CanadaSaint

I think part of the reason for 4-5-1 was that even AP still wasn't sure how good his team is. Now he's found out that we can comprehensively outplay a top 3 side with a more aggressive formation I think we'll see it more. At home and away. I particularly like all the options we have for changing things around, and the fact that AP seems to have a good intuition for making those changes. Haven't seen that in ages.

We have a lot of adjustment options and a manager who knows how to use them. I'd forgotten what that felt like.

We're far better than we were but we still need that two-goal lead.

That doesn't sort out the problem, though. They're really balanced but it's not going to be like that every week. Most weeks we'll get someone else's Will Cope!

This fricking cutting out is driving me nuts. Has everyone with Saints Player e-mailed a complaint to the address Plumstead provided? customersupport@premiumtv.co.uk

As a huge believer in width, I'm not underestimating what he's brought to us. I'm voicing frustration at his continual offsides and inability to take a legal throw-in. The hard stuff he does quite well. The simple stuff he screws up.

I hope I haven't been un-PC. Never know these days.

After using two posts to say the same thing, you only have one post left now don't you? Good.

I get the distinct impression that Papa Waigo is far from being the sharpest knife in the drawer.

If, before my lights go out, I were to draw up a list of the 100 people who have given me the most pleasure in life, he would be on it. We haven't had that many genuinely "world class" players in our 123 years of existence but he was most certainly one of them. And his class wasn't just confined to his footballing ability.

That's really good news. I hope they're scared spitless and that they remember forever what that feels like. Perhaps the next bunch of gutless morons will think twice before kicking people in the head while they're on the ground. It blows me away that some people would be happy to look the other way and leave the reputation of our club in the hands of such neanderthal halfwits.

Yes. We do very well for Prem soccer, with the Setanta package anyway. Five or six live games each weekend. But the BBC and other online stuff (except for subscribed Saints TV), which I thought was the point of this thread, is inaccessible.

Screw the EU. How about us? We were there on D-Day. Let me re-phrase that. We landed on the beaches on D-Day. I mentioned the war once but I think I got away with it.

It was sickening to hear it go pear-shaped so it must have been even worse to actually watch it. Poor substitutions are an indictment of the manager (especially shape-destroying subs), and allowing yourself to be so vulnerable to their sub (Williams) makes the issue worse. Dave, are there signs of turning the corner (playing well be not getting a points reward) or are you starting to doubt AP?

The comment was intended to provide some balance while the usual suspects run around panicking and calling for Pardew to be fired. We did compete very well with a top three team and we lead the game twice. I'm not happy either, badger, especially after being bushwhacked by a sub, but I feel we're making more progress than people are willing to admit right now. We just, as you pointed out, don't have many points to show for it and we need to rectify that in a hurry.

Amidst all the wrist-slashing, let's just remember that one player changed what sounded like an otherwise-balanced game. We competed well against a top three team. I'd like to hear from AP why we weren't ready for Williams, even though his arrival was entirely predictable.

It's completely unacceptable to be done by a sub who we should have known about. He seemed to come as a surprise to us. If he'd been on the other flank it would have been much worse.

Wotton's arrival welcomed like a fart in church.

I'd have thought that Lambert would have given us a heads-up about him as well. Imagine what it might have been like if he'd been on the other flank, where we're really vulnerable.

Anyone know if Marcus is there tonight?

That's why it's good to hear they're pushing hard for a two-goal lead. One is not enough for us. I know this sounds obvious but the next goal is crucial.

WTF is "a forward tackle"? Utter bo locks.

We needed to score when we were well on top in the first half, and then kick on and get a second. When we didn't score we seemed to revert to the narrow crap. After half time it sounded like we weren't staying wide into the final third, but banging 'crosses' in from deep - straight down the keeper's throat. Lots of 'crosses', very few chances. I haven't given up on the idea of coming over in November to see for myself.

Only the yoyo fans are - the people who (predictably) think we're either going up or going down based on each week's result. It was only days ago that people were full of praise for Pardew's performance at the fans' forum. Now some are on the verge of calling for his head. This team hasn't been together for more than a couple of weeks so there's still plenty of gelling to happen. We have no divine right to anything in this division, and it makes it all the harder that we're seen as a "big club" by pretty much every opponent. More good signs than bad today, judging by the commentary. Patience - there's a long way to go yet.

It sounded like he was going to bring on Perry just before the goal but now it might well be Saga, for a three-man front. I don't think we're going to lose this.