david in sweden

I've never been one to blame goalkeepers for alone for defeats, as our strike rate has been nothing short of pitiful since the Liverpool win in January. BUT Alex had to pick the ball out of the net 24 times in his last 8 games. Regardless of "blame" it must has been a real knock to his confidence..... just waiting for the next one to go in. Since his return Fraser Forster looks like a man re-born, and exudes self-confidence, and the defenders seem more relaxed. Ralph has always said he rates both of them and it's up to them to earn their place, and so now it's Fraser's chance. The short answer is ..If FF can keep a clean sheet v. City, we come away with one point - and if we can score - even better. Looking back to December, City won by a single goal at SMS and we deserved a penalty for Sterling's handball in the first half. ( Although after recent events, I'd like someone to say exactly what constitutes " handball " nowadays. )

Forster has got the gloves now.. and if he keeps a clean sheet on Wednesday ....at least we'd get one point.

I think ...that the Mormons follow the old biblical tradition. Perhaps it's quite normal in Utah ?

Ever since the Ings contract story became common knowledge almost every hack journo has been publishing stories about how good DI would be in ; Spurs, West Ham, Palace, and Arsenal 's side ..or even further up north ....with the prospect of Man City needing to replace Aguero in the near future. Either way we have to get real and plan longer term for Danny's eventual replacement. The question that really matters to Danny has to be .. Does he want a big money move to Spurs? ... and perhaps occasionally come off their bench to replace a tired Harry Kane ..or, does he want to join a club that might possibly .. win SOMETHING.... ( like Man City ).

Agreed sadoldgit. He still runs like Pinnochio, and even looked goood when he dropped back to defend and I liked his forward play when skipping between 5 Chelsea players. Salisu looked to fit in very well at the back and improved as the game went on. Impressive.

well I'd like to think so too, but meantime .. can I have a glass of whatever you are drinking ...?

Surely Alex McCarthy's confidence must have taken a beating v. Man U (even if he wasn't to blame for everything), but last week's 3rd goal v. Newcastle showed he has a real problem, and now he's picked the ball out of the net 20 times in the last 6 Prem. games. So WHY ...do we have a £70K /week keeper with 4 successive clean sheets to his credit sitting on the bench? Sort this out first Ralph . Our injury list still dictates just who will be available for the next game, but we must show some security between the posts.

Oh, so he's just a column in our salary bill then?

I blame the weather. The rain in the North East isn't the same as the sort we get blowing in off the Solent.

Interesting , but you forgot about the sub-clauses at the back of the rule book that state : (1) Any player for (a) a top 4 side, or (b) a current international should be given the benefit of the doubt, irrespective of any dubious VAR evidence. (2) In the event of a foul by a player in either of the above categories; for a red card offence - show yellow instead, and for a yellow card offence - avoid giving a card, but give a calm, paternal-type lecture to the player and request him not to repeat the offence / non-offence, as the case may be. Showing personal displeasure, or the wagging of a finger to a player in one of the above categories should be avoided wherever possible. (3) Emerging talents in a Prem. club (example) Grealish of Aston Villa - should be given more leeway with incidents /non-incidents they are involved in. Such players often have "balance problems ", and are subject to sudden falls and the clutching of a leg - even when no other opponent is nearby. It is unnerving for them to experience such incidents/non-incidents and a free-kick may be given to help them overcome the trauma of the fall , and this may assist them in regaining composure, especially if they have dirtied their kit in the process of falling. NOTE: Have a handkerchief available if they cry. Incidents of "so-called" simulation are extremely rare and can be safely ignored as they can disrupt the flow of the game. If the incident /non-incident occurs in / or even close to the penalty area, a penalty kick may be awarded, so as to pacify the team and not incite violent behaviour in the home crowd. This rule should be strictly applied, even if the event of games played in empty stadiums during covid lockdowns, so as to avoid setting future precedents. 4) None of the above rulings need be applied, if the opposing side is below the top half of the said league. 5) The bonus system for the issuing of red cards has been temporarily suspended until further notice.

This may be the difference between Maguire's hand and Che Adams' ..but there are two United players behind Adams and it looks as if one of them ..has rather large feet that are even nearer the goal than Ché 's hand.

If Shakespeare had written as a football journo'..... he'd have called Dean a c*nt....or maybe, more poetically ....an f...ing c*nt.

Mmmm....nice prose methinks, but better left for another day with a better result, mi Lord.

