Lighthouse

So often people make the mistake of thinking form is permanent. 6 weeks ago people were talking about relegation, "if we only win 1 more game in our last 19" now people are talking about overhauling a 7 point gap on Man City. Neither is realistic, City will improve and sooner rather than later we will let in a few goals again. 5th though is definitely up for grabs. How sweet would it be to finish above all the defectors at Liverpool and Utd. 21 points from our remaining 12 games would see us top last year's points tally. 6W 3D and 3D, that's got to be a realistic challenge. No reason we can't win all 4 in March. Bompey, Stoke and Sunderland, then Liverpool at home. Villa and Newcastle in April, then finishing at home to Palace are all in the winnable category. That's assuming we get nothing from Chelsea and City at home, as well as trips to Spurs, Leicester and Everton.

I think it's more a case of having a lot of coveted talent at the same time. Young English players have always been in big demand and attracted inflated fees. A few years ago Villa couldn't hold on to Young, Downing, Barry and now Delph. Before that it was West Ham with Defoe, Lampard, Ferdinand and Carrick. The last couple of years it's been our turn and soon it will be someone else. Probably Everton with Stones and Barkley.

I think Yoshi and Gardos re about the right level for back up CBs for a club our size. They are both decent centre halves who are happy to compete for places but don't throw they toys out if they are second fiddle to Fonte and VvD. Pretty much everyone looks 'shaky' when they are playing intermittently. Given a run in the side Yoshida has been pretty good for us, playing at CB and Gardos had some excellent games too, like the win at Old Trafford. I'd take them over someone like Jakobsson, Davenport or Higginbotham any day.

He doesn't have one. All his opinions involve other Saints fans being wrong in some way.

I'd say some of the stuff the Japanese did in China is probably up there. For another supposedly well developed nation to commit similar atrocities has got to be right up there with the holocaust. Some of the insane medical experiments they tried on Chinese civilians were just horrific. The Soviets were equally unpleasant against many of their own civilians. They may not have perfected the same industrial infrastructure of murder that the Nazis did but they wiped out a few million innocent people.

Paul Smith against Arsenal and Spurs both stick in my mind.

If it's going to be a fun team, Ostlund needs to be in there. I'd say pick a couple of squads from Kelvin, Bart Ostlund, Butterfield, Richrdson, Thomas, Fonte, Hooiveld, Perry, Harding, Fox Waigo, Puncheon, Idiakez, Antonio, Hammond, Cork, Prutton, Skacel, Le Tiss, Tadic Lambert, Barnard, Guly, BWP, Saganowski, Pahars, Rasiak, John I know he never played with Pahars and Le Tiss but come on, 2 teams from that lot would be a laugh. I'm assuming the big clubs won't let the likes of Morgan, Bale and AOC out to play but it would be great if they were in there too.

Didn't Pandiani go one better that night and score before he'd even been registered for Brum?

Leandre Griffit came on for his debut in the 82nd minute against Blackburn and scored in the 87th. Saganowski hit the bar about 15 seconds into his I think, what a start that would have been. David Connolly can't have been on more than 10 minutes against Oldham either.

As hard as he worked, I always wondered how high we could have finished in 2003 had Pahars stayed fit. 10/10 for effort but I don't think he contributed anything like enough goals. I think he managed 5 league goals that year, plus a few against Tranmere and Watford.

Has just put in 64 minutes at Anfield. Fair play, he's still playing at the ripe old age of 38. What's your favourite memory of him? Mine is his goal against the skates in the cup. Kostas Chalkias on his Pompey debut was just stood there like a statue, watching it fly in.

Austin put a few past us for Swindon in League 1, then against us for Burnley in the Championship (assisted by a certain Jay Rodriguez) and then again for QPR last year when Pellè scored the overhead belter. As anyone else scored against us for 3 different clubs?

Have we ever gone unbeaten in 3 consecutive trips to OT? Nothing to fear for us here. All the pressure is surely on them.

We've come along way from people singing 'Charlie Austin sucked my cock' at Swindon 6 years ago.

WTF? You'd turn down £18m for Long? He's been better this season but I'd still take anything at or above what we paid for him.

Who better to teach our young keepers how to flap at crosses and spill low shots at the near post?

Are you suggesting that Osvaldo, Ramirez, Tejera, Sarmiento, Delgado, Chala, Arias, and St Juste were unsuccessful?

I doubt he minds picking up sloppy sec... Thir... Whatever, at his age

Gazza is good but no Mario Licka IMO.

'Ave it

New 6 episode mini-series has been announced by BBC2.

Liverpool are sleepwalking into relegation, thanks to the vocal minority who opposed Hoddle in 2004.

F**k off

This with Pellè and Forster.

Must have really impressed them during that cup game.