Saints midfielder Andrew Surman has joined Premier League new boys Wolves in a deal worth an initial £1.2m.

It’s believed that the deal could rise to £2m based on appearances and if Wolves manage to stay in the top flight beyond this season.

Surman made 144 appearances for the club, 18 of which were as a substitute, and scored 18 goals. He also won 4 caps for the England Under-21s during his time at St Mary’s, scoring on his debut in a 3-0 win in Montenegro.

He had been linked with a move to Reading a year ago, a rumour which resurfaced again in the January transfer window, but following their failure to win promotion and the resignation of Steve Coppell, a long-time admirer, Wolves boss Mick McCarthy made a move to take him to the Black Country, where he joins another Southampton local, Sam Vokes, in a youthful-looking squad.

In other transfer news, Kelvin Davis has had a medical at West Ham, but that move still hasn’t been finalised - it’s believed he’s still waiting to hear if there will be a contract offer here first as he and his family are well settled in the area.

Mark Wotte has been given some sort of contract extension, although it’s unclear as to the terms of that deal, particularly with the likelihood that a new owner would want to bring in their own man. With that in mind, it’s likely to be a monthly rolling contract. Wotte has kept Michael Svensson on his backroom team. The future of Dean Gorré is unclear at the moment.

My view of the action.

The width of the post denied Saints a comeback victory after Andrew Surman’s last-gasp free-kick hit the woodwork. David McGoldrick had equalised DJ Campbell’s first-half penalty to earn Saints a point.

In a drab game of few chances, it was Blackpool who set the pace in the early stages, while Saints struggled to come to terms with the poor playing surface. However the away side did have a decent opportunity after ten minutes - Barker had headed behind for a corner and McGoldrick rose highest to head Gillett’s set piece just over.

But when not a lot seemed on, Blackpool were given the opportunity to take the lead inside the first 20 minutes. Saejis appeared to be dealing with a ball into the box and DJ CAMPBELL went down rather innocuously to earn a surprise penalty, which the Leicester City loanee stepped up to tuck away into the bottom left hand corner, with Davis diving the other way.

The seasider’s looked to extend their lead, when Campbell crossed for ex-Saint Ormerod, but he could only direct his header straight at the keeper. While Saints could only muster up one decent chance when Euell, who later went off injured, sent a towering header wide of the mark after a deep cross from the left from Skacel.

And while the game continued to be an uneventful, scrappy affair, it almost sparked into life towards the end of the half, when Campbell met Southern’s cross with an overhead kick, which looked goal bound, but for the acrobatics of Davis, who tipped over the bar.

Half time: Blackpool 1-0 Southampton

The Saints started the second half with a bit more intent, but were having to build up slowly against a stubborn ‘pool rearguard. McGoldrick showed some neat skill, before finding Surman, who’s cross was headed behind by another ex-Saint Crainey and from the resulting corner, Saganowski headed over the bar.

The home side were playing on the counter attack, in order to utilise the obvious pace possessed upfront by Campbell and the system almost paid off when the striker nipped in behind Saejis with ease, but lacked composure when one on one with Davis - only managing to lob the ball straight into the goalkeepers arms.

Again Saints pressed, but again Blackpool countered and after McGoldrick had seen his shot blocked after decent build up from both Saganowski and Wright-Phillips; Campbell managed to find himself through again, but passed to Small, who shot fiercely across the face of goal.

Saints would find an equaliser though and it was a memorable one. Skacel played in DAVID MCGOLDRICK, who flicked onto Saganowski and seized onto the return ball, nodding past Barker and turning Crainey inside out, before coolly slotting past Rachubka in the Blackpool goal.

Crainey curled a free kick just over the bar for the hosts, but it was Saints who ended the game the stronger. First Surman fired over the bar from a tight angle, before agony in the last minute, when he shot at goal directly from a free kick, which hit the inside of the post and bounced over the head of Wright-Phillips, who was ready to bounce for a simple rebound.

Full time: Blackpool 1-1 Southampton

It’s the business end of the season and three points were needed and we didn’t get them, which is disappointing. I thought we were unlucky in general, but the result was a fair one.

