austsaint

Puel has to tighten the midfield up; and J-Rod looks a moral to be subbed as well.

They strolled through our midfield in the lead up to Carroll's goal.

He's like the civil servant who remains at his desk, avoiding the redundancy, with his head down, until the retirement pay off materialises.

Could be; I'd rather Bertrand's speed and crossing were deployed at LB with either Gardos or Stephens partnering Yoshida. I think Sims should continue to be in the frame; he looks increasingly good with each run out.

Spot on....with the likes of Boufal (looks a class player) we have to think about scoring more than one goal because our defence is no longer the strength of the side. Looking forward to seeing Gabbiadini get a run out too. C'mon Saints.

The trouble with that move though is the loss of Bertrand's attacking forays and crosses.

Yep, someone deserves a hard kick in the rear for co*king this up. Not replacing Fonte was bad enough but the injury to VVD with time remaining in the window, yet no result, is unforgiveable - particularly with the Wembley final in sight.

It was a quiet night for Davis; but he was not alone and did provide some creative spark in the second half. Tadic on the other hand gave nothing at all and it's been like that for 6 weeks or so; Boufal's impact was tremendous and he is surely the main creative player into the future; I think Tadic's time is nearly up.

Saints have been second best - Tadic and Davis both off the pace; Boufal on for Tadic at H/T.

Quite so. Klopp has not only taken Sakho out of the shop window, he's locked him in the storeroom, yet still slaps a Harrod's price tag on.

You're probably right; January window, traditionally not a time to recruit heavily. Just the same, I was probably hoping for Sakho to come in at a reduced fee, in part paid for by Fonte's move, and given the growing realisation that Romeu is holding our midfield together - Davo getting older and picking up a few more knocks, I would be looking at a midfield reinforcement and then there's the lack of knowledge about Gabbiadini and what he can bring.

Niemi was fairly decent. What does your son think about it?

Will anyone else feel a bit shortchanged if it's just the Italian striker, Tasci on loan and the young French GK?

I'll drive him up there in the Tractor - he's just not good enough.

Nor are we going to be buying one discreetly.

You haven't watched many games in the last 2-3 months if you think that Yoshida is either "switching off" or about to "make a clanger". He has largely been faultless and at least as good as Fonte before his exit. We certainly need a CB replacement though.

I don't know...for a few thousand more we've got a much better player in Boufal....just need him on the pitch.

I quite liked that line by the 'Tater" on the night...he also gave wraps to Romeu, Yoshida and Bertrand and when the Long goal went in ramped up the narrative with a "and they're worth it" line as the qualification for the final was sealed. Good stuff.

Reminds me of a younger Theo Walcott.

Or Wenger.

Good on you Chez, top effort; I enjoy your posts.

Good summary Lord D. I too thought Tadic was the weak link last night, and Boufal would be the right replacement when fit. As you say, Stephens did a super job, but Yoshida was the main man in defence along with Bertrand who did an extraordinary amount of defensive cover - and of course the magnificent Romeu - a defensive warrior all night. JWP played another good game until injured, and PEH was just the right replacement with 20 min left. Sims has something about him and the first half of Redmond wide on the left was great value. Quite a game that was.

I know it sounds a bit naff - but his performance did have a bit of that samurai spirit - putting everything on the line, prepared to go through pain. Memorable performance - great team man.

Great pic. One of my favourite moments of the game was Romeu clattering Milner into the advertising boards late on.

Must be up there with the best performances in the Clubs history. Heroic, determined stuff in defence and lovely counter attacking Football. Thought Redmond had an excellent first half and showed that wide left is best spot. Yoshida, Romeu, Stephens were magnificent, and I thought our full backs, especially Bertrand gave us and edge over their counterparts - Bertrand covered so much ground in defence and gave us a counter attacking option time and again working with Redmond. Davis did many good things and Ward-Prowse did a tidy job until injured - in a way, his replacement Hjobjerg, tightened us up defensively at a time when we were coming under the cosh. And what a run and pass from Sims to pave the way for Long's finish - really was a night to savour.