Cracking the top 4

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Starting XI - Begovic, Bertrand, Van Dijk, Fonte, Tete, Bender, Clasie, Rodriguez, Tadic, Ward-Prowse, Pelle.

A crushing defeat. Absolutely gutted with this one, especially as once again we missed a penalty, this time Tadic the culprit. I dont know what it is with players on debut but Tete managed to get himself sent off which made things twice as difficult. We defended like deamons for most of the game but 20 seconds before the end of extra time Jon Walters latched onto a deflection off of Begovic to stroke home.
 
That last result must have hurt :( Still doing a great job though!
 
I'm a little worried about Ganso's short stay, hasn't exactly set the world alight for me early on either :S
 
Lippo255 said:
I'm a little worried about Ganso's short stay, hasn't exactly set the world alight for me early on either :S
Click to expand...

He is a very frustrating player.. clearly got talent.. but doesnt show it, then complains when hes dropped.. I felt it better to get my money back before his value dropped.
 
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Starting XI - Begovic, Bertrand, Van Dijk, Fonte, Cedric, Wanyama, Clasie, Rodriguez, Davis, Ward-Prowse, Pelle.

Safely through to the next round of the FA Cup with a good win against Crystal Palace. Captain Fantastic Jose Fonte headed our only goal of the game to get us through to the 5th round which matches the boards expectations of me this season. I eagerly anticipate the draw and hope for an easier team to give us a good cup run.
 
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And in true fashion, my praying for a good cup draw has worked wonders as we get Man Utd, the silver lining being it is at home.

In further news Cuco Martina has been sold to Bristol City.

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Roman has pulled the trigger! he has clearly had enough of Chelsea under performing and has paid the money to fire Jose. Flattered to see myself high on the odds but I will not be going anywhere.

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January Review​

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Very almost the perfect month with the missed penalty in the last minute against Chelsea and the result against Swansea the only things detracting from it. Good progression in the FA Cup and a derby day win against Bournemouth showed our progression as a team.
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The league table is starting to spread out a little with the bottom three in serious trouble and City running away with it at the top. Klopp is working wonders at Liverpool and Jose has paid for Chelsea's poor form and 12th position. The most intriguing part of the table is the mid table battle. Just 4 points separate 6th place Watford (Amazing by the way!) and 12th place Chelsea. All the teams in between have a shot at European qualification and they are good teams as well. Everton, Swansea, West Ham, Stoke, Chelsea, Southampton and Watford. Its going to be a fascinating run in.
Player of the Month​
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Jose Fonte has been in sensation form this month and chipped in with two goals to top of his dominating performances in the centre of defence. Well done Jose.
February Preview​
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February could be a slightly more relaxing month with not so many games crammed into it. Leicester and Norwich are games we really should be winning while Sporting in the Europa League will be a fascinating challenge.
 
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Starting XI - Begovic, Bertrand, Van Dijk, Fonte, Clyne, Bender, Clasie, Rodriguez, Davis, Mane, Pelle.

This is not good enough, we are slipping further and further behind the chasing pack by failing to pick up wins in games that we should be winning. Sadio Mane scored our only goal of the game but Gokhan Inler was able to equalise after some excellent play by Jamie Vardy. It turns out the result was not enough to save poor Claudio.

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Starting XI - Begovic, Bertrand, Yoshida, Van Dijk, Tete, Bender, Wanyama, Tadic, Ward-Prowse, Mane, Austin.

Oh yes! just as I thought we were on a hiding to nothing, up pops Graziano Pelle to break his dry spell and convert our dominance into 3 vital points. Norwich didnt have a sniff for the whole game and Alex Tettey didnt help matters for them by getting sent off.
 
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Starting XI - Begovic, Bertrand, Van Dijk, Fonte, Cedric, Wanyama, Davis, Tadic, Mane, Rodriguez, Pelle.

Despite having the vast majority of chances it just wasnt to be on a difficult night in Portugal. We hit the post a couple of times and missed some sitters to leave us looking extremely vulnerable and without an away goal. We are going to have to do very well to claw our way back into this tie.
 
