BARCELONASAINT

My take on the statement from Reed is that the club will not be bullied by any other clubs (the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City etc). We will not be held to ransom by stroppy players that were happy to sign nice big long contracts for fantastic wages. All our top players are on long contracts and we most definitely do not need to sell to balance the books. Reed has basically said no one is going anywhere this season.....and the caveat to that is "unless a club like Man City come in and want to pay well over the odds for a player" And to be honest i have no issue with this. Every player has a price and that includes the likes of VVD. As much as i would hate to see him go £70+ million would be too much to turn down. It's the same for any other player at the club. I honestly believe we will not sell anyone unless we get ridiculous offers for them. Some may disagree but if the reported £12 million fee for Jayrod is accurate then i think the club have done very very well to off load a player that seems to break down more often than a Ford!

JWP free kicks and corners are causing mayhem in that Germany penalty area. If only we were capable of finishing off the chances he creates with his perfect delivery.....bit like watching Saints!

welcome to the mighty Saints....lets hope he proves to be as good as our previous Mauricio!!!

I sometimes think we have not progressed very much as a race when i hear derogatory remarks about our players and managers based on their nationality....and over the seasons there have been plenty of abusive remarks by some on this forum regarding our foreign players or managers. This is the 21st Century and I like to think we have vastly improved as a nation and on the whole racism is not accepted in any shape or form and football fans in general have improved. Some issues around Nationality do spark up some unwanted nastiness from some and most of us will remember when POCH came under all sorts of flack when he made certain comments about the Falklands.....I think this is a good example of where politics and such have no place in football and both managers and players alike should be well advised to keep quiet. I am lucky to have had a Spanish father and English mother and feel i benefited being brought up in a more racially tolerant household during the 60's and 70's. I am in the Puel OUT camp purely based on what i have witnessed this season. I don't believe he is capable of getting the best out of our players, i don't think the players believe in him and the football has been as dull as ditch water!

I stayed on for the players to come out and say thank you to the fans....surely it is them saying thank you to us for putting up with the constant crap we have served you all season at home??? Anyway, enough of my bitterness after another abject performance. If the walk around was any sign of what players were off i would that Cedric is off.....he was the one player who really stood and applauded the fans for the longest as if to say thank you and goodbye.....he could just as easily have been more grateful to those of us that stayed to applaud the players. Bertrand just did not look interested at all and i think he is already gone VVD....I still have no idea....Desperate for him to stay but knowing this board i wouldnt be surprised to see them accept a big offer

I have waited until almost the end of the season to make my mind up over Puel. I really hate changing managers without giving them a really good run at doing the job and for what it is worth these are my thoughts. Like many others, at the start of the season i would have happily have taken 8th place, a decent run in Europe and a Cup final....in fact i would have said the equals a great season. I will take our European campaign first....for a manager that was supposedly experienced in Europe he made a right cock up with the campaign and i felt so let down by some of his team selections In the league we have had a peculiar season, some of the games were great to watch with fantastic attacking football....we just lacked a goalscorer. Then for some reason we reverted to pedestrian sit back sideways football, which quite frankly has bored me to death. Yes one could argue we were very unlucky with the Austin injury and likewise VVD.....But from what i can see the players look very frustrated with Puels tactics, especially at home. We had a great run in the League cup with some gutsy performances and we were excellent in the final....i was so proud of our performance. For me the performances in general have been drab and more importantly i dont think the players are happy. I will back Puel if he is here next season....but i personally do not think he can energise the players and convince our better players he is the man for the job. For these reasons i would say...thank you and goodbye Claude.

Personally believe Gabby is fit and being rested for Utd game....nothing more to it

if we win, i will be very surprised!!! 

I think you are wrong and did not see the game last night! Gabby is one of the most intelligent footballers we have at the club. He spent all last night making excellent off the ball runs only for our boring midfield players to play sideways football. He is being massively let down by the likes of Tadic, Boufal and Redmond. Redmond for some reason has gone right off the boil and did not want to get to the byline but instead kept passing it back much to Bertrands frustration. Our lack of crosses at the moment is appalling and i cannot understand why we have stopped playing the attacking football we were playing around the cup final time.

quite possibly the worst game i have had to endure for a very long time. The players are on holiday alreadY!!!

lol, I do laugh at hypocrisy of some of our fans.....had that been Bournemouth against Saints and Mings had stamped on Gabbys head we would all be calling for blood and a lifetime ban for a player deliberately stamping on another players head....and yes i watched the game and i have no doubt at all Mings knew exactly what he was doing. Zlatan was just as bad and he knew as soon as he elbowed Mings that he was likely to get sent off. Both deserve the bans and i have no problems with Mings being a longer ban for what he did. And please don't get me started on Barca, they did what they had to do and one could easily argue PSG could easily of have had a couple of players sent off. Again had that been Saints achieving that monumental come back not one of you would be complaining and you all would be celebrating madly and accusing opposition fans of sour grapes. I'm glad i can enjoy both my teams!... And before any of you ask how i can support two teams....its purely down to the fact i'm a Southampton lad that grew up with a Spanish father who supported Real Madrid...so obviously i supported the team he hated....lol

I watched the game last night and was impressed with Caceres and how confident he was on the ball. Showed a nice couple of touches in and around our penalty area when in a tricky position that got a warm round of applause from the brave souls at St Marys last night. I am quietly confident he will slot into the back four well. However he has probably had harder training sessions than last nights game, only the training staff will know if he is sharp enough to the likes of Kane and Ali. I was really hoping that last nights game would be a bit more full on to test him but both teams seemed to cancel each other out and there was hardly a single shot for either keeper to worry about. Little bit concerned about Boufal. He is without doubt a very talented young man and I have to remember he is only 23 and playing in a foreign country and everything that goes with that. (My eldest is 22, lives in London because of work and suffers from bouts of homesickness) I'm hoping his stroppy performance last night was just frustration of having to play with the U23's and the lack of any real quality around him......I'm sorry but Jrod needs to move on to kick start his career again (very sorry for the lad)

feeling numb this morning, so pleased i have the day off from work. I am so proud of our side, they gave everything for themselves, the club and the fans. I so hope the board will keep this side together plus a couple of decent signings, next season could be really exciting.....and my god we seem to have found a gem in Gabby!

