david in sweden

.....but his name does sound impressive - don't you think ?

It takes time to settle and I'm fairly sure he must feel a bit of a pr*'k as he hasn't got on the scoresheet more than once. We've played 12 Prem. games so far ...he's been selected (from start) six times and has been subbed twice. He's come on as a late sub. 3 times = 1 goal. Disappointing? ..yes, but not totally unexpected. The Prem. is not Italy, (faster and much more physical ) and we don't play the same way as he's been used to. If we're still having the same discussion after the New Year, I'll be a bit more disatisfied, but he's not the only " big buy " in the Prem. who's finding it hard to adjust. If it were only money, then there would be a lot to moan about but in the present set-up he doesn't have anyone to play off. I wouldn't drop Rickie in favour of him, but maybe he could form a strike partnership with Jay Rod? .... .after all there are 26 Prem. games left.

I have answered that one before. Around half of the Prem.clubs have at least two keepers who have played at international level for (some) country or other. Arsenal have three, I think.? I've lost track of my notes on that, but check for yourself if you are unsure. 10 years or so ago, we had Paul Jones (Wales) and Antti Niemi (Finland) as goalies and I think both accepted that only one could play at at time according to form / fitness. If we are still talking about Euro football next season?, we need to get cover for all positions, including goalies. If Boruc had a serious injury, then I'm not sure that KD could cut it as a Prem.goalie... though I do respect the excellent service and loyalty he has shown in the past. AND in that eventuality (a Boruc injury) ...I don't believe we would be able to "loan " a goalie " as KD more than meets the requirements (on paper) as a replacement. With hindsight, I think most of us would say not buying Butland was a good thing, but I don't rate Gazzaniga at all at the moment, either. ....and I'm not one of those people who would consider Begovic (as several others have suggested)....that " freak kick-in-the-wind goal " doesn't make him a good goalie - just a lucky one.

he'll seem even better after he scores his first goal............

Many strikers have in and out patches, but (statistically) scoring once every 3 games is about par for the course (OK wrong sport), but at this level it's even harder. looking at last years final totals it was 34 year old Lampard and 31 year old Lambert who were top scorers, and even Rooney couldn't reach their total....and we didn't have Svarez or RWP. Saints had a slow start this season; only 3 goals in the first 5, games....then 8 in the next 5, and 4 in the game v. Hull. Things are improving. along the way Lallana scored in successive games,.....Rodriguez 3 in 4 games.....and Lambert has 3 in the last 7 games, and we are not totally dependent on the front men either, as both centre-backs and two of the midfielders have also netted...all in the first 12 matches. The very great praise we have received from all directions for our style of play and domination of possession has had its price, and we have scored fewer than some people had expected, but we should remind ourselves also that you only have to score one more than the opposition to get the points and that has been quite successful. Honestly speaking if we get two players scoring more than 10 goals this season, I'll be pleasantly surprised and until we get a front line that can score 2 or 3 a game, we'll have to hope that those players we have can stay fit.

conceding a goal is always worse than missing one...but how many times have we seen players miss from a yard out,? or put the ball wide when it was easier to score.? much more often than this. If Boruc received a back pass (from Clyne - was it ?), it may well have been too short? ..... and in which case, he's not allowed to pick up the ball, so he has to play it with his feet. It's Giround task to harrass the keeper, and he did it successfully. 1-0 Was Boruc a bit overconfident - YES!.. but the man is high of confidence (and bravery) however, mistake or not... he is still one of the best goalies we've had in a generation. If handled correctly, he'll have learned the lesson and move on .If he plays a blinder at Chelsea, this item will disappear into the waste bin of pointless threads .if not I'd still play him because (at present)...I'd be a lot less confident about the alternatives....which brings me back to my perrenial topic...we need at least two international quality goalies.

I was a bit surprised when looking at the YouTube clips of him. His distribution looked OK, but rarely did it show him in a tackle?..... and he looked painfully slow on the move. Even if he were still here, he'd have little chance of dislodging either Lovren or Fonte in their present form.

for the BIG MATCH (World Cup Qualifier v.Portugal) the Swedish U21 team drowned the Malta U21 side on a rain-soaked pitch in Malmo in front of a crowd of ...(wait for it).....334. Why so few?....not through any lack of quality of the Swedes........but the 50,000 sold out crowd at the Friends Arena in Stockholm .....and half the country's population ........waiting to watch the Sweden v. Portugal game on national TV. The score might easily have been double, but for some brave Maltese defending when they put their lives on the line and the Swedes saw a dozen or more shots rebound of their bodies. The return of (Sweden's hot shot ) John Guidetti (been out for a year).. saw him score twice in the first hour, before being subbed. However, the real star was a young Swedish striker Simon Croon.... (lets see if Tord Grip recommends him to Saints?). ME ....I'm going to watch England v. Germany ......who else? 30 years in this country hasn't changed me that much. (I'll watch the highlights of Sweden's game later)

sounds a but outrageous ....but when you consider that the likes of Smalling and Cleverley often start on the Man.U bench, and that Cahill can't get a regular start with Chelsea it makes you wonder? Putting aside the " Hart issue "....England don't have a settled back four (unlike Saints) and those legendary midfielders (Gerrard and Lampard ) don't have the pace any longer and Milner and Carrick just don't impress. I do think it was hard for those media types to criticize Jay Rod (in his first game) when quite a few other more " experienced players" didn't show up much better on Friday. The real test of our ability as a team will come in the next month. Starting at the Emirates we need to play to our potential, and getting 3 points in each of the next two games may not be realistic to some people, but good displays will confirm it one way or the other.

