Vancouver Saint

Yeeessssss!!!! Get in!

We're playing better but Cardiff now 2-0 up. West Ham doing us no favours. Brighton beating Palace?! Shaping up for 3 weeks in the relegation zone...not what we wanted but might just be the motivation we need for the run-in.

1-1 If we're lucky.

I read Tadic's reasons why he wanted out somewhere recently...it was very fair...basically, the team had changed completely from the one under Koeman that was competitive...we had sold most of our best players and not replaced them. That must be very frustrating for a playmaker that likes/needs high calibre players around him. He saw the writing on the wall and wanted out before his sell-by date expired. I think he was also tired of the physicality of the Premier League and referees not protecting flair players from the 'enforcers' (I still think this is a major fault with the PL...I'm all for a physical game but we lose the creative players to injury and end up watching thug un-footballing stoppers instead). Nobody with any sense would deny Tadic made the right move. I reckon there was a gentleman's agreement to let him go to Ajax if he stayed on for that last relegation-threatened season with the clown. For once the club did the honourable thing and saw it through. He gave us two years of great service and two years adequate service. We should be happy for him.

Agree with all this. Super deserved a point from this terrific performance - unfortunately, predictably end up with no points. In our position, playing badly and stealing a draw would have been better... Hopefully we can carry this performance through to the Spurs game and get some points this time.

Watching from Vancouver...why all the empty seats for such a crucial game?

Great result under huge pressure. JWP clear MOTM...worked his socks off. Yoshida and Bertrand proved what we all know - that they are upgrades on Stephens and Targett. Valery and Bednarek solid...as were Gunn and Vestergard. Credit where credit is due...RH got this selection and substitution right. Austin worked hard and was knackered. With a real goalscorer we'd have something to make other teams think. Good confidence-building win. Will give us something to build on for Man U...not expecting anything out of that but Tottenham are faltering...

I fear we just don't have enough without Ings, Lemina, Obafemi. Other teams know Redmond is our only playmaker and that if they can stifle him and get past the predictable first 25 minutes high press without conceding they can go on to win playing breakaways against a crap defence and turning a nervous home crowd against their own team the longer it drags on. I think this game will be decided in the first 30 minutes. If we've scored a couple we'll go on and win (for once). If it's 0-0 or worse I fear the worst. I would put Yoshida in instead of Vestergard to cover Mitrovic...and provide a goal-scoring threat from set-pieces at the other end. I would have Sims on the bench. Not an Austin fan but this is his type of game...get him in the box and pump crosses in high and low. Armstrong has to play as he is one of the few who knows what it's like to score.

We do not have enough. No Obafemi now. Ings will probably last 90 minutes for the rest of the season. Lemina - anyone know what the prognosis is? Not banking on him coming back and match fit enough to make a difference. If Redmond gets injured we're done whatever. No spend January transfer window will prove our most costly. How ignorant / arrogant / naive are our board? Anything but three points against Fulham and we're done I reckon.

Err um...why so few posts on this thread? Anyone else interested in this game. Am hoping we get a Europa-league exhausted Arsenal who have a really off-day and a Saints team with a rocket up their backsides after the Cardiff debacle. Expect we'll get a red-hot Arsenal and a Saints team still on a Tenerife beach. We tend to play well against Arsenal and hope against hope we do again and get a result. A draw would be huge after the Cardiff result today.

Good idea to have a Canadian thread St Albert. Might need a revival though. Three years to get 10 posts on this thread...now 11...so about 4 each year - that has to be a record of some sort! Quite a big Saints following here in Vancouver...

FWIW I was at the women's world cup in Vancouver...went to a couple of games...53,000 to watch Canada women v England women...great match, high quality football and terrific entertainment. Some way to go to match the speed and intensity of men's football (no sexism, just being respectful by being honest)...but tons of skill, excitement and entertainment. I was impressed.

Agree 100% Mr X. Cannot believe RH didn't have a goal-scorer earmarked. Believe it borders on criminal negligence from the board not to have recruited more goal-scoring firepower in the January window. I think they believed they could get away without it based on RH's positive start and believing there are three worse teams than us...well think again board! After losing twice to Cardiff - our best bet to be one of the three below us - I hope they've had some sleepless nights. After the brilliant move of bringing in Hasenhutl, they might just have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by not investing in goals early enough. I have already discounted Ings...at best he'll be fit for half our remaining games. Obafemi is promising but also recently injured and inexperienced. Armstrong can get a couple...PEH perhaps, JWP the odd one...we are hugely over-reliant on Redmond for creative play-making and scoring. Although outsiders think we have enough to survive, I think we are in serious trouble this time. We will know after the Fulham game.

