Saint Fan CaM

Welcome to Artur - looks to be a surprising and astute signing. I suspect the years contract was his choice perhaps, or that we've not had enough time to evaluate his personality which appears to be a big factor in making decisions on players. Let's hope he does well for us.

I think I made myself very clear TBF. To say "KD is screwed" is an immature and senseless comment. To say he is probably 2nd or 3rd choice now we've bolstered the GK ranks I think is more respectful to a guy who is a great character, can still play football if called upon and as club captain deserves more frankly.

I said on here some time ago that I predicted he could become our Sir Alex. Just wait and see - stability and focus on the right KPI's will get the club results unlike anything we've experienced before - it'll just take time to steadily build and shape it into the finished article. But also remember that NA is just one (important) cog in the wheel - there's so much more going on behind the scenes to make Saints a massive club.

"How screwed is Kelvin Davis?". Well if that's not disrespectful I don't know what is! Reminds me of a kid throwing away his old toy after being bought a new one. KD has been instrumental in so much of Saints rise through the leagues, both on and off the field - he's been a faithful servant and his saves did as much in the Championship as Lamberts goals. We've brought in good competition for the no.1 jersey - KD may still be selected if he proves he's better than the other guys (Gazza was OK, but let's face it he had little to do and on a couple of occasions looked rooted to the spot). So if KD plays again, are you saying you'll not be supporting him? Suggest you get a little perspective.

He will be our first choice left back now I would wager. Big shout out too for Frazer Richardson, who I thought put on a fantastic show at RB after being out for so long.

The perfect substitution for a tired Puncheon (who I thought was superb yesterday).

I reckon on 18. NA has the front line playing very fluidly and that suits Lambo, Adam, Puncheon and Gaston, also playing a higher line too. It's when that clicked yesterday that we tore Villa apart. You could see Lambo and Gaston in all kind's of space.

Incredible win. Incredible performances - Clyne better at LB than RB. Richardson had a great game and looked class. Only Fox looked shaky and even he had a better 1st half than normal I thought. We might just get something at Everton now?

I think so too. Cannot honestly see NA risking this game on PG - would be a shock. On the game itself, I am very much looking forward to it and think Saints could win, however I suspect we will be 2-1 up with 10 minutes to play and Villa will come back with a Bent substitution and goal to draw 2-2. Bitter sweet once again.

Mmm, be careful what you wish for springs to mind here. The lad may be one for the future, but this game is so important that if he has a mare, he may never get over it and some supporters may never ALLOW him to get over it.

Judging by the title, I think the OP has had a little too much fruit juice on a Thursday for his/her own good.

The whole ground will go quiet if things start to look dodgy let's face it and the Northam (despite contrary beliefs) will be just as bad. We need an early goal to soak up some tension from the game - that's the answer.

Great story...yep, see out his career at Saints and he'll be classed a legend I believe. His goals got us back up through the tables.

FFS, we don't play with wingers - what the hell is wrong with you? Have you missed the entire summer activity and all the games through that period? The formation is 4-3-3 meaning there are two outside strikers who drop back into midfield to defend. Again - we don't play wingers anymore! HTH.

As I posted above Art, I believe Kelvin D is still club captain. Agree that Adam probably could do without the added stress right now, but hey who knows...perhaps he's a completely different personality in the dressing room to the one we see.

Yep - this is much more likely I would imagine, but with GR and Lallana swapped.

My view is we will shock the world with a thumping of Villa and our season will be off to the start we deserve. And in other news...

Might as well get rid now. On the other hand, we could learn from the revolving door policy of the Lowe era, get behind the club we support including the Manager come thick or thin. If NC wants rid of NA, then it'll probably happen when we least expect anyway.

No, not club captain, but he has been announced as team captain. I'm not sure what the difference is TBH, but there appears to be a difference as KD has been club captain ever since the team captaincy was given to Hammond. Always thought that was a bit of a fop to keep Kelv happy.

What about Liverpool - what's to say they have what it takes long term? They're not doing so well in relation to their squad right now are they? Ah, but they will come good I hear you say...well what's to stop us going on a run now and moving up the table? It's quite an unpredictable league this year I feel.

I'm not sure Davies is the right man - and anyway, too early for him to come into the club and immediately take the armband, even with Hammond out of the way. When I think on this more, I'm not sure we have anyone with the right credentials to lead the team. JWP might be one for the future perhaps?

Well Adkins has said people have been working very hard - not exactly the same thing. Either the money is not there, or it's been spent ill-advisedly in getting the players needed. I don't think it's Adkins fault - he said early on that they were looking at defensive positions - however perhaps Clyne and Yoshi were always the only targets.

That's kind of the point I was trying to make though - does being a good player (which Adam clearly is) make a good Captain? I'm less interested in what the Captaincy has done to him as such - more about what HE has done or is doing to influence the role of Captain and ultimately his team mates. For those who went to the Arse game - how did Adam react? Head down or did he get into his team-mates for example?

I've seen plenty of guys get promoted into team leader, supervisory or management roles because they've stuck around for a long time - been good servants. In many cases, those appointments have been wrong ones because despite their competency in their role, either they're not cut-out to be leaders (when the going gets tough), or they've not been given the right level of training and development support. One thing is for sure, when backs are against walls, you need a strong Captain. Is Adam the right material to be team Captain? I note from some reports of the Arse game that he had a bad game - is it coincidence that things went from bad to worse? When I hear him talk, while I love his devotion to Saints, he doesn't strike me as particularly motivational. Don't get me wrong - I am not blaming Adam for anything...more so, I wonder whether his appointment is an example of a poor decision at managerial level. Did anyone actually honestly think Adam would be given the Captaincy? When we think back to our most successful periods in the past, who were the Captains in the team at the time and did they all have similar traits and personalities? Discuss.

I think the biggest problem we face now is raising the morale in the squad. They've been used to winning games - lots of games - and now they probably feel like they're nowhere near good enough for any Prem team. There's only one thing we can do to assist and that's make a lot of noise at SMS come Saturday. I do hope there will be no barracking of players or booing - they need the utmost support now more than ever.