doddisalegend

In fairness though their defence ain't up to much and we have the most free scoring team in the league, so although their attack is decent so is ours a high scoring game could well be on the cards.

Meh isn't that just how a saturday night out finishes for the modern british girls of today? a few pints, a kebab and dust up with some girl who was looking at her funny....Ladettes got to love 'em

yeah was reading that thread this morning this one stood out to me for some reason. Let me explain as I'd hate to be portrayed as an off the hip emotional type. I think the Saints are currently in good shape. They have a good manager who is building a team of players with a point to prove mixed with some good young talent. You cannot deny they have that winning "habit". There run-in around Xmas is also not that bad. I always look for a weakness in a team, and for me they have two - Mental strength and the defence. The defence is slow and should be getting exposed. It isn't because they dictate the play from the middle of the park. The Championship also isn't League 1, and Southampton fans themselves have seen them capitulate before don't forget after good starts and miss out on promotion as a result. So let's not get carried away here, they are not Manchester United. They are of course looking to emulate the flare football pioneered by Blackpool in the Championship a couple of season ago and then demonstrated successfully by QPR & Swansea to a lesser extent last season.....but in what is a much stronger division this season that really still hasn't begun to shape up yet. I'd also suggest that a number of the teams they will face will be improving, where as they are already gelled and going full pelt and have plateaued. There is money in the bank there, and some would argue that they deserve some luck after hard times endured, but the option of buying in "stars" isn't the Southampton way. You have to earn your place to play, and they have strong principals and ethics at the club (another legacy of Lowe which they'd probably loathe to be grateful for) so I don't see anybody wanting to rush to join them as there's no guarantee's and if they did drop some big wedge, I believe that would do more harm than good and breach the principles and rock the boat in the dressing room. They have a great work ethic, a strong foundation and a lot of them have played together for a while. But everybody hits the wall in the Championship at some point. What makes you think, apart from that they were pretty much a championship team playing in League 1 and breezed it, that they are an exception? How will they react to that and do they have enough character and experience to "play" there way out of that? There is no evidence of them ever having to bounce back after losing three on the spin for example, and a couple of costly individual errors, a handful of injuries at once, or having some terrible decisions given against them by officials and slipping off the mantle is a reality that many others, us included, have already had to face in this League. I've always found you learn so much more about a team when all guns are not firing, when things aren't going well, and when the pressure is on..... So back to that mental strength point. Nobody can deny that the pressure at the close of a championship season is felt right through a club, and I'm sure you'd agree its a darn sight more than when you hit the home straight in the Championship than is present on a League 1 run in. As Hammers I think we don't recognise that the general feeling on that part of the South Coast is that they should never have been out of the Championship and that the ten point deduction all but finished them when they started life in League1. They had a huge point to prove last season, and were going back where they and their fans felt they belonged. In this league, and with no preconceptions of winning it and knocking on the doors of the Prem amongst them. A lot of the very talented kids that play for them will be within touching distance of that chance to play in the Premiership for the first time if this run continues, and of course they somehow miraculously avoid any of the previously mentioned obstacles. That's where the mind begins to play games with a player, as well as with the other people involved at the club, and its at that stage of what will be the toughest season of the majority of there careers ( a few have past Premiership relegations on there CV's - Kelvin Davis at Sunderland, Richardson went down with Leeds) I question will everybody still want the ball at Southampton, where everybody wants to shine at the moment? Once the heat is turned up for that run in, I'm yet to be convinced that they have the backbone, and steel mentally to meet those challenges and I see no evidence to the contrary. I think that's where we will differentiate from the other teams in this league, and Big Sam & Nolan will be demonstrate some real value. Cardiff have a slice of that mental strength to, as do Leeds. A lot of the players we have brought in are classed as hired guns or ageing players looking for a pay-day......but mentally, they have what it takes to dig in and get us back up into a League we've been planning to return to since before we were relegated. In February, Southampton have us, Leeds & Derby, and that's where I think they will hit the wall. Of course only time will tell, but the price of a pint says they won't make i A lot of those themes seem to be echoed on other teams forums as well. It's interesting that so many oppsition fans think we're going to just suddenly cave in while their own teams are just going to go from strength to strength and power past us.

ermm the thought of saints yoof strolling around in giant nappies screaming "This is Dooooonnnnnncasterrrrr!!!" is a disturbing one.......

