Minsk

Toothless

Match Day 12 - Liverpool Home - Drew 0-0 A hard fought draw against a (previously) free-scoring Liverpool; although, to be honest, they did miss a few they would normally score whilst we barely troubled them at all. Never-the-less, praise to the defense (VvD in particular) for some great, and last gasp, defending and for FF for a couple of fine saves. Match Day Comparison Last season we won match day 12 (1-0) away to Sunderland. Therefore, we have dropped 2 points and now have a..... 6 point deficit Match by Match Comparison Who could forget that last season we came from 2-0 down to beat Liverpool 3-2 at St Mary's? Yesterday's draw means that we are 2 points light on our total last season from this type of comparison, again giving us a........ 6 point deficit Next up is a little trip over to Prague before hosting the other Scouse outfit, and our ex-manager. Last season we lost Match Day 13 (0-1) at home to Stoke! We also lost at home to Everton (3-0). So we have a great opportunity to halve our deficits on both counts next weekend! COYS

I absolutely get that and appreciate that the club are standing by him. Moreover, I desperately want him to be the player he was 2 years ago however likely that may be. However, to my mins, given the way the past two seasons have gone (last season especially) he should have been treated more like a development player - giving him time to build his fitness, sharpness and confidence. The problem is, though, that this is not just about JRod. The club also knew that Boufal wouldn't get a full league 90 minutes in until late November (if he even manages it by then). They let us go into the first half half of the season with only 5 first squad forwards - 1 of which had fitness doubts, another is really a creative midfielder and yet another had only ever played as a winger prior to this season. All in the knowledge that we would effectively be playing 3 up front this season (thus utilising at least 4, usually 5 forwards each match) while having to play twice a week, virtually every week, until the new year. I really don't see how anyone can not see that we should have had at least one more forward in the squad. The relevance of my comment is that Austin would not have been picked for Italy ahead of Pelle. The obvious implication there being that Pelle is the better player; thus we have accepted a downgrade with the replacement - ditto if Redmond is Mane's replacement.

I think it's fair to say, having read many of your previous posts, that I easily understand how football clubs work as well as you do - quite possibly more so. We wouldn't have had to buy Bony, Stoke have him on loan. I believe Benteke would have given us another option and, if Crystal Palace could do so, why couldn't we have afforded him? Although, I do admit that CP probably did over pay for him. Negredo would have also offered us something different - experienced, mobile, can put away chances - I am sure he would have scored far more playing fr us than for 'boro and would have been a very handy option to have as cover until Boufal found his again. Again, 'boro have him on loan, so he wouldn't have cost much to bring in. Defoe, I only added because he fit your criteria of having scored more goals than Austin thus far. - I notice you decided to ignore the mention of players who have. Berahino, I was calling us to sign all summer. And you have also said you would like us to sign him. So, do we need to sign someone or not? Make your mind up. Again, yes Austin was probably signed to eventually replace Pelle. Possibly Redmond is also Mane's replacement. Neither of the two currently at Saints are (at this moment in time) as good as those they replaced. Call me old fashioned, but I thought the way to improve a squad is to buy better than those they are replacing?? I am also fully aware that Shane Long and Dusan Tadic are not performing as well as last season. Perhaps that's because of extra matches? Hence why we should have a, slightly, bigger and better squad? And yes I know Shane has been injured, which again shows that we should have more depth to the squad given the Boufal injury and doubts as to JRod's fitness. As for Sturridge - no thank you. But again, the names above are just that I threw in off the top of my head. It is not my job to identify players for Saints to purchase, or loan. There is a team of well paid guys to do that. However, as a fan, I feel that I have a right to point out where and when I feel those running the club have let us down. One more thing that you continually ignore, we are allowed a squad of 25 players over the age of 21. We only named 23, which includes: Pied (out for the season); Isgrove (1 Premier League appearance and way off being good enough); Jack Stephens (5th choice CB, has only made 1 first team appearance, and also not Premier League standard); Stuart Taylor (3rd - or is he 4th? - choice 'keeper who has only made 7 first team appearances in the past 7 years and who is often overlooked in favour of Harry Lewis). As I have repeatedly said, we certainly have room in the squad for another attacking player. I am not advocating for us to spend 'gazzillions' on players ala that lot down the road - it's you who think we should only target the likes of Aguero, Costa, Lukaku or Ibrahimovic - but we absolutely should have a better striker than Olomola on the bench when playing the likes of Inter Milan and Chelsea!

You can always tell when someone is losing an argument, or who doesn't really have much of an argument at all, as they start to use foul and abusive language....... but, anyway.......... pray tell, who is bedwetting and who are the morons? Anybody who dares to have an opinion different to yours? As for the rest of your post..... seeing as you made such a big point that none of the players I mentioned have scored more goals than Austin (thus far) this season does that mean, in your mind, Saints should never sign any striker other than Costa, Aguero, Lukaku, Ibrahimovic or Defoe? Of course, there are also Hazard and Sanchez who could be played up front, and some guy called Mane...... Plus, should we really count penalties anyway? I mean, unless your name is Tadic, they should be buried every time. So, unless players being compared have had the same number of penalty opportunities to score from it isn't really fair, is it? So, let's look at goals scored from open play in the prem: Austin 3; Benteke 3; Bony 2; Negredo 1; Berahino (the onof the four you would like us to go for in January) 0 - that last part kind of negates all the previous comments re goals scored by the way. But anyhow...... maybe, just maybe, if any of the aforementioned players had been in our starting 11 since the start of the season, they may have scored far more than Austin has; they may not, nobody knows - but had we signed one of them, or any other striker, we would have had more options. I said this on another thread and you ignored it so will repeat it here..... This season we play with 3 up front - the tip of the midfield diamond is often further forward than the forwards. That means, to cope with a match every 3 or 4 days, we should have at least 6 players available for those 3 positions. At least 4, most often 5, forwards are utilised during each and every match. However, seeing as we bought Boufal knowing he wouldn't be available for the first few months that has never been the case - and that is without going into the doubts over JRods and Charlie's fitness/stamina. IMHO, we absolutely, definitely, should have bought one more forward during the summer window or, at the very least, not let Gallagher go out on loan for the season (although I believe the club were right to loan him out). We have been handicapped since the season started. We had room in the squad, we had the money (or should have had given the profit we made) but the board failed to deliver. Honestly, I think it shocking that during a couple of very big matches our only attacking option from the bench has been a 19 year old with zero minutes of premier league experience.

Do you honestly believe that if he was Italian Austin would have represented that country in the Euros during the summer? We have not 'adequately' replaced Pelle or Mane. Last season we mostly played 4-2-3-1; this season it is 4-1-2-1-2 - although, really, more like 4-3-3. So, we are playing with more forwards yet have fewer on the books than we did at the end of last season. Despite the fact we signed Austin 'probably' as an early replacement for Pelle in January, given our extra games and fitness/stamina doubts over Charlie, JRod and Boufal's injury, we absolutely should have signed at least one more striker in the summer. We only have a squad of 23 which includes one injured for the season, an ancient 'keeper who hasn't played a competitive match in years and two who are nowhere near good enough for the prem. We absolutely had the money and the room in the squad to sign at least one more striker. As to whom, why should that be my job to say? We have a team of scouts paid good money to identify possible candidates. But we could have gone for Benteke, Berahino, Bony, Negredo or countless others who would have given us other options. No doubt these are all rubbish in yours eyes but, to turn it around, do you think there was nobody whom we could have realistically signed who would have improved our attack?

Feel free to add one.

Match Day 11 - Hull Away - Lost 2-1 Wow what a strange few days. Thursday evening we were 1-0 down to Inter Milan, missed a penalty (well, Tadic had one saved) and yet managed to turn it around to win 2-1. In contrast, on Sunday, we were handed a 1-0 lead (courtesy of a Charlie Austin penalty) and then, somehow, managed to throw the match and points away despite dominating most of it. Match Day Comparison Last season we won Match Day 11 (2-0) at home to Bournemouth. The dropped three points sees us with a....... 4 point deficit Match by Match Comparison Obviously, we didn't play in the league last year so I am using our results against Aston Villa instead pf them. Last season we won 4-2 away to Villa (oh to see us score 4 goals this season....) so another 3 points dropped. This, again, gives us with a....... 4 point deficit We now go into an international break (finger crossed all our players return unscathed - unlike last time 'Shane Long' - although wouldn't it just be our luck for Boufal to pick up an injury) before a home match to high-flying, top of the table, Liverpool........ Last season our home match against Liverpool was one of the games of the season, when we came back from 2-0 to win 3-2. Mind you, Mane played for us that day (scoring 2), now he plays for them.... In Match Day 12 last season we won 1-0 away to Sunderland.

