Lallana's Left Peg

Not sure about length of deal but he is a very promising player.

A free shot at a big boy, looking forward to this. There will be lots of goals I think.

I would love to see what Pochettino could do with a physical beast in our system. I've been incredibly impressed with the way he has developed players in his short-stint with us - and I think a transfer policy that reflects that would be great - both in terms of saving money and seeing players grow with us.

They aren't mutually exclusive, although more than fair to say the latter significantly decreases our changes of the former given how much money those above us spend. What do we think the limit of the team is if our players stay and reach their potential? As the squad evolves then depth will be sorted, and the potential of our players is scary. Keeping them together will be incredible hard.

Hard to work out as you need to take into account wages, and new contracts can spike that quickly if you've had a successful season. The good news is that an 8th place finish this season should garner around £80m in total TV revenue, up around £35m from last season based on the new contract and improving our league position by a fantastic 6 places in one season. We still have lots of financial flexibility but it is clear with those liabilities that we won't be big spenders for a few years. I'm just fine with that but we must continue to improve in other ways which means keeping the players we've got and continuing to make progress. The emphasis shifts even more on the Academy.

The transfer fee liabilities will restrict what we can do in the market, but at the same time our financial status means we aren't desperate for money. The big issue as I see it? The need to increase revenue streams in order to be able to offer new contracts to those who need them. Given how low it appears to be at the moment there should be plenty of growth ther However, recoup our Osvaldo fee and spend half that on a new striker and we're in ok shape. Might get awkward if our best players are willing to stay but want to see some more investment though...

It'll be Hazard I suspect.

Don't mind a bit of ambition but with the public comments the club does set itself up for a fall. Also could be a bit awkward with the summer transfer window coming up...

Too early for him in that respect but depending on what happens in the summer he may well find himself a part of pre-season training camps - not just because of his ability but also because as a winger he plays in a position we are short. However, he is quite tiny and senior football could do more damage than good so it'll be about getting a balance right. He makes JWP look like Wanyama.

Sky Sports News suggesting that Sagna will be signing a new contract at Arsenal so hopefully that puts this one to bed. At least for a few weeks anyway

Feels like the new Board are on a hiding to nothing this summer. If we keep the players we've got I can't see too many coming in at all, but if a few leave people will instantly think Cortese would have never sold them when the truth is that we could never know. A lot of pressure is slowly building up for the summer now and I don't really like it.

Any rumours as to why Mr Williams didn't get the job?

There are a lot of clubs he is being linked with. It definitely feels like someone is doing this on purpose - just need to work out who now and why.

I don't see the positives in losing any game to be fair. I don't think anyone at the club would think like that either. Games like yesterday are however reminders of how perhaps we have done the easy part in being better than all the dross, but now we have to break into the part of the league where the best teams reside and how much extra it may take to do that over the course of a 38 game season. The good news is that we have a young team and a good Manager. The bad news is that patience is not a trait recognised in Premier League football. Lets hope everyone involved right now has some - and that includes the players!

Not sure about that. A draw would have been as much as both teams deserved. But regardless of that, when you consider Pochettino's body of work after 14 months in the job, is there any way that you could think he hasn't been a great Manager for us thus far?

What about the first half? Or is that going to be conveniently ignored to support a negative narrative?

The only reason we managed to get him was after the error laden season he had in Lyon last year. The summer before that he was linked with Barcelona. He is still class and feel lucky to have him at Saints, but the book on him does say he is prone to lapses in concentration.

Who are 'you guys'?

There are plenty of players not linked with bigger / better clubs though, and they make up around half our team. And then some of the players that are wanted by other clubs is down to their potential rather than how good they are now.

He's got to stay. I don't think we could be doing much better with our current squad. He's got us playing aggressively and the players have a lot of belief. He's integrated young players as well. Would be a set-back if he left in my opinion.

Well the five year project was back in the Premier League. The new one was Europe with half the team from the Academy. If that has been superseded I've no idea what it is.

Europe and half the team from our Academy is what I assume it is. Doesn't feel like we're too far away if (and it is a big if) the kids continue to get better and we keep hold of them. Second bit far harder than the first!

I completely agree with this but we're told games are decided by fine margins a lot of the time so the balance between experience and being allowed to make mistakes and winning games is hard to achieve. I don't believe JWP cost us today in terms of a tangible mistake that led to a goal or anything like that. To be honest there wasn't an alternative (unless Davis played deeper) however when we had to dig in second half he struggled to break up the play in the way we're accustomed to with Morgan, Wanyama, and Cork - that is no criticism of him as a player as he is at a different stage in his career and experience but when we look at the things that the team struggled with that is an area that was an issue for us in the second half. I think he is of sound mind to shrug off this game and learn from the experience but I started a thread on JWP last Autumn in terms of his long term future and the position he will settle on and I am still none the wiser. He looked good in the 'Davis' role in the first quarter of the season and whenever he has played deeper its never worked. He plays deeper for England U21's and looks great so for his age group he is good but in the rough and tumble of the Premier League you've got to be very strong in the middle of that park or you get eaten up.

Tactically we never change but that is the way Pochettino likes to play - we live by the sword and we die by the sword on that front. It's not a spirit thing it is a momentum thing and the team being able to ride out tough periods and work their way back into the game. We're getting a bit better at it but we're not good enough to do it away from home against 6th position. As long as we learn from it I'm ok but I do hate the way that one player gets the shakes and then others do too. Doesn't seem very professional.

He's a decent player who has a lot to offer but with the standard set in the Premier League of what you've got to be in the middle of the park to contribute as a player for a top half team it's tough for him. I'm glad we give him the experience and opportunity but it is more than fair to point out today that the game passed him by plenty of times and when we had to dig in he physically was up against it.