UpweySaint

I think there was a suggestion that he very much agitated for the move which, so early into his career with us and considering what was going on at the club, struck a nerve with a fair few fans.

I think Pelle is worth a shout. He came in under enormous pressure and has been a massive part of how we play!

And our top scorer from last season is a long-term absentee often overlooked ...

Small margins though ... he was inches away from getting two or even three goals. If he has he would have been a hero. I agree with the sentiment that a goal may give him a touch more of his early confidence back but he's still playing well and his hold up/linking play is crucial to us just like Lambert last season.

Think Roko saying he was interested was more of a general comment. If he was asked if we were interested in Bale would he say no? Course not! Realistically any deal would be a long shot but stranger things have happened.

Wow. Another very poor goal to concede.

Can't hurt. A lot of his critics have suggested he is not physical enough to play in the engine room, hopefully he can add a bit of that to his game.

Shame for Hesketh, glad to see JWP back on at least. Looks like he has bulked out a little, been to the gym with Wanayama?

What can be added? Not clinical enough, few players not at their best, two soft goals, link-up play not at last years standards ... bench not exactly filled with options. Stuff we all know. We were the better side, could and should have won, and are still sitting 5th with some of the more difficult games out of the way. Glad to see Pelle back looking more like himself, Burnley will be a test but I hope we have enough to win. PS nice to see Hesketh make a debut, looked okay. Always delighted to see another one starting to come through, genuinely makes our club special!

He was poor but crikey some people! How long has he been with us? Has his dip not coincided with a general downturn and some tricky opponents? His link up play was not good enough but people forget last season's front three telepathy was built over time - we can't expect that right away from our new look attack. Either way who would people rather see play? We are not blessed with proven options.

Can't help but feel we look a little unbalanced lining up like this. Would rather see 2 of Tadic, Mane and Long alongside Pelle with another 'proper' midfielder in the middle.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/southampton/11261570/Victor-Wanyama-grateful-for-support-of-Southampton-family-ahead-of-clash-against-Manchester-City.html Not sure if it deserves it's own thread but found the paper also has a piece on Wanayama. Made for a good read.

Expensive yes but worth noting club have put on discounted coach travel (£5 return) to the game which is at least a decent gesture.

On further reading too true ... had only scanned the original point and not gone through the thread when posting. Glad to see others are as positive about Mane's potential

This. Fair play to Roko for trying to adapt even if it did not work. We did look a tad unbalanced but Villa's gameplan (credit due it worked for them dull as it was!) caused us issues.

Couldn't disagree more with this! Not his best last night but who played well? Can't think of many players who did themselves justice ... The lad is young, new to the league and, last night, we were playing a different shape. Give him half a chance before writing him off at least. His pace, trickery and directness offers us another dimension to our play. Just look at the Stoke goal, showed just that!

Agree for the most part though I would take an Everton v West Ham draw - West Ham are up with us but I would fully expect Everton to be there or thereabouts too by the time May rolls around. Also as above, find it odd when people say they don't look out for other results! Prefer our team to be focused on the task at hand but, as fans, of course we look at the permeations of results just to see how much we can dream or, often, how much we should be worried!

Decent finish but should have been tighter ... need to sit tight with the ball and settle back in.

We could never really do that ... does not mean we might not challenge for European places, just be doing it 'the Southampton way'. Targett had looked assured when called upon, the academy keeps on producing decent players ... rather see us, where possible, give them the chance to push into the first team rather than constantly seeking external recruitments.

Warne's hair is glorious!

My god how much I pray we finish above Liverpool this season ... the more he tries to explain himself the more of an a**e he comes across!

Who knows eh! As ever a source wouldn't go a miss ... For him as top scorer I did chuck a few quid on him at the start of the season, he was 50-1! Admittedly those are the odds for a reason but if Costa succumbs to his injury issues and Berahino's form dips it is not impossible. Oh and Bearsy, nice thumbnail joke

wiziwig has some, only a couple in english

Fair enough. Rather hope Koeman is here for the long term mind.

I think you are seeing this with 'Boruc tinted' specs on. You may (may) know more than any of us about what went on between Roko and Boruc but, nevertheless, you cannot predict the future. Even if Roko had not given Boruc a fair chance Boruc could have trained hard and been patient. Should Forster have slipped up Roko may have given Boruc a chance and conceded he was wrong. Either way have to wonder why you are so keen to bang the drum on here when you have made quite clear you are not a saints fan?