SW11_Saint

Have we missed him? Yes. He is another option, and better suited to Championship football than Barnard. Lee is an even bigger miss, obviously.

Rain in London yesterday was 'biblical'. Raining again today. Not sure hat it's like in Soton, but if it's similar it could become an issue. Let's hope not!

Amazing match tonight at the Nou Camp. I understand that there is no prize for Coventry on Saturday, but it does prove again that ANYTHING can happen in football. Hope our players watched that and appreciated that fact. Nigel won't let them underestimate the opposition, but this is a nice timely reminder... PS Well done Chelsea!

We won"t - keep the faith Duncan. West Ham were always going to win last night. I truly thought we'd do it at Boro, but we didn't - we have another chance though and couldn't hope for a better opponent. Not to underestimate them but if we go about it professionally like we did v Peterborough and Palace we'll be fine. If we play like we did in our last home game v Reading, we'll stuff them. After the fact, this will be the most thrilling way to get promotion - at home, in front of packed SMS, taking it to the last match. Nerve shredding as it is, this what the adrenalin rush of football is all about. Come on you Saints!!!

Great post Frank. Totally agree - bring it on!!!

Relying on ourselves, no one else!

Bloody useless Leicester...

And way too pally with the chicken-dancer...

Pretty much agree with all of this. The non-red card incident was the turning point, we seemed to lose our focus and discipline after that. NA probably did the right thing in putting it behind him, but it f*cks me off that refs have no accountability whatsoever. I want him to come out and explain why he didn't give Hines another yellow for cynically taking Lallana out when he was clear on goal? (of course, we know why - he bottled it, having just booked him 5 mins before - but I want to know his reasoning). Am still confident we'll do it Saturday - the crowd have a massive part to play, we need to keep behind the boys and not let any nerves transfer from us to them. Of course am hoping the worries will be managed for us by Nugent & co, but won't be holding my breath. Writing this from Newcastle Airport waiting to go home...

Come to think of it, at a work 'town hall' meeting on Weds I started going on about a "train leaving the station" and us "not stopping until we reach our destination" (noting it was an awfully cliched metaphor). I know with Nige it's usually a bus or boat, but the influence is clearly there. The man is a legend. I think we need a new song for him at the Coventry game. "Nigel row the boat ashore" or "The wheels on the bus" perhaps?

Out of interest, anyone flying up tomorrow (Soton - Newc)?

Used "Control the controllable" in a project management meeting yesterday!

Have a new found respect for their fans. Not sure we'd take their situation with such good humour - and can you imagine the flak on here if you dared make light of it...

Saints defenders in the top flight is never a good idea. I'll go for Lallana though, and Messi once he signs...

Get yerself up to Boro/Newcastle with us Duncan... A day of northern ale and you won't feel any nerves. Actually, you probably won't feel anything at all! I am confident. We will beat them. We're going up!

Got to love the Boro fans humour... http://www.oneboro.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=3728

Some idiot behind me last night in first half slagging off Billy Sharp every chance he got "f*cking useless fat ****" etc etc. Even him scoring only stopped him for about 5 mins. You couldn't make it up...

He's a joke presenter on a joke station. The fact they let him report on his own clubs games says it all. Oh, and talking of roiling over and having your tummy tickled - Barnsley & Brighton anyone?!

Thoroughly professional job. Any nerves settled by the early goals, but we saw the game out supremely well. Only niggle was giving that stupid goal away. Hopefully GD won't play a part in where we finish. Thought everyone was great tonight, but my MoTM was Jack Cork, never stopped running and harrying.

Reading lose, we win, we will be favourites. Can change quickly...

Day of the match. Totally confident (helped by Adkins excellent pre-match thoughts and relaxed, forward looking frame of mind) - we will win. Come on you Saints!

Haven't been out there for years myself, but yes, safe to say footy tops are a definite no-no (especially red & white stripes!!). The Bigg Market used to be the place to go - pretty low-rent, but very very lively. The Quayside may have taken over that mantle now, still v central, and v lively. There used to be a floating nightclub - known simply as 'The boot' (affects Geordie accent) - which was cracking, but I think may have closed now. Not sure of your experience, but although Geordies are always good value and fairly friendly 'on tour' it isn't always that way on their own patch - so be a little street-smart (and remember, the lads and lasses often stick in their own groups early doors even though they are in couples, so sometimes groups of girls, who are generally always v friendly and a laugh, may not be on their own - an Andy Carroll-a-like may be lurking!). Have a great night - let's hope we're celebrating a win / promotion!

We are too. Gonna paint The Toon red (& white)!

I still think there are more twists to come. Hoping they are positive ones, rather than negative, for us!

Good post CL, and I think you sum up most fans feelings at the moment. This morning I am very much 'glass half full' again. The players will be hurting just as much as us after Friday and will feel aggrieved at not getting a result. I expect a professional display at Peterborough (a la Palace), and a win there. Nigel will have them all very focussed I am sure. Let's not forget how well we played Friday, despite the result. Also, you never know, West Ham, and maybe even Reading may slip up on Tuesday, in which case the table feel very different again. Keep the faith, we are going up. COYS!