Blackpool had two great opportunities through DJ Campbell, who was pretty lively throughout, however the penalty decision was a poor one - a clear dive from where I was stood and we were also unlucky with Surman’s free kick, which hit the inside of the post.

Aswell as Campbell having a good game for the hosts, I thought Barker in defence shaded it as their best player, as he looked committed throughout and often through himself in the way of things, it was tough trying to get past him and when we finally did, it took a moment of magic from McGoldrick.

In terms of our own performance, I thought it was very much below par in the first half and for most of the second half. The pitch didn’t help and the game was a battle, but there was little rhythm in our play. Quite often we’d try and break from full back through Jake Thomson, but he had little support or options, as with a narrow midfield diamond, which meant he was often crossing from deep and this was extremely poor.

In defence, both Perry and Saejis had shaky moments, twice allowing Campbell to be clean through on goal, as they failed to deal with the tricky striker, but overall they didn’t disgrace themselves and were Ok.

In midfield Schneiderlin didn’t deal with the conditions and was right to be subbed for a battler like Wotton, while Gillett covered three positions in the match and was decent in all of them - to which he deserves some serious credit for. While Surman was unlucky with his free kick, but his consistency of delivery could be improved.

Going forward we didn’t look great. Euell won some aerial battles, but then got injured and his replacement Wright-Phillips didn’t really expose the opposition backline too much, same for Saganowski. As for McGoldrick, I’d give him man of the match on the basis that goals are important he took his so well.

There is a lot that could have been better in this game, but it must be noted that we showed good character to come from behind, when in particular we didn’t play that well, but still managed to score. Every game from now on is obviously vital, so hopefully we can turn in some games with a bit more winning mentality, starting at home to Charlton.

Saints failed to take numerous good chances that came their way in a game they dominated, and missed an opportunity to move out of the bottom three in the process.

Full report to follow…

A fantastic first-half blitz and a resolute second half from a fired-up Saints side ensured only a second home league win of the season after two goals from Marek Saganowski and one from Andrew Surman against high-flying Preston North End.

Mark Wotte made two changes to the side that started the defeat at Bristol City last week with Simon Gillett and Adam Lallana replacing Paul Wotton and Morgan Schneiderlin in midfield. The most intriguing selection was more in terms of positions, with Jason Euell partnering Saganowski up front and David McGoldrick lining up alongside Simon Gillett in the centre of midfield.

For Preston, Andrew Davies - Saints player of the year last season - made his first return to St Mary’s since his move to Stoke City, who he is currently on loan from, and Ross Wallace returned from suspension.

Saints once again started brightly, aiming to put right the worst home record in the Football League, and Andrew Surman and McGoldrick were both in the thick of the action in the opening minutes, with Surman’s shot from the edge of the area blocked and McGoldrick’s flicked header going just wide of the post.

Saints were keeping the visitors penned back in their own half, and it wasn’t too long before that pressure forced an error in the Preston defence. A poor clearance by Eddie Nolan fell for McGoldrick who burst into the area. Davies got a toe-end on the ball but only succeeded in diverting it into the path of Surman, whose fierce left-footed drive flew into the bottom corner giving Andy Lonergan no chance.

The lead was nearly doubled three minutes later when Skacel’s deep cross was met on the run by Jason Euell but his header was well saved by Lonergan, and he was nearly beaten by his own man shortly afterwards when Lloyd James’ curling cross was sliced just over the bar by Sean St Ledger.

Saints weren’t to be denied a deserved second goal for much longer, though, as Lallana chested down a diagonal ball from Gillett for Saganowski 25 yards from goal, and the Pole took a touch before rifling a shot into the top corner for a genuine goal of the season candidate.

The danger with a two-goal lead was for complacency to set in, and that was certainly a real worry two minutes later as Jon Parkin found himself in the clear on the right, but he scuffed his shot well wide of the far post.

That served to settle the concentration, and shortly before half-time, Saints and Saganowski in particular fired the hammer blow. Davies had hobbled off the pitch as Preston launched an attack leaving them totally exposed when the move broke down. Gillett found Saganowski on the half-way line in acres of space, and he ran with the ball right to the edge of the area where he turned Billy Jones and left him on the ground before firing a shot through the legs of St Ledger and Lonergan into the back of the net.

