Victor Wanyama will miss a whopping five games after picking up his third straight red card of the season.

Saints only have 13 League games left this season, but Victor Wanyama will miss almost half of them after picking up a third straight red card of the season. Indeed the earliest that the Kenyan will be available for selection will be Liverpool at home on March 19th.

This has left Ronald Koeman wanting words with Wanyama.

“I will speak with Victor,”

“I didn’t speak after the game because everybody was so happy about the final result and we have the whole week to analyse the game and to speak about those situations.

“Normally you need to be clever. Of course, we need players like Victor, because they are winning and doing tackles and most of the time it is good for the team.

“Sometimes you can’t take this risk what he took on the pitch in the second half.”

This sounds like Koeman is coming to the end of his tether with Wanyama, his unpredictable tackling of late is of course a concern, but with the issues with the player back in August and the final year of his contract coming up in the summer, the Dutch manager seems set to have a frank exchange with the Kenyan.

Koeman is an honest manager and he is known for telling a player just how it is, sometimes in a fatherly sort of way but also in a more stricter manner.

Earlier in the season I felt that perhaps the club was treating Wanyama with kid gloves in order to persuade him to sign a new deal, but now the gloves are off and Koeman will if not read him the riot act, tell it how it is.

Photo: Action Images

SanMarco added 10:29 - Feb 8 It was his first 'straight red' - the others were for two yellows. I don't agree with those having a really big go at him. The Bournemouth and Norwich situations were about foolish tackles when already on a yellow. Saturday's was a classic case of miscontrolling and lunging in to win it back - if the ref had been standing on the other side of it (and Wet Spam players had reacted like Bertrand did later) even Clattenburg would have only given yellow. Yes - Wanyama has problems with on-field (and for that matter off-field) intelligence but it was hardly a disgraceful incident worthy of all the 'let the club down' talk. Victor does need to learn from these mistakes quickly - if he does he will be a more than useful player.

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halftimeorange added 10:37 - Feb 8 And Ronald should read him the riot act. He let his teammates and the fans down and not for the first time. If Ronald can't get him to contain his aggression then he should be sold. I'm sure we could replace him with someone similarly built and talented with more of a brain with the silly money we'd be likely to get. There was an interesting comment from Keith Hackett, the former referee, in some papers yesterday. He has been joined by Graham Poll in stating that the current crop of PL officials are the worst in the PL's history and he names four of them plus his successor, Mike Riley and he's right. Mike Jones and Lee Mason are hopeless. Mystifyingly, he doesn't include Clattenberg. If Hackett thinks Clattenberg is consistent then we really are in trouble. That still doesn't excuse Wanyama's rashness on Saturday and I still believe his red card was justified but could and should have been avoided. I'd love to know what the rest of the team said to Victor in the dressing room after the game. I bet he didn't get too many understanding pats on the back and expressions of "hard luck".

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SaintPaulVW added 10:39 - Feb 8 Silly boy, oh well, time for Romeu to step up and really shine now.
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johncutler285 added 11:07 - Feb 8 Having looked at the incident in to replays I think a red card was a little harsh, are Saints appealing this? It was a stupid challenge, no where near the ball but he hardly touched the Oscar nominated West Ham player, who managed to come back on with what appeared to be a double fractured leg!! Yesterday an Arsenal midfielder did a 2 footed challenge on Gosling and got a yellow, so perhaps we have grounds for an appeal?

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Jesus_02 added 11:28 - Feb 8 It was a difficult decision for Clattenburg. The way Payet reacted, it looked like the challenge had ended his season. As It turned out he was just being "professional" or "cheating" as people 20 years ago would have said. He wasn't caught at all. Big Vic isn't flavour of the month because of media reports of him wanting to progress his career ect. But 5 match ban is a little unfair in this instance. Who would football fans likle to see get 5 match bans...Those that make occasional reckless challenges or those that seek to get their fellow professionals banned by playing possum?

