redkeith

If Shane Long is the answer, you are asking the wrong question.

This was an opportunity missed, even before the sending off. We were creating the better chances until Spurs started putting the ball in behind JWP and got their goal. Maybe Gunn set himself too rigid to block the shot, but the deflection wasn't that big. Yet again we got caught on the break for the 2nd. Spurs are a very dangerous with Son's pace, and Romeu does struggle to get back in those situations. Personally , when the went down to 1, I would have put Bednarek man to man on Son, left the other 2 to keep an eye on Kane have Romeou sit in front of the back 3, and pushed the full backs right up. 2nd half we created some good half chances, without enough men in the box, and I was sure Maya had scored, but then after that we just moved the ball too slowly, let the Spurs defense keep it's shape. None of the subs made an impact, at least not a positive one. Long had only one touch and his pass missed his man be 5 yards! We would have been better of putting Vestergaard up front . Our squad is so small that a few injuries leave us with a bench of defenders, and two forwards that can only really play on the break, which is not what you need when the opponents sit deep. Hope Cedric is fit by next Sunday.

Just checked, and this is the ninth successive time we have been drawn away in both cups. I expect that Glasgow has an accumulator on it . Our last home draw was Watford in the 4th Round of the FA Cup.

I was yelling at the screen for him to get back across to right back and the BHAM !

Never been a fan of Friday night football, for me it a time for socialising but I hadn't also remembered that Saints are so bad on Friday nights. I think we have lost the last 5 Friday home games on the spin, Bournemouth, Liverpool,Reading , Leicester, Colchester, but it could even be more than that. The only Friday home win that comes to mind is the 2 0 over Liverpool in 84. Can anyone remember another Friday home win ?

Yoshida in for Danso for me. He was so bad yesterday that he a couple of games at CB for the U23's to get his head right.

Much better in the 2nd half when we played with a proper left back. The first half was awful, but we wre much more of a team in the 2nd. Bad selection by Ralph. Bournemouth took there chances in the 1st and then hung on in the second. I hope the lesson has been learned that , just because you have picked up 7 points from 3 games without a left back does not mean that you would not have picked up 9 with Bertrand playing .

Crap. We are so unbalanced without Bertrand. He must start on Tuesday. I can't see us doing anything much in the 2nd half, unless he bring on Bertrand for Danso maybe and goes 4222 . No one has had a good half for us. Also, if you have a right footer at left back, don't put another right footer in front of him, unless you want the oppo to know that you are going to cut inside every time !

Good point without our two best wide men. Bednarek and Romeu were awesome but MOM to Vestegaard. Great blocks and a great header. JWP, who should have been helping Cedric with James, wasn't even in the camera shot for the United goal. Cedric recovered well from that though. Adams needs to hit the target with his next effort.

When you try to hit a ball coming in from the right wing with your right instep it is always going to curve away from the goal . He needed to hit it with the outside of the boot, or with his left. Long does it all the tine, Obafemi missed a similar chance on his debut against Spurs, but at least he identified his error afterwards. I would syat fining players for this . Overall I think most players put in a good performance, aside from the brainfart for the Liverpool second goal. Vallery and JWP had a ten minute speel when they kept giving the ball away but otherwise were sound. All the subs looked very lively. VAR won;t save you from ref's like Marinier. The romeu booking was ridiculous and game changing.

Cracking goal, and a cracking kit foe Athletic as well. They copied our all those years ago, maybe it's time we copied theirs .

I like that formation too, and it can easily become 4 2 2 2 depebing on the oposition , with JWP pushing up and boufal dropping back.

Up until the winfd assisted hoof, we were the better side, as shown in the ex-g stats. However three at the vack should mean that there is a spare man therer to mop up if a defender gets decieved by the bounce. Having 3 v 2 should also stop someone being unmarked from a long cross. Clear systems failures. It is a shame that Adams could get more on that ist minute chance, although he did everything right, trying to use the outside of his boot to put it back across the goal, maybe his left instep would have been better, but it was at full stretch. Shane long would have wellied it with his right instep and then look stunned when it went 2 metres wide of the far post!

Six foot 3 ...... can't revive the Jim Steele song then

If he doesn't het the move he is after it is down to him. The best way to get a move to a big club is to consistentl play like a big club player, not up and down. Hopefully he we realise this and play like Palce Away Lemina all year to get his dream move !

Sims has had a couple of very bright performances. his debut against Everton, and last season against Spurs, but he has not really followed them up, that run at Anfield aside. Soon after the Everton game teams used his lack of bodyweight and strength to ease him out into touch if he tried to dribble past them. Ralph got him to use his pace to run in behind teams in the U23's and then very succesfully against Tottenham, but he has not really done that in the remainder of the season. To break through, he really needs 3 or 4 sSpurs like performances in the space of a couple of months.

Thanks for the VPn tip, much better than Hola. Good feed, and good yo see some of the fringe players like Boufal and Cedric having good games. I think Cedric should be good cover at both full back spots while Ramsey and Voikins develop.

After Boris told us al to be more optomistic and upbeat about leaving the EU, I have tried to look for the advantages. So far, all I could come up with is that Mick McCarthy will have a lot more players to pick from once everyone's Irsih passports arrive !

Not having a great deal to spend and being unable to take on additional monthly outgoind ( wages) does not equate in any way to being on the verge of bankruptcy. I myself have living on a fixed income for years. I could not, for instance take out a car loan without cutting other things from my monthly expenditure. It is thr Mr Mcawber way. If Saints did keep adding players to the wage bill, even though it was already at it's maximum, then that would be starting out on the road to bankruptcy, but still not be on the verge of it until bills stopped being paid.

Positional sense. There was often a gaping hole in front of the CB's in the 2nd half, where Feyonord's forced 2 good saves out of McCarthy. Romeu/Scheiderlin/Wanyama wpold have occupied that space, but Reed did not. He could do a job alongside Romeu, but if not we would be wide open .

With the back 3 we were far too open down the sides of the CBs, that happened less often in the 2nd half . Cedric and Hoedt looked good and Boufal was a good outlet, winning lots of free-kicks . Liked the look of Smallbone, but we seem to only have Romeu as a proper Defensive midfield, as all the rest seem to run around a lot and hope to be in the right place at the right time. Special mention for Shane Long who was awful.

I am from Salisbury, one of many Tory strongholds where the only way to try and stop them is to vote LibDem. I am stunned that Swinton can be so stupid as to say that she wpuld not form a coalition with Labour, that will alienate a lot of potential Lib Dem voters. I pinced my nose and voted LD in the Europeans, despite the last terrible Con-LD coalition, but now she can just do one !

Conor Ripley has now set up almost as many Saints goals as huis dad managed in two years here !

Swap him for Sabary from Bordeaux, great cover at Right and Left back!

It showed today that we can not coast through games, it's full Ralph or nothing for us. Forster needs to be paid of I'm afraid. Terrible palm down for the 2nd goal and showing the reflexes of an Ent for the 3rd. Like most, I would be happy not to see Ely, Forster and Stephens again, possibly Armstrong and Long too. WTF was Long thinking when he took that extra touch at 1 0 !