saintant

Of course we all hope you are proved right but the changes make us weaker without doubt.

Surprised to see that Aribo has been left out after has performance against Swansea. We'll miss his ability on the ball and strength. With Downes and Stu Armstrong also missing this line-up doesn't fill me with confidence but hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

Hope not. The side functions far better when he plays - RM did mention that he is still recovering from his recent illness. I think this will be a hard game because they have some useful attackers. We should have enough to take the 3 points but unlikely to be the goal fest enjoyed in the last two home games. 2-1 to us.

I'd say there were at least 3 occasions in the first half alone when Swansea switched the ball quickly down Manning's flank and he was nowhere to be seen because he'd wandered into the middle. A better side than Swansea might well have exploited this. I get that it seems to be a deliberate ploy so maybe not right to blame Manning but it did and does concern me and I think we need to be mindful of the dangers it presents. Hard to be over critical when our goals against record is so good since the 4 straight losses but something we should keep a wary eye on imo.

Agree and I noticed he did it often in the first half against Swansea leaving his flank horribly exposed.

Touche! 🙂

This is how I saw it as well. Fans were rightly concerned at how vulnerable we were on the break because RM played inverted full backs. Once he fixed that we gradually became much more solid and now we are seeing the real benefits including the ability to be more attacking. There are still periods when we overdo the possession but the signs are that we are addressing that making the football far more enjoyable to watch.

Agree and when Baz had the ball I noticed Aribo was just outside his own box but, as the move developed out to the left, he popped up when the ball was switched to KWP and cleverly evaded his marker before playing a perfecly weighted reverse pass to Mara who looked up and picked out the Wee Man. Adams gets some stick but he made an important run for the 3rd goal which dragged the defender away and left space for AA to play in Wee Man. Also, for the 5th goal Adams made a delicate pass to put Wee Man in down the left and was then on hand in the middle to finish after a smart chest trap.

Have you watched his Christmas message on the Southampton FC Official website? It might change your mind although of course he could be just saying what the fans want to hear. It's sometimes hard to discern whether people are genuine.

I would give Ryan Fraser a run at right wing - he's right footed so it makes sense.

Mara is improving in his cameo roles as a sub. He hasn't had that many minutes but has a goal and an assist in his last two games plus he won the penalty that Charley wasted. Small steps but he will be gaining in confidence.

24 points so far with Plymouth at home to come. Like us all you must be delighted with that return.

I have to take my hat off to him and admit to being a convert. Can't deny I've been critical of him because some of the football has been a little sterile at times but he's always maintained that we'd get better and we certainly have. An unbeaten run of 16 games with 11 wins is no mean feat. He's sorted out the defence which is looking very solid and some of the football going forward is superb leading to some great team goals. The subs are being well managed and he's got Aribo playing some brilliant stuff. I also liked his Xmas message video on the official site in which he said that every member of staff at the club is important and is regarded as such from the cleaners upwards. Have to hold my hands up and say I misjudged RM so well done to him and long may he continue.

He looks very comfortable scoring with either foot and is also decent with his head. Get him on the bus.

More of the same please!

Agree, Aribo was man-of-the-match today for me. Swansea couldn't handle his strength, skill and clever play.

This guy absolutely oozed class today. That was a top performance epitomised by his hand in Fraser's second goal. My MoM and if he carries on playing like that he'll be one of the first names on the team sheet.

Just wow! Stunning performance and clearly the best of the season. Every player contributed and some of the football and goals were brilliant. The Wee Man never disappoints from the bench - two superb goals plus an assist. A big shout out to Jo Aribo who I thought was unplayable at times. This team is now starting to gel and can make a real challenge for one of the automatic spots which I doubted a few weeks ago. Unbeaten in 16 and improving fast. Well done to RM, the coaches and players who all deserve huge credit. That was a great watch.

Solid first half display and deservedly ahead. We look quite comfortable and my only worry is that Manning continues to drift into that inverted position leaving oceans of space on his flank. Not sure why he does this as he leaves the defence exposed. There should be more goals and we need to keep getting the ball out to Edozie who is on fire.

That Liam Millar looks a great player. Fantastic winning goal for Preston. Sign him up!

He always looked very comfortable.

Hard earned win and a vital one. It's a worry that we make such hard work of a lot of games but we seem to be able to eke out the results. Wish we were more convincing at times but that's about 15 unbeaten since the 4 defeats on the bounce.

Never a good idea.

You're tempting fate.

Need to push them back and go for that second goal which will clinch it.