austsaint

Zaha, Ayew and Townsend - with Benteke, Schlupp and Wickham on the bench does look a better attacking unit than ours.....on paper.

Agree. Ralph is a breath of fresh air but if the squad is not strengthened then the chance of relegation is still uncomfortably near. This window has the appearance of many past in the last 3 years - the big positive is RH.

What a prat Hoedt is. Quite apart from his inflated opinion of his ability, he really is not very good. One footed, clumsy, poor balance and positionally naive. He reminds me of a poor version of Jos Hooiveld, who was an average player but a much superior human being.

Get off Lighthouses's back Glasgow - he is spot on in his assessment of Wums like CF and you.

Good summary - I think Ralph might be happier with Romeu and Hoj longer term than you suggest though.

Sell Romeu - our best player since Ralph arrived??? Don't think so.

I've been a consistent critic of JWP, but he was very good today - great work rate, nice one touch passing and the goal was exceptional. I think he benefits from playing around Hojbjerg and Romeu. There will be sterner tests but he made his mark today; well done.

There was a moment in the first half when Romeu clattered into him and won the ball. Richarlison wasn't sighted after that. Just love Romeu's controlled aggression and his combination with Hoj is great at the moment - both are picking out quick, counter-attacking passes to set things going.

He wasn't any better. Hard to criticise Ralph - and of course Valery has time on his side but thus far he is not convincing and at times is being covered by Stevens and Bednarek. Thought he was the only weak area today.

Great win; flattering to Everton to finish within a goal. Magnificent midfield efforts from Hojbjerg and Romeu. Best game I've seen Ward-Prowse play and an exceptionally well taken goal. Redmond good most of the day and special mention to Stephens and Bednarek who controlled things at the back. To think we nearly had Silva!!! Whoever recruited Ralph (was it the other Ralph?) deserves the keys to the City.

Could be/Should be 2 up. Midfield of Hoj and Romeu excellent - Redmond outstanding with Ings chipping in.

The lazy tag is quite wrong; as others have pointed out Boufal worked hard, tracked back and with limited opportunity developed a very good partnership with Bertrand. I hope he gets a chance to impress Ralph - he could be a game changer for Saints yet.

Why don't you just Watch the game you Wally! JWP's contributions , if any come from corners and free kicks - he can't doesn't run or drive forward with the ball, and by any observed evidence his passing isn't as good as you're claiming. He doesn't tackle or intercept in the way that Romeu, Hoj and Lemina do. If you just stuck to a line of him being a neat and tidy squad player who Ralph has encouraged to step up in the wake of injuries and suspensions, most people would agree with you. You have however put him up as a better player than Redmond and now Lemina - probably our best two players along with Romeu this season. Give it a rest.

Love to know who your statistician is, mate.

Surely Lemina over Prowse if fit.

Yep, Ramsay was quite good. There's a player there.

No doubt we had a younger side, although Tomori has just turned 21; Mount 20 and Wilson 21. And Prem survival is absolutely the priority - I was agreeing with Nordic Saints point that a Championship side who has won just 1 from their last 7 looked every bit a match for us tonight which does raise the question about the lack of quality in the squad.

Agree with this - for long periods it was Derby who showed greater speed, link up play and goal threat. Their CB Tomori looked head and shoulders above any CB we have and young Wilson looks a Prem player in the making. Once again Romeu had too much to do in midfield; Moi improved in the second half but his lack of composure and touch were glaringly obvious. Redmond improved the side yet managed to fritter away two goal opportunities. Gunn showed tonight why McCarthy has to be first choice for the immediate future, while Ramsay showed a lot of promise.

DT - get off Lemina's back - or tummy, or whatever else is ailing him. He has been consistently among our best players this season, along with Romeu, PEH, Ings and Redmond. Your comment about him makes no sense.

Why not sell Ward-Prowse? And keep one of our best players.

Quite right - like paying too much for a house which becomes expensive to maintain and can't easily be sold on. Reed's legacy will live on at Saints for quite a while given there others who were expensive, are expensive and almost impossible to sell/move on ie Forster.

It's incredible really that Long (good guy and hard worker though he is) has been at SFC for what, 4 seasons? If we survive again this season withe strike force of the last three seasons or so it really will be a minor miracle.

With respect, what you write is nonsense.

I thought Romeu had to cover for him most of the afternoon. Covered a lot of ground but not really to the team's advantage in attack or defence. He seems to run beside or close to opposition players but not tackle, harass or intercept. Good penalty and a few good corners. Not a CM/DM in my opinion.

Have to query a couple of your ratings, was Targett really magnificent today? And Ward-Prowse 8? Took the penalty well but left a lot for Romeu to do. Surely Stephens was better than a 7 - all three CBs were excellent, especially Vestergaard. I must say I didn't see Slattery shore up the midfield either; he looked a bit flat footed - Romeu ran the midfield - on his own.