NewYorkSaint

I truly believe if he improved his English this summer, people could yet take to him. There's a wise football brain in there, but the fact that we fans, and maybe the players too at times, don't get to see it clearly, has not done him any favours. The Echo doesn't help either by transcribing his comments word for word, instead of - like the BBC and ever national newspaper - editing for intent.

The football's often been attractive, and sometimes thrilling... just our usual story this season of not finding the final ruthless shot. We're really not that far away from an amazing team. I think if Puel worked on his English this summer and better communicated what I believe to be an impressive footballing brain, we could end up much happier about him. That, and an effective striker!

Superbly focused defending. Cedric incredibly impressive. US commentators first thought pen, then looked again and agreed Forster got touch. They had the ball, but we had the best chances. Redmond is such an exciting player. The combo w Gab and Tadic really promising. holding out for a spectacular second half team goal!

Fantastic team performance. Really superb. NBC commentators oohing and ahhhing over Saints silky one-touch play. To have 2 top midfield players out and still be able to do that is amazing. Classie and Holberg were strong. Redmond superb. Yoshida and Stephens rock solid. And Forster! Made me v happy to see him at his best. He was extraordinary... My MotM. Puel has to take a lot of credit too. He has Saints playing beautifully. Beautifully! Even when half our team injuredvor suspended. Great great afternoon.

...and now equal on 33% each.

What amazed me re Redmond's second goal was how deceptive he was. Bringing the ball forward in the penalty area, he looked the whole time to be shimmying for a pass to his right. The sudden explosive shot was incredible. It was close to their keeper, but completely surprised him. Glorious goal. Redmond shone all game. He's going to be a huge part of Saints for a while to come.

That was so fun to watch! We def need VvD back or Cacares to lift our defense, but the front half of the team on fire. Rest of the season could yet surprise us. 36 points still to play for. We're 11 points behind Everton in 7th. That's not completely out of reach.

Fantastic first half by Saints. A clear class above Watford. Looking at this, and last Sunday, you could say that the form table for the remaining games could easily have us top 4/5 clubs. We may yet surprise people w our final league position. Stunned at how well Tadic, Redmond, JWP, Davies, Gabb are combining. Really exciting to watch.

The point about the longer contracts we now have is that they vastly increase the club's negotiating power. Any departure is something of a game of chicken. Player: "I've been offered 2x my wages elsewhere. Cash in and let me go." Club: "No, you're worth more to us." Player: "But this is really demotivating for me... do you want that?" Club: "You'll get over it after a few weeks on the bench. We know you don't want to sabotage your career." Now it's true that even with 4 years to run, in an extreme case the player can still go on strike and everyone loses. But it's much more likely, provided the player is convinced the club are serious, that he'll back down and continue w his contract for at least another year. Or try to reach an understanding that IF he stays, and IF his transfer offer exceeds a certain level that the club will let him go. Krueger's comments are an early indication that management are going to take a firmer stance. I see it as hugely positive. It's true that a truly outrageous offer for someone may still get their attention, but I'm hopeful that this time it will indeed be different.

What's up with everyone? We've played some really exciting football. Gabiadini looking incredible add. J-Rod had some stunning moments. Yes, our midfield have been asleep twice for the goals, not shutting down. But that second goal wasn't Forster's fault, i don't think. It took a deflection. It's just one those really unlucky goals. Man up, people!

Stunning performance. Absolutely masterful from Puel. His two subs... including Sims - the audacity! ....combine for the perfect punctuation. Forster! Stephens! Romeo! Yoshida! Heroes all.

Some sensational play by Saints. Redmond! He's suddenly looking as thrilling as Lallana or Mane at their best. Stephens a fantastic performance too. We so deserve to go through. What scares me is that if we find ourselves still 0-0 at 70 mins we may start to turn more defensive. In that scenario, I see Liverpool pulling out a goal in last 10 mins, and then another in extra time. We have to continue to press. There's a goal there for us. And when it goes in... it's game over. What a fantastic night so far.

Or lose 10-9. Just as good!

Absolutely chuffed for JWP. He gets stick on here, but puts incredible effort into improving his game, is always a high energy determined player, and has world-class dead-ball skill... The delivery for the second goal was incredible. That first goal half-volley will do wonders for his confidence. Have hopes he will go on to greater things over the next year. On Solent, and on NBC commentary, there was a lot of comment about our greater energy compared to Leicester (despite our cup came mid-week). This is not an accident. It's a a direct consequence of Puel's rotation policy. I truly think he deserves great credit for his energy management. Cedric and Maya superb today....... With Austin, Davis and Boufal coming back, and provided VVD not out for long, I can truly see us a shot at finishing 7th still. Meanwhile Wednesday will be huge. We have to go out and attack. We need a goal more than we need to avoid conceding. 1-2 loss will do just perfectly. After today we'll have belief the goals are there. Pumped!

