david in sweden

A key component in today's game will surely rest with Jack Cork. He had 45 mins. run out with U21's in the week, but here's hoping he can last a full game - without further injury. Our midfield looks a bit lightweight and inexperienced without Victor and Morgan, and Toby's absence doesn't make life any easier. If we come through unscathed, and with the points - it'll rate as a game on a par with MU win (IMHO) but for different reasons. A chance for Academy lads to make their name, if it doesn't go horribly wrong.

...maybe he meant he wanted to play ....in a bigger stadium ?

...only on the pitches at Citeh ....and Chelsea.

.......if that doesn't bankrupt Sunderland - nothing will.

..think he was about a foot shorter at that time.....and was a late developer (as was Gareth Bale).

This is an issue that I've written on several times in the last three years - since our Championship days. Even before promotion, many fans had already commented that KD wasn't class enough for the top tier. I should say at this point ...I'm not anti-Kelvin, his service to the club is second to none, but he never quite convinced anyone after the disasterous start in our first season up. However, I do feel I can criticise " the management " because they didn't sign a better class of keeper than Gazzaniga - after our failed bid for Butland (which may have been a blessing in disguise anyway). Someone wrote that Cortese had insisted we sign another keeper (Boruc), although Nigel Adkins didn't use him for a month or so afterwards. Clearly in retrospect, Boruc was a good choice at the time. After that super start last season, everything went sour after Boruc's injury (7 games) and the use of both KD and PG proved a fruitless exercise and we won only once (at Cardiff when PG didn't have a save to make) and conceded 13 goals and lost 22 points in the process, before Boruc finally returned. A later 2 match (Boruc) absence, saw PG back in goal and conceding another 5 goals, and gaining zero points. This surely shows that quality keepers are a MUST in the Prem. Those (above) who say keepers can go a season un-injured are correct, but loss of form can be just as damaging as an injury ....look at the Mingolet situation at Liverpool, and goalies getting the flu' or being red-carded is not totally unknown-is it?. I think most evidence proved that Forster wasn't at fault for " the collision " in the Sunderland game, but some refs. might have thought otherwise and sent him off. The remaining two weeks of the window could be vital for the rest of the season. If we succeed in getting into Europe:...another top goalie is a definite requirement (along with extra midfielders). This is an issue where I really hope I'm wrong, but I wouldn't like to have to trust anyone else in goal should Forster be absent for any reason. (Does Dave Watson agree -I wonder?). Losing 2 or 3 games at this stage of the season could see us kiss goodbye to any Euro chance. NOTE; Both Cody Cropper and Harry Isted were injured in games this week, so injury-free keepers isn't totally unknown.

thanks for your comments, however..... Even before the "Fonte punch-up incident" there was considerbale doubt shed on his ability to adapt, and having watched him in almost every game, I think I wasn't the only one who thought that .. Naturally, the one good thing we will all recall is his great individual goal v Man City, but aside from that .....what else was memorable about his time at SMS? Delgado..." the yoghurt quote" was a joke, of course, and it was clear that we were sold an injured player, but even after his op. he was good enough to select and scored a few good goals in a few apps. Early on in Strachan's time, he ws asked about Delgado and said ..if I quote correctly.." he wasn't my choice, it was a done deal when I arrived "....I would not decry Strachan time at SFC at all , but he was a manager with a fixed mind about how he wanted to play....and a quote fronm Anders Svensson (on Swedish TV ) confirmed that when he said that Strachan had told him (and Fernandes) that . " they were both good players, but were too much alike and he couldn't play them both at the same time ." Delgado who wasn't fit enough for Strachan's liking, still went to the World Cup 2002, played and scored for Columbia. I'd like to think that "home -grown " would be the answer, and we are never better placed to develop new talent than now. I agree that some foreign talent has worked well, but too many have flopped disasterously and those are the ones we tend to forget. Thanks for your comments,anyway. We should maybe agree to differ.

exactly my assessment Sour Mash.

must admit to not having seen that book, but unless it's about European soccer, (?) I've no doubt that the idea is sound - if it refers to a "yank sport" like American Football. In most cases, they are transferring one " American " across the country....... to play in another part of the country. Many of the "flops " that turn up in the Prem. are imported from other countries where ..(and here the other factor)....the culture of the game is different. One of the reasons for the ...(shall I say failure....or disappointment?) over the Ramirez / Osvaldo deals is surely that they are not familair with the " more vigourous side" of the Prem.....and in turn are used to the concept of " diving " - instead of riding a tough tackle. Coming from an overseas club where they are a prima donna, they may find it difficult to adapt to the team player concept. Of course that may sound like a generalisation, but it's often very true. With the number of foreign-born Prem. managers we have now, there is scarcely a handful of " British managers " - and in turn " foreign managers often import % more foreign players ". I won't complain too much, because Ronald Koeman seems to have made a success of it, but many, many others have failed miserably. Their fault-or ours?

