Saint Pete

My assumption is Tuchel is out of our range, and Michael O'Neill not experienced enough at this level. I would be happy with WGS or Martin O'Neill though as they would fit the bill as the kind of experienced heads we need in this situation. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Gabbiadini had a great start to his Saints career but unfortunately if you look at his career to date that patch of goalscoring form was untypical of him in general. I think he is being underused by MP and would rather see him up top than Long, but in my opinion he's never going to be a consistent scorer in the same way as Austin has been throughout his career. Also you talk about the team creating less chances earlier in the season when Gabbi was playing and Austin wasn't, but you don't make the connection that the increase in chances may actually be down to Austin and the positions he is taking up in the box! I do think when Austin is there certain players have produced better service on account of having a striker to aim at who has presence and is more likely to stick it in the net. I would personally like to see both in the team but that option seems off the table with MP in charge! Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Seems a harsh sacking at Boro if that is what's happened. Only 3 points off play offs currently. I know they were aiming higher but not always easy to quickly turn around a relegated team who have got used to losing games. As their recent run is not too bad, perhaps something has gone on behind the scenes that explains it, eg row with chairman. I personally thought he did a good job at Swansea and had them playing some decent stuff. Think he got the boot prematurely as Swansea started getting big ideas that they should be permanently in top half. Also had Leeds moving in the right direction before deciding not to stay on. Probably not the right man for us right now though, as think we would be better off with an older head in charge to steady the ship for now. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Club statement says they have "parted company". It surely means he's off somewhere else? A return to Swansea? Or .....? Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

The time to act is now. Today has made it crystal clear we are only moving in one direction with this manager and I don't see any point in delaying any longer. The approach MP takes in the games against the best teams makes it almost impossible to see us getting anything in next couple of games especially with no Austin. So may as well cut the cord now. Get someone with premier league experience in now and give them half a chance to work with the club to improve the squad and most importantly the morale around the existing squad in January. My vote would be Gordon Strachan until the end of the season. He's available, has experience, popular with the fans and capable of instilling some passion back into the club. Do it now! Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Redmond has been poor this season but I can see some logic in playing him in this type of game where we are expected to be under pressure for long periods and will want to play on the break. He was quite effective in the Liverpool semi final games last season when we played that sort of game, so hopefully he can surprise us?

"On current form". Those are the key words here, and I totally agree that he has gone downhill in his performances since he left us, and seems to have been badly affected by his time at Man U. But for me, I would still be open to taking him back if the price was right and he was committed and keen to return. It seems like more of a mental issue with him at the moment rather than a physical one (as I can't recall him suffering major injuries), so I think with the right handling and used in the right way, there's no reason why he can't reproduce the kind of form he showed with us before. As they say, "Form is temporary, class is permanent" and that makes him potentially an upgrade on several of our other current midfield options - in my opinion of course.

Have to laugh at some of the statements being made about Hojbjerg on here after one decent performance against the current whipping boys of the premier league! Think he needs to provide a fair bit more evidence before you can start comparing him to Morgan's performances in a Saints shirt somehow. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Yep, this is what I would go with. Solid look about the midfield, which is the only way we will stand any chance in this one. Sensible to save Austin for Bournemouth, though if we are somehow still in the game, bring him on for last 15 to score the winner [emoji3] Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Not necessarily. I think given his injury record he would understand that the most important thing is not to risk another injury by pushing too hard just when he's coming back to form. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Good play Cedric, unlucky Austin.

Boufal has started on the left, Tadic No 10, JWP right.

Indeed. I don't understand why we don't consider pushing Van Dijk into midfield to give us more presence in that area, particularly without Romeu or Lemina. We have enough other options at centre back to cover that position. It would be nice to see a bit more imagination in selection to try and solve our all too predictable problems.

If Lemina is out, what about trying VVD in midfield? At least he has the physical presence we would be lacking without Lemina and Romeu, which is more than can be said for the other alternatives? Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

To be fair, it looks like a more attacking lineup on paper, but let’s see if it plays like that! Centre midfield may be a weak area without Lemina - Romeu needs to play better than of late.

I think Liverpool's obsession and tunnel vision over signing Van Dijk is what's costing them now. They clearly desperately needed to strengthen central defence in the summer, but they were so fixated on Van Dijk and convinced we would cave in that they didn't pursue other alternatives seriously enough. Now they are stuck with the likes of a woefully out of form Lovren. Quite amusing really [emoji3] Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

So what was the point in signing McCarthy if you're not prepared to give him a chance to play when the first choice keeper is clearly out of form, lacking confidence and most importantly costing us points? If we genuinely think we don't have another keeper that we trust playing in 1st team when Forster is out of form, it doesn't say much for our recruitment policy does it? Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

But how can anyone make a judgement that he's a "really bad manager" after just 4 games? It's just nuts, particularly as even Dyche said after yesterday's game that Palace were by far the better team. They apparently had 23 attempts versus only 4 for Burnley! Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Massive kudos to Les and Ralph for holding firm on Van Dijk despite disgraceful behaviour and extreme pressure from player, agent, Liverpool and their army of pundits in the media. Our stance on this is what this window will be remembered for for us and hopefully will stand is in good stead for negotiations with players and clubs going forward, who will no longer expect us to just roll over. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Agree. When Rodriguez was sold I assumed that meant Gallagher would remain in the squad this year. As that hasn't happened, surely we must have intended bringing someone else in?

Exactly. Just can't see us pulling off that sort of signing, especially so late in the window. It's not as easy as just having the transfer fee, you also need to persuade the player to join you! Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Therein lies the problem if we do a U-turn and sell VVD at this late stage. We will have a stack of cash to spend but IMO will find it hard to get a player in the £25-30m bracket to join us without totally smashing up our wage structure and causing problems with rest of squad. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

If we cave in now and sell to Liverpool, I don't think Ralph's reputation with the fans can ever recover from that. It would make all the stuff in his last statement about drawing a line utterly meaningless and prove everyone right who have said that ultimately we always sell if enough pressure is applied. I personally don't buy all this "toxic" atmosphere stuff which is predictably starting to come out now in advance of a possible climb down. It's just PR nonsense to save face if and when we do sell. Only the other day, Van Dijk was pictured in training with the U23s so the atmosphere can't have been that toxic then? I think most reasonable fans would accept a sale to another club at this stage if price is right and the club commit to reinvesting. But selling to Liverpool would leave us looking like total mugs and opens us up to a whole load more pain from players acting up in the same way in future. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Yes, assume it has to be a CB. The other possible could be Yoshida due to contract running down, but hope not. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Cheers. Interested about the bid close to valuation. I read that as being a bid from Liverpool, hence why it won't be accepted even if increased? Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk