Daft Kerplunk

we should probably agree to differ, and who cares anyway, every Saints played who went to Arsenal ultimately made a decision that has stopped their progress as players,

Plenty of experts have said it, and it is perceptible to fans. Name the last player who Arsenal signed who actually improved as a player beyond just getting older and stronger? And then you have the answer. He is a great manager but developing players is not at all a strength, and players who go there, or any top club really should have done most of their growing as players before they arrive. All the Saints players who went to Arsenal would very likely be better players than they are now had they stayed with us for longer instead of being lured by more money and the glamour of 'training' with better players.

Probably because I have **** all influence over the manager's decision

do you not think the club has people who know exactly what needs to be done taking into consideration all the medical information currently available? !

It'll be interesting to see if these are the league positions come the end of the season. 7th would be good again

Attacking midfielders are fairly hard to come by though these days. Teams largely seem to operate with central midfielders including the more defensively minded and more forwards, just as we did on Saturday with what looked like a 4-2-1-2-1 formation.

What I want to know is will Spurs get in trouble for their activity and unsettling other club's players?

was more saying that a fully fit and firing team would probably feature Rodriguez. It is good that Pelle has competition/a foil to play alongside when different formations are needed. With the way the team was set out and played on Saturday, albeit against a weak Norwich side, we should be doing decent things again this season.

This is the strongest possible team, apart from Rodriguez.

The more I read people saying negative things about other cities the more I think perhaps people just have not been to many good cities. Southampton really doesn't have that much to sell itself currently but it is also a place of untapped promise. Just needs some non-shopping investment and for the people of the city to get on with doing stuff themselves. Norwich have always had a good following and have a big pride in their city. Bouncing back.

He played well today, most importantly was passing forward. A few sloppier moments but a far better performance. Classie to add more when he returns.

Whilst I would mostly agree, the joker in the pack is that if he really wants to move, then at a time when team unity is more important than ever, and freeing up wages would be useful, then it might be time to sell him if Spurs or anyone else agree to a fairly extortionate fee having encouraged the move via the media.

For the right money I'd let him go, Spurs can pay over the odds, and in two years he will leave to go elsewhere. It's fair enough, he was never here for the long haul, just someone to help the journey. Slot Reed in his place and let him grow with the responsibility.

Are you an insider?

The season starts this weekend after tonight's rubbish. The team and everyone needs to be up for it, and to avoid complacency. Anyone can go down, a lot of teams could do well. On the evidence so far we are bottom half. Something needs to happen, and quickly if the upwards trend is to continue.

A manager can only work with what he's given...board, it's over to you and my goodness we have dropped the ball

Is Ulrich Van Gobbel available?

Very badly advised to move for two reasons. A, too young to go as was still learning his trade, and b, who is the last player who went to Arsenal and improved? It has been said that Arsene is a good manager but not a good coach meaning that he doesn't really develop players. They either are good or not. See Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain as well who would have become better players had they stayed longer at Saints.

This

Ultimately it is unlikely, as at some point, the teams would realise they will also have a chance of being bottom of the league, as opposed to their dominance of the top positions they enjoy. There would probably be a market internationally but there are many pitfalls and clubs would probably have to start completely afresh, with all the big cities represented by new teams for it to really work. People compare the idea to US sports but the big difference is US sports have been city and territory based for a long time so loyalties aren't as entrenched. The problem now is the dominance the bigger teams have with the media who perpetuate the success f these clubs regardless of their ability to create teams. It would be nice if they celebrated the new teams breaking through instead but that will take time.

Maybe just maybe not spunking all the money on over-priced players has more to do with developing long-term, and maybe just maybe, Ralph Krueger is there to provide the leadership to get them there. Social media has made it more difficult to be a fan of a smaller club as we are open game to the media but even then, big clubs can shaft themselves. It is likely that Man Utd briefed the media they were after Neymar to make themselves look good to their 'fans' without remembering Barcelona are a bigger club than them thus making themselves look very foolish because the transfer is unlikely. As much as it is painful to lose players, it surely has little to do with asset stripping and maximising profit (not a bad thing in business though) when you can see money is being spent elsewhere, and invested in things behind the scenes to make things better for the future. Things don't just doesn't happen overnight.

I do believe a key character in players wanting to leave is Lallana more than any other. Once he had decided to leave, he was the first of the academy heart to decide saints didn't match his ambition, or that his agent had, or 'as I heard' his Dad had. Rumours were there that he was then actively encouraging other players to join him in leaving, and from there, a problem started. It's possibly something that will need another season and new leaders to come to fore to move on from those days.

Dortmund, and most German teams are now producing the best supporter experiences in the world. They are the very opposite of the passive fans most in England have become for whatever reason. We as Saints would lead the way in England if fans were a quarter (as a percentage) as good as Dortmund's fans.

Definitely missing something at the moment, losing 5 first team players (including Forster and Bertrand) means a big adjustment but we need to do something. Players arguing with each other over misplaced balls as well, never a good sign. Wanyama off the pace, Mane quick, tricky but very little end product ultimately. Frustrating time-wasting from them but they did exactly what is needed in European football. Score a goal and restrict the opposition from playing, which we went along with. We seem to have lost the patience and probing that was a feature of last season when things weren't going our way. Lessons to be learned, and fast

Even if the club are tempted to sell, it's probably the right moment to come out very strongly and say from now on players are only for sale when we want to sell them. The media seem to love taking us apart and it needs to be halted by a strong statement.