Saint Fan CaM

Had to laugh at the game Saturday - right in front of us central Kingsland, Rickie trapped a long ball and held it right on the line. You could quite clearly see the surprised look about him - he didn't quite believe he'd just done that quite as well as he did! Funnily enough, he then went on to do it several more times - almost as if he had found the magic touch! He has really improved his overall game remarkably quickly under Saints coaches and turned into an even better player than the one we bought in league one.

If Harry gets the England job, Pearce won't want to stay around and has been made a provisional offer of Director of Football at SMS if we make the Prem. Possibly.

I will expect to see Lambert and Sharp up front for certain. Possibly Lee on the bench. If Connolly starts I might start wondering whether Nigel has lost the plot. Even so, this is another defining game - we need to start turning our downward slip around and get a win. Trouble is the bookies see us getting mugged and with a another incompetent performance from the officials possible, it could be a bad day. I hate to say it, but I am not seeing how we can change games in our favour. If they score first, watch the wheels come off. 1-1 best case...1-2 worst case I'm afraid for today.

Great article and there must be something about the lad to not only be given the chance to compete for a place, but then to turn in such committed performances. NC and NA are very clever cookies indeed. Jason has shown demonstrably that he deserves to be given a chance to prove himself to be better than he has acted.

This. Absolutely spot b0ll0ck on assessment and explanation of what needs to happen. I would argue we have the players to do it, but do we have the players to do it for a full 90mins+? Consistency will need to be high on the agenda too - having injury and suspension does nothing to improve the situation.

This. Absolutely spot b0ll0ck on assessment and explanation of what needs to happen. I would argue we have the players to do it, but do we have the players to do it for a full 90mins+? Consistency will need to be high on the agenda too - having injury and suspension does nothing to improve the situation.

Please read what I said. And then tell me how goals have come from them getting to the byline? I will admit that Harding does try to cross-over with Lallana - they seem to work better together - however Harding does not offer the same level of bite in defence that Fox does. Richardson was surprisingly poor tonight I thought. But anyway, do YOU seriously think that any of our full-backs are good enough for the Prem?

Where to start? The positives - Reeves and Lee looked good. Chappers is back (but not match fit). Lallana's goal was classy. Adkins making the change to diamond (once again) changed the game in our favour. Bart made some good stops that kept us in the game. The negatives? Here we go... a. The Lino gave offside for Reeves goal when it should have stood - Reeves was not offside. b. The Ref allowed them to take their freekick at the death while the ball was moving and a good 10 yards away from where it should have been taken - he actually had his back to ball and I didn't hear him blow his whistle to resume play. c. Guly was an absolute liability in the first 20 minutes and didn't really get much better before he was subbed. d. Bart was a disaster waiting to happen in terms of his distribution - this part of his game really is rubbish. e. We missed a few absolute sitters - worrying. f. We looked very one dimensional (once again), although in the last 10 minutes we dominated play but couldn't put the game to bed. g. there was too much messing about with the ball in defence such that we got caught napping on quite a few occassions which in turn knocks the rythym and tempo out of the game. h. IMO there is not one full-back - left or right - in the club that is capable of playing at Prem level. Fox, Harding, Richardson are all too inconsistent and get completely stripped by a fast-ish winger. None of them can deliver a decent cross from the byline and their corner taking ability leaves a fair bit to be desired too. Frankly I couldn't give a monkeys toss about exiting the FA Cup. However, I am getting a little concerned that the bubble has burst and we've lost the magic that the team seemed to possess in the early part of the season. And I think Adkins is quietly concerned too. Need a good home win Saturday - the pressure is now on!

It's great he's back, although whether he will be firing on all cylinders tomorrow evening remains to be seen. Adkins seems to think he's ready and of course so does Chappers. I hope he's played central with Cork as I would like to see a much more progressive and faster breaking midfield in the first half to link with Lee and I assume Guly (although I would select Sharp if he was available).

Surely we've got enough senior members that need match time before dipping into the youth squad? Need to put some physicallity and pace against Millwall - be in their faces for 90mins to assure a passage through to the next round. Otherwise we'll get caught out with needless passes sideways and backwards. If the right team is chosen, we can win this 3-0 or 3-1. If Nigel gets it wrong we're looking at going one down early-ish doors and Millwall shutting up shop, faking injury and frustrating us.

