Match Day Thread Southampton v Inter Milan 3rd Nov. 20:05

Fonte posted this picture of himself looking disconsolate yesterday morning (without a comment). I guess he'd just found out he wasn't playing. He did post a 'We March On' comment after the match though.

 

Poor Jose looks like a jilted lover thete. Then again, he could have been in Istanbul last night, losing to Fenehbace.

 

Ah, but would they have lost if they played with a Fonte.

 

So is Fonte being rested so that he can play in the more important Hull away!? Or is Yoshida considered to be better suited to play against the likes of Inter. A bit tough either way. If it's the former, it's very tough. Battle through 6 seasons only to be rested for the games you most want to play in.

 

I think last nights result is possibly the greatest ever at St Marys

 

Mourinho would show his genius and play Phil Jones ahead of him anyway.

 

I feel for Fonte...it's not like I'm saying play a liability out of sentiment....he is good enough to be in the team on merit. Puel has to make his own decisions, but Fonte must be really gutted about his lack of involvement.

 

Whats retrospective action like regarding UEFA? Referee 'saw' it so no further bans?

 

I assume you are talking about the McQueen incident...can't see anything happening because the ref gave him a yellow card because he saw it. Unless the yellow card was for damaging the penalty spot, so leaving it open for further action.

 

Claude has shown himself to be both courageous and ruthless when it comes to selection and rotation.

Bit like Guardiola in that regard. But better, because only Claude looks like an extra from Reservoir Dogs.

 

I know it was a great game and a great result but, "best ever"? I don't think so.

Inter WERE a great team. They're not anymore. That team would struggle in the Premier league.

Don't take this as me trying to put a damper on the whole thing. I'm not. It was a brilliant night for Saints. If we can beat Prague away....that would be a brilliant result.

 

Dear Les, Please get Sam McQueen to sign a new contract. x Fran

 

It was confirmed that it was for unsporting behaviour which I took as being damaging the penalty spot.

 

Interesting!

 

Congrats on last night lads.
Saw the highlights (had been out so didn't know the score) & whilst i would prefer you to win over Inter any time you play after their antics i was a temporary Saints fan for the night
We moan about the antics of players here and the standard of refereeing but last night should put it in perspective.
Anyways as i said congrats and i hope your hangovers disappear soon

 

Fat le Tiss

I totally agree that the progress made over the last few years have been staggering, Dagenham & Redbridge must be about the poorest side I have seen at St Marys and the gap in status between them an Inter Milan is considerable. However, I think it would have been more impressive beating Chelsea had we won last weekend than this current Inter Milan team. Inter were nothing special and certainly no better than most mid-table premiership teams these days.

I think the points that need to be made before getting carried away are that Saints achieved this result without employing either their most senior or "better" players and that from the games I have seen at home this season, would suggest that we are capable of playing even better. Fair enough, it is a good measure to compare where we have come from but it is also fair to say that even a Saints "second string" team was more the capable against Milan. The fact that Puel left players like Fonte out of the team is perhaps indicative of just how capable this squad is at the moment.

 

Perhaps people could just say that they enjoyed it more than any other win. That's possible without considering the quality of the opposition. However, it was also a very important game. I'm fairly certain that losing to Chelsea won't cause us any problems in the EPL, but losing to Inter could have cost us the chance of getting out of the group stage (as the pressure would be really on....actually it is very unsaintly for us to get our wins in early....the team usually likes to torture us). Anyway, I digress....getting through the group stage will be another sign of our progress and more important than being a place higher up in the EPL (unless we finish 18th).

 

Just 2 other comments re Europa league. While in this country it is often denigrated to some extent because PL places returned a better financial return it is still european footie which always has a special feeling - Anfield is almost always noiser for such games than legue fixtures.
Financially EL now offers a decent return - our prize money for last seasons campaign was 38m Euros .

 

You always have too much money.