derry

I didn't mention Sulemana because I hope he stays. Everton were sniffing about a loan. It could still happen as we are talking to them about a loan for Mason Holgate. however it looks like they've signed Harrison from Leeds on loan and are in for Gnonto who is kicking off and refusing to play. It seems that nearly all the Leeds players had relegation release clauses and whilst they have transferred/loaned out about 15 players and received comparatively little in fees that has really hit them hard. I think we should keep Sulemana he will be lethal in the Championship. It may well be that as he is away from the club having treatment according to Russell Martin it's going to be a good while before he is match fit.

Personally I think City think he is not ready to play as a holding midfielder in their team. Liverpool are short, Chelsea are all over the place but they are buying great potential and especially Liverpool gambling that despite their reservations he'll cut the mustard. Is he a big loss for us? I don't think he is, a loss but not a big one. He obviously doesn't want to play in the Championship and as Martin said he didn't consider him because his head was in the wrong place. If he stayed under sufferance we were not going to get the best out of him. In my view the £60m fee will really underwrite our aspirations and allow us to shift the dross we need to shift and be more circumspect about fees etc. I think the £60m giving us north of maybe £170m if we can unload sicknote Bella Kotchap. If the likes of Adams, KWP decide to go we are close to £200m especially if Genk buy the swap for Onuachu with Joseph Paintsil their versatile forward. We are in a marvellous position to really strengthen the team/squad.

Personally If I had been Gavin Bazunu I'd have been thrown out of the club by now. Why because I'd probably have poleaxed any or even all the back four because of their lack of concentration, abysmal positioning and ball watching. I'm not saying he's a good goalkeeper but the twats in front of him are making life incredibly difficult. Instead of bigging up his back four and Stephens in particular Russell Martin needs to get a grip there and lay down the law about concentration and ball watching and if he hasn't got a good defensive coach get one in. For example Bazunu was indicating picking up Sargent but was ignored by KWP who didn't mark properly not for the first or last time either..

Liverpool were originally saying they'd bid and get him for about £25m, first £37m, second, £41m, third £45m we wanted £50m they wouldn't bid that now it's supposed to be £60m. Snatch their hand off before they realise £60m will buy a host of good players. Come on Chelsea you know you can do it. Just a few more quid. Liverpool surely you're not going to let them get away with that.

I respect him as a person. He has behaved impeccably I don't disagree with his ambitions to break a record and play in the Premier League to try and achieve more England caps. However I'm not sure he is going to achieve that at West Ham. It is a club that has proved a graveyard for many talented footballers and I'm not sure his lack of pace and power together with his style of play will fit in there. In any event I wish him well.

The team collectively need to be shown the good then the bad. the defending was abysmal two were dead ball situations. The hair dryer needs an airing and those goals pinpointed. KWP for the first and Alcaraz for the second went missing and switched off. Secondly this zonal non marking is garbage. We need the three best headers to attack the ball front post, middle and back post every other player marks tight. All the zonal marking theory does is give every player a ready made excuse that it's somebody elses fault. Just milling about in the box is rubbish defending. I watched the Nigerian women come within a hairs breath of knocking England out of the World Cup with a superb demonstration of close marking without the ball. That's the way to play when opponents have the ball. It was proper in your face defending from front to back. The result of coaching something we obviously don't do because it's been happening for years. Get a proper defensive coach in and insist on total concentration and taking the responsibility to defend properly. I go along with the possession football, I love it, lose the ball so lose the nice and adopt the ruthless. We need to concentrate better, KWP, Stephens and Alcaraz were examples of what not to do. All four goals conceded were either non marking or taking the easy option of just standing in front of attackers. Manning's clusterfuck was just poor decision making, trying to pull the ball down as the last man with pressure approaching is stupidity time to put a foot through the ball.

Four players switched off for Norwich's four goals. KWP was asleep for the first because he could see Sargent and had plenty of time to shuttle across as the other defenders were near post. He should have covered the inside of the back post. For the second Stephens stood off instead of getting in early, afforded the room Sari struck an unstoppable shot. The goal from the corner by Rowe was rediculous. He was literally stood on his own, what was worse so was Alcaraz. He needed to cover Rowe but was another not concentrating. The final goal was a clusterfuck by Manning trying to pull the ball down with his weak foot. Sometimes as the greatest sides in the world show at times you have to belt it. Today with KWP and three midfield players upfield left us outnumbered by quick breaks. Come on Russell Martin get a grip and put some discipline into defending. Luckily Adam Armstrong buried his penalties because neither occasion looked like a good goal chance. I like the way we are trying to play but we are too loose in midfield and the back. We created plenty of pressure but pressure doesn't win matches. We have to have enough in defence to pinch off any break out.

Smallbone for right footed and inswinging corners. Alcaraz probably penalties and right footed direct, Manning left footed and direct plus inswinging corners . That would give us much more unpredictability.

VPN ???

12pm tomorrow.

