shurlock

Many did: am not saying papa was faultless, especially at the beginning but quite a number of runs would have been sublimely timed had the ball been played first-time/delivered quicker. Not faulting others -indeed, its papa's fault for not adjusting his own game- just saying more of those runs would have gone in his favour with a better team around him. Just look at NA's mixed efforts to get us to play a passing game: too many of our players, especially our deadly duo in midfield, tend to dwell on the ball and prefer to go sideways.

Puncheon flatters to deceive - if we can get rid, make a tidy profit and find a proper winger, then fantastic. I definitely subscribe to the view that some players play better in higher divisions but this does not apply to puncheon. Its not like he set argyle alight in the CCC; moreover the players that do perform better at a higher level do so because their game -passing and moving, good awareness etc- depends on having talented players around them who are on the same wavelength (papa is a good example: there were many times last season when he would have been through on goal rather flagged offside if one of our players had had the nous to play the ball early). This is not puncheon's game - he rarely sticks his head up and looks for a pass etc. He likes to go it alone -to receive the ball and run with it (though this means little more than cutting inside). His game is not about having the right team 'fit' - so his stock rises or falls depending on the team-mates. His form is likely to getter worse, not better as he goes up the leagues as he get's sussed out by better defenders. He's like a poor man's walcott without the pace.

No idea whether players were worked too hard but our preseason was not the best - in many of our games, we looked lethargic and clueless going forward -something which has carried through into the season- and the way AP seemed reluctant to give the first-teamers much of a runout was bizarre. This isn't a matter of hindsight -many were wondering why we weren't more active in the transfer market at the time as a result. Something wasn't right.

Yep, punch was in his early world-beating form, barny wasn't carrying an injury and those were the days when Lambert would have been disappointed just to get the one goal a game.

Don't know what the OP wants to say - don't know if the OP himself knows what he wants to say. Still, its time of the year to be charitable. The fact is that we weren't on 29 points and we weren't in 9th place, so its a totally moot point - we had a 10 point deduction. Again fact is that most people thought that we were worldbeaters this time last season, and without the 10 point deduction and a poor start, many felt we would have have been right up there - so whats wrong if we have a similar points haul? Its like saying Chelsea or Man U have gone backwards if they win a title with less points. And fact is that no two seasons are the same - the club has had to deal with different challenges on and off the pitch (Lambert has 1 (deflected) goal from open play this season, compared to 12 with last season, a change of management and a destabilising transition and the baggage of being favs that means teams are setting up differently against us are just a few of things that make it silly to compare seasons). Given the change in management, the most important point is are we going in the right direction - to answer this, its plainly misleading to look at the aggregate numbers and to a lesser extent, its misleading to judge a new manager on 10 or so games without having had a real opportunity to bring his own players in and introduce his own style which require time. In the short-term, our points haul has picked up under NA (1.84 pg not including MK Dons), though perhaps not as quickly as some of the knee-jerks on here would have hoped and given our poor, poor start, time, I agree, is not a massive luxury this season. While claiming its holy-than-thou neutrality (just reading the numbers gov), the OP is ultimately full of s**t and part of the brigade that will be jumping on every minor setback -which will happen- as we shape up for the most important half-season in club's recent history.

This is a myth that's peddled on here with clockwork regularity. From the games with teams above us in the league, NA has taken 14 from 7 games. 2 points a game is not a bad haul. Throw in the fact that we have a striker who's only got one (deflected) goal from open play this season, compared to 12 this time last season, an attacking force generally blighted by injury and little or no pace in areas we can hurt teams (except for a 17-year old who'll get injured if he continues to be flogged this hard), I think it could have been a whole lot worse. One consolation is that NA has a knack of discovering decent forwards in the transfer market. Look at an area where we do have some depth, defense, we probably have the best record in the league under NA (for the season as a whole, we're ranked 3rd). The idea that some are some arent giving him the benefit of the doubt until he's had at least one transfer window to change/tweak the hand he inherited is madness, mindful that the market will be pretty thin in Jan. The one thing the club can help itself by doing is not to be choosey and insist were only going for players that can also get us out of championship. That attitude would be hard to defend. We need players here and now.

Has tended to be thrown on as a front-man with little time to settle - he's neither a striker nor a left winger (where Wilko played him). Should be played in the hole with lots of runners around him; barnard who shows good movement would be a decent foil as would Chaplow- but unfortunately, Guly gets stuck with the all too static Lambert.

He bankrupted the skates and bournemouth while relegating west ham and us (not all those things are bad, of course). the only the things he's good at are self-publicity and revising history.

He won quite a bit in the air without needing to jump - peterboro are shocking defensively - go figure.

Don't think the tactics can be blamed whatsoever- a case of too many people taking Merrington as gospel. What has stood out from other away games this season -at least, the ones in which NA has been in charge- is that we've let teams get in our faces and control the midfield. Putting an extra man in the middle didn't strike me as a totally barmy - if we can't get a foothold in the game, we won't provide service to Lambert or anyone else. Factor in the cheap goals we conceded and it seems like dubious scapegoating by a few on here...

124. Georges Prost, a true visionary - one day England will get 'it' and win the world cup.

123. Taking one of the largest crowds to the new Wemberly

With the other 10,000...

