austsaint

Sure was. I thought that first half performance was the equal of the best Pochettino and Koeman days.

You speak for me too - I have been surprised by the improvement JWP has made this season. You would have to say it's a reward for the lad working hard and benefitting from the faith and opportunities the Club has given him. The old trait I used to get frustrated by was his tendency to run alongside an attacking player and mark space rather than harass, tackle or confront - he has improved that area of his game hugely. Being braver with his passing range is the other marked improvement. Ralph has to take a lot of credit for highlighting the areas of his game that needed improvement, and to JWP's credit he has delivered on that feedback.

Well said. He has been massively underrated in recent times and the folly of thinking Romeu is unsuited to Ralphs system has been highlighted by his performances v Watford and M. City.

It really was. What a way to end the "St Marys" drought. So many good players on the day, but the back four and McCarthy were great, Stephens in particular a colossus. What I loved about the performance was not only the committed defending and the odd bit of luck but there was a willingness to counter attack and put pressure on MC for most of the game. So good for Adams - liked Armstrong's game too.

Have to agree - Long has never really been capable of using his pace one-on-one in possession, partly because his control and touch aren't that good. The chasing lost causes, harassing defenders and winning a few headers have some value, especially off the bench, but surely it's time to give Adams a chance to play along side Ings. I remember SL looking pretty good at times when playing alongside Mane -he was younger and faster too; very surprised he got the two year extension.

You could not possibly replace Romeu after his performance yesterday. Agree about Adams - he is going to repay any faith Ralph can show in him.

Hugely enjoyable watch with three great goals to delight in. So many good performances from Saints - Ings' strikes superb; midfield pairing of Romeu and WP very good; I thought Romeu showed he can well and truly play Ralphs system and he can also pick out a pass. Both full backs good and KWP has certainly shown himself to be the permanent RB. Fair play to both CBs, Vestergaard in particular commanding v Deeney all day. I think Che Adams showed in that cameo that he must be given more opportunities to further impress.

But they are entirely different players - Tadic the AM with flair and touch and Hoj the hard working CM. I thought he played quite well at Carrow Road; at least the equal of JWP's performance, yet the reactions to both are so different. It's almost as if now that he's "off" there's not a good word to be said about him.

Quite right, once the rustiness gave way to classy counter attacking at about the half hour it was a very enjoyable watch, against a porous Norwich defence. Ings was so good, Armstrong grew into the game as did Redmond. Great position to be in now and can imagine we'll see more of the "kids" as things wind down.

Will be interesting to see (and hear) what technology the broadcasters use to create "crowd noise", camera angles etc to liven the atmosphere for the viewer.

Very much this! I find it curious that of the three main midfielders in the squad, two are massively underrated/appreciated and the other somewhat overrated/appreciated (though he has improved lately). Hojbjerg is the foundation of the match day squad, along with Ings. Hope he stays.....he certainly has a lot of time to think about it!

Niemi, VVD, Pahars, MLT and Mane

Nauseating indeed - a classic case of privatising profits and socialising losses.....Shankley's legacy trashed by a greedy, self serving Club. Likewise, Spurs with the nauseating Levy pulling the strings; his pay packet won't suffer, nor the star players but the average employee gets jettisoned to the public purse for a lifeline.

Sorry to derail a serious discussion, where quite rightly our Football deprivation is secondary - what is likely to happen if there isn't another ball kicked this season? Do Leeds and WBA spend another year in the Championship?

Thought he played well today - and worked hard off the ball too. He was poor v Villa but all other recent performances have shown he adds something to the team. Don’t get the “write him off” verdicts. If you have to criticise players today, what about Shane Long? Valery?

He wasn’t unlucky to be sent off..though there wasn’t intent the replays clearly showed a studs up contact to the shin. Team was unlucky though; deserved better after that spirited second half.

Sure; but I didn't see a "to date" inclusion in your original post.

Because the unfit RB who was released won't be unfit for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, for the rest of the season we will have to muddle through with JWP, KWP and Valery..making us weaker on all the evidence which includes how good results were when Cedric started. Fairly conclusive I'd say.

Glasgow....give it up. Your posts are suffering from troll fatigue; stale, unfunny and obvious.

We won't be relegated - but we looked like a relegation team today.

Smallbone does look like a good prospect but Romeu would have been a better choice today. Today also showed how much Long is flattered by the presence of Danny Ings and on his own or with a partner like Obafemi, his deficiencies are laid bare....should not be getting a contract extension. Am a big fan of Boufal, but he was disappointing today and please (Ralph) stop playing JWP at RB.

I've watched the game twice - was Grealish having a strop? He questioned the yellow card given when Djenepo went close near half time but otherwise it looked as though he took all the attention and double teaming in his stride. He also had a fairly impressive game in a side which looked shambolic - Mings aside. I don't think Grealish was in anyones pocket today as others have claimed. The other thing I noticed watching the replay was the quality Smallbone showed in the first half - very composed and a nice range of passing. Hojbjerg very good as well along with Djenepo.

Massive three points. 28 shots v Villa 4....9 on target to 1 underlines the dominance, even if it was nervy util the 93rd minute. Great to see Djenepo back to early season form; promising first half from Smallbone, JWP did his job, Stephens good, PEH good. So nearly off the mark for Adams but a great assist for Armstrong's gut busting run and well taken goal.

His 65 minutes v Spurs and the 30 v Burnley were as good as I've seen him play for Saints. Full of energy, great touch, good crosses, nice link up in dangerous areas and a willingness to press and harass without the ball. Ralph must have noticed all that, which just leaves the question mark (in Ralph's mind) about SB as a 90 minute player.

And he deserves his wish. Let him cuddle up to Brendan again.