saint1977

Yes, he had some confident touches which nearly played Davis in. We were dire in the last 10 and started hoofing it which isn't what he's used to in the U21s. Look, we should have won that but Toby and Morgan out was a big blow. Fonte's made what 5 mistakes since 2010, you won't see that again from him this season. Fraser's confidence is gone though, totally at fault for the second and dithered for the first. Eddie Howe won't enjoy Boruc being recalled but it simply has to happen because Fraser will get peppered with crosses at Turf Moor and Bramhall Lane and we'll get a hiding in both games if he plays. Needs to get back to the U21s and get his feet moving again. Boruc in goal Sat, Toby and Morgan return, 3-1 win. Less said about Mane the better. Are you sure Ali Dia isn't having an expensive laugh? He makes George Lawrence look like Messi, Danny Wallace he ain't.

Tend to agree with this, Tadic has been outstanding this season and was our stand out in a poor display first half on Monday but vanished second half and today. Maybe it's the pace of the PL catching up with him slightly but didn't go past anyone today and was easy to defend against as he slowed everything down. Pelle was a bit static again which isn't helping him in fairness. Still, that was City at their best, don't think many sides in the world could have dealt with them today, showed Saints respect and ultra professional, Aguero decision didn't rattle them for long. Might have more tough medicine midweek to take but then focus on Burnley and Sheff Utd which are winnable games.

City bought their A+ game south today, as evidenced by the likes of Lampard coming off the bench. Don't think we've played well the last 2 games but need to re-group for mid-week and hope Cork is better. Hopefully Morgan only precautionary. Can stomach losing to an outstanding side like that but that second goal was absolutely pathetic to concede at a time when we had over 10 minutes at City + injury time to get at 10 men and that's the sort of thing that can be improved. Didn't get out quickly enough for the first but Toure kept it down really well. Him and Aguero were the difference between the sides. Overall, a bit of reality check but we're miles ahead so far this season of where we could have hoped and a couple of hints that we need a couple more new faces in the window to keep fresh.

Exeter fans are delighted about Harley's return - genuine legend there. Hope he hasn't lost a bit of fitness and heart at Swansea/Brighton/Swindon.

I've seen him play a few times (hence the location!) and I'm not surprised by this. Seems to be well known that he won't be at SJP by the end of the transfer window. Looks like a Saints player too - technically strong, takes a good set piece and not afraid to take risks. He is gaining in strength and I'm told his attitude is good - and would be a good fit.

I'd echo that, felt so sorry for him, has suffered some terrible knee problems which have curtailed a promising career. When he played for Swindon, a colleague said he was a cut above when fit and therein lies the problem. At Saints, IIRC he won an award in 2010/11 for his community work? So a decent chap as well with some ethics and integrity. On that basis, not sure he'll fit in at PFC

Where did that come from! Full backs made that.

By far the worst performance of the season. Stupid error by Fraser but lethargic throughout the side. Only Tadic has turned up and even he's been subdued second half. Our full backs normally get very crosses in but all sliced tonight behind the goal. Can't see us scoring to be honest. FFS Victor - get Cork on, at least we'll move the ball a lot quicker.

Exactly what I thought. Still, not our problem. Pleased for Rickie and great ball by Lallana - a goal made at Staplewood - but Liverpool dire apart from Lambert. Lallana subbed early as per the script and Lovren just awful. Doesn't seem like that long since Bolasie was scoring a consolation for Plymouth as we got promotion at Home Park and there he is destroying Liverpool in the PL, the skill for the second goal was brilliant. Great free kick by Jedinak. Joy for Warnock but more Selhurst misery for L'pool. How many more defeats can Rodgers survive? If they don't win midweek it could be (an expensive) game over for him. Really hope we win at Villa tomorrow night - although it will be tough - so we have double L'pool's points total. Ditto Hull hopefully beating Spurs next.

I'm with CB Fry, Pompey needed a third round derby versus Saints, we didn't other than it might have been useful to give some fringe and academy players a run out in front of a full house. It would have been a vital income stream for them and Hampshire Police. There's a small part of me that wanted us to play them and exceed the 7-0 from the FA Youth Cup last year but overall, best to keep them firmly in the shade of lower-mid-table League 2 and being knocked out by a non league outfit. Hope their league and cup wins in the 1930s and 1940s keep them sustained for the next 25 years of being in League 2 with the odd promotion into League 1 to enjoy.

Cheers. Masterchef the Professionals is on at 8pm and then The Apprentice so might put the game on record for the lolz in case they lose and will delete if they win. Sorry, that probably means I fail my seasoned PTS thread exam!

