UpweySaint

Surely it depends who is officiating?!

I clearly did not call him a flash in the pan. He had not reached his prolific potential in his time with us. He showed potential and, after leaving, went on to realise this potential. MLT could be class when surrounded by even better players but, as all the tactical analysis suggests, our high press only works when everyone presses. No doubt Le Tiss would be a fantastic addition to ANY side if he could fit into our set-up without changes to accommodate him is debatable.

Niemi for Boruc Anders for JWP Past that i'm not sure. Would love MLT but it'd require a change of formation to accommodate for him, Theo showed flashes of his talent before he left us so not sure he's a fair pick, Shearer again the same as Theo. In HIS prime I'd take him all day long but for his time with us maybe not.

If nothing else it is a good negotiating tool. If our starting position trying to make a deal if "we have mega bucks and need x player" his price automatically rockets. If we go into talks with a we can take it or leave it position hopefully we will be in a strong position to make a good deal should the opportunity arise. We can have no plans to move into the market but I am sure there are players whose availability would bring us, and most top clubs, in.

Too soon for JWP and Shaw and don't feel Rodriguez or Clyne will come into the thinking until post Brazil however the future looks very bright and nice to see people taking notice of our players!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1847036-charting-the-evolution-of-england-new-boy-jay-rodriguez An interesting article hopefully!

Hindsight is a lovely thing aint it! I stand by my conviction that having a variety of players allows us to play different systems when or if required with players with more natural width being something we dont have. Also, to be fair, most of us suggested signing what Hodgson has called "wide forwards" such as Ince who could play out wide in a four or in a front three.

Cliche but had Colbacks tackle been anywhere else on the pitch ...he's got Chambers arm and has pulled him down, a foul for sure, how much of one is speculative.

Not exactly a worldie but they all count, maybe worth chucking Lallana on and going for it!

Have to say it is good to see how much depth we have, even if we don't get the win here we have looked more then competitive against a near full-strength sunderland side. Stand out is Cork so far, no surprises but Reed (I think it's Reed! The feed isn't fantastic and he's not exactly as recognizable as others yet!) looks promising and Chambers looks assured, good to see him kicking on.

Good to see Cork still looking class! Gaston movement off the ball good finish not so ... hope he gets another chance soon and pings it in, could do with the confidence.

http://nutjob.eu/njtvx17.html best of the lot for me chaps

Wont get into the wrongs and rights of what we've done but I would like to weigh in on the whole "it wouldn't make a difference if we dropped prices" issue. For me, personally, it would. I find that between travel and tickets football is a very expensive pass time for those on a student budget! It would be great to see the club give a little back to our fans to show appreciation for our following (ok im a optimist!).

Richards has barely played! In terms of form no contest but ability and experience? For me, at this time, Richards. Young though I will give you, the lad is dross!

I'd suggest a touch of saints tinted specs is at play but for sure Hodgson could do worse then having Clyne in his squad to see how he stacks up (though personally I think Richards, if he could get a run of injury free games, is the best of the bunch at for England). Cleverly I think some of the criticism goes too far, sure there is a bit of big club thinking in him making the England squad (on current form and with his lack of game time he shouldn't be in!) but I think he is a talented player who's development is stifled by sitting on a utd bench. In an everton, wba, swansea or even saints side I firmly think he has enough ability to blossom into international material (though I don't believe he is there yet and, as it stands, I would certainly take our AL to the world cup over him!).

Cheers pal!

I fancy people are being a touch too black and white about this. Progress in the cup could help build momentum for the league while on the other hand a good league finish this year might help us solidify the gains we have made and have a crack at trophies year on year if we build on the side (ifs and maybes for sure but thats sort of the point!). My own opinion is, as much as I would love a cup run, I am prouder of our reputation for bringing through the academy talents and, if that means giving them experience in the cups, so be it.

Just to add on - Dixon identified the trigger as being when the closest man to the ball decides to press others went with him, used an analogy of them being tethered by a length of rope and that it only worked if they stayed as such. Has to be said Dixon and his co-commentator (whose name escapes me!) were very complimentary and insightful.

Fair point, was not too expensive but (I know Osvaldo) his off the field issues are a factor worth considering and how they might impact on his teammates.

I always had a soft spot for Crouch and Super Kev but, perhaps stranger, lloyd james. Always thought he'd make it and was dissapointed to see him drop down the leagues.

Back on topic I'd say a solid B for our window, not perfect but, on reflection, a very decent one. Yes we signed some players with real pedigree but it is fair to say they may need time to settle, still though, a plus. Didnt look like having to panic on losing our better players for once, a major plus. Trimmed plenty of the fringe players and tied down the prospects to contracts, good business. Let go of Puncheon (yes im well aware higher football brains made the decision but as a fan on a forum I can still grumble about it) without bringing in a replacement for what was an important part of our team last season (Redmond is looking like a steal for Norwich and I was eager for us to sign him up all summer), the only major minus for me. Missing out on a few other players who went elsewhere and we, perhaps, could have got will always happen.

Ok that was a bit uncalled for ...

Oh dear referencing yourself in third person is a rather worrying sign ... Nevertheless, no matter how valid your point may or may not be, if you keep harping on about it like a prat people will generally stop listening. We know you think Ramirez always has and always will be a terrible football player and there is a mass conspiracy of people telling you he's good ... maybe stop going on about it? ... Or just copy and paste something generic about him being utter tosh and save yourself some time

So ... we dont seem to be getting much help from the officials so far this season! Nevertheless a point or more was there for the taking and im dissapointed once again we couldnt create enough clear cut chances. The first two subs frankly left me baffled, Lallana was having one of his better games and looked most likely to create whereas having two strikers up top just was not working. Osavaldo looks to not yet be on the same wavelength as others and probably should have came off earlier. Why Wanayama stayed on instead of Morgan I will never know. MPs post match will be interesting for sure. My biggest concern was with us seeming to be attempting to go "like for like" with Norwich as it were. Tactically we got it wrong with Osvaldo and Lambert seeing very little of the ball in the right areas and our play rarely pushed into the space left by Redmond and Snodgrass getting forward. Last year when we played them we kept trying to play through the middle and Turner/Bassong were solid yet we tried exactly the same again and came up short, lessons to be learnt ... Positives though Chambers looked decent, JWPs dead ball delivery looks a real asset, Lallana looks back to his best (I hope!), Lovren barely puts a foot wrong and Boruc genuinely fills me with confidence.

You need pace and proper wide men if you're essentially playing four four two with two big men up top ... Norwich knew this yet we didn't. We were not terrible and im not hitting panic stations but do hope we have one more transfer up our sleeves otherwise JP could be a big miss imo!