CanadaSaint

This topic is receiving a lot more attention on here than on KUMB. I can't even see mention of it.

There have been a few lately but this one is the best I've seen yet in terms of analytical comments, statistical support and all-round perspective: http://blogs.thescore.com/counterattack/2013/02/15/ruthven-how-pochettino-silenced-his-premier-league-doubters/

I'd say so. MP is probably plotting the "Tire them out early, win the game late" strategy as we speak. It will be interesting to see whether Cabaye and Tiote can compete with our midfield without picking up their customary yellows (which take an edge off their game) or reds (which take them out of it altogether). I've seldom felt more confident about getting a good result up there, but my optimism often goes before a fall.

True. And I wouldn't underestimate his value off the pitch, because he certainly seems to be a/the central figure for a lot of the other players - older and younger.

He's said he really likes the club and the area, and I think he really likes our style of football as well - and his vital part in it. His only chance of playing in Europe with those two is trying to catch up to one of their 'passes'. He's much better off here and he knows it.

Fair comment. I apologize for my part in it.

That's pathetic, even for you.

Predictably, in comes the little puppy dog.

Nerve still tingling?

Hard to know what to read into that, given that the next game and starting line-up decisions are almost two weeks away. Hopefully it's not bad news regarding his injury.

If all that real estate, which is very valuable given our TV coverage, is not being fully used, it's a little surprising that the corporate face of the Liebherr family doesn't appear from time to time. Even if they aren't consumer products, it's still exposure.

Is that recent or the one from the U-21 setback?

Thank you. BTW "judging people's entire lives" is another of your straw men. I'm judging their persona on here, and it's all IMO anyway. They could be sneerers on here and dreamers somewhere else, or brave with the keyboard but chicken-sh*t in real life. Or vice versa in both cases. Whatever. I made my point. You disagreed with it. Life goes on.

Line 1 is another of your straw man inventions because I've never seen anything like that on here - just a big bunch of people happy to go along for the ride, and a little group who sneer. Line 2 may well be true, but I reserve that perspective for people like that because it's the only language they understand. Anyway, for me it's onwards and upwards. I choose to believe in "The Plan" and see where it takes us.

Life is full of planners, dreamers and sneerers. Cortese is unquestionably in the first group - with the balls, brains and probably the funding to back it up. I'm happy enough to sit in the second group because we've already come a hell of a long way and, based on that and various signals (such as who we've signed and might be interested in signing), there's nothing wrong with dreaming when it comes to footy. Without dreams, supporting a team is rather pointless, isn't it? I just thank God I'm not in the third group; what a sad and hollow existence that must be.

I thought he'd spent the best part of his life there.

There seems to be a renewed buzz about Ramirez heading back to Italy (Fiorentina or Inter) in the summer, so I'm still not convinced that he's a key figure in Pochettino's plans. MP's starting line-ups from here on will be a good guide. You don't spend that much on a player just to use him as an impact sub.

Telly was crap here last night so I took a lengthy run through the forums of relegation rivals. I was surprised how many thought that Saints wouldn't go down, and that was before the Man City result. Since that we barely get a mention. I still think there's a ton of volatility over the balance of the season and that two bad results would drop us right back in the kaka, but that's not how rival fans are seeing it.

His touch (with head, chest and both feet) and vision are absolutely tremendous, and he has that special ability to make it look as though he has all kinds of time. But we've always known those things. I was really impressed that he was still pushing-hard in the 90th minute against City. Either he's become fitter (and/or better motivated) under Pochettino, or Adkins was arguably taking him off too early on the occasions when he subbed him. The way he plays, and the way he's playing, I can see him still in the PL and still contributing in 6-8 years time.

Not if we have a coach committed to the high-pressing game, surely? Unless we're talking long term "ultimately".

Interesting stuff to hear. I'm sure there are twelve managers trying to figure this out right now - eleven if we discount BFS. I would assume that one way to beat it is to play a quick ball through the press and then try to break past it, but it takes as much fitness to counter the press as it does to play it. And most of the twelve teams we must still play A) can't or won't increase fitness levels that quickly, just for us, and B) don't have anything like a Cork/Schneiderlin duo. Scheiderlin almost saved City's goal on Saturday by (yet again) sprinting 80 yards or so to be in the right place. They will probably respond in much the same way as City did - or didn't. But Pochettino, I'm sure, has seen it before and knows how to respond.

The other intriguing angle is why (assuming it isn't media bullcrap) we would go for Abdelaziz Barrada (and other high-priced playmakers such as Coutinho) when we've already spent a ton on a player to fill a similar role. Ramirez was signed while Nigel was manager and long before Pochettino was even a twinkle in Cortese's eye, while Barrada and the others were supposedly pursued with Pochettino's full involvement and support. I can only think of two rationales for that, assuming that the stories are accurate. The first is that Pochettino himself has significant doubts about how and whether Ramirez can fit into his system. The second reflects a recognition that the demands of the pressing game will take a toll on all our midfielders, and that we need cover in that more creative position, even if it's very expensive. But that implies that we actually have a budget of mind-blowing proportions. Edit: The third option, I guess, is that we're not bothered about re-signing Puncheon, but we're still talking big budget here.

I remember thinking at the time that they were more in the way of normal pre-match platitudes, which - for us - was a good sign; in fact, I said to a friend at the time that I thought we had a really good chance of stuffing City based on how Mancini came across. You could be right about the limited sway but his team had all the hallmarks of a side that encountered something it didn't expect, and then didn't know how to adjust once they saw it. Either way, he needs to take his own responsibility as well as, and not instead of, berating his players in public.

He's made a significant contribution this year, and I really like his partnership with Clyne on the right. He's willing to shoot, which is very valuable in a team that can be shot-shy, and his pass to set up the first on Saturday was great to see because he doesn't always see that pass when it's there. However, he's not the same player, and we're not the same team, when he's played on the other side. My concern relates to the underlined part. He strikes me as the kind of player who can hit ego problems as his stock starts to rise, which it is. At best, we'll re-sign him because "The Sheriff" will be able to handle him. At worst we need to re-sign him to sell him (at some point), or else we'll be waving goodbye to a potentially significant transfer fee.

It's all very well for Mancini to go ballistic on his overpaid superstars but at some point he needs to look in two other places. One is the other dressing room, because he came up against a very good and underrated team on Saturday, and they deservedly kicked his team's ass. He can lament the errors until he goes blue in the face, but his team caved-in under Saints pressure all over the pitch. Barry's O.G. came minutes after a very similar move ended with Puncheon shooting over when he should have scored, so Barry panicked at a key moment. The second place he needs to look is the mirror, because he failed to heed the pointers available from our last 3 games. He took us lightly and paid the price. I hope everyone else does that, but they won't after Saturday.