SNSUN

Telling people you're a crack filler while walking around Soho could make you popular...

No. If Ramirez being dropped because he doesn't work hard enough, in spite of his natural talent, is the truth, then MLT with similar qualities would have been dropped in favour of someone like Davis. Ridiculous though it sounds. The question would be - how professional would MLT be if he was playing now? Could he get himself fit enough and introduce a work rate to fit? My guess is No, but thankfully we had the joys of MLT years ago when it didn't matter.

I thought it was the case that he couldn't play for England as he'd not been a scholar for five years (or something along those lines)?

-10 rep points for your 6000th post being too sensible. With no humour, and not a hintage of Yo. :-)

Clyne, Clyne, wherever you may be, You play right back for the Saints fc, And to think we nearly got you on a free, Now we hope you'll play for your home country. To the tune of "Lord of the Dance". Ok it sucks, but I think there's something in using that tune for Clyne...

6/1 to beat Arsenal is the only one of the bets listed by the OP that I'd be tempted to have a punt on - the others are a complete waste of money IMO.

A great example of where we are. I'm usually glass-half-full but with such elation on this board I'm keeping a realistic, slightly pessimistic, view on our situation. We're not even a third of the way through the season at the moment, it's not even halfway through November, there's a fricking LONG way to go yet! Our start has been amazing, and I'm loving every second, but I'm not getting carried away. I do, however, think we'll end up closer to 4th than WBA got. They just disappeared after the new year after such a good start to the season. We hope it doesn't happen to us like that.

Ha! Coincidentally I was trying to work out the other day whether we could field an all English team - we can but it'd get beat a lot. The team I came up with was virtually identical to yours, but with Reed in midfield in place of Chambers. You can't deny though, the future's bright, the future's English! As for Friday, I just hope the Saints lot get decent game time. Fingers crossed.

Danny Higginbotham! :-D I actually thought a good transfer link in the summer, however weak it was, was Spurs's Kyle Naughton - a player that can play both left and right back. (Like having another Clyne really!) Plus he's English and doesn't get regular games for Spurs, although perhaps he wouldn't come cheap enough for a squad player...

Before the start of the season, I think the majority of fans would have said we were one top class centre back short, but Fonte has really stepped up his game since being partnered with the excellent Lovren. If he continues this form, would you drop him? I know I couldn't, and with Yoshida and Jos as back up, short term I can't see a centre back being brought in. Long term perhaps, as Fonte gets older and our aspirations for World Domination grow, but short term he's doing a bang up job. Agree with the AM though, we're one short with Ramirez out of favour - though it has to be someone special that can turn a tight game into victory. Imagine finding a Ramsey or Lampard - a goalscoring midfielder would be an immense acquisition if we could find one; if not, just a creative one would be enough. I agree with other recommendations for a back up Keeper and back up left back - but who would sign for us knowing they'll probably sit on the bench a lot of the time?

Good point. Both ins AND outs, though hopefully the former rather than the latter...

I'm enjoying every second of the ride, but we will simply not win the league. The top sides are struggling to string together consistancy, but that will come. Likewise we will have a bad spell, as all clubs do. If you offered me 6th place now, I'd snap your hand off, but I'm more realistically seeing us finish in the top 8.

From being a better team than Stoke! :-) G'aaaan Swansea!

Whoever wrote the Orange website report for the game says that Woy revealed he's close to picking Clyne for an England call up. After yesterday, I reckon he'll soon be swayed! http://web.orange.co.uk/p/football/match?game_id=695007&competition_id=8

Never made it into The Dell either, nobody else in my family is a Saints fan so as a youngster I never got taken there (except for a couple of trips to the club shop which I loved despite its size), and by the time I was old enough to go myself I'd developed a mild case of agoraphobia, which made me nervous of being in places with large groups of people. (I partly blame Reading's old ground Elm Park for that, which I did visit in the 90's when we played them in the FA Cup, 1997. Anyway my first live Saints game and first time I'd been in a stadium full of people. Did not feel comfortable.) I soon got over that, but by then we were at SMS. :-(

I noticed that. I yelled Italian at the screen. Argentinian born, perhaps, is what the 'tater would argue. Benali was made a pope? Looks like Murray Walker IMO. :-D

As the only Saints fans at work, I'm getting a lot of back-patting for Southampton's performances and results this season from colleagues that support the "big six" and...........that's just fine with me. :-D And these are the same colleagues that laughed when we got relegated in 2005 and made me feel sad. Southamton - definitely a club that affects your mood! Right now? I couldn't be more proud. Ward-Proudse even, you might say!

I think Ramires tripped before he's even got to the challenge. And I say "tripped", giving him the benefit of the doubt - otherwise it was a dive. Terrible refereeing, denied WBA fans a victory. Surely the bigger teams have a monopoly over the refs... OK I only watched the highlights, but Chelsea look poor at the moment. There for the taking... :-)

Keys and Gray would have a field day with this thread...

Saints related?

It sounds like the England players really stepped up their performance levels today with Woy watching, and I include Clyne in that! :-D We should get Woy watching all our games...

For us poor bastards that had to work today, how did JRod play? Lambert scored and got two assists, Lallana scored a worldie and got MOTM but I haven't heard much about JRod, especially playing in front of Woy...

What the one about you predicting Pardew as first out? ;-) Hughton got lucky. Besides Leroy Fer's goal, they still over-rely on set pieces to score their goals. The penalty shouldn't have been given and then there was the free kick which was harsh. (Jussi wasn't great today either - the handling for his penalty was poor and he was too far over for the free kick. I wish he'd played as dodgily against us!)

I wonder if the England trio's call ups will alert the French to Morgan's obvious class. IMO I think if Morgan was playing for a top club that plays in European competition, or any French club, he'd have been called up already due to both having more exposure...

2-1 Norwich now...