After three minutes of injury time, the half-time whistle blew and the team got a thoroughly deserved standing ovation off the pitch.

Preston boss Alan Irvine, clearly incensed with his team’s first half performance, made three substitutions at half-time. One was forced upon him with Davies’ injury, his place in defence was taken by Youl Mawene. Chris Sedgewick and Barry Nicholson were replaced by striker Chris Brown and former Saints loanee Richard Chaplow. Chaplow wasted no time making his mark on the game with a late challenge on Surman which earned a word in his ear from the referee.

Saints continued to make all the running, and forced a series of corners, but the visitors’ defending was much improved since the half-time bollocking they’d have received from their manager, and they managed to deal with everything that was thrown at them.

The one time the defence was breached, Lonergan was at his best to turn Lallana’s header around the post. Shortly afterwards, Preston got themselves a lifeline when the ball fell kindly to Ross Wallace who curled it past the despairing dive of Kelvin Davis into the far corner.

Memories of THAT game against Leeds United in 2005 will have started to come flooding back in the stands, and the tension was turned up another notch when Brown found himself with a bit of space to poke the ball past Davis but without any power in the shot, Lloyd James was able to get back and clear it to safety.

With three minutes to go, Hungarian defender Zoltan Liptak was brought on for his debut, replacing Adam Lallana, and slotting into a newly-formed back 5 to close the game out. Preston were knocking lots of long balls towards the edge of the area hoping for a knockdown from either Brown or Parkin, but Liptak and Jan-Paul Saeijs won every header that came their way, and after four minutes of injury time, the full-time whistle was blown and finally, after 11 home league games without a win, a second victory on home soil was secured.

The victory and the margin of victory were no more than we deserved, particularly with the way the team simply blew Preston away in the first half. Any neutral watching the game who didn’t know Saints were second from bottom and Preston fourth from top at the start of play would have been hard-pressed to work out that the visitors were the in-form team.

The test, now the home hoodoo has been broken, is to follow that up with another victory. It’ll be another tough test against a Cardiff City side who are still well in with a shout of automatic promotion at this late stage of the season. However, after today’s performance, anything’s possible. We’ve generally reserved our better performances for games against the better teams, so there’s no reason why we can’t take all three points against the Bluebirds. Even a point wouldn’t represent a particularly bad result, although as Mark Wotte has said since the end of the game, we’re probably going to need to win 5 or 6 of our remaining 13 Championship games. I don’t think there’s any doubt that it’ll be a much lower “safety” points total this season with so many teams still in and around the bottom three, so even though we probably won’t get near the 54 points we accrued last season, a 45-point haul will probably give us a very good chance, and in order to achieve that, we’d need another 14 points, or five wins at a conservative estimate.

Before the game, you’d have been hard-pressed to find too many optimistic Saints fans, but after it the mood will have been vastly different. Who knows, perhaps another Great Escape could be on the cards.

Saints suffered an agonising injury-time defeat to ten-man Sheffield United having dominated most of the game. A predictable story, you might say…

Full report to follow.

News reports linking Saints players with moves away from the club have been few and far between in recent weeks, but are we witnessing the calm before the inevitable storm?

Many seemingly “in the know” people on the SaintsWeb forum had been stating that deals had already been done prior to the opening of the January transfer window that would see our key players sold off in order to stave off the threat of administration. Those deals have - so far, at least - failed to materialise, as the likes of Andrew Surman and Adam Lallana are still Saints players.

However, when the footballing vultures are looking for carcasses to pick at for their next signings, deals are often left right until the last possible moment as an air of desperation sets in on the part of the selling club just to get some money through the door before the embargo on transfers kicks in until the summer.

The stories linking Surman with a move to Reading have dried up, as have those pointing Lallana towards Fulham, but it’s expected that rumours will once again begin to be circulated in the next few days as the transfer window reaches its conclusion.

Rudi Skacel is, according to the BBC, in talks with an “unnamed” foreign club over a transfer after reportedly asking to leave. His arrival in 2006 was the most protracted and drawn-out signing that I can remember Saints being involved in, with the forum’s predecessor being the location of a daily “has Skacel signed yet?” wind-up thread for what felt like an eternity, but was probably about four months.

