InvictaSaint

On both occasions, the P*mpey defence looked completely uninterested; almost as if this winding up order - which of course hasn't been issued - has affected them. Hereidderson's watching of the ball as it skidded into the net bordered on pathetic.

Please tell me you are being ironic. If not, this has to be the mental post of the year. What planet are you on?! Unbelievable, truly unbelievable.

GS you bang this interminable drum each time we slip up - slip ups which are becoming increasingly rare, thankfully - and it is becoming almost obsessive. I would simply ask you this, because I know you will not be able to come up with an answer: which other team, in our league, came so close to extinction, so late in pre-season and was able, thereafter, to mount an instant promotion challenge? To say the point is 'moot' is both untrue and somewhat disingenuous of you; it is anything but moot. We came close to going under, were saved late, lost an almost entire pre-season, lost a number of established players and to add insult to injury started with the weighty millstone of a 10 point deduction round the players' necks. That we are where we are now, some 16 weeks later, is a minor miracle; and we are still progressing, developing, getting better. Why this obsession with where we "should" be? Where is the natural law which states that Saints "must do better" and "should be higher"? Nowhere, because it doesn't exist. We are improving, we will continue to improve, we will in all likelihood mount a serious promotion push next season if we come up short this season. In the meantime why can't you focus on the many, many positives, rather than falling victim to that peculiarly English disease of looking at what isn't right?

My only problem with that perspective is that it was only recently - and I think I am correct in saying this - that AP has even mentioned the play offs as a possibility. Publicly, the club has played down any chance of anything better than mid-table because of the Lowe-Poortvliet-Wotte legacy and the ten point deduction. Unless AP is telling the fans one thing and the players something completely different, I don't see where Lallana or anybody else for that matter, got the idea that we would definitely - or anywhere near definitely - go up. Wasn't a two year plan to get out of the CCL1 always being touted? If so, what's to stop Lallana and Morgan from waiting until May 2011? Neither is exactly going to be over the hill by then are they, a mere 17 months down the line? And if what you say is true, and they don't want to be clattered about every week, then we shall wish them all the best and get in others to do the job. After all, it seems that Leeds and Colchester have managed alright without spending millions, and we probably have better resources than both of these teams.

I know why you might be feeling like this Alps, but I don't fear what you fear, I really don't. The regime Burley was working under was one which needed results far more quickly and which consequently put more pressure on the team manager. They [Wilde et al] bet the house, garden and granny's jewellery on us going up and knew it was either win or bust. None of us can say that Liebherr and Cortese have shown any sign of behaving in the same way; quite the opposite in fact. We don't have to sell, we can probably match CCC wages and beyond, so AP doesn't have to worry in the way Burley must have [if he was capable of such anxiety :-) ]. If we don't go up at the end of next season, maybe certain players will move on, but I look at us now in a position of strength, built on foundations of stone, whereas Burley's Saints were running on quicksand.

We're doing well, getting better, showing top 6 form, but we will lose games - that is the Saints of December 2009. We have come such a long way in 4 months and have the promise of signings next month, so we are well placed to make further progress. Not too gutted about today; second in 48 hours and away to a top of the table side. People need to be realistic in their expectations. We may still make the play offs, we may not, but all along people have been saying that next season is the season we take this league by storm so anything over and above that this season is a bonus. Bottom line - we aren't there yet, but we are heading in the right direction. Happy New Year one and all.

At last, some sanity. Post of the day without a doubt.

Given that we started on -10 after almost losing our club, the progress we have made in such a short space of time is anything but pathetic. You are expecting too much too soon. All part of the instant gratification generation I'm afraid.

David Prutton v WBA the year we went down, I think.

I still have nightmares of watching David Howells put on the keepers' gloves and then effectively falling over as a penalty whistled past him into the net. Not his fault, I know, as he wasn't a 'keeper, but it just made us look so......amateurish. Walking away from the ground was no fun either; Charlton fans are amongst the most aggressive, least gracious and contemptible supporters in the country. In my yellow away top I felt like a lone salmon swimming upstream against a tide of red Athletic shirts.....

Best: 4-3 v Norwich (Camara) - for the excitement if not the skill; some of the defending was Sunday League standard! Also 3-2 v Sheff Utd and 3-2 v Arsenal at the Dell. Also enjoyed 3-1 v Spurs at WHL as Hoddle was sacked the following day. 4-2 at Chelsea was fun too...(Strachan) Worst: any home game v Watford

GK: Stensgaard LB: Todd CB: Almeida CB: Davenport RB: Nillson (sp?) LM: Kanchelskis CM: Pulis CM: Prutton RM: Delap CF: Rosler CF: Robertson Subs: Miller, Pekhart, Bernard, Gasmi, Molyneux, Powell, Pericard

Of everything that Pardew says in the article - all the wonderful, positive, "I want to be the one to take them back to the Premier League" things - I am really disappointed that you choose to infer something negative - something which I don't think one can infer to be honest.

