Cabrone

A pig's head at a cup game in Norwich many years ago. The surges at the old Carrow road away end were great, really take you off your feet stuff.

Amazing the difference 1 player can make, since we signed Gabi the goals have flowed and all of a sudden our strike force looks really potent. Confidence is a powerful thing. Personally I'll take this version of Saints over the dour version any day of the week. Let's hope VVD stays for another season, with this attack and him in defence next season could be a very good one.

Brighton, Reading and Fulham - all close, should take a lot of support. Leeds can do one as far as I'm concerned.

Whoah, lets just get to 40 eh. Then we can all put this to bed. Sunderland look really poor, Palace should have the players to get out of it IMO but they are nosediving and confidence is such a big thing, ditto Leicester - they should be nowhere relegation but they look shot at the moment. Bournemouth could also still get dragged into it too. Really for any of the bottom 7 it's who's got the desire to get out of it. As for us, well I'm not complacent (I am a Saints fan after all) but Manolo is looking good for a few goals which lifts the whole team, Shane is now chipping in too. Being as we don't need many goals and a lot of results need to go against it's looking a hell of a lot better than it did before Saturday. Watford(a) and Bmth(h) could settle it for us - lets hope so eh.

Don't hate ManU, not even when they sent us down in 2005 - we were inept and they applied the final blow. Don't like Everton, mainly due to 84 and the fact they had the hex on us for years after. Also don't particularly like Leeds due to their fans. Other than that none, not even Portsmouth, feel more sorry for them TBH.

Phew, ended the bad run and sets us up for the final. Maybe, just maybe we have the striker that will net regularly for us whilst Charlie is out. Well done Gabbiadini. Feeling a lot more comfortable tonight.

Hope not, looks a decent player. knows where the goal is and could do a good job for us. There's a few others I'd let go of before Sam Gallagher.

Looking at the remaining fixtures and taking in current form.... Sun(a) - 0 Arse(h) - 0 Watford(a) - 1 ManU(h) - 0 Spurs(a) - 0 Bmth(h) - 3 Palace(h) - 3 WBA(a) - 0 Citeh(h) - 0 Chelsea(a) - 0 Hull(h) - 1 Pool(a) - 0 Boro(a) - 1 Stoke(h) - 1 10 points putting us on 37. Looking a bit touch and go.

Puel is a rabbit caught in the headlights. His ultra cautious style is failing, fans are bored and players heads are dropping. The capitulation in the cup was a pathetic own goal. He's rotating like mad desperately hoping that something will happen without having an actual strategy. The first thing he should be doing is identifying his best XI and sticking with them. Yes, he's had some bad luck with players and Reed does deserve some stick but his football has stunk all season, even when we had a full squad. Ponderous, shackled dross. It's too late to get rid now, he's in for the rest of the season but barring some miraculous turnaround he needs to be replaced come May. I think we'll stay up but it's getting very uncomfortable. The squad is better than this.

This is the first season since 2010 when I've felt we've not been moving forward, strange really as we've managed to get to a cup final but it does feel that the club is stagnating. Overall Reed has done a good job but has been lacking this season. He's earnt some time from the fans but he needs to get things back on track, we are wobbling at the moment. Puel should also get some flak, his rotation policy is OTT and the capitulation in the cup was defeatist and put an instant cloud over what was a great 1-0 at Pool. His gut instinct is cautious which sends out negative vibes and leads to heads dropping. In this league if you aren't moving forward you'll get run over. Dump the negativity and put out teams that want to attack, go into your shell and you lose.

Don't know anything about this guy but the club obviously rate him as they've paid a fair amount for him. Boufal + Gabbiadini could be a very interesting setup, shame Charlie's currently injured - he could really have benefitted from these two. All the best Manolo, welcome aboard.

Well that was worth throwing the cup game for. We should be competing for everything, the defeatist mindset is not doing us any favours.