He arrived under a massive fanfare, including a rather cringeworthy contract-signing PR stunt on the pitch before a pre-season friendly, and for a reasonably large fee of £1.6m from Hearts, and it’s a decent debate as to whether he’s provided value for money over the two and a half years he’s been at the club. While his general demeanour has sometimes appeared to be somewhat lazy and half-arsed (I don’t think for a moment that that actually is his attitude, for what it’s worth), and he hasn’t scored anywhere near the amount of goals he would probably have liked, the figures in terms of assists have been very good, so to suggest he hasn’t contributed to the team is wrong, particularly considering he’s played most of his games for the club in the last 18 months out of position at left-back.

If he does eventually sign for whoever the foreign club is, it’ll relieve the club of a fairly hefty salary, which may ultimately mean we’re able to keep hold of one of our better young players. I’m certainly not holding my breath on that one - nobody apart from those with direct access to the club’s bank account knows the true scale of the situation right now in terms of how close we are to administration, but taking the prudent approach (i.e. expecting the worst), it’s likely one or more of our better players will be snapped up by a club offering a higher league position and a higher salary than we are able to. Any deal that is done will probably wait until late on Monday, as that will be the time when we get desperate and take whatever offers are on the table.

Not the best of scenarios going into a run-in that could shape the future of Southampton Football Club for years to come, but that’s the “joy” of the transfer window. Hats off to FIFA and UEFA once again for that one.

Halfway through the transfer window, the rumour mill has finally started to kick in.

While Manchester City are ridiculously chasing a player with a bid of £107m, enough to clear SFC’s debts three times over, Jan Poortvliet is looking for much more realistic options, and Fiorentina striker Arturo Lupoli - formerly of Arsenal and Derby and currently on loan at relegation rivals Norwich - appears to fit the bill, particularly if reports on an independent Fiorentina website (translated here) are to be believed. Lupoli has not hidden his unhappiness at being left out of the team for most of the season by Glenn Roeder, but as he was sacked on Wednesday morning, it’s possible that he may still have a future at Carrow Road, at least for the remainder of his loan deal which expires at the end of the season.

Realistically, Saints are going to have to sell someone before they’re able to buy any more players, so needless to say the attention will then turn to which one (or more) of our first-team regulars is going to be prised away from St Mary’s.

With the acquisition of left-back Lee Molyneaux on a free transfer from Everton, Rudi Skacel would appear to be the most likely departure. However, at this stage there still appears to be no interest in the Czech international, presumably due to the high wage demands which scuppered his summer move to Ipswich.

Andrew Surman and Adam Lallana have been linked with moves to Stoke City and Fulham respectively, with many on the SaintsWeb forum claiming to be “in the know” and having heard that deals to sell one or both of them to Premier League clubs had already been done as long ago as October last year. So far, those claims are looking pretty flimsy, although it would be very foolish to rule out the sale of either of them (or any of the other promising young players in the first team) before the transfer window slams shut on February 2nd.

A disastrous first eleven minutes were the deciding factor in today’s game at Turf Moor that saw a brave but ultimately fruitless fightback in the second half. Goals from Rudi Skacel and Andrew Surman weren’t enough to rectify the three goals conceded early on as Chris Perry scored an own goal and Joey Gudjohnsson added a brace for high-flying Burnley.

My view of the action.

Burnley made their intentions known as early as the second minute, with Joey Gudjonsson playing in Martin Paterson, who shrugged off Chris Perry and saw his fierce effort come off the underside of the bar. A let off for now.

Wright-Phillips saw his cross for the visitors cleared by Caldwell as Jason Euell, returning to the team, lurked in the box. But not content with conceding two early goals – as they did on Monday away at Crystal palace, Saints decided to go one better, in a mad spell that saw us three goals down after just 11 minutes.

Wade Elliot’s cross from the right flank appeared to lack much danger, but CHRIS PERRY stuck out a foot, which was enough to divert the ball for an own goal into the far corner, past the despairing dive of Kelvin Davis.

