CanadaSaint

As I watched Rickie trudge off - alone, somewhat disconsolately and before the rest of our squad - after the Man City game (he didn't get on until the 77th minute and Osvaldo scored a cracker), my first thought was that he's not as happy here as he was. When I saw that Allardyce said last week that Carroll is "weeks and weeks and weeks behind schedule", my first thought was that he's coming in for Rickie. They may well view him as not just a good player but as their key to PL survival, which increases the price they'd be willing to pay. And I've never shaken the feeling that MP was not as thrilled as everyone else with Rickie's England call up and subsequent success, no matter what he said in public. That turn of events would only make it more difficult for him to do what I think he really wants to do - move on from the Rickie era in our playing style. I love Rickie and everything he's done for us and everything he brings to us, but I'm preparing myself for him to go.

Nobody likes playing a team right after they've had a management change, but Spurs looked dreadful when they were being pressed yesterday. They wanted too long on the ball and hardly anyone was creating pass options for the player in possession. When they didn't have possession, Spurs were slow to pick up the pass options that Liverpool were creating. Problems like that are very difficult to address in the short term, even with the uptick that usually comes with a new manager, especially as the root cause can be fitness levels or players who just aren't suited to the high-intensity PL.

Look, he gives me the ab-dabs as well but I don't agree with all the hysterical crap posted on here about a young keeper (the youngest in the PL by a mile, I think) being forced to play above his current level. I'm willing to keep an open mind about his future because he has much to learn and plenty of time in which to learn it, and I'm not ready to agree that "he will never be our 1st choice keeper whilst we are in the premier league". I think he needs a good goalkeeping coach (which I'm not sure we have because you're right - he hasn't improved) and some extended playing time away from the high-pressure PL (which we haven't been willing or able to arrange.) And if "some of the goals he has let in ... have been league 2 standard" is the criterion for judgment, we might as well boot Boruc, Hart, Davis and most other PL keepers as well. Some of their howlers have been more laughable than any of Gazzaniga's. But this has become a circular debate between the closed-minded and the open-minded, which is really a waste of everyone's time.

We get it, you don't rate the guy and you're unwilling - or unable - to open your mind to the possibility that he will become a good keeper with the experience that makes keepers good. Joe Hart was City's first choice and everyone's England #1 not so long ago, but he's lost ground because he's prone to errors of judgment or technique under pressure. Jack Butland was on most big team wish lists a couple of years ago, but has faded away for now. And let's not forget that Gazza has not let one in from the opposing penalty box or by trying to dribble around a forward - errors for which Boruc has been let off with far less criticism than Gazza is receiving now. Unless you're perfect, you'd better hope that people in your life are willing to cut you more slack than you're willing to cut Gazzaniga.

I hope he'll save some soap for you, Rog: I'd be a lot more willing to think about your opinions if you didn't respond to fellow Saints fans who see things differently with words like idiots, mad, clueless, stupid, happy clappers, garbage and rubbish, or invite them to "do one" (all examples from your last two pages of posts). I could have done that when you gave Shaw an 8 today and said he was brilliant, which he certainly wasn't, but I understand that you see things your own unique way.

Good post, and there's a lot to what you say, especially the part about outsourcing his attacking responsibilities - even if those full back forays are a cornerstone of our style. But it wasn't just us putting him on a pedestal. The Beckham comparisons were coming from balanced commentators outside the Saints circle. MP's tendency to pull him emerged very soon after those comparisons started, so maybe he's not listening as well as he needs to. For me, Shaw started to push his attacking luck today and rather neglect his defensive responsibilities - not really serious but enough to keep an eye on it. It's easy to forget that these kids are still only eighteen and nineteen.

I know Saint Charlie doesn't agree but I'm not convinced that MP rates JWP as much as we do - moved out of midfield and to RB against Arsenal (needlessly IMO), pulled off just after the hour at Chelsea, withdrawn before half time against Villa, and substituted at the break today. I'm hoping it's because the absence of the Schneiderlin/Wanyana duo is making it difficult for JWP to play his game, but MP seems rather quick to give him the hook. Thoughts?

Given what we started with (which, to me, was inexplicable unless MP was protecting minor knocks) and what we had on the bench, it was always likely to be "a game of two halves". So I was happy we didn't get buried before half time but disappointed that we didn't win it in the end. But, as James said just above, draws from our last two games are excellent results considering our injury list. MP is a smart cookie and I'm sure he's learning as he goes along about what (and who) works and what (and who) doesn't.

The Independent is reporting that "Arsène Wenger declared after his players conceded six goals to Manchester City that Manuel Pellegrini’s side were “not unbeatable” and no better than Everton and Southampton."

Lehmann it is then. Can't wait for the window to open.

What makes the modern game much harder for developing young players, especially keepers, is the fact that if they're not in the first team they're generally not playing at all, and young keepers have to play in order to progress. It would do Gazza the world of good to go out on loan somewhere decent, but we've lacked the depth to be able to do that. On top of this, I lack conviction about our specialized goalkeeper coaching. Davis still has retained the same faults (poor on crosses, vulnerable at the near post), Boruc - although a very good keeper - is still being undone by his own over-confidence which at times borders on criminal casualness, and Gazza's reading of situations has barely improved. Still, they should be okay if they get into a punch-up.

Good post, Ohio. There's a reason why keepers peak in their late-twenties/early-thirties. It's because they've developed the ability - often through harsh experience - to read situations correctly before reacting to them, and the confidence that comes from this acquired skill. Gazza hasn't had that luxury, and the PL can be a brutal division if you're still learning. Let's not forget that Jack Butland - for whom many teams were ready to open the bank vault not very long ago - is hardly setting the world alight.

I was rather disappointed in Shaw today - for the first time this season. He looked good going forward and has everything he needs to be a superstar, but he was caught upfield too often for my liking and much more than he is usually. What magnified this issue - or possibly made it appear to be a problem this week - is that he had Jos, not Lovren, behind him.

It's a measure of how far we've come that we earned a deserved draw against bang-in-form Newcastle at St. James' Park when we started without six of our first choice players and with three teenagers on the pitch. Amazing, really.

I thought he was sitting on three. I think Wanyama was on four.

Superb piece of refereeing.

I hope MP had a good reason for changing the side that outplayed City for a fair chunk of last week's game but it'll take two subs to do that. If we'd kept the same team I think the score would have been reversed. Still, I like the changes and think we can win this.

We have enough on the bench to make this a game of two very different halves. We have too many water carriers in midfield and nowhere near enough creativity.

True, and I think I'd trust Lovren to deal with the change more than I'd trust Jos, but Lovren has been so solid on the left that I'd rather not see him move. Then again, Jos and a still-learning Chambers who pushes up a lot makes me a little queasy as well. Still, MP has everyone dovetailing so well that we can probably accommodate this kind of change reasonably comfortably.

Presumably Jos will play on the right side of Lovren, which will be a change for him.

What I'd really like to know is who the hell THEVMAN is! Amazing.

I hope you're right - especially as Newcastle aren't that strong on set pieces, but MP's decision to move him from midfield to RB against Arsenal was very strange considering where that game was going to be won or lost.

I'm not sure that MP is as convinced about JWP as we are, so that could be one option.

Rickie didn't seem too happy when he trudged off at the end, not even acknowledging the crowd who were buzzing about how well we had played. I think he realized that Osvaldo's goal and Rodriguez's speed and trickery could well result in more days starting on the bench and - consequently - a diminishing chance of being on the plane to Brazil. As much as I love the guy and all the skills and vision he brings, it's hard to fault Pochettino for taking that approach.

Perhaps the "circus act" is the one in the pub.