Lallana's Left Peg

It is a bad deal on the face of it but when you take into the account the circumstance then it isn't so bad. It was a deal we had to make in very short timescales and it is also a local firm which goes some way to undoing some damage done by Cortese. However if we sign a deal for anything less than £4m next season the club have messed up.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/aston-villa-defender-aly-cissokho-reveals-that-bad-teeth-were-to-blame-for-his-failed-move-to-ac-9746035.html I'd imagine him being **** these days is more of a reason he won't get a move. Imagine how good Dowie could have been with a decent set of teeth

Great read - thanks for finding

I would stab my eyes out with a rusty nail covered in lemon juice if we became one of those teams who threw away Europe every year in order to concentrate on the league and qualify for Europe. We are a LONG way away from being the likes of Spurs or Liverpool who would see the Europa League getting in the way of Champions League qualification aspirations (not to say the size of the squad to support such a strategy without completely ****ing off supporters).

Bournemouth's second half reaction reminded me of the ones Saints would have most away games during our Championship relegation season. Only when the game was over did the rally begin, and it rarely yielded anything positive. And that is the problem with Bournemouth - when they aren't 'on it' they ship goals like its going out of fashion and when they are they aren't scoring goals. When you play well and don't score it's a huge problem and it is why they are going down. As for Saints we did what was required of us and it is nice to see the team settle down and get back into things in a way we're accustomed to these days.

Osvaldo?

Nice left foot, nice eye for a pass, but very slow meaning he was never going to go much further. Nice to see him do so well with Bournemouth though. But the fact he is in the middle of the park for them is one of a number of reasons they are going down.

Svensson

That'll get them going

More chance of getting boo'd by his own supporters I think!

Confirmed - live on Sky on Wednesday 2nd December.

I was fairly sure that VvD's reaction clearance as a result of that air kick was a cheeky side heel or something like that too

He's more than welcome back at St Mary's any time he wants - just so he can see for himself how the inevitable demise of Saints that he was telling all his favourite players in his last season never happened.

First goal was a somewhat risky ball out to Yoshida who got their before the Villa player and then he played a one-two with Ramirez before shooting.

They have the ability to cause any team problems because of the way they play so gung-ho and overload the attack at every chance. They don't play in a very controlled manner and we should be ok as long as we play incisively in the final third as there will be plenty of space for us to exploit presuming they don't change their tactics.

The whole lead-up to the decision was very peculiar. Ayew cut inside and it was a really heavy touch but instead of anyone going to meet him everyone backed off and VvD showed him inside as well which seemed a strange decision to me.

They played Gestede up front and put their two best crossers of the ball on the wings and then forgot they'd need to be able to get the ball to those players in the first place for that plan to work

Thought the first half was absolutely awful and a better team would have taken us apart, thankfully we were facing Aston Villa who are dire. Don't think anyone coming into the team stepped up and made a case for themselves other than Targett (who has no chance when Bertrand is fit). Other thoughts: 1. I am really glad Caulker is fourth choice - he is very average and somehow can't shake off the ballwatching when crosses come into the box. Gestede really should have got his header on target in the first half. 2. JWP had another nothing game - not using this to have a go at him but he really needs to start influencing games when he plays in the centre behind Pelle. Davis made more impact in his 20mins than JWP did in his 90. 3. Encouraged by Juanmi's touches but unless he hits the gym his influence on the pitch is going to be minimal. Appreciate he was playing out on the left though (and Gaston likewise on the right) which is not a preferred position. 4. A little surprised Vic had the Captains armband given his contractual situation. Didn't think he did has bad as some made out - some sloppy passes (taking us back to his first season) but overall his work was diligent. 5. VvD is great and love the way he seems to be on cruise control in games

I don't know if the stats back it up but I always felt Niemi had a chance because of the spring in his feet whenever he would dive to make a save.

My only real concern about tonight is our ability to make Gabby Agbonlahor look like Romario over the years.

Good PR for Saints but I'm not so sure Man City fans will be bothered about losing a player who now plays in League 1. Although it is crunch time for Man City and their Academy - it's had a lot of lip service the past few years and now they need to show the bottle to give these players games and a pathway to the first team.

I think at the time the club / Koeman said that Gaston wanted first team football and he couldn't be guaranteed that. It was an impressive cameo at West Ham though. I personally suspect (but can't prove) that moving him on also allowed us to make the late Alderweireld signing. Ramirez has a chance because of injuries and he rejected the chance to move away in the summer. However I am pleased he seems to be in the right frame of mind to at least give it a go. I do wonder sometimes what he career with us may have been like had he not picked up that nasty injury at Sunderland in the Pochettino season. He seemed to have got himself in a position to start even with Pochettino's high demands at the time so he must have been doing something right.

Despite his services rendered - during which he undoubtedly did as much for Southampton as they did for him - there is still a professional and courteous way to leave a football club. In fact, dare I say, the fact he spent as long as he did at the club meant that there was even more onus on him doing things the right way when he wanted to leave. Unfortunately for him and us, and for whatever reason, he pretty much did everything that was possible to create a messy split. He may have his reasons for that but he is being very thick if he thinks that supporters would gloss over it for his previous performances for the team. Fans don't ask for a great deal - I think we all understand that loyalty in the modern game has disappeared and quite frankly who can blame him for leaving? - bigger club, bigger platform, huge wages - the move made perfect sense for him. But then, isn't there a right and proper way to go about things when you are Captain of a football club you have spent 12 years at? And if there isn't, don't be surprised at the level of abuse that comes your way from supporters. We all remember Adam saying he wanted to stay at Saints, the badge thumping etc. And the moment Liverpool flashed a bit of leg he was off - and in a way that was disrespectful to the club - supporters included. So you'll have to excuse me if there is an element of schadenfreude to see him struggle a little and Saints competing with the team he left us for - that's football.

When are Saints being investigated for stealing £16m from Arsenal?

Still better than Liverpool and would have had a penalty and a man advantage for 85mins had the Ref got the first of his big decisions right.