BARCELONASAINT

Right now i would like every Saints fan at St Marys tomorrow to stand up and applaud our board for the way they have conducted themselves and stood firm. I am ****ing myself with delight that Phil has stuck in a transfer request because he realises his career is short and wants to win things.....welcome to Barca Phil and P*** off you bunch of victims.

I want this total **** out of our club and if multiple top clubs are seriously interested then sell him to any of them except bloody Liverpool

Hopefully MP just playing coy until the ink is dried on the signature

I have said since the end of last season that i do not expect VVD to be anywhere other than at Saints for the start of this season and i have seen absolutely nothing to change my mind about that.....even that pathetic LFC attempts to get him were never going to work. We hold all the aces and always have done from the moment he signed the new contract. He is ours unless a ridiculous bid comes in for him and then in those circumstances i would be happy to see him go. I have no respect for the modern footballer. In the main they are nothing but mercenaries that couldn't give a crap about the club they play for. All they care about is the stupid amount of money they can earn. I will always support my team.....support the player....not any longer.

David Armstrong and Mark Dennis from my younger days were cult players for me for very different reason, one a no nonsense midfielder with an impressive eye for goal (my god how we could do with a midfielder like him today) And the other who always made me wince every time he went in for a tackle with his no holds barred attitude.....my god some of his tackles were later than British rail trains but often left the opposition feeling like they had been hit by a train!

David Armstrong and Mark Dennis from my younger days were cult players for me for very different reason, one a no nonsense midfielder with an impressive eye for goal (my god how we could do with a midfielder like him today) And the other who always made me wince every time he went in for a tackle with his no holds barred attitude.....my god some of his tackles were later than British rail trains but often left the opposition feeling like they had been hit by a train!

You really are an idiot. How on earth can you possibly know that Fonte either staying, being replaced by an expensive defensive signing would have meant we would have gone on to lift the trophy. Have you suddenly developed the skill to see into the future???....NO i didn't think so!

To be honest i will be happy if we have VVD for at least one more season and then cash in big in the summer of 2018. We will have ended up with him for one more season than i honestly expected we would!

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!