5string

I rate him highly for attacking intent, energy, drive. He can't shoot, though.

Loose passing from defence & midfield is NOT what we need right now! And yes, Leicester's tactics seem to be to increase the physicality. Argh! What an awful shot from Hoj!

VvD off. Definitely need a 3rd goal now.

We've now leapfrogged Sunderland & Hull in league goals scored this season

Leicester don't look like a great team - we're attacking them and finding space quite easily. But, they do look like they could break quickly and cause problems that way. We've dealt with it so far, but Gray needs watching. We've played just as well as we've played in most games [usually for 20-minute periods] this season - we've just sustained it for longer... maybe due to Leicester's inadequacies? And, we've got some of the luck that leads to goals (JWP's good connection, header down into JRod's path).

Boom-de-boom! 2-0 JRod! JWP free kick, knock down, boof!

Ahem! Post 16. Can I claim some credit?

Oh-ho, this is looking good. My slow stream has nothing, but Sportinglife text commentary says 1-0 Saints! ...and.... there it is! Whammo! JWP! Haha, what was I saying??? Nice one, son!

Is that the Rio Grande B&B, in Clacton?

Haha, maybe. Wasn't having a dig, just thought JWP was an attacking mid and in all our attacks I haven't noticed him being involved - by now he should be a key figure in that way, shouldn't he? I may just have missed his input, though. [hopefully this will trigger a goal from him now... ssshhhh!]

shot-cross-slice-miss from attacking central midfield, 35 yards out. Best I can do, I'm afraid!

Unlucky JRod - good defending, to be fair. Haven't seen JWP yet - only Saints player I haven't seen/heard being mentioned.

Hoj over the bar - slightly awkward shooting chance. Decent attacking, no end product yet.

3 times the chance of getting relegated than winning the league? NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

... me again, then! 21) Fonte has left. Ok, this may seem like a negative at first, but I think recently he seems to have been putting a bit of a downer on things. Understandably after being left out of Euro games (I'd be hacked off, too), but still a bit unprofessional - 'professional' footballers who are stroppy like that lose a bit of my respect. Anyway, as a result, maybe the dressing room might be more positive now? We'll see... Also, we get cash. Oi, Les! As you're buying: new striker, mate! And half a shandy for the missus!

10) Pied will play for us one day, soon-ish. 11) With Gardos coming back, that's 2 extra defenders for the potential loss of only 1 (Fonte). 12) Our 'goalscorers' are... scoring goals again: JRod, Long, Redmond. 13) Tadic can only get better than currently. 14) Boufal didn't go to ACN so we might get him back [hopefully] sooner than if he had gone. 15) We still have VvD - and he's rested. 16) Soares is on form (thank god because Martina was ****e last night... sorry, positives only, positives...) 17) Best 'joint' cup runs for years, probably 18) Despite our apparent bad form, we are still mid-table. Imagine what could be if we get form back. 19) Selling Fonte gives us more cash for a better striker.... come on, Mr Reed, do the maths. and finally... 20) We. Are. THE SAINTS!!! COYS!!

I like the idea of a rating system, although no doubt some would gang up on specific individuals and deliberately low-rate them. Mods could monitor & regulate? Many Comments sections on media pages have YouTube style 'thumbs-up/thumbs-down' options. It would change the overall look & feel of the forum, though. For the better? I don't know. I do understand it can't be easy to allow freedom of speech/thought/expression, while regulating over-the-line comments and posters.

This thread is slowly turning into the string of 'comments' about named (pseudonym-ed?) individuals that the OP is suggesting we try to avoid. There's probably some psychological terminology for this, isn't there? Or is it just irony? For my part, I maintain some anonymity due to my job and the expectations which come with it. I do enjoy reading the differing opinions and my own opinion can change during the course of following a match - I'm frequently proved wrong, so I'm fairly open-minded, especially as I'm not the most knowledgeable about the club (haven't lived near Southampton since I was 16). 'Willing to learn', though. I try to skip over the string of antagonistic personal bs and look for the comments about the football. Nevertheless, I've followed Saints for over 40 years and I have opinions, so I'll voice them if I feel like it. But (and it's an important one for me), I try to remain diplomatic. Insulting, inflammatory or taunting comments aren't smart and, quite frankly, they're not necessary on a written forum where posters get to consider what they're typing before clicking on 'post quick reply'. Football is an emotional game and joy, anger, frustration, etc. etc. are to be expected, but come on, people. Chats in the pub can generate misplaced comments, understandably (less time to think), but an internet forum? Really? I will finish by saying that I think some posters on here do [deliberately?] misunderstand when a tongue-in-cheek comment has been made, as opposed to a strong heartfelt opinion.

Disappointing. Again.

I feel we're attacking from too far out. By that I mean our 'final ball' isn't from the edge of the box, but from 30 yards out. No real chance for strikers from that. Well saved Heaton. JWP unlucky again from the rebound.

To be fair, he's made a couple of decent saves this match - just not that one!

NNNOOOOOOO!!!

Good ball in from JWP. Scrambled off the line by Burnley! How are we not poking these in?

Slightly disappointed Tadic is off - not his best game, but not his worst either. Burnley were nervous of him, though. They might be more confident now. Ok, Long & JRod in attack. Lets see how it works.

Extra rubber on them, I think. Keeps bouncing out. Game's more open now - does that suit us against Burnley at home?