benjii

Awful.

Should have put Reed and Mane on fifteen minutes ago.

A load of **** from Wanyama again. Sell!

I think the hope for next season is that Classie, Van Dijk, Cedric, Romeu to some extent and Juanmi are markedly improved for their experience this year. A bit like a lot of our players who played PL for the first time when we got promoted. Lallana was not particularly good in that first season but came on hugely after that. We still have the nucleus of a very decent team but next summer probably won't be the time to gamble again - we should add one or two "battle-ready" players and no filler.

You're all K U N T S. Happy New ****ing Year.

He's been crap, apart from one game, for months. Get rid.

I agree exactly with your first paragraph. The club itself talked about "being in the right position if one of the big boys slips up". Well, this is the weakest Premier League I can remember and we are in the bottom half. Obviously we will have good and bad seasons so it's not time to moan and wail but it's quite legitimate to point out that we seem to lack intensity and desire compared to last season and, aside from the Arsenal match (in which they were awful) we haven't really had a notable performance all season. We were awful in the biggest matches - Midgetland and Liverpool. So, overall, a very poor season so far.

He's obviously got class technical ability. I'm not sure our usual attacking shape suits him. I think he's better more centrally than stuck on a wing. Could get a chance in the role Mane played last night once he leaves.

Ha! I remember that. I actually emailed the authorities about that one because it seemed plain biased, even though we won easily.

Moss is not a good ref. He had no impact on the result last night because his wrong decisions against us were balanced by wrong decisions in our favour (although some of those were offside related so not his fault really). He is not good though. He is slow, bumbling and inconsistent in his use of discipline. Clattenburg is probably the best. Moss is one of the worst. Anyway, back to the game: obviously we played much better and just seemed to be playing with more intensity. It's amazing what an impending transfer window does to Wanyama. That said, Arsenal were awful. Another telling example of the poor quality Premier League. Obviously Sanchez and Coquelin would have helped them but their first choice defence and striker were garbage. Walcott was garbage. It's a shame we've looked half-arsed so often as someone unfancied really could finish quite high this year. Spurs to win the league, sadly.

Take a point.

The "youth argument" is completely spurious. We currently have the following crop of home-grown players in their prime: Shaw, Chambers, Walcott, Ox, Bale, Lallana... Then you have Target, Reed and the likes of Dyer, Sparv.... How many teams have produced that amount of quality still in prime playing age? We've been a victim of our own success - it's nonsense to expect a Shaw or Ox every season. If they weren't so good they would still be with us.

Austin is an excellent penalty box player but, like others have said, there isn't room in the team for him and Pelle. We need a creative central player.

The quality of the Premier League is abysmal at the moment.

As far as I can see. This is a bit worrying. So is our home form. We've won 5 league games against the teams currently in: 14th 16th 17th 18th and 19th places. Need to buck our ideas up. We have looked flat all season.

CHDAJFU? He's still got it.

If he'd played against Leicester instead of Ol' Man Davis, we'd have two more points!

She is approximately the same height as a corner flag.

Backroom team of Mark Paul, Cosimo Sarli and Marco Almeida. Did someone say, "dream ticket"?

Quite right. Anyone who "signed" that is, simply, an idiot.

I thought Benn's speech was very slickly and professionally delivered but it was pretty empty and if that is now what constitutes Parliament's standout oratory then there must be quite a lack of intellect to be found therein. Having said that, good oratory does not necessarily a good decision make. George Galloway, for example, is an excellent orator and a tremendous ****.

I think the defensive tactics are not right. We don't press consistently but we don't drop off enough to close space in front of the back for either. Wanyama and Clasie are often neither here nor there. Couple that with centre backs falling asleep and we're going to concede. I think there's maybe a lack of characters in the squad now. We could do with signing a couple of mentally resilient players. Really, it's going to be a boring and frustrating season where we squander opportunities (this and the Europa). I guess the hope is that we start next season with players who've grown from their experiences this season (Cedric, Clasie, Van Dijk) and only lose one or two first teamers. But, importantly, we need to address our patterns of play. We don't look well drilled at the moment but we have enough quality to beat the bottom half of the league.

Who / what is that?

Quite. We are not going to finish above United, City, Arsenal, Spurs or Liverpool. We probably won't finish above Chelsea and it's 50/50 at best if we finish above Leicester (although Leicester must have some tough fixtures coming up - they seem to play bottom half teams most weeks and they have also had loads of luck, from what I've seen) and Everton. So, feck the league, lets try to win something.

His potential appeared enormous when he first started playing. That is why he got hyped. Not really a stick to beat him with. Personally, I think his best position is a deeper midfielder, a la Classie or Morgan, but due to his versatility he gets shifted around a lot and hasn't had the chance to develop there. I don't think he can play alongside Vic or Romeu as they are both quite slow as well. I can't see him ever getting a chance in that role at Saints so he will need to decide if he's happy in the utility squad role or if he needs to drop down and develop himself as a CM.