Baird of the land

Good he’s got opportunity to go back to where he was clearly rated and playing well. Looks a good place to build his post saints career.

My guess is that diallo’s arrival is exactly what has put his nose out of joint.

Disappointing news. Was him not starting against Shrewsbury related to It.

Thought Vokins was a lot worse than Valery last night. I'd guess Ralph agrees as he dragged Vokins off to put a midfielder in his place.

That’s idiotic imo. He just looked jaded today. Just swap him out for Redmond for a game and use him as an impact sub instead.

The predicable result given the injuries and quick turnaround. Thought we actually played reasonably well. We essentially had almost a complete second string defence and it showed. SHame after taking a quick fie lead to let it slip away. They exposed the fullbacks. Valery i thought improved in the 2nd half. Vokins was very poor. Diallo caught out for the 3rd as a makeshift left back. Walcott looked very jaded. Good to see Redmond back, maybe start him instead at the weekend. Ings off par. Hopefully it was just the turnaround and he'll be fresher at the weekend.

Well as feared the drop in quality at fullback is very noticeable. Disappointed in Vokins performance, was hoping he might step up. Some bright attacking play but maybe a game too far with injuries and short turnaround.

Yeah I don’t see saints being willing to let him leave for nothing no matter the spin Semmens understandably is putting out. Most likely scenario is that he leaves in summer for best money we can negotiate like hojberg. Best case scenario is that clubs interested aren’t ones Danny is interested in & we’ve done well enough that he decides to come back to the table.

Yep, doesn't seem an isolated case. Govt trade advisers appear to be advising companies to do such.

Got some reservations about the notion of a 3 year contract. Maybe two years with the option of a third if he plays a certain amount of games might be the way forward, so that if he's still first choice in year 2 he gets the 3rd.

Curious about the starting xi. Mccarthy in for Forster. Assume Vokins will be in for suspended Bertrand. Is Romeu going to be fit if so i'd be tempted to bring him in for Diallo(just to freshen midfield). Also know we've in the past had concerns regarding Armstrong's body handling these sharp turnarounds. Only really got Watts available though unless Redders is back fit.

A nice problem to have. Hopefully Romeu is back fit and can start against Arsenal Tuesday, giving us a set of fresh legs.

Great result. I thought we were dominant for the first hour and managed the last half hour well. Bednarek my MoM. Mopped up splendidly. Not a fan of the ref. Giving a corner when it was either a penalty or a goal kick. Booking Stephens for hurdling pepe. Booking bertrand for a foul, a minute after not booking Partey for a similar foul on Bertrand. k

Just a shame we couldn't get a 2nd goal for all that domination.

why have arsenal 2 gk's on their bench?

Arsenal current no.2 has been dreadful anytime he's been called upon.

Do think the Man City offside goal is one where the laws are just badly devised.

Was really hoping he'd be a figure we could build around in the same way Leicester have been able to do with Vardy. Really disappointing after all the forward progress we're likely going to have to play russian roulette in buying some rough diamond to replace him with.

If the release fee is so low it's akin to him saying he doesn't want to sign a new contract.

Professional display. Frustrating not to be able to put it to bed earlier. Watts was probably the brightest of the youngsters. Hopefully we can start getting one or two back.

Long looking a bit better this half, dropping deeper to link up play after an anonymous 1st half.

Ok first half given the different team. N'lundulu bright again, his goal seemed a bit scuffed but nice movement beforehand. Valery looking good going forward though not as good as KWP defending. Hopefully we can grab a couple of quick goals and then rest more first teamers

I really hope he signs but it's looking worrying. If he doesn't i really hope it's not because we've not been prepared to push the boat out & it's just that he set his mind on leaving.

I'd argue the opposite. Far better to give Vokins a run out this game to see what he can do as we may need him to fill in for Bertrand. Bertrand could still come in for potential Arsenal tie.

Game really changed on the goal. We'd been the better team. Not to excuse the individual errors in build up but Diallo non foul was inconsistent with how ref handled fouls rest of game. Afterwards Leicester could sit and pick us off(which is their preferred away strategy) as we had to go more and more aggressive and rode our luck defencively. Unlucky with the Armstrong chance that hit the bar. Still not a bad display given the players that were out.Impressed by N'lundulu. Long though really not looking a premier league level striker anymore. Another wide player (Smallbone out). We're worrying short in that position now. Hopefully Ings comes back from Covid without any ill effects.