saintant

These two can play together. We need to look at Swansea's model as they manage to combine two strikers, Michu and Graham. Graham plays up front while Michu sits behind. We could have Rodrigues up front with Rickie in behind as part of the 'midfield' three. To do this we need two good wing midfielders to play the role that Dyer and Routledge do. If you watch Swansea their two banks of three are very fluid and switch quickly so they can have five in midfield when defending or trying to retrieve the ball. When they have possession they spring quickly so they have plenty of men from their two banks of three in offensive positions. Michu doesn't do a lot of defensive work but he makes up the numbers, is good on the ball and can bring in other players plus he scores goals. For the Dyer and Routledge roles I guess we'd go for Tadanari Lee and Ramires (assuming he signs) - and there's still talk of Matt Phillips. The two traditional midfielders would be Adam and Schneiderlin or Steve Davis with Ward Prowse and Cork as other options. We cannot spend 7million on a player like Rodrigues and then play him out of position - we may as well have flushed that money down the loo if we persist with him out wide. 433 is obviously the way to go in the Premier League but Adkins needs to get the right players in the right positions to make it work.

Same old England - absolutely no conception of the basic principal of pass and move. England players employ the principal of pass (that's my job done) and stand still. No bravery to commit men forward and press the opposition or create a bit of panic. Goal conceded was schoolboy defending - count the players we had behind the ball, there must have been seven of them strung out like a washing-line and not one of them pressed the French until it was too late. All they managed to do was block Hart's view of the shot. Can it really be so difficult to coach professional footballers to pass and move. Milner is not an international footballer and I'm staggered that he is continually selected yet never contributes much (how did he miss that chance?) Let's start with Defoe and Welbeck up front supported by two quick wingers and try to cause Sweden some problems - we are just too pedestrian and predictable

One thing we mustn't do and that is put a strict low level cap on a maximum wage. That was Lowe's policy and got us relegated as we bought a succession of players who were not good enough but were all we could get because of his wage ceiling. Result - an over bloated squad filled with ordinary players and not enough of the quality needed to compete in the Premier League. Big mistake from a bloke many still claim was an astute businessman. Budget for the Championship (or lower) and that's where you'll end up.

Dobbie looks worth a punt if Swansea are willing to sell. Bags of skill, very tricky and not afraid to take defenders on. Gave us plenty of problems too. Could see him linking up well with Lambert and wouldn't cost a fortune.

Lighthouse hits the nail squarely on the head - Lowe built a huge squad of mainly average players the majority of who just weren't up to it and that was his and our downfall. As a result he still ended up with a fairly high wage bill but very little quality and couldn't seem to grasp that to compete in the Premier you must have a certain number of better players who quite rightly command higher salaries. This meant that the manager had to somehow cobble together a team capable of winning enough games just to achieve survival - no surprise that Lowe's lack of understanding got found out. You must have some higher quality players in your squad. Let's not make the same mistakes again or our stay in the Prem will undoubtedly be a very short one.

Someone suggested England stick with Pearce! No way, he is a throwback, a complete dinosaur with no fresh ideas to offer. Have you watched the U21's? He's turned them into a hoofball team with no finesse. Imagine England at the Euro's with Pearce in the dug-out alongside his mate our very own ex-manager Steve Wigley! I saw it once during the England Holland friendly and it made my blood run cold - Wigley in the dug-out at a full England international - it doesn't get much more scarey than that.

People talk about the step up in class to manage at Premier level but seriously, why should Nige have any worries on that score? I'm sure he could more than hold his own against the likes of Lambert, Pardew, Hughes, Martinez, Rogers and Pullis. The guy is fresh and full of bright, innovative ideas. He has galvanised the Saints and brought a work ethic and team spirit that was sadly missing for too many seasons. Look at his record of winning promotions including our own back-to-back ones which is a massive testament to the guy. OK, his after match interviews are riddled with cliches but nobody can doubt his passion, desire and great love for Southampton Football Club. Success in the Premier won't rely solely on the manager - you need a great scouting system, good coaches and fitness experts plus backing from your fans and Chairman. Surely Nige deserves all these things especially the last one - Coretese must support him now after all he has achieved. He came as a realtive unknown and certainly wasn't heralded as the new saviour by many of our fans. How he has won them over! For a club like ours he is the perfect man for the job and the only danger in terms of him not being around next season should be the worry that some other club will try to tempt him away - that could happen if he is not given immediate reassurances that he is still considered the man most likely to take this football club to the next level. Thanks for all you've achieved for us Nige and I hope you'll still be prowling the technical area and giving your quirky after-match interviews for seasons to come - you deserve to be!

Don't underestimate Coventry. Stay calm, focus, pass and move and the chances will come. Now, win this game of football!

It's not a tie!

Andy Thorn's comments make him look stupid. He's getting all precious because certain factions are suggesting Coventry are only there to make up the numbers tomorrow and will roll over. Thorn has got himself all fired up over this and promises that his Coventry side will give everything. Well, presumably they gave everything in all their previous away matches, didn't do them much good - or perhaps he is suggesting they could have given more in past matches but, because they are in the spotlight tomorrow and can influence a massively important game, will make sure they play to full capacity? Seems to me it's a bit late to be saying Coventry will give no quarter - what happened in all your other games Mr Thorn? You can't have it both ways - either you always give everything and you are just not very good or there were matches (a lot of them) where you failed to get everything out of your side. Which is it?

