DuncanRG

Three observations, in order based on impact on the result: 1. Norwich were very, very good. It's a hard fixture and they look rock solid. At our very best we could have won that game but they made it really hard for us today. 2. We desperately missed Clyne and Shaw going forward, but away from home I'd prefer to see Fox and Chambers putting in a solid shift at the back (as they did) than careering forward and leaving exploitable space. The lack of width stunted us particularly today because Rodriguez was on the bench. 3. Lovren is absolutely brilliant. A real leader who reads everything, including the mood of the players. Pleasantly surprised to see him on the ball and running directly, knowing that anywhere on the pitch we can do that will draw a defender in and create space for one of us. Who knows and who cares

We demand a high level of fitness, and have good options on the bench.

Presumably because the Spanish reporter had a source and nobody in Britain did until later.

Good luck Dean, thanks for everything. A real professional and an important player in our rise from League One.

They've signed Vlad Chiriches for £8.5m as well

Maybe, but I doubt it's the preferred option. It's certainly not 'simple as'.

Last week the problem was conversion, not creation. There are many, many ways of fixing our attacking problems besides dropping the man who scored or assisted almost half of our goals last season.

Playing the two together wouldn't necessarily require a change to the system. They worked together perfectly well in the second half against Sunderland, though it remains to be seen whether that lineup can work for 90 minutes in other scenarios and against different opposition. Let's not forget that Osvaldo is the new player here - it is entirely about accomodating him.

Is it bottle or stupidity to drop our best attacking player?

Again, Osvaldo is not guaranteed to start. He may be given a half like last week if MP feels he's yet to bed into the system.

We will expand to around 40,000 if the club secures European football and regular top half finishes. The current capacity is sufficient for the current outlay of the club.

I live with a few Liverpool supporters who tried to get 'Sahin and Joe Allen rock the Premier' on the go. Not sure if it ever caught on but I thought it was an absolute cracker. EDIT: Rickie and Osvaldo?

What would you be worried about?

Hands up who read the quotes. Seems a perfectly reasonable point from a perfectly reasonable man, and not a 'pop' at anything in particular.

Note that Manchester United normally field four or five English players in their starting XI. It's possible to be successful with or without English players, but we can all be thankful that Southampton are aiming for the former.

When do the games take place? I'd like an away day if I'm back up north.

Thanks for this. None of this particularly surprises me, particularly regarding Mayuka. If he ever breaks into the first team it would be in Rodriguez's role rather than as the focal point, that much is obvious.

Strong team and pleased to see a bench almost exclusively picked from the academy. Hope a couple can get on.

Considering we've not even seen enough football to know if Wanyama and Schneiderlin is an improvement on last season, not a chance in hell.

Can anyone make out what Osvaldo's got on his vest when he swaps shirts with Giaccherini at the end?

1-0 City, class strike from Dzeko. Backheel from Aguero and in from 20 yards. Cardiff have got to open up now

I'd like to see Ramirez and Osvaldo given a game together, they linked up well yesterday. Thing is, Ward-Prowse more than deserves to keep his place on the right and you'd have to drop Lallana or Lambert to incorporate the three of them. It may be that Pochettino doesn't want to start both strikers away from home - might see Osvaldo on the bench again.

They'll be relieved for the international break - they've got Stoke away and United at home immediately afterwards. Nastasic is on his way back I think and if Kompany's out for a month he might be fit to start against United. Might bring someone in before the window shuts as well, of course

Going forward I think we'll be playing in the same sort of way as City are at the moment. They have natural width with Navas and their full backs are far better at running the line than ours, but I think the way they use Dzeko, Aguero and Silva is quite similar to what we'll be looking to do with Lambert, Osvaldo and Lallana respectively. Most teams have (rightly) tightened their defensive organisation over the summer which is why - combined with a lot of new strikers finding their feet - quite a lot of the early fixtures have been dull affairs. It'll be interesting to see whether Cardiff are only loading their penalty area for the likes of City or if they'll be defensive against teams like us.

He was a nuisance in ways both good and bad, in the way Suarez is. Not quite as good a player though...