Whitey Grandad

It was an easy decision to take, knowing that he’s out injured for a while.

So was Austin

A ban would go on his disciplinary record. Other than that, pointless.

Oh goodee, a bidding war

Quite a common CV for a football manager I would expect.

He’s got three centre halves in front of him. Their job is to mark attackers and win headers from crosses into the box, or at the very least make it difficult for attackers. A good defence needs a settled set of personnel playing to a well-drilled system but what we had yesterday was a complete muddlefook. Forster would not have got to the ball. He was, quite rightly, on his line.

That’s a fair point. Having watched it again on MOTD I agree with you. There was a bloody great gap between Stephens and Yoshida that Depoitre couldn’t resist. At the time I thought it was Yoshida who should have covered him. All part of the big muddle that comes from having three centre halves and telling one of them to play out of position.

Give it a rest. That goal was down to Yoshida. Him and failing to cut out the cross.

6 to 8 weeks for a hamstring, which is what he was clutching.

I’ve not managed to get to many games but that today was an unmitigated muddled mess. Not for the first time there was no shape to the team and there didn’t seem to be any plan of action. What the hell was Stephens doing at right back? Once again we concede from a header from an unmarked player from an uncontested cross. Yoshida is too polite to try and put the striker off his jump. This is not fun any more. Pellegrino has to go but I hope to hell that the problem lies with him or we really are in trouble.

'discovered Toby Alderweireld for Spurs'? He didn't have to look very far.

Exactly.

I must admit that I had never heard of Pellegrino before his appointment but now that I have seen his record it does give cause for concern. This from today's Times: A look at Pellegrino’s previous record makes you wonder where Southampton saw those qualities in him. At Alavés, his previous club, they averaged 1.15 goals a game, and although the team finished ninth in La Liga, no side in the top 16 scored fewer. At Estudiantes, where he spent two years in Argentina, the club averaged 1.04 goals a game. In Pellegrino’s first managerial job, at Valencia, he lasted 14 league games, during which time the team netted 18 goals; in the remaining 24 games of that season, they racked up 49. All of which does not make Pellegrino an obvious choice for a club seeking a manager to take the handbrake off. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/pressure-grows-on-southamptons-mauricio-pellegrino-in-pursuit-of-exciting-brand-zdmtsdt86 (paywall)

Watching Saints can drive you to booze.

This. He was laying down a marker, sowing the seeds of discontent in the player's mind, quite literally touching up another club's player.

That is a brilliant free kick, but I blame Seaman's ponytail for slowing him down

My neighbour at the game said that PEH had bulked up a lot and that it took time to adjust to a new physique.

Then please name them. Blaming FF for that is ridiculous. Save your ammunition for when he does make a balls-up.

The only goalkeeping manuel that I can think of is Manuel Neuer. Other than him I'm stumped. Of course in this case the opposing player never actually got into the area so according to that Forster should have been rooted on his line?

And that pass across to Cedric in the first half. From one wing to the other and curved past the inside of Baines. Sheer beauty. He also did a lot of work tracking back and covering. For the first time he seemed a proper part of the team.

Moved it on quickly too. It set a higher tempo for our play.

He gave us a threat in the air, something that we have been missing for a long while. It adds an extra dimension to our game at the other end of the pitch.

Forster has had his mistakes but yesterday wasn't one of those days. The ball went over his head because of exactly that reason, it went way over his head. Out of interest, where do you hink he should have been standing? Just inside the far post hanging onto the bar with his fingertips I suppose. We won convincingly and scored four goals. As Thatcher would have said, just rejoice at that news! Rejoice!

Speculation doesn't guarantee accumulation.