david in sweden

......just as long as the players have enough common sense to understand that, too.

........Try climbing over the garden fence a bit too fast ......

2 goals in 2 games as an oncoming sub. Great ! ..if he gets a full half hour run-out .....he might even score a hat-trick.

was that Guly?....had to leave the keys of his Porsche with the Police .....and walk home afterwards. and wasn't James Beattie once convicted of being over the limit ....whilst sitting in a stationary vehicle ?

I agree totally. I have often asked myself if that was so good for the knee ligaments ? ..(as if we didn't have enough injury problems already). and while they're at it ....scoring a goal is great but having half-a-dozen people jump on top of you in celebration is a likely cause of injuries , too. I recall an FA Cup Final 30-40 years ago(?)... when Ipswich beat Arsenal (not sure) ....but the Ipswich goalscorer was buried under a pile of joyful teammates after scoring the winning goal, and was so badly injured - that he never played again. Daft I call it. What happened to the days when a pat of the back, a ruffle of the hair .....or a " good shot fella "....was celebration enough? I remember some fans thought that Mick Channon's "windmilling arm " celebration was " a bit over the top " .....at the time.

......and doesn't injure himself in so doing ......

0ooooooh

well , it was a funny quip...... but the seriousness (or otherwise) of the injury situation may loom large if we're not careful. Not many people speak about Gardos, but he is still on the books....and with only a few minutes under his belt Jay Rod took a knock in the Sparta game (according to Puel) Tadic's " sunburnt knee " may be a problem we don't know the extent of (as yet), so we better hope that Charlie stays fit .....and Shane Long can find some form QUICK, whilst we are waiting for " Thierry " Redmond to find his scoring touch.... ..as long as we are winning (that's a nice expression - isn't it).......it's OK..... but we don't want to be reliant on one striker - AGAIN!

of course it wasn't, I see that now. In my own defence, I was so shocked at seeing so many Chelsea defenders " ball-watching " that I didn't pay that much attention to the manner of (Lovren) scoring. That sequence ought to go in a training video on..... " How NOT to defend " I don't think I've seen so many unmarked players available with a scoring chance....Lovren was closest and did well NOT to miss.

1 goal = 3 points. and a first League win. Swansea looked very unconvincing and showed little adventure. We had enough chances to have scored 3 or 4 . Gave us a nervous last few minutes, but we got past the post in the end and moved up the table a few places. Lots of possession and good defensive play, but we really do miss those regular Pelle / Mane goals..... and the top six looks a long way away ....atm.

This is quite a nice footballing story..... (in its own way). Danny was already past 30 when he signed during Pardew's time (as back-up for Fraser Richardson) having already clocked up 350+ games for Grimsby and Palace. When Richardson was injured early season, Danny.. DAJFU as first choice RB for much of that season (keeping Richardson out of the side -even after he was fit again). He was signed for a second season, but unfortunately got successive injury problems, (although Richardson recovered well and had the RB shirt for that season). Danny's final games were in that magnificent run-in at the end of the Championship season that saw us promoted to the Prem. The arrival of Nathaniel Clyne, eventually spelt the end of the line for both Danny and Fraser's careers with Saints. As is often the case with a player nearing his career's end, he dropped a division or so, eventually finding a place with Torquay, now managed by another former Saint - Paul Tisdale, and played a couple of useful seasons at Torquay whilst developing a new role as assistant trainer. For some fans...Danny is just one of a few dozen former players who DAJFU, when we were in a lower division, but it must be very satisfying for him to come back to SFC (who have most certainly gone on to better times), knowing that ..in his own way ...he was part of a former era that helped get us back upto the Prem. I'm sure he will soon feel "at home" again and settle in to help coach the "next generation" of Saints players. Nice too, that the club has been able to re-employ someone who has his own experience of the club in former times.

.......and I was just starting to enjoy some of your posts, as well......

I suppose he has to something right, sometime, but watching the match replays I noticed that the Chelsea defence were AWOL. Their defending was non-existent. When the cross came in.... there were 5-6 Chelsea players holding hands in front of goal, whilst there were 5 Liverpool players totally free in the far post area. Lovren had a totally free header and could hardly miss. Chelsea were atrocious.

What a lot of people seem to have missed is that.. (aside from last night's episode)....we NEED at least three or four "designated " penalty-takers in the squad. With the squad being rotated as it (seemingly) will be, we'll need more players capable of putting the ball in the net ....and against international class goalies. If that penalty had been... in the last five minutes and not the first ..Tadic would already have been subbed, and so for that matter....would Charlie Austin, too. Fortunately JWP has shown he can score from such situations, so perhaps he might have taken it ....or maybe JayRod would have got the job? We think back to those sorrowful tournaments in the last 25 years when, in a penalty shoot-out, England were incapable of finding 5 players who could carry out the task. Although easy to condemn those past "failures", it may not be totally their fault....as with the influx of overseas stars...(currently +/- 60% of Prem.players)...those "designated player" may be good at the job, but don't happen to be English. Then, when it comes to international "shoot-outs " - we're struggling to find volunteers. Tadic has proven a success in the past ..(has he missed one yet?)...but it needs players (like Austin) who aren't afraid to step up to the spot..and do the job. .... or as Matthew Le Tissier said (in interview) on his career tally...." I didn't mind taking penalties, I enjoyed them ..because I wanted to do it !" No fear there. Let's hope we can find a few more players, who...in an important situation..also want to do the job.

