Rasiak-9-

Yoshida I think has the potential to be a Premiership player for a relegation-fighting team like a Fulham or a Palace. If not, I think he'd be one of the best player in the league if he were happy to drop down to the Championship. He's just not top-10 Premiership ability, but certainly a better player than I think a lot of people give him credit for. His marking Christian Benteke in both the Villa games last season was an impressive textbook example of how, as a centre-back, to deal with a striker who's bigger than you. Clever player who's certainly got a career in England whether he stays or goes.

Terrible, terrible defender, as more-or-less all of Swansea's defenders are. Why do you think such a good footballing side are picking up about 1 point per game? Take the match at SMS, they passed us off the park and really could have won 5-2, but every time we went forward we looked like we'd score and actually, the scoreline should have been 3-0 Saints with the Wanyama non-defended corner. Swansea pick defenders to fit in with their passing, possession-based style, not players who can defend.

What I think about our team is irrelevant. This is about you proving that you actually believe any of what you say and aren't simply on the wind up. Of the five teams below us that you claimed to believe would finish the season above us, £20 to charity from you for each that we finish above, and £20 from me/everyone else who wants action to your chosen charity for every one that finishes above us.

Are you going to put your money where your mouth is regarding any of the teams below us finishing above us? Please stop your trolling Dalek.

Can someone describe what exactly happened with the two goals? Has anyone actually been able to see them? I don't have any streams

I should perhaps add that I'm really quite happy with the season as a whole. I think we're better than everyone below us and not as good as anyone above us and thoroughly merit what is an quite impressive league position of 9th. Certainly I'd be more than happy to finish the season in the top half and absolutely elated if we could manage to win more matches than we lose in only our second season in the Premiership, both would be excellent achievements. Agree with Alpine to some extent re. the marquee signings even though I'm not hugely disappointed with any of them as individuals. (I actually think Osvaldo's been judged quite harshly considering the fact that he's been injured/the manager hasn't been playing him, and could easily have an ordinary but respectable tally of 6-7 goals if he had played against Swansea, Hull, Fulham, Cardiff etc.) Its not so much the marquee signings themselves but the lack of depth and cover that should have been addressed. One example of a player I was crying out for in the summer was Maynor Figueroa, an ordinary but athletic and experienced left-back who can cover at centre-half as well if needs be; we could have easily got hold of him in the summer and relatively cheaply too. I mean I don't want to obsess over Figueroa specifically but that one free signing could have provided us with adequate cover for Shaw/Fonte/Lovren and avoid having to play either Fox or Hooiveld who are just awful, awful weak points in our team that are incredibly easy to exploit. Same issue with the goalkeepers; Kelvin Davis has never been good or consistent enough either in the air or especially when it comes to dealing with low, skidding shots towards his near post and Gazzaniga should have been sold if we think he'll never be good enough or out on loan to a team in the lower leagues to get first-team experience if we think he might be in the future.

The intensity of the winter fixture list, tougher opponents and our fair share of suspensions and injuries. All of which are issues that have been heavily exacerbated by our lack of strength in depth.

And what a surprise, he doesn't respond. Dalek, you've been busted for trolling.

From this prediction it follows that you think that we are in a false position, and that between 5 and 7 of the teams below us are actually better than us. Name them.

Well I wouldn't go that far! He's been one of our best players throughout the past 4-5 years and was just as instrumental in our promotions as Lambert. Still one of the first names on the teamsheet. He's earned the right to have one bad game (although make no mistake it was a very, very poor game.) Changing the subject slightly what did people think of Kelvin Davis? Made a few good saves in the first half where he dived quite bravely at the feet of Ramires but probably should have got up to Oscar's deflected shot and as always, has a massive weakness when it comes to low, skidding shots, especially at his near post.

I'm one of Morgan's biggest fans but I have to agree with this. Very disappointed in his performance tonight and same with Lovren, who although he's been fantastic so far this season, had his first very poor game for us. Ahwel, I'm afraid if you're playing a team who's better than you, whilst you play badly and they play well, you're gonna take one.

Let me just predict that before I'm done typing this some wally jumps in and shouts "Hurr durr lets bring Fox back!" so i'll try and give a sensible answer: He's been in and out of the side through injury so hasn't quite been at his brilliant best, but when you look at the way he takes players on and has completely owned some of the best right-wingers in the world you know the talent is there. Actually I think the fact that a thread like this one has been started is testament to the high standard that we hold him to. 90% of the time you shrug your shoulders when an 18 year old makes a mistake and put it down to him being as young as he is, whilst being impressed by the sheer fact of them being as young as they are and yet being good enough to play first-team Premiership football! Hopefully he steers clear of injuries for a good six months or so as yes, injuries in his developmental years might well damage his career and how good he might well become.

The reason he sometimes gives the ball away is because he is at least TRYING to play that killer pass that will actually DO something rather than just keep possession and wash his hands of responsibility. This really has been the major difference between Lallana now and Lallana "dribble-it-five-yards-and-pass-it-back-to-our-defenders" of 4-5 years ago. Both him and Gaston take responsibility for creating chances, rather than just keeping things ticking over and waiting for the chance to come. We have to play a midfield of MS/Wanyama and Ramirez, with Rodriguez and Lallana on the wings and Osvaldo up front. (Drop Wanyama for Davies if you prefer).