This. You don't find many strikers his size with athleticism. His finishing was very raw when he broke into the first XI but after his debut hat-trick, so was Shearer's for about a season-and-a-half at least. No guarantee of course that he'll turn into a top quality 15 goal target man but there were signs of many of the key ingredients last term. As S Clarke says, the Arsenal back four didn't enjoy facing him much.

I don't know if this answer is what you are looking for but I'll give it my perspective: - The squad depth is better - we are no longer one injury from playing Jos in the PL (much as we all like him), we have good competition between Bertrand and Targett. Gk has still been a worry until we found out Boruc could be recalled after 28 days of his loan at AFCB if need be. - The atmosphere - from what we can gather - at the club appears better. NC did a great job but he'd already threatened to quit in May 2013 so it wasn't a secret that there were tensions. KL was still assumed to be a passive backer which caused lots of hand-wringing on here. Whereas she has been more visible and seemingly involved since NC's departure which has been reassuring and you could argue that elements of the Staplewood develop could hint at her input e.g. the inclusion of clubs legends and history, meeting fans, visibility at games. - The manager: After MP's statement about only being here whilst NC was, plus him not speaking English, he had the feel of a temporary custodian. A talented custodian, but temporary nevertheless. Who knows what the future holds with Koeman but to hear his thoughts and ideas in English makes the fans feel more of a connection IMO. - Goals - as you rightly identify, we have been great to watch over the last few seasons and especially this and last. However, to see us carving Sunderland open even at 4 and 5-0 up did speak volumes.

Rodgers is getting well and truly found out now that Dracula has moved on and they've essentially wasted the proceeds like Spurs did with the Bale money. Lallana will probably do alright up there if the useless one gives him a run of games but barring last season never got enough goals from midfield on a consistent basis for Saints. Lovren is struggling for form, he might find it again if Rodgers grows a pair and drops Gerrard and puts some midfield screen in. However, their fans have their mind up about Dejan and will be slow to change it. Anita's little social media ponderings will be dissected and highlighted far more now too so looking like Zenit for £8m in the summer. Feel sorry for Rickie in many ways. We've moved on but he'll always be one of ours at heart. Still, for that huge layout on all three in fees, wages, signing on fees, agent costs etc, Brendan has to be sweating badly. I've not even mentioned yet about the total outlay on Balotelli. What was he thinking of? As for his excuses, Liverpool has always had deprivation but so has Manchester and I don't see either of their clubs struggling to attract top players and that's Man U without European football, let alone CL which Liverpool have had (but not enjoyed) this year. Tough to call on whether Rodgers or MP gets the sack first...

Given we can't be sure J Rod will ever be the same player - look at Faurlin's repeat injuries at QPR - and J Rod's was a really bad ACL, I'd take Kane + £7-10m. That would also pay for some of Bertrand’s fee to go permanent plus a signing on fee for Cork’s new contract (please Saints). However, I still think Danny Ings is a target for January or the summer with his contact running down. Hasn't hit the heights so far but seemed sharper on Sunday after injury and got on target. Suits our system and a Southampton lad. Not sure if we'd sign both given we've got Pelle, Long, Mane and Mayuka (who will be loaned out again IMO despite a useful cameo v Sunderland). What about Sam Gallagher?

I think ther squad depth is generally much better bar two areas - GK and RB. Toby could play there if Clyne got a knock but we don't know if he'd be as good as he is at centre back. Not having a recall clause on Boruc is risky though, must have had a huge falling out with Ronald. Hopefully Kelvin stays fit in the background and Cropper has developed. I think people are reading the Gazzaniga situation right though, Watson seems to have found him out. He's on a long contract though, like Mayuka although at least Mayuka is getting on the bench and looked decent in his cameo v a demoralised Sunderland. What do you think Saints will do? Loan him out to somewhere in non-league? He did well at Gillingham when they were L2 but has gone backwards since then. I'd offer him an early settlement on his contract and take the hit otherwise he'll become Forecast MKII. Do we sign another back-up in January?

Had to decide between going to Sunderland game or this one and chose Sunderland as it was my birthday! Sounds like we played better first half then we did v Sunderland where we had a ropey start but Stoke changed their shape second half although didn't threaten Fraser's goal a great deal. Delighted with the clean sheets and solidity which provides a platform for the front 3 - Pelle, Tadic, Mane/Long - to wreak havoc plus Morgan and Cork have got forward far more this season. Tough trip to Hull next week but fancy us to get at least a point. Interesting listening to commentary of Spurs v Newcastle yesterday and at H-T the taters were saying that for all of Spurs domination of possession they hadn't worked Krul a great deal and in fact had taken few shots at goal. Sums up the difference in approach, for all the great work MP did at SFC, and I'm really enjoying the more attacking outlook from Ronald.

