Saint Fan CaM

Sorry to say that it is at this point usually when Saints start to choke so this will be one of the toughest fixtures we'll have all season. Form of both teams is very good but I think the break will work against us and we'll lose this ... 1-3. It'll be a shame for Forster not to equal the all-time record for clean-sheets, but Chelski look like they have re-found the key to unlocking defences. If we give away silly free-kicks within striking distance expect trouble too. If we draw I think it'll be a good result - a win of any kind will be exceptional under the circumstances.

Agreed. And running at their defence - could be some 'slip-ups' there. One to watch is Clasie - will he start let alone last 90 minutes?

"With the exception of the West Ham game, he has recreated the dominant home performances we had gotten used to, and defensively the team have been superb on the road." - Don't agree with this bit. I thought we showed dominance by providing a defensive master class with 10 men in the Wet Spam game. Seriously top, top performance even though we only won 1-0 (we could have nicked another on the break twice in the 2nd half as they were pushing for an equaliser).

Well, that didn't take long for the thread to slide into insults and strangeness. Anyway, back to the match - there's been a far few draws I believe with Swansea. By all accounts we should win this 0-1 but they've improved lately and I can see a 1-1 on the books messing up the clean sheet record.

Problem with Clasie is that he is fragile. Pulled up last night with a strain and was hobbling for 5 minutes until he was pulled off. Hopefully not enough damage to stop him playing at Swansea, but we need a replacement on the bench to come in a replace him - I guess that will be Davis as Reed is not favoured.

8 points from 2 wins, 2 draws and a loss which I think will be a resurgent Chelski.

Wanyama tackle was never a red - definite yellow...he went for the ball but missed it - that's not going for the player. Poyet play-acted terribly and like a complete plum Clutterfook fell for it with considerable help from the Wet Spam drama club. I do hope we appeal, however I don't think Vic wants to be here anymore and it was a cynical way to miss games. Forster was my MOTM - didn't do much except provide us the win by making a world-class crucial save - as good as any goal scored. Plus it's his 5th consecutive clean sheet - incredible really given around a month ago he wasn't in the first team. To be fair, with the exception on VW, the whole team put in a brilliant shift and it was a well-deserved win.

It would be a good start to extend the Northam with an upper tier for all away fans - would transform the atmosphere of SMS for the better IMO and would assist in security keeping order too.

Got him and Wanyama as constants in me FIFA team - beasts together.

Surely a "look at me, look at me - I am the ultimate troll" post? As others have pointed out, the irony of it all is quite breath-taking.

I would have thought this was very obvious - apparently he had to sing 'Stand By Me' for his Saints 1st team initiation, so what about... When match-day has come, And St Mary's is not dark, And a win, is the only result we must see, No we won't be afraid, no we won't be afraid, Because Charlie Austin plays for Saints FC. So Charlie, Charlie score - for me, oh, Charlie Austin score for me, Won't you score, won't you score a goal for me. Got to be a winner surely?!

Really great watch. I hope Frazer remembers how Saints stood by him during a career threatening injury when we offer him a new contract. It just goes to show how bad J-Rods injury was and how he was brought back too soon initially, given that Frazer has actually leap-frogged him in his recovery.

We can win this if we keep up the same intensity and don't get overawed by their big names and big stadium. Must be much more belief now. However, Utd are much much better than the two frankly awful sides we've just faced, so I'm saying 2-1 Utd or possibly 2-2.

Pleased with the signing, however a slight word of caution. I believe he has little/no knee cartilage remaining and I would expect at £4m he will not be starting every game - far from it and he'll be rotated with Long if it's true. Perhaps someone with more knowledge can confirm?

Another really good win and have to say I was dubious about the formation again and the midfield changes. So pleased for JWP whose free-kick was sublime and one he has been threatening for some time. Interesting that he got to take the pen, but hey he did good with that too. Davis was immense - he covered so much ground and played some great through balls. Overall it's seems the Christmas lethargy has been shaken and we're back on track.

Thought we effectively played a 4-4-2 against Arse which produced a great result. It was different and not quite a 4-2-3-1.

Would agree, but I think Ron has intimated the same line-up. Perhaps it's red herring...who knows. Personally I would like to see us with a bit more attacking prowess so 4-4-2 would be great with Tadic in and Long/Mane up front.

I would imagine that Ron will go with the same formation, but something is telling me that Wanyama and Pelle will return to the starting line-up. If Pelle does come back I want to see Long in there and not Mane. Brom are one of those teams we seem to struggle against and this will probably be a draw, but after last nights performance, who knows...perhaps a win is on the cards.

Great win - richly deserved from a team that battled for everything. Thought Davis, Long, Romeu and Clasie were superb. Like others I really don't want to see Wanyama waltz back into the starting 11. Long and Mane are so much more of a threat than Pelle - he slows the play down so much his inclusion at start will disrupt the gains we've made. Mane is not really showing himself off as a £30m player - more £3m, but let's hope it's a blip. We do need another top clinical fast striker though - another Mane type rather than Pelle type. Let's hope for a repeat performance on Saturday.

My guess is that this rumour is a crock of s-h-1-t. We'll end up signing no-one. Or we'll sign a cheap prospect that does nothing to immediately improve our chances of scoring. Our journey is at a crossroads and the driver's not looking very confident about which way to go now.

Well if we're resorting to a defensive 5-4-1 formation at home it speaks volumes about how far we've travelled under Koeman (i.e. backwards) and I can see us losing this. Sure we'll have loads of possession, but they will know that hitting us on the counter or high pressing the defence will make someone panic and gift them a goal. If Yoshida is playing in the central 3, prepare for a disaster. Seriously can see 1-2 or even 1-3. Hope I'm wrong as somehow we must win this game.

Koeman's press speak made it sound like we were signing nobody this window. The Board clearly believe that we have enough about us to stay up. The next two games will tell - less than 6 points and we're in big trouble.

Why were we able to beat Arsenal so convincingly? Same players largely. It's down to formation and tactics. Whether it is Koeman himself or his advisors, there are some really, really bad mistakes being made before the players walk onto the pitch.

5 at the back in the FA Cup at home?!?!? WTF was that all about? And with Yoshida, a player low on confidence and lacking games in a formation he's not used to, it was only going to spell disaster. My Wife dubbed Targett with the name 'Off' as so many times he couldn't find a Saints player and his crosses into the box were awful. And he got skinned so many times it was pitiful. The only bright light in defence was Martina who I thought played really well and showed some real intent. Mane is now hopeless. IF anyone is prepared to pay upwards of £8m for him I would bite their hands off. Long was handed scraps by a dysfunctional midfield - you could see him get more and more frustrated from early in the game. Overall, our attack is so laboured and predictable - no balls through the channels - hardly anyone has the courage or skill to shoot. The only player to have a go like that was Romeu - a defensive midfielder. Make no mistake, we are witnessing relegation form. I just hope the club invest in some much needed talent this window or we'll be sucked into the mire over the next 2-3 games.

Oh dear, this has 'cheap option' written all over it. As much as I would love to see Sam make the grade, he has hardly shown enough to suggest he can regularly score goals at senior level - something a striker really needs to do. Not exactly our version of Harry Kane is he? We urgently need a striker who can step straight into the next Prem game, be comfortable on the ball at the level and score a goal or two, preferably from outside the area.