Toon Saint

Wawel castle on Wawel Hill is a must-see, a really stunning place. Decent-ish art gallery there as well with a nice collection of Flemish/Northern renaissance art if that be your thing (plenty of Cranach the elder from what I can recall). As KRG said, walking-tours are always a good way to get to know a city on the cheap, and I also did the one around the Jewish-quarter. Good night life in those parts and lots of dingy cavernous bars selling Zubrovka and tankards of larger on the cheap. Obviously, Aushchwitz will be a sobering experience; t'was covered in a blanket of snow when I went, which lent it an ethereal quality. A bizarre juxtaposition of beauty and brutality. Totally worthwhile though and horribly unforgettable. If you have time then try and get to the Wieliczka Salt Mines which are spectacular but located a reasonable distance (20 mins?) outside of Krakow, and on a Saints theme, St. Mary's altar at St. Mary's church in the Main square is fantastically ornate. In terms of food, Polish cuisine isn't my favourite and I don't really get on with 'hearty' dishes comprised of stewed beef and dumplings, but guess that is standard in such a cold climate. None of the restaurants I went to really stood out, but I'll try rack my brain for places to drink (I went about 4-5 years ago). Enjoy though and wrap up warm.

Fair play to Kolarov, he seemed to be doing his utmost to calm an incredibly febrile atmosphere down.

The new Scouse guy on the media team is a master in stating the obvious. Can't listen to some of the videos any longer as I'm cringing too much.

Thanks. Obviously one to watch out for!

Cheers for that, I enjoyed watching! Out of interest, who is the other current Saints LB in the u18's that together with Targett, led to Nehemie going to Villa? Will Wood? It's strange that we are so prodigious at producing players in that particular position. Freakish actually. Also, who is the kid that Reed referred to with the mop-top and currently in the u18's that should be making his senior debut this season? Josh Sims?

I thought he was the best player on the pitch vs QPR. Fantastic pace, movement, and awareness of those around him. Incredible vision for that back-heel to Bertrand. That 'sitter' against Spurs wasn't as bad as first made out either - an issue of adjusting his feet in time to a ball being played across his body at pace, rather than evidence of terrible accuracy (personally thought Wanyama's tame short at Lloris was worse, though granted, he isn't exactly renowbed for his shooting ability). Does need to cut the diving out of his game though.

I guess the future of Yoshida might depend on whether we are able to sign Toby permanently. He is a good 4th choice but equally we have the likes of Turnbull/Stephens/McCarthy coming through, and extending his contract might be viewed as an obstacle to their development. Cork is a no-brainer as you say. Given the lack of loyalty displayed by a number of our key players over the summer, I find it amazing that his commitment has gone unrewarded. It's not just a question of rewarding loyalty, he is a very good footballer and appears happy to play a squad role. J-Rod is a difficult one. It was widely reported that bids had come in for him from Spurs and that we'd offered him a new 5 year deal. Both would be strange moves considering the nature of his injury, and the Jeremy Wilson article last week did suggest that no club ever came in for him and likewise, he never agitated for a move away. I wonder whether the club has prepared a contract in anticipation of J-Rod proving his fitness and maybe the situation isn't quite as one-sided as we previously thought. Clyne's contract should be a priority, especially given his England call-up and all the 'options' that will be opened up to him (thanks, Adam). Still concerned that the new board have only managed to tie down one senior player as our 'ambition' will be defined as much by who we can keep at the club as it is by the calibre of players that we can attract. Koeman seems to really rate him and Clyne has talked about the confidence he is playing with this season. Would be good to get this sorted while we are flying high in the table, as I can see the likes of Liverpool sniffing around him especially as they seem to be unwilling to offer Johnson a long-term deal. United could probably do with competition at RB too. Arsenal have just signed Debuchy and Chambers so I can't see them making a move for him. Ramirez, I'm not particularly bothered about either way. Not rated by successive manager's but if he excels at Hull then things might change on that front. Doubt he will though and it is just about recouping what we can.

Not sure you could ever fairly compensate a team for losing a proper home fixture let alone their S/T holders. A team that gets relegated having only played 18 home games compared against others who have had the full 19 would be rightly aggrieved and given the financial implications of relegation might pursue some sort of legal challenge. Imagine playing Man Utd as your 'home' game in the States where they obviously have a particularly strong brand presence. The crowd would be mainly Utd fans, so in effect, you'd be playing 18 home games and 20 away games in a season. That scenario would probably be the same if playing any of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, City, or Spurs. Just not sure how it would ever be workable, but when there is £ to be made the idea will keep rearing its ugly head.

Adam's comments on Clyne having 'more options' are no doubt emblematic of the way he perceived England duty. As per Morgan's comments yesterday, it seems as if a group of 6-7 key players were looking for a way out of SMS as far back as February, so all the stuff about his move being contingent on Poch leaving is a little disingenuous.

'I define success as getting to your potential' (Krueger, R., 2014)

I wonder what spin Ralph would have applied in the event of fans burning down St. Mary's: 'It shows to me just how passionate our fans are...'

Obviously a lot less serene behind the scenes than the Jeremy Wilson piece would have us believe. Though probably somewhere between that and Morgan's blowing off steam. Always felt Krueger's interview was not planned and reactionary, but at least Morgan still believes in the Championship League dream.