Can hardly concentrate at work, so excited about tomorrow and so proud that we are back at Wembley in a major final. You would have thought at 52 I would be taking this all in my stride....I'm as nervous as hell

channon was recently interviewed and stated that he has given his tickets to younger members of his family so that they can experience a Wembley final. He was quoted as saying he would watch the game down his local with friends.

He could become a Saints legend only 3 games into his Saints career if can produce the goods on Sunday.....please, please, please

I was 11 years old in 76 and didn't go to Wembley, my dad did with his mates. My mum decided that Southampton would be deserted on that May afternoon and took me out shopping instead!!!! I lived in Lordshill back in those days and my memories live long in my heart as i was running home from the bus stop as fast as i could when suddenly as i got close to my house one of my friends flew out of his front door screaming we had just scored. I got to watch the last few minutes and went crazy with joy. The next few hours were spent with my mates on Lordshill Way waving our scarfs wildly at passing traffic that honked their horns back at us. Fantastic time, such excitement and joy. Yes we have been back to Wembley a few times since and my greatest memory was being there for the Johnstone player trophy with my eldest son and my wife and wildly celebrating a Saints win at Wembley and seeing Markus with his camera. Us Saints fans know how to enjoy the occassion, the Manchester fans will never understand it.....I really hope we win on the 26th, not just because i want us to but so every current fan gets to understand the sheer joy i had as an 11 year old back in 76!

I am SO HAPPY to admit i got this wrong today. I really did think our players would have their minds on Wembley and not turn up today. First 20 minutes i thought we were awful but after that we grew into the game and once the first goal went in their confidence drained whereas ours grew. What a difference it is to have a striker with natural striker movement and finishing. Thankyou thankyou Saints for lifting my spirits. Now for a repeat of "76" C'mon you Saints!!!

Tadic needs to show today he is worthy of his Cup final place, he has been poor of late but so capable of providing Gabbiadini with the killer passes

I just cannot see anything but a Sunderland win. They have nothing to play for other than their Premiership survival, which is everything. They will know our players will not want to get injured and risk missing the Cup final. They had a brilliant result against Palace last week and will be flying. We are on a really poor run, we have a very soft centre, we cannot score goals and our players have only one thing on their minds...the Cup final. I so hope i'm wrong....we need a confidence boosting win and no injuries. C'mon Saints!

The side for the final apart from any injuries picked up between now and then will be Forster, Bertrand, Yoshida, Stephens, Cedric (Careres wont play if he signs) Romeu, Stephen Davis, Boufal, Gabbiadini, Ward Prowse, Redmond......I accept you could swap Ward Prowse for either Hojberg or Classie but I think Ward Prowse is the managers preferred player. I think Tadic has possibly fallen out of favour and will not start. Think Redmond will get the nod over Jayrod and Long for a starting berth. I could be wrong CB but I suspect this will be the side.

Does anyone really expect our players to be up for this game?? I certainly don't, not in our last game before Wembley....no one will want to risk an injury and miss out on the biggest game of their domestic careers. If WE had a manager like Sir Alex Ferguson then you could use the argument that the players will have to play for their cup final spot....we don't and they won't....the starting 11 for the cup final pretty much now picks itself. I really really hope i'm wrong but I can see nothing but a loss, 2-0 Sunderland.

I had this discussion with mates at work this morning after telling them after the Liverpool semi final win that we would not win another game before Wembley. I was convinced then and i've seen nothing since to convince me that the players care nothing for the club but only care about their own glory.....I'm realistic to know a Cup final rarely comes round for most players and there is not a single player that wants to risk not seeing their chance to play on the day. I hate all this kissing the badge stuff, there are not many players in the modern game where the club is what matters most to them. From our current crop the only one that comes even close to being a club man is Ward Prowse (now that Fonte has gone). I get more and more disillusioned with football by the day, they are all just mercenaries. With Wembley just around the corner i look back and compare our 76 F A Cup side to our current crop.....maybe it's just nostalgia but i don't feel as excited about this final as i remember being in 76....i just don't feel the same connection with this current team! Don't get me wrong, come the 26th i will be roaring our boys on!!

The Southampton Way...I know what i think it should be and what i believe the club strive to achieve...and in the main i think they have been very good at it in recent years. The main aim of every club should be :-- 1/ to stay in the Premiership every season 2/balance the books at least and if possible make profit 3/ develop your own player to prevent having to spend millions on potentially risky transfers 4/ If they do buy then buy cheap and sell high 5/ Hope to have the occasional good cup run 6/ hope the fans will accept all the above and if they dont....the board won't worry because football fans are exactly that ...football fans and will keep coming I want us to challenge for everything, i want us to be Champions and masters of Europe.....but i'm realistic enough to know having supported Saints for 47 year that "The Southampton Way" is items 1-6, plus maybe a few others.

I always try to remain optimistic but there is always one club that after Xmas suddenly falls down the table and gets sucked into the relegation scrap. No one will want to get injured before the Cup Final so I cant see us picking up wins in either of our next two games. West Ham are cloggers and Andy Carroll will have a field day. We are up against it without a shadow of doubt in my opinion. We are one injury away from utter disaster in our back four!