Goal difference is always a good indicator of calibre of team...and a good predictor of final position (not always yes yes). On current form Brighton have to be part of the mix. Newcastle have home form which is enough to keep them up IMO and Palace have goal-scorers and an organised defence. On goal difference only Cardiff and Burnley are teams above us with worse goal differences. We have to pray Burnley's recovery bubble bursts although that doesn't look like happening. So Cardiff are the ones we have to stay ahead of...underlines again what a disastrous result Saturday was. As has been said many times - the board are culpable of gross negligence in not bringing in more goal-scoring power in the January transfer window. We need a couple of shock results - like a fluky win against Arsenal at the Emirates!

This game is about goals. We don't score enough of them. Ings is a China doll and will not score from the treatment room. Obvious to most of us we needed a proven goal-scorer in the January window. Cannot believe RH did not have targets he wanted. Conclude board said no...thinking after RH's impressive start we didn't need to strengthen to be better than three other teams and scrape by until summer. HUGE RISK. Would have thought they'd have learnt something from last season. Nada. We were the better team against Cardiff but lost because we don't have the goal-scoring power in out team. We can't break down defensive teams that dig in and play counter-attack - in fact we play into their hands with a weak defence.

C'mon Saints. Two goals in quick succession please...

Soooooo predictable! I can't believe we are going to lose twice to such a crap team. We do not have enough. Come on Saints. Caution to the wind. This is it.

We so badly short of a cutting edge up front. So easy to see we needed this most in the last window. Cardiff have come for a win - their strategy is to frustrate for as long as possible then go for it in the last 15 mins when the crowd are getting on our own backs... ...C'mon Saints gotta score a goal!

Looking at starting line-ups most of us would have settled for a 1-1 draw. We were the better footballing side for 60-70 minutes. Late equaliser inevitable as we were back-pedalling more and more and no outlet once Redmond substituted. Shane Long you plonker, make an effort. My concern is lack of goal threat. Ings, seriously? Good player, good application and all that but he's never going to score from the treatment room - are we obligated to blow £20M this summer? I wouldn't activate a purchase clause if we had an option. Without Redmond's flair we would have nothing. Lemina out for how long? Need him back, Yoshida, PEH, Bertrand (will some ITK please tell us what is really going on with Bertrand). So much talk about no RB cover this window - my concern is no goals in our team - we needed a goal-scoring striker then, we need it even more now.

Have seen a bit of him watching MLS with the Whitecaps here (watch out for Alphonso Davies who made his debut for Bayern this week btw - exceptional talent). Almiron is talented for sure but physically lightweight - it will be really interesting to see how he copes in the PL. Quite a jump for him. He's good but doesn't have me quaking in my boots...

So up early here in Vancouver...hoping for something concrete...anything...but there's absolutely nothing confirmed out or in - I'm hoping for Austin out decent RB and attacker in. Where has Guan and our other ITK's gone in our hour of need?!

Reality check - we are an extremely ordinary team with very little flair and no attacking edge. We got more than we deserved today against a Palace team that were better than us pretty much all round. Am I the only one that feels we cheated Zaha? - he was the best player on the pitch, he was scythed down by Bednarak who was lucky not to get a red and fouled by JWP who then mock threw the ball at his face for the sending off incident (yes the clapping is petty - but be honest if that situation was in reverse we'd be mad at the ref for not calling a foul). Thought JWP's reaction was immature. Terrible performance all round. Take the point and count ourselves lucky. Let's not have another 11-day break if that's the result. What's the story with Bertrand and Lemina for goodness sake - when will we ever see them again? We lack class. Yoshida needed back too.

Yup. Looks like a magic left foot. Scores Free kicks. Scores penalties. Pace...some dodgy goalkeeping notwithstanding!

A very interesting and respectful thread - fascinating hearing the pilot 'ITC's' points of view - thank you for your input. As a passenger you put your faith entirely in the pilots and the machines. It is impossible stepping into a small plane to know what the pilots's qualifications are (and even then the distinction between professional and private would be unclear - you'd just go on years of flying, perhaps in that type of 'plane). Hindsight is a wonderful thing...single-engined aircraft, history of accidents, private pilot, night, over water... but most of us, I suspect, would have just stepped in as Sala did. Tragic for all involved - Sala, the pilot, Nantes and Cardiff City - and another reminder to smell the roses.

So do you think the 'not worth trading in the inflated January transfer window' syndrome is going to backfire on everyone with inflated prices in the summer? Such a non-event window in general so far - not just for us. Perhaps there will be some bargain moves in the last week?