egg

Yep, it's not complicated. It's important to win any match, for confidence if nothing else. Moreover, we're also skint and every league place is worth nearly £2m. There's 18 million reasons why it's important to finish 8th rather than 17th. That's another player.

Thanks, didn't hear the interview. He's right about Tella. What a cracking cameo. Full of energy and did so well for the goal. In fact, he did more when he was on than Djenepo did all game.

Decent debut on the whole. Good pace, positioning and mostly good on the ball. Few sloppy moments which is probably a combo of nerves / rustiness and tiredness towards the end. I liked what I saw. Hopefully he'll get a huge confidence boost from that and kick on.

Shock

Superb from Tella. Pressing, pace, strength, composure. Nice.

Salisu struggling now. Probably knackered to be fair. Get Vest on, and Adams on up front.

Traore looks like he's oiled himself up bodybuilder style. Odd. He'll be a good test for Salisu who's looked good so far.

Yep, my thoughts. Perhaps the new strain is more deadly than we're told.

Teacher

McCarthy, even in his current form, is better then Forster. He was shipped out because he wasn't good enough, and he still isn't.

Seems a fair compromise. I'll tweet him and ask.

You don't know the reason for his poor form, none of us do, but his being unsettled is just as likely as his being on the comeback trail. It could be a bit of both. Whatever the reason, he's been pretty shit recently and needs to raise his game.

The Perigord area generally is lovely, and Sarlat is very nice. I like to find a little bistro tucked away, have a nice bit of Canard, and sit back for a few hours. Splendid, and hopefully I can do it again soon.

The bloke needs taking out of the firing line immediately. He's proved himself inept to the point that people are questioning his integrity and threats have apparently been made. It should have happened after the Utd game but the West Ham game surely has to be the last straw.

I'm not convinced he's fit yet and that he's sat on the bench to be around the match day squad / pr / to fill the bench. I could be way off, but if he was fit to play football, then he'd be playing B team football.

Haven’t been to Sete, but Canet very nice. The whole area is superb, both sides of the border, Roses a favourite on the Spanish side. Le Perthus is a bizarre little place too, part in France and part in Spain. My missus once had a conversation with a shop keeper in a mix of Spanish, French with some Catalan thrown in! That's one of the things I miss about travelling, the random little memories.

Amen to that. Some fantastic trips in there. That Barcelona to Perpignan coastal route is a joy. Once over the border there's Banyul, Collioure, Argeles, etc, then Perpignan itself which is amazing. Travelling is what I'll be doing. Jordan, Tuscany, plus so many other places. If flights ain't happening, then every corner of this country. Anywhere, everywhere. I'm determined to never waste another weekend or day off.

Southampton

I wouldn't be surprised if he's still unfit and he just padded the bench with Ramsey the only actual defensive sub. Romeu could drop back and Chauke or Finnigan come into midfield if we'd lost 2 CB's.

Pretty much as I saw it. Him being the last man was weird. When they were at 9 men he often took up a kind of auxiliary left back position (like Fred was for Man Utd in the week) with Bertrand ahead of him. It was so congested in their box, when he got the ball though he just gave it simple then jogged up to join the attack. It was strange. We needed him to get on the ball where he could do damage, not in defence, but in fairness to him, he was at least trying to get on the ball. First half though he looked good, although some sloppy passes but perhaps nerves/rust. The touch, turn of pace and finish for his goal were pure class though. On the whole he looks a cracking acquisition. With a full weeks training I'm confident he'll make a big difference.

Yep but the 3rd goal started with his negativity. He had a nightmare.

Not one positive to take from that. Tactically shit. No passion. Poor passing and crossing. Ings doesn't look at it. Minamino ended up as a kind of left back. Redmond may as well have played for them. McCarthy shocking. Just terrible all over the park, and more to the point, from the manager. Failing to beat 9 men is a disgrace, much more so than getting battered in the week. Embarrassing.

We are fucking dire.

What a fucking idiot.

What's happened to Vestergaard's passes from the back?