CanadaSaint

I have my superstitious moments, and I just want him to keep doing whatever the hell he's doing now, at the same time, and in the same sequence. And if the odd burger and beer are part of his regimen, I hope he keeps doing it. But, seriously, is it my imagination or is he lasting much better - despite the extra effort that Pochettino's style requires?

What is it that Gary Player says? "The more I practice, the luckier I get." I can't wait to see this side after pre-season training under Pochettino.

Super-impressed with him, especially today. However, I'm just going to float the view (not sure I believe it myself) that he wouldn't be the same player without Schneiderlin. And vice versa. I hope for our sake and theirs that we can keep them together. Here.

No, he was never a zero - not even close. IMO he brought a fairly immediate improvement in our defence, and I suspect the stats would confirm that. When he was twinned with Fonte it was (IIRC) because Jos was injured; at that point both Fonte and Jos were struggling, and either could have been dropped to make way for Maya. His problem then became doing two jobs - his own and covering for Fox, who was also a defensive liability. That didn't help him at all. Now he's doing his own job and helping Jos to look better at this level than he probably is. Maya's reading and covering are very good, and he's not short of pace. He's two-footed, which gives him so much more time and helps him to cover his own mis-reads. In a fairly polite kind of way, he doesn't take sh*t from anybody. I'd like to see him improve his defensive heading but, other than that, he's always looked the part to me. Even more so now.

Great post - I couldn't agree more. Nigel will always be special to me and I wish him well wherever he goes. He built much of the basis of this team and - lest it be forgotten - we were playing some tremendous football for the first three months of last season. Damn right I'm thinking of him as well tonight. Having said that, Pocchetino has taken the same players to an entirely new level - and very, very quickly. Based on how we've played, he could actually be sitting on four wins in four games, and three of them were against top 6 sides. It's a hell of a good sign that in each of those games there have been 4-6 (or even more) candidates for Man of the Match. They have embraced his methods wholeheartedly, and the biggest beneficiaries have been Cork and Schneiderlin - and, to a lesser extent, Davis. At times, Lambert looks like he's playing a different game to everyone else - so much time, such great awareness and an unbelievably deft touch (control or pass). God only knows that this team will look like when A) Pocchetino gets them as fit as he will get them, and B) he can communicate more confidently. I'm actually still a little numb. Damn Bacardi.

Clueless, wasn't it. They clearly haven't watched any of the recent games - or even the highlights.

We definitely need Stoke to beat Reading, who have 4 Home games and 1 Away game against struggler group in their last 15 games. QPR have 3H and 4A, and Villa have 3H and 3A and Wigan have 2H and 2A. We have 1 H and 3 A. We have a ton of work still to do, so we need these results to go our way.

Unfortunately, Martin Atkinson is fit.

I think you're right. I certainly hope so. Great interview, no nasties, and he still says "us" and "we".

I realize that, um, and I don't have a problem with it. I'm just saying that we shouldn't get too carried away with this "Benali should be treated better because he loves the club" thing when some of his commitment has been purchased. The loss of that income appears to be one of the reasons why he's mad at Cortese - and, if they've suffered the same fate, could well be one of the reasons why MLT and Lawrie are right behind him. That's all. I'm not knocking them, just suggesting that this could be part of the rationale for where we stand today and a reason to keep a more open mind about Cortese. I'm not sure what you mean by the Dodd question - he isn't, as far as I know, taking public runs at Cortese.

Roger, that's fine. I respect your opinion and, from some angles, I agree with it. But he wouldn't be my first choice because, for all his brilliance - genius, even - I prefer players who gave near-90 minutes of high quality effort, game-in/game-out, over a large number of games. But that's just my opinion. And there will always be plenty of different opinions in football. The sad thing is that this MLT debate has mixed the totally different issues of his playing contribution and his recent conduct. I won't let the second screw-up the first, or allow the first to excuse the second.

I don't necessarily disagree with that, but I also find it a bit weird that people keep trumpeting Benali's love for the club when part of the legal issue appears to be the fact that he was getting paid to show it.

No, it wasn't me - even though I rather agree with whoever it was that did say it. I just find Roger's insults annoying so I took a shot back.

I've asked you this before but I'll try again. How old are you? I'm interested because you seem to think that you've seen enough of our greats to conclude that MLT was our best-ever, and I'm not sure I agree with that. The most talented, certainly, but not necessarily - in my book anyway - the best player we've ever had. I've seen others who made a different and arguably more consistent kind of contribution, so Matty - much as I admire him, for football anyway - doesn't get my nod. And I'm not re-writing any history to reach that conclusion. It's just my opinion, so don't call me "sad", an "idiot" or worse (as is your wont when someone disagrees with you) for voicing it. Still, I'm glad to see that even you are finally reaching the conclusion that, great as he may have been with his boots on, he's been acting like a bit of an idiot lately.

