Saint Fan CaM

Well I do think that Davis is not up to the mark now, however in Gazza we do not yet have an answer, so we need to make sure our play is such that we do not bring undue pressure on the defence and KD. That means the midfield needs to press MUCH more than than they did against Arse.

Rubbish. We were set-up to dominate midfield, however our midfielders went missing, sat back for the entire 1st half and presented the defence with a real problem, because Arse are a very good fast and accurate passing side. Even when we did attack we were pedestrian in midfield. Adkins also has to take some blame setting the team up in a way that appeared to think we could out-play Arse at their own game. So no, sorry - on this occasion the defence were not really to blame.

Not worried yet and will not be until after the Villa game if we lose. Even then I will not be too worried as there will still be time, however if by the end of November we still don't have any points then alarms bells will start to sound and I also think that NC will be considering his options carefully. As someone else has said, you don't spend £30m to expect to drop out of this division. The one big issue for me is Adkins, rather than individual players. I am sensing that he's the one that has not adjusted yet and this is typified by (a) the defeat to Wigan at SMS, but mostly (b) yesterdays drubbing which was largely caused in my opinion by our midfield sitting back too much in the 1st half and not taking the game to them. We gave them FAR too much room and time to play the ball. We thought we could mix it with the Arse at their own game (because we beat them on pens in the Leibherr cup!?!?) and we got found out. In short what the hell is the point of a massively expensive mid-forward line of players if you're not going to set-out to be very attack minded but instead play deep? NUTS!

I struggle to see how Gazza would have kept any of those goals out TBH, so Davis does not deserve to be whipping boy. Simple fact is we came up too quick - not enough time to form a Prem team AND retain squad unity at the same time.

Absolutely this. The question is why is this happening? We've shown them far too much respect IMO - so is this the players or is it the Manager telling them to do this? One thing's for sure, it's pointless playing 4-5-1 (which is what went on out there in the 1st half) if you don't USE the midfield to nullify the play.

Calm down dears. It was clear the first 3-4 games were going to be extremely difficult - so stay with the program and try to enjoy the next chapter in our history.

Do we really have the players to effectively nullify the attackers that the top four clubs have for 90mins? I really don't think we have yet - I think all the Managers of the top 4 sides would have the same problems Adkins is facing. Sacking him would just make things worse - perhaps there's a few here that don't remember the last time we were in the Prem with a revolving door policy.

10-12 hours?

You might be right, but I wouldn't be so sure. If he's doing that well for us, I can see Cortese having the will power to keep him at the club I suspect. Same could apply to all our gifted players. I don't think Cortese will want us to be seen as the whipping boys for the 'big clubs'.

Is it just me - I just can't seem to get these sites to work. Many links need you to download betting site programs it seems. Do I just need Sopcast for the Arse game?

Got to say - for once - I am delighted with the TV moves so far. Otherwise I would have missed 3 games!

So they're running the risk of the streaming police eh? You sure about that? If so, might pop down.

Not one to normally moan about this kind of thing, but I have to agree it is a quite poor experience and not Premier League standard really.

Gotta say that is superb news - well done Adam.

Absolutely this - best post so far on this thread. Apart from this one of course.... [ahem]

I have no idea what this means, but I think I like it.

I look forward to the day when I can go to SMS and be confident that, barring an utter disaster, I will leave the ground talking about the fantastic, strong, leak-proof defence we've got! One can only dream! LOL

It's a shame for the lad that he needs to make up stories to attempt to deflect attention away from his shambles of a club. This story is not worth the toilet paper it was probably written on.

So, Saints are not prepared and not fit? Suggest you read the overall Stats. Morgan for example has covered more ground in matches than any other player in any team. JWP has twice shown himself to be one of the fastest players in the league. It's really not about fitness - it's about competency and brain power to read situations and react quickly enough. Fonte for example is unfortunately showing signs that he cannot cope, but that's nothing to do with his fitness.

We're away from home and in need of experience. In retrospect, there's a good chance Lambert will start as lone striker then. I've been pondering over who will get first dibs in midfield and attack on the team sheet if everyone is fit. Lallana (LWF) and Morgan (CDM) pick themselves IMO. So, what does that leave us with? JayRod at £7m - you would think that he has a starting place, but probably not if Lambert is fit, so he'll on the bench. I can see him slipping backwards. Ramirez at £12m - you would think that he has a starting place (eventually) - Right Forward? So when he starts, that's Puncheon on the bench. Mayuka at £2m? - given his pace and his immediate bench place, he must be in the plans but as left forward, if Lallana is playing he's going to start on the bench. Davis, JWP and Morgan have earnt their place in midfield as regular starters - can't see that unit being broken up in the immediate future.

I wouldn't pay much store to this. I don't think Ramirez can be judged over the course of a couple of internationals and anyway, when he gets up to speed at Saints his fitness and stamina will only get better because of the efforts made by the coaching team. Just look at the difference it's made to the likes of Lambert.

Like. (:

3-1 Arse. They will be too much for us. They play in a style that is similar to ours - keep ball. But with a team that probably averages 10% better than ours and can turn on pace into channels (something we don't seem capable of). If Ramirez is available for selection and fit, does anyone really think he will sit on the bench for 75 minutes against Arse? I don't believe NC will want to see £12m sat on the bench - do you? I would hope for... Mayuka Rodrigues (Lambo) Ramirez (Chappers) Lallana Morgan Davis Fox (if fit) Jos Fonte (Yoshi) Clyne .............. Davis Lambert (JRod), Yoshi (Fonte) and Chappers (Mayuka) on as subs to see out the game. Easy eh?!

Panics on the ball probably because he does not have the experience yet to turn a Manager's instructions into consistent deeds in a Prem game. I am sure he'll come good, but not now.

Considering Morgan was on the pitch at the end of the game, I would suggest the issue is one of stamina, not fitness. And it's true that we are starting to see why Morgan has been so highly thought of - it's not just his emerging technical ability - his physique and attitude is clearly superb.