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Starting XI - Begovic, Bertrand, Fonte, Yoshida, Cedric, Wanyama, Davis, Tadic, Mane, Rodriguez, Austin.

A fantastic win thanks to a last gasp effort from Maya Yoshida! I really thought we were dead and burried when we went 2-0 down before half time but a wonderful 2nd half effort from all the lads helped us to turn it around with Tadic, Austin and then Yoshida scoring goals to put us into the next round of the cup!
 
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Starting XI - Begovic, Bertrand, Van Dijk, Fonte, Cedric, Wanyama, Clasie, Tadic, Mane, Rodriguez, Austin.

A fantastic, fantastic result tonight! There was a real party atmosphere on the South Coast at St Mary's as a tactical tweak saw us destroy Sporting 4-0 to take the tie 4-2 and advance in the competition. Austin, Wanyama, Rodriguez and Tadic all featured on the score sheet with the highlight of the game being Wanyamas bullet from 25 yards. I have never seen a volley hit so well. This is real progress and proof that we can punch above our weight in Europe.
 
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Starting XI - Begovic, Bertrand, Van Dijk, Fonte, Cedric, Wanyama, Clasie, Tadic, Mane, Rodriguez, Austin.

Tight at the back, fluid going forward and dominating possession, the perfect performance. I am absolutely delighted with the lads who are on a real roll now in terms of form. Tadic opened the scoring and then Pelle (coming on as a substitute) doubled our lead. It is fantastic that we have two strikers in Pelle and Austin who are in form and scoring goals, it is a nice dilemma to have making the selection every week.
 
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February Review​

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Another almost perfect month. Consecutive wins over Norwich and Sunderland see us make some real progress in the league while we also stay alive in the Europa League and FA Cup.
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While we haven't made much progress up the table in terms of position, we are massively closer to fulfilling our Europa League goals. Our game in hand could see us up into the Euro places and momentum is now on our side as well. Chelsea are still languishing with Carlo Ancellotti failing to reverse their fortunes quickly and I'm sure you will not be surprised to see Arsenal beginning to tail off with Liverpool and United still with games in hand. At this point Bournemouth and Leicester look pretty much gone but anything can happen in the Premier League.

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The Europa League had drawn us against Liverpool in the last 16. A tricky tie but one I am sure players and fans alike are relishing.

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I would hesitate to say that the FA Cup draw has been slightly kinder to us with an away trip to Middlesbrough in the quarter finals. We are going to have to work hard and field a strong side to avoid an upset here.

Player of the Month​
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Dusan Tadic has had a storming month and his 3 goals in the last 3 games have done enough for me to vote him the Saints player of the month. Well done Dusan.

March Preview
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Ouch, now thats what I call a tough month. Arsenal, Manchester United, Trying to avoid a cupset and then Liverpool twice is going to pay a toll on the squad, lets hope they are up to it.
 
Great turnaround in Feb! Lets hope you can carry some of that form over into March - looks like you'll need it!! ;)
 
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Starting XI - Begovic, Bertrand, Van Dijk, Fonte, Cedric, Bender, Clasie, Tadic, Mane, Ward-Prowse, Pelle.

Graziano Pelle take a bow! Four goals for the Italian hitman saw us edge past Arsenal in some style. This could prove to be a massive win in terms of our league standing but of course there is always a down side. Sadio Mane picked up an injury during the match and will miss the next 4-5 weeks. This could be a serious blow to our chances and it is going to have to be either Jay Rodriguez or Juanmi filling in the central shadow striker role.

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Starting XI - Begovic, Bertrand, Van Dijk, Fonte, Cedric, Wanyama, Clasie, Tadic, Rodriguez, Ward-Prowse, Pelle.

A cracking match in the rain at St Mary's as we battled for a draw against Liverpool. Benteke opened the scoring after a goalmouth scramble and then Wanyama equalised almost instantly with another beauty of a half volley. Liverpool's away goal just about gives them the edge for the away leg at Anfield.
 
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