swedish dave

Going out with a bang , eh Bill. Maybe they might resign him - again, after all he's only just 40 !

OF COURSE......we want to win every game, but this fixture is somewhat " meanings less" in one sense. We have already qualified for one of the playoff spots, and no-one's crystal ball can predict who we will play. (With respect), Preston can only be called an "average Championship side" and if we start with a full strength side, it could be unfortunate if a "fluke injury" could harm someone's play-off chances, and the team's future. If the media is to be believed we are likely to lose some top names - regardless of a promotion - or otherwise, and with that in mind, it would be an ideal chance to include some of "Lallana's young hopefuls" from the U21's, and see if they come up to standard. Playing well in the Prem. is a challenge in itself, (even for top players) but with the inevitably of needing to replace some of our stars, we need to analyse our best available talents PDQ, before plunging into the summer transfer market - yet again. I don't need to list all the likely departures, (we can all guess) but there are a number of players who may be playing their final Saints games in these remaining fixtures. IF there are any " likely lads " looking to make the next step up and an opportunity to impress. We have nothing to lose, but a chance to find our next young talents.

the reported attendance was 70,000+ , that lot wouldn't fit into Spurs ground and the only place big enough to hold that number would be Old Trafford. !!!. I think the FA puts a limit on attendances at Wembley, and they may have decided on a limit beforehand. Not sure how many Saints fans went, but it looked like we had more than City ??. A trip to Wembley is a big deal for both fans and players. Noted that when younger, Tom Fellows said he told his Baggies team mates that he might go to Wembley one day, and they laughed at him.

Considering the quality of the opposition ..and even the cost of their starting side, I thought we played a v. good game. After the first 10 minutes of all-out defending, I considered that - had it been a Championship (VAR -free game) - Leo Scienza's " goal " might even have been allowed. It was hard to pick out our MoM (although Casper Jander was outstanding in his own right), and even Cam Bragg (as Downes' replacement) fitted in seamlessly. We held them to 0-0 for 80 minutes and then took the lead with (my) goal of the game. Azaz hitting the ball on the turn after a great pass from Matsuki. Matsuki had a great impact in just 20 minutes on the pitch. Aside from the Azaz assist, he might have scored a second, (but for the goalie's push over the bar), and then he made a goal-line clearance after Peretz was marooned up field. THB and Wood also looked a great partnership in the back line. City's two goals were both a bit flukey in their own way. Docu's deflecting off Bree's leg on the way in, and Gonzalaz may get goal of the season for his unstoppable strike, which even two keepers wouldn't have kept out. Quite the best Saints' performance I've seen in a long while, and much for them to be proud of. Even City's " big guns " made little impact after Pep G. was forced to put them on - in desperation - near the end.

and to be fair ...even then we're not fielding our best side. No Stephens, Manning or Downes.

maybe..but for the sake of players from "unfashionable clubs" it's a once-in-a lifetime chance to play at Wembley.

I know Spurs new ground cost a billion, but there is more atmosphere and spirit for both players and fans when playing at the national stadium.

seems like we have two or more candidates for almost every midfield / striker role. You can start with one , and put the other on sometime later on in the game, and it works. Matsuki has been outstanding in some games, gets some stick, but is not afraid to give it out. Don't see Bragg as a regular starter YET, but he moves around the pitch well, finds space and rarely makes a bad pass. Not a standout figure, but neither was Prowsey back in his early days.

well I'm pretty well convinced by the fee we eventually got ..32 million ..or ?

Almost every season you'll see that promotions aren't won over a season .. but lost in the last month.

we'd' have to admit he had enough chances to get a hat-trick and the fact that he didn't wasn't altogether his fault. Just dumb defenders getting their a*ses in the way - no skill required for that. One goal was the very least he deserved. Personally , ." I thought the boy did good "

until they change the rules, we can still only have 11 on the pitch, and only 5 of the 9 subs. seems like Tonda has TOO many good players to choose from. They will have to wait their chance.

whilst we are playing (and hopefully) beating Blackburn, many will have their eyes on the game @Fratton Park. we would have to sdy that it's not often Saints' fans want Pompey to win, but after their last gasp winner against Boro ..could Pompey possibly do a repeat performance against Ipswich tonight? One can only hope.

just another win (how I enjoy saying that). I wasn't at the match but my son flew over from Stockholm took his children to the match and they had a great time. I watched online over here. Saints didn't quite get it together in first half, but looked better after the break, and the Leo's goal gave everyone some inspiration. Having won some of the more challenging games (like Wrexham) we must be sure to avoid any banana skin result , and then go all out to beat Ipswich. A win there would make the difference for promotion.

This above all shows the strength we have in the squad. Wrexham were the club to beat...and so we started with 6 changes from the Arsenal-beating side. We scored 5 times, and still hit the woodwork 3 times. The first 2 goals were scored by players who didn't get on the pitch for Saturday and Larin's goal was a great individual effort from a man with incredible speed for someone his size. Ross Stewart had few chances in his 25 minute sub. app but still showed how a real CF can score. Finn Azaz rightfully got his goal after hitting the bar twice. What more could one ask.

