Sheaf Saint

Finally Austin goes off - for the equally ineffectual Elyonoussi. We're in deep trouble aren't we.

Abysmal. Just abysmal. Hoedt giving it straight to a Fulham player from the corner and we just couldn't deal with it. The entire defence at sixes and sevens - again.

I would rather get relegated than have that dinosaur in our club.

It's unfathomable how Hughes keeps sticking with Austin up front on his own. The guy is a completely busted flush - a useless passenger whose very presence on the pitch puts the team under pressure due to not applying any to the opposition. It's a travesty that he is still getting regular starts. I don't know a lot about Obafemi but he genuinely couldn't be any worse so let's give him a try. I don't know what's happened to Cedric but he's just been abysmal this season. But we failed to strengthen that position when everyone could see it was necessary, so we don't have much other choice. Maybe put Stephens at RB? Again, surely he couldn't do any worse. I still don't know what to make of Hoedt. Occasionally he shows real composure and is very good on the ball, but other times he looks completely lost. Fine example was his chance from the FK right at the end of the half - he had a free header but just got completely confused about where he was, and where the ball and the goal were. If we can't turn this around today - and I've seen no evidence to suggest we will - then we are well on course to finish bottom. Absolutely unacceptable. The squad isn't amazing, granted, but with decent coaching and management they should be comfortably mid-table. This falls squarely on Hughes' shoulders.

You've got to be f*cking kidding me.

Absolutely this. Why can't Hughes see it FFS?

And now our heads have dropped and Fulham are dominating. Soooo predictable. It's as if our players seem to think they only ever need to score one goal and it's job done.

That's cos we're winning and playing quite well so there's barely anything to moan about. And just as I type that, Fulham score. Typical.

50/1 for a draw with Chambers to score. Gotta be worth a quid or two.

Lovely stuff. Redmond did very well in the build up to that as well.

http://sportmargin.com/live-streams/football-streams/fulham-vs-southampton-live-stream/

Gabbi has to score there. Why didn't he just lift it over the keeper?

I don't think playing Davis as a lone striker would be the answer to our goalscoring problems TBH.

By all accounts, Armstrong had a stormer of a game for Scotland last week, and ran the show for them. Obviously the PL is an entirely different kettle of fish to playing against international minnows, but hopefully he can transfer that form to us. He's come very close to scoring a couple of times now, so I reckon he is due a goal soon.

Looks like a 4-2-3-1 with Redmond and Gabbi on the wings. Good to see PEH given the armband. I hope he keeps it. If Targett plays well today then hopefully he can keep Bertrand out of the side for a while.

Gabbi hasn't been dropped.

That's as maybe, but I would wager that the majority of working class folk doing their weekly shopping in Asda don't give a toss if their chicken legs or pork chops have a red tractor on them or not, and their decision on what meat to buy is based solely on price. It's all very well telling people they can still choose to buy British meat if they so wish, but it doesn't take a genius to work out what effect flooding the market with cheaper imported products will have on UK producers. Sooner or later they are going to start demanding that our welfare standards are relaxed in line with US legislation so they can remain competitive, or they will simply go out of business, leaving us with no choice but to buy the sh*t stuff from America.

I mean how is that relevant? The way that an animal is slaughtered has no bearing on a discussion about the effect that an influx of cheap, low quality meat from animals that have spent their entire lives in cages no bigger than them and been pumped full of growth hormones will have on the British meat farming industry. Halal meat is raised and reared to the same standards as the rest of the UK and EU currently. The only difference is the way it is slaughtered, and the vast majority of halal meat is stunned before slaughter anyway (due to EU guidelines) so it is no less humane than non-halal.

So now even Dominic Raab thinks that remaining would be the best current option... http://uk.businessinsider.com/former-brexit-secretary-dominic-raab-scrap-brexit-rather-than-accept-theresa-may-deal-2018-11

How is that relevant? Halal only refers to how the animal is slaughtered. It doesn't in any way impact on welfare standards during rearing and doesn't undercut UK meat suppliers in the way that the American meat would if we are forced to accept their trade terms.

True, but 'flooding' the UK with cheap imported meat from the US will have a huge knock-on effect on British meat farmers who will find it much harder to compete. Surely you recognise that?

"US trade deal would flood Britain with 'cheap, inhumanely produced' bacon" https://twitter.com/Scientists4EU/status/1065617152248594432 Taking back control, huh?

Then perhaps we're both guilty of only hearing what we want to hear. It's a very common human failing to which we all succumb, whether we realise it or not. The key point here is that Steve Baker described this 'evidence' as being non-aligned. But given Lilley's well known position and previous record, and his close links with all of the same pro-Brexit think tanks as Baker himself, it's fair to say his report is nothing of the sort.

Technically there are two Saints old boys, if you include loanees.