DuncanRG

I'm not sure that was really a plan B, besides bringing Cork on - we played the same way, just better. A lot better.

Got there in the end. I'm made up for Pelle and really pleased to hear our fans cheering him on when the going got tough. Let's kick on from here boys! Cork for Wanyama was a good substitution - head up a bit more and moving the ball quickly in the absence of Morgan.

God, that was poor.

Our fans sounding good, though I suppose it helps about 5 Millwall fans showed up

Easy PR win for them to name a strong side and makes sense for the team to gel. Not sure I'd play a team that strong against lower-league opposition later on in the season but this more or less rules out another Sunderland situation.

I haven't received a carrier pigeon for days. The silence is deafening.

How often can we expect threads like this?

Just seen that Pelle has won 15 aerial duels so far, more than any other player in the league. Interesting stat but I suppose the problem on Saturday was where the ball went after he won it, which was normally back to the opposition. More often than not that was because no one was there to pick it up but there were also a couple of poor headers and bits of miscontrol, and a few where Olsson had put him off balance etc.

He doesn't, actually. And his only use is as a goalscorer. Anyway, we were talking about Pelle.

Taider was dubbed a Morgan replacement as well. If we sign Clasie I think that would say more in the short term about the future of Jack Cork. But of course it would be handy to have a young player like Clasie already embedded into the team if Morgan moves on next summer, which looks likely.

Nope, Koeman left two or three years before

Almost definitely a lot worse than Pelle, but a great signing for Bournemouth. If Pelle only turns out to be as good as Carlton Cole we're talking a notch or two above worst case scenario and that is highly unlikely.

He was on the bench for West Brom so I assume he's over that and just working to full match fitness/getting used to the team. The rough and tumble is more a question for Pelle/Taider/Tadic than defenders anyway, Millwall aren't as tough as they used to be and don't play a bruiser up front as far as I'm aware.

-------------Davis-------------- Clyne Gardos Yoshida Bertrand -----------Wanyama------------- ------Cork---------Taider------- --Long-------Pelle-----Isgrove--- Academy boys plus Tadic on the bench, minutes for Reed and Targett if all's well in the second half. Don't know whether Gardos and Yoshida are worth putting together but I'd like to see Gardos get some minutes before his PL debut.

There are quite a few Championship clubs that could do a lot worse than picking him up on a free. Even Leicester could use him for a bit of depth.

They're not bad at all in central midfield but lack a bit of crunch when it's Capoue/Bentaleb and lose a bit of tempo when it's Sandro plus one. Schneiderlin can do both jobs very well. Arsenal and United need him more but he'd still improve Spurs. There's no reason for the club to repeat that he's staying at every possible opportunity unless he is. If they were trying to placate or string us along they would speak less frequently and on less certain terms. And if there was any chance of them changing their mind they'd be winding the language back in to soften the considerable blow his departure would bring. He covered more distance against Liverpool than any other player in the league that weekend.

Morgan's not leaving. If he were they would be starting to wind back those 'not for sale' comments instead of repeating them in every interview.

Alderweireld would be a terrific signing

I really like him, he'd make a cracking utility/competition signing. Depth problems at centre back and right back sorted in one go and would give Clyne a real run for his money. Where'd you get it from?

Such a shame that's it as well. Who on earth decided two-game contracts were a good idea?

I really hope he plays. The more game time he can get to adapt to English football and his team mates the better, plus he's got a better chance of getting off the mark against weaker opposition. Imagine the difference in confidence going to West Ham if he grabs himself a goal midweek compared to going there with yesterday's jeers still ringing. On the Man United point though, it's not so much impatience as misdiagnosis. Moyes didn't get time and they're under fire already this year, but the problems at that club go well beyond the manager and need to be addressed as quickly as possible if they're to return to the Champions League. The tragedy will be if they do badly and Van Gaal gets the blame.

I don't know, I am a Southampton supporter after all

Yeah, but what he can't deal with is agility and pace, so more build up through Pelle's feet and runs from Tadic/JWP/Long were needed.

I don't know what we expect from Pelle by playing him isolated against a huge donkey like Jonas Olsson, inviting a high line from them which totally negates his strengths. Big, strong defenders like Olsson can bat away high balls all day and it will be the same at Upton Park. We needed runners from midfield yesterday and only got them on the couple of occasions that Schneiderlin got forward. Pelle looked much better when we got him to the 18 yard line, which is where he belongs. Disappointed that Long didn't provide that running but a new winger might help in that department, and Rodriguez certainly will.

Couldn't string two passes together or build a foundation of possession despite having Schneiderlin and Wanyama on. I'll put that one down to adaptation