austsaint

Team picked itself really. Should win - COYS.

Yes, well spotted. Spent 6 months there as Manager in 2021.

Bit of a Saints connection at Charlton in (relatively) recent times. Who can forget Les Reed's 6 week stint there as Manager in 2006 - sacked with the reputation as the "worst manager ever", only to be replaced by Alan Pardew.

Hard not to have tremendous respect for KWP, and an appreciation for his willingness to play a year in the Championship - seemingly not complain or agitate for a move, and maintain high levels of skill and influence which are a huge part of the Club's success this season. Best of all though, he comes across as a character with decent values and a grounded temperament and plays with a smile on his face. Watching the telecast towards the end of the Watford FA Cup tie, the camera switched to KWP on the bench. He was standing, applauding and encouraging the team as they pressed for a late winner, totally engaged and committed. He really is a modern day club legend in the making.

Shame to see him go, but understandable given his restricted game time and inability to nail down an attacking spot in the Martin set up. Hard to forget the many promising minutes he played in the Prem last season - probably more suited to the quick movement, counter-attacking style rather than the present set up. In some ways the outstanding form of S. Armstrong and the recent re-emergence of Aribo haven't helped his cause and RM obviously rates Rothwell even if he hasn't offered up much spark to date. I hope we haven't seen the last of Charly.

Maybe a 9.5 if no one leaves. With a cherry on top!

You make a lot of good points (especially about the settled team who know the system well) in what turned out to be a great Cup tie - particularly the last 30 minutes. The nine changes resulted in a disjointed, not-up-to-speed with the system first half. Clearly Rothwell is still finding his way; Holgate always looked a risk at RB and young Dibling ahead of him looked all at sea. Stephens has not (yet) established the smooth partnership with THB that Bednarek has. Noticeable in the first half that despite all the possession there were no runners and no width to put the Watford defence under pressure. Mara is not a winger, but improved when more central. Fraser, Stu and young SAA immediately solved the run and width problem. Alcaraz, out of sorts until the likes of Fraser and the two Armstrongs came on - he then came to life. What a cameo from S. Armstrong. Young Meghoma also looked more settled once the changes were made. A replay given what's at stake is probably an unwanted extra game, but based on most of the second half, I'm happy about the prospect.

Verlaine. Outside of his set against SD, he's quite a good poster.

Let's hope so.

More information please egg. What do you want to happen in the next week or so to raise your confidence levels that high?

I'm happy with second. Aren't you?

Tighter in our hands if Leicester win. Creates a bit of slack.

Sounds doable, doesn't it.

Leicester win, and technically, 2nd place (ie automatic promotion) is "in our hands". We don't need to drive every green and score eagles and birdies. Ok, the occasional birdie would be nice but a Leicester win means pars and squaring the Ipswich and Leeds cards will do. No day of glory Cup raising needed here - a solid runners up medal will do nicely.

Romeu made an art form out of it - record amount of yellows.....never sent off.

A bird in the hand worth more than a couple in the bush etc. Leicester please.

Yeah, fair enough. It was a brilliant first half team performance, and Smallbone played his part. There's also no doubt that he's played well the last two games. Maybe I'm nitpicking, but if you look at the first half again, WS made several untidy passes under no pressure, and it is characteristic of his game. I think it was Holmes and Watson who made the interesting point that Smallbone is often being asked to play several roles ranging from attacking wide, attacking central and defensive midfield, and his mobility and energy allows him to do it. It's working against lesser teams - will the same strategy work against better opposition.

I accept I was harsh on Smallbone at half-time, chum! He had a good second half, and played his role. I'm surprised he got the man-of-the-match nod though - but well done him.

I might of been too harsh on WS yesterday. He played his part and had a good second half. Against the likes of Leicester, Ipswich, Leeds etc, Downes may need a bit more help in the holding role - whether it's WS or Rothwell, when he gets up to speed, will be interesting. At the moment, young Charles is probably not ready.

I just don't see him as good enough to play that wide attacking midfield role. Also a lot of misplaced passes. He does cover the park well and makes runs in attacking positions - just looks the weak link to me.

About as one sided a half as you're likely to see. Downes tremendous even before his goal; Fraser and Stu working well together. Strange lack of discipline from THB. AA providing plenty of service. Only disappointment for me, despite the goal is Smallbone; against the better sides we are going to need better. Perhaps this is where Rothwell will feature.

You're probably right yet with the (automatic) promotion carrot dangling in plain sight, KWP's departure would disrupt so much of the attacking, creative threat. I couldn't see his loss being covered well enough. Are SR happy to take the money and risk blowing the strong chance of promotion? Let him go to Chelsea in the Summer! They can wait; they're not going to contend for anything in what remains of the season.

All the best to your family members Lambtiss.

So true - you want to get promoted but you don't want the winning experience and the quality of Saint's play in the Championship to end! Fabulous 2nd half display. Fraser great again and deserved the applause he got coming off late in the game. Every week you find yourself marvelling at KWP's game - if he does go in the Summer I'm just going to enjoy his remaining 19 League games for the Club. Adams didn't look like a player trying to break down the exit door. And credit to Smallbone, looked good today in the AM role.

Lovely calm finish. Decent displays from Smallbone and Manning so far.