Nice one Trousers, a picture paints a thousand words... eh?

Man(ager) of the Match : Claude Puel...for the courage to make changes and even leave his captain on the bench. He silenced those "bed-wetters " who thought he had given up on Europa League and was fielding " the B team ". Not exactly the Diamond formation we'd seen before, or maybe the squad is just getting better at it. Managed a good game and made the right substituitions at the right time. Forster : A clean sheet. Had very little to do, which was also a credit to the defence in front of him. Martina: Many people's MoM. A highly creditable display for someone who might have been on the train to Liverpool two weeks ago. Read the game well, frighteningly dangerous on the overlap, and a peach of a cross for Austin's second goal. Played with the confidence of a man who'd never been out of the side. Maybe time for him to establish his claim to RB spot, and be " his own man " instead of being seen as coming in on the Koemans' coat-tails. Yoshida : Aside from his (now) regular "suicidal back-passing" to an unsuspecting keeper... looked much better at CB than in his usual role as emergency RB. van Dijk : Grew a bit taller... just by wearing the captain's armband, and looks as though it was he who has been at the club for 7 years. Truly majestic all over the pitch. Targett: Surely his best game so far. Looks more comfortable in this forward position, but still did well getting back to take care of his opposing winger. Romeu : Always the man in the right place at the right time...He may not be everyone's ida of "the new Wanyama" but has better ball control and vision than Victor had. JWP : Actually got a start this time. DAJFU, and although not outstanding last night, has got more " physicality " and fight in his game. Beginning to look the part. Hojbjerg : Good solid performance. Reads the game well and continues to impress. Still needs to find his " proper role ", but looks a great prospect. Tadic : His role as " fan's favourite " is tarnished a little by insistance to try and beat the extra man, when it would be better to shoot or pass, but another great game. Long: Another typical Shane Long game, all effort and fearlessly probing the defence . He really needs a goal to give him more confidence in the box. Austin : (what can you say?). A real old-fashioned CF display from Charlie. At last we can see why he was bought ...and at such a bargain price. Older memories of that... Kirby / Clarke / Beattie / Lambert role that we miss so much. Will forgive him for usurping "Tadic spot-kick" role, but needed to prove himself to Claude Puel, and DABGJ of it, too. Very neat header on that inch-perfect cross from Martina, and might have had a hat-trick, if his earlier effort hadn't been ruled out. SUBS; Redmond : Looked as a lively as ever, but needs one or two more tricks in his bag, before he becomes too predictable. Rodriguez : two late sub.apps at SMS totalling 20-odd minutes......and has two goals. What more could you ask?. He should continue to come off the bench for a while longer, as a full 90 mins. may be a bit too demanding... atm. but nevertheless he looked very sharp, and made his half chance look very easy. Davis; " Mr Reliable." Only on a few minutes, but took up some good positions off the ball, and was better placed in front of goal when someone else blazed over the bar. An excellent match, best so far. Some people might say that Sparta had "a bad day at the office" , but Saints made it look like a training games at times in the first half.

....maybe like living in any other luxury hotel , but with Chinese waiters......

.......and I'm sure he should have added..... " what we don't want to do now is .........:facepalm:"

Good points ...well made. Why is it that people who feel they can speak a language....just because they can order a holiday beer in French / Spanish ...want to criticise Puel for his lack of fluency? I've worked for 30 years helping people to overcome such problems. It's not easy to formulate an interesting answer - even if you know what you're likely to be asked.In time, Claude will get used to the questions and be able to give more interesting responses. I'm glad he has courage enough to speak out personally (unlike Pochettino)..and doesn't feel he needs to shoot his mouth off (like Mourinho)...when things go wrong.

Mmmm......and looking at the top two in that table, it's difficult to see that they have improved so much ....

Oh ! does that means you're going to stop posting your encouraging comments on here in future ..or ?

in retrospect, and for different reasons .....I think last Saturday's result hurt more .....

I agree totally Mowgli...especially after my 56 years as a fan....some of our "so-called fans" don't realise that not spending £100 million in every transfer window and not being able to fill our (mere) 32,000 seat stadium ....does put us at a slight disadvantage compared to big city clubs with much greater resources.

as well as field sports .....like discus and hammer-throwing ......and of the course, the equestrian sports.

I even heard that after one game when Wilshere was on as a sub for the last 20 minutes and touched the ball four times .. If that was the opinion of " a football expert " .......then I worked in the wrong profession for the last 40 years....