CanadaSaint

As soon as I saw WC's post I knew you'd respond with an insult because you're not exactly objective when it comes to Rickie, are you? FWIW I think he's worth his place and that we looked better with him in and Rodriguez out, but he's still not playing particularly well. He's going more for the touches and lay-offs than the forceful finishing that we need from him - and that other teams fear.

Can you cite any specific ways in which the substitutions hurt us, or are you just lashing out at Adkins - again - because we drew a game we should have won? Thanks to an individual error.

Even though, in truth, we played well and deserved to win, we're starting to look like a team waiting for something bad to happen. And, with that mindset, it often does.

With the transfer window firmly shut, and a lack of quality depth in key positions, no manager in the world can do much about individual mistakes. We're looking better and we have no choice but to keep plugging away but the odds grow longer every week.

It made sense to keep Shaw on to handle Dyer's pace, which Fox will struggle with, so I'm not sure about this one, either.

I think his problem is between his ears because he certainly has the talent. He seems to have issues with concentration and confidence. On the concentration front he does a lot of ball watching, so his mark often heads upfield without him and we end up with a two-on-one down that flank. Even when he gets back to defend he's too reactive because he doesn't see his man making a run inside. On the confidence front he has the ability to take guys on and to shoot on sight - we've seen him do both very effectively - but he too often doubles back and the chance is gone. But he's been like it for ages so I don't know who can get between those ears.

Lallana really is abysmal defensively.

Even though Shaw is likely to be a little raw and even a touch overawed for a while, the inability/unwillingness of a wide midfielder to track back magnifies the importance of a defender on that side who can get back quickly. This is where Shaw has a clear edge over Fox, who IMO has been playing better since he was dropped. Swansea will definitely throw some pace at us down that flank, with Dyer, so I can certainly see NA making the change.

I initially had the same concern but not any more. In fact I'd go so far as to say that Gazzaniga is handling the pressure of life at the bottom - and behind a creaky defence - better than either of the other two; his in-game demeanour seems impressively level. The water bottle incident doesn't exactly suggest that Boruc, for all his experience, has the necessary bottle ('scuse the pun) for the challenge.

There was the horrendous giveaway that left Clyne stranded and paved the way for the fast-break - and killer - second goal. I still don't see how he and Schneiderlin can play in the same midfield, but perhaps that's just me. I thought he was captain material at one point but now I don't think he's even worth his place.

I'm with pingwing. I've watched the game a second time and confirmed my first-time view that if we traded one player - Mulumbu for Davis - we would have won. I know that's all rather simplistic but it suggests that we're really not that far away from being competitive in this division.

Excellent post, LTC. And Alpine, for the love of God find another interest. You're an embarrassment to others who don't live in the country any more but still love this club and are willing to ride the rollercoaster without pitiful, endless whining.

After today's games, here's the latest Likely Strugglers Table: (Points Per Game Targets: vs Elite 4 - Home 0.00, Away 0.00; vs 4 Pretenders - Home 1.00, Away 0.00; vs Fairly Solid 4 - Home 2.25, Away 0.25; vs Fellow Strugglers - 2.75 Home, 0.50 Away. TOTAL = 40) [TABLE=width: 500] [TR] [TD]Rank[/TD] [TD]Team[/TD] [TD]Target Points[/TD] [TD]Actual Points[/TD] [TD]+/- vs Target[/TD] [TD]Goal Difference[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]1[/TD] [TD]WHU[/TD] [TD]12.25[/TD] [TD]15[/TD] [TD]+2.75[/TD] [TD]+2[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]2[/TD] [TD]Wigan[/TD] [TD]9.50[/TD] [TD]11[/TD] [TD]+1.50[/TD] [TD]-5[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]3[/TD] [TD]Norwich[/TD] [TD]9.00[/TD] [TD]10[/TD] [TD]+1.00[/TD] [TD]-10[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]4[/TD] [TD]Swansea[/TD] [TD]12.25[/TD] [TD]12[/TD] [TD]-0.25[/TD] [TD]+1[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]5[/TD] [TD]Villa[/TD] [TD]10.25[/TD] [TD]9[/TD] [TD]-1.25[/TD] [TD]-6[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]6[/TD] [TD]Reading[/TD] [TD]7.25[/TD] [TD]4[/TD] [TD]-3.25[/TD] [TD]-6[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]7[/TD] [TD]QPR[/TD] [TD]7.25[/TD] [TD]3[/TD] [TD]-4.25[/TD] [TD]-11[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]8[/TD] [TD]Saints[/TD] [TD]9.25[/TD] [TD]4[/TD] [TD]-5.25[/TD] [TD]-12[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] So we're still in the sh*t but not "miles behind."

I'm not convinced that our formation isn't working because it has worked well against some decent sides. Individual errors have been killing us consistently. Having said that I fully respect your view because I know you travel to a lot of games. But that wasn't what I was talking about. I was talking about the pathetic whining on here when we're fielding players who don't normally play in a cup game that doesn't really matter much. Sure, I expected more or else I wouldn't have bothered tuning in, but it's sickening to read the same crap again and again and again from the same people. We're clearly in for a very tough season, which many foresaw before it even started, but this junk week-in-week out is not "support". It just makes tough times all the more difficult to handle.

Are you listening on Saints Player? I can't get anything out of it.

Pitiful, isn't it.

Oh, oh. That should bring Alpine back here.

I think we're closer now to knowing what our best starting line-up is, but it's taken longer than I expected - only partly due to injuries. Nigel has chopped and changed a fair bit, 'culminating' in the Boruc/Fonte/Jos/Yoshida combo he threw in last week, which still shipped four goals. No wonder we've not developed any consistency - or even any real familiarity. As Weston said, we have played most of the leading teams, which WHU certainly haven't, but we've also dropped too many points in the other games. Let's stick with Fonte and Yoshida in the middle at the back, and Mayuka has to start. Then, when Ramirez and Cork are fit again, we have some better options. Like Derry. I'm still not convinced that we can be successful if Schneiderlin and Davis play together.

I thought last week's change was unnecessary and came just as the defence was starting to look a little more settled. But now it's done, it's done and we should stick with him. I certainly wouldn't blame Boruc for the first - it was a fee header that was so well-placed that it started off going wide before the sidespin brought it back. However, I thought he over-committed badly on the second and ended up in keeper's no mans land.

It's not "game over" just because he's short - he could and should have done the next-best thing, which is play "spoiler" by jumping back into Bale rather than giving him the completely free header. That's what Rafael did but at least he did it - and he could even have ended up getting a free kick for his efforts. And my read was that Clyne was slow to react rather than flat-footed (ball watching), and he allowed Bale to come across the front of him. Sure, he wasn't in an easy situation but he has to do better or we're going to leak a lot more goals just like that one. I like him but he still has a lot to learn.

There's plenty of Premier league tape out there showing how weak Clyne is on a ball slung to the far post so we can expect to see it more and more. He offers a lot going forward and in certain defensive situations but he has to address this weakness - pronto. I'm starting to wonder if we employ a ball-watching coach because we're very good at it.

That's who I meant but I wasn't very clear.

IIRC Kelvin gave some 'fans' stick after he saved the penalty against Man United, didn't he? It wasn't a "Yeah, I saved it" reaction but a "FU" reaction. Some of these morons need sorting out.

Well, we got to see our relegation team and our mid-table team all in one match.

Spurs are completely there for the taking.