austsaint

Sums it up for me too. Those wins at Stamford Bridge, St Marys v Pool and Arsenal and the results v Man U last season now seem out of reach.

Except that Redmond has become a regular starter with a pivotal attacking role and a striker tag flung round his neck - Juanmi rarely saw the light of day.

Thank you FTF - first Saints game this season I haven't seen (TV). I've been very impressed by Sims but I appreciate your assessment of yesterdays performance. I think he has the goods to make a name for himself just the same; Reed too.

Thanks Dronski.....You are probably in the land of nod now, but if you get the chance tomorrow how about a run down of Sim's game too.

My hopeful take on this is that without Mane sparking them they are not as dangerous an outfit.

Can anyone who saw the game tell me how Reed (Harry) played?

Trouble is the "all" of players like Martina, Long, Rodriguez, JWP, Redmond isn't very good and lacks quality.

Yoshida has been at least as good as Fonte this season. Sad to see Fonte end his time at SFC like this and while I don't believe every aspect of Reed's spin, Jose has taken some gloss off his Saints legacy in recent times.

I'd like both Romeu and Vic in our side with a better version of Davo doing the shuttling and someone like Boufal playing 10.

You have got to laugh (or cry) at the posters saying we wouldn't miss Vic. He is battering Chelsea tonight.

This - Redmond had two straightforward headers (against EFC) which a clinical striker would have converted or at least tested the keeper with. Also needed is a genuine box-to-box attacking midfielder.

Hojbjerg is capable of an attacking midfield role - he just seems to be down on confidence, but we've seen him do it. Romeu is also more than capable of making attacking, driving runs into attack but obviously is needed in a DM set up. i'd rather see Sims taking on an attacking mid role rather than when JWP is given the job. As things stand, as you say, it's really only Davis making the runs and picking out passes but one thing I've noticed about Davo these days is he doesn't run out the full game as well as previously. We are sadly understrength in the creative, attacking midfield department.

Completely agree, the three who left are the difference in our performance this season; not withstanding extra games and a new Manager.

At the heart of that win were Mane and Wanyama - who also starred in the October win against Chelsea and the come from behind win v Liverpool. The squad is weaker now.

Good post - the irony of our rotation policy is the two players who would most benefit from a rest after a busy schedule are Romeu and VVD who in fact have played practically every game. Three out of the back four was a risky gamble.

I'm not a clapper but I thought Boufal was very good today but had to carry the attacking responsibility himself - he looked keen to pick players out in the box but there was no-one running the channels or driving into the box. The other positive was the cameo of Sims - his movement, eye for a pass and control look up-to-the-mark. We missed the polish and run of Soares and Bertrand and as others have mentioned, changing three of the regular back four is a high risk strategy - I'm a fan of Yoshida but he was shaky today.

This is the nub of the problem for me. Puel may not be the right Manager for SFC, but losing Mane, Wanyama, Pelle etc and seeing players like Martina, Redmond, J-Rod, Long and dare I say JWP running around the pitch makes you realise how short in quality we have become.

On a lighter note, have a look at Puel's shoes today. Straight from the Koeman wardrobe.

Boufal different class so far; Davis lively - oh for a striker.

Give me your tips for the races so I know who to rule out.

Agree with this. As several posters have pointed out, one of the differences this season compared to last is that we "hang on" by our fingertips against the top sides where previously we often took the game to them and tonight it was the midfield being overrun without the Wanyama type to stop that and the lack of an attacking mid/forward like Mane to turn defenders around or drive at them which allowed Spurs midfield and Dier to spend so much time high up the field. The balance of our midfield was wrong tonight and playing Boufal wide was a waste of his talent.

He really is not good enough - neither a defensively minded mid, nor an attacking one, and put up alongside a midfield like Alli, Vic, Dembele etc exposed the Saints midfield and JWP in particular. The frustrating thing is that the very good free kick he put into the box in the second minute seems to give him the currency for continued selection and for the TV commentators and neutrals to perpetuate his "reputation".....but that apart there is very little to his game other than tidy passing. He never makes a run with the ball; never takes a man on; rarely commits to a tackle; runs alongside opposition attacking players and doesn't impose himself on a game. He should be dropped and moved on; but he won't be.

Romeu carried that midfield tonight - that was the glaring deficiency tonight, despite the sending off.

He does have a great dead ball technique. Question is, is that enough to justify his selection? You don't get a great deal else from him do you.

Midfield is the issue - they've got Vic, Dembele and Ali all driving forward; we have Davis making a few forays, Romeu with his hands full holding and JWP just meandering, neither holding or attacking.