Was Mane's miss that much of a sitter? Seen a replay and it's just him being unable to sort his feet out in time with a ball coming at him quickly along the ground. Should have done a lot better, but Lambert's miss against Sunderland away last season was much worse.

"We show our ambishion."

Makes sense, and just shows the time invested in producing a decent crop of youngsters. I thought Jake Hesketh, Josh Debayo and Jake Flannigan were all meant to be decent though, as well as Sims? I've also seen reports of Arsenal sniffing around Calum Slattery, but have never seen anything of the kid.

Personally think it is grossly simplistic to say that Poch brought the likes of Chambers/Shaw through when they have been here since age 8 (before even Cortese!). The club brought them through, he simply picked them when ready. If we are going on debuts then obviously only Chambers applies, and in that case the media should be giving praise to Adkins for bringing the likes of JWP and Shaw through. We certainly bought Lovren when Poch was in charge but was it just his decision, or was it not a combined effort from Cortese, Les Reed, Paul Mitchell and MP? The only player Poch looked to have clearly identified from experience of coaching him was Osvaldo, who turned out to be a disaster. Get a bit peeved when Poch is given credit for assembling a team of which the only quality additions he helped identify were Wanyama and Lovren. Of course we can say he improved players that have left - as in the case of Lallana, Shaw, and Chambers - but in terms of those he brought through or bought, then I just don't agree with Samuel. We can also say that Poch trusted in youth and was brave enough to field them - as did Adkins to a large degree - but it was the clubs decision to pursue a manager that fit that philosophy, not the other way around. Poch was also very fortunate that we had such a gifted age group coming through at the same time - which the club was well aware of before appointing him. Samuel's article smacks of focusing on individual contributions to our rise and ignoring the strong foundations/coaching infrastructure that have enabled that success.

Sorry Martin, that is just plain wrong.

Watched scraps of the second half on a crappy stream but saw this incident. Looked a bit innocuous at first, JWP went in for a tackle (quite hard actually) and seemed to get tangled underneath the other players legs, though no evidence of anything twisting really. He got up and started walking away fine, only then to pull up feeling something in his foot. Thought he was just stretching his legs out out because of cramp at first, but seemed to be feeling something either along the sole of his foot or at the back of his ankle. Reckon it could be an achilles injury but medical staff have already told Koeman it doesn't look too serious so I don't expect him to be out for too long. Should give Reed a chance to get more involved with the match-day squad in the meantime.

Sort of, though probably the most we can expect from the turd. He admitted that he predicted a meltdown in February (neglecting the many doom-laden headlines in the summer), which obviously hasn't happened and he said our start was impressive. Alyson Rudd spoke the most sense about us, and talked about a deeper philosophy embedded in the club at youth level in terms of our style of play/formation and that Koeman is just giving our players the freedom to express themselves in the way that they know how, without changing too much. She named JWP as someone who is flourishing under him and who is taking more responsibility after the exit of Lallana and our other stars. Rudd also billed him as one of the most promising players in English football - though nothing particularly new there. Although she felt we won't stay in the top 4 (which was her pre-season 'wish' incidentally) she doesn't think we will 'plummet' at all as we have a solid base. Ashton then asked for a bit of 'help' from others who also foresaw meltdown. Matt Lawton said that while he wasn't concerned over the exit of Cortese, he had us down for relegation as well after Poch and other key players left, but spoke about the importance of keeping Schneiderlin and how 'looking back at it now' our board seemed to feel he was the only one that was irreplaceable, while we were able to make like-for-like replacements with Shaw, Lallana, and Lambert. He said it was only 5 games and we could still struggle yet, but did suggest that the fact that Morgan is encouraged by the ambition of the board and that he won't necessarily be leaving now, as an encouraging sign. Neil Custis also confessed he was worried about us, but talked about Koeman being impressive in interviews and him commanding respect - he got the sense that he knew exactly what he was doing. Ashton then rounded things up by talking about Forster being a decent acquisition (with which Lawton agreed, as he was worried about our goalkeeping department last season) and all agreed that they hope Southampton have a good season given the nature of the summer and to show that despite FFP 'locking' in the wealth of the top clubs, a club can achieve success with a different model. Not much discussed on Koeman 's tactical changes (compared to Poch) or the potential of players like Gardos/Mane/Toby, but at least the narrative around the club is starting to shift. Good signs.

Arsenal played West Brom away at the same stage of the competition last season, and Wenger fielded four debutants and two first-time starters. Doubt he will name a particularly strong team as that would buck the trend of the last 6-7 seasons or so, especially given the fact that they actually won a cup last season.

We should play the team that finished the match today - so Gardos, Wanyama, and Davis in for Yoshi, JWP, and Cork. Bearing in mind Arsenal almost always play their kids in the early stages of the League Cup, we should have enough to beat them. Would be good to see Mane get a run out, excited about watching him.

Great celebration by Big Vic. Get in!

Koeman keeps us guessing with the midfield three. Seems to have got it right so far, and can hardly knock him for picking Cork given his form. Hopefully we notch a couple of goals early on and Big Vic comes on the second half to steady the ship. I do worry about Maya vs Bony without Wanyama being in front of him.

The very dark road to 8th in the Premier League? What a hellish journey that was.