DuncanRG

Attention to detail - it's what Nicola would want!

Why Puel is great: we won Why Puel is bad: we lost Let's agree on those ground rules and keep celebrating!

God, he was good tonight. As always.

Fans are the only constant, but we rely on professionals to give us moments like this. Southampton is absolutely chock full of brilliant people, from the boardroom to the U13s boot room, and the club has delivered tonight as it has done every day since Markus Liebherr took over.

I watched the game with a Bradford City fan. We'll never appreciate it the way they do, either! What a beautiful night, though. Now to get cover at work for that Sunday...

I feel like we'd have got Maguire ahead of Hull if we were interested. Only reason we may have become interested since then is if we now see him as a senior starter, whereas before he was 'one for the future' and an obstruction to Stephens' progress.

Coutinho and Matip starting, according to The Times, Clyne and Henderson have knocks

What evidence do you have for this 'agenda'? It's nonsense.

Times reporting that we're looking at Wague, and that we've been put off by a £15m price tag on Gabbiadini http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/afa647f8-e1bd-11e6-8358-fb49f2dde797

Eh? I think he was always willing to play, he was just seen as a disruptive influence. He'd be even more so leading the team out for a semifinal.

Agreed. One thing I've noticed is that while his touch is good, his best end product seems to come from hitting things first time, particularly crosses from the 18 yard line.

Interesting. Perhaps if Puel is convinced it can't be done he should prove it to some of the players by sending them out there!

Wigan was a pleasant surprise.

Absolutely. At the start we thought he might be a wonderkid, and though he hasn't become a world beater he's more than earned his game time for a good club. Whether or not he reaches the next level - and there is talent there - he deserves more respect than he gets. It doesn't help that some of the qualities needed for his position are harder to notice when you're watching games as a fan.

That's right, but you can't treat it as a problem. It's daft to expect them to love clubs like fans do, but it's equally sad to think it's a binary choice between slavish devotion and cold money-making. Most footballers have connections to their clubs and love the sport, and you'd be mad to think Fonte doesn't love Southampton to some degree. Only the most dedicated and serious players can get to this level and earn the money they do - with some obvious exceptions!

Ha, my thoughts exactly. Reed is the guy I want to hear from though, more than Koeman when he did it and definitely more than Puel. Given how stupid the questions were during a good run under Koeman, I can't imagine the idiocy if they held one now.

Gardos isn't a complete unknown, though it's obviously been a while. He had a mistake in him in his first season but generally looked quite good I thought. Had a great game up at Arsenal as I recall.

You're right, of course, though I'm sure Fonte's family did support him as a Saint. I'm talking about this bonkers suggestion that footballers don't feel emotion because they're well paid.

Football must be awful when you're this cynical.

I wonder how Cedric feels.

What a sad, anti-climactic way to close the book on the League One team. I wish Kelvin had been the last.

Worth pointing out that Fonte, our record earner until Van Dijk came along, is getting a pay rise at West Ham.

Sky report describes Long and Rodriguez as statuesque. Is that fair?

Puncheon will be delighted to make that bench!

Long/Rodriguez/Sims is a nice pacey frontline. Shame Noriwch will probably sit back.