CanadaSaint

But there's a parallel argument to say that Fonte's game was never really the same after he was twinned with Jos. It might be an either thing but not a both.

Hopefully the bed is starting to dry out now.

The refs meet bi-weekly, I understand, and it would be naive to assume that they haven't addressed the issue of diving by deciding that known or suspected divers will never get the benefit of any doubt. Sometimes they go too far the other way, refusing fairly clear penalties. TBF, leaving aside the fact that we might have suffered from it today, I hate diving so much that I have no problem with that.

It's almost as though we signed another 5-8 million pound player in the Summer. I've always fancied getting his versatility into the side but the problem was that we'd have to accept the "between the ears" crap as well. I think he might be surprising himself as well as us, which hopefully means that the head stuff is gone for good. I know one thing - he covers a ton of real estate during the game, contributing all over the place.

It says a lot that folks are this p*ssed off when we won. The commentators even mentioned that a lot of decisions had gone against Saints. I still can't make my mind up whether Atkinson is incompetent, biased or both, but every time he referees us we seem to get the shaft. And I thought that standards were supposed to improve when the refs went full-time. Having said that, given how Atkinson saw things we were lucky that Ramirez finished the game.

I think we've actually looked like a good PL team since half-time against Spurs. We pretty much dominated the second half of that game and could easily have drawn or even won, we should have beaten Swansea, we were competitive against WBA (Rickie's crossbar and Davis's giveaway were tuning points), we beat QPR in a canter, and now we've dominated (an admittedly injury-ridden) Newcastle. But more to the point we've stopped tinkering and settled on an established line-up and tactical approach, and Corky has filled a vital but hitherto-unfulfilled role. The chemistry is really developing before our eyes. We were getting into winning positions but surrendering them. Now we're getting that vital second goal and keeping our lead. We'll still have some issues and we'll see some more disappointing results but overall I'm more optimistic than at any time since the final whistle at City.

You really need to grow up. You whine like an adolescent schoolgirl at the merest sniff of what you perceive to be an insult or a personal remark, and then you post this kind of sarcastic sh*t when someone voices an opinion you don't agree with. FFS even when we win we have to read this kind of crap.

One really good sign for us is that we don't really have one standout "Whenever he plays well, we play well" player. The way our team is set-up involves everyone, and that makes us tougher to shut down. Despite all the depression of the early days, all we really needed was some defensive solidity and an end to the habitual ball-watching and individual errors. Kudos to the coaching staff for the progress they have made.

We're starting to see the benefits of a stable line-up and tactical approach - all over the pitch. The chemistry is really developing well now - at the back, in the middle and up front, which is crucial for our playing style. I love seeing Puncheon and Clyne going down the right with pace, and Shaw is gaining in confidence with every game, which will give us the same dimension going down the left. I really enjoyed watching Ramirez ghosting around today, knitting things together with lovely touches. Rickie does so many things well - his deft, little lay-offs are a joy to watch; I worried that he was losing his scoring touch by becoming too much of a build-up player, but he's crucial to how we play. Offensively, our ability to keep playing in tight spaces is Top-8 standard or even better, while the central defensive quartet when we don't have the ball (Schneiderlin, Cork, Fonte and Yoshida) is actually starting to look very solid.

IIRC the last time we got our hopes sky high based on our opponent's injury crisis we were whacked 3-0 at Brighton and lost Rickie to a straight-red. Football has a way of poking you in the eye with that stick. I'm much more concerned that we quickly establish our brand of front-foot football and score when the chances come, which we didn't do at Brighton.

I'm interested in constructive thoughts as to why this is happening (i.e., hopefully not stuff like "Adkins is out of his depth.") Is it something we're doing or something the opposition is doing to us? FWIW, as I said earlier, it's almost as though we've developed this "waiting for something to go wrong" mentality, which could figure into things because it can become a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Someone urgently needs to get inside Lallana's head because he's rapidly becoming a cop-out player. He's reluctant to take his man on and prefers to double-back, he consistently spurns chances for an early shot, he opts to dive when in good positions, and he's very slow to go with his man when our attack breaks down. And yet he has more than enough ability to play without all those failings because we've seen him do it. It's getting to the point at which he doesn't need coaching, he needs counselling.

They lead against us, too. 'nuff said?

I agree with that assessment. Part of the problem up front is that our attacks are meant, more often than not, to culminate in a Rickie finish. But Rickie is playing like a build-up player. Don't get me wrong, he's very effective at that but the finishing part seems to have gone AWOL, and we desperately need it back.

True, but Mayuka's all over the shop - deadly one week and somewhat-clueless the next. He was lethal against Fulham but a bit Ali Dia-like when he came on at West Brom. We were going quite well today, as you noted earlier, so there was little to gain and much to lose with that change.

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.