BallBoy

This one for me too. Absolutely breathtaking. But Kelvin gave the bestgoalkeeping display today that I can ever remember in over 40 years.

Much as it pains me to say it I can see us losing in the play offs. For us to remain 2nd we need to do as well as or better than Birmingham, Cardiff, Reading, Boro, Blackpool and maybe others. Birmingham in particular are looking like they will not drop many points between now and the end of the season. We are relying on our form, especially away form, improving on the last 10 games or so. We are not the form team in the last 2 months. I suspect that we might drop to 3rd or 4th and then it becomes a lottery. Having been in the top 2 for so long our heads may not be right. On the other hand our more recent form has been much better. I really hope it continues but there is no room for slip ups.

Normal service has been resumed. The swagger is back. Still a long way to go but this was very encouraging. The Lambert/Sharp partnership looked pretty awesome. Sharp is quick, mobile, clever and strong. The perfect foil for Lambert who is just getting better and better and better. Just before half time Sharp played a perfect first time ball out to Lambert on the right. He then sprinted into the danger zone and was centimetres away from Rickie's curling cross. Only a brilliant defensive touch stopped him. It would have been sensational. I look forward to more.

It's not very often that I would say "settle for a point" but this was one of them. If we had lost this it would have given momentum not only to Birmingham but to others in the play off zone. We needed to show a bit of grit and authority and we did that. Job done.

Even at 90% an 11.40 prediction for a 17.20 start is pretty optimistic. I hope this is one of the 10% as I don't think Connoly is right for this one.

Some of uis are old enough to remember when this sort of thing NEVER happened. All the play acting and cheating makes the task of a referee impossible. I understand those born in the 80's and later seeing things a bit differently. To them it is "part of the game". Not to me though. It is just plain cheating and I hate it (even when we do it).

This definitely sounds like D'Urso

This will now be a test of character for players, manager AND fans. It was always likely that there would be setbacks and this is as bad as it gets. That it was against Poyet makes it all the worse. However, it is crucial that fans do not turn against the players. They are human and we need to support them. Lambert especially will be feeling sick and will not need reminding that things could have been different. He has an excellent disciplinary record but got pushed over the edge today. We need him so lets get behind him.

It has been alluded to but Lee Barnard thundering down to the corner in the last minutes of the MK Dons game just to keep the ball in a "safe" part of the pitch. He strained every sinew and used all his strength to get there first and prevent the ball going back to the other end. It epitomised the team ethic that now runs through our team. That was a season changing game. Fabulous stuff.

Have to agree wih the 3 top nominations but, for me, Cork was the best today. Guly and Lambert were very good but forwards can always take the limelight. Cork was everywhere and it is good to see him back to his best. It bodes well.

It feels great to lose a game and still be top of the league and 8 points above 3rd place! It definitely takes the sting out of defeat. I can see the cracks too but we are in a much, much better place than ANYONE on here ever expected us to be.

I would be happy to WIN promotion. Of course it is nice to win the league and it may even enable to clinch promotion with a few games to spare but, at the end of the day, nobody really remembers how teams got there, just that they are there. We are way beyond anything that was predicted by even the most optimistic at the start of the season. I don't think my heart could cope with the play offs but 2nd place will do me.

This is depressing. It is even possible that our fickle fans could lose us promotion. Last night the atmosphere was flat and the team could have done with more encouragement. We still won because the players did enough as a team and Adkins made the right calls. I just find it incredibly sad that some people become so used to Barcelona football that they expect it every game. Even Barcelona do not play 100% every game. EVERY team has to grind out results when playing below par if they are actually going to win anything. We will be no different but the supporters need to do their part - that is SUPPORT. I know they pay their money dah de dah de dah........but, personally, I would rather they kept their money. I know there are a few cracks showing but that happens to every team. I have been supporting Saints for a long time and this is the best I have ever felt. We have never been so dominant over the course of a season. Enjoy the ride.

The key factor was that we had to lose 6-0 to miss out on promotion. We made sure that didn't happen. Having said that it was a lousy game but who cared.

I do not like the way Poyet presents his views. The fact is I just don't like him but that doesn't mean I can't give credence to some of his views. There is another thread on this site where the majority of contributors say it is not homophobic to chant mild insults to Brighton fans just because they come from Brighton. It is just banter. I agree with this. Chanting a little bit of banter does not make all the participants homophobes. Equally the use of a bit of colourful language towards a person of differing culture does not make someone a racist. Being a racist or homophobe means that you hate or want to do harm to those people or believe that you are intrinsically superior to them. It is the incorrect use of the terms racist or homophobe that are at the root of this problem.

I doubt that we will ever get to see the whole build up to our third goal. The Football League Show isn't long enough! It was just fantastic. Barcelona would have been proud of it and if Messi had scored we would have seen it time and time and time again. One touch football just mesmerising the Boro defence and patiently waiting for the killer ball. Lambert was brilliant to keep holding until the right moment. Loved it!

Derby had a full house expecting to do better. This will feel like a defeat to them. We are showing ourselves to be as good as any team in this league and better than most. If the team can keep believing we will be there or thereabouts at the end.

I thought the point of singing songs was to support and encourage our team.

My overall impression of pre-season is that we can create goals and score goals but we are also conceding too many. I know this is only practice but defensive mistakes will be punished in the real world. They could be the difference between being low to mid table or challenging for promotion. I would really like to see a solid, experienced centre back to partner Fonte. That would make me feel much better.

That's just the point. Lawrie had CHARISMA which, sadly I think, Adkins lacks. I know this will sound like a personal criticism but he does look like a maths teacher. The sweater does not help. I really hope that the money, potential, training ground and structure will help convince the quality players we need that they should come. I think that we need a "marquee" signing to help show the way. Others would follow. Kevin Nolan was a good signing for this league. I am not sure Adkins would have even thought of that sort of signing. I do believe that Adkins is a very good coach and he has built a very solid team ethic. He has excellent qualities but he is no Keegan or Lawrie. It is my only question mark about him.

I think this is probably spot on but who IS Jordan Sibley?

He should have taken CMFG to Chelsea with him! This is spot on. Marsden got the best out of Bridge and then we got the money but we never came close to replacing him. I would have him back tomorrow but his wages must be stratospheric.

Best, a toss up between Chris Marsden (relatively cheap) and Alan Ball who cost a bit more but was worth his weight in gold as a captain who got the best out of the other McMenemy superstars. Worst was possibly Jim Montgomery from Sunderland. He was famous for winning the cup for Sunderland in '73 and he was a decent keeper but he totally bombed for us. Disappeared without trace.

I find it difficult to understand the mindset of those who want to sell our brightest young assets. When did it ever pay us to do that? You just cannot replace a Channon, Shearer, Le Tissier, Walcott or Bale. The same applies to Oxo and Lallana. We should regard them as the future for our club and hang on to them as long as we possibly can. Shearer was the prime example. We sold and got Dixon and Speedie in return! We did not improve. Apart from anything else I love watching Oxo in a Saints shirt. Why cash that in unless we have no choice at all. Keeping our best players will be a message of intent to other teams and to us fans.

Billy Davies fails. What a shame.