S-Clarke

Maybe he could be on his way back after all. For no apparent reason, up there with our bizarre sacking of Pardew, forest have sacked O'Driscoll

Villa have looked pathetically bad again tonight. We could be visiting them at a very good time.

In my opinion, based on the start we had and how out of our depth we looked, we need to thank our lucky stars that we're not only in touch with safety...we actually have our heads above water!

Very nice touch, look forward to see him introduced next week!

Will have to catch some of the highlights later, didn't catch any of today's game frustratingly.

It's probably an adjustment we've had to make. We could have continued to play open, attacking football, and be picked off constantly - or we could try a be a bit more competitive and have other options to launch the ball. It's helped, because we're so much more solid now.

May be been just those 1 or 2 games he played through the middle...but I remember making an effort to watch him in the 2 games just after he'd signed for us. And he was in the middle in those games. He may have played on the left since though, no idea. Still think he's a natural number 10 though, that's where you get the best from him. Any other position and it's a bit square peggy, especially as he's still adapting to this league. We need to address those wide area's in January ASAP.

The thing with Sharp is that he never got a chance, he looked pretty bright in pre-season and we all assumed he'd be part of the squad - so it was a suprise to most that he didn't even get a crack. I'd have him back for the next 6 months, no harm to be done having another goal scorer in the team.

I think we're getting progressively better, we're more competitive and we're giving teams games, as opposed to playing so open and losing 3-2, 3-1 etc. We're exactly where I wanted and hoped we'd be, and if i'm honest back in September/October I thought we'd be well adrift - but to our credit, we've got our head above water, we're battling away and luckily for us the sides below us are complete and utter dog ****e. Lucky. Now we get to the January window with our head above water and in touch with mid-table, and we need to improve on what we have. Probably Adkins biggest ever transfer window, he needs to get it right. We still lack quality in certain area's which we need to sort out if we're going to stay up.

Wouldn't say no to recalling Sharp if I'm honest. Goal scorer is a goal scorer, stick him on when we're chasing a goal and his movement would pull CB's all over the show. His record is second to none, whoever he plays for.

In the games I've seen him for Uruguay he's always in the middle, just behind.

He's a number 10, always has been, not a winger in my eyes. Too isolated when there. Looks to me like we hoped he was the Lalalna replacement, don't think it's going to work though. Stick him back where he was, he was a gem there.

Missed this game, but that to me looks like a cracking away point, at a tough ground such as craven cottage. We are genuinely now very competitive in this league.

Palacios has lost his way, Stoke fans want him gone. They are willing to pay for the taxi fare.

How can you even attempt to compare them? 2 different players, 2 different ages, 2 completely different positions, 2 completely different roles in the side. 1 is a goal scorer and 1 is a creative midfield player. It's a non-comparison.

Which position? I guess CB? I'd have been inclined to agree a few weeks back, but we're going to be without Adam for a while and Mayuka is away on international duty for 6 weeks or so - so we'll need more options in attack, that's for sure. And I still think our CM position needs a bit of beef in there. Would go a long way to improving our results if we could compete a bit better in the middle of the park. Don't get me wrong, Cork and Morgan are pure class - but against players at this level I've seen them pushed off the ball way too easily, both are slightly similar and it would be nice to have a bit of variation and a ''powerhouse'' alongside one of them.

It's Christmas to me, as they've emptied work early....! So happy xmas to everyone! Let's hope we find some new CB's wrapped up under the tree tomorrow.

If it is a slow non-event of a window, then we're probably down. There's no way we will stay up without some help in a few positions. Which given what we've already spent, probably shouldn't be the case. But hey-ho!

It's a compromise. We can look to score 3/4 in a game again, and probably lose by 4 or 5 goals, or we can be solid, hard to break down and score a couple. It's a balance, but in this league with the defenders we've got, there is no way we should have ever been looking to play as open as we did. We've obviously learned from that, and as a result our attacking potency has reduced - which it was always going to do, it was a balancing act. If I'm honest, I'd prefer us to lose games by the odd goal so we're still competitive and in the game until the end, as opposed to being so open and looking to score on every attack, but because our defense isn't up to scratch we lose 6-3 for e.g. It was a brave idea, but pretty foolhardy to play as open as we did from the start. A fair bit of naivety from the management right through to the players there.

Forest want to keep Sharp, for good. http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/10125498.Forest_want_Sharp_to_stay/

Why would Chelsea sell him for £3m? They wouldn't. He will be out on loan this year, probably next year as well, before becoming a figure head at Chelsea for years to come.

Our away form is pretty non-existent this year, it pains me to say - but the away form has never been a massively strong point with NA, we've had countless away stinkers over the last few seasons (Doncaster, Bristol City, Brighton, Blackpool, Boro - to name a few from last year). Up until this year though, our home form has been untouchable, which is probably why we're in the PL right now. If we're going to stay in it, it needs to become untouchable again. Not keen on relying on our away form, can't see it changing massively.

£2 million? Can I speak for everyone on NSC when I say, **** RIGHT OFF Adkins

Class player, would fit in well for us. Probably Brightons star player.