Professor

Shame about the result because a draw or a Brighton win would have suited us better but I watched the second half on the Firstrowsports stream and Brighton were awful!!!!

Can';t bothered to raed 8 pages to see if anyone else was surprise4d at how well the midfield performed without Cork or Lallana, who had seemed irreplaceable. Adkins is proving to be right when he keeps saying its not about the 11, its about the squad. When he was palying what looked like a first choice 11, the squad comments didn't seem right, but when he can choose to leave out Cork it shows there is truth in it.

Jos says he wants to stay. Can't imagine the team without him now - would we really feel as confident with Seaborn or Martin as first choice at CB, and sadly, I think Jaidi has been out for just too long at his age to come back into the reckoning. Hope NC signs the Hayfield asap.

Immaterial how the BBC portray our games, except that as fans we'd like to see more of our team, but what matters is how Saints play, not how the BBC shows them. If mis-reporting by the BBC made other clubs over-confident it might be a factor but clubs have their own full videos of Saints games, just as SFC has videos of the opposition. The rest know how good this team is and even if the BBC say we don't deserve to be winning games, the league table tells a different story.

Expected the win but didn't expect WH to be so negative. The Evening Standard said WH were coming to SMS to get the win that would take them top, but maybe Sam Alladyce doesn't read the London papers and preferred the tactics that have got him the push from most of his previous jobs..... Great result over the team in second place. Still a long way to go, but this is definitely promotion form.

Could be a good thing as long as they play the games overseas as well. Clubs could play in the country of their owners and adopt new names. We'd be shot of the PL and could get back to something more like proper English football.

If that is true, it applies to Saints as well, although when clubs go up the tendency is to strengthen with a few foreign internationals. Even with Lallana out, Saints are a match for WHU. We have a better midfield, the back 4 are looking good and I we have genuine quality in Lambert and Connolly. A great game to win.

Get that shirt OFF - I've told you we are not signing you Mr Beattie

5 points above West Ham after a win on Tues would be the strongest evidence yet that promotion is a realistic prospect. And a win is a realistic prospect as well.

Maybe 4-5-1 is why Allardyce has such a track record of being asked to leave management jobs. Shouldn't worry too much about a manager who was passed over for Steve McClaren.

Those who say we could have won, if only are right, of course........if only the offside goal had been disallowed, if only their GK hadn't saved one of the on-target shots........ But we could have lost, despite bossing most of the game........ if their GK had managed to get a touch on the shot that Rickie scored from, or if another of their chances had gone in. There's always an element of luck and it goes both ways. It's a fact of football life that no team can expect to win every game, and when we don't win a draw is better than a loss. And a draw away to one of the top 6 sides is a better place to drop a couple of points than in some other games. So, I regret not winning but I'm pleased with a draw.

Whether Barnard is guilty or not, he is one of two players along with Seaborne to be close to the action in some form od nightclub or late bar brawl. It would be nice to hear that both were innocent bystanders but both are also well-paid sportsmen for whom fitness should be a top priority. What's the point of all the training and dietary advice if the players then go off to drink alcohol? Of course, they may have both been drinking soft drinks, but on the other hand...........

Its an uncomfortable thought that SOUTHAMPTON would take a player on loan from little old wolverhampton. The sooner we reclaim our proper status at the top level the better.

Wonder if the plan from the nutritionist includes a few pints of lager on a Saturday night.......

Does anyone actually understand why Cortese was willing to undertake a career change, and presumably to establish a base in another country and commute, and that he was eager enough to do this that he persuaded Marcus to put up the money to buy SFC? And question 2, what arguments convinced Marcus that it was something he wanted to do? Still can't see what it is that Marcus' family get out of the Southampton project, but perhaps the same reasons that Marcus accepted have been accepted by his heirs.

The question about SFC's finances was raised by fans of other clubs when SFC appeared to be making bids during the window, although no one else came in after Cork and Fox, partly funded by the sale of Gobern and with wages freed up by Gobern, Fish Mills and a couple of others moving out. Also, we still have the Oxlade-Chambertain money unspent. Not sure there is enough evidence there of any significant input by the wealthy owners to cause envy anywhere else.

Celeb Managers, One down, Two to go. If the Championship were to lose Sven and Allardyce as well the press wouldn't have anything to write about.

It was crucial to win this game to rebuild confidence after just 1 point from the last 6. But they didn't just win, this was a crushing. Not many games are won by 4 goal margins. And once again, the teams just below all slipped back a bit. So although we are playing some of the top 6 sides in the next few weeks there's no reason to fear any of them and maybe some of them won't be top 6 after their game aganst Saints. Cardiff has to seen as one of those blips that will happen along the road and there will be more, but as long as we can keep bouncing back like today, all looks great.

17.44 Derby just gone a goal behind at Leicester. That'll do, blow for time............. (Yes, I know........)

The point about playing de Ridder is well made. If Oxlade-Chamberlain was still here he would be playing wide right, not Guly. SdR is a like-for-like replacement which makes more sense. Guly either covers and challenges DC for the second striker slot or as an impact sub in midfield. But please NA/NC sort out the defence. Still can't work out why you bought another left back when we already had two and the money would have been better spent at CB. With one CB injured BEFORE you recruited Jos on loan and a second CB injured AFTER Jos arrived, why haven't you found a quality CB on loan to raise the standard of the back four because the two goals from the Cardiff loan striker show we were just too weak there.

Its not a case of writing them off, but its too easy to put a gloss on poor performances and then wonder why the team is slipping down the table. As fans we have no power and minimal influence but if we are critical when it is deserved that may add just a little pressure on the club to improve the squad with more quality. To be promoted we haven't just got to beat the Barnsleys and the Burnleys but we have to be better than Boro, W.Ham, Leicester and Cardiff. If we are not, then our best position is 5th and that is not good enough for a team that we've been told will hit the ground running when it goes into the Prem.

Many thanks for a very complete witness statement - what we heard on the radio wasn't great but this underlines that some players were just not playing at the level needed to compete at the top of this league. Adkins hyas been talking about hard work on the training ground and of course that's good, but there must be limit to how much extra you can get from players who may already be at the peak of their abilty. When that happens you have to ask if its not the training but the quality and the scvoring by Benj raises some very hard questions about some players who are regulars in the starting line-up.

After having had such a good run up until now, Adkins hasn't been able to practice his excuses for defeat. This is a major disdvantage of winninmg games in August as it is crucial for managers to be able to convincingly blame everything and anything while ignoring the fact that the other team was better than their team. Adkins attempts after the Cardiff game might look weak, but let's remember he's out of practice. Maybe he'll do better after the Derby, West Ham and Middlesborough games.

Several team predictions that would drop Connolly and some changing the formation, but personally doubt Adkins will agree with any of that. DC is our only proven prem class player and although others may have the capability, DC has the t-shirt. Despite what Adkins says about the squad, he's got his favoured first 11 now and doesn't seem interested in a rotation policy except for the Carling Cup games and he seems to prefer changing the format during a game not from game to game. Maybe a below-par performance by Hammond and Schneiderlin's goal could cause a change there and maybe Fox has replaced Harding in the first 11 after a run of 3 league games, even if DH is fit now, but my guess is the same line-up that started at Burnley.

I didn't know a player can't be shown red for diving, but if blatant cheating isn't enough for a player to be sent off that shows why cheating has become the norm. The BBC could campaign against cheating by the way they show it and if this is true, pointing out how the rules treat it lightly. But will they, when they don't want to lose the TV rights? So self-interest and corruption can all play a part in supporting the cheats.