Cabrone

I don't know what that journo as expecting but I for one never expected a walkover against an underestimated Sunderland side yet we still created enough chances to beat them comfortably. Our main goal threat is Ossie and he must play up front with Ricky just behind in support. Not on the left or the right but right at the top. These two need games to start to read each other and when they click they will be potent. JRod should be benched IMO, his biggest weakness is his lack of cutting edge. I suspect he's a bit too much of a nice guy, needs to look at how Ossie operates and get a bit more selfish. I'd use him as an impact player later on. Same with Adam. Gaston should be put infront of the midfield in the creative role and Cork put behind in the protector role to allow the full backs to bomb forward and let Morgan\Victor to squeeze the life out of the oppo midfield. Despite the article I saw a very good team in the making on Sat that just needs to gel together. We are going to get hiccups on the way but this team has the makings of being one of our best ever given a bit of time. Looking forward to this season but the prem is a tough league and we are going to have to fight for everything.

No, you don't get rid of your best players unless you get a silly offer. Personally I'd be playing Cork in the starting XI between the defence and Schneiderlin\Wagamama, he provides a fantastic defensive shield when he's in that position which allows the midfield to press + the full backs to get forward + improves the team shape IMO. An underrated player on here.

JRod's feet were onside but his upper body was ahead of the Sunderland defence because he was accelerating forward. Very tight and on another day it could have stood as it was so borderline but technically it was offside. Great pass from Ricky to create the chance in the first instance.

He's going to be top class when he gets into his straps, probably quite a few cards too - never a dull moment with Ossie. Wagamama is something else - I can't believe we got him for £12M, Celtic got mugged and the top 4 must have been asleep at the time. He's got to be right up there as most dominant midfielder in the prem, a real powerhouse. Have to say Morgan looks small in comparison and we all know how good Morgan is. Quite a player.

Frustrating result but a lot to be excited about, when the boys really start to gel over the next few games we should see some fireworks. Ossie is class if a little volatile (but we knew than anyway), Gaston looks like he means business and Wagamama is a monster. JWP + Adam also had a good games. Make Ossie the spearhead, put Ricky in the hole and let Gaston supply the bullets and we're going to do some damage.

Fans are allowed to get excited and a good job too, it's what gets them through the turnstiles. Football is one of the few areas in life where you can let go with your emotions, postpone reality, talk shyte and dream a little. We've had enough crap to put up with over the last 8 years, we've paid more than our dues into the misery account and now it's time to enjoy ourselves. If you can't smile when the sun is shining when can you?

It would be very tough to finish above either of these two, even if Arse don't sign anyone and even more so if Everton manage to keep their players. They are still two top teams who will be there or thereabouts next May. Was a bit concerned that Arse might have put a 12th hour bid in for Ossie TBH esp after Saturday's result. Glad they didn't. As far as SFC is concerned I think the Don will have let MP know that he expects at least a good crack at europe, even if we don't get it. I think that with his big ambition he's looking to overhaul these two teams.

Football is a market place and every player has his price. I'm sure if Man Utd stump up enough he would go but 10M is a long way off and besides, he seems to have his head screwed on and would know that a transfer to a top 4 club would probably mean a lot of time out of the team, just when he needs as much experience as possible. One day he'll go (assuming we aren't having a go at champs league ourselves and with Cortese who knows) but I still think we've got him for another year or two yet.

------Boruc Clyne-Yoshida-Lovren-Shaw -------Cork Schneiderlin-Wanyama ------Gaston ----Ricky-Ossie Onus on the full backs to provide the width with Cork supplying defensive cover. Sunderland are going to be tough opponents, thought they looked OK against Fulham and Altidore looks like he might be a handful. Going for 3-1 to us but wouldn't be surprised if Sunderland poop on the party.

Let's see how he does with Ossie in the team. I'm hoping he'll come more alive with a player that likes it played through the channels or ahead of him. Big season for Gaston and I think he'll come good, he's got some quality about him. Need to get off the guy's back and cut him some slack, if he doesn't do the business Poch will take action anyway. I have to say I haven't been this excited about a Saints team for many years. Still can't quite believe we've signed Osvaldo.

This was the one I really wanted but never dared thought we'd get. He's a genuine class act and if MP can get the most from him (and Ossie will be fired up in a WC year) then we've got a bit of a monster striker on our hands. Salivating at the thought of Ossie as the spear head and Rickie as the foil. Gonna be some fun. Cortese is like a terrier, once he locks his jaws around his target he just won't let go. Welcome Pablo and enjoy your stay.

Well that's a surprise. Great result against a very decent team. Love it when we grind out a game like that one, sounded like we had them under control most of the time, defensively we look good. Just need Ossie to fill the missing link. Arsenal losing at home and the fans singing 'spend some money' makes me wonder if they are about to go into panic buy mode. Hope there isn't a last gasp Arse bid for him.

