.

I'd hazard a guess it's Between Long and JWP. Any others? Who'd you give it to?

I mentioned this in the HCDAJFU thread yesterday after the Star reported it, but the photoshop was not my doing. Honest.

I want Arsenal to win this, if only to keep Chelsea comfortably below us. Still tipping Man City for the title.

I don't think there is much, but he did play against us 3 times for Barnsley in the 97-98 season and conceded 9 goals!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Hiljemark We're Fighting Norwich for this guy apparently...

Sad, not being from Southampton it's always been my pre-match stop for a couple of pints as the atmosphere is usually good in there before a game. Simply put, I shall just have to find somewhere else to go.

Great news but as he's not fit, is this it or can we utilise the extra loan spot Caulker's leaving has afforded us? Austin has proved he's a goalscorer and that's exactly what we need. For 4 million? Bargain.

Nemanja Vidic available on a free. Caulker replacement.

This is funny as hell, but what's the betting he surprises us all and proves he isn't crud by putting in some performances for Pool... Means we can get another loan in right? And assume Stephens becomes our back up centre back after Yoshida...

If we keep up this current form it'll be us. But we won't, and it won't. Villa, Sunderland and Norwich for me. (But if the wife asks, the third team i said would go down is Bournemouth.) I actually said Bournemouth to go down until last week, but seeing their transfer business shows they're really looking to stay put. And what's more, they could be a real force next season.