They rarely play together anyway - while Adkins occassionally switches our wide midfielders for the most Punch stays on the right.

Agree with the others - Harding has had a very good season. Why not Dickson in for Puncheon and play him left midfield and move Lallana to the right (he's equally capable on both sides - indeed got his goal on Sat from the right).

We were so bad from corners last year that Rickie had to take them...

9 Last season in the league, we came from behind and won away from home only once (Hartlepool) and at home did it four times, albeit against strugglers (Southend, Leyton Orient, Hartlepool and MK Dons).

Playing from the back isn't the problem - but when to do so. Yesterday, it worked poorly in the first half as Huddersfield chased and closed down everything (a tempo which was unsustainable); but worked extremely well in the 2nd half as they sat on their lead and tired. Can see it being a much more effective strategy at home where teams will sit back and in the second half of games -home and away- as teams begin to tire.

Agree with some of this - we were outmuscled by a team that exploded out of the blocks (though the ref should have stamped his authority alot earlier coz some of the Hudderfields challenges were more than 50/50). We needlessly put ourselves under pressure with some p i ss-poor clearances and basically handed them the initiative rather than quietening them down and forcing them into a more natural tempo. Alan Lee made a massive difference -infuriating how an English brick sh ithouse can be made to look so good (Novak was also a 6 footer), especially as Lambert was quiet again and just not on the same wavelength as Guly and Lallana. Thought Chaplow was our MOM; by contrast, Puncheon will be lucky if he starts next week- never realised just how slow he is - not physically perhaps, but mentally, the tendency to take twenty touches (usually while cutting inside), allowing the opposition to regroup the expectation that the ball should come to him rather than find space to receive it etc. Its a particular handicap away from home where alot of chances come from counterattacks. Still convincied that the passing game is a better long-term option than anything came up by Pards; but its not necessary to play it in your own third against an opposition that had the wind in its sails and was chasing lost cause after lost cause. In fact, it worked extremely well in the 2nd half as Huddersfield dropped off (with Kelvin switching the ball well to Harding), which suggests that playing the ball from the back is not the problem but just when to use it. Not a terrible result and things might have looked very different had we kept our nerve in the first 20 mins against a team with a weak defense and an eager if not particularly sophisticated style of play.

certainly seems like he is committed to us - knows he isn't playing for the most prestigious club (especially as the French think that coming to England at such a young age was a risky choice); but knows he's getting invaluable match time as well as is seduced by the five year plan and wants to be part of that journey.

Agree with the spirit of the OP, let's see where we are on Nov 2 after we've negotiated another six games including three tough away trips. Let's also see if we can start scoring more freely especially now that Barnard is a concern but I've rated NA from day one.

Only been on here for two and a bit years (god knows why/how I never found SW or a predecessor). As such, I know of no golden age or period of enlightenment and think that the forum adds far more value than not. Saying that, he atmosphere has got nastier in the last few months - it could be a blip, reflecting past demons and the fact that most Saints fans are once bitten, twice shy when it comes to the machinations of chairmen etc, though this could disappear as stability and success return and the club opens up a bit more. The moderators have done a good job but there is an inescapable, perhaps tension between being a moderator and a fan: on the one hand, as a mod you're expected to maintain icy neutrality and a tight lip yet as a fan, you're bound to have visceral positions or views on matters, no matter how much you try. One problem is that mods have strayed into nonfootballing discussions and let their positions be known. In theory, this shouldn't be a problem but becomes one when positions hijacked or exploited by others as tantamount proof that they're right and the have carte blanche to push an argument far beyond what is appropriate and indeed what the mod originally argued. Meanwhile, others who disagree think the whole process has been captured and conclude that posters are being protected by mods, even when this is blatantly false. No mod should be allowed to post on nonfootballing matters and what counts as nonfootballing should be interpreted strictly. Another problem is the pollution and explosion of threads: if things are going to get heated (and sometimes, playing the ball can sometimes mean taking the mean - its a complex world, there's sometimes going to be contact), at least restrict them to one thread. The problem is that some posters start to new threads left, right and centre because they know (somewhat cynically) that an old thread with the same old sh*t is likely to attract fewer posters/viewers than a new thread with repackaged scores to settle simply because it is new. Clamping down on new theads is also a less personal and more objective basis to instill a bit of discipline. Finally, in the absence of an Orwellian report button (that would allow mods to gauge the depth of feeling about a particular post and respond democratically), infractions should at least be publicised. Doing so gives people confidence that others aren't getting away with things and in turm that they won't escape punishment if they provoke others. It also might induce a bit of self-restraint from posters to the extent that most people here don't want to be viewed as the *****r who's enjoying something that we all ultimately share in and care about.

His interview on Saints Player after Bournemouth didn't suggest a man whose head is elsewhere else - seemed as happy as i've heard him. Lambert is an incredibly honest player whose modesty and eagerness to do well can cost him when he's off-form. Tends to let the doubts and expectations prey on him. Anyway, it sounded like he really needed those goals and now that he's got them and there's now stability off the field, we might start to see him dominate teams again.

Fair enough and I'll hold my hands up and apologise if true - but lets just say your previous posting record leaves a bit to be desired...

Mate, i discount most of your ITKs posts because you're full of sh*t but for your own sake you're on dangerous, libellous territory.