Lallana's Left Peg

The press have wound themselves up into such a frenzy that if they cannot make sense of a Managers comments they assume it is mind games. I am sure some Managers hold themselves in such high regard that they think what they say will impact other teams but thankfully our Manager puts all his effort into managing his own players and getting their head focused on Saints.

If he joins we should copy what Palace fans did when they were both there. Jose is called Font-A and Rui is called Font-B

Yeah that was very peculiar. Did their best to get involved with us and go back and forth with the chanting, and then the moment we scored they just shut-up and started moaning at their team. From one extreme to the other.

As he wasn't on the bench this evening before the game he was put through his paces with a very intense running session and the coach taking the session (I think it was MoPo but someone may know otherwise) made sure he finished right in front of our fans and he then presented Gallagher to the fans who all applauded him very respectfully which he acknowledged. Then a chant started for him and he smiled - it was a nice moment.

Oh, and I absolutely loved Boruc laying into the Ref every time the Ref told him to hurry up at goal kicks One time the ball didn't come back from the Hull crowd quickly so when it did get to him he calmly placed the ball down and then the Ref gestured to him and Boruc wasn't having any of it and threw his arms up and shouted at the Ref and all sorts

I'm not long back from the game. Obviously great to get the 3pts. Didn't quite click in the final third but I thought we defended well and the midfield were very diligent. When Guly's touch was cleared off the line and Harper just watched as Cork smashed it against the bar I was really worried Hull would get an equaliser but the team has a really good mentality where they shrug off potential momentum changers and get on with their job and I like that. Hate giving away cheap set pieces though. Was a good atmosphere in the away end tonight and the Hull fans to our left enjoyed giving out some grief and took it well back so all in all it was good fun. Towards the end when Wanyama came on we kept the same formation but shifted it slightly - so he and Cork sat, JWP was the outside right, and Morgan played behind Jay Rod with Guly on the left. Sometimes if Cork was forward Morgan would drop back. Everyone on the pitch seemed to be happy enough with what their job was, but obviously their characteristics as players defines how well they are at certain aspects of it. Hull were shocking. Absolute hoof merchants - worst long ball team I've seen in a while. Very surprising. Not sure if they decided to do that or we forced them into it but they had nothing to offer. I really want Luke Shaw to score soon because I think he is desperate to ahead of what may happen in the summer.

Quite likes hitting things doesn't he...

We don't even have our new Board yet, so how we could expect Pochettino to commit himself to the club I don't know. He's said he'll be here until the end of the season. Then we have two challenges - the first is whether or not a better club is interested. If not then the second are the conditions that he would be happy to stay at the club for. I think we've got a good shot at keeping him if no better club comes in for him and at a sporting and operational level we: 1. Reward him and his team for their great work (not just progress the team has made, but also the way he has integrated our young players which has seen them develop and worth massive amounts of money) 2. Satisfy him that the new structure at a Board level won't impact the way he wants to run the team (I have a horrible feeling we'll be appointing a DoF and that this new Kruger guy sounds like bad news - I hope I am wrong) 3. Satisfy him that he will continue to receive backing in the transfer market so he can believe this team can progress. 4. Take a hard-nosed approach to keeping our players. 1. and 3. shouldn't be a problem because of the money we've got as a Premier League club, 2. and 4. are harder and where I worry.

They signed him from the Nottingham Forest Youth Team after he stuck 5 past us in the FA Youth Cup.

I suspect he'll just play in the Europa League for them and grab minutes in the league wherever he can. Whether or not that is enough to secure a place in Italy's World Cup squad I couldn't give a ****. I've resigned myself that the club will take a loss on him. Thankfully even if it was a £5m loss it hopefully won't be too much in the grand scheme of things with the Premier League TV deal income. The main thing is that when he does leave in the summer we don't contribute towards his wages as that kills us with FFP rules.

Lovren said 2 weeks today. If he means match ready as well then he thinks he'll be ready for West Ham away.

An opportunity missed but given the circumstances of the game (conditions, a few players not 'on it', and a lack of options from the bench due to injury and absence) then I think a point is acceptable.

He's come off after 5mins of the second half to be replaced by 16 year old Josh Sims. Unsure if injured, tactical, or to rest him as he may be in the matchday squad tomorrow.

Isgrove is in the starting 11 as well to be fair. Both he and Reed could still make the bench. Reed played against Charlton in a friendly just 24hrs before he played against Sunderland in the League Cup if I recall correctly. EDIT: I don't see Rowe on the bench so maybe he has a chance with the first team squad tomorrow? Unless he is injured of course.

Fantastic news. I've had lots of friends around mine who don't support Saints but the book caught their eye on the coffee table and they thumbed through it enjoying seeing players they had previously forgot about. The more Saints fans have the opportunity to see and buy this book the better.

We had the better of the game in the first half, didn't create too much but when we did we snatched at everything which was frustrating. Second half we had the better as well but the game really opened up and they had several breaks which threatened us.

I suppose it helps that Pochettino drills into the team they need to play the same way both at home and away so the mentality of the players won't be different. And also away from home we are far less likely to play teams that sit back and it has been breaking down teams that sit deep at St Marys which has been a bit of an Achilles heel for us at times.

He is quite laid back like Luke, but they are slightly different players. Targett not as direct going forward but his defensive positioning and decision making is pretty good considering his experience. He's coasted through many of the games I've seen him play for the U21's. Not by standing out and doing brilliant things, but just by looking very comfortable and a little unchallenged at times which is a good sign as that is what Luke was like as well.

Sad for any fan to lose their life at a game but didn't the family of the lady who passed away seek to 'come after' Saints for negligence when the lady in question was crushed by her own fans? I may have got my wires crossed and be wrong and / or unfair but I'm not entirely sure our club or fans should getting involved in stuff like this anyway.

All fair points about his development but I still don't think it is evident as to what his best position is. At his age group (and in playing for England U21's) he looks like a very good holding midfielder in the middle, but I just don't think Pochettino fancies him there. And there are other things to his game I think he needs to develop when playing further forward. There is no natural position for him at the moment based on the way we play, but he is on his way to being a very good player anyhow.

The crunch will be Manager / player retention in the summer. Whilst all of the above are positive steps, if we lose our drive and focus at a football level then fans won't care so much about the aforementioned. As supporters we care most about what happens on the pitch.

If we keep the Manager and our existing squad then with a couple of astute summer signings there is no reason why we can't compete that the level Everton are. However, we have big question marks over retaining our Manager and top players right now so before we talk about the next level I'd snap your hand off right now if you offered me keeping our Manager and existing squad for next season.

No loan fee and Osvaldo reduced his wages considerably in order to join Juventus.

Goals and highlights: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1aszpn_fulham-0-3-southampton-all-goals-and-highlights-epl-1-2-14_sport

A nice way to look at our second goal. Keep the ball in one area of the pitch, drag the opposition team across, shift the ball the other side to impact their shape and then score. Stuff like this doesn't happen by mistake. EDIT: I see Trousers got there before me