Bewildered

who is clartetandhugh? Is he their ITK? Can't see us selling Lambert half way through the season.

Good half, decisive finishing and controlled in possession. Yoshida's passing may have been a bit poor but he has defended well, as has Fonte. They have needed to as well because Whittingham's set piece delivery has been very good.

I imagine it means Davis is not quite 100%, but still in better shape than Cropper now.

BBC Solent Sport ‏@solentsport 1m A late change to the #saintsfc squad vs #CardiffCity. Kelvin Davis returns to the bench to replace the injured Cody Cropper. Davis only on the bench because Cropper picked up a late injury.

Medel is out for Cardiff, big plus for us.

Could be worse, at least Fox and Hooiveld aren't playing.

Not unrealistic that Lallana would want to move to United, but I would not think Cortese would sell a player like Lallana in January. Remember, there is a fairly good chance that he will be in the World Cup squad. If he gets into the team and turns in the kind performances that we see him put in for Saints, then his selling price rises sharply.

Unless Poch has a replacement in mind, I'd rather we kept him until the Summer. However, it is understandable if Ramirez wishes to go out on loan to get some playing time ahead of the world cup.

Hopefully Shaw & Fonte are back at the very least. The other question really is whether to persist with Lambert (who was awful yesterday and as the games come thick and fast will get even worse as he tires out), give Gallagher a start (bit of a risk given how important victory is) or Play Rodriguez as the striker and bring Ramirez or JWP into the midfield. Really do need to win this and get a little bit of momentum as the Everton and Chelsea matches will not be pretty if we go into them low on confidence.

Mostly a rehash of the Mail stuff, but there seemed to be an added desperation to make sure that the intended audience believes that if Cortese leaves the club would fall to pieces and that he is not short of offers either. I'm being overly suspicious, I know, but the final few paragraphs gave that particular piece a different tone to the usual love-ins we read now.

Ben Smith ‏@BenSmithBBC 57m There is no way, at this stage, that Mauricio Pochettino will be going to #Spurs - even if there is interest.

Bloke on SSN just now said reports were suggesting Tim Sherwood and Les Ferdinand taking charge until the end of the season with Capello taking over in the Summer after the WC.

Allardyce should worry about lasting until January first.

Signed a contract that lasts until 2017 a couple weeks ago.

Gone down well with at least one player...

Mirror Football ‏@MirrorFootball 9m Stat of the season - if true. RT @danielstorey85: West Ham have had more 0-0s this season than the Bundesliga.

Fonte & Lallana out, Lambert and Hooiveld in. Bizarre

Hopefully it is not someone we absolutely need like Shaw or Lallana

Sofiane Feghouli http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tuttomercatoweb.com%2Feuropa%2Fesclusiva-tmw-valencia-feghouli-vuole-andare-via-ci-pensa-il-southampton-509486

Good performance, we created the better chances and on another day could have won. Gazzaniga - 6 - Was OK, one weird decision second half but wqas generally ok Chambers - 8 - Excellent. Man City got very little down his side and had a good chance to score in the first half that he was unlucky with, best he's played in an attacking sense, seemed more confident in his ability to attack. Lovren - 8 - Very good game, helped keep City at arms length for most of the match. The cheer when he came back on to the pitch after that knock he took shows how important he is to the team. Fonte - 8.5 - Was as good as Lovren, and his tackle and pass started off the play for our goal. Shaw - 7 - Excellent going forwards, caught a few times at the back in the first half though Cork - 8 - Bounced back after a poor Villa performance and showed that he will be an important player for us in the coming weeks JWP - 8.5 - Looked much better in his preferred position, not afraid to get stuck in and showed signs that he could be that player with the killer pass that we sometimes lack. Set pieces were good as usual. Davis - 9 - Was my MotM, classic box to box midfield performance, absolutely everywhere. Lallana - 7 - Some good runs and created a few dangerous situations, but I felt he was one player who perhaps did tire second half. Rodriguez - 7 - Numerous dangerous runs and had a couple of chances he may be disappointed he did not do better with. Osvaldo - 8 - World class goal aside, looks to be coming to terms with the PL. Led from the front and his constant attempts to run behind encouraged the midfield to play it forward quicker. Subs: Lambert - 7 - Held the ball up, played a part in creating a chance for J-Rod. Ramirez - 6 - some decent touches, but not really on long enough to effect the game Reed - Not enough time to judge either way.

Without Morgan, Wanyama, Boruc, Clyne and possibly Fonte I don't see a positive result, but you never know. Would like to see us taking some risks with our attacking options as the defensive possession based tactics won't work against the likes of City as we aren't good enough to monopolise possession against them. If He's available I would not mind seeing Ramirez given a go as the central attacking midfielder with Lallana and Rodriguez either side of him and Osvaldo up top. Gazzaniga Chambers Fonte (If Fit, Hooiveld if not) Lovren Shaw Cork JWP Rodriguez Ramirez Lallana Osvaldo Subs: Cropper, Lambert, Davis, Yoshida, Reed, Gallagher, Targett or Rowe (depends if MP wants FB cover or a winger on the bench)