Firstly, it seems that a lot of people are looking at this possible situation wearing the doomsday hat that used to adorn all Saints fans from 1985 until July 2009. Understandable, to an extent, but still rather pessimistic given all the evidence to date. Secondly, for the first time in decades, I am not in the slightest bit worried if a player does go - Lallana, Lambert (though I can't see it I'm afraid), Morgan - because at long, long last we have a Chairman and a Chief Exec who would ensure they are replaced with equal if not better quality. Their vision is not limited by finances or dependent upon one particular player, thankfully.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/2189?&search=colchester&itemsPerPage=10&region=world

On Saturday, Gillingham fans helped clear the pitch at Priestfield - 2 miles from where I live - when there were 6-8 inches on the ground and temperatures at -2 degrees. The match went ahead without any problems. They don't have any undersoil heating or blowers; just a cover for the pitch, which hadn't worked any way (hence the use of fans). It is not forecast to be worse by Monday, quite the opposite, and if Gillingham can manage to keep a game on when it was far, far worse I see no reason to believe that Colchester cannot manage the same. If it is fans getting to the game that concerns, Stockport County - the visitors to Priestfield last Saturday - turned up at 10.45 a.m.....

Quite so - temps up to 8-10 degrees by then. Should be fine. Just the Echo getting on the back of the "PANIC - ITS SNOWING!!" band wagon, as per..

Sout-east London go hit badly last night. We were in town visiting my brother and driving home was not pleasant. There seemed to be no awareness on a council level of what was coming - no gritters out, nothing. And to add to what somebody posted earlier, the major problem is idiots driving badly. They drive poorly in normal conditions and the snow seems to exacerbate their lack of ability; they get worse! Coming up Maze Hill there was some guy in a big old Beemer revving his engine to **** and wondering why he was gradually sliding down the hill towards me. I kept my distance, kept the revs as low as I could and was able to calmly move out of the way to let him (un)gracefully slide past me. There is a God.... :-) On the plus side, the temperatures are set to rise over the next few days - up to 8/10 degrees on Boxing Day down in Hampshire - so I think the problems will ease, even if the lack of driving ability doesn't improve...

Good Morning all. Don't know about you chaps down there in sunny Southampton, but up here in chilly north Kent we have had almost a foot of snow and it is looking the same up in Yorkshire. I don't know what the chances are of the game being called off tomorrow, but if you are a hardy soul who is planning to travel up to Leeds, do take care. I can't even get out of my front door!

Love the Avatar. My 2 year old daughter managed to come up with "What you talking about, Willis" today with no prompting at all.....

I would suggest that coming into a club which, on three well documented occasions, had almost folded, and which had seen its few older professionals and many youth team players, who had been promoted too early to the first team, have the stuffing well and truly knocked out of them by Lowe, Poortvliet, that mysterious Dutch agent and Wotte......was a far worse situation to inherit than what Boothroyd picked up. But so many people seem content to ignore the bleeding obvious and bang on about our situation, when AP turned up, being similar to X club or Y club. Sorry, you are wrong; it simply wasn't. I don't really want to contribute to what seems to have turned into a massive ****ing contest about one person proving themselves 'correct' over another in terms of what SFC might / could / should have done in the first ten games or whatever; all rather tedious really, and entirely moot, to boot. We are where we are, we're winning games, the ethos around the club is starting to change and things are looking up. Harping on endlessly - and yes guys, that's how it seems - about what we should have done really doesn't matter or mean anything. Enjoy the here and now and I would imagine the future. Far more important.

Gillingham away would do me; 2 minute drive (as opposed to my regular 125 mile drive to SMS!!)

Do I think it is reasonable to be concerned about the goals we concede? Concerned is probably too strong. I would probably want us to close games out a little more comfortably, yes, but I am now so firmly convinced of our ability to find a goal from somewhere in the team if it is required, that at the moment it is an irritation rather than a concern. We found 2 at Orient to come back from 2 nil down and 3 at Hartlepool after being 1-0 down; same at home to MK Dons, so no, not concerned, but will expect it to improve over time. Perry was playing again today and Murty is still finding his feet after injury, so give it time. I expect Pardew is irritated too, rather than concerned at this stage - if we were not scoring, then concern would register certainly - and he is on record as saying he won't change his style of attacking and goal-heavy football. At the moment, I am just enjoying expecting Saints to win each time they play. It's actually FUN again. When was the last time any of us could say that?! It's like a lower league version of the Nicholl days; really enjoyable and rewarding. If we can get to mid-table or higher this season, maybe a JPT final, then that would be a decent season given our starting point (-10, **** team, no confidence, no pre-season to speak of). Next season is when I really expect us to start taking this league by storm, Until then, I am enjoying the ride.

BTW, I don't know how some of you lot made it through the Chris Nicholl days; you musy have been in A and E every Saturday afternoon. That, or ringing Samaritans.