More quotes I see. We've got our own heroes now - by all means boo him at the Liverpool game if he plays - but time to move on overall. Dusan Tadic seems to respond when the fans get behind him, let's make him even better rather than focus on someone who let himself down but we got a great fee for in the end. As I said in my previous post, it's Adam that will have regrets in the years to come about how he left, rather than the fact he left. It's not our problem.

Let it go everyone - he'll get plenty of stick at the game next year although I have a feeling Adam might just feel a hamstring twinge before the game etc. I didn't like how he behaved (allegedly) in his last few months at the club much and am glad that we don't have that type of preening ego inside our club anymore, as good a footballer as he is. Jose Fonte is a more appropriate and professional choice for the armband. Jamie Carragher wrote a very good piece in the Independent recently about how when players finish their careers and the money stops flowing for the ones playing in the PL, that how supporters percieved them and still take an interest means a great deal. They want to feel comfortable going back to watch games and get informally involved in their former clubs. Adam has robbed himself of that, that might not bother him now when the money and spotlight are it's height but it will later on when he has time to reflect. At least he doesn't want to finish his career with us - you've only got to look at Joe Cole to see that type of player doesn't age well sometimes.

Richly deserved by Jose and they might have done better last summer had he played in their group games. Incredible to think there were posters (a small but vocal minority) on this board who thought he wasn't good enough for PL football. He's been an inspiration through a turbulent summer and no surprise that MP allegedly turned to him when succeeding Nigel. Like Kelvin Davis, Jose is a cornerstone of SFC and couldn't be more delighted for him.

Quite a few posters, including Steve, questioned whether Essex might feel aggrieved at Worcs having won most of their games via Ajmal's illegal action. Here's your answer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/29474072 Talking of spinners, Hants need to build some bridges from Danny Briggs. Granted, he's not been quite the same bowler since getting some hammer for England in T20 games but that can happen to anyone. I think he needs to focus on 4 day cricket next year first and foremost. He's not a huge turner of the ball but he can get impressive drift and flight which is enough to get good players out when he's bowling confidently. He needs to focus on taking wickets and attacking when the match situation allows and then the other forms of cricket will gradually become less daunting.

After the usual facile Left-Right arguments for three pages, there's actually been some very sensible debate on this page of the thread. If only some of this had been mirrored at the party conferences :-( From a floating voter perspective, Osborne's speech made a lot more sense than Cameron's. Osborne in his time at 11 Downing St has come to understand that you need to counter sharp public spending reductions to some extent with investment in infrastructure and the science and knowledge bases. He's not got the likeable persona of Cameron which is a pity because IMO he's a far more able politician. Compare him with Balls and Milliband and quite frankly there isn't any contest, the Unions screwed Labour big time there. They've learned nothing from Brown's disasters. However, Cameron rather fudged that clarity with a idiotic speech and why there's a need for tax cuts for £50-100k earners when we've still more than 50% of the defecit to clear I'll never know other than he read in one of Friedman's books. To now backtrack and claim the lowest paid will benefit fools no-one, neither his stealing of the the Lib Dem achievement on getting the very lowest earners and PT workers out of income tax.

Bird is a very good signing but less sure on Arafat unless he can qualify as a domestic player for next season. Tymal Mills has turned down a new deal with Essex - don't blame him for not wanting to bowl on the turgid surface there which is more suited to old trundlers like David Masters - so is looking for a new club with pace and bounce. His record isn't great on paper but with the right coaching and a quicker surface he could be a good signing. Trouble is, I suspect Hants have spent their quick bowlers budget now.

Many thanks Halo, we'll give it a try before the Sunderland game. Belfast one sounds great from Smirking Saint's feedback and will definately visit that if the opportunity arises. The other museum on a related theme I've always fancied going to is the North Sea oil museum in Aberdeen.

Make me another one who agrees. The outgoing players were already lining up their excuses for going tied to MP's likely departure when in reality they'd probably been tapped up but easy to say with the benefit of hindsight. MP was a good manager for us overall, definately a tactical step up on Nigel but without Nigel's strong connection to the fans and club. Nigel will be remembered more fondly over the years. So no bitterness towards him from me and unlike Lallana I wouldn't give him any stick at the games as he only ever felt like a good quality temporary. Others have summed it up well - he only began speaking English at Spurs, always referred to the 'Project' not the club, Sunderland Cup debacle, Osvaldo signing. Much prefer Koeman overall but I don't want to re-write history, MP did a good job. However, I do wonder if his attitude made some of the emerging primadonnas such as Lallana worse?