DuncanRG

Well, he's unlikely to play for Mexico or turn into a goose, but you know what I mean. Not every world beater looks it at 22, but he's going to be a very good player either way.

Long way to go but you can't look past Lallana. If he were fit all season then perhaps Lovren would be in contention but Adam's been absolutely phenomenal this year and nothing but injury looks likely to stop him. After that it's Fonte, Chambers, Shaw, Rodriguez.

Wanyama is full of potential. Anything could happen.

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Ah yes, pointing! We need a manager who points. Lambert gets lost and confused without a coach who can point to the penalty box. He gets scared and drops deep into midfield. 'What are you doing!?', screams Adam Lallana. Rickie can't hear him; he can't hear anyone. He feels pins and needles course through his body as he takes the ball on the centre circle and lays it off to Morgan Schneiderlin.

I'm not sure what Di Matteo has going for him. We've learnt that he let the senior players run the show in Chelsea's Champions League run.

I can't imagine Shaw will start.

Did Pochettino ever jump around and scream on the touchline? Honestly, this is garbage. We have no indication whatsoever of what his plans are in the summer. This is the wildest of wild speculation. But the club will be looking at potential replacements at the moment, so I suppose it's worth talking about in case he does go. Laudrup will go to a bigger club and Benitez is already at one. We'd be competing with Spurs for managers at that level. I doubt we'd get a big name.

There is more to it than that to be fair. He's tough and good in the air. But yes, a lot of work would be required.

One of the most remarkable stats this season is that we have kept clean sheets in all but one of our 10 wins. In other words, we have only once won a game in which we have conceded - and we were already *3-0 up when Hull scored against us. Now, our players are an ambitious bunch. They hold themselves to a very high standard and you can tell that the whole team feels the pain of conceding goals. But it's not a 'heads drop' situation as far as I can tell - we'll usually have another period or two of dominant play after conceding but things just don't work out as often. I think our confidence in finishing is quite low sometimes and drops further when we're chasing a game. It just seems to me that things have to go really well for us to get results. Is it that we open up after conceding and become vulnerable to counter attacks? That's been the case in a few games, including Spurs, Villa and Liverpool at home. Do you think we lack 'character', that vague quality that managers always like to ascribe to their players when they come from behind? I think we've got a terrific spirit and fight hard, but we do struggle to get results when the momentum's not with us. It's a different sort of character we've got. I'd be wary of blaming this on a single factory, be it profligacy or defensive frailty. We are joint sixth in the goalscoring charts (level with Everton on 38 goals) and joint seventh defensively (level with Liverpool on 35 goals conceded) but we're ninth on the one that counts. Just some food for thought.

We as a forum have spent a lot of energy complaining about Man Utd reserves getting called up for England - I wonder how we would celebrate if a Southampton reserve gets in. Clyne is good enough, though.

Never lacked effort, often lacked luck but always had the quality to be a key part of our team in the Championship. One of our very best players that season. He enjoyed some good patches in the Premier League as well, but I think he is coming to the end of his time here. Will wish him the best if he goes.

Maybe. He looks up to it physically but positioning and perception are crucial for centre halves, and that comes with experience. There's only so much we could do with him in preseason and it would be madness to throw him in at the deep end in the Premier League. I would suggest that, if we want to go down that route, we try him out in the League Cup...but as we all know, that would be a disgrace to our club.

Me too

We will be scouting out potential replacements. I would be livid if we weren't. The story does point out that these are contingency plans and doesn't suggest that Pochettino will leave, only that he might and that we're preparing in case he does. Who could argue with that?

Those are big asks. A top striker isn't easy to come by and every team does well when they're 'firing'.

I'm only thinking about whether Guly leaves - you're right that it'll only be one or maybe two for first XI contention. I'd include Mayuka as one in if he comes back into the fold. I suppose you don't want to stitch an entire new piece onto a team which has grown organically over the past few years...but if Lambert's not right that's all you can do.

Finishing is as much about practice as any skill. It's tough to compare us to Liverpool, who have the two top scorers and by far the best forward line in the league at the moment. But yes, we know that we need changes up front.

I expect we'll continue our current patchy form and finish in the low-to-mid 50s. Regain some momentum at home against Norwich/Newcastle/Cardiff and we might get something from Everton and/or Utd towards the end. I know we're having problems taking chances but defence will be crucial. It's remarkable how often we fizzle out once the opposition's scored. If we can shut teams out we'll get the necessary goals. Ha!

Pochettino was the manager when we were doing better earlier in the season. You've got to take the bad with the good. The cups were aggravating and there are things that could and should have been done better, but on the whole inflammatory threads like this are better suited for clubs in the bottom half. I want to aim higher as well, but I know we're capable of getting there. Hasn't gone all our way this season, ho-hum. Far more constructive to talk about what could be improved.

He's fourth choice but I think he'll still perform for England if/when called upon. He has a very different job in that team and is more than capable of doing it. It's a shame but it does look like we're going to need a complete overhaul of our strike force in the summer. We might see more of Gallagher, we might see Rodriguez coached to play through the middle but no matter what we're going to need at least two players in. It won't be easy.

Ninth in the league, next.

They're really not

It's got quotes...but I somehow doubt he told beIN Sports anything. Either way, the idea of 'jumping at the chance' is not in them or the original beIN Sports article. Those quotes constitute a perfectly reasonable answer, whether he said them or not. What I'm curious about is whether he answered in English, considering the grammar is so poor.