Saint Fan CaM

An excellent point well made. Even so, I think there are too many pessimists on this forum who just cannot visualise what might be possible with the right management and resources. They probably are happy sitting in their mediocre little worlds not daring to dream of better things. Believe!

For me it's the Chappers goal vs Utd. I was in corporate for that game and to come in at half time with the place buzzing was excellent. Not only that but it was an individual piece of excellent ball control and a tough finish which ripped into the net. And against arguably one of the best clubs in the World. All of this made me really feel like we'd arrived back on the main street of English football - a little glimpse perhaps of how next season might feel?!

Kebe would be a great signing. Doubt it will happen though.

It ain't gonna happen people. Forget it - he's dust.

28 years old - worthy of a three year contract. Prem quality? Probably. Injury record? Not too good.

Shame. Was the horse your neigh-bour? (; (Gets coat...>)

And we scored how many? The final score was 3- what? Sure it worked a real treat. NOT! The point I am making is that Adkins seems too rigid in his team selections and tactics and if he's not careful he is going to stifle the creativity of certain individuals like Lallana and/or squeeze any semblance of belief out of the team if we keep losing. We WILL keep losing if opponents continue to figure out how to combat the game plan that Adkins seems intent on sticking with regardless, home or away. We do not play with enough width - with Lallana on the left, he is most effective when there is a counterbalance player on the right. Squash the play into the centre of the park and Lallana is trapped/stifled/crowded. Having said that, my biggest issue with the team is the lack of pace between midfield and attack. We need a playmaker CM to play alongside Cork and a decent pacey striker as priorities.

I reckon this could be very good business indeed for us if he is utilised well. If possible, Nigel should get him playing on Saturday - nothing to lose.

Point 1. Get behind the Manager and the team. We have over-performed so far to expectations and we're still top of the league (amazingly). There is still plenty of time and opportunity to arrest the 'blip' and come back even stronger. Point 2. I am a little concerned about some of Adkins tactical decisions. He seems more intent on playing certain players and in a certain manner than on sending out a team with a game plan that will actually win a game. Two examples? Guly - sacrifricing width in midfield by playing him central was a disaster. Harding - in the last game, both the Brighton team and fans blamed Harding for the sending off of at least one of their players and it is clear that he was targetted by some cycnical challenges today. Point 3. Lambert needs to show why he is worthy of a place in the Premiership beyond his goal scoring. If he is the talisman the team relies on, then he really needs to be more disciplined regardless of the cheating methods employed by the opposition. Adkins was right about one thing - Lamberts dismissal lost us the game - however it was just the straw that broke the donkeys back. Point 4. We may have a large squad, but there are too many reservists who are not of Championship standard, let alone Premiership quality. Now is the time for NC to spend the money that will give NA the ammunition to cross the winning line. Fail to do this and automatic promotion will slip us by I fear.

Point 1. Get behind the Manager and the team. We have over-performed so far to expectations and we're still top of the league (amazingly). There is still plenty of time and opportunity to arrest the 'blip' and come back even stronger. Point 2. I am a little concerned about some of Adkins tactical decisions. He seems more intent on playing certain players and in a certain manner than on sending out a team with a game plan that will actually win a game. Two examples? Guly - sacrifricing width in midfield by playing him central was a disaster. Harding - in the last game, both the Brighton team and fans blamed Harding for the sending off of at least one of their players and it is clear that he was targetted by some cycnical challenges today. Point 3. Lambert needs to show why he is worthy of a place in the Premiership beyond his goal scoring. If he is the talisman the team relies on, then he really needs to be more disciplined regardless of the cheating methods employed by the opposition. Adkins was right about one thing - Lamberts dismissal lost us the game - however it was just the straw that broke the donkeys back. Point 4. We may have a large squad, but there are too many reservists who are not of Championship standard, let alone Premiership quality. Now is the time for NC to spend the money that will give NA the ammunition to cross the winning line. Fail to do this and automatic promotion will slip us by I fear.