And after making a superb low save from Robbie Blake’s sweeping free kick, Davis would turn to villain as he dropped Steven Caldwell’s header from the resulting corner perfectly onto the head of JOEY GUDJONSSON who steered the ball home from close range and past David McGoldrick on the line.

Further desolation ensued, when more slack defending allowed Paterson to waltz down the left and as he knocked the ball past Perry, Elliot covered his team-mate and crossed low for JOEY GUDJONSSON who ran into the box unchallenged and fired home for his second and Burnley’s third.

The game did start to settle down, but Saints didn’t look as though they’d cut the deficit, as chances continued to come the home side’s way. First Chris McCann’s low effort was parried straight to Paterson who somehow hit the post with Davis very much beaten, before Chris Eagles forced the Southampton number one into a smart low save.

The half drew to a close with Burnley playing at walking pace and Southampton looking very much dejected, although they could have got an important goal when David McGoldrick headed at goal from Surman’s free kick, but his effort sailed just wide.

Half Time: Burnley 3-0 Southampton

After getting berated by some fans as they left the pitch for half time, the Southampton players came out into the second half with a point to prove and almost reduced the three goal margin, when Wright-Phillips cut in from the right and laid off for McGoldrick to shoot, but he saw his shot tipped over the bar.

But they did get a goal and suggested a fight back was on the cards, when a corner was scrambled around the box, but Euell freed the ball to RUDI SKACEL on the edge of the box who lashed home a fine goal.

And Saints could have had another goal in quick succession, when Jason Euell’s looping header was clawed off the line by Jensen. Burnley had an equally decent headed opportunity when McCann headed over when unmarked from a corner, but Saints were starting to dream of a remarkable comeback, when they pulled it back to 3-2…

Wright-Phillips took a quick throw in and Euell skipped past his man, before threading a perfect ball through to ANDREW SURMAN, who took the ball in his stride and fired across Jensen with a crisp low shot.

But Burnley could have killed off the game, when Davis punched a corner clear into the path of Robbie Blake, who had the goal at his mercy, but saw his shot deflected o ver. And as the Saints were losing their momentum, Burnley should have killed off the game when substitute Steven Thompson shot straight at Davis from just a couple of yards out and the saints were to run out of time.

Full time: Burnley 3-2 Southampton

Poor, poor defending set us up for another uphill battle and it was a bit of a joke that we conceded three goals in the first 11 minutes, after we had conceded two early goals on Monday. Poortvliet said we would attempt to start games better, but we went and started even worse, which was some feat.

Sure, we did threaten a comeback and the second half was a little better, but it looked better on paper, than it actually was. In truth, we played well for about 10 minutes over the 90, which isn’t good enough.

And further still, we could have conceded a couple more in the second half, after we should have been about 6-0 down at half time. I’m sure that we can get the defensive formula right though, as we showed a few weeks back that we could be solid defensively and the personnel haven’t changed in this area.

Upfront we still look mightily weak though and had to rely on goals from midfielders. We do however look more threatening with Jason Euell in the team and he should be considered as a definite starter.

Burnley did play well, but their goals were a little gifted. Upfront Martin Paterson gave us the run around, showing good energy to run the flanks, he also showed creativity and should have scored at least two. In midfield, they passed it around well and always had runners and their hard work probably deserved the luck that they got.

We need to forget about the past week and look forward to our home tie against Nottingham Forest next week, as it is vitally important that not only do we win our home games, but we win against the teams that are around us at the bottom of the table.

Saints staged a fantastic second half recovery to come back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 thanks to a last-minute winner from David McGoldrick and earlier goals from Andrew Surman and debutant Alex Pearce.

The away side were without ever present Adam Lallana, who missed out with an ankle injury – he was replaced by Ryan Smith. Elsewhere Oliver Lancashire replaced Paul Wotton; after completing a two game suspension and new loan signing Alex Pearce started at the expense of Jason Euell, with Cork and Surman moving forward. Furthermore Chris Perry, Joseph Mills and Tomas Pekhart were missing from the squad with flu.

