Harry_SFC

You do realise the main reason he signed the contract is so we could get more money for him when he leaves? (As well as a nice pay rise) Just like Shaw, Lallana, Chambers etc. I wouldn't say he necessarily wants out, just that he is now good enough to play for any team in the world. I certainly wouldn't begrudge him a move as he is way too good for us.

Of course it's about value. Les will be loving it, in 2 or 3 years Jack Stephens will go to one of the big boys for £25 million and it'll be a huge success for the famed Southampton academy!

Obviously we don't know all the facts regarding Lander and the proposed deal but looking at what's been mentioned so far I'm not positive about them what so ever. Talk of borrowing money before they've even bought the club doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

If this is true then it signals our intentions this summer. Preparing for a dogfight next season!

Close this thread immediately

Gutted Cedric will be off in the summer. He's a very good defender. Looks like we'll be losing 3 of our back 4 #quietsummer

If other teams are in for him and we get a decent offer I would sell him this summer

I get your point but it's probably more to do with the fact when an individual player actually played well he knew he was going to be dropped for the next game. Rodriguez and Clasie are prime examples of this. Tadic and Davis have been poor for a number of weeks yet are nailed on to play.

Sounds like ****t to me

According to Puel the reason for the mass rotation was to avoid injuries later on in the season. How did that work out? I completely get that you will have to make a couple of changes to keep certain players fresh but we were seeing 5 or 6 per game at one stage. So many changes were leading to disjointed performances and seemingly unhappy players. It's not exactly like we play a high intense style of football either.

I think he looked a lot more dangerous than Tadic or Redmond when he came on last night. Give him a full pre season and hopefully he'll become an integral part of the team. To do that we should sell Tadic IMO.

I must admit I've been one of his harshest critics since he's been in the first team but he has definitely improved as this season has progressed. His set pieces are a lot more consistent now and looks more of a threat in the final third. He's starting to become a little more aggressive, he still has a fair bit to work on but he is starting to make me eat my words. Hopefully he starts next season in the same vein.

Forster Cedric Yoshida Caceres Bertrand Romeu Clasie JWP Redmond Long/JRod Gabbiadini Subs; Hassen, Stephens, Pied, Davis, Boufal, JRod/Long, Austin Give Austin 20 mins from the bench then start him against Stoke next weekend.

Agree with this

Starting to feel sorry for the guy. I watched him very closely this evening and one thing that's clear is the guy has world class movement off the ball. He isn't the strongest striker in the world and isn't great in the air, so why in the last few games have we been lumping the ball up to him? It wouldn't be too bad if we had midfield players getting up to support him and picking up the second balls but he just seems so isolated. He did have a couple of chances (not glaring ones) that he may have taken before his injury but that happens. Is it a case of Puels tactics limiting him as a player? Or is it the fact our other players are not on the same wavelength? There were a number of occasions when he was looking for a through ball or a chip over the top and the player with the ball just played it sideways. Even those low crosses we were flashing across the face of the goal in the EFL cup final have completely dried up. I'm all for keeping possession but with someone of his calibre up front surely we should be taking a few more risks here and there. Thoughts?

This

He has certainly improved, there's no doubt about that. As has already been said, he needs to bulk up a bit. It's a shame VVD will be off in the summer, could have been a decent partnership for us next season.

We have defended well so far, Yoshida and Stephens seem to enjoy playing at Anfield. Having said that when we have had the ball we have been diabolical. Have we strung more than 3 passes together? If the game plan is to frustrate them and hit them on the counter then we need to get either Long or Redmond on the pitch ASAP.

I find it very hard to believe we will keep Van Dijk if Chelsea offer us £50 million

Pretty sure Coutinho only went off because he had a dead leg. Would imagine he'll be starting against us.

What a load of garbage. Have you been to St Marys this season? I couldn't care less what his interviews are like if we are playing decent stuff. We have no obvious style and are becoming increasingly boring to watch. His substitutions are poor and they rarely influence the game. Why not try Long up front with Gabbiadini on Saturday? Instead he just made a like for like substitution. Probably because he was worried we would concede and lose the game. Far too negative.

Would like to see us replace Puel in the summer and look at getting Marco Silva or Carlos Carvalhal. Pretty sure he will be here for a while yet though.

Martina Clasie Targett Reed Jay Rod Gardos Isgrove Forster Tadic

Has to play on Saturday surely!?

Chelsea looked good up top but we kinda let them run us ragged in the second half. Some dreadful defending from the Centre backs tied in with some statuesque goalkeeping. We looked decent going forward though which was a positive.