david in sweden

.....this might mean that Stuart Taylor will be on the bench for the first time.

One might be forgiven for writing the obituary to the Swedish season - even though there are still a couple of games left. Malmö clinched their 3rd Allsvenskan (Prem.) title in 4 years with a 1-0 midweek win and now have an unassailable lead over the following clubs AIK and last years champions Norrköping. The long-awaited AIK revival of form began several weeks ago and they showed they really meant business when slaughtering the former champs 6-0 in the away fixture at Norrköping, but it was too little, too late to challenge for the title when Malmö finally moved into top gear, and left the other two clubs to fight over the dubious distinction of finishing second. Stockholm fans were cheered a little with both Hammarby and Djurgården getting a couple of late season wins, and hauling themselves to safety, but both will finish in midtable, in what has been a disappointing season for both of the " big " clubs. Last years promoted side(s) Östersund will finish in a very respectable midtable spot, and Jönköpings Södra also managed to survive their first season back at the top level after several decades absence. However, the reality of top-tier football came home to Falkenberg who managed less than a goal-a-game and will likely end their season with a miserable 10 points (from the 30 game / 90 point) series, along with Gefle, who had been "skating on thin ice" (excuse the hockey joke)...for the last couple of years, finally failed to meet the demands required of a team at the highest level and will go down. Helsingborg hopes of survival for another year will depend on them winning a play-off with the eventual third-placed team from Superettan (read Championship). One unexpected new name in the top tier will be that of the Uppsala-based club Sirius (pronounced serious) no pun intended....who swept all before them to win the Superettan title and make it to the top division - (something that many Swedish fans will have to ask their grandfathers to remember when that last happened). Just two,(rather meaningless) weekends left, plus the Swedish Cup Final - which (surprisingly for English fans to hear) will create as much national interest over here - as the Hampshire League Cup Final will - in Newcastle. Another dull Swedish football season goes into the history books rather sadly, as football - (a summer sport in Sweden), has enjoyed one of the longest, and warmest summers for many years...so it's a great pity that the football wasn't as good. Many Swedes are already well into Ice Hockey, whilst football fans will have to wait until Easter to see the 2017 season start.

a real bonus for the true Saints fans . Surely an entry fee of £5 can't be a "bank-breaker." Go without your pint for once !

Exactly as Martin Hunter said...very skilful. Just think of the players that they must have rejected in order to get just those ...

..especially as he wouldn't have been there to punt the ball upfield to Boufal.....for the goalscoring opportunity. It really didn't look like "a measured pass", but it fell beautifully for Boufal, and his famed skill did the rest. Great goal. I often feel I can sense when a goal is coming ....but that one came out of nothing.

...like for instance getting someone angry by "nutmegging " them, or knowing that he's going to have to commit a foul to stop you. It's also about a sense of balance. I recall Keith Cassels (from McMenemy era) who could fall over even with two feet on the ground. He was the easiest person to foul and must have won dozens of free kicks without even trying.

I think the "age factor" is based on age at the start of the tournament /season, and they're not disqualified the day after they are 21.

...a lot of people have been saying that we will never be able to replace Mané, but recollecting how he struggled in his first matches .. .. I should say that Boufal's goal might even have made Mané gasp if he was watching....(it certainly did me) For those who recall MLT's greatest goals, it looked like a text book example of his style of finishing...a goal out of nothing..... .....it's very early days, but if that's an example of what he can do, then think that....just maybe.. in a year or so's time....?

After Monday's U23 defeat v. a very good Man. City team, we can begin to see where the gaps are in the system. Many "big money clubs" have an enormous staff of both experienced and youth players......heard the comment that Chelsea had 35 players out on loan last season, and I began to wonder if we have that number of players in the whole club? The U23 Man.City game was a steep learning curve for the youngsters and they started the game with four U18 players, and the entire bench... (three of whom got game time in the second half)..we were all U18, and some of them "not-so-regular". Some of the more "regular " U23s found themselves playing for the first team v. Sunderland in the EFL Cup game. Rotation of players isn't " an experiment ", but with our limited resource of fully-fit players, it's an absolute necessity.

Why is it some people (and quite a few journos).... are so surprised that Claude Puel is rotating squad players so much? Normally it's a sign of panic from managers who can't find "the right formula"......Mourinho, Conte and Guardiola have all done the same in recent weeks. For Saints it's been a necessity, but Claude has made it work, and found one or two new faces, too. Long gone are the days when we played one game a week and went out of Cup competitions with the second tie. Injuries haven't helped either, but by mid-season we should have a squad who will (hopefully) be fully fit, and a bench full of players with some real game time to their name, and who are ready to come into a game and know which way we are kicking.

most comments made before....but also thought that Yoshida looked very good playing alongside Fonte. Much better as a CB. unfortunately ....his previous willingness to play emergency RB usually ended in disaster ....and harmed his reputation. .