Match Day 10 - Chelsea Home - Lost 2-0 After a stunning full home debute goal from Boufal saw us into the last 8 of the League Cup (and an away draw to Arsenal) Saints sadly missed out on the chance to equal or better their points record for the same period last season. Match Day Comparison Last season we drew Match Day 10 (1-1) away to Liverpool, which means we are now one point worse off........ 1 point deficit Match by Match Comparison Last season we also lost at home to Chelsea (2-1) but at least managed a consolation goal. So no difference, still a........ 1 point deficit Next up is an away trip to Hull; who, for these purposes, I have replaced Villa with. Last season we won 4-2 away to Villa, whilst Match Day 11 saw us beat Bournemouth 2-0 at home. Therefore, anything less than a win will see us lose ground on both counts.

We should have one more striker than we currently have. Name me one match so far where we have had all of those 6 players available. The club knew that Boufal wouldn't be up to playing until mid-October. Additionally, given the past 2 seasons, everyone knew the risk about JRod's fitness. Add to that the fact that Austin can't regularly play twice in a week, and that Redmond had never been played as a striker prior to this season, with all the matches we have to play this season was obvious we would need one more option. Oh, and if we had one more they would hardly be stopping Gallagher's progress would they? Plus, IMHO, Olomola is far from ready for the first team. You are quite right, the squad limit is 25 senior players - we named 23, including: Pied (out for the season); Isgrove (not a PL player); and Jack Stephens (still a fair bit off being a PL player, but closer than Isgrove) I'm pretty sure that Gallagher is on a season long loan and therefore cannot be recalled. He is, however, far more experienced and much better than Olomola, who should be nowhere near our first team squad yet. As has been mentioned above, thus far this season we have never had the so-called first pick 6 forwards available for selection. We knew that one of them was going to be unavailable for the first few months of the season, thus putting more strain on the others. Virtually every match at least one, sometimes two, of the forwards is substituted. This means we need at least four available, but preferably five, for every match - every 3 days or so. We started the season with only five, knowing that we wouldn't get to six for some while and with fitness doubts over two of the others. This is why many of us feel we should have signed another forward/striker. I am not saying this because we lost to Chelsea and to Inter; I have been saying it since the window closed. However, it was highlighted by the fact that when we were a goal down, and Inter had a player sent off, we didn't have a forward with any first team experience to bring on; and again on Sunday with only Boufal (just back from a very long absence) and Olomola (nowhere near ready for the first team) as our only attacking options from the bench. We played very well in the first of those matches, not so well (and were simply beaten by a very good team) in the second. But we would have stood a better chance of getting something from both had we had better attacking options available.

Basing it on how good the players are right now (this season) I would replace Lovren, J Rod and Lambert with Yoshida, Redmond and Long (controversially, I would also be tempted to swap Puncheon for JWP as I believe he would add more given the other midfield options). As for answering the OP: I would have most of them back. Obviously, you have to look at where we are currently weakest if limited to the numbers. Also, the OP rather contradicts himself in saying from the last 3-4 years and then including the likes of Walcott and Ox-C in the list to choose from. So, including all ex-Saints still playing and capable of doing a job for us these are the ones I would take back and the order in which I would take them: Bale Walcott Toby Morgan Mane Ox-C Clyne Victor Shaw Pelle Chambers Boruc Lallana (grudgingly, but only if he showed great humility and made a huge, multi-million pound, donation to a local charity such as Naomi House/Jacksplace)

Match Day 9 - Man City away - Drew 1-1 After an agonising trip out to the San Siro, where we dominated the match but somehow managed to lose 1-0, Saints visited top-of-the-table Citeh at the Eithad. This time it was a deserved 1-1 draw, with some excellent defending, and we even had a chance or two to nick the win. Match Day Comparison Last season we also drew match day 9, 2-2 at home to Leicester. Therefore we remain on..... Level Points Match by Match Comparison Last season we were soundly beaten, 3-1, up there. A much better display, and result, now sees us with just the... 1 point deficit Next up is a home match against a Chelsea side which has just battered Man Utd by 4-0; after a mid-week league cup match against Sunderland that is. Last season we lost, 2-1, at home to Chelsea; whilst match day 10 saw us take a point away from Anfield. If we get a draw in this one we will be exactly level pegging with last season's points tallies on both counts; whereas, of course, a win will see us exceed them.......