Cliff Huxford was captain of Chelsea's reserve team, what a captain he turned out to be. His voice boomed out the whole match, the original hard man and tough as nails. George was volatile, a skilful reserve player at Leeds but a clinical finisher. He carried a knee injury for years but you wouldn't have known. A great player for us. The only time in league football I saw a player throw a punch properly. Harry Harris of Newport hacked George who threw a right upper cut and poleaxed Harris, who was stretchered off. Dick Connor was an incisive passer especially forward and blended in, however he only lasted the one season until promotion but it was enough. I think the first game back in the second sivision we hammered Liverpool 4-0 at the Dell. The Saint's forwards were the key. Paine, O'Brien what a pair on the right, Reeves in the middle, either tommy Mulgrew or the brilliant in the air Brian Cifton and the quickest player in the country in my opinion, John Sydenham on the left. Over a hundred goals a season in the league more than once. I hope these memories give you the picture. In those days managers assessed players after tips from scouts and believed their own eyes. We bought crap in later years because we didn't do that.

Personally I think Adams and Armstrong are hopeless and we should unload them both as soon as we can get in probably three consistent goal scoring strikers with the season's transfer total probably approaching £200m from Orsic, CC, Salisu, Liveramento, JWP, Lavia, Bella-Kotchap, Adams, Armstrong, Sulemana (possibly), maybe a few others. Spend the money wisely and we could have a team good for a few years.

Ted sold Charlie Livesey to Chelsea, in return he got captain Cliff Huxford. From what was left he bought George O'Brien ( a wonderful goalscorer and a Leeds reserve), the skilful Dick Connor from Grimsby and turned an ordinary side into champions. Reeves into a 45 goal centre forward ably assisted by Terry Paine and the lightning fast John Sydenham. And the best match of my youth, an FA Cup visit to Maine Road to massacre First Division Manchester City 1-5 with Paine turning left back Cliff Sears inside out and Reeves scoring four against the great Bert Trautman in goal. The moral of this story, let's do it again. This is really where the journey began, six years later we were a first division side.

Photoshop?? Nothing on Saints Official Site.

Three set pieces, nothing new then. With that defence and keeper no surprise.

Retire!!!!

It's about time we copied Rugby and with the yellow card give a time penalty off the field. Due to the footballers discipline ramping it up from ten minutes to twenty to thirty would make managers clamp down. Failing that make it red for indiscipline and crowding the referee. Clean the bloody game up it's a disgrace.

I think the EFL don't even allow the clubs to televise the matches except for the two nominated televised games therefore there are no streams.

Try the BBC Sound App and select Solent it might be on there.

It's a bloody travesty. If Armstrong had been a fraction slower the ball would have hit him harder and more than likely not gone in. It's a disgrace despite Tella's good grace that he thinks it's his goal. He was ducking out of the way. If he was a decent character he would insist he had no part in it and that it was Tella's goal. As far as I'm concerned he's just another example of what is wrong with football. He's been a failure since he arrived and Saturday wasn't much different. Irrespective of the award those that saw it know what he did and I for one won't give him any credit, just another game he didn't cut it in.

I remember that after Koeman, Puel tried to play a dysfunctional diamond that the players were mystified by. Over the season we got 46 points out of 114. It was the start of the unwatchable garbage that was even worse under Pellegrino and in many games under Ralph. Last year under Ralph, Jones amd Selles it was as bad as it gets. Friday was the first time in years that I saw a manager pick a balanced team that looked the part. I thought the possession football at this level was superb. The marking at set pieces needs an overhaul. Stop ballwatching and position to see the ball and the mark. If Smallbone had turned sideways and faces out he could have seen Ifore and the corner taken. He then only had to take a pace to his left and block Ifore most probably drawing a foul with neither getting the ball. Chelsea used to run interference to block markers trying to stop John Terry. This is virtually the same defending. I hope the new set piece coach picks up on it.

I think one area we could easily improve our defending. At the corner a SW player was outside the back post. Smallbone was the back marker but did it all wrong. He faced the ball, that mean't he had to win the header which he didn't do. What he should have done was to turn sideways so that he could see both the ball and the back post header. So he couldn't outjump the SW player he could however move into a blocking position and stop the SW player moving forward to get a good jump probably ending up that neither of them could reach the ball. I've noticed over the years we have lost a lot of goals because the marker couldn't see the mark mainly through ball watching.

I have a favourite coach, Pep Guardiola. I love the way his teams play. They use the ball, manoeuvre it around, keep possession, probe and probe again, run the legs off the opposition and strike decisively when the opportunity is made. That is what Russell Martin is trying to do. After years of schizophrenic crap it's a breath of fresh air. We are nowhere near yet, which in itself is brilliant. I like what Russell Martin has done and is working on. Yesterday several things stood out for me. We need a lethal finisher, preferably a dominant centre back, plus a replacement for Liveramento. Provided we keep Tella and Sulemana that could give us an irresistable cutting edge. Edozie is raw, he can beat a man, is trying to provide an end product but isn't there yet and his two shots into the stand demonstrated a lack of composure. He is a young player that could in time be devastating but still needs nurturing and plenty of brief exposure to build up his experience. Of the existing, Adam Armstrong isn't the answer but could play wide, Adams was better and took his goal well, he's better at reacting than being given time because then he usually misses. Personally I think Adams will go and maybe Piroe will come in, Stuart of Sunderland subject to fitness would give us good options up front. If Sulemana goes we need a like for like replacement. I think Stuart Armstrong offers a good alternative both wide and in the hole if Alcaraz is not available.

What a relief to have a manager pick a predictable, balanced team. the first time in years and it was a big reason we were relegated.

He did pick up an injury on Saturday, said it was nothing serious so may be precautionary.