.Er.... think he meant Isgrove.....

admittedly ..it was a below par game but won with a truly magical goal (ala MLT). It's only one match, but having 6 Academy lads on the pitch at the same time is a good sign. They won't all make Prem. careers, but the fact that we bred them and they got to play together is certainly noteworthy.

Unbelievable goal .. I bet that one made Matt Le Tissier draw breath .......

...think that was Eric Black (off screen), as he was hired because of his personal history with Claude and his ability in French. Admitedly....he does occasionally struggle with "English football vocabulary". He often says "first time" ..when he means "first half" but he is improving, although to be fair some of the questions he gets fed are somewhat incomprehensible, too. Some journalists puts words into the interviewee's mouth, when they may be expecting to answer a straigtforward question. If you pay attention to the form of some of the questions, it's easy to see why it can catch a non-native speaker off guard.

Yan Valery !. I think he was only signed earlier if the year (?) and was playing for the U18s at that time ? Looks a good prospect ...at that level . Perhaps not such a "safe bet" as Jack Stephens. Maybe a place on the bench though.

perhaps ....not a good word to use when he hasn't even played yet. Jack has made his way through the Academy ranks for 5 years, and had almost 70 games out on loan in the last 2-3 years. In addition to which he has played a dozen or so games for England U18-U21 sides with good reviews. That's considerably more experience than almost any other young player we have on the books.

1)...we don't have any "reserve players"....Puel selects from the entire squad and rotates them sensibly, so everyone plays a bit. 2) you'll look back in 5 years time when some youngster gets his first international cap ..and say... I saw him play his debut game.

I just hope we can put the Sunderland " Cup hoodoo" to bed and get a decent win tonight. Can't forget (or forgive) Pochettino and Cortese's apparent lack of interest in winning Cups....we went out to Sunderland twice in 2013/14 .....when we'd already won games and stood a good chance of progressing further in both competitions.

a U23 game on 19th September....

Some of you are agreeing with Alpine... others having a laugh, but the truth of it must be somewhere in between. A few dumb journos repeatedly ask dumb questions and the obvious one seems to be about the squad rotation. Whilst Prem. managers are searching for "the perfect eleven" Claude Puel is trying not to overwork individual players in a season that might conceivably see us playing over 50 games by May. Aside from the 38 Prem.games ..we already have an extra 6 (Europa League) plus more if we get past the group stages. A good run in the League / FA Cup would easily see us past 50...not to mention that we have a dozen or more internationals who may well be used in World Cup qual.games / friendlies / Africa Cup. No-one ever thinks seriously about injuries when they "lobby" for their best 11, but s**t happens and now it's here ...although we have 5 recognised full backs ...six now with McQueen.....four of them are out injured. A pre-season look at our "strike force" was Austin, Long, Jay Rod and Redmond. These are not bad players they just have bad luck. We can all see the outcome so far..and just to prove it ...last week someone published stats. showing that we had the lowest conversion rate (shots / goals) in the entire Prem. If we continue to use the same players over and over again..they will implode. Virgil has played in 12 of our 13 fixtures - so far plus a couple of sorties with the Dutch team..and we still have two more fixtures before the end of October. Yes he does a very good job for us ....but he took a nasty knock on Sunday, which he seemed to run off... but we can do without him getting injured, and you can bet he won't be one of those "getting a rest " in the next international break. Squad rotation has to be the answer and few can say that anyone who's played so far this season has had a really bad game. Yes we've had a few poor results (partly due to poor shooting - as above) and partly due to some "indifferent refereeing", but few people can claim we've played badly - even in those games that we've lost. Squad rotation maybe the new team tactic to succeed....I noted that there has been quite a few changes in the MU sides during the last few weeks, as Mourinho desperately tries to find a winning formula and other clubs currently in the top 6 have done the same. The one positive thing to come out of this is that we have found a couple of new prospects in McQueen and Hesketh....who we may see more of later on....especially if we still have another 40+ games to play this season.

Are you listening Arsene....it's never too late..... If Arsenal are well-placed at New Year then he could do worse than sign Schneiderlin. He might make the difference at the end of the season, and Wenger's contract goes out next summer. He might go out in a burst of glory and not like a damp squib.

Ouch !..but thanks anyway ......

final score anyone ?

OK he doesn't have the same physical characteristics (height /weight ) but I think he is a better player in some ways. Early days .