Saint Fan CaM

I just hope Berbatov doesn't play - he would rip a new one in our defence. Otherwise who cares - we're going to lose - just hope it's not a complete humiliation. Need to score early because they will be so much fitter than our players who will fade in the 2nd half.

My feeling is we need to get rid and for Adkins to find his own man. There must have been some winger talent at Scunny we could plunder?

Well if true this dilutes the concept of Saints keeping hold of the best youngsters coming out of the Academy to make up a Saints team of the future. Until the FA/FIFA assist the protection of clubs by mandating that home grown players MUST stay at their home club until they are at least 21, there will always be a terrible imbalance in football. I also think that clubs like Arsenal coming in and disrupting young players who are on long-term contracts should be made to pay ALL the money up-front. It would not only assist to quell the stupid fees commanded, but also make them think twice about plundering rather than building the infrastructure to find and develop their own talent. A real shame.

Mmm, interesting. How many times have we been linked with a player and then linked with another player to make it look like we don't need either, only then to tie up a deal shortly after. Is that a normal Cortese-like strategy? I would wager we'll see CML or Austin join us in the next couple of days. This guy could be better for Saints than Austin...a real live-wire, no personality issues and seems like he adapts very well to new higher expectations. Perfect for that step-up to the NPC.

Don't agree we cannot get someone as good as Lallana. By all accounts the boy Jennings ran rings around us yesterday. Ryan Harley is very much in the mould of Lallana - maybe as good with the right guidance and better players around him? Also, did Jennings cost Tranmere a fortune to buy - I think not? Some simple facts/common sense