Cabrone

The phrase banana skin keeps on popping up in my mind. They'll park the bus then build a brick wall around it complete with barbed wire and sentry posts. Nugent will be miles up the pitch on his own, a real 10-0-1 formation. If they do there is always the danger that if we can't break them down fairly early frustration sets in, the defence get bored, Fraser nods off and Nugent wriggles through with his one chance of the game. Hopefully they'll come and play but my money's on the bus strategy, 0-0 would be a great result for them. Either a 1 or 2 - 0 win to us or they'll do a smash and grab 1-0.

Quality player, can see a lot of the big boys coming in for him at the end of the season. I hope we can get European football next season otherwise it may be another rebuild with a big pile of cash.

If we are still very much in contention for a top 4 then it's going to be a big call. If Artur doesn't come back then GK backup is definitely required then after that the position I'd probably look at strengthening is playmaker. If we lost Tadic we don't really have another similar option and the team would really suffer. Hopefully JRod would be back to give Pelle some competition and the midfield\defence looks pretty good with Yoshi as backup. 1 or 2 quality signings at most could just push us over the line but a long way to go yet.

Not a player but George Burley never seemed to really give a toss about us. It was his managerial stint where we really lurched downhill and spent beyond our means. Wasn't he more interested in the pub than the team?

Let's get a couple of wins from the next 2 to really set us up for those tasty Dec\Jan fixtures. Really looking forward to it - the game against Chelsea could be a humdinger. Bring it on.

Great result, like Stoke Hull are another outfit that will take points off teams around us. Not a bad team and an astute manager. Good to see big Vic on the scoresheet, gritty wins tell you more about the character of a team than 8-0 romps and the fact that the goals are being shared around is a sign of a strong team.

If we play like we did in the first 45 against Stoke then a win is doable. Hull are a decent enough team though so a draw wouldn't be a bad result. Don't think we'll lose.

Great win, Stoke are a tough test and we've beaten them home and away. Love good gritty wins, much better test of character than 8-0 romps. This is shaping up to be a exceptional team. Can we finally get some silverware (paint pot excluded) this season? If we get lucky with injuries we must be closer to it than at any time in the last 30 years.

Good fit for the team, whilst you need the likes of Tadic to supply the creativity you also need the likes of Long to do the leg work and he's one of the hardest working strikers around. A real pain in the arse for any opposition. He may never be prolific but if he allows others to be then he's doing his job. Thought he was a good signing on the day he came and still stick by that.

Spurs, one of the most badly run clubs in the EPL. I've said it before but they have a catchment area that should see them getting Man Utd levels of support (better than Arsenal yet they can't even get their ground situation soerted out) and regular champs league football yet they screw it up time and time again. Poch is finding out exactly what a lot of us predicted, namely that Spurs are a poisoned chalice. They may look bright and shiny on the surface but underneath it's rotten. Bale papered over the cracks but now he's gone they are looking more and more like a midtable outfit. That club will never get to where they really should be until they change their DNA. They need to tear down the 'instant gratification pay loads and buy the flashiest players' strategy to something more like SFC, invest in youth, pay big for critical players and develop the club as a resilient unit where positions can be replaced without damaging the whole club (exactly as Cortese said when Adkins went). I'm glad I'm not a Spurs fan, with the prices they have to pay and the size of their support the frustration must be immense.

Hull City v Southampton 1-2 Southampton v Leicester 2-0 Villa v Southampton 1-1 Southampton v Man City 2-2 Arsenal v Southampton 2-1 Southampton v Man U 3-2 Burnley v Southampton 1-2 Southampton v Everton 1-1 Crystal Palace v Southampton 1-1 Southampton v Chelsea 1-3 16 points would be a good haul from these games.

Why? He's an excellent keeper, way above champ standard. Since he's signed for them they have shipped 4 goals in 8 games (won 6, drawn 1, lost 1) and 1 goal in the whole of October (won 4). Bournemouth made a monster signing when they got Artur. Personally I'd like him back please, he's more than capable of challenging Forster IMO.

I'd rather Swansea finished 4th, much prefer their style of football plus their manager is an ex Saint and their kit looks like Real Madrid.

Just glad for the 3 points, Stoke are the prem's awkward squad so great to get 3 points. Now let's complete the job and kick them out of the cup.

Stoke, the ultimate party poopers. This has got low scoring draw or tight win all over it. Just hope we can grab the 3 points and move on.

Taxi for Poyet, booked at 8.

Have some of that Poyet.

The Azzuri front line could be 100% Saints. I never thought I'd ever say that.

3 points up for grabs here, Spurs have been pretty iffy so far and we are on a flyer. Midfield battle is key and with Wanyama, Schneiderlin, Cork and Davis we've got the players to win it. Would be sweet to nail them and watch Arsenal hopefully do a number on Chelski to send us top. What a buzz that would be.

Not a problem Robbie, no hard feelings and worse was predicted on here. Still a bit of a cock though.

This can't do any harm to Osvaldo's value. Goal So much talent, shame he couldn't do that for us.

If you didn't know him you'd think he was an experienced pro with lots of games under his belt. I was very impressed. Even after losing Shaw our left back situation looks solid.

I just want Chelsea to lose and us to win by 3 so we go top, even if it was for a week what a buzz. When was the last time Saints were ever at the top of the 1st div\premier? Was it in the Keegan days?

I know, it's good fun isn't it. If you can't get a bit excited when you're 2nd when can you? I stand by what I posted, I think it's closer that it's been for a long time and other than Chelsea, City and yes, Arsenal I think it's up for grabs. Liverpool are not convincing me - I'm not even sure if they can get top 5, Utd will get it together and when they do I think they'll be formidable but at the moment are very hit and miss, Spurs don't impress me at the moment and Everton will be there or thereabouts but are a team we can compete with. I'm off to the Emirates on Tuesday so I'll see for myself how we match up at the moment. This could be a interesting season.

A big part of it is our diamond hard midfield which is, like last season, one of the best in the premier league. Schneiderlin, Cork and esp. Wanyama are wrecking machines, Davis is a quality midfield-attack linking player with a strong engine and Ward-Prowse is the free-kick taking, passing part of the unit. It's a great group of complementary players. We've also got arguably a better keeper this season (although I still really rate Boruc) and we've exchanged our lost defenders with new ones that look potentially every bit as good so it's all looking rosey at the moment. Infact when I look around the premier league and compare what I see to Saints at the moment I'd say Chelsea are head and shoulders better than us, City are better than us, Arsenal are probably better than us (but there's not too much in it) and then I fear no-one. If the players get the bit between their teeth, believe in themselves and we get a break from injuries then who knows where we could finish this season.