Graffito

We didn't score so the goalkeeper is not "the problem".

Worth repeating for the Chicken Licken's on here.

I guess it must be traditional in Spain to sink a few sweets before the match, what with all those sweet stalls around the stadium. If he hadn't stopped to buy a bag of sweets for him and Kevin it might never have happened.

That's a good read and interesting to hear this from his dad: “He’s a clever boy. I’m just glad he’s at a nice club with a great infrastructure and good support.”

Adkins has made it clear to the Puncheon. It's not enough to be in the house. He also has to be on the bus. If he's not on the bus, he can get on his bike. It's as simple as that.

http://www.newsnow.co.uk/A/468363216?-11205 It seems we should be honoured to be playing them. Too often they reinforce the stereotype of most arrogant fans in England.

Stuart Pearce was playing non league for Wealdstone into his twenties before he got a move to a FL club.

Agreed. The paper version in yesterday's Observer did have a sub headline saying Saints deserved the victory and the report had none of the Liverpool rubbish in it but it still had the barest mention of Guly's goal which was arguably the goal of the round.

Maybe I missed an announcement on the OS but good news, this seems to confirm that he is, or soon will be, permanent. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_6647318,00.html?

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I'll be disappointed if we put out a significantly weakened side. I love the FA Cup, especially the 3rd Round. I expect us to win. Stuff the negativity. I trust you'll all be at SMS tomorrow. Thank you and good night.

There was a similar thread on this a while back. I had a look at the time at various academic reports and the like available on the internet. The general view seemed to be that crowd support was not a significant factor in performance, which still seems counter intuitive. An away team having to play in unfamiliar surroundings was a negative factor affecting it's performance. And where home crowds really have influence is on referees.

http://www.newsnow.co.uk/A/467603002?-11205 Worth over £1m?

http://www.newsnow.co.uk/A/467446719?-11205

Doubt this one has any legs.

If you really think that then I'm sorry but your clueless.

http://www.newsnow.co.uk/A/464705925?-11205 Cadogan - Crystal Palace.

So 4 wide players out of 6 (5 if you recognise that Barnard has performed equally well this season) were by your reckoning the difference last year when we had the same CM pairing as this. All else being equal (notably Schneiderlin and Hammond) we're back to the flanks being the problem. Seems we are in agreement Derry.

There's a lot I don't grasp. Perhaps you can help me understand why then, when we had Hammond and Schneiderlin in CM last year we managed to score a lot of goals. What was the difference?

"As soon as the ball is hit up towards Lambert, the second striker and the wide man on that side should be running behind him anticipating the flick on and the two central midfielders should be busting a gut to get up in support." So 5 players up including 2 central midfield players. I think that's a high risk game. What happens if the attack breaks down? We get hit on the break. 1 CM maybe but not two. On Saturday Hammond pushed forward second half but he's just not an attacking midfield player and was ineffective. "Saturday was awful but the central midfield's lack of bite is the problem." Not certain what you mean here by lack of bite. If you mean getting forward then see above. If you mean ball winning, then consider how much possession we had in the second half on Saturday. No, I think you touched on the main problem, it was on the flanks. Finally, Saturday's performance suggests Fonte's needed in the back four.

".. pump your creative pistons" - is that a euphemism?

It would be interesting to compare and contrast with how he plays for France. I imagine France Under 21's play a much more fluid system than the 442 we tend to play. His technical ability is obvious but he gives the impression of playing within himself. I like watching him play and I believe you need a continuity type player in any midfield. In a way it's up to the management team to make the most of his technical ability, all assuming he wants to stay of course.

I don't agree Delldays. The main reason I visit this site regularly is that occasionally, very occasionally, you get a bit of inside information. I had no difficulty in ignoring leftback's anti Cortese bias for the snippets of information he provided. They made a welcome change from what most of us have to offer which is opinions.

He scored against Peterborough. I'd call that having an impact.

Adkins gave him plenty of opportunities. He didn't take them. Good luck to him at Millwall. I hope he does well and stays there .

I think his kicks are inaccurate and thereby ceded possession far too easily. It's a common fault of keepers in England though, partly due to the number of times the ball gets passed back to the keeper.