Professor

Davis Murty Fonte Seaborne Harding Puncheon Hammond Schneiderlin Lallana Lambert Connolly Subs: Bart, Ostemobor, Jaidi, James, Waigo, Barnard

There was quite a bit of negativity over Seaborne when he was signed but he showed today that he's a very capable and solid CB with playmaking ability and doesn't just hoof the ball. Now the negativity is moving on to Barnard because he's missed a couple of chances while he's still settling into the team. Even Lambert misses chances as do all strikers. It vwas apooor display first half, but there are so many new players and the fixture logjam means playing different formations each match, that settling down is bound to take time. Fans should forget about the play-offs - its just too far away - but the JPT would be great and so would a resulkt against Pompy. Either would make this a fantastic season.

My Pilgrims supporting pal from Glenrothes in Fife says that Plymouth fans have been surprised that Puncheon wasn't recalled from MKD because of the goals he was scoring, espacially as Plymouth can't buy a goal. Suggestion is that there's been something in his character that has held him back but that he's worth a try.

I'm totally relaxed about some of my gate money going to Pompy - well worth it to see the local derby and the opportunity to win a game that will be the biggest so far this season. This is why the abuse that some people heap on our local rivals is hard to understand because without them, games like this could never happen. To win now, while Pompy are in the Prem and we are in Div 1 will be a milestone in Saint's history that will mean more than all our other victories over them.

This shows just why we should be grateful to have a rival professional team in Hampshire. Wanting to win, every time we play them is absolutely right, but its hard to understand people who say they'd like to see Pompy go out of existence because we would lose the chance for games like this one. It will be a fantastic occasion, hopefully not spoilt by the violent minority who forget what football is about, and there's every reason to expect a Saints' win. The gap between League 1 and the Prem is much less than the media would have people believe, so home advantage and a winning habit should be enough.

Seaborne had a solid game against Millwall despite having only been with the squad for 2 days. The Millwall goal came down the right side of midfield and through the right side of defence. Seaborne was at left CB so you could querie fault by James, Otsemebor or Fonte but not Seaborne.

Blaming referees is just so childish. The referee is part of the game and referees are human, ie not perfect, but the rules of the game are that what the ref says goes. Referees do not change their decisions because a player starts shouting at them, if they did they'd have to change decisions all the time! Good managers will explain to players that refs should only be approached by the captain and only then to ask him to consult an assistant. A ref will change a decision if an assistant advises him, but not faced with an angry player because he will lose control of the game. Bobby Charlton went his whole career without being booked once - it could still be done if players were to use more common sense.

Did you mean " May have..?" But if so, is the info pukka? Currently Pardew is having to use Lallana, Waigo or Antonio as strikers when Connolly isn't available, which doesn't seem ideal, so bringing someone in makes sense, but ideally someone with potential to hold a place in the side next season, rather than a 'reserve'.

From half-time, Blackmore and Merrington on Radio Solent were calling for subs to make the side more attacking and to relieve the pressure on the defence. Why have Connolly on the bench if he isn't to be used? It was also the wrong time to bring Holmes back as it meant we had four new players in the team. Although we nearly had a lucky win, given the Millwall pressure we were lucky to get the draw.

Entitled to an opinion, of course, but since both players were scouted by Pardew and his team, and unlike the average fan, Pardew's people are football professionals, it seems likely that their assessment is the more reliable. If the club consider that Dan Seaborne is a better buy than Ward, and better than others who might have been under consideration, its hard to see on what basis a fan could prefer Ward. Its true he cost £1m when he left West Ham, but that was over 3 years ago and he hasn't been able to hold a place in an average Coventry side. Seaborne appears to be a very capable player that a lot of Exeter fans are sorry to see go, and he is an excellent 'fit' into the Saints team.

Tony Blair and George Bush decided to invade Iraq after playing a game of Risk, so who is to say this is all the rubbish it might seem at first sight.....