Indeed. And I'm hoping that he's smart enough to have a Plan B for a situation in which he can keep the dream alive despite the fact that the financial rules may well have rendered Markus's provision less usable than it would have been under current conditions. Cortese's as smart as hell so I'd be shocked if he doesn't have a Plan B, but God only knows what it might be. I guess there's always the chance that he'll report back that the mission is now unattainable, and we'll start seeing "For Sale" talk again.

I wasn't expecting us to vote against it because of all the self-sustaining stuff that Cortese has emphasized, and the way he's "put his money where his mouth is" on the academy front. As a football fan, I was happy to see all of that, but sceptical about how realistic it really is. As a Saints fan, I can't help but wonder - after hearing that we've voted No - if there isn't a sh*t-load of dough back there somewhere.

More likely money that we do have but that didn't come from traditional sources, don't you think? All lending credence to the notion that Markus's provision might have been very substantial.

I'm surprised that the "lost ambassadorial fees" comment is receiving so little attention on here. Could it be that Matt and Lawrie have also suffered lost ambassadorial fees (they are more deserving of that kind of role than Benali ever was), and therefore have more than a passing interest in how Benali fares in his court case? Enough of an interest to fan the flames? It doesn't seem that long ago (it was when the club was in dire straits) that people on here were railing against Lawrie for what he was supposedly taking out of the club. There's much more to this than meets the eye, and I suspect that the obscured parts are more in Cortese's favour than the visible parts.

Pretty much this for me, although I think he'd be quite happy with a more stable and progressive Championship club. He's always struck me as a very balanced guy, so I think - and hope, because I really like him - that he'll take some time off, enjoy his family, and make a careful choice. No jumping from the frying pan into the fire. And Forest would probably be a fire.

If we have Clyne and Shaw, and to a lesser extent Ramirez, I fancy our chances of getting something. Perhaps even all three points. But if we lose either of the full backs, and especially if we lose Cork from midfield in order to cover for Clyne's absence, my optimism plummets. The lesser issue is that Corky lacks pace at RB, because City don't quite have the speed on that flank that other teams have; skill in abundance but not so much speed. The bigger issue for me is that Cork and Schneiderlin complement each other so well in midfield, and Davis - though playing quite well recently - is no substitute for either of them. I think we'll need to score three to beat City, though, because it's too easy to get behind Jos and City are very good at those little angled balls.

Great discussion. I'm really enjoying how we're playing, despite the troubling inability to convert dominance into wins. I hope we stick with it, which I'm sure we will. The two angles that trouble me, though, are whether Ramirez can fit within and contribute to this style of game, and the attrition rate that we might encounter. Ramirez might not be suited to high-pressing but he could still contribute with some "killer passes" in the late stages of attacks, and some quick and accurate shooting from the edge of the box. Neither is happening right now but if that starts the draws will become wins. The attrition will come through the sheer physical demands of playing like this and through the yellow cards that this style can produce. Cork and Schneiderlin are super-fit and can sustain it over 90 minutes, but we'll see whether they can sustain it over the rest of the season. Schneiderlin, in particular, must continue to improve his decision-making when it comes to when to "hold" and when to tackle; although he's improved, he has a habit of picking up rather needless yellow cards, and he's a player we can't afford to lose for even one game.

Hands up with this one - I thought they would struggle a bit this year but they've been excellent. I've watched our go-ahead goal half a dozen times from origin, and Schneiderlin ran almost 100 yards to be on the end of that Rodriguez cross. And that was after he'd already covered more ground than anyone else on the pitch. I hate seeing him get unnecessary bookings because we just can't afford to lose him.

A good point that most of us would have taken beforehand, but it was still 2 vital points thrown away. Rodriguez is starting to look worth the money. I'm beginning to think that we spent 12 million on a player that doesn't fit within - and doesn't contribute to - our high-pressing style. Schneiderlin must have run about 105 yards to score that cracker. Shaw is worth a frigging fortune - to us but, unfortunately, also to all of the Big Boys.

I don't understand why MP moves Puncheon away from his best position - wide right, where he teams up well with Clyne and keeps their left side too busy to push forward. He always loses effectiveness when they do that. And I certainly don't blame Yoshida for the goal - it was just one of those things. How often does a guy heading away from goal get that much power and perfect direction on a header? Still very much in this.

The alternative theory is that Pochettino thinks he can get more out of the current group than NA did - by, for example, committing to a playing style and sticking to it, giving some of NA's un-used signings a chance, making sure that everyone understands their role, applying his own motivational style, and so on. He said he'd only sign players that would improve the squad, so he obviously fancies his chances of turning NA-type draws into MP-type wins. If he's right, or if the right kind of player wasn't available, why on earth would signing new players be viewed as a measure of success?