Preston started the brighter of the two teams and it was the home side who dominated chances wise early on. Their first chance was slightly edgy. A corner was deflected goal wards and dropped inches wide, with keeper Davis under pressure from the large stature of Jon Parkin. However their second effort on goal was something of a warning sign to the Saints.

Lloyd James was caught napping in the middle of the park and Ross Wallace took advantage, stealing the ball away from the right back and running down the left hand side with intent. The Sunderland loanee then put in an impressive cross, which was chested down at the back post by Parkin, who steadied himself well and hit a fierce drive at goal, which was well parried by Davis.

Parkin appeared to be in the thick of things early on and after appearing to dive in the box, he was later cursing the lineman’s flag, when he slid home Sean St Ledger’s pass. The full back had timed his run too early against the Saints rearguard though.

The home side perhaps should have done better when Stephen Elliot twisted and turned past Oliver Lancashire, before dragging his shot wide. While the away side were also guilty of poor finishing when James’ cross was glanced wide by David McGoldrick, who slid in too late.

The Saints were seeing plenty of possession in midfield, but were looking short up front; something the fans seemed a little uptight about, with urges of shoot common – Morgan Schneiderlin answered the calls, but saw his long range effort sail wide and the Saints would soon be cursing their luck when Thomson’s cross from the right was spilled by Preston number one Andy Lonergan at the feet of Andrew Surman, who couldn’t react quick enough.

And it was the home side that showed a clinical edge in front of goal, as they raced into a twp goal lead just before half time…

A ball into the box wasn’t dealt with well by the Saints defence and the ball rolled to BILLY JONES on the edge of the box. The midfielder took a touch before unleashing a low drive through a crowd of player s and into the bottom corner of the net.

The host doubled their lead not long after when another ball wasn’t dealt with just inside the penalty area and STEPHEN ELLIOT lashed home with a low unstoppable effort that oozed confidence.

And while the first half was drawing to a close, it could have been game over when St Ledger rose to head Barry Nicholson’s corner just wide of the goal.

Half time: Preston North End 2-0 Southampton

Changes were needed for the second half and manager Jan Poortvliet duly responded. The Dutchman bringing on Bradley Wright-Phillips for Lloyd James and academy youngster Oscar Gobern for Ryan Smith.

The changes seemed to work a treat for Saints who were boosted by the added injection of pace in the side. First Wright-Phillips cut in and had a tame shot at goal, which Lonergan was equal to and then linking up well with McGoldrick, before curling an effort just wide.

Again the pair linked up well, with Wright-Phillips’ low cross just too pacey for Thomson to connect with at the back post. But Preston could have made sure of the three points when Elliot broke through the middle and passed to Wallace out wide, but the winger cut in and curled his effort wide, which was to prove costly, as soon the Saints were back in the game…

Surman swung in a corner from the left hand side and debutant ALEX PEARCE rose highest to thump a header home, game on…

Momentum was proving vital and  ANDREW SURMAN had a goal to his name, as well as his assist, just moments later when Thomson’s deep cross was volleyed back across goal by Gobern for the midfielder  to score from close range with a diving header!

Southampton continued to press and were desperately unlucky not to score again soon after, when Wright-Phillips played in McGoldrick, who in turn flicked across goal for Oscan Gobern, but he took too long to compose himself and saw his shot blocked and the youngster; making his first team debut, had another chance to net a debut goal when he saw his free header well saved.

Ross Wallace almost spoiled a well earnt point for the away side moments from the end when he saw his shot fizz over the bar, but it was Saints who managed to complete a stunning comeback in the last minute of the game!

DAVID MCGOLDRICK picked the ball up some way out, but surged goal wards, beating Brown for pace and then side stepping Mawene, before slotting the ball past the onrushing Lonergan with deadly composure to send the away support into delirium.

Full time:  Preston North End 2-3 Southampton.

Summary

A stunning comeback indeed. Credit goes to the manager and players, who managed to turn things around, when at half time they looked well and truly dead and buried.

The substitutions made were very beneficial as both Wright-Phillips and Gobern impressed, particularly the latter who fitted into the team seamlessly, despite being thrown in at the deep end. The midfielder was hard working, but useful and made some good runs, deserving his assist and he could have scored too.

