Kingsland Codger

Maybe we had some luck with some of the referring decisions, with poor finishing from Palace and with bad judgement from their goalkeeper for the first goal but AA's goal was due to hard work. Throughout the season all of our strikers have chased down the opposing keepers in order to make them miss-pass under pressure and this time AA was quick enough to get a tackle/block in, keep control and score. Huge effort rather than luck.

Trolling? Far from it. I am merely considering a way to avoid the curse of knock-out football tournaments - the drawn game and subsequent penalty shoot-out. Too many sides play for the shoot-out rather than risk a counter-attack should their own attempt at positive play backfire. I take your point about disciplinary cards encouraging yet more fake fouls but this cuts both ways - I was also thinking of the effect such a move might have on the cynical foul - Chiellini grabbing Saka's shirt collar at the Euro final is but one recent example. Other alternative suggestions to abolish the shoot-out are welcome. Most corners?

As an added extra, I would abolish the penalty shoot-out. If the scores are still level after extra-time, the team with the fewer yellow/red cards go through to the next round. This puts pressure not just on the teams but also on the officials.

There is a time and place for drink every now-and-then as the original poster suggests. Cold beer on a hot summer’s day, a whisky-mac in the winter, a glass of red with a ripe Camembert. I am reminded of a comment from Ambrose Bierce “An abstainer is a weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure”.

Like this … And it goes down in the book as one of Messi’s missed penalties

Including one he skied high-and-handsome at St Mary's. Oh how we laughed! Spookily, earlier this autumn Kane scored a penalty against Frankfurt but failed to score a second in the same match.

But who would take the free-kicks?

The pigeon will be able to play on both wings.

In the mid-Seventies I arrended university in Scotland - a kid from the Isle of Wight who had never before travelled much north of the Thames. I was mildly surprised to discover there wasn’t much in the way of Guy Fawkes and Firework Night but plenty of Hallowe’en, which I had barely heard of.

Robert Jones

No need to short-change the lad. He’s scored three! (against Leicester, Spurs and last night).

As Elynoussi cut across the Bournemouth penalty area to help set-up our goal, note how the Bournemouth defenders were very cautious not to tackle him and maybe give away a free-kick. JWP’s reputation at work.

From what I heard on the radio, the MoM for Saints was our 12th man. Our fans were belting out OWTSGMI even when we were 4-0 down and playing poorly.

Afternoon tea

The BT Sport pundits (Rio Ferdinand and Robbie Fowler) are very critical of TAA in their round-up. https://www.bt.com/sport/watch/video/clips/2022/september/what-went-wrong-for-liverpool-in-napoli-defeat

Was I alone in giving a shriek of laughter when the third Napoli goal went in?

Ajax v Glasgow Rangers ... Poor old Rangers, Ajax are putting them to the sword. Showing us all how to play the game. A joy to watch.

For some glorious goals have a look at the Lille v PSG video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDmd9lqG7Yk Mbappe might have scored a hat-trick but at 8 seconds he's not quicker than our Shane Long

Garner? I thought he was a West Indian fast bowler.

Just arrived back home after the match. A rare treat to see Hampshire here on the South Island. It was sizzling hot at Newclose - there is no shade to be found anywhere in the ground and when Northants were 177-5 and cruising to an easy victory most of us in the crowd were wishing Northants would just get on with it and put us out of our misery allowing us could all get to the beach for a cooling swim. What followed was a fall of 5 wickets for 11 runs. Amazing. As others have said, what a surprise!

Was Aribo's goal similar to that scored by Boufal v West Brom?

A sad, but realistic, comment - and to think it wasn't that long ago when every Saint on the pitch was an international.

Tea first or milk first?

Do keep up, Badger. Down here on the South Island we made it to the 1970s week’s ago.

Am I alone in thinking the Brighton second goal all started because Perraud can't kick with his right foot.