Singeon Sears

I've said all along this side needs pace, its the only thing missing - its the reason we occassionally struggle to get behind defensive teams (yes I know Ox has pace but he is 17 and has quiet games about 1 in 4 - its normal) We've now got 2 players who have pace, no idea if they can kick a football, but I only ever asked for pace!

only on here could 3 pages be dedicated to this and shame on me for just adding to it

I am loving the feel good factor right now but it’s a tough away 2nd half of the season. If key players stay fit then we might do it but for me we need 1 maybe 2 more of the quality of our best players to see it through.

lol - based on this criteria I assume Lallana had a nightmare too then Lallana and Guly both played well along with the rest of the team, which is why we won 4-1. I appreciate he should have scored but his contribution was excellent It's not Guly's fault he is played up front when he is a midfielder - some might have noticed how important he was in most of our attacking play including (i think) two assists. Maybe ask their centre halves what they thought of Guly (and Lambert, Lallana, and co), by about 70minutes they looked completely torn apart.

The theory touted on here by some was that when injuries and suspensions kick in across league one our lot will be best placed to deal with it - with 4 key players missing we showed just how strong our squad really is - it isn't

I know he was and agree about Nasri, but IF Walcott had really developed that much under Wenger he would find a place for him in the team

and as of late sits on the bench every week. Achieved much - absolutely. Come on hugely - Not for me, in terms of ability, I see the same player that left us

I am sure we will survive until Jan, whether we will be anywhere near the top two is debatable, although our fixtures give us every chance. For me several players are more play off than top two quality

Puncheon - I do defend him and think he does ok, but while his work rate and ability to go round people is good his shooting and delivery is poor Richardson - I'll concede he should be and will be, but the reality is it will take him a while to get back to his best after his injury, so not yet Barnard - The other top sides appear to have forwards as capable as Lee at this level Morgan - This guy has one good game in about every five if that - potentially he is very good but its not developing

who else then?

The players are not as good as we'd like to think. Who is really "better than everyone else in league one", from what i've seen Fonte is, Lallana is on occassions, Lambert was and probably will be again, and Guly is but can't get a run of games to settle in. And thats it for me - the rest are no better than what the other top league one sides contain.

I don't think he should be judged just yet, we are far to quick to make assessments on players who have hardly played. Was it a good signing, time will tell, but having 2 of the leagues best left backs competing for one position can only be a good thing for that position and for the club. I appreciate there were and still are other areas that need addressing more so, but if he became available then it strengthens the squad - winning any league is about the squad strength.

Thought Puncheon was one of the few who played well yesterday. No idea what fans hope to achieve by giving him stick, I know why they do, I get frustrated with him too sometimes but its one of the most self defeating things a fan can do. He is a confidence player, build him up and he will deliver for us at this level, knock him down and he'll stop doing all the things that make him an asset, and then what, we hoof the ball even more once he is relegated to the bench????

When he came on he tried to create some space and pass the ball around - the rest of the team looked utterly lost with the concept. To say we play "direct" football is something of an understatement, and to see a new player come in and try to play some football showed us up for what we really are at the moment

We've lost the pace we had last season and as a result are going to find it very difficult to break down the better sides of league one. Apart from a total lack of pace in the team, we have no replacement for Lambert, not in terms of quality, but in terms of physical presence. Two small forwards trying to get on the end of crosses is a hopeless mess to be in. We are on the brink of being the best side in this league but we have to buy in 2 or 3 to become it, without it I suspect its play off's at best

At some point you have to sit back and entrust the management of the club to make the right decisions. I appreciate it’s not easy given the last 20 years or so, but most of us can surely see that the club is in the best hands we could possibly have hoped for. I know a lot of Saints fans, none of whom are trusted sources or within the club, they are merely fans and they are nothing less than thrilled with the direction we are going in.

I agree with this. We might have a number of wide players on paper but when you go through them its not good enough to break down defences, mainly due to a lack of pace. Without Papa and Antonio we are currently weaker overall than at the end of last season. I am not too concerned though, the club have it in hand i am sure, and I think Pardew's transfer record is excellent in the main.

I am not concerned as i am sure we will strengthen, but to suggest we are stronger now than at the end of last season is in my opinion wrong. Waigo and Antonio gave us pace and it needs replacing otherwise we won't be breaking down enough defences to be anything better than a play off team

Firstly i am not concerned with signings to date. I like who we've signed and am confident we will continue to strengthen by the start of the season. As of right now i don't think we are as strong a first 11 as the one that played (towards end of) last season because we've lost Papa and Antonio. This has lost us pace and unpredictability - both vital in breaking down teams who will sit back and defend, as many will especially at St Mary's. Until this is addressed we have a play off team at best in my opinion. My other concern is CM who I believe we need to strengthen with a first team signing, not a squad one. I've been of that opinion since Christmas. A Lambert type back up has been mentioned too which makes sense. If this is all addressed I believe we have a top 2 squad.

Ormerod is a better player than Barnard - He's scored against premiership defences and operates in the premiership/championship level. Barnard operates in league one and looks like a good league one striker. It's hard to tell if he'd be any good in a higher league. Taking into account age, i'd probably stick with Barnard though!

But the whole point is IF he is better than what we have its a good signing. It illogical to suggest we shouldn't sign him because we need a right back! I am sure the club will address the right back position over the summer - it's not quite August yet!

Hope both come back if possible. Papa added moments of quality that the league one standard couldn't cope with.

I am not convinced that our team was any more capable of reaching the play offs this year with or without the JPT. The only thing i can be sure of is that winning the JPT will have proved to this club it is capable of achieving again, and that might just be invaluable to us in the years to come

It's boring to say but consistency wins the day, as Pardew has already stated. We have come a long way this season, and we are the best team in the league every 3rd or 4th match I'd guess , when we beat Norwich, Leeds, Charlton etc. In between we suffer the odd bad game which we lose or draw and a couple of average ones where we scrap a draw or win. Our biggest problem now are games away from home against "lesser" teams on dodgy pitches. Not sure what the stats on that look like.

It's impossible to say at Christmas or any when else in a season what's going to happen next, but based on that a chairman would never make any decisions on anything. I would guess the chairman and manager will sit down and discuss a target be it for mid season or end of season then its relatively simple to know if it’s been met or not. The concept of "we might have a great run, or we might collapse" afterwards cannot really come into the equation, from those making decisions. It’s normally based on facts not crystal balls, unless a calculated risk is taken. I am not concerned anyway, I trust in Pardew, and i also trust in Cortese. Impressed with both of them this season.