Whitey Grandad

No wonder we were always mullered at corners.

Aren't all Saints supporters fanatical?

'signed subject to clearance' was the wording, I believe.

Of course they did. And it was Lee Harvey what done it, no question. What was the other question?

"the man who thinks he can and the man who thinks he can't are both right"

I'll start the ball rolling... a net 76 points which means about 82 from the next 40 games so we need better than 2 wins out every 3 games. I can't see that with the current team, tbh, but hope springs eternal and all that.

If you believe what some on here are saying, all you need is time and patience and a bit more self-confidence.

If you are looking for somebody to blame, then there are a lot of people in the queue ahead of Pardew.

40 games to go, 120 points to play for....

I'd like to think that his best is better than what we witnessed yesterday. After he came on the ball was fed to him several times but he did not have the pace to get past the defender, or he just ran straight in to him. After a while even James was having a go at him and then the team gave up on him and switched to the left wing. There just wasn't any movement from him and he did not appear to be trying very hard.

Thomson, for one?

Perhaps the crowd was booing the other team for their time-wasting tactics?

He's still settling in. Once he gets a few games under his belt with players around him that he's familiar with then I think we'll see his true quality.

That's a very interesting point. Having too many players dilutes the coaching effort We are still several games away from knowing our best first eleven, and nothing beats a settled team. Once we have a compact squad that have had enough time to build up an understanding then the results will follow.

I firmly believe that we must now stick with Pardew through at least two seasons and that may very well mean a spell in League 2. What I cannot accept is that we are not allowed to critcise or comment on performances or players and that we should follow the team like a herd of sheep. It is quite apparent that the coaching team at Saints have not been preparing the youngsters properly in the basic footballing disciplines of holding your position, staying onside, finding space, working the opposition, striking the ball cleanly, tracking back, getting to the goal-line before crossing, marking at set-pieces and so on. Of course it is going to take time to rebuild the club from the bottom up, but part of the rebuilding involves constructive criticism from those who have had to suffer the last few seasons.

I agree completely. He was carelessy offside on at least three occasions when we had a good attacking position. He is has no pace and no physical presence. It drives me mad to read this 'he is only a kid learning his trade', 'give him time' and so on. It is this approach which has got us into our present situation. We cannot afford to have apprentices out on the field. We need seasoned hard-nosed professionals now or we shall continue our slow predictable sinking down the leagues. If they're not good enough now, then they aren't good enough.

Has anybody yet worked out the signals he gives with his arms?

I didn't want to write an essay, but the point is that there is no pace on the ball when it arrives so there is nothing for any attacker to work with. In the same vein, James crosses from too deep which makes it easy for the defenders and difficult for the attackers, the angles are all wrong.

That was my comment to my neighbour, but I'm in the Kingsland, half-way line, and it was all very gloomy by then, in every sense.

We shall never score from a corner so long as Lallana is taking them. There's no pace on the ball and all it does is float into the keeper's hands.

I've had enough of giving kids a chance. We had Blackstock trotting around in a daze with his mouth hanging open. Then it was Leon Best, then it was McGoldrick. We cannot afford to train youngsters in the first team. Bring them in as substitutes at the end of the season when we're safe. Until then, we need proper professional footballers who know their trade. Today, Thomson and Patterson were worse than useless. We would have been better off without them - and I am serious.

Even Poortvliet was given more games than that.

I think that the conference may be his level. Too slow, too lightweight. Offered us nothing. Even James had a go at him.

Never argue with a clean sheet. At least the defence seems to be getting there. If only we had a strike force..... Patterson: go away and learn how to stay onside. Lallana: go away and find someone else to take the corners. James: go away and learn that you must never cross the ball from 25 yards deep. Thomson: go away and don't come back.

Phew, for a moment there I was worried!