Stu

are you deliberately stirring the pot? "Sorry officer, I didn't see the crime but I know he's done previous so he's probably guilty" We fashioned opportunities to get the second, someone else mentioned the poor decision making in the final third...would probably agree with that although it seems a little harsh on the players. Despite going out to a very good side, it seems as though there are people who genuinely expected them to roll over at SJP and that we could go gung-ho from the off (and keep them from scoring one, or more, for 90minutes). The plan to shorten the game to 20-30minutes and go gung-ho was the smart option and sadly we fell short of the target. Pleased that we made it back to the quarter-finals at our first attempt; would have been pretty tough to have gone out before Xmas.

Thought he hit a couple of half-decent inswinging corners in the second half or was someone else taking them?

would you have celebrated if it worked ? did it come close to working? Of course I would, but to restrict yourself to a third of the game to get in front doesn't make sense. It would if we were away but we were at home. The law of averages say we would have had more chance had we have been positive for 90 rather than 30. Not to pick on you, Billy, but it makes perfect sense: Benfica are the best team left in the competition and in all likelihood we would be opening ourselves up for 90minutes if we attacked from the off - for 20minutes we can maybe ride our luck or rely on a few well timed blocks or saves. The smart tactic is to keep ourselves in it for as long as we can and then throw the kitchen sink at them. As Wullie so eloquently wrote earlier, the first goal was well-timed and we were so, so close to pulling it off. Unfortunately, there are keyboard managers who want to watch 90minutes of highlights rather than a real match (not you, Billy) and they dominate the match threads and post-match threads with their frustrations.

:lol: For someone who was at pains to point out how much of a tosser I was towards people who didn't have the same view as me, you're becoming awfully proficient at playing that role.

What would your starting lineup have been? Marv for Bigi. Easy. Why not HBA for Bigi? Because HBA has been injured for a while. Well I would've started both of them easily if they were both fit.

What would your starting lineup have been? Marv for Bigi. Easy. Why not HBA for Bigi?

What would your starting lineup have been?

Go away. It's alreet, I don't live in the miserable corner.

Fucking genius.

Exactly, either some people are thick as shit or they're deliberately choosing to whinge for no reason. Or they think the manager's doing the wrong thing. I know it's a novel idea but stick with me on this one. To be fair, he's doing exactly what he said he'd do before the match. Might as well give it a chance to backfire before we crucify him.

At least you're honest about it

What division?

Cardiff Sheffield Utd Over 2.5 Dortmund v Malaga 1pt trixie 4pts staked. Bank = 45pts

How man, Nick! You've already been banned for using someone else's login deets before... That was a quote from nick.... well played, sir. Nice straight batting.

How man, Nick! You've already been banned for using someone else's login deets before...

Its not coming people, wake up. Didn't you also write long-winded, condescending posts about how Ashley was ruining the club and didn't have the foggiest?

Just out of interest, for those claiming he's not been able to stamp his own 'identity' on the club: what %of player turnover has he had in these last 2years?

woeful start to this. Bank = 56pts 1 Man Utd @ 11/8 2 Roma @ 1/1 3 FC Porto @ 2/5 4 Over 2.5 goals Sevilla v Atletico Bilbao @ 8/11 1pt Trebles (1-4) 3pts Double (1+4) 7pts staked. Bank = 49pts.

where at?

Inman playing at Wembley today?

Are we still able to bring Shearer in for the last few games?

Nothing from the Grand National, 2/5 on the footy. Bank = 71.2pts 1.2pts Gerard to score anytime @ 8/5 1 Liverpool -1 @ 4/5 2 Chelsea -1 @ 8/11 3 Newcastle @ 1/1 4 Over 2.5 goals QPR v Wigan @ 4/5 1pt Yankee (1-4) 3pts Double (1&2) 15.2pts staked. Bank = 56pts

Dunno about transform like, they weren't in the bottom three when they binned Adkins and gave us a real footballing lesson in November (after which we should have made the big decision). They had the most ridiculous opening run of fixtures but since then they've been pretty consistently good. Lovejoy Completely agree, Southampton have played great stuff all season the key differences i have noticed are as follows. 1. Press much better as a team 2. More organised defensively 3. Don't choke away loads of chances every game Seriously i have seen Southampton a lot this season and the amount of chances they were creating under Atkins and throwing away followed by stupid defending led to poor results by comparison. Obviously results have improved but i don't believe performances have been totally transformed. Have to disagree, the way they break NOW is scary. Teams s*** it when 5-6 shift up the park as soon as they get posession. Also today Lambert played like a Michu clone. Early signs are that Pochettino is pretty slick. Believe me i know how good Pochettino is as a coach i saw him a lot at Espanyol, but i don't believe in the main he has changed massive amounts. The high pressing being one of the few, as for Lambert he's played like that all season. ( i think there was a stat going around that only Suarez had created more chances for team mates) I think there is more to come from Pochettino in regard to what he wants because as of right now i don't believe he has changed too much. In between watching Ligue 1, La Liga and all of the other Premiership teams....when do you find time to watch and rewatch all of our games?

Pretty sure we were all crying out at the lack of investment up until that week in January. 2-3mths isn't a long time