kitch

Probably Romeu for me too. Good attitude, seems a decent bloke. Good role model for kids. Quite like VVD too. Also like Shane Long, mostly for his workrate. I would have said the same about JRod a couple of years back, but he doesn't seem the same guy now sadly. I also rate Steven Davis, and I really liked Hojbjerg when he arrived. There must have been a reason! My kids on the other hand, all three of them, LOVE Boufal. He's their hero.

I can rest easy, knowing I contributed in some small way!

Ah yes, fair point. Similar type of player, forgot he's yet to come back.

Metaphorical beer. Main advantage - no hangover See what you're saying. It probably wouldn't fix anything with our current plight, but having more competition for starting spots might cause current players to up their game. That was my logic, and that is why I'm not involved in football

Luck doesn't come into it. Luck is just a method humans have devised to decipher past events and their relative desirability. It's man-made, in our minds. I think we should be looking to the future, not the past.

Anyone surprised we haven't been in for him? Another player in the Lambert-esque mould, as far as I can see. He also bleeds red & white, which is a bonus. Doesn't seem to start every game at Burnley, but is that just because Gray is doing well? Just thought he'd be a useful squad member, and he's capable of getting goals. I know he's not young, but that didn't stop the club improving Fonte, Lambert et al. Thoughts? Should I put the beer down?

One of the first things I noticed about him was his vision and range of passing, to be honest. He reminded me of Romeu, where he'll try and thread a deft pass through the middle, rather than just going sideways. Also looked composed on the ball, again like Romeu and (in my opinion) JWP, who rarely looks troubled on the ball if he's under pressure. I honestly thought he was a cut above what we already had in that position, and also made the link between Schneiderlin and him. He went a bit wobbly recently, and he's one of those players who you just know is capable of more, but needs time. It's easy to forget how young he is too - 21. Younger than Redmond, JWP, Stephens and McQueen. I think he comes across much more mature and looks like he's got more experience under his belt than you'd think for someone so young, which is possibly why it's easy to forget just how young he is.

It is if you're a natural pessimist like me, and assume that's the last victory we'll have in that cup

Good man!

Still buzzing now! I convinced the wife to let my young boys stay up and watch until the full time whistle, on a school night. So glad I did! They won't get to experience many moments like that lol! Bit of a nightmare getting them ready for school this morning though! I voted Yoshi for MoM, but in reality there are 4 or 5 candidates for that. Nobody played badly, though I don't think Tadic had has best night. Don't care! They're all heroes. I told my wife I was considering leaving her to become a homosexual and set up home with Shane Long. Brilliant setup from Puel, everybody knew their role, kept the organisation. I've remained in the pro-Puel camp, and recently I've felt a bit of a loon for doing so. Last night was badly needed! Ref had a good came too. Showed real backbone, and didn't favour the media-darling side at all. Lastly, our fans. Wow! If you were lucky enough to be there, hold your heads high. We could hear every word on the telly, and at times all you could hear at Anfield was OWTS. Brilliant! I'm glad I wasn't there, as I'm **** at singing and would have let you all down! Legends.

Starting with Clasie and JWP in the same lineup is never a good idea. I'd swap in Hoj for Clasie and then be prepared to switch them at 60mins or so. Can't decide if I'd put Bertrand in where Stephens goes, and stick McQueen on the left or not. McQueen's good, deserves a run, but at the expense of Bertrand in his strongest position? Would stick Long on for Redmond or Tadic in the second half, assuming we're not trailing, have him up top with JRod and tell everyone else to stay the **** back, just lump balls to those two!

But even less right with one...

That really grated on me. Little chav *****! Forgot to say something positive! Thought Cedric was our MOM today. Industrious workrate, covered defence and attack brilliant. As good a performance as we ever saw from Clyne, IMO. Hojbjerg and Romeu both good too (PEH needs shooting practice though). JWP had a good first half, died off in the second. JRod's goal was excellent too. I didn't think he got enough praise for it what with the focus on JWP's. Yes, that was good too, but the keeper should have done better. JRod's was akin to trying to fling a Frisbee sideways through a letterbox. To be fair, there were no bad performances today. I really think Puel has to think twice before playing Martina over Cedric now though. There is a massive gulf between them. Enjoyed the game. On to Liverfool!

Agree with that, especially the Hojbjerg comments. I thought he oozed class and quality when he first played, but he does seem to have regressed. Could that be down to all the rotation? i.e. he doesn't get a chance to get a string of games together?

