Lallana's Left Peg

It depends on what structure he implements below him. He may not be as involved as Cortese was and may delegate responsibility as appropriate. Given the level of control we hear Cortese had over many departments, that may not be a bad thing.

Adam Blackmore stated that the his source was in touch with the club hierarchy where he has been given the impression that a takeover has not been discussed. This doesn't mean they will or won't sell, nor that there isn't an interested party. So really it doesn't tell us much other than perhaps that if a takeover is potentially in the offing, that it isn't something that the club is aware of or working towards at the moment.

So do you think a member of the media team told him a new Chief Exec could be appointed as soon as tomorrow? Why have they told him that and not published the information on the website for us all if it is the official line? And why would they know anyway? I think if the last few years have taught us anything it is not to dismiss or not believe anything you hear in the media. I'm neutral on the takeover story but I do strongly believe Adam Blackmore does not rely on his information from the clubs media team. What's more, I also believe they are the last to be told of many things that would go on at board level around subjects like takeovers (as they should be).

Do you think a BBC journalist would solely rely the 'official' line from the club being his source for all Saints information?

I wanna call BS but Peter White is based on the IOW I think and is familiar with the club. So that tiny link makes me wonder (plus how awesome would it be...).

Quite right - the only time Johnson got space in the second half was when Shaw was tucked inside to deal with the Sunderland counter attacks. I thought Shaw handled him very well considering the form Johnson is in and that Jay Rod often comes inside leaving our left flank very exposed.

I am encouraged by the profile of the candidates we're being linked with. If whomever comes in can extend Pochettino's contract they'd make quite a statement.

It is his hips. Quite common for any sportsmen to have hip problems, including footballers, but you are right - we have had to nurse Lambert through the second half of most seasons he has been with us.

Lallana looked leggy, lacked sharpness, and was giving the ball away. Ramirez came on and looked good. What more do you want?

We have Osvaldo. But even he - a £12m signing - isn't settled enough yet to oust Lambert from the team. And in terms of better strikers, it would be nice - but how realistically could we both attract them and be able to afford the wages?

While everyone is pointing out the things he can't do, lets remember the things he can do are good enough to see us sitting comfortably 9th in the table. For reference, lets take a look at the main strikers of every team above us in the league: 1. Arsenal - Giroud 2. Man City - Aguero, Negredo 3. Chelsea - Torres, Eto'o 4. Liverpool - Suarez, Sturridge 5. Everton - Lukaku 6. Spurs - Soldado, Adebayor 7. Man Utd - Rooney, Van Persie 8. Newcastle - Remy Lambert is doing incredibly well in my opinion, and whilst he is having some bad games he is still performing at an incredible level overall to help us to this position in the table. We should be proud, not belittling him.

Hmm so it was. It looked in the box from the other end. In which case I agree that Foy bottled it.

I would too. But that said Davis and JWP have between them both performed well on the right. For me the only thing we have missed from him is his goal threat (and goals). But if a player wants to move then he wants to move, I wouldn't have seen the point in stopping him leaving.

He got the ball - just. But if you tackle like that outside the box it is easy for the Ref to give a foul as it was a dangerous last ditch lunge. In the box it is harder for the Ref's to give it as they often bottle marginal decisions. Foy did bottle it but I can see the argument as to why it wasn't given when it occurred in the box. If anyone did that outside the box he is giving a foul - because even though the ball was touched first it was excessive force and a dangerous tackle. We know there shouldn't be different rules in and out the box but history says the Ref's interpret things differently like that.

It'll be interesting to see what the reservations are that Puncheon has. Given he asked for the move (apparently to be close to his family in Croyden) I am not sure what could have changed in the past 6 months. Maybe he sees a better future for himself at Southampton? Maybe the family issues are resolved?

Apart from the last half an hour I thought he was good today. He wasn't the only one to have a poor last part to the game. O'Shea and Brown are very clever players who have Champions League winners medals. They are both good in the air and mark their man well with aerial challenges.

Just back from the game. First half we were great, really disappointed to concede to be honest as I felt like had we gone in at 2-0 and seen out the 10min storm that would have come at the start of the second half that Sunderland would have been broken and we could have managed the game properly to win. Second half was messy - Sunderland pressed us a little higher up the pitch and we lost some of our composure. It was also disappointing to lose the ball in some important areas when we had men forward which allowed Sunderland to attack dangerously. I know that is the game we play but the players often realise when it is critical to keep the ball and in the second half a few of them passed without conviction at times which also got their crowd up and changed the momentum of the game. However, in terms of the bigger picture I am happy with a point away from home and the way the team played for the most part at the end of a potentially distracting week. Ramirez looked very smart when he came on and I hope his injury is not as serious as it sounds. Lovren's sounds better than expected as well so that is a relief. It's been a unique week but overall I think the team (and staff) can hold their heads up high after that.

Don't worry about what Neil Aston is saying. He is being asked what to write from this lot on behalf of Mr Cortese: http://square1consulting.co.uk/team

That is good to hear. I know all good things come to an end at some point but I'd be absolutely gutted if players left before KL had a chance to make her changes and / or the club was sold (I still feel that is going to happen personally). If the current group stick together until the end of the season I think that is fair for everyone. But I appreciate football isn't always a fair game!

Sounds a bit ominous

I'm not guessing at all. It is a fact that the media are reporting she is interested in selling the club. I'm not starting new rumours, nor pretending I know something either. I'm simply stating what is being reported.

Pochettino's press conference is being shown live on YouTube at 3pm. The club have only just confirmed this. I could be reading too much into it but the club wouldn't show the press conference live if there was bad news coming. Perhaps the talks with KL have been productive?

I see no reason why KL would want to retain them. When you consider the nauseating articles in the papers that emerged back in November / December and suggestion that Cortese has been serving his notice since the Autumn then I am sure she could see through it all (as in, Cortese hands in notice and gets nowhere so then uses his media pals to make it seem like he is God) and wonder why she needs anywhere to leak information when she won't have anything to leak. My biggest concern is whether or not KL wants to remain as owner of the club. It shouldn't be hard for her to come out and say what her plans and ambitions were. I would interpret silence as bad in this instance given the situation we're in.

I would be disappointed if Pochettino goes in the next few weeks. That said, you never want a Manager loyal to someone at the club rather than the club itself so it would be for the best. However, there is no reason why he couldn't be backed to the same degree he was under Cortese if the club wants to support him. If the owners really don't want to sell then the next few weeks could be used as a very good PR exercise around any number of things which would make fans happy.