OK ...so now we have both full backs out..What's new ? We've had absences all season and we are only half way in. Reading above, I see a lot of wailing, and gnashing of teeth and people pulling their hair out, but I've got no hair left to pull. The same scenario whenever someone new appears; Diallo, N'Lundulu and the youngsters who played in the Shrewsbury game. After the start of the season we had Vestergaard coming in looking like a brand new signing, and then Jack Stephens replaced him and is playing some of the best football of his career. Now it's the full backs, and if we are talking Valery and Vokins. Both are from the Academy, so they know what we are about and have been training with the first team for quite a while. They are not " boys " any longer, but young men looking to establish themselves in the best league in the World. We can recall Valery's contribution when Cedric was out, when he DAJFU and got himself a great goal at Old Trafford. Jake Vokins has had fewer chances, (but who wouldn't with Bertrand as first choice), but Jake has showed up well in the B team ..and is still improving. Now is their chance to show up, be seen and establish themselves as squad members. In this League it doesn't matter who the opposition are, every game is tough and if they are going to make it they have to start somewhere. Maybe I'm out of step with some of the critics, but I'm quite eager to see how they perform. COYR.

Yes it wasn't football, but you wrote about "the ignore user function", it seemed that Trump ignored all the best advice he got and fired people because he didn't like what they said.... If I have to go on a site but then need to deliberately ignore people, it's not a very fan-friendly discussion forum to be a part of.. Personally.... I can live without the hassle.

Donald Trump did that for 4 years .....and look what happened to him.

Thank you Turkish, difficult to explain just why I got so pi**ed with this site. None of us ever praised the club on everything and felt free to criticise / comment where appropriate, but I think there were half-a-dozen or so who just went out of their way to be offensive / awkward. We are all entitled to an opinion and they often made theirs quite forcibly, but if I was in the same pub as them , I'd move to another bar. As a fan of 60 years standing (first match 1959)... I just felt it wasn't a fan-friendly environment at all. I do look at this site from time to time, but note that in some ways it hasn't changed much, so you are welcome to them. Judging by the number of "former contributors" like myself who have left since, it seems I'm not alone with that opinion.

Good point Chez. There is a long list of those who looked like Ronaldo at age 16, but never graduated to the first team. The problem is not just "looking good" in the B team / U23'. but the huge gap between that level and the Prem. is similar to that experienced by clubs who move up from the Championship and totally fail to establish themselves at the higher level.

Yes he has been along while Clarkey. After quite a while.....I got a bit miffed with some contributors who tried to destroy every decent post and found myself another site where people seemed a tad more tolerant to other viewpoints. I haven't deserted this site, but sadly it still seems to be dominated by a handful of ******.

The headline may sound a tad unfair, but for every Academy lad who eventually gets Prem. game time, there are a dozen others - who come and go - and either end up playing lower league football, or find another profession. Of course, many times it's not down to the player's lack of ability, but because they are understudying a first team regular and rarely get a look-in. More recent cases are the likes of Reed and Targett along with Alfie Jones and Christoph Klarer. and recent stories suggest that Josh Sims maybe on his way out, which is a shame for a player who has a lot to offer. So it's nice to see that not all is lost as when Championship bottom club Wycombe put 4 goals past mid-table Preston in their FA Cup 3rd round tie, and with 3 ex-Academy lads on the pitch. Jason McCarthy, Ryan Tafazoli and Dominic Gape all went through the Saints Academy and even showed up a bit in the U23 side, before finally being let go, Starting over in L1/L2 is a long haul, but there are some players who are " late-developers ", and it's good to see that they can make a career in football - even if it's not at Prem. level.

Agreed . The best deal all round.

Surely Salisu has to get a game sometime and this is against a team in the drop zone and is preferable to having to start against West Ham ..or Liverpool.

Ah ..but it was Everton, and " the commission " can't be seen to show disfavour to such a famous manager as Ancelotti...when he makes a joke. Digne looks like the type of player who can garner Yellow cards without any real problem..I 'll watch him in their future games....

and Bernard was lucky to stay on the pitch as he fouled badly after the yellow...

Most managers like the idea of .......signing someone they know of ...or, who had played for them ....or they tried to sign before... Many times it's a disaster ... Pochettino signed Osvaldo .. and Carrillo persuaded us to sign Carrillo....(!) Koeman did a great job with his " Dutch" signings ... (not all Dutch) but he knew them from their time in Holland.... but Puel (in interview) said that he knew of Boufal from the French league and was glad to have him in the Saints side.... I'm just glad that Mark Hughes wasn't with us long enough for him to be allowed to sign some of his " veterans " ...