If Osvaldo does not materialise would Jordan Rhodes be worth a shot? 27 goals from 45 games in the champ is none too shabby. Decent British player - could he have a similar impact at prem level as Ricky did?

Should find out soon, the club have put a deadline down and should stick with it. I'd love him to come here but there has to be a limit to how far SFC will go. Shame about Vydra, who else are we looking at?

Can't see more than a draw TBH, West Brom are a decent footballing side and whilst Lukaku is a loss Anelka is a decent replacement who will get the goals. Be interested to see how Diego Lugano gets on at WBA. A decent player and a good battle between him + Jonas Olsson vs Ricky will be worth watching. 1-1 or 2-1 to them.

Why would the club sell him for what would be a modest sum? He's worth a darn sight more to us than his transfer value would ever cover. As for the emotional angle I think SFC have a pretty big pull on him, even if the rival was LFC (which it won't ever be IMO). Osvaldo - Lambert would be a dream up front.

Put in a decent shift tonight, score 20 goals, stay injury free and hope his competition have uninspiring seasons.....oh and Engerlund also need to qualify.

Even if they could I can't see him wanting to play in the Portugese league. He wants to catch the eye of the national manager and Roma want him out of the country so that means he'd only look at Spain, England or possibly Germany IMO. We must be in with a good shout at the moment.

That bloke in the middle, is he any good on crosses?

Interesting, looks like he's definitely off then. Being as Roma don't want to sell him to one of their rivals that must currently put us in a pretty good position. Hop Nicola has told him that Southampton is on the doorstep from London, he could put a shift in at SMS and be up in the bright lights by early evening ready to wine and dine his other half. Failing that he could always grab a kebab in Bedford place.

If we do land Osvaldo I really hope the club keep Ricky as he'd be fantastic in the hole. Osvaldo the spear head, Ricky the foil, Gaston supplying the bullets and JRod/Adam/Punch roaming wide sounds good to me.

I wish I'd seen him play, he must have been catastrophically bad to have got that review. Bale for Forecast, has there ever been a transfer in the history of football where the ability of the swapped players was as wide as these two. Rupert L**e

The whole Osvaldo-Roma situation is pretty complex. The owners want him gone - the management\players appear to want to keep him - the fans are split with strong opinions on both sides. Let's be honest - Osvaldo is a loose cannon, when the manager didn't pick him for the Italian cup final for not training enough he openly and strongly criticised the manager for his non selection saying that the manager should 'celebrate with his Lazio fans'. Imagine Ricky getting dropped for bad attitude and then going on TV accusing MP of being a Pompey fan (but 100 times more incendary). It's going to get a reaction although the management have said when the cameras are off he's quiet. He's also had run ins with the fans, telling them that he'd take them out one by one and that he's scored 200 goals - what the f**k have they done? Obviously very theatrical and not to be taken seriously but this is going to incite in a big way, especially in Rome. His private life is also a bit lively - he has 3 kids to 2 women and he's no longer with either. The guy is a live wire and a real character - I think he'd be marmite - you'd love him or hate him. I'd be in the love camp, I like characters in football and this guy is a big character. Whether NC would see it that way is highly debateable. The other side of the argument is that he is genuine world class, he has played under MP and by all accounts was perfectly fine and I believe that if you take him out of a cauldron like Rome he'd calm down and get on with his football. If Osvaldo is this good with all the distractions around him what could he be like when his surroundings are much calmer? He wants to play for Italy in the WC, that would rule out Zenit for me - a lesser league with less media attention and different scheduling, Roma don't appear to want to sell to one of their rivals so that leaves Spain, England and Germany. The Spanish clubs look skint (outside the big 2) so I can't see him going there, I'm not convinced that he'd want Germany as I still think the prem is higher profle but whether he'd want to take what I suspect he'd think would be a backwards step to us is very debateable. If I had to put money on it I think a kiss and make up session at Roma will happen. He'll make a few grovelling apologies and become the fan's favourite after scoring a few spectacular goals. All just my opinion. Saints need to bring this one to head ASAP though and if he's a no go then we need to pursue new avenues. We need a striker and there are still a lot of quality options out there.

In summary...... The article is saying that Osvaldo would love to go to Inter and the new look Inter would love to have him but Roma are not stupid and wouldn't want to sell to one of their rivals. The journalist questions the sense in getting rid of a player as good as Osvaldo and how Roma would replace him. He suggests that Roma should keep him close and save face by offering him to Southampton knowing that he doesn't want to go with the result that he stays. This is only the journalist's view though so needs to be taken as such. Roma themselves do seem to want to sell the player.

Interesting, this is the one I've wanted the most and if we get him he'll be fantastic in the prem IMO. He'd also open up our game allowing Ramirez to start spraying balls down the channels. We can't really do this at the moment. If we signed him I'd love to see Ricky play in the hole, a Ramirez\JRod-Lambert-Osvaldo combination would be fantastic.