A glance at the table shows that we're second from top while Coventry are second from bottom. That should tell you that we're very good whereas Coventry are very poor. What else do you need to know?

Er so you were stood behind the goal with Hines running towards you and could see his shirt number yet the ref who would presumably have been running behind trying to keep up with play couldn't see the number even though Hines had his back to him. I'm confused by that piece of logic. Also, believe that the ref informed our players he did not intend booking Hines almost straight after the offence and that is what incensed them.

Rather be a Derby fan me. I mean, imagine the excitement up there as they look forward to a vital match against Peterboro. And with both sides having nothing to play for it promises to be a feast of football. Hold on though, almost forgot, these teams with nothing to play for are only brilliant against Southampton. Yeah, stuff it...I've got a ticket for the Coventry match but I think I'll pop up to Derby and enjoy all the excitement up there instead. who'd want to be at St Marys to watch a crucial game that will see us win and get promoted?

You flatter Leicester...they weren't that good!

We could lose to Coventry on Saturday....strange things do happen in football. I mean West Ham might even beat Hull at home. Hold on though...two massive upsets on the same day...maybe not.

Perhaps for the health of a large chunk of people on this forum (and they know who they are as do the rest of us) it would be better if we don't go up. After all, these people are petrified at the prospect of of playing lowly Coventry at home. Imagine the sheer terror if we had to face Man Utd at Old Trafford - I think many wouldn't survive the stress levels. Better if we just throw Saturday's game and the play-offs.

Shock news just in....Chelsea players study videos of Coventry City ahead of tomorrow's vital Champions League tie. Di Matteo claims they are the nearest side to Barcelona in the world and is now confident he's figured a way to stop Messi and co. Meanwhile Nigel Adkins has his players studying videos of Barcelona as he knows that type of football is what his side can expect to face on Saturday. It's a funny old game.

So Hull will turn into Marks and Spencer Ladies second X1 as they have nothing to play for. Conversely, Coventry also with nothing to play for and the proud owners of one of the worst away records in the football league will arrive at St Marys, take to the field in front of a full house and defy belief by suddenly morphing into Barcelona - no, actually they'll even eclipse the standards set by Barcelona. They will weave intricate patterns all over a pitch where Southampton have a brilliant record but the Saints won't be able to get near these ball playing geniuses. At half time Coventry will lead five nil having missed three penalties. The only time Southampton will get out of their own half is when taking kick-offs. The Coventry players will be snapped up by Barcelona which is a pity cos that means they're back to square one next season with a ****e squad - maybe they should roll over so that all their quality players are not in the shop window. You know it makes sense. Not much point us even getting changed on Saturday!

No pressure on West Ham then? Am I missing something here? Why does everyone keep saying all the pressure is on us? Has anyone compared the home records? West Ham would be better off if their final game was away. We will beat Coventry comfortably on Saturday and West Ham may not even win against Hull - look at their home record which is pants. Too may panicking on here when we should still be very confident.

So surely the same will apply to Hull when they play West Ham on saturday. You can't just say only the team with nothing to play for against Saints will raise their game - also surely same for Leicester tonight. How much pressure are West Ham under compared to us? They have to win two and score enough goals to turn around goal difference whilst hoping we don't beat Coventry. If we were to calculate the pressure I'm sure there is way more on West Ham than us. Relax!

Since the only two options offered in this thread are either promotion tonight or promotion on Saturday by beating Coventry I'm not sure why anyone would prefer it tonight. Surely we'd all prefer it to happen in live play at St Marys in front of a capacity crowd rather than sat at home finding out West Ham have drawn or lost - where's the thrill in that? Now, if the offer is that West Ham win tonight and we are left in the lap of the Gods against Coventry I could understand people opting to take promotion today.

So Leicester won't bust a gut against West Ham but some think Coventry are suddenly going to sweat blood and produce a season best display against us.

Who else feels a bit down 2day? Ah let's see now....Coventry fans, Pompey fans, Doncaster fans, Rochdale fans. What's for us to feel down about? Still in our hands with one game to go against Coventry at home. It doesn't get any easier!

The league table does not lie. We have been top two every week so far for a reason. Equally, Coventry have been relegated for a reason. And the good news is - that idiot Bates won't be refereeing the game.

Can't believe people are scared of us playing Coventry for a place in the Prem. So who would we want to play then? Some say Coventry will be relaxed as they have nothing to play for. Well, the alternative is to be playing a side who do have an interest left in the season - how would that possible be construed as easier? So assuming we agree we want to be up against a side with nothing left to fight for who better than Coventry a team with a shocking away record, who will be minus one of their best players and who score few goals? Add to that the small matter that we've already tonked them twice this season and I have to wonder what some of you are afraid of. Surely if we could pick a team to play Coventry at home would be high on the list and for good reason. 32k roaring the team on at St Marys - if we can't win this we don't deserve to go up but let's at least view the game with some realism and perspective - we could not have chosen a better fixture to close out promotion so please stop trying to make out Coventry are suddenly going to morph into Barcelona at their best.