I've criticised Rickie an awful lot this season but I wouldn't let him go in a January window. Plus whilst I wouldn't have him in our fully-fit starting XI he's still a weapon off the bench.

Well done Rickie! Thats what I want to see! Aggression in the box and poaching the goals. Delighted that he's proving me wrong.

I've slated Lambert a lot recently but that was a peach of a pass.

Creepiest **** I've ever ****ing seen.

Just one of those moments where Poch just needs to give him a ring and patiently and politely explain that whilst Adam has done nothing wrong, with the way things are going he feels he needs added leadership in the spine of the team and especially at the back and so for now, Dejan will have the armband. I'm sure Lallana would completely understand.

Cardiff: 1-1 Everton: 3-1 Chelsea: 1-3 Burnley: 2-0 WBA: 3-2 Sunderland: 1-1 Arsenal: 1-2. Think we'll muddle our way to 5 points giving us 24 played and 29 points total. Having said that, I think we'll kick on from February onwards with all our players back fit, have the magic 40 by early/mid-march, giving us 7, 8 or 9 games to get ourselves into the mid 50s and finish in the top-half of the table.

But Rasiak you are completely deluded and must have been asleep all last season. Wally. He had a good record in his first season but for the last calendar year he has a grand total of 7 goals from open play. Grant Holt outscored Lambert in his first season in the Premiership and we dismissed him as a try-hard Champo clogger who was just having his flash-in-the-pan honeymoon moment against defences that hadn't yet figured him out, whilst our Rickie was vastly superior and anyone who compared the two was making a lazy and insulting comparison. I'll never shout at Saints players who aren't good enough, because there is simply no point. As I say what are you supposed to shout at Jos/Gazza? Tackle him! Save a shot! Come off your line! BE better! BE not simply well out of your depth in the Premiership!....Well? As I've said in the past its like putting your 8-year old child in charge of cooking the evening meal and then complaining when the house burns down. With Rickie, as you've said, he has previously performed quite well in the Premiership, but at the moment he seems to lack any of the aggression, energy and effort (as well as the touch, finesse and willingness to shoot that made him a real handful in the first 6-7 months of last season. If a player who isn't good enough is playing for Southampton F.C., it isn't their fault, its the manager/chairman's fault for not sorting out adequete cover. If a player who IS or SHOULD be good enough is playing poorly down to a lack of effort/practice/loss of form, THEN I start to get rather miffed. But what the hey. Some people will be blindly loyal to Rickie forever, as two of the comments above calling him a legend for *****ing and moaning about a teammate have shown and proven my point. The sooner we give Lovren the captaincy, sign a proper centre-back to go alongside him, get a left-footed left-winger and put Rodriguez who has looked in every way a complete centre-forward through the middle, the better.

Can anyone upload the video so that we can see it in the UK? If he really did say what has been claimed, Lambert can most certainly keep his mouth shut. When it comes to performing well in the Championship and being completely inadequate in the Premiership the pot is most certainly calling the kettle black. Plus its not that Jos was underperforming or putting in a lack of effort. He simply isn't good enough to play Premiership football full stop; and as such there isn't anything constructive you can really say about him or to him. Just another reason to give Lovren the captaincy in my opinion. Not only is he our best player but he has a natural authority and whilst Lallana leads by example, tough times calls for real leadership.

*Furthermore, Lovren evidently has the.... blablablabla Stupid not even being able to edit.

I'm not a full member so can't start a thread on this (though I'd appreciate it if someone feeling similarly could start one), but does anyone else think that it might be time to give Lovren the captaincy? Its nothing whatsoever against Lallana at all, I just think that right now our back four could do with some clear, absolute authority and leadership and as such, giving the armband to Lovren might help with the number of ****-ups in communication in defence we've had recently. Time and again our defenders seem to look at each other wondering who's making the decision (this is mainly down to the keeper but also Fox/Hooiveld being generally terrible) and when you look at Hooiveld he seems to look lost before putting his mouth about just purely to save face. Furthermore he evidently has the confidence to put his mouth about and commands respect from the senior players: if you watch the video I've pasted below at about 10 seconds in Lovren comes over to Rickie and Adam to give instructions and you can tell that when he speaks the players are listening and value what he has to say. As I say, Lallana's done nothing wrong at all its just that I really think that establishing more of a clear chain of command at the back is vital to us at least partially sorting out the mess we're in until Boruc/Shaw/Clyne and Fonte are back. http://www.footytube.com/video/southampton-v-tottenham-hotspur-248059?ref=wv_relbox

We don't have a rival. We used to have a rival, but we've won our rivalry, and now we don't have a rival anymore. Its...beautiful.

Whats the rain like down there? I'm in London and its really coming down. Genuinely quite concerned as there really couldn't be a better time to play Spurs with their swathe of injuries and suspensions.