So much of the moaning about Puel's rotation is based on mad numbers. He believes that for some of our players, the way to get the most out of them is to start them once a week. So in a period where we're playing two games a week, there are essentially four or five positions which shift. If you calculate rotations based on number of changes in each individual match over the prior game, that looks like a huge amount of rotation. But if you looked at just the teams picked for the premier league, there's far more consistency. Rotating back to the same-ish team time and again allows plenty of opportunity for players to learn each other's skills. Meanwhile, a broader squad is built with playing experience. I'm hopeful we see a great game tomorrow... (though we'll miss Davis. he's a rockstar).

Look, this was an amazingly good result for us tonight. Win + clean sheet. Our strategy at Anfield can't be just to park the bus. If we can score, they need THREE goals to go through. And they're vulnerable. I think we're going to go to Wembley.....

One thing at least looks clear. 8th is a better team than 9th. Fantastic to see Long back in black. The Tadic Boufal combo so promising. I'd like to see Sims given another run out at 60 mins.

Huge kudos to Puel today. Davis, an inspired sub. Sticking with Jay Rod… really brave. And wow did that pay off. But the real reason we won? Bournemouth ran out of energy. And we didn’t. Our players fresher. Yes the blitz of the first 10 minutes hurt us (typical of what we were doing under Poch). But we played the long game, and it totally worked today. I really do believe one of his greatest skills is managing player energy. We should back him. With Jay Rod’s confidence back, Boufal looking incredible, and renewed belief in the manager, we could be in for a wonderful few months.

Boufal feels like Mane did in his first dozen games here. Lots of promise, a lot of frustration too. Give him another dozen games and he could well become one of the premier league's superstars. It wasn't just the goal. He pulled off five or six brilliant turns and dribbles. Just need to cut out some of the mistakes, and we're all going to be a lot happier. J-Rod's final miss ... such a shame... but the fact that after 90 mins he was still moving like greased lightning to get into that position is at least a glimmer of hope. don't write him off. Phew! those 3 points feel very very welcome.

Frustrating half. A few positives. J-Rod looking sharp to me. Had one gorgeous flick at goal. Boufal clearly capable of magic. Screw-ups too, but real magic. Clasie has been aggressive winning the ball (but frustrating in front of goal). Amazing recovery by VVD after JWP's horror pass back. Tadic one or two genius moves along the goal line... None of it quite clicking though. But give Middlesborough some credit. They have an impressive high-press working, and it's unsettled us. It feels like being the other end of what Poch worked at Saints. Hoping they can figure out second half. That high-press strategy is tiring. Just maybe we come into it more as the game wears on.

Hapoel are a pretty good side. Top of their league by 10 pts. lots of confidence. really well organized. So we shouldn't be too harsh on our boys. I thought the first 20 mins pretty promising. We were winning most of the 50-50s at that point, and looking like imposing our will on the game. Rest of the half more frustrating, esp Austin's injury. What's dangerous is that even one goal doesn't help that much. An equalizer, and we're out. Which means we may start to hold back even more from about the 70th min. Which is dangerous. You can see them sneaking it in the last five mins. Redmond... I dunno. I think he's actually been quite lively. But the combos aren't clicking yet this eve. I'd like to see Tadic on at 60 mins...

fantastic win!!!

Redmond looking really lively today. exciting interplay w Sims and Bertrand.

Great half, and lovely riposte to all the neg crap spouted recently on Puel. Suppose we'd just spent £15m on Sims. We'd be pleased with his debut showing, no? V exciting when we unearth new talent. This season McQueen, Targett, and now Sims. Failure to look properly at our academy was Koeman's worst fault. Quite fitting to have that pointed out to him inside a minute. Sims made the opener. God, I hope we can hold on to this one.

So much pessimism. Every football game is combo of two different team's formation, playing styles, tactics, energy/motivation levels, and luck. There have been so many times a team performs amazingly one week, then next time inexplicably less so. We've had plenty of evidence this season that this squad, and this formation, and this manager can produce truly thrilling football. Personally, I'm holding out for something special tomorrow. Koeman's arrival will energise, and I think we'll see a few players encouraged to try something different. (We'll miss Tadic for sure. Yes, would love to see Boufal come through. But I remember how angry this board was with Mane 6 or 8 months after his arrival whenever he had a game when he screwed up a few times. Give him time...) Great football is not like a a giant manufacturing plant. You can't just switch it on and see it work the same way every time. It's much more like improvisational art. You can prepare for it, but stars need to align on the day for true magic to happen. Why not go into the game with at least a little excitement?!