CanadaSaint

How can you talk about "upsetting the balance" when we're only three games in? And sitting on four points?

I'd give one nut to see Ince come in but we've not even been linked have we?

A very poorly managed game from MP, although being without Clyne and Shaw is a huge blow under our system. Credit to Norwich - a nice side with the pace we lack. I've bitten my tongue about Ramirez, preferring to settle for "he doesn't suit our style." Now, though, I'm convinced that he's really not a very good player - lightweight, self-centered and lacking in passion. And he doesn't suit our style. We lost a lot when he came on.

A very poorly managed game from MP, although being without Clyne and Shaw is a huge blow under our system. Credit to Norwich - a nice side with the pace we lack. I've bitten my tongue about Ramirez, preferring to settle for "he doesn't suit our style." Now, though, I'm convinced that he's really not a very good player - lightweight, self-centered and lacking in passion. And he doesn't suit our style. We lost a lot when he came on.

Pochettino's supposedly close relationship with Mourinho could be very helpful.

If you like a good giggle at a piece of supreme irony, try reading this: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2401978/Graham-Poll-Commentators-need-responsibility-say-refs.html Unless they changed it after I submitted a comment, Poll's article - a claim that TV commentators are often wrong when they criticize refereeing decisions - includes the following: I'm not too sure what "replays" Poll was looking at, or even which game, but I do agree that his position should be in jeopardy after getting that so spectacularly wrong.

There are lots of pros and cons but I'd certainly be inclined to use a near-post defender against teams like Sunderland that habitually hit killer in-swingers. Let's not forget that we were nearly "done" again a few minutes later when Boruc just managed to scramble another Larsson corner away just before it crossed the line. But, on the goal, we had six defenders sucked to beyond the near post to compete with three Sunderland players. That will leave you short of markers much more than using one or two men on the posts.

It's really surprising in this online age that there isn't a much-visited and influential site on which fans can rate referees. All I could find was http://www.ratetheref.net, which doesn't seem that well used. I found this quite interesting once I got past the propaganda dimensions: http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/news/news/2013-14/aug/riley-pleased-with-improved-refereeing-standards.html But things can't be that good if referees like Mason and Friend just seem to go on, week after week, without any sign of improvement or reassignment to a lower league.

I really like what he brings to the table, other than the petulance and histrionics, and I agree with the underlined bit. However, what we've built here is a very strong commitment to the team ethic, with a big emphasis on what's best described by that old chestnut "There's no 'I' in team." Wanyama slotted right into it, but it could take quite a while for NP to integrate Osvaldo into the squad if Dani is slow to recognize that he also has to integrate himself into the squad and the self-discipline that's a big part of it. This isn't a case of the squad building itself around Osvaldo. Having said that, I don't think it helped Osvaldo to have Rodriguez on the pitch, because that took away a lot of the space that he likes to attack.

One thing that struck me today was the animated touchline discussion he had with Wanyama and (I think it was) JWP. Methinks he can hablar Inglés much better than he'd like us to think.

Wes, he wasn't Lovren's man - he was too busy marking the big guys towards the front post. You can't waste someone like Lovren on a midget. I think he was JWP's man, but I was less than impressed with Boruc as well. It wasn't a clanger by him but I've seen him come for much tougher cross balls than that one.

Mason and Friend are, by far, the two worst referees in the PL, but I think Osvaldo deserved his booking - it was a rather nasty, unnecessary little ankle clip. And he's lucky he didn't get a second yellow - you could almost see Mason thinking about it. Osvaldo's class shone through but he's going to be a marked man for the refs inside three games if he goes on like this.

I think his feet were onside but his body, leaning forward, was offside. Tight decision but you win some, you lose some. Yes, JWP was superb - again - but did anyone else think he was the one who lost his mark for the goal? And Chambers seems to be acclimatizing to this level very fast.

In this day and age you can't put a price on those unique individuals who can act like glue in a dressing room full of rather self-absorbed types. And that, perhaps more than anything on the playing side, could be Roy's most compelling reason for picking him, because I don't think that was lost on him either.

I think it also helps to recognize that, while we're all focused on what looks like an exciting 2013-14 season, the key decision-makers at the club are also thinking 2, 3 and even 5 years down the road. With some key players aging and the big name clubs sniffing around our young talent, I'm sure they've got a gazillion "what if?" scenarios in their minds, so flexibility is crucial.

Good discussion. I also found this link interesting, relating to Fulham's interest: http://www.eplindex.com/epl-news/35952/fulham-chase-pablo-osvaldo-deal-stats-analysis-roma-striker.html We can speculate all we like about how Osvaldo will fit in, but I'm sure of one thing. If Osvaldo was up front last year instead of Rodriguez, our intricate build up around the box, and the angled passes through the defence by Lambert, Lallana and Ramirez, would have ended in a goal more often. And probably much more often. And, taking this a little farther, if we had managed to convert a one goal lead into a two goal lead more often, we wouldn't have been anywhere near as bad for "losing points from winning positions". In a tight middle-third, that would have catapaulted us upwards. We have a lot of potential permutations - not just for starting line ups, but also for phases within the game - and we're going to be very, very difficult to defend against. If we can do better at keeping them out at the other end, this season could be a hell of a ride.

And you could be right. But I'm going by the type of player we already have (some intricate play in and around the box, which has often gone unrewarded) and by some of the highlights I've seen of Osvaldo's play. In practice it could probably be both, which would make us even more deadly.

I think the implication is that he likes to read and feed off layoffs and knock-downs from the lead guys. It sounds like he'll lay back a little and look for one of Rickie's touches or Lallana's angled through-balls. If so, he can have a field day with us. I lost count of the number of chances we created last year for somebody smart enough to read them and quick enough to get to them first. The more I hear the more I think that he and Rickie can create a formidable partnership.

Jeez, we don't just have a hell of a starting line up, but also the ability to throw a completely different look at the opposition if things aren't working as well as we would like. As we strengthen our starting group, so our bench looks better and better. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around what's happening.

Has it been established yet whether anyone else has ever scored for England with their first touch?

I saw that article and was really pleased to read it. You're right - there has been acknowledgement of his broader contributions but IMO it has been far from universal. Another thing in Rickie's favour is that he's one of those "glue types" that can bind a dressing room together. There was a lot of genuine happiness for Lambert among the seasoned internationals in the England dressing room - and, as you said, even in Hodgson himself. It's hard to put a price on having someone with those qualities in a squad, and it's another advantage that Lambert has over Carroll.

The big thing in Rickie's favour is that he's now very much on the media's radar, which means that all the little things he does will be noticed more than ever before. We've seen them week-in, week-out, but the media have lazily focused mainly on his goal production. He has far more dimensions to his game than Carroll - while Carroll's contribution is largely at the end of the build-up, Rickie's exists at pretty much every stage. Once that's acknowledged, a big gap opens IMO.

They probably will. On Thursday morning. I saw that article and it's on the West Ham page, so a fair few of those voting for Rickie could well be WHU fans.

Unless we significantly improve our performance in the final third - our ability to create and take chances, I'd say that 8-12 is our likely finishing range. However, it's always interesting to see how others see us (be sure to view the poll results): http://www.cominghomenewcastle.com/2013/8/1/4577000/southampton-fc-saints-premier-league-team-preview-2013-14-rickie-lambert-victor-wanyama?

Some nice little link-ups just starting to show.