Lallana's Left Peg

Yep, plus was subbed after 20mins last season home vs. Villa after starting there. To be fair he does play very well there for the U21's and has made the position his own.

Regarding JWP, he was namechecked by Hodgson earlier this season when talking about players to play at the base of midfield in front of the back four. I think Carrick and Wilshere were the other players mentioned. Wilshere is injured...

When clubs publish scouting attendee lists at their games (or rather, what clubs are represented) the papers then have to guess who we were there to watch - they have a 1 in 22+ chance of getting it right. I doubt we were there scouting Odegaard - our link to him in December was because some in Norway suggested we'd be a good club for him and then that rumour spiralled out of control. So he seems like a natural fit for us now after learning we had scouting representation at that game. Slattery is going to be an interesting one - he's been fastracked to the U18's this season but in general the U18's aren't very good at all (their intake year was around the time we went into Admin) and I can't see too many of them getting contracts after their two year scholarship has finished. There would be a home for him in the U21's where we lack a natural attacking midfielder however is it wise to introduce a 16 year old to that level of football all the time? Not sure myself but he won't be satisfied struggling with others in the U18's. Great talent though.

If all the players ahead of Bertrand were in form and / or playing then he shouldn't be in the squad. But they're not. And the disappointing thing would be that should he not receive a call-up for his form over the last 9 or so months it sends a bad message to other English players at 'big' clubs - being a bit-part player at those clubs is seen as more important to the national team than playing regularly and performing.

You can't, which is why it happens. The game moves too quickly for the existing officiating set-up, which means it is prone to numerous officiating errors. Much of that is a part of the game (I would personally find it very boring if the game was devoid of Ref errors and every decision was correct) however until diving can either be retrospectively punished (unlikely given the current rules) or the players become more honest (never going to happen) then diving will always happen.

Burnley play direct and organised. It'll be the same as when they came to St Marys last season and went for it. If we can deal with the long balls and workrate of their forward players you'd like to think the quality we have at the other end of the park will create some chances - whether or not we have the guile to take them based on current form will be another matter. They'll play two up front so there should be plenty of space for us 'between the lines' if we move the ball quick enough. Could be a good game for players who can beat a man and create some space for others too.

They all made good choices for their career though. And they will all earn millions more than had they stayed at Saints. They will all succeed apart from Lovren I think - but even then he'll make an obscene amount of money so he won't be too bothered. The main thing is that we appear to have invested the money well (or rather, better than average) so everyone wins.

At the time it didn't seem a bad shout though. He got to stay in the area, and although Reading were as good as down their financial situation appeared far better on the face of it (and even if not, they had the parachute payments to fall back on) as well as a half-decent Academy and a respected DoF in Nicky Hammond. Can certainly see why he took the job.

From what I remember our fee for him was going to tribunal until we settled before the hearing. There were rumours of a sell-on fee being agreed, especially as the fee (reported ~£2m) was so cheap.

The length left on a players contract definitely impacts his transfer fee. Southampton will not reject a decent offer (£15m is very decent in the circumstances) for another season of service if the player will leave for free at the end of it. It would be mad. We can do so much more with the money than presume it best not attained because we might try and get in the CL next season.

Not sure if true or not but I found this: http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/calendar2015.html

McCarthy isn't an obvious replacement - he is more of a central defender (quite limited going forward too) and at this stage the backup for Clyne on the right is Alderweireld with Yoshida coming into the middle. If Clyne leaves we will 100% sign a first choice replacement.

I think Europa League - even automatic group stage qualification - would disrupt our season too much anyway so I wouldn't mind the extra four games (and two away trips!) myself!

He won't have much of a pre-season though as he'll be an integral part of a side representing the best English players under 21 at the European Championships this summer. His form isn't great but he has plenty of quality.

*If* he is done, how does medical insurance work these days? Would we get compensation? A bit grim to discuss but I guess being out for a year and not even back in training is more than a tad worrying.

Sorry - I should have made it clear - England U21's.

He was absolutely awesome yesterday: I am not sure how on earth we can replace him. If we could, others would be buying the player in the first place.

JWP needs a set position and more of an identity to his game. He has the tools (technique and intelligence) to do it. I am confident he will. For now we should be happy this is another good young player happy to commit his future to Saints and understand that players develop at different speeds and not always at the same rate as well. When you see him play for the U21's he stands out as a very very good player - have some patience. That said, its the crunch time of the season and maybe time we do whatever it takes to see if the Top 4 is attainable.

The most annoyed I have seen him is when he was constantly asked about Liverpool's ex-Saints the week of the Liverpool home game. He showed annoyance but didn't act aggressively - he got his point across and the press conference moved on. I imagine Koeman is used to pressure situations as a player and this prepared him well for management.

Maybe so but when you are the lone striker in a football team full of good midfielders you need to score goals. I'm not expecting a prolific striker at all but he is not a good finisher and it has and will cost us points. His other contributions are important but are they as tangible as the goals he misses out on? I am not so sure. Hard to conclude one way or another but if he is to play up front for us I want to see goals.

I can't work out his style - if he's dong a Yakubu / Hazard style thing of placing it via bad contact but at the last second after seeing where the keeper is diving or if this sort of penalty is his 'thing'. Either way it scares the living daylights out of me.

It was Hazard - I think it was a fair shoulder barge. I don't like the way players get penalised for being stronger than the other these days. JWP has bulked up but he is still relatively small for the hustle and bustle of the Premier League. I think Mike Dean let a lot of contact go yesterday and I quite enjoyed it.

Can't finish for toffee and that is disappointing considering how few and far between chances have been for a few months and how much money he cost the club. Enjoy his workrate and what else he brings to the team but we need quality at this stage of the season.

I think I'd rather have a Manager who can show he can cope with the pressure of the relegation fight by answering questions in a far less aggressive manner and showing he is controlled and measured.

Sometimes the best person to take the set piece is determined by the angle or personnel on the field (and who will be attacking the delivery) and often in this case a decision won't be made who is the best candidate to take it unless you go to where the ball will be delivered from. Also if you have two people there who will take the set piece with different feet then the defence can't settle for an inswinging or outswinging delivery.