Pathetic team selection, cups are our only chance this season and Puel throws it. Would much rather have gone for it tonight and thrown Swansea game, league is meaningless this season. Puel gives a master class in how to destroy any feel good factor after Wed and badly knocks the confidence of a group of young players. The poor sods who paid to watch this should get a refund. Arse may well have beaten the 1st team but we'll never know now.

Brilliant, now let's get some silverware. The cupboard is not exactly groaning and it's been a poor return for a club that has spent something like 40 of the last 50 years in the top flight. Also lets not forget the FA cup - Arse are beatable and the 5th round beckons. More immediately really hope this is the start of a Shane Long run of goals, this should have don his confidence a lot of good.

Arse next. I want the double.

Not necessarily, players can get injuries that take a while to figure out but eventually keep them out for weeks\months. Not every diagnosis is straightforward I'm afraid. Let's hope he's not injured as we all know how important he is to us but we really won't know either way until we get an announcement. I certainly don't trust the media, they rely on gossip and heresay. They might be right but then they may be just as equally wrong.

We need to score to have a chance so I hope Puel doesn't go into the game with a 0-0 mindset. If he does we'll come unstuck.

Still in the cup and that is what matters most. Form can improve but once you are out of the cup that's it. Regardless of the team's performances we are still in the hunt for one of our best cup years. A draw at Pool gives us a final and a home tie against Arse should be a good game - they won't be too keen on coming here, we've had some good results against them in recent years and the players will be up for it. I don't believe we are a bad team, just need that striker + box to box mid to unlock the rest of the players.

I like Redmond, think he's a decent player. Then again I see him as a winger, whereas others appear to be judging him as a goal scorer. He'll never be a particularly high scoring player but as a disrupter of the opposition defence he's pretty good. If we had someone in the middle who could take their chances better I think we'd all be singing Redmond's praises as a good winger.

That's what we want, some intensity and heart. We all know that we struggle to get goals but that shouldn't stop you from still working hard and pushing forward. I think our lack of cutting edge will do for us if I'm honest but as long as the players give it their all that's all we can ask. We are close to being a very good team, just need that goal scorer. Such a shame Charlie is out, I'd be a lot more confident with him up front. Romeu my MOM, great performance.

Can't believe some of the posters on here, seriously it's a SF. It's not as if we have a cup laden history and we can afford to get blasé - this game is a big deal. The players need to get in Pool's faces across both legs and as long as they give it their all (and at least try to attack) that's OK with me. If we get another ultra defensive loss then I'll be ****ed off, fed up with the defensive tedium.

Well first and foremost we are still in the cup and that is always a good thing, cannot ever understand fans that wish us to exit out of competitions. Secondly our midfield needs a box to box player but I think we all know that. We're 1 player short of a decent midfield IMO. Thirdly how about trying VVD up front for a game? He has a good eye for goal, just look at yesterday, and couldn't do any worse than our current strikers. It's been done before, Chris Sutton and Paul Warhurst spring to mind. Fourth what's with the cup in Norfolk? Don't they like the competition up there?

Buck stops with the manager, we are playing lousy dull football and key players are losing faith. Time to get rid, nothing personal but it's not working. This club needs an injection of energy.

Roberto Martinez, IMO a good manager who like to attack. Didn't click at Everton but seems to be back on track with the Belgian national team.

The manager has to take most of the blame for how we are at the moment, he sets the tone and strategy and we are boring as hell. Yes we lack scoring strikers which may not be Puel's fault but that shouldn't stop us from still being positive and driving forward. We have a manager whose instincts are ultra defensive and who constantly chops and changes the team. It's a recipe for heads to drop and morale to go down. Box to box midfielder + a goal scoring striker are a real need but they aren't cheap and I don't think we'll pay overinflated prices for them, rather we'll muddle through to the end of the season. We should be OK but we are negative and look to be going in the wrong direction - it wouldn't take too much to get into a squeaky bum situation and if we did where would the goals come from? Puel isn't the right fit, we need someone more positive. The football is crushingly boring and a negative air pervades.