Lallana's Left Peg

It's Fer that is missing, not Tettey. You know what you are going to get with Norwich, hopefully we can push them right back into their half for long periods and Gaston can come up with some magic that opens the game right up.

Lambert on the bench. Jay Rod up front. Ramirez and JWP both start.

Yeah that is the way I read into it. We aren't going to be winning trophies and be popular in that way, so we need to position ourselves differently to the other teams commercially to get some traction and interest and, ultimately, revenue. The Packers have their own niche in the NFL - they don't come from a 'big market' but have a rich history and do lots of good work with their fans. They are seen as 'nice guys' and have a good spot in American sports like that. I assume by comparing us to them Kruger was suggesting we need to find our niche in the market to drive revenue. From his interviews I am 99% certain we will be marketed on the fact we have English players and produce our own. Of course, that makes sense BUT...what happens when you market the club on that but then sell your best young English players... I'll wait and see what happens on that front!

I don't think the market will ever be hotter for Shaw - Man Utd need a new left back. Chelsea need a new left back. Man City are in dire need of homegrown players. He's made his England debut at 18 and is widely considered one of the best left backs in the league already. I could be convinced either way that he'll stay or leave, I've really no idea what will happen, but I do know that if he does leave we'll get an amazing fee for him as the three aforementioned clubs bid stupid money and we benefit from it. And, I suppose, when a player outgrows his club, that is the best case scenario.

Sam Gallagher currently playing for the U21's. Unlikely to play tomorrow as a result?

This clears it up - when the Saints twitter feed were asked by someone about the same thing:

He also said he only spoke with the owner for 5mins before a Press Conference when we know he had much more dialogue (you don't make a decision to stay based on a 5min conversation). He's just giving these answers to avoid people asking him what he spoke about. An easy way to nip any further questions in the bud.

Fer is also out for Norwich. He was great against us back in August. If we drop Davis back there I would have been worried about our physical presence however I'm a little less worried if Fer is missing. If Ramirez plays though, does that mean Lallana gets shoved out to the right?

Yes, but at the same time if Pochettino has over a year left on his deal (and it is said to be pretty hard for another club to buy him out of that deal) then it makes no sense for him to sign a new deal until he has let this play out to see what the impact of the new Board structure is. I wouldn't sign a new deal based on 'we're going to do this' if I could stay and wait to see actually what happens before I need to make a decision. The signs are that he is already planning for next season. I was very impressed to see he (and the rest of his team) were in Manchester on Monday night to watch the U21's play. For me they aren't the actions of a man who isn't thinking about next season. I want him to stay as I think his presence holds more influence over whether or not players stay than anyone else, however he has nothing to gain by signing a new contract right now. He's clearly given the club / Board a chance to sort itself out and start working and he can then make a decision as to whether he thinks he fits in with it after he sees what impact it has. The only problem with this is that if the decision is made in the summer then it is a massive amount of upheaval for the club to deal with and the risks of that are well known. It's very easy to get dragged into a relegation fight.

Development Squad player Corby Moore has left Saints to join American team Indy Eleven on a two year contract: http://www.indyeleven.com/news/detail/uuid/fmkhtf1gw3kp1x4kksg9hdozg/youngsters-moore-spencer-add-attacking-talent#.UyIeBpXiteV

Jack signed a new 4 year deal not too long ago. Just a 'short-term' experience for him?

Typically we only do this with players who aren't getting offered a new deal in the summer. Gives them a chance to earn a deal elsewhere or catch the attention of another club. When is Isgrove's deal up? I know he signed a new contract in the summer but was it only for 1 year?

I've watched all interviews and my reading of the situation is that he is being fair with us. A recurring theme is the need to grow as a club in terms of commercial revenue and be sustainable. My personal opinion is that commercial growth will be vital for us to be able to maintain our existing squad and spend. Without it we can't. As a consequence he can't say nobody is leaving as unless we fill the holes in the finances then players will have to leave. Even if we do players may leave, but we need to be in a situation where the contracts we give out and the transfer fees we pay no longer come from the Bank of Liebherr. They need to come from the clubs own coffers, which is fair enough. I suspect we will grow commercially, but there may be one or two players who leave along the way. However, regardless of what happens, it looks like (right now, anyway) that there is a sincere desire to be more open as a club and engaging with the fanbase - and unfortunately a part of that will be telling us things we may not want to hear from time to time but it'll be for the better in the long term I suspect.

Certainly has the characteristics of a player we need but the only thing that is a concern is his general build-up and team play. If we can still create lots of chances without needing the striker to come deep and get involved then he'd be good. But if one of the reasons we create chances is the striker getting involved in the build-up then he may not be as good for us.

There is a dearth of good young strikers in Europe right now (at least at the elite level) so that is going to create issues as the bigger clubs snap up talent we may otherwise make a run at and then I am not too sure what that would leave us with. I suspect no matter who we sign there will be risks associated which we'd rather not have given the money we're likely to spend. A bit like Osvaldo again.

Just popping down the shops to buy the Sports Direct News.

You can now view highlights here: http://www.mcfc.co.uk/citytv/Match-highlights/2014/March/EDS-v-Southampton-highlights-and-reaction I had no idea that Pochettino was there!

You couldn't guarantee they would or could. The transfer market is a lottery. Much better to retain your own. It would be incredibly hard to replace either of them regardless of funds, and even then you need to get the transfer over the line.

As has been said, if Pochettino does sign a new deal then I think some reasonable assumptions could be made about other concerns this summer regarding players in and out. If the approach to Cups is just one of two concerns I'd say the club is in pretty damn good shape.

His is fiercely loyal at a personnel level. They'd all be getting new deals too. Be interesting to see if his new deal entails any further responsibility, particularly in the transfer market. I do wonder sometimes what sort of players he'd like at a personal level for his system.

Would be absolutely brilliant news if true.

Well that was thoroughly enjoyable. Even first half finished 1-1 and in the second we never got going but defended well when it mattered. Broke away in the last minute of injury time and Isgrove should have scored - not to matter, Jack Stephens nodded in from the resulting corner and Saints not only halted Man City's 12 game winning streak (they hadn't lost since October!) but we also beat them on their own patch. Stephens and Turnbull were both very good in fact I would say Turnbull was outstanding and faultless all evening. Man City looked good but they didn't create enough. Half their team are big physical lads - at this level it makes a difference I am not sure it will at first team level and that is the trap a lot of Academy teams fall into. I wouldn't mind betting they've spent a fair bit on that team too - lots of foreign players. I would say at least half their team were foreign. Lopes was good for them but with no pathway to the first team at Man City he must be gutted. In the last 10mins he started placing the ball for goal kicks for our keeper in a 'hurry up because we are going to score a winner' way - turns out a winner was scored but not in our goal Was about 10-15 Saints in attendance all mainly sat behind the away dugout. All of us had smug faces after the winner went in.

Usually no first team players, though they have a few who are ready for some first team experience. Lopes is a great player. They also have Andrew Cole's son playing for them. EDIT: They do have several prospects they've purchased from foreign clubs too.

Yep I'll be there. Looking forward to it. Man City U21's unbeaten in 13 or something like that!

He has a bit of a dilemma in the summer. He has said in the past few weeks that he is open to signing a new contract as long as he plays. Well pretty much since December he has been first choice through injury and even when Wanyama came back he held his place. Now his season is over how will he evaluate his status? With any luck he wants to stay and we'll work out a deal. He gets plenty of games and even if he wasn't first choice it is inevitable in that part of the pitch that over the course of the Premier League season and with Pochettino's training methods and tactics that injuries will occur.