Yes when man city come down to SMS in the FA cup........

Bristol city have hit some form with their new manager (although wins against Millwall, Burnley, the two teams directly above them don't seem massivley impresive a draw at West ham is a good result). Watching them yesterday they were pretty good going forward looked a bit dodgy at the back I thought. I reckon our midfield is better than theirs though. A few weeks back I'd of been confident of an away win but I'd take a draw now they've found a bit of forum. Hopefully Rickie will be right up for this one given his soft spot for the rovers side of town.

Where did you sit for the game? Must have been the chapel much better class of fans there

Cork - worked his socks off

It sits nicely with all the comments on other teams forums that we're going to crash and burn sometime soon (no squad depth, haven't had any injuries yet, the promtion effect will wear off soon) and that we are "nothing special". At some stage opposition fans/managers might actually have to admit we're not a half bad team.

No surprise there. I have to say the chapel was much noiser than normal so I couldn't hear the Northam much today (normally you can hear the Northam loud and clear)

You see worse "dives" than that get pens on MOTD every week there was clear contact from the keeper on Dean.

Was a foul but not a peno. Thought we were going to take a free kick then watched Lambert stick the ball down on the peno spot which left me scratching my head. Still I wasn't to upset having watched Deno get booked for what seemed like a clear peno to me.

Never heard any of that. Which part of the ground were singing that?

Enjoyed that (I know we don't care about Brighton and all that but I wanted us to smash them today). God knows about all the penos there were so many shouts I lost count, Fonte was deffo pulled back but outside the area. Brighton were jut like last season niggly,whingey and generally unimpressive (it really is about time the myth they play good football is put to rest). CMS looks a shadow of the player who tore up league one last season. We looked class. Brighton defended well in the 1st half making it hard to break them down but had nothing going forward. Cork was my MOTM breaking up the Brighton play and putting in loads of good tackles. Once we got the goal it was all one way.

I was a late starter it seems didn't leave until I was 22. Finished higher education at 20 (but went local and commuted from my parents house) then couldn't afford to leave home until I found a lady to share with. Went back to live with my parents for three months at 27 and took a wife and baby with me while we were between houses. Still only live a 10 minute drive away from my parents and see them quite a bit. Take the family around to my parents for one of my mums roasts (still the best roast dinner I've ever had) on a sunday about once a month.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15704862.stm Normally they just give a few stats this week they've done a nice little write up. Worth a read (made me smile anyway)

Wonder if they'll get around to interviewing Di Canio next......

Do you think they count football in those figures in the OP. I imagine there are loads of british youngsters who love to be a PL footballer only to be kept out by some immigrant.......

Is that really true...I didn't see much evidence of it last season. Though Poyet's first game in charge at SMS they played some good stuff.

The holidays are coming the holidays are coming.................

Becuase someone will always tell you that murderers and rapists should have human rights like everyone else, to me thats being PC , I personally don't think they should. Once they've crossed a line like this bloke has the more misery he is caused the better IMO.

To the fans the Palace derby is more important. For me, Southampton is. Because Southampton are a better team than Palace." That's a brave thing to say for a manager, I kind of understand why he is saying it, you'd have thought he would have at least played lip service to the rivalry for the supporters. I hope NA isn't going to say something like that about the pompey games. As a fan you want to believe that the players and manager are up for it in a derby game (even if in truth they couldn't care less)

I know it may not be PC but some people don't deserve human rights this scum is one of them....... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-15781638

LOL That will teach me not to read stuff through before hitting the post button....

^^^ yep