Echo says he is in hospital with non-life threatening condition. http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/14815120.Saints_fan_collapses_in_stand_at_San_Siro/?ref=mr&lp=2

Could and should have won that. We were the better team all over except where it matters most. Let down by the boards failure/decision in not signing a decent goal scorer in the summer. Also, 10 minutes left in a match where you are trailing 1-0 and the opposition has gone down to 10 men and no striker on the bench; not only that, but the manager takes a striker off and puts on a cm FFS!

Match Day 8 - Burnley Home - Won 3-1 Another match which seemed to start rather flat but one in which we got better and better as it went on. To say we 'only' scored 3 may sound a bit churlish but without an incredible performance by Tom Heaton we could have easily matched the eight we put past Sunderland last season. A pity about the penalty which put an end to our run of clean sheets. Match Day Comparison Last season we also won Match Day 8 by a 3-1 scoreline, except it was away to Chelsea. Therefore we remain on the same 12 points from 8 matches we had at this stage last season. Level points Match by Match Comparison I have substituted Burnley for Newcastle for the sake of this comparison and, funnily enough, we also beat Newcastle 3-1 at home last season. Therefore we remain at a.... 2 point deficit Next up is trip to the Etihad to face Citeh; after a little little jaunt over to the San Siro to take on Inter, that is. Last season we lost 3-1 away to the blue half of Manchester; whilst we drew Match Day 9 (2-2) at home to the champions elect, Leicester.

Decent match today which we really should have got all 3 points from. Still, happy with a draw away at Leicester; that's more than we usually get there, and I would have taken it if offered before the match. This run of clean sheets is very impressive, but also very much needed as (against West Ham aside) we are still struggling to click in front of goal. I may have said this before but, I really wish we had signed one more decent striker in the summer. I know Boufal has yet to play and it was unfortunate (but not very surprising) that JRod picked up an injury. However, we knew from the beginning that Boufal was unlikely to feature much before the end of October, and it remains to be seen if he does or how well he performs when he eventually gets on the pitch. Still, this is the post-match thread and we did well today. A shame Charlie's shot came back off of the post and that his lob wasn't quite high enough to beat the 'keeper. Romeu was a beast and by far my MoM.

Sorry guys, I just had a very busy week and missed the weekly update. Therefore, I'll cover the past 2 games here. First up, Match day 6, West Ham away - won 3-0! In all honesty, we could (and probably should) have won this even more comfortably. Never really troubled in defence and tore them apart with some very slick play going forward; well, after the first 30 minutes anyway. it's always great to get 3 points away from home and, for some reason, it seems sweeter (to me at least) when it is from the Hammers (almost as good as from the Skates or Spurs, but not quite). Match Day Comparison: These 3 points put us on 8 from 6 matches. Last season we were only on 6 points from the first 6 matches. 2 points up on last season! Match by Match Comparison: Last season we lost 2-1 away to West Ham. Therefore, we have clawed back 3 points here. Putting us now on a..... 3 point deficit As we now know, the West Ham match was followed by a trip to Israel in the Europa league. That match (0-0) saw us extend our unbeaten run to 5 matches having kept clean sheets in each of them. Could we keep this up away to the champions (Leicester) in our next league match? Match Day 7 - Leicester away - drew 0-0 Yes! We did continue our unbeaten run and our impressive number of consecutive clean sheets keeps on going. Unfortunately we have failed to score in the past 2 matches also. However, whereas the Be'er Sheva match was very forgettable in this one we had the better chances and should have won. Anyway, what does this result do to our points comparison? Match Day Comparison Last season we won match day 7 - 3-1 at home to Swansea, which gave us 9 points from the first 7 matches. This point puts us on the same 9 from 7. Level with last season Match by Match Comparison: Last season we lost 1-0 away to the Foxes, so we have an improvement of 1 point; giving us an overall...... 2 point deficit On the face of it, things really aren't too different from last season as they stand right now. Personally, I still really wish we had made one more decent striking acquisition during the summer. I hope JRod and Boufal will be ready to play after the international break (although I feel the latter will take some time yet to gain match fitness). We now have a 2 week break for internationals. Afterwards we have a home match against Burnley. Last season we won match day 8 (3-1) away to Chelsea. As Burnley are newly promoted I shall be comparing our matches with them to last seasons results versus Newcastle, who we beat 3-1 at St Mary's.