.............barring injuries to any of the starters, of course

of course, but I was counting on that, too.

writing this before the Germany game (where any of our three will be glad to get on as second half subs. )....I'm expecting a " back-lash " from them at the weekend to show Roy that they do have the nous As someone who has seen decades of humiliating defeats in games v. Arsenal... (though I was at Highbury 1968 ..won 3-0 and without Ron Davies that day)...I'm going for a win at The Emirates. A two goal margin would see us top of the table for the first time in 25 years. (Sept. 10th 1988)

If were still top 6 by New Year, then we should invest in some talent that is likely to challenge for places, and not become bench sitters. Ramirez has become an expensive luxury as it seems he doesn't cut it with MP anymore. A move back to Italy (at a small profit) would be a win-win situation. Although I don't think we would part with them (so quickly) without adequate cover....Jos, Lee and Jack Cork could probably do better elsewhere. We have Puncheon and Palace, Mayuka at Sochaux neither of whom seem to be making much impression, and unless Billy gets a couple of hat-tricks by New Years, he'll be back in January. Who would we sign?....last seasons list of "possible deals" suggested by the various sources ran to over 60 names..... and those we did sign weren't among the media favourites either. I expect to see one or two signings, but am more concerned for the "dead wood " created by our rapid promotions which left us with a list of players who don't have a cat in He**s chance of getting a first team game.

of course they've been doing that to James Milner since he was 19 ...and he's still gets in to the squad.

as a dyed-in-the-wool Saints fans, it's hard to just say favourable things about our two, when the overall TEAM performance was so abysmal. If our lads get dropped (on Tuesday)....and the rest remain - it would be grossly unfair. The defence was all at sixes and sevens and no-one seemed to be able to cope with the 100 mph Chilean side that looked like SUPER Saints at their very best, and I think both the players and fans were taken aback by the aggressive Chilean attacks that seemed to be endless. Some of the England " regulars " were pretty gross to say the least and it would be difficult to find three England players to praise, but I do think Adam was our best player. He seemed to be everywhere, back in defence and everywhere else in the middle, whilst Milner and Lampard seemed to get lost a lot of the time, and couldn't handle the Chilean attacking style. It was obvious that Rooney was going to be upfront, but he seemed a pretty toothless in attack, and it left JayRod stranded out on the left wing where Adkins (wrongly) started him last season, where he looked nervous and had little chance to show up, as their defence closed him down very quickly. No wonder Sanchez (?) is second best to Messi. He took his efforts exceptionally well. If Roy has a Plan B for the Germany game ...he'd better come up with it PDQ, because another defeat seems inevitable (on last night's showing) and with only the Denmark game to come (in March) he may have to pick his squad by picking names out of a hat..... and hoping they all stay fit (and in form - if there is such a thing).....until the plane flight to Brazil. .

now that doesn't sound so crazy to me as " the Buttner suggestion" . sometimes ..with his pace....I seem to think " shades of Pahars "?

Habving seen him in a few clips....so far I'm not impressed. Hope they can find someone stupid enough to buy him, but not us surely ?.

Injury?.. "slight injury "? ....maybe ....of course for all the conspiracy enthusiasts .....could it be that Hodgson is " saving " him for the Germany game?

Exactly my point on #91. well said Eric.

Now read that Carrick has an Achilles problem....(the lads dunked him in the bath whilst holding his ankles) ...and (somewhere else)..... that Sturridge and Gerrard were also doubtful ?? OF COURSE they're injured....You don't really think they've sussed out that they're going to be on the bench for two matches - and "cried off " do you? If Roy starts the game with our three up front, and were 3-0 up at half-time........ he can take them off then, and give the others a go.

Comments: SDR ..he did once....coming on as sub in the away game at Reading when he scored. Idiakez ....was not a bad player .....when he was fit, which (sadly) was almost never. Wilde....doing his " white knight " bit ..... kept things rolling a bit longer until ML / NC came on the scene. Birmingham.......remember many games last for 95 minutues. Harry Redknapp..... the very mention of his name makes me want to throw up !

MINE: ....selling Gareth Bale looked like a good deal (at the time)...especially as I thought we had a good sell-on clause. However, it kept us solvent for a bit longer.

this is something that I can comment on with some degree of authority....as I've been teaching English to foreigners for almost 3 decades. Understanding what you are listening to is the first step in the exercise. (My rather poor Spanish has improved a little just by listening to him in the QA sessions.) YES - Pochettino can understand a lot ..his facial expressions and body language tell us that, but the vocabulary used by some journalists with differing dialects varies a lot, and isn't always that clear. YES - he speaks English (of sorts) to players, but the day-to-day vocabulary on the training ground is surely not that demanding. It's a lot of standard terminolgy and practical application on the field. I think he's wise to continue with his interpreter if he feels safer, it gives him more thinking time to reply (even if he appears to understand questions from the beginning). btw : " his shadow " is an interpreter ... I think I'd use translator for someone working with texts rather than the spoken word (although some people do both quite well).

.....do they still exist,? I thought they went out with the Dodo !

they'll have to wait a while for that - because that the vast majority of Prem.club managers AREN'T English and couldn't care a tinkers cuss about what happens to the national side. .....strange that it takes an Swiss / Italian (?) and an Argentinian to fly the flag for us.