With the number of class players Arsenal have they ought to be good enough to beat us (on paper) but this is the FA Cup and anything can (and often does) happen at this stage.

Shame to say it , it's only two as (sadly) Archer's contribution is almost zero and we have midfielders who have scored more than he. After all the plaudits made regarding Adam Armstrong's goal contributions, his goals were invaluable - when they came, but his " dry spells ", were both long and embarrassing and to be fair, we have looked to be a much better attacking side since he left. Unless we see a remarkable upturn in Archer's form.. we may be looking for a whole new strike force next season.

a lot will depend on which league we will be playing in next season. There's no problem in having him as a striker - if we remain in this league, but despite having had a few difficult years in European football , there are signs that there is a good player in there somewhere. Tactically, he is a real asset, his off the ball movement pulls defenders all over the place, and he's not easily pushed around in the area. He's no Harry Kane , but 3 of his 4 goals have helped us become matchwinners. Will be interesting to see how he performs for The Canadian side in the World Cup, he seems to have improved as time goes by, and I don't see any problems when it comes to the " age question" as long as he continues scoring. Together with a fit Ross Stewart, they make a good duo up front. Without both of them , it's back to the drawing board and a lot of investment, (as we'd need more big money buys in other areas of the field, too). The question of having good strikers in a Premiership club is proving a big problem even for some established sides in the top tier, and when spending 50-60 million it's no guarantee of quality or goals, and just " one of that type" isn't enough with a view to injuries and potential loss of form. I think buying him (promotion or not ) is a no-brainer, and he wouldn't get a 3-4 year contract either.

I won't waste more time on my comments about the referee (on other thread). A very welcome 3 points from a scrappy game that lacked much in footballing skill. Peretz to the rescue once again, we surely must sign him in the summer. An excellent performance from Sam Edozie who put on a good show for the absent Scienza and was unlucky to have one goal ruled out, and a penalty shout that VAR would have OK'd. Downes and Stephens have redeemed themselves after all the early season criticism they received. Azaz too, has developed himself in a good role, after a rather uneven start to the season. Having got into the Top 6, our big challenge is to stay there until the season's end, and win the play-off spot.

I'm saving a post on this issue as you've almost read my mind. If he'd booked a few more in the first 20 minutes, it would have steadied the game down and we might have seen a better quality of football. At times it was like a Rugby game, with one or two GBH charges ongoing. In the end, he was booking people for coughing too loud.

Best goalkeeping display since ..(?).. putting aside the sojourn that Davis was in goal ..(mostly in the League 1 and Championship days). . I must think back to Antti Niemi's time with Saints in the Prem. Good command of his area, not afraid to "goad on" his back line, and very agile when it matters. Surely to be a " must deal " in the summer if we have an option to buy.

My final thoughts on the Coventry game (as this is about that game) revolve around Lampard's reactions. He made the sort of excuses that we did after the fiasco v. Hull at SMS. When with 67% possession and 22 shots we still managed to lose. (2-1) . Coventry's stats. on Saturday were not dissimilar. However, we looked the better side in attacking moments, and took two very "unusual chances " to score. The thing that seemingly miffed FL is that he must have been glad to get 1 point at SMS, (against a side who were 12th at the time), and after running a two-horse race against Midd'boro for most of the season, then lost (badly) at home against Saints - who are still not in the top six, and who played without our first choice CF, and Leo Scienza (who he admitted ) is one of the best wingers in this league. He must hope they have enough points for automatic promotion, and not have to end up in the qualifiers ..against Saints.

I think there was an incident early in the game when TP got concussed. As there were no obvious use of a sub. he played on, but Ramsey abandoned the use of wingers and changed the formation so that the final result is perhaps ...something that we should not complain about. At the time he was undoubtedly the best RW in the country, but Ramsey's new formation changed a lot of coaching ideas. Fortunately, Paine continued playing for Saints for a further 6 season (?) ..in our First Division squad.

Best game of the season? We were good all over the pitch, and won a lot of second balls . Lampard looked typically miffed, but not sure what he had to complain about - they had 20 shots (to our 8 ) and were lucky to be awarded a rather soft penalty. Good to see Downes and Matsumi scoring goals, they really are improving, but Peretz was MoM for me. Good week ahead. We have 2 home games .whilst Wrexham have 2 away games..COYR

to be fair, the whole team put in a shift to beat Fulham on Sunday (and kept a clean sheet) then to go into a game 3 days later against a West Brom. side fighting for survival was a big challenge. We had two (or was it 3) players just one yellow card away from a suspension meant they were a little more careful with some tackles. Not everyone is capable of playing upto his best level in every game, but I expect the likes of Matsuki and Edozie to perform a bit better v. Coventry. Larin is a real threat and experienced at dealing with defenders and holding the ball up, and has an amazing turn of pace when attacking. Scienza takes a lot of punishment in every game, and is not protected by referees either. Both he and Stewart may make good contributions for the remainder of the season ..if not forced to play 90+ minutes in every game.