SNSUN

I thought we did play well tonight, fully deserved to win. I know Charlton are in poor form, but they're still second in the League, and on this showing we can beat anyone. Looking forward to playing Leeds and Norwich now.

He did very well IMO. Caught every ball without drama, it was obvious Parkinson had told the Charlton lads to run towards him when he had the ball but he never panicked once. Good save just before the goal too. I was like everyone else on here, quite worried when I saw Davis rested before the game - but that's a big credit to Davis - it shows how important he has become to the team - and how much he's improved since the dodgy days in the CCC.

I agree, yes it's sad news that a professional footballer suffered from depression to the extent that he thought there was no other route than suicide, but he did end his life on his terms. Had he died on the pitch it would be a different story. The spookiest thing about Enke is that on Monday I signed him from Hannover for 4.4 million on FM07 (the only game my girlfriend's old computer supports.) I'm chalking it up to a strange coincidence. May he RIP.

They'll be out to prove the Northwich Vic game was a one off. We'll be out to prove we're better than them. 3-1.

I switched allegiance, thought not in a major way. As a kid in the 80's, really not into football at all, I was a Liverpool "fan" as most people were. (Makes me sick saying it, probably why they're my least favourite Prem team after the obvious...) This was mostly due to having a Liverpool Emblem Shiny - for the Panin football album, a sticker everybody craved. In around 88, and bear in mind I'd always lived in Berkshire and had no affiliations with Southampton, and only the odd holiday in Hampshire, my parents rented out our spare room to a Saints-supporting university student for some extra cash, and the rest is history. It was really in the early 90's that I really got into the club, and have been a Saint ever since - and will always be. I wouldn't describe myslelf as the best fan - a handful of games and a few bits of merchandise do not a good fan make, but I consistently try to improve that - and never want to support another team. My missus is a Norwich fan - if we ever have kids, I'm making sure they're red and white.

I don't have Sky so I'm not going to be a lazy sod and kick my folks off their TV, I hope to be making my way down for this one. I assume tickets will be for sale on the night - I'll ring the ticket office tomorrow.

Almost as sloppy a piece of journalism as in the Mirror today - it said that Portsmouth's George Boateng was in the team of the month for October. That'ws wrong on two levels - 1) It's Kevin Prince not George, and 2) No Pompey players deserve to be anywhere near it.

If your players are better than the other teams players, formation rarely matters. Our squad could wee wee over all the others in this league - I'm looking forward to the Norwich and Leeds games with relish.

Pretty much the same, the main difference being that instead of smelling like fish, they smell of Mars chocolate.

...and Pards still gets overlooked for the MOTM. Bloody Jackett.

Staines yoof is on the out. It's the Slough slags you want to watch out for...

Only half a mile from me! I'd love to have been there today. Would defo get tickets if we played there. (Saints end of course...) I'll take Norwich at St Marys please. That gives me three attempts this season to diss my missus, my stupid, yellow bird loving, Delia Smith adoring shame. (I love her to bits...) I can't make the two league games due to work comittments. (i.e. work.)

I think Chelsea have missed a bit of a trick here. Having their ban lifted, albeit temporarily, will mean they do go on a big spending spree, and some of the younger players will want out. Mellis and Cork are two very good players, from what I saw at Selhurst Park last season, Cork was the only player on the pitch that looked CCC standard. I wouldn't be suprised to see them shipped out if Chelsea bring in new players, and of course having Mellis on loan, as long as he's happy, is a big plus for us. Someone on here said Preston are likely to recall Trotman in January, which if true is a mistake, but as with most players, they'd rather be playing, and if that means that Trotman isn't getting games, it plays into our hands with signing him permanently. (Same with Antonio.) It goes without saying we should make them as happy as possible to be here!

3-1. This is new Saints. Keep saying it, this is new SAints! Not the old Saints that throws games away in the dying minutes...

Frank Arnesen Releases Terry. Can we sign him?

I'm hoping that without their keeper and Chris Dickson (both of whom were quite good against us at St Mary's), we'll be able to dominate. Not having Mellis isn't too much of a problem, but Trotman has been very good since he signed, I still think their losses are greater though. Anyway I'm off to work. Yell really, really, loudly if we score, as it's the only way I can follow it. :-(

Wish I'd been alive in 76, and old enough to enjoy it. :-(

Good line up. We could hardly leave Antonio out after Reading gave us permision to play him. I'd like to see how he gets on now we have him for longer. Good to see Connolly get a start. Here's to hoping he can show us what he can really do. UTS - would be nice to get past Bizzle Rizzle and meet a biggy in the next couple of rounds.

Finally, Anus Releases Tension

If last season's management and board were here this season, Paterson would have become our number one striker. Thank God for investment. Not a black mark against Paterson, but he would have been carrying our hopes and the -10 points on his shoulders in his first pro season. Unless we play 442, he should definitely go out on loan. Lambert, Lallana, Waigo, Connolly and even Saga must all be ahead of him in the pecking order currently. The experience will do him the world of good.

Investing in youth = long term success. With Dodd signing for the Academy and Martin adding beef to the squad at the back, it can only be a good thing. (Also, with every one of Pardew's signings being a corker so far, let's hope the streak continues.)

It's quite a sad thing to see, remembering his opening spell with us. An international striker that can't get in to a League One team quite clearly spells problems for the player. Not being first choice, he obviously doesn't want to be here, and we would rather not be paying his wages. Put simply, we have better choices in attack currently. Lambert is proving to be every penny's worth of a million quid, Connolly may not be on the pitch for too long a time, but has still scored 3 in 3. Add to that an eager Paterson, a goal scoring Lallana and even Papa Waigo (once he gets used to the offside system that they apparently don't have in Italy) and it seems his days here are numbered. To save the wages, he's got to go in January, one way or another. (This is where I look stupid as he gets games and becomes top scorer for the season!)

Check out the dates on the first post.

Finally have internet access at home. :-D I said before the game that the only way a draw would be an acceptable result is if we go a couple of goals down and pull it back. We did, so we can't be too disappointed with this result. A bit of a break now due to the cup competitions, hopfully we can keep the momentum going.

Cries of "typical Saints" will reverberate through this messageboard if we get anything but a win, but IMO that'd be an unfair assessment of how far we've come. This is the new team, and if recent results are to be believed we've turned the corner and are bringing the good times back to Southampton. I truly think we have what it takes to win today. In terms of the League Table disregarding the points deduction, we're better in every way than Orient. If we truly have aspirations to plug the gap on the top 6, we NEED to win these sorts of games. Our recent run will count for nought if we can't sustain it over a long period of time. We will win today, in my mind. We're playing like the best team in the league, and I believe that we may possibly be that good. I'm hoping Hammond can shake the knock, Connolly too, but I still think we'll go on to win this. Another 3-1 would be lovely. (Though I can envisage us keeping a clean sheet.) A draw is unacceptable today - unless we pull back from 3-0 down.