Spot on.

I was in the corner of the Chapel/Itchen. It was like a library, really, and I'm not the vocal type. Wasn't much to get excited about though. Me and my brother said next time we're gonna sit in the Northam and see what it's like. No one will be able to hear me chant the wrong thing!

I don't get a chance to get to many games, and last night was the only one I've managed this season so far. What a game to pick! It was brilliant................as a demonstration of what a really boring match looks like. All joking aside, happy/relieved to get the win. Norwich didn't seem to want it, and were there for the taking. We looked really poor IMO. Totally devoid of ideas or creative spark. Whether that's because the players aren't on the ball, or because they've been told to stay regimented and play it safe, I don't know. All I do know is that last night, most of them looked properly miserable. Something's definitely off the boil with the team, and I'm no bedwetter. I've remained upbeat about the season, but actually watching first hand last night just showed how frustrating we are to behold. Somebody! Anybody! Please, please try and shoot! I don't know if it's a confidence thing, or what. But it is dire to watch. Still, a win, is a win, and a fair few players did put in a shift. Lewis - had nothing to do, so couldn't put a foot wrong! Martina - OK in parts, but slows the attack down so badly. None of the decent crosses we've seen him do in the past. Stephens - Composed, looked decent when called upon, but wasn't really tested. Yoshida - Likewise. A couple of missed passes, but looked cool and had a pop at Lewis (who I'm guessing wasn't instructing the wall concisely) when we were defending a freekick in a captain-sort of way. McQueen - Best player for us. Worked his socks off, gave his all. My only grievance was the quality of his crossing and shooting. He didn't look left-footed (he may not be?) Otherwise, decent performance. Clasie - OK, nothing amazing. Couple of sloppy passes, closed down quickly and aggressively though. Useful. Reed - Not his best came. Ineffective, lucky not to get booked. JWP - Incisive runs, long-range diagonal balls, some killer through-balls and was unlucky not to score 3 or 4 times* Sims - Did well. Lots of energy, ran the ball to the box plenty of times, looked up, and found nobody to pass to. Norwich had everyone defending, and our forwards weren't doing much to make room. Inevitably lost the ball. Felt for him. Long - Completely ineffective on the left. Better when moved into the centre, but didn't really do much. Ball played to his feet all the time, which, with all due respect, is not something he's good at. Didn't do much, fortunate he got the goal. JRod - Didn't offer much. Fed scraps at times, but didn't do much to try and make the best of them. Pea-roller shot in the first half about all he did. Gutted, I was hoping he'd make the difference. Romeu and Redmond - Big difference when they came on. Romeu actually tries to pass through the opposition, rather than just around them. Redmond didn't seem to do much himself, but the team definitely pressed a lot more when he came on. If we'd have played Newcastle last night, we'd have been spanked silly. * not really.

If you think this forum is bad, you want to see the bed-wetters on social media. Saints fans on Facebook - replying to stuff the club or various news sites have posted - nothing short of embarrassing. Half the ****ers can't even spell!

Risky, but I like Sean Dyche.

I'm guessing they want to fill out the rest of the ground and have the only empty stand as the one that isn't facing the cameras. (assuming it's filmed/broadcast). There will be some financial/image reason as to why they've done it. Personally I think they'd be better off just opening the whole thing, try and spread the atmosphere a bit rather than having one silent stand (that isn't the Chapel).

Signed for Wycombe permanently now: https://southamptonfc.com/news/2017-01-07/dom-gape-southampton-wycombe-wanderers-transfer-announcement

On the flipside, we can get Osvaldo back now....

+1.

The only bump with this is that I've also heard one or two players talking Puel up, though that's in interviews and phone-ins. Austin was singing his praises a month or so ago. Said he's very quiet to camera and one to one, but is anything but in training and on the side of the pitch. Certainly, I've seen him up and about and positively charged, as opposed to Koeman who seemed to have a flat battery. I'm not sure what to think, but my gut feeling (and I'm in the 'Remain' camp) is that it's probably true. There's too much to make up, and if it is true, then keeping him and EB on until the end of the season is risky business. It's been up, up, up since 2009. There was bound to be a hiccup somewhere along the way. Hope it's just Chinese whispers and there's nothing to it, but Puel needs to get this shown on the pitch.

Boufal vs. Sunderland for me too. I loved J-Rod's against Bournemouth, but Boufal's was sublime. It was also the winning goal. Close, but of those two it's Boufal. The remaining two were good, but not amazing, for my money.