SaltashSaint

It was a definite foul. But you're right, it probably evens it up. Unfortunately for us, keeping a clean sheet was vital as I can't see us scoring in this game at all.

There was a blatant shove just before the cross came in. By the letter of the law, it should have been a foul.

I get your point about great lower league atmospheres. However, when we were struggling in The Championship, without the 10K extra PL tourists, the atmosphere was absolute ****e. Much worse than it is now. Success on the pitch and /or entertaining football plays a huge part. The fact people are paying more to watch games these days raises their expectations and means they require more stimulus to create the atmosphere. The football served up last season, for example, was dreadful in terms of entertainment and that clearly had an impact. Hopefully we will see better displays this season and the atmosphere will improve. Another difference nowadays is that so many people take their seats 30 seconds before kick off and therefore there is no atmosphere build up. In addition, the unrealistic expectations of many supporters leads to them waiting for the first opportunity to whinge and moan, rather than cheer and support their team. The atmosphere at The Dell was amazing - yes, probably because it was a tight and compact ground, but because we were totally ecstatic when we beat one of the 'big boys' as we didn't expect it.

The long term solution is to build a bigger stadium, circa 50,000; introduce safe standing areas and reduce ticket prices. That is what they do in Germany and the atmosphere at most games is first class. Quite simply, the more people in the stadium, the better the atmosphere, the more support our team receives and the more is spent on a commercial basis. As a comparison, Mönchengladbach's population is roughly the same as Southampton, yet last season Borussia Mönchengladbach's average attendance was nearly 51,500 compared to ours of just under 31,000. In 19 home matches, our total home attendance was just under 590,000. In 17 home matches, Borussia Mönchengladbach's total was just over 875,000. The difference is you can stand at a Mönchengladbach game for about £11 and sit from £15. Quite simply, English football needs to stop milking the average punter.

Amazing. If you shoot, you can score. That is such a strange concept for our players!

I don't disagree, but Tadic, although hugely frustrating at times, will always create. His passing is sublime. Unfortunately, his team-mates fail to read most of them!

Boufal is gash and such a waste of money. He is a luxury in a very good side. Unfortunately, we are not a very good side and we can't afford to carry him. He offers very little. This team is crying out for some pace. And someone who can shot from outside the box would be ideal too!

Well, lightweight in central midfield, no support for Gabba, too slow on the ball and no attacking threat whatsoever. This could be 3-0 or 4-0 if we don't buck our ideas up.

We have only ever selected him as a traditional centre midfielder with an emphasis on defensive work. He was never going to be given an advanced role with us, whereas JWP and Pierre have been handed that opportunity. My worry is that we have a squad of attacking minded midfielders, but we have no decent back up for Oriel and Lemina. I wouldn't trust Davis, JWP or Pierre to perform that role. It is all about opinions though.

Thanks for the educated response! My point is we are getting rid of a holding midfielder, leaving our squad short in that area, yet we have retained three midfielders who all perform the same role. I am not asking them to perform that role as none of those three would be capable of playing that role effectively.

We all have our opinions, but I would say that he wasn't given a fair crack. However, that could be said about a lot of players at the club. How can players get used to the pace and demands of the PL, as well as their team-mates, if they are only given the odd game, here and there, without a run of a solid number of games? Can I ask, other than Oriel, who else in the middle of the park last season covered enough ground, put pressure on opponents, got goal side, wasn't lightweight, won headers and dominated the centre? Davis didn't/doesn't do that, JWP didn't/doesn't do that, Hojbjerg didn't/doesn't do it. Those three players are, in my opinion, too alike and neither will be a decent back up for when Oriel is suspended/injured. If you think Clasie was slow and didn't dominate, then I would be interested to know what you think of Hojbjerg and what he brings to the team? Is he another that could be gone sooner rather than later?

Davis is a very intelligent player and his passing is first class. But he often slows up play and he doesn't score anywhere near enough goals for someone of his ability. Playing deep, passing the ball around, would be ideal for him. But he isn't a number 10 and I would rather see JWP, Holjberg or Tadic playing alongside Oriel or Lamina in midfield.

He is a really good player who has been totally underused since he joined. In the few opportunities he has been given, he has always put in a decent shift. He has a powerful and accurate shot on him, and I feel he could have been a key player for us given the chance.

Huge credit has to go to Pellegrino for that attacking double substitution. Great entertainment, five goals and a win. Happy days!

Dusan playing in two positions?!

Decent performance, slicker and quicker passing, and much better movement. However, we are a much better side when we keep some width and we always have a tendency to drift inside whenever we get frustrated. Cahill's sending off and subsequent ban should speed up van Dijk's departure. We need to spend the money on a quality number 10 who can link play and chip in with a few goals, such as Gylfi Sigurðsson.

http://vipbox.biz/soccer/watch-2422k-southampton-vs-swansea-city?l=41793463

The thing to realise here is that there is no such thing as loyalty in football anymore and that includes players, managers and clubs - they are all guilty. The second thing is that contracts mean absolutely nothing, aside from helping the selling club negotiate a higher price. Once a player has made his mind up to leave, that generally is that. The worst thing about all of this is the timing. Any true Saints fan will acknowledge that Virgil is way too good for us and he will achieve great things at a bigger club. The key thing from our view is that we don't get bullied into letting him go on the cheap. In today's market, he has to be valued at £60 million. We should accept nothing less than that unless we are handed a player or two in exchange. Whatever happens, Virgil has been one of the best players I have seen play for Saints in my 30 plus years of watching them, but he will leave under a dark cloud and that is a real shame.

Not sure if any of these are realistic in terms of availability or a willingness to join us, but I would happily welcome any of these - Frank de Boer, Jurgen Klinsmann, Roberto Mancini, David Wagner, Eddie Howe, Unai Emery or Garry Monk. As for those I wouldn't get excited about - Marco Silva, Claudio Ranieri, Brendan Rodgers or Roy Hodgson. If the new owners, at any point, think Zola may be a good appointment, can somebody please shoot them!

I would sell both Austin and Rodriguez as they are very similar players to Gabba, plus both lack pace and are injury prone. I would definitely keep Long. Great pace, excellent in the air, works his socks off and always gives defenders something to think about.

Boufal has been a major disappointment all season and a complete waste of £16 million. He clearly has skill and trickery, but he lacks physicality and he has no desire to work hard or to do a job for the team.

I actually like the fact that we are trying to take the game to Chelsea and we aren't sitting back. What we lack is a real leader on the pitch and a centre half who dominates, is physical and 'roughs' up the opposition. Dare I say it, someone like John Terry.

http://vipbox.biz/soccer/watch-21oes-chelsea-vs-southampton?l=1485866125

I'm driving from Alton to Harrow Borough FC (with my 8-year-old boy) and having a spot of lunch there before catching the train to Wembley. My lad would love to see the team coaches arrive. Does anyone know roughly what time they will arrive and whether he will get near enough to grab an autograph or two?

I'm taking my 8-year-old lad and there would be nothing or no-one stopping me. This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Make the most of it and grasp the opportunity with two hands.