BARCELONASAINT

got my ticket for this game but considering it's a Cup semi final i've never been less excited about a game and would happily not go. I'm not slagging off our side, the manager or the board but i'm realistic enough to know we don't stand a chance ON CURRENT form. Liverpool have rested their entire first team for the game against Plymouth and it is clear they are going for this tie big time. I will support my team and hope against hope that the footballing gods somehow smile on our players who rediscover the art of free flowing attacking football with some end product. It wouldn't be so bad against any other team but it's Liverpool and my god i hate them and their arrogant supporters.

Lets put this all into perspective...Fonte is paid what?...about £70,000 pw to do what he absolutely loves. He earns in 1 week 3 times the average national YEARLY salary. He will retire from football somewhere in his mid to late 30's and unless he has been a complete plank he should never have to do a days hard work. God i feel so sorry for him:x

mmmm, not sure what to say about this...surprised???....no not in the least, I think everybody had worked out Fonte wanted out months ago and was hoping a big money move would have happened in the summer. Personally i think he was made to look a bit of a **** with his lack of communication with the fans after the Euro's.....it was obvious he hoped for a move then. He has been brilliant for us, no question. Is this a good time to sell?...hmmm, possibly if the price is right.....personally i hope a Chinese club are in for him because they are paying massively over the odds for players and the amount we would get from China WOULD buy an adequate replacement. I honestly cannot see a top 6 Premiership side coming in for him and if thats the case why would he leave....which then makes you wonder if there has been some massive player revolt. Either way it's a sad way for a player like Fonte to leave and i put this on par with Lallana leaving. Another loved by the fans but is now loathed by many for the way he handled himself....surprisingly after another big football tournament!!!

This does not bode well for the rest of the season.....whoever said supporting Saints was dull:lol: I won't get too down in the dumps about this as there is no point....there is nothing i can do to change things and generally speaking nothing we fans can do as a whole....look at the last time fans on here championed a boycott or walking out of a game at a certain point:? I will just wait to see how this all plays out

I'm no different to any Saints fan out here.....even Heisenberg:lol:....I want to see us challenging at the top, maybe winning trophies and keeping hold of all our star players. However i like to think that after over 40 years of supporting Saints and just being a football fan in general i have a realistic view of football and what most owners of clubs want or are prepared to accept. Marcus took over a club that was worth very little and between he and now Kat has turned it into a well run club with assets worth absolutely millions more than they inherited...by anyones standards that is success. We have had seasons of success upon success and now find ourselves in that group of about 6 clubs potentially challenging for a European spot each season. Personally i think most owners of a football club would take this story of success and financial security every day of the week......football fans have a different outlook, they want all of the above and to be winning trophies and qualifying for Europe every season....(take Arsenal fans for an example, fantastic success under Wenger and yet they really are a bunch of miserable gits wanting more and more) I think most owners of clubs go into every season with the ambition to do well and improve on the previous season and if luck is on their side have a decent cup run....and if luck really is on their side a cup final....however i honestly don't think the majority care about a cup.....they care about survival, not making a huge loss and hopefully having one or two players that have a blinding season that increases their stock value.....This is a business to the owners of clubs, nothing more nothing less (i accept there are a few insanely rich owners that care not about losing money providing they can buy a title) Whatever the football fans will still turn up to games....especially if you continue to be a top flight club....yes u may lose a few but in general we love our sport and love our club. As we go into 2017 accept that football is a business and unless we get taken over by an insanely rich owner we will continue to be a decent top flight club that will sometimes get some great results and might get lucky to get a good cup run but we will never challenge the top 4 and unlikely challenge the top 6....a one off like Leicester is all we can dream about. Have a good 2017 all Saints fans including you Heisenberg....relax more.

that was a silly tackle when we are already down to 10 players

Sometimes you just have to hold you hands up and admit the opposition are better without slating everyone of our players and having to have a scapegoat. Poch has got his tactics spot on and we can't deal with it. It was a penalty and it was a red card....if that happened against that we would have all been baying for a pen and a sending off. Personally i think Puel got it wrong playing Redmond, Boufal and Jayrod all together against this Spurs side.

Personally i think the board have got it spot on with this one, they offered him a pay rise to reflect his position within the club after a great season for the club and Fonte. He is contracted to 2018. Think back how many time we bought players and offered silly money to ageing pro's looking for that last big pay packet.....some worked out, some didn't. We are no longer that club, thank god. Fonte has been excellent for Saints and i love the guy.....but Saints have been fantastic for him, lets not forget that! I completely understand him wanting to extend his contract and therefore extend his Premiership footballing days but this is a business and i believe the board are doing what is right for the club. I'm sorry but Fonte does not really have much to moan about at all.

