Legod Third Coming

Not quite that bad - 1st October and 5th November they played at home on a Saturday - but the point is a good one. To be fair, we won't be in the Champion's League until the following season so needn't worry!

When he bought in Forte I was worried - very! Now that he's bought Cork back and bought in Jos and Sharp, I am much less worried!

Nah - that's a bit like saying Lallana could work on his tackling. If you've got a job to do, do it well. This club has a history (very recent) of employing 'utility' players. I'd rather he looked up and slipped in someone who knows how to finish.

Depends whether he's tasked to score goals though. Top scorers in the league - 49 goals at home (shame we couldn't get 50). Maybe he's dragging defenders out of shape or playing deeper in case teams break? I'm sure if it was his job to score he would have a few.

Guly might actually surprise a few people in the Premiership. His class is probably more suited to it and he will definitely have the time for his languid style... I agree with you about Hammond - I think we look(ed) a better side with Cork in it. When you look outside of the top three/four clubs, I wonder how far (if at all in many cases) our players are behind them?

The difference between him and Hammond is how they kick the ball. Watch them. Cork is like Lallana - he uses the 'toe' of his boat, carresses the ball - it's lovely to watch. No pass isn't thought about. They don't always go where he intends, but he does have intent and wants the ball. Could be a good player for us.

If you want to see the result of drafting in a host of new faces and disrupting a confident side, join me in watching Sky Sports 1 right now...

What a fantastic sentiment - I hope we ALL remember that. Ambition is great. We need it. Life needs it. But we should never forget that 'how' is as important as 'what' we aspire to...

4th

I'll start. Miss Clem on the Football League Show - a bloke who has made it his job to know everone in the lower leagues, is honest, has a brilliant intervew style and can bring grown men to tears (including yours truly). Not Looking Forward To Conceding from a Delap long throw...

Hear, hear. And well done to the Royals - cheesed off they pipped us (I bloody knew they would lose today) but delighted for a few local derbies - assuming we can get tickets! I like to drop the missus of at Costco to do a big shop while we tonk the blue and white

Yep, Guardiola already lined up. Thanks for everything Nigel.

I'm well cheesed off. 1 point away from 14/1. A bet I placed in total confidence before a ball was kicked. Humble pie? No. Total faith. And now I'm cheesed off because my bookie won't give me a price on Champion's League qualification. He wants a day or two to 'think about it'...

Just watched it on tv to see what I missed from the Chapel. Two thoughts: 1. Gabby Logan is MILES better than Chiles, Lineker or any other football host. FACT. 2. How in control were we for 90% of that game??

Terrible ref as well wasn't he?!

Yep, spot on.

"We're sh i t on tv, we're sh it on tv, We are Southampton We're sh it on tv" Well done. Brilliant!

Saw them outside the ground having their picture taken - wouldn't catch me wearing my DJ in a downpour so well done lads!

If you ever want a pair 'fixed' send them back. I managed to scuff the front of one and it needed a new sole anyway. Thought about ditching them but my local shoe shop told me they thought they might be able to salvage them... Salvage them? For £80 they came back looking like they day I bought them!! Cannot speak highly enough of their after-care... Now back to the point! I've gone brown boots (Loakes I think, make has worn off), jeans, company fleece (it's cold out there) and the final Premiership shirt over the top! COYS!!!

Sounds more like it!

Quite often bookies will not give you a double on two associated events - so for example a football team to do the treble are often 33/1 even though the individual odds on the events are much higher (say 8/1, 8/1 and 7/1) - I've always thought it a cheek. Just because a team wins one event, the other events are unrelated... If WH are in the play-off's (please God!) it will be interesting to see their odds - I reckon 7/4 might be generous.

Aye, although I tried to get £50 on at 12/1 Jose to be England manager and my bet was refused...

Aye I guessed as much as regards your comment, but the truth is Barca were bloody unlucky. Let's say they had lobbed the ball into the box for 20 minutes, would they have been any more likely to score?? Arsenal fans have complained for years that they keep playing the same way rather than press for goals when they need them. But if you analysed all of football I bet you'd find that players playing the ball to one another and trying to create goals are far more likely to score than simply lobbing the ball into the box and hoping to get lucky... If the way Arsenal play normally results in goals, why is suddenly changing the style going to result in a higher percentage of goals from open play? It makes no sense whatsoever, yet we all say the same thing - 'get it up there'... It's a curse of football fans to see something, see it not work as everyone hopes and assume that an alternative would have resulted in an alternative outcome. If Messi doesn't miss a penalty, chances are Barca would have won the game at a canter. Same as Billy Sharp at Blackpool. It's rarely the style of our play that doesn't work, but the inidviduals within the style not doing their job properly - missing chances, giving the ball away when in possession and pushing. Adkins is pretty good at seeing when things aren't working and changing them a bit. But if you said to me we could win 60%+ of our games but might occasionally be done by a team who park the bus and hope (which is what it is, hope) that we don't take our chances and they will hit us on the breeak... well, I'd take that, I think.

Or because we've done a deal with him for next season... Be interesting to see if he wants as long a break as WGS didn't obviously want...

Yep, and they still haven't lost three games in a row - as they drew on Tuesday (and were 90 seconds from winning the game - albeit that would still have lost the tie). The only reason they have lost La Liga is because they have been up against arguably the best manager in the world who has been handed an unlimited budget. I said it before and I'll say it now - anyone who thinks Di Matteo planned for Messi to hit the post and miss a penalty is mad...