I don't know about him being our best player, but he hascertainly been the most industrious. And that is a real concern actually,because one has to then question either the fitness/stamina or the heart ofsome of the other players. We do need a Chaplow type player in central midfieldquite urgently now - Cork, Morgan and Hammond are far too similar for my likingas none can provide the penetration through the middle of the field that weneed when trying to push forward. Everything gets squeezed out onto the wingsand becomes highly predictable. Against Brum this was changed by Adkins byputting Puncheon central into a diamond - changed the balance of the game ifnot the outcome.

Absolutely true. Plus also, I suspect many of our goals have come from poaching following up on a shot. If you don't get a shot off in the first place and test the keeper, the likes of Connolly, Barnie and possibly even Sharp will get slim pickings indeed. I don't think we tested the keeper ONCE in the Brum game and the conditions were such that spills from wet icy gloves would be more likely.

Fox poor display - worse player today at that's before his sending off. Sending off however was a poor decision from the ref. Lamberts free kick at the end was criminally wasted as were at least two of our corners taken short and promptly ended in lost possession. Kelvin made a couple of great saves. Martin continues to impress alongside Fonte - it's going to be tough to drop him in favour of Jos now. Could hardly pick out Sharp on the TV - not sure whether he actually got a touch atall?! Overall, lucky point really because although we passed well, we just don't look like scoring and that's a big worry.

I completely agree with Alpine on this - not enough risk taking with shots on goal. If I didn't know better I would say the players are having their natural ability coached out of them. And Adriansfc is once again wide of the mark - just before his injury, Lallana would cut in from the left on a number of occasions and let one fly - he's scored some very memorable goals in the manner. To say he's typically just a passer of the ball is inaccurate. If I were Adkins I would be telling the players to take a risk and shoot at least 1 in 3 times. Fortune favours the brave Nigel.

Crazy thread. Lee looked every bit the real deal. I get the feeling that once he starts scoring, it's going to be hard to stop him. He has frighteningly good pace.

Yes it is an area that needs strengthening, but only on loan as we will need to reconsider options when we get promoted. I think Martin is showing himself to be a very capable CB in the NPC. Whether any of our main three CB's are capable in the Prem remains to be seen. As far as Seaborne is concerned I don't honestly see him playing in a Saints shirt again, only due to the fact that if/when he returns, he'll not be capable of playing at Prem level.

Very tough fixture - this will seperate the men from the boys as we need to be in their faces 100% of the time. Hard to call - would take a point. 1-2 Saints. And I would love it for Sharp to get the first and then Lee to get one too to open their accounts for Saints.

Utter drivel. He put in a good shift, made a couple of great last minute tackles and almost got a poachers goal. Oh and he's got bags of pace about him. For my money he will only get better with more games, but he should be 3rd in line for a strikers slot IMO.

Good result. Puncheon was excellent. Lallana was good, but is trying to be too clever. We need to move the ball quicker - find channels. I do hope that either Sharp or Lee are given more of a chance to shine by playing into channels rather than lumping it to Lambert all the time or passing it into the net! The ref deserves a medal from Cardiff for that performance - totally bottled two stone-wall pens...Lamberts being so obvious it was comical that the ref didn't give it.

Cannot see Sharp not starting alongside Lambert unless he has been bought in on the understanding that he's Rickies stand-in. Strange thing is, where does that leave Lee, the only international striker in our front line? If I were him, I would be wondering whether I would be getting a game atall!

Done. http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~2594184,00.html

Very interesting to see Sharp come in. I am currently managing Saints in Fifa 11, currently sat at 2nd place in NPC and have just signed Sharp in the January window. Started him early January and already he has scored more than Lambert. True story - make of it what you will.

We would be stupid not to bring in a good big CB - preferably with a decent left foot. Jos has made a big difference to the defence.

I always cringe when so called 'experts' on here slate a player because of recent form in another team, especially when said player has been plying his trade in a higher league. You can't judge a player entirely by that standard - a change of manager, playing style and team-mates for example could make all the difference and provide a new lease of life. To think otherwise is immature at best.

There's only one issue with this I need answering - why haven't I been invited yet? Not good enough!