Brilliant,this made me laugh after a dull day.......and i so agree

excellent news, really pleased for the lad and the academy as it shows all the others that Southampton is the place to be........now get Josh Simms tied to a new longer contract

You do know that this forum is not the place for such sensible and even headed comments......it just won't do don't you know:lol:

I am one of the last to bad mouth our team and hate the idiots that appear on this forum as soon as we get a bad result......but i have to admit there is no excuse for that woeful display tonight. Depressed tonight, Lukaku will be licking his lips tonight.

I'm one very happy happy Saints fan this morning. Don't mind admitting i was despondent at half time, i thought we were lacking any cutting edge first half. I thought Jrod just didnt look right and i said to my son watch Tadic miss this pen.....why oh why he is allowed to take them is beyond me. Second half we came out all guns blazing, much quicker tempo, more direct and VVD led the team fantastically. I have always admired JWP and last night i felt vindicated in my defence of this player, he was outstanding. Again Yoshi has done everything asked of him and played a blinder. I have my suspicions about Fonte not yet starting a Europa game and i think January might be interesting. Hats off to Puel, the guy has done very little wrong since coming here and has given the whole squad belief in themselves. What a morning to wake up and be a Saints fan!! Its a

I must admit my gut re-action to the possibility we are being sold to the Chinese was one of concern.ML and then KL with the fantastic team she has around her have transformed our club into a well oiled club that is the envy of many in football.There is no doubt we are a very attractive proposition for a potential buyer.I have trusted ML and then KL in doing what was best for SFC and they have never let us down, despite the minority on here that feel the opposite.....All good things must one day come to an end and i'm sure everyone of us knew that one day KL would call time on her journey with us......if that time is now, all I can say is a massive thank you to KL and her family for not only saving our club but transforming it into the highly respected football club it is today.I fully trust that she would do her utmost to make sure that any prospective buyer of the club have the clubs best intentions at heart.

There is no way on gods green earth that my missus would get out tonight and away from the match.....I almost had a heart attack last night when she asked if i would pick our daughter up from Brownies 15 mins before the Barca kick off.....just made it back in time!

Puel seems to have this squad rotation malarky well worked out. Really pleased with the performance and the point.....it says alot i'm slightly disappointed not to get all 3 points because we were definately the better side.

Football has been rotten to the core for decades now and we all know that. Southampton have in THE PAST been no different to any other club in that respect and there have been quite a few ex Saints players that still live locally that have talked about being summoned to the managers office handed an envelope full of cash and told "you've been sold"....the envelope their little sweetner for saying nothing and accepting the move.However I fully believed that since Markus bought the club we had totally moved away from those shady dealings and SFC was seen to be a very "clean" club.Everyone at SFC will be dismayed by these revelations and I expect swift action from the club.

That was an awful game to watch.....but i will take the positives from a very long trip in a hostile stadium. We have kept another clean sheet and never really looked in trouble and fingers crossed no one has picked up an injury.

Morning HBS and welcome on this exciting day for both our teams. I for one totally agree with you and just wish some idiots on here would leave the politics where it belongs.....this is a football forum for us to discuss our passion.Please don't think the minority of idiots posting their propaganda crap on here represent the majority of Saints fans, because they certainly do not!Looking forward to this evenings game. Your team got a brilliant win against the Italians and I am expecting a tough game for us. Lets hope for a great game where football is the winner.Have a great day.

Totally this.....but it will not stop the regular idiots on this forum still *****ing like hell

the only criticism anyone can have about that performance is the finnishing.....apart from that it was a very convincing 1-0 win with some wonderful slick football in the second half. Full credit to Puel for the timing of the second half subs.

Todays game will be very different from Thursdays Europa training session!....There is no way Swansea will be that poor and we will need to keep improving (I honestly think we have been getting better and better) if we are going to get a win. I think there will be changes again to the side but i'm hoping Puel saw that Cuco is a great crosser of a ball and starts him ahead of Cedric who is out of form at the moment. For me Austin has to start, he has shown if you get the deliveries into the box he will always be a real threat. For me Long has to start ahead of Redmond, Long is the perfect foil for Austin.My one dilemma funny enough is the CB pairing....I really think Fonte is out of form and the Euro's have effected him badly.....Yoshi is a far better defender than people give him credit for...if only he could cut out the one a game bad back pass!....Fonte has been making mistakes but just does not get scrutinised as much! For me this has a tight game written all over it with one goal either way deciding it. Would like to be proven wrong and we win comfortably.

for what its worth these are my thought on Austin's performance last night. He is paid to score goals and he got two and so almost had a hat trick. Austin is a poacher, I don't think he works well if he is told to chase the opposition defence all over the place (that is LONG's strength)Austin got service last night, some great crosses into the box and he was there or thereabouts.He was blowing out of his arse by halftime.If we choose to play Austin then Claude needs to play to his strengths.....personally I believe Austin is a natural goal scorer and we should be adapting our game to suit him...or whats the point of having him.Considering Jrod had only been on the pitch a few minutes he took his goal extremely confidently and it will do his confidence the world of good.

you really are a stupid f**k, **** off and support another club you tiresome idiot!