Surprise, surprise. Other Managers are starting to understand how to beat us and Adkins at this point either does not know how to change to win games and/or we haven't got the players to allow him to change tactics. Guly should not have played central midfield away from home - if he was to play atall he should have been out on the right. What is the point of squad players if you're not going to utilise them when your first 11 are not producing the goods? I reckon Holmes should be played in place of a pretty ineffective Lallana as a start, then bring Adam on later when legs are tiring. Adam needs a rest - the 1st team needs a shake up. Adkins and Cortese need to bring in some new talent with pace as soon as possible. It's no good just being able to pass the ball well - we need to attack much faster and before the opposition get 11 men behind the ball.

Point 1. Get behind the Manager and the team. We have over-performed so far to expectations and we're still top of the league (amazingly). There is still plenty of time and opportunity to arrest the 'blip' and come back even stronger. Point 2. I am a little concerned about some of Adkins tactical decisions. He seems more intent on playing certain players and in a certain manner than on sending out a team with a game plan that will actually win a game. Two examples? Guly - sacrifricing width in midfield by playing him central was a disaster. Harding - in the last game, both the Brighton team and fans blamed Harding for the sending off of at least one of their players and it is clear that he was targetted by some cycnical challenges today. Point 3. Lambert needs to show why he is worthy of a place in the Premiership beyond his goal scoring. If he is the talisman the team relies on, then he really needs to be more disciplined regardless of the cheating methods employed by the opposition. Adkins was right about one thing - Lamberts dismissal lost us the game - however it was just the straw that broke the donkeys back. Point 4. We may have a large squad, but there are too many reservists who are not of Championship standard, let alone Premiership quality. Now is the time for NC to spend the money that will give NA the ammunition to cross the winning line. Fail to do this and automatic promotion will slip us by I fear.

Were discussing this at the last game and agree - seems he's thinking too much now rather than working with his pure instinct.

Older Koreans certainly do not like Japanese too much according to people I spoke with in S. Korea having spent 6 weeks there some years back. Stems from Japanese invasions of years ago when the Japs slaughtered many Koreans and attrocities took place. There are commemorative buildings in Seoul if my memory serves me. Anyway, looks like this guy is the real deal. Hopefully it will work out well for both parties.

I hope he makes a full recovery and can pick up his playing career. However, I do also think that if that happens it will not be playing for Southampton.

Mmm....

To answer the OP - a resounding NO! I thought he was pretty mediocre to be honest and the quoted £5 is a rip-off! Would much rather have Sharp at £3.

Played this in the early 70's when at Glen Eyre secondary. There was a proper league set-up with two divisions of about 10 teams (if I remember rightly). Fixture lists were drawn up. Most of us had our pitches stuck down onto a sheet of hardboard - I had to carry mine what seemed like miles from the hardware shop in Swaythling all the way home which was a real effort for a small nipper! I've still got the pitch and some teams - I think the goals might be a bit broken now. I also remember having a linked fence around the perimeter, four battery driven floodlights and a scoreboard. Good memories. My sons have not shown any interest in it. However, a bad memory that springs to mind was playing games at the home of one of the lads in the lower division. He lived with his Dad in a run-down council house. Games were played in the living room on a carpet that had been soiled many times by a pet cat (and possibly other things) and it stank to high heavens! Nice lad from a very poor family, but we didn't let on and suffered in silence to make sure he was able to take part.

Great news indeed - let's hope it's the first in a short but extremely sweet list of signings between now and the end of Jan. 2012.

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De Ridder. Made the break through goal, was a constant threat to the Palace defence and his closing down yesterday was superb. Deserves a start on Friday f'sure. (Having said that, the whole team played well and most importantly played for each other).

De Ridder was my MOTM - supplied first goal and his closing down today was first class. He deserves another start on Friday IMO.

My daughters fiance knows a chap who was recently told directly by Sharp that he wants to come to Saints. It seems like it's a done deal.

Utterly poor and biased BBC coverage unfortunately. Why the hell they got Claridge in for the skates and Shearer for Saints I don't know - Shearer is no Saint...he abandoned us to go back to his roots, so he was never going to provide the balance needed. I think Claridge to his credit did a good job of providing compliments about Saints - quite balanced actually - despite his allegiance to the blue few.

Thought the sound level from our end was poor to be honest, but I also think that had something to do with the microphones being used...perhaps positioning or the levels were turned down to ensure obscenities were not heard on TV?