Away game. Connolly still recovering from injury, Defence not having played together before - expect Pardew will start cautiously with 4-5-1 Davies Otsemebor - Fonte - Seaborne - Harding Waigo - James - Schneiderlin - Hammond - Lallana Lambert

Great fun, but there is nothing in anything Pardew has said to suggest this is about changing the systems which are 4-5-1 and 4-4-2. It is about having better players in the defensive slots, which means we should expect all three to be first choice selections. Ostemobor for James, Fonte for Perry/Thomas, Seaborne for Jaid, with James in midfield (unless another signing).

Looks a good signing with a lot of Exeter fans sorry to see him go. For Saints to get him with three other clubs in for him, including Forest and Leicester, shows that the professional scouts rate him. A left-sided CB will give great balance to the defence and make the team less dependent on the aging legs of Jaidi and Perry who, lets be honest, have a great future but all behind them.

There is a whole string of mid-week games coming up, caused by getting to JPT southern semi, FA Cup 4th round, and weather postponement. Should League games take absolute priority? What sort of selection should AP make for the two cup competitions?

If a board level appointment would be to take on the football role currently performed by Cortese, it would make sense. That would not encroach on Pardew's job and should make his role easier. The Director should manage the manager but not try to do his job for him, so it depends on (a) the Job Description (b) who is appointed and © the Chairman making sure the roles remain clearly defined.

Pardew has built one of the best squads in Div 1, and did it in an incredibly short time. All credit to him for that, but his selection policy and tactics suggest why he has often ended up being sacked from previous jobs. Inconsistency, uncertainty, nervously defensive at times and tends to leave his best player - Connolly - on the bench too often.

Steve Claridge on the Football League Show (Boxing Day) gave his opinion that Saints will make the Play-Offs. It would be surprising if Pardew does not believe the same, but if he set it as a target that would place more pressure on himself and the team. Maybe he is just being cautious but if so, it would be a shame, because pressure to win should be a factor in achieving success.

Apart from Beckford having a longer career in front of him, I wouldn't swop him for Connolly. We will score at Leeds, so its really down to the defence as to how good a result we get.

Great game - Norwich an excellent team but Saints without Jaidi and Connolly still got a draw. It seemed we were out, and then not only to equalise but to go through on penalties - amazing - and great performance in the shoot-out by Bart. Proving well worth his place.

Agree with the sentiment, but not entirely true about last season's team. Although this team is definitely better than last years', when Pardew was appointed, even last season's team wasn't available to him as players such as Skacel, Stern, DMG, Surman, etc', had already left. That made Pardew's building job in August a massive task, and virtually no backroom staff to help him do it. In public, he seemed to understate the size of the job at the time, but the reality is he put together a good squad in a short time, and then got Rhadi Jaidi and David Connolly as well, to make it even better.

Pardew knows his stongest side - which subject to Murty's injury is the side that played against Tranmere. If Murty plays, James would go back to midfield ahead of Antonio or Waigo. The 4-4-2 keeps the pressure on the opponents, especially with such a potent pair of strikers, so I do hope Pards is not tempted to go back to 4-5-1 because that would be at the expense of Connolly, who is just too good to leave out and will already have Leeds worried that they can't just concentrate on stopping Rickie.

Leeds and Saints are clearly on a par with each other, which in football means that the game could go either way. Its probable that Leeds will not go all season unbeaten at home, and Saints must be a strong candidate to be the first away side to get a win at Eland Road this season, simply because we are one of the best 3 or 4 sides in the division.

You are right Dan. Boxing Day is always 26th Dec. When it falls on a Saturday, the Monday is a substitute Bank Holiday. When Christmas Day falls on a Sat, both the Mon and Tues are substitute BHs, as will happen next year. So this year we are Playing Exeter on Boxing Day and Colchester on the Boxing Day Bank Holiday.

Moving up the table will be slower now as more of the top half teams will win their games but they won't all win every week, and Saints are really the form team now. Excellent second half today and good to see that KD won't just walk back into the side.