I must stress though, that the first half performance was quite poor. Again we looked short in the final third and David McGoldrick looked a little shaky upfront on his own. (but much better when linking up with Wright-Phillips in the second half).

In defence, Pearce gave a very solid performance and deserved his goal, although Lancashire looked a little rusty and possibly could have done more to prevent at least one of the goals we conceded. At full back Lloyd James again looked exposed and deserved to be sacrificed at half time – Cork looking a lot more solid with the role, while Rudi Skacel put in a decent shift and in goal Kelvin Davis made a notable save.

In midfield we kept possession relatively well, but with McGoldrick often dropping back, it was a little crowded and we need to stick to the formation asked. In the second half we pressed better and looked more effective with the midfield formation.

Upfront I still think we need to play two strikers, as we looked very short, but second half it looked spot on as McGoldrick and Wright-Phillips linked up very well, with McGoldrick looking far more confident and taking his goal nicely. In terms of man of the match, I feel Surman deserves this award as was one of the few that played well for the full 90 minutes – In the first half he often made runs through the middle but had no-one to pass to, while in the second half picked up a great goal and assist combination. Special mentions must go to Pearce and Gobern who both put in very good performances under the circumstances.

Preston were half decent and deserved their half time lead for sure, but they lacked a little professionalism as they let a comfortable lead slip. In the second half they could not handle the momentum and confidence Saints possessed that particularly came with our first goal. I think one of the things we could learn from Preston is the fact that their forward line looked a threat – upfront Elliot drifted out wide and put in lots of effort, in the comfort of knowing his strike partner Parkin was in the box. However if we choose to continue with one striker upfront, if McGoldrick drops back and works hard like Elliot, we don’t have anyone waiting in the box.

Anyhow, this was a great comeback and one that I and many others will savour for a long time.

Two goals from Jay Tabb and one apiece for Leon McKenzie and former Saints Leon Best saw Saints slump to a 4-1 defeat at the Ricoh Arena to maintain our 100% losing record in televised games this season.

Two goals from Jay Tabb and one apiece for Leon McKenzie and former Saint Leon Best saw Saints slump to a 4-1 defeat at the Ricoh Arena to maintain our 100% losing record in televised games this season.

It was a deserved win for the home side who looked threatening throughout, whilst Saints fans who made the journey to Coventry and those who saw the televised match alike, were left scratching their heads at what went wrong after a previous run of two wins on the bounce.

Coventry looked to utilise their pace down the wings from the start of the game and Leon McKenzie made light work of Lloyd James, before crossing into the box. Chris Perry was on guard to clear, but it was a sign of things to come – two experienced, fast wingers in McKenzie and Tabb, against a make-shift right back in James and a left back in Joseph Mills, who had just a handful of first team appearances to his name.

The Saints slowly started to threaten, but were lacking in the final third of the pitch. This showed when Cork did well in midfield and teed up Adam Lallana, who had no option but to shoot from 20 yards out; his shot fizzing wide.

Neat passing served the away side well for a ten minute spell, but chances were hard to come by. Mills got forward well down the left and crossed into the centre, however there was no-one on hand to attack the ball in the box; McGoldrick sliding in too late to send the ball wide.

Coventry soon gave Southampton a lesson in attacking the ball in the area, as McKenzie again skipped past James down the left hand side and crossed dangerously for JAY TABB, who darted away from Mills and thumped a header into the bottom corner.

Mills curled over from distance in a half hearted attempt, before Coventry again broke away with pace. Leon Best timed his run well to beat the offside trap and the ex saint squared for Freddy Eastwood, who looked certain to tuck the ball away, had the ball reached him; Ollie Lancashire sliding in brilliantly to intercept.

And if they should have scored with that chance, most of those watching must have been watching in disbelief as Coventry furthermore squandered two fantastic opportunities. Contact from Lancashire on Eastwood inside the box seemed minimal and despite no appeals from home players or fans equally; a penalty was given. Elliot Ward stepped up to take and apparent justice was served when Ward – a usually clinical penalty taker, decided to be cheeky and chip the ball down the middle, only to be left with ‘egg on his face’ when Davis saved with ease.

