RobM

You see it as slowing down our attacks, I see it as bringing others into the game. Lallana was always a trick and a few yards ahead of the opposition which give him time and space to bring others into it. Once or twice he should have had a shot, the rest of the time he was spot-on in controlling play. MOM goes to Jos today, IMO. Such a composed game and linked up well with midfield. Not spectacular, but vitally important.

My mistake, I'd forgotten it was only the iPlayer Apps (iPad and iPhone) that had gone international.

That puts him on-par with the Echo, getting their 'facts' from internet B.S. and rumour and creating a story out of it.

iPlayer shows live TV usually, but don't know if this applies to live sports as well?

I'm sure there is an element of that to it, but also a sign that the transfer market is competitive and you can't simply choose three or four players and focus on only those. It always surprises me that our own fans seem to think this is the case, that if we're linked with somebody it means they are certainly about to sign - it doesn't, it just means we're aware of a wider group of targets, just as Sam is.

I don't think you can go far wrong with either. Harding had a point to prove on Sat and his performance reflected that, but if you take Fox out for a few games and then give him a chance again, I'm sure he would be the same. Flicking between the two of them keeps them both honest, it's a nice position to be in... most other clubs in the league would be delighted with just one of them!

I disagree... this thread proves that the negative mong-tards (see what I did there) are the massive minority. With 75% of votes in favour of Bart as I type this, this thread proves not all Saints fans or even SaintsWeb users are the sort of idiot wrist-slasher most threads would have you believe. It also shows how many people read SaintsWeb compared to those who post, as 385 individual votes (at this point) have been submitted. That in itself is a valid point, even if the topic is B.S.

Threads like this are to blame for killing this forum. Not the question - we all have 'blonde moments' - but the reaction from forum tossers desperately trying to look clever. Bunch of ****ing idiots, especially carrying it on after JBS held his hands up to say it was an honest mistake. It makes people think twice about posting.

Said on an internet forum, such irony.

I'm with the guys above - agree entirely. One thing to add though, which Alpine touched on, is we now have the resources to buy in talent. When KD's career winds down and we need a new No.1, do we honestly think we would stick with Bart rather than go out and buy an already established No.1 from another club? Bart will become a great keeper with regular games, be that with us or anyone else, but if we have to make a decision about a new No.1 I just can't see it being Bart. The only way I see this changing is if KD tells the club he wants to wind down in preparation for his retirement, perhaps a year in advance, so we can gradually bring in Bart. I can't see it happening though.

Who would you play if KD isn't available then?

That's the bit that worries me most. I'm not particularly bothered about West Ham as coming second to them would be absolutely fine, but the gap to third worries me. It was in the double-figures very recently.

When we see a post from you that actually reflects how it is, your apology may be relevant. Since you claim Adkins isn't doing his job, despite taking us from the bottom of L1 to the top of the NPC, despite being unbeaten at home for a year and despite beating all expectations for this season, your apology counts for nothing.

What if he plays and performs really well? Can you predict the future? If Kelvin isn't available who would you - the expert here - pick to cover him?

I said the very same thing in the reaction thread. Teams raise their game when playing us, just like we did in the Prem, just like we've done recently against Prem teams in cup games. Losing to Doncaster doesn't make them better than us nor does it make us a terrible team. It just means we lost one game, that's all.

I don't know. I really don't. My simple brain says you play to your strengths - if we lose Lambert, we've lost his strength and link-up play. We don't have an out-and-out pacy striker, so we can't just lob balls into their box and hope for the best. What we do have is Guly's creativity and through-balls and Barnards finishing and composure. Neither have pace but both can work wonders with a good supply into the box. We have some pace on the wings and some great crossers of the ball in our fallbacks. We also have Lallana's creativity. To me, that suggests we shouldn't be asking our forwards to drop deeper and do what Rickie does, but get them forward higher up the pitch and get the ball into them as much as possible. Trying to play through them won't work, IMO, so play to them higher up the pitch. But then, I'm not a professional football manager.

My take is if you play in a certain way due to a specific player (Lambert, in our case) you should also be able to adapt into other styles of play when he isn't available. There is only one Rickie Lambert, but many ways of playing football. Instead of trying to find Rickie Lambert the second, shouldn't we be trying to find a style that suits our other attacking options and gets the best out of them?

I think that answer tells you everything you need to know. That answer sounds like he isn't bothered, will go wherever, isn't willing to fight to prove himself, not much drive at all. Even a slight change in wording with the same meaning would have been better, perhaps 'If I'm wanted'.

We were always going to have a bad spell, this is it. Equally, teams struggling at the moment of the league raise their game for teams at the top of the league - just as we used to in the Prem. Disappointing to lose, disappointing to realise quite how little attacking threat we pose without RL, but we're still top, the season is still young and I'd rather suffer now while there is still time to pick up. But I'm not a wrist slitter, so probably don't fit in with some here.

So long as its used with professionalism and common sense, there is no harm. But I agree entirely about the chaps you mention, the banter between them is superb entertainment and will no doubt do wonders for team spirit. Good humour always does.

It's a big ask, but they are 11 points off the playoffs with the majority of the season remaining. I wouldn't bet on it, but I wouldn't be quite so sure that it's impossible for any team in this league to do it.

Didn't City recently say they would rather keep him for the season, stay up and lose him for free at the end, then let him go in Jan? Have they since said he can leave in Jan?

The sad fact of the January transfer window is whoever we go for, we'll be paying a far higher price than we would have done pre-season. Prices are always a bit daft as clubs don't want to lose players half-way through the season.

After what we've been through, I'm not sure I'd laugh at their fans and the position they are in, it was horrible. Being resigned to losing one of your best players just to survive, during a season you've written off before December can't be fun. But that said, it's a cut-throat game so if we can walk out with LJ I wont feel too bad.