Dark Munster

Oi, I resemble that remark!

This. Apart from the Sunderland abomination it's been a very enjoyable season. My wish list for next season is a quality goalkeeper, cb, striker, and for MP to take the FA cup seriously (in actions, not words).

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/26272372 West Ham are on a great run and have now won three games in a row following their draw at Stamford Bridge. In contrast to Fulham and West Brom, the Hammers stuck with their manager Sam Allardyce rather than sacking him when they were on a bad run around the turn of the year. After a run of five points from nine games, West Ham have picked up 10 points in their last four matches. They are reaping the benefits of backing a manager who had a proven track record in the Premier League, instead of changing things and making them worse. I was surprised that Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino fielded a weakened team in their FA Cup defeat by Sunderland last week. As I said then, Saints are not going to climb much higher in the league table and they are not going to drop many places either so I don't get it. Why not have a cup run and reward your supporters? Overall, though, they have had a very good season and in the league they are continuing quite merrily. Lawro's prediction: 1-1 Always liked that Lawro chap.

If we'd got to the semi-final how many tickets do you reckon we would sell?

Even if they're adopted and over 18?

My God, there are some dullard MP apologists around, aren't there? There's a time and place to put out a weakened team: relegation or CL places to worry about/fight for, or lower division opposition in early rounds. We don't complain then. But a late round match, with nothing significant left to play for in the league, is not one of them.

As Wes Tender says, time to move on, our work is done, MP has got the message. As for the dullards who keep on arguing that the team wasn't weakened very much, and should have been good enough to win, see post 30.

Yes. In a sort of "I'm sorry you are criticising me, I've done nothing wrong" sort of way. “But I completely reject any sort of criticism that we didn’t put out the best team for that day." “I also want to say that, not exactly that it makes me angry, but more than anything it makes me sad, the fact that with these type of comments that came after that game, they’re quite disrespectful to the players that were actually on the pitch."

No, many of us were correct beforehand, when we were calling for MP to rest players against Hull.

Our first choice 11 drew with their first choice 11 twice, dominating both matches. Our first choice 11 outplayed a non-too-shabby Hull a few days earlier. So yes, they would have probably won the tie, and we'd be one step from the semis. No-one is saying we'd win the cup, but we'd have a better chance of doing so winning against Sunderland as opposed to losing against them.

...

Whether true or not (and I doubt it), he and other key players should've been rested against Hull. And they would have been if MP had prioritised the cup over the league. Clearly his priorities are the other way around, no matter how much he (and his minions on here) try to spin it.

Post of the week.

Let's put out the best team for the day: Davis © Clyne, Hooiveld, Yoshida, Shaw Wanyama, Davis, Ward-Prowse, Lallana Guly, Lambert Should be strong enough to beat the Hammers.

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/11026299.Poch__I_was_not_disrespectful_to_FA_Cup/ “But I completely reject any sort of criticism that we didn’t put out the best team for that day." “I also want to say that, not exactly that it makes me angry, but more than anything it makes me sad, the fact that with these type of comments that came after that game, they’re quite disrespectful to the players that were actually on the pitch." Bollocks. But I'm glad he's well aware of the fury of most of us (yes, a few sycophants aside), so hopefully he'll think twice if we're in the same situation next time.

We're more than capable of beating Citeh or Arsenal at Wembley. Underdog, but not rank outsiders. Unless of course we play the likes of Guly, Jos and Kelvin.

3. Cork, Schneiderlin, Boruc and Fonte on the bench/at home.

Slim? Three games from winning it! We'd be favourites against Hull/Brighton, and after that a semi final where there will be at least one lower league team, and one of Everton/Arsenal gone. And for the last 5 years we haven't been in a position where we are now, with no relegation/promotion to worry about.

Can someone please tell him if he does it again next year the disrespect is going to be ramped up to a whole new level.

I think you'll find we believe that beating Sunderland, rather than losing to them, would have given us a better chance of winning the cup. Correct us if we're wrong.

You sound like Mrs. Munster.

Who's the man with the big nose about to swallow Krap Nottarf?

I've been thinking about those who say the team that played should have been strong enough to beat Sunderland, so it's the players fault not MP's. Perhaps the following analogy may get through to you lot. Imagine you're a prisoner of war in Vietnam, and you are forced to a play a game of Russian roulette. You're given a choice of two guns, one with 3 bullets in 10 chambers, the other with just 1 bullet in 10 chambers. Would you choose the one with 3 bullets because it has a good chance of not blowing your brains out?