Lallana's Left Peg

That is a bit harsh. When this season goes in the books, barring an absolute disastrous finish, it'll go down as a very good one which has seen an incredible amount of progress and the squad (laden with 18/19 year olds) establish itself in the top half of the league. When we look at things on a match by match basis we'll be more frustrated as we've generally had more good performances than our points total suggests but in games that can be decided either way we more often than not come up with the short end of the stick with our wastefulness in the final third. But the good news is that can be addressed in the summer.

Agreed but he came on in an impossible circumstance today. It's all a part of his development I suppose. He showed enough against Arsenal to suggest he may well have a good future. What we don't want to be in is a position where we have to rely on him before he is ready for it. That really isn't a good situation for the club nor him.

I thought we carried on from where we finished in the first half but with Gaston on the pitch ahead of Davis I thought we'd either create a better chance or he himself would offer more of a goalscoring threat. The second goal killed the game and I don't attribute that to Ramirez at all.

The right sub was made at HT. Gaston is far more threatening in the final third and Davis quickly runs out of ideas 25 yards from goal. We were a goal down and needed to try and win the game. Davis is a good player for us though. He just isn't the right player for all games.

We were back in form after the New Year however we killed our momentum with the Sunderland game and haven't recovered since. The inexperience in our team at this level (both with respect to the age of players and only being in the league for less than two seasons) means we are very much a momentum team to whom goals and then results have a big impact. Quite simply we messed up the Sunderland game and are now experiencing the hangover. Not in terms of overall performance as I think we're performing at a good level but when it comes to the crunch and the moments that decide games we're not on it unless we have some momentum behind us.

The game was a perfect example of the good things about our team and the not so good things. Overall the performance was above average but playing well and losing 3-0 is an issue for me. Get the goal we deserved in the first half and the complexion of the game changes but it is easy to say that. We are incredibly wasteful - to the point where I would suggest it is the biggest weakness we've got. It's a decent weakness to have as they go, but it is really starting to frustrate me. Poor finishing, heavy touches, hesitancy - how much longer must it go on before we suggest it is an inherent issue with our players rather than something to do with confidence or form? When we get some momentum the game comes easier to us, but when we play in tight matches the players are too anxious. It needs to be addresses as mentality is a huge part of the game at this level. We keep going and working hard but at choice moments we rarely get it right. I have no issues with the bigger picture but if we are starting to hit the limits of what some players can do for us we need to decide whether to stick or twist in some cases.

Looks like there is some sort of depth chart on the whiteboard behind Luke. Could be for the next match, for a training match, or long term. But interesting to see Jordan Turnbull listed as second behind Fonte there. And can't work out what the name in red is below Wanyama and Cork in the DM position.

Can't see Clyne making it if he has lost his place in the team to Chambers. Although with a squad size of 30 you never know.

If anyone is gutted about this season thus far I'd question how long they've been supporting Saints! I don't think it could be much better. We always knew once we had a few injuries that our replacements were not up to it. The club took a calculated approach to replace what we had with the best we could find, not to upgrade every position marginally and bloat the squad. I think that is the right approach. And above all, the progress from the kids this year has been staggering too. Very exciting times.

At 16 Sims has already logged gametime with the U21's and trained several times with the first team as well. EDIT: Although whisper it quietly, I was told he came to us after being at Portsmouth.

I'm getting confused now. There was outrage when we departed from stripes, are we now saying that we don't want to return to stripes either and instead want to return to our unique designs from specific past seasons?

With Ralph Krueger said to be starting his new role this week that somewhat blows the 'announce all the new Board members at once' theory out of the water. I wonder what the delay with the CEO is?

Not sure how a thread that asks this question can reach four pages of debate. He's a great Manager and vitally important for the way the club wants to move forward with the Academy. He's only been Managing in this country a year and is learning all the time himself. He has made most players in the squad either better players or play better consistently which has resulted in our squad reaching 8th in the Premier League. He's made some mistakes, but never the same mistake twice as far as I am concerned. We should be thankful he is our Manager.

A good team, and Maya deserves to keep his place in the starting 11 as well. Also the bench looks decent.

I could be wrong but I am hearing that Lambert may not be fit (or if he does start, not fully fit).

I was referring more to their style of play and the areas of the body a West Ham striker may well get injured in as a result

West Ham striker in injured back shocker

No but it isn't unusual for him to start to miss training sessions around this time of year as he has to manage his hips.

If you listen to his interview on SaintsPlayer he says the priority is to develop the young players and to finish as high up in the league as possible. The cups are a second priority by that assertion and I think we all knew that. He even mentions about going for silverware a bit more in a few years when the squad has matured. I'm still not convinced we can finish higher than 8th this season but if he and the club think otherwise then fair enough and I am glad he stuck to his guns rather than apologised or anything like that. Also it is good to see that perhaps there is still a long term plan that is being worked towards in the grand scheme of things.

If we were in a genuine race for 4th I would understand it. But it is not so much ignoring the FA Cup that annoyed me, it is ignoring it without a clear view as to why we did. It can't be because of the Europa League issue because if we finish 6th or 7th there is a high chance we're in it via the league.

Calmed down although still think it was a massive opportunity scorned. Anything but 3pts at West Ham and fans will understandably turn back to it.

Could be one of those ones where if it is really boring that is really good news, or if it is really active then that is likely bad news.

I don't know that he did. But suggestions are that he did and that would correlate with the removal of him as a Director from records in Companies House at that time, unless that is a co-incidence.

Now then, maybe it is the menace in me but this has all gone quiet in a big way. Cortese hands in his notice back in October and over 4 months later still no new Board? It is of course entirely plausible that we are waiting to announce it at a time when all new members are available but until that time comes I can't shake the thought that our owner is open to the sale of the club and our owner has created this 'window of opportunity' for interested parties to step forward before she puts something in place in the meantime. To be honest, it would be a sensible strategy as well.

It's been a great season so far and it looks like it will finish one as well, but in the cold light of day if in the summer the Manager and / or a few of our best players leave, what will it mean? It'll mean when we had a chance to progress in the cups with one of the better teams in our history we turned our back on it and for no tangible benefit. If, however, our Manager and players stay then it means it has been an even better season because it has meant the club has been able to push on and use it as a platform for further progress. So I'll judge this season on 1st September 2014.