Best somehow hit the post from only two yards out, but the home side were to make their dominance count just seconds later. Gunnarson sent in a long throw and LEON MCKENZIE broke clear of his marker David McGoldrick, to pounce on a flick on and slot home. Appeals from the Saints defenders were unsuccessful, and a replay on the big screen proved that the officials had just about got the decision right.

As the half drew to a close, Coventry could have further extended their lead, as again Saints were carved open far too easily and Gunnarson had plenty of time to pick his spot when shooting one on one, but he forced Kelvin Davis into a decent reflex save.

Half Time: Coventry City 2-0 Southampton

Unfortunately for me and fellow Southampton fans, things weren’t to get much better and Coventry started the second half as they ended the first. Freddy Eastwood gave Mills a teasing time down the left flank and the forward pulled back for strike partner LEON BEST to slide home from close range.

Changes had to be made to salvage something from the game and manager Jan Poortvliet wasted little time in introducing all three of his possible substitutes, as the Saints almost made a comeback.

Surman’s corner was headed over by Lancashire, before sub Bradley Wright-Phillips played a great ball to McGoldrick, who fired wide. The introduction of Wright-Phillips appeared to make an impact on the game and the striker was soon to be credited with an assist. Running down the left, he cut in and fired a cross-shot which was turned in by ANDREW SURMAN who reacted quickly to divert the ball into the net with his head.

The goal briefly sparked the home side back into life, as Eastwood again drifted out to the channels and his hard work almost paid off when he passed for Doyle to fire hopelessly over the bar when well positioned.

However, things could have been made interesting when Andrew Surman showed good character in the middle of the park, winning a tackle, before playing a great through ball to David McGoldrick, who ran clean through, but bottled the opportunity and shot tamely at Westwood in the Coventry goal.

Still though, the Saints pushed and should have been rewarded with a goal, when Robertson worked tirelessly down the right to pull back for Surman, who saw his fierce shot from close range well parried. And it appeared luck wasn’t on their side, when Surman cut in and whipped in a ball which Substitute Tomas Pekhart nodded just inches wide.
Subsequently Coventry broke away and Eastwood crossed for JAY TABB, who again stole in unnoticed at the back post to this time volley past Davis for a late fourth goal.

Full time: Coventry City 4-1 Southampton

This was a deflating result to say the least and one that I didn’t see coming, as a result of our confidence from the two previous games. We didn’t appear to be up for this game from the start and there was no urgency to win the ball, or do anything with it when in possession. We were undone down the flanks time and time again and this is something that desperately needs to be addressed – especially the right-back situation.

In defence, we were poor. Again playing a high line and leaving us open on the counter and on a failing offside trap. James was given the run around by McKenzie, while Lancashire didn’t look comfortable at right back when moved there, so we should look into the loan market for a right-back. I think a loanee at centre back would be ideal, as Cork has slotted in nicely in defensive midfield and with Thomas and Svensson both injured, that only leaves Perry and Lancashire, the latter of which I’d loan out to a league one side; it’s all well and good playing the youngsters, but centre back is a position where we need solidarity, not someone who is getting to grips with learning the trade – it’s an important position.

In midfield we looked decent, but there needed to be more effort. Lallana showed quality on the ball at times, but had little support, whilst Surman was almost running a one man show in the second half. I’d like us to switch to a 4-4-2 as although we possess plenty of midfielders, upfront we look continually toothless…

I’d like to see McGoldrick, Pekhart or John (upon return from injury) played as the main striker, with Robertson or Wright-Phillips as their partner. Reasoning for this is the fact that with one striker, we don’t have enough in the box and against Coventry this showed again. With Robertson or McGoldrick swapping upfront, both ended up drifting out wide and there was nothing on in the box, mainly because we play Lallana as an attacking midfielder and it’s hard for him to get into the box when he is the starter of most offensive moves.

Coventry showed they had what it takes upfront, as they didn’t need a striker drifting out wide, playing with two out and out wingers. However they had the ability to mix things up, with Eastwood drifting wide and dragging players out of position – this worked best for third goal as Leon Best was still available in the box to slot home. We don’t appear to have the luxury of a striker on hand in the box…