Cabrone

As has been said many times on here the magic ingredient is confidence. A few wins under the belt and this team would be unrecognisable. Unfortunately the lapses from a defence that has had a baptism of fire started the rot and now it's spread to the rest of the team. It also doesn't help that we left our best GK off the team sheet. We need as much defensive ability as possible and to drop our international keeper at the moment seems strange. Sorry MS fans but I don't rate him, never really have. He's being shown up rather badly at this level now. We need a centre mid with some real steel and we just don't have it at the moment. Whilst the team go out and show some heart them I'm OK with things, it's when heads drop that you need to get concerned and there is growing evidence that heads are dropping. Nige, you have to stop the rot ASAP or it's going to be another 04/05 season all over again.

Wes Morgan, Jack Hobbs.

Boruc to have a blinder and a sqeaky 1-0 win.

My thoughts.... - Very tough start. - Not an unexpected low tally of points although obviously we'd all like more. - NA and the team on a vertical learning curve. After two seasons of wins it's a reality check all round. - Would like Nige to start with his best 11 (including RL) for every game. - Defensive lapses have cost us dearly but these can be coached for. - Strike force looks good enough for this league and we are creating chances. - Boruc is going to play a big role this season. - Heads haven't dropped, performances have been generally good and chances are being created. - 10 games isn't enough to judge this team on, end of December is better when we've played everyone. - November and December are going to be big months. - Not atall downbeat - I've seen enough to believe that there is still everything to play for.

Man U/City, Arsenal, Spurs and Everton. I never expected much from these matches. The only games where we may be considered to have rolled over and died in are possibly Leeds and West Ham IMO. Man City/Utd/Arsenal/Spurs/Everton all eventually outclassed us, Wigan stung us, Villa lost to us and we fought a close game against Fulham. I wouldn't say that any of the performances in those games was of the 'roll over and die' variety but reality bit us in the bum, we got beat by teams with a little bit more about them. Any realistic fan knew that the games against the top 5/6 were always going to be very tough to get points in and factored that into their expectations. What we seem to have here are unrealistic expectations that haven't been met and now they are chomping at the bit for a new manager. If Saints were producing flat performances in every game I'd be concerned about NA but they aren't. Yes, we have been defensively naieve and some of our subs have been questionable but we have continuously created chances. There is still very much to work with so give him a chance and judge him once he's had a go at playing teams around our level. Far too much knee-jerk reaction on here.

Let me see. We've just been promoted into one of the toughest leagues in the world having been in league 1 just 2 years ago. We have played 9 games, 5 of which were against the top 6 sides in the division. The only top team we haven't played yet are Chelsea. Of the 'realistic' games we've played we have won 1, drawn 1 and lost 2. Not too shabby under the circumstances. NA has faced a baptism of fire, to get rid of him at this moment in time would be grossly unfair. Too many knee jerk types on here.

Good grief what a storm in a teacup from a tiny number of pansies that apparently follow this club. When he has gained full match fitness I suspect Boruc will turn out to be the most important signing we make this season. With a defence as porous as ours he may well turn out to be the difference between relegation and survival, he's that important to this team (not that any of the boneheads have given it any thought). He's our No 1 so back him, back NA and back the team. They are giving it their best shot but to go from league 1 to the prem in 2 seasons is very very tough ask.

NA should be given the whole season and if we go down then so be it. This is a very tough learning ground and realistic fans always knew it was going to be a relegation scrap. I'll be backing him all the way.

Every player has his price and if Stoke come up with the readies then he'll go, just like every other player I've enjoyed watching over the years. I'd like to think he'd play out his time here but football is a business and money talks.

Boruc, he's a proven quality keeper who will make a difference given enough match fitness. Surprised it's taken this long to play him TBH.

Agreed, whilst I think Harry's a great manager who did a brilliant job at Spurs Nige is our manager and right now him and the team need the support of all the fans. Nige will come good but he needs time. Remember Fergie took 4+ years to get things going at Man Unt. Patience + realistic expectations are needed, survival will be an achievement. If we survive then we can concentrate on moving up the table. Best of luck Harry but not at SFC.

He's a decent manager and I wouldn't mind him back if NA walked on his own accord but I want NA in the seat for the rest of the season, I think he's earnt the chance and I want to stick with him.

Not really surprised, prem league attacks are razor sharp and our champ defence hasn't yet learned how to cope. They need to learn quickly now + RL needs to start every game up front if he's fit. Think the spending was too biased towards attack and we are suffering as a result. For me Boruc needs to stay in goal and get as much match fitness as possible, if we survive he's going to be a big part of it (IMO). My target was, is and will be 17th so we're about where I thought we'd be. No panic, just hope the team can suss out this league ASAP. Long way to go yet.

I feel that BT doesn't really get the credit he deserves from Saints fans - he was a quality player for us. Great to see those goals again and what a deadeye he was from the penalty spot.

That article is roughly how most rational fans see things, for me the expectations were 3-6 points from these first 6 fixtures so we are slighly below par IMO but we'll only get a true reflection when we play the teams who are around us. Add in the fact that we've had to bed in a few important signings and the fact that by and large we've played some good stuff and I'm OK with things at the moment. IMO need to get Boruc in goal though, need to plug that defence as best we can. It's costing us. QPR and Norwich should be concerned though, QPR lack stability and Norwich look flat to me.

This is why I think that instead of having parachute payments (which just give relegated sides a big advantage and stifles competition in the champ) the money should be given to promoted teams to give them a chance to compete in that first crucial season in the prem.

This is going to be another tough game and for me a point would be par for the course. If he's fit I'd put Boruc in goal, this is a game he could earn us a point or three.

Every point is precious this season so we must put out our best 11. That should mean that if Boruc is fit he plays. We've only signed him for 33 league games and this is a crucial season so let's get using him ASAP. Gazza's time will come but in Boruc we have proven quality which we can ill afford to ignore. Everton are a good outfit and I want our best GK to face them.

I think Villa are one of the dullest teams in the UK, stuck in a mid table rut year after year, going through the motions. They are a bit Coventry'esque circa 10-15 years ago. However their world might be about to get interesting, they could get relegated. Would shake them up a bit. The only bright spot is their manager who I rate but he's really got his work cut out at that comatose club.

Brilliant, finally got what appears to be a class GK. If he's anywhere as good as Niemi then our defence will be getting a real shot in the arm and the team will have saved a pile of points. One thing I noticed from the videos is that he seems to like to push the ball back into play in a lot of his saves. Looks like our defenders will have to be sharp on clearing the ball. Hopefully he'll go straight into the team.

Great result and 37 points to go. Won't be the last time we give someone a tonking and any opposition fans assuming 3 points will find out that we're actually a decent team. However not getting carried away, it was only Villa after all. Should shut up some of their more arrogant fans though.

I fancy a real tear up on this one - plenty of goals. Could go any way.

Football is relative, most fans quickly adjust to the league they are in and get the same buzz from winning regardless if its against Colchester or Chelsea. From that perspective being at the top of any league is a lot more fun than fighting to survive but for me this season is still going to be interesting just to see how we will manage in this league. I think if we can survive the drop then we will only get stronger so 2012/13 is pivotal and thus fascinating. If I thought that we could only aspire to be perennial premier league strugglers then I wouldn't care about being in this league but I think given enough time we will be able to compete so I want us to stay up.

I'm enjoying this season so far, we're playing mainly good football and I'm sure we'll give a good account of ourselves. If it's back to the champ after one season then c'est la vie, the champ is a great league but I think we'll gel and stay up anyway. Totally relaxed about this season though we could have helped ourselves a bit more by getting a class GK.