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saintsnutcase added 12:14 - Feb 8 Sadly I think Vic will be a heck of a player if he goes to Spurs or Arsenal. His ability to win the ball through strength and positioning in the tackle is amazing. I know he doesn't use it very well, but he is a great defensive player. The tackle on Saturday was reckless because he had just lost the ball and was trying to show some intensity. He deserved the red, but it was hot headed, not nasty. That will improve as he gains experience. I would love him to stay. Mane, on the other hand, isn't doing that much for us. He works very hard and has electric pace but lacks the finish and I am not sure that will change. I think we can replace him.

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bstokesaint added 12:44 - Feb 8 It was a harsh red card in my opinion. I thought so when first viewing it and again with the reply evidence. It was a bit reckless, but there were far worse tackles over the weekend that went unpunished or far less harshly so. Wanyama only just missed the ball and the contact with the player was minimal. The West Ham players got him sent off, both with the theatrics and follow-up with the referee. The pundits were right when they said the tackle on Bertrand was far worse, but the boy just stood his ground in a totally professional manner. That's the difference for me. Mark Clattenburg has once again shown how poor a referee he is.

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saintjeff52 added 12:56 - Feb 8 It will be the Media that carries on fuelling speculation about Wanyama. In truth, none of the Big Clubs, or Spurs, will want to take a chance with him. He will end up staying with us. You just watch.
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SonicBoom added 13:07 - Feb 8 I hope he does stay. We are not a big enough or good enough club to think we don't need players of his ability. Why wouldn't we want Wanyama AND Romeu? He's made some stupid mistakes and needs to sort it out but we paid a lot for him and he does an excellent job when he's focussed. He would not be easy or cheap to replace. That said if he wants to go in the summer and we get a big offer then that's fine.

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pintsizedsaint added 13:13 - Feb 8 It was rash, but not malicious. I very much doubt VW wants to continuously do this if he does want to leave as it would just put off potential suitors. I still believe that Spurs wanted him in the summer as Pottychino was panicking about his defensive midfield cover. Yet Dier and Dembele (and others) have now calmed that area down. It's still a possibility - for a bargain price - but i very much doubt Saints are up for haggling with Levy..! As for Arsenal - not sure. A bit of steel in the middle may well help them, but Wenger normally likes midfielders that can pass and contribute to attacking play. Yet i see this a the most likely option out of who is currently being linked. I like WM but I like Romeu's potential even more - simply because Romeu offers a lot more going forward. WM is a bit like an 'old school' enforcer. Don't get me wrong - he's very good at what he's there to do - but the modern game tends to prefer those who offer more range. On a slightly different, but related, note: Jordy Clasie is really beginning to find his feet. I am excited about Clasie and Romeu as our future midfield combo.

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SaintBrock added 15:06 - Feb 8 This will cost us our Europa League spot for sure. It worries me that Clasie was hobbling quite badly when he was taken off and it looked like a bad injury.
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RogerToye added 16:31 - Feb 8 All very sad and disappointing Victor great assist for Yoshida however, and other good memories, seems he is bull dozing his way out of the side :( However good news there is good cover if not better options going forward let's just see 5 games out maybe we will maybe won't see him again this season.
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dirk_doone added 16:42 - Feb 8 Will he ever get as many red cards as Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira and Nemanja Vidic? I doubt it, unless Clattenburg referees a lot more of his games.
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Consigliere added 20:55 - Feb 8 I think that Dirk has put his finger on it - Wanyama's reputation precedes him. Referees expect him to do something rash and he usually obliges. Unfortunately, so do his team mates and the supporters, and a vicious spiral ensues. So, whatever the manager says to him its going to have to be backed up with some carrot and stick. I think that when he comes back from his ban we can afford to leave him on the bench for a bit, watching Romeu go about his business without making a fuss. When he has learned his lesson he should get another start. All of that being said, I still think that Payet was very unprofessional in his Oscar winning performance of the emotion "injured". It would serve him right if someone really did clatter him before the end of the season.

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Zambucco added 13:17 - Feb 9 He's still struggling to find his feet in his new role, I believe he is lacking in confidence following all the speculation about a move. Yes his tackles are sometimes mistimed, but never malicious, just sheer determination to get the ball, I remember Schneiderlin constantly doing this, and look how he turned out. I stick by the mighty Kenyan and we still haven't seen the best of him.

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