A decent result, despite the poor performance. I feel sorry for Hesketh, but he did need taking off. Martina and Long had a mare. VvD solid but missed our best chance early on. I thought Romeu and JWP but in decent performances. Tadic aside, we had no attacking threat from the bench. (I don't count an untried youngster who looks good in some U21 matches and misses numerous sitters in others.) I still wish we had bought one more striker in the summer; one available from the start of the season.

Him denying the allegations is no great surprise. However, I will be more impressed when he begins legal proceedings against the Telegraph. If he isn't prepared to do so...... At the very least, Mr Black should be placed on gardening leave while the allegations are being investigated.

Cheers guys. It's nice to know someone else appreciates this and I'm not just doing it for my own benefit. To answer your question Ottawa, I will do the following: Burnley for Newcastle; Middlesborough for Norwich; Hull for Villa

Match Day 5 - home to Swansea - Won 1-0 IMHO, I think this was our best performance of the season so far and we could well have won by a more comfortable margin. Such as the one against Sparta (3-0) which, as mentioned above, I said I hoped would send us on a winning streak. So, how do these three points stand up in comparison against last season? Match Day Comparison: We are now on 5 from 5. Last season we were on 6 points from our first 5 matches. Therefore, just the.... 1 point deficit Match by Match Comparison: As with last season, we secured all three points at home to the Swans. Meaning (the best we could hope for this week) we remain on a.... 6 point deficit Next up in the PL - away to West Ham (who have lost their previous two matches 4-2 - can we make it a hat-trick?) Last season we lost away to the Irons (2-1) and also lost on match day 6 - (2-3) at home to Man Utd. Thus we have a great opportunity on Sunday to claw back some (or even overtake on the match day comparison) points deficits. Prior to that though is the minor matter of a league cup match at home to Palace. I am sure Puel will make lots of changes for that one. Indeed, I am expecting at least 9 and possibly even a full 11 from the Swansea match. It will be most interesting to see who he gives a run-out to; but that is for another tread.......

Great to get a win under our belt! Not the greatest game I've seen, but that was because we didn't need to stretch ourselves. It was pretty much all wrapped up early on. Romeu my MoM, just ahead of Martina. Both had excellent games. Also thought Hojbjerg and VvD had good matches. Chuffed for Charlie to get a brace and what a lovely finish from JRod! Redmond also looked good when he came on and did more than Tadic had all night before him. Top of the league! And, given the result in the other match, I would be very happy with a draw in Israel in two week's time.

Exactly! I am gutted to not be at St Mary's tomorrow. I went to both home Europa matches last as was over visiting family with my daughter during her school holiday. In fact not only is it me missing this one (and subsequent) but also my daughter, (9 y.o.) nephew and my elderly father who I took and paid for last season.

Match Day 4 - Arsenal away (lost 2-1) A much better all round performance by Saints. We really deserved at least a draw. However, we were robbed by (surprise, surprise) a completely ridiculous injury time penalty awarded by the utterly incompetent Robert Madely. Match Day Comparison: We now have 2 points from 4 matches. At this stage last season we had 5 points from the same 4 matches (2 home/2 away). 3 point deficit Match by Match Comparison: Last season we drew away to Arsenal. Therefore we are a further point down compared to last season's fixtures. 6 point deficit Next up in the PL - Swansea at home We beat Swansea at home last season - 3-1 - whilst we drew our 5th PL match 0-0 away at WBA Of course, prior to our match against the Swans is our first Europa group match of the campaign - at home to Sparta Prague. A win there could well set us up for a string of such results!

Question: Do you only live in Sweden or are you Swedish? If the latter (i.e. you have a Swedish passport, or any other Swedish ID) surely you wouldn't have a problem buying a ticket for the home end? (If, as it seems, they are going to be denying British passport holders only.) Of course, not as good as being in the away end but hey-ho.