Cabrone

As things stand right now I think mid to lower mid table. I think that we have decent fire power up front provided Austin\Gabi stay fit and Redmond gives us some service, midfield is going to rely heavily on Romeu and defence looks a bit leaky through the centre. Strikers will have to have their shooting boots on because I can see us shipping a few. Could be some exciting games this season, we'll see.

OK it's only a friendly so have to take the result with a pinch of salt but these games are about building momentum for the start of the season and currently we don't have any. Got to be careful here, we have some very winnable games in the early part of the season and if we go through those games in a daze getting few points then we'll have to play catch up whilst facing the big boys. We don't have the luxury of a bad start this season, we need points on the board from the off. I wouldn't want to be going into our final set of games in a dodgy position.

Play both, I believe they could complement each other and of course they know how to score. Could be a potent combination.

Cool heads are needed, if Pool stump up what Saints are asking then sell him off. Be done with it. Rather the cash to spend on players that want to be here than pay the wages of an uncommitted player that doesn't. Bad for morale and no good for our finances. Put your heart to one side and ignore that it's Pool - even if they were slimy in their approach - sell up and move on. There are other great CB options out there that can do a great job for us. I'd much rather VVD wanted to stay but I can understand why he wants to move. So be it.

Lets be real here, he's a very good player in demand who probably wants to win some silverware in addition to earning as much cash as he can. He's not from the area so has no affinities but has given us 2 years and significantly improved his value. The club have done well by him. Ignore the circus, sell for top dollar and use the money to find a couple of good replacements - that is the SFC business model after all and has served the club very well. Yes as a fan it sticks in the throat but players aren't fans - they are contracted staff and like the rest of us want the best that they can get.

No............just no.

Not sure about these fixtures, we're often not the fastest of starters and that's when a lot of our winnable fixtures are. Other than B'mth last 6 games look nasty - need to have our 40 points by start of April.

Eddie Howe.

Yeah who needs goals anyway? 6th lowest scorers in the prem, 5 of the last 6 games with no goals, 17 goals at home all season (2nd worst), 4th worst home points tally. The final position masks a very dull league campaign.

On paper finishing 8th and narrowly losing the league cup final seems a decent season but the reality is it's been as drab as hell. Highlights were VvD until he got injured and Gabbi when he first arrived - it's his injection of goals that gave us the spurt to get over the safety line with plenty of time to spare. Puel has underwhelmed me all season, don't mind losing but his teams have been by and large pretty boring. I also don't really know what his best team is. SFC needs an injection of energy, can't have another season like this.

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.