5string

I now sense this will be the pundits' choice of result: plucky Saints did well (effort to keep Saints fans onside) but the correct result happened (for the majority shareholders). Please prove me wrong, Saints. Come on!

10 minutes - we can get another one back. Come on!

YAHAAAAAAAAAA!! AUSTIN!! Nice weave & cross from ... Tadic? No, Cedric. Wellfukme!

Ref giving us nothing. Nothing! Saints players now look resigned to that fact, too. Reminds me of when DiCanio nearly walked off the pitch cos the ref was so bad.

Long! No! Offside! Aargh!

Hoj good effort. Ok, we seem to have some spirit that's been lacking for about... hmmm... *checks how long MoPe was manager...

Good save McCarthy

That's the spirit! Ooh yeah! Be brilliant if it happened

Well, we scored, but this match proves we're just not good enough to be in this company. Championship beckons - time to get rid of chaff & do a rebuild. Including executives & management/coaching. We need a long-term plan again.

Arsenal seem to have picked it up a bit. Our defence still look like they don't know each other.

A recent video showed Hughes telling a player [Pied?], if in trouble play it forwards instead of back. So our quality, intelligent professional footballers interpret that has 'hoof it'.

We replaced a midfield of Schneiderlein & Wanyama with [initially] JWP & Romeu. Spot the difference. Ok, so we also got Lemina & Hojbjerg. Hmm, still not there. In defence... no need to say anything, except "Clyne vs Cedric" or "VvD + Fonte vs Hoedt + Stephens". Imbalanced equations, there. Attack? Pelle, Mane, JRod replaced by Austin, Gabbiadini and, er, Carrillo(?!). Is it really so hard to see where it's all gone bad? These are just examples, of which I'm sure there are many more. Our recruitment after selling good players has been sub-standard. We've not replaced like-for-like, instead going for 'potential'. We're a Premier League club Ffs! We shouldn't be buying 'potential', we should be getting 'ready-made'. The players we've sold had heart and fight, if not all the time, then at least some of the time. Their replacements (maybe except Austin) haven't. Too late now.

Seems to me the players don't much care for playing against lowly opposition. Bet they raise their games against Arsenal & Chelsea - marketing themselves. Still won't be good enough, however, which means we're ultimately doomed. Board should either resign (preferred) or start planning to rebuild properly next season for a bounce-back. Kick out lots, buy in lots, get passion back into the side.

Streamed. Yes, they are that bad. Keep losing it, then not really trying hard to get it back. No penetration when going forward, lose it easily. Defence not really, er, defending. I'm offski - had enough. I only do this for 2 reasons: 1. I'm inherently an unlucky person, so if I stop watching that raises Saints' chances of getting something, by an iota at least, in superstitious terms. Hope it works. 2. I didn't pay for a ticket. I pity those that did. Really hoping we suddenly turn it around, but I can't see it now. The hope won't die until it's mathematically impossible, but it's hard to watch this happening. Be nice if the players showed a bit of heart & urgency. COYS!

As well as playing us off the park, WHam also seem to be kicking us off the park and getting away with it. Whereas we slightly touch them & it's the big whistle. Ok, 0-3 now. Not looking good.

Well, I'm a fan of 2 strikers - I suppose 4-4-2 is one way to fit that in. However, I'm not knowledgeable enough to know whether it would work at the top level or not. It seems not, for us.

Right, come on Saints! Time for a massive comeback! 3-2 win coming right up.

We need to!

What!! What happened??!! FFS!

We made that easy for them. Ok, 2+ goals for us, then.

Never thought I'd ever read that.

Whoof! Well defended, Hoedt! A break and a GOOOOOAAAAAALLLL!! Cedric! Wow!

Trying to remember we're winning this match. Not easy when commentators are wearing blue scarves. COYS!

That's a good way of explaining it. Thanks. Right, Carrillo off, Long on. 10 minutes to go.

We lose.