there is a very long list of big money transfers that go sour, yet it seems there are more and more and in recent years ...the list has become seemingly endless... Wilfried Bony transfers to Man. City for a "petty" £28 million, and despite his relative success at Swansea...one wonders if he will become the match-winner they are really looking for. Soldado and Paulinho are a disaster for Spuds (though I don't mind that). Andy Carroll was a hero at Newcastle, but a catastrophe for Liverpool, who cashed in on Torres - at Chelsea's expense. Man.U. laid out a £150 million in the summer, yet LVG can't find a place for £50m. Falcao (allegedly a world class player) Saints had their share of "misfits". The £125K we got (for Chivers in 1967 - a British record at the time), only landed us with Frank Saul who was a less than satisfactory replacement. Gordon Strachan valued his yoghurt above the services of Agustin Delgado, despite the fact that " Tinman" cost over £3 million in 2002, because he didn't fit " the Strachan formation ". The same happened to James Beattie, when after his move to Everton, his bank balance may have gone up, but his career went down the tubes. Few people expected Rickie Lambert to have the nightmare start to his (belated) Liverpool career after his Premiership performances with Saints, but look at what's happened:uhoh:. ......and allowing Mauricio Pochettino to buy a player like Dani Osvaldo is hopefully, a mistake that we won't make again. So what goes wrong with all these big money moves. Surely, you don't need to be a Prem.Manager to understand that a player in a team, playing a specific role, in a specific formation succeeds .....precisely because of that. Yet these " so-called professional managers " continually lay out huge sums (that many clubs can scarcely afford) on players who they then try to "graft into a team" which plays another formation - often leaving him without the very kind of service that made him successful in the first place. Brendan Rodgers just hasn't realised that Rickie Lambert was a success for 5 seasons at SFC precisely because of his partnership with Adam Lallana (and both were amongst Saints' leading scorers during that period), yet he plays only one of them at a time, and often subs. one for the other, whilst seldom picking them to start together. Surely, we all realised that when one or the other (of those two) wasn't playing, we just weren't the same successful team, (yet Brendan has missed that totally). Every time a "big money " record-breaking transfer occurs, I ask myself ....is this ever going to work?. It does of course - occasionally, but the drop-out rate is enormous compared to the huge sums laid out on the fees.....AND the additional cost of salaries.....for their 4/5 year contracts that clubs often commit themselves to. How to avoid the problem?...interesting question but just take a look at the record of Saints' all-time top scorers; post WW2 at least; Mick Channon, Matt Le Tissier, Terry Paine, Derek Reeves and Eric Day and George O'Brien. With the exception of O'Brien (who cost a nominal fee) - No small surprise that the most of them were " home-grown " and cost only a signing-on fee. Today that fee may be a lot bigger , but the secret of their success was that they knew the club, grew with the club and succeeded from their earliest days....and importantly for us - stayed with the club. We can only hope that our Academy can produce a few quality strikers in the future, and save us those enormous fees that clubs seem to recklessly rush into, and will eternally regret. Whilst big money signings may be run-of-the mill for the select few, the rest of the clubs will live, or die and most likely..... be relegated ....because of the decisions they make.

even 3 days after the game ...it still feels very satisfying, but does anyone else feel that " the media " have come up with many different excuses /explanations for that result. The same sort of response has come after the Everton game ....and the Arsenal and Chelsea games.....we weren't really very good ..but they all had " a bad day at the office ". LVG's claim that we went there " looking for a draw and just got lucky " was a bit sick, when you consider he was forced to admit we were the better side at SMS - despite losing. Rooney claiming they deserved to win despite not getting a single shot on target....and what excuses can you give for a £150 million side that loses at home....oh yes ...they didn't play their £50 million player. It seems to many of the " big club " that losing to Southampton is the bottom of the barrel, and although LVG won't lose his job over this one (as did Ron Atkinson all those years ago), it really seems that although clubs are queueing up to buy our best talent, they still don't rate us as a team, and aren't looking closely enough at the League table.

Usch ! ...we pulled down a stadium that looked better than this.....

aha ..missed all that shirt-pulling on Pelle, but did notice when Tadic took off his.....

also holds a world record ....for the defender to score most goals in first class /international matches.....Stats. that would put many top strikers to shame..

but shouting ..." gooaaalll " might be easier for a few commentators, though...

......think the girls in the background move better than his defenders did at Old Trafford..........

.....but not unexpected surely, he wants to be sure that the wheels are still on his car when he leaves the ground.

played the first 45 mins. for the U21 side that won at Fulham on Monday.. (interview afterwards).....said he was looking for some game time (with first team), but I suspect that they'll be a bit of horse-trading here. Koeman may not be so keen to play someone who's wanting away, whereas if he were to sign a new contract ....we'd know what his real intentions were.....

So.......another one who went to sleep in school history lessons...... Try ...this one's a bit more upto date ....Since WW2 Saints have employed 4 men who later went on to manage the England team ...name them?

really.. that long... WOW! .....Who's got the champagne ?

the best two "prospects" ,Jordan Turnbull and Jack Stephens are both out on loan at Swindon (perhaps the reason they are presently top of L1). The only likely name that comes to mind is Jason McCarthy, and I wouldn't want to chance him in an away Cup game against strong opposition - if we are serious about going further in the competition.

he's taken the mantle of persecuted Premier League manager ...from Alex Ferguson..... Let's see how many penalties are NOT awarded against Chelsea this season, and how many red cards they " manage to avoid ".

I think most people would agree that he was much better at the back end of last season, and three goals this season puts him (more of less) on a par with other midfielders (didn't happen under Pochettino). Some fans have suggested that he may not be in the same class as some of his team mates, but he is dependable and showed a bit of class (before his injury). His agent may advise him to" look around a bit" before deciding, but I don't see too many clubs able to offer him a better deal, and certainly no-one at the top end of the Prem.table. I think he'll stay (at least I hope so), and we may well see Jack as an even better squad player, if he feels really " settled " .

This is what I call a management team......there's enough experience there to take us into Europe ..sooner or later, and on the basis of the progress so far they've done exceptionally well. it also has to be remembered that only four of the team that started the game at Old Trafford were regulars at the back end of last season, (five if you count that JWP was in and out of the start 11). It will take some time for the newly-introduced former Academy /U21 players ( 6 so far this season)...to establish themselves (if indeed they do), but I can see that with a few more shrewd buys in the summer we should build a squad capable of making a show in Europe (either Europa League or CL).....If we can maintain the stability of the squad... the management team should be able to do the rest.

the last goal (v Porto) was a solo effort that MLT would have been proud of .......