BARCELONASAINT

I cant remember the last time we got to the quarter final of the FA Cup with a very realistic chance of getting to the semi's and i couldn't give a toss about the game.......oh it's probably because it's never happened before. After Saturdays gutless performance i really don't care if the Cherries beat us, this team don't deserve a Wembley appearance, absolutely spineless bunch with no leaders on the pitch.

It's a bit bizarre to be honest that some think RH took a gamble. Even with the strongest 11 we could put out it would have needed a minor miracle to have got anything from City. In my opinion he made an extremely sensible decision not to risk players just coming back from injuries and focus on Sundays game.

Finding it hard to understand why so many are angry about last night, angry with the performance and angry with the team selection!!?? I was absolutely delighted to RH rest the likes of Diallo, KWP and Minime and not risk them getting inured again after just coming back on Saturday against Sheffield Utd. It was absolutely the correct call with Brighton coming up and a game we realistically should expect to win. As far as the performance went I thought we played some good sharp football considering we had Stephens in the middle, Bertrand out of position at RB, Salisu playing LB and Redmond who goes backwards with every game he plays.

Considering the lad has not played a competitive game since joining us and is only 21 I thought he had a bright start to his Saints career. There were signs of rustiness there but entirely to be expected. What i liked about him was his total calmness and you can see the lad could have a bright future if managed well. I watched his interview on Saints live after the match and he is a very softly spoken lad and comes across as very well grounded. He won't play Saturday as i fully expect Ralph to integrate him into the side slowly given all his issues this season.

I think we are all re-signed to him going and i would not begrudge him if it was a move to City where he will easily double his wages and pretty much guarantee trophies. Please just don't go back to Liverpool or to Spurs....that I couldn't stomach. I'm now assuming our fantastic scouting network are lining up replacements as we speak (tongue firmly in mouth!)

death threats etc have no place in society and those making them need dealing with. However that said the FA should bloody be looking at the last 2 games these incompetent officials have been in charge off and their ludicrous decisions made that have brought so much outrage. The FA need to be strong here and take action against Mike Dean and his side kick.

I really believe Ralph knows the Saints board have a long term plan and showed their faith in him last season by giving him a new contract when a lot of Premiership boards would have panicked and sacked him. He knows being Chelsea or any of the top 6 managers means no time will be given and instant success is a must! I honestly cannot see him going....yet!

If the Echo report is correct Ralph has pretty much stated none of the current injured players will be ready for Tuesday so it will be the same 11 apart from Bertrand who is suspended and McCarthy who will come back in. We have no strength in depth at all. Our current bench only weakens our side. Ndululu is just not ready to be playing premiership football and Long is past it. We are absolutely screwed if Ings or Che pick up a bad injury.

without doubt behind the scenes those that run the club will see finishing as high up the league table the most important thing this season with no gate income. It will be interesting to see if they give Ralph the freedom to pick his strongest side for the cup. I'm not for one moment saying he would be dictated to about where he puts his priorities but I do think Ralph has bought into the club and how it is run and the financial restraints we have. In this sense he is more of a club manager with no selfish agenda unlike dare I say the like of Mourinho!

We did what we had to last night and got through with no obvious added injuries which must have been the most important thing before the game. The game itself was not great but i didn't expect it to be with so many changes. JWP and Diallo ran the show as expected (Diallo has everything to go on and become a very very good player for years to come) Bednarek and Stephens were rarely challenged and i never thought we were in trouble at any point in the game. I have always admired Long for his work rate and harassing opposition defences but he seriously looks past it now and should not be anywhere near the first team. It worries me who we have to step into Ings and Che's boots when they are not available (Walcott maybe) I'm just not convinced by Ndlulu, I really played close attention to him last night hoping he would be excellent and turn it on but despite his goal i remain unconvinced. I really liked Watts, you could tell he was having a ball playing last night, never stopped smiling and was an absolute menace to the Shrews. I think this lad could make the step up.

That report from the Athletic is just made up nonsense, they have no idea!

Understandably INGS wants a contract that rewards his value to the team and that protects his future. IMHO we are financially suffering like every other club and cannot match INGS wage demands/length of his contract.....again just my personal opinion but i will be surprised if we are even close to matching what he wants. He is doing what is best for him and waiting to see if there is any interest from a club prepared to meet his pay day demands (and a signing on fee) Normally for a 28 year old i would not say his age is a factor. However add his very unfortunate injuries into the mix and he may feel he has 1 last chance for a big pay packet. Depressed this morning!

Understandably INGS wants a contract that rewards his value to the team and that protects his future. IMHO we are financially suffering like every other club and cannot match INGS wage demands/length of his contract.....again just my personal opinion but i will be surprised if we are even close to matching what he wants. He is doing what is best for him and waiting to see if there is any interest from a club prepared to meet his pay day demands (and a signing on fee) Normally for a 28 year old i would not say his age is a factor. However add his very unfortunate injuries into the mix and he may feel he has 1 last chance for a big pay packet. Depressed this morning!

what an absolute piece of garbage that report is, no substance at all. Really lazy journalism. Salisu is being very slowly integrated with the squad and had he not picked up an injury i am sure he would have featured in the Cup.

what an absolute piece of garbage that report is, no substance at all. Really lazy journalism. Salisu is being very slowly integrated with the squad and had he not picked up an injury i am sure he would have featured in the Cup.

Honestly can not see us signing anyone in January other than at best a loan. We are losing £3 million a month due to COVID and we will not see fans back in stadiums properly this season. While we are unlikely to be fighting a relegation battle this season Ralph will almost certainly be told to work with what he has and TBH that is probably the most sensible approach.

Feliz Navidad

The so called big clubs can go **** themselves!

Honestly what a trash piece of reporting and anyone that was watching Sky sports news this morning would have seen the reply the club gave to this. No one at Sky criticised Saints this morning after reading out Saints reply because there was no room to criticise. Basically Saints were already well ahead of the game here and had already put things in place to make sure the diversity issue was not something we would ever be held to account over.

Unless someone has picked up a knock i would not be changing Sundays starting 11. Those lads have earned their shirts and it is for them to lose now.

not that it means anything but the lights are all still on at st Marys

I may well be thinking of this to simplistically and i'm sure there will be those out there ready to correct me......but outside the big top 6 clubs are the rest of the Premiership clubs really in a position to financially help out? Our expenses with wages and the fees we pay for transfers not to mention what we still actually owe in structured payments probably means even with TV money we are only just surviving without fee paying fans. Realistically if fans are not allowed back into stadiums this season it will not just be lower league sides going to the wall???

Have left it till this morning to post my thoughts on the game. Firstly I cannot understand why we did not play more friendlies before the start of the season?? Was that complacency and a belief that we finished the season so strong and fit we didn't need the games?? We dominated possession but we did nothing with it. We were slow and ponderous and had no answer to Palace sitting deep and making the last third very congested. We offered nothing from the wings and nothing through the middle. I really felt for Ings and Adams because they had no service at all. Smallbone is technically a good player but he is not the answer yet, I have not seen anything particularly creative from him. What the hell is going on with Djnepo?..have we bought an expensive sick note who is made of glass. Yesterday we came down to earth with a huge crash......we were all expecting a good result away to a woeful Palace side hit by injuries but instead got our pants pulled down by a more savvy Roy Hodgson!

perfect today.....long may this continue!

really hope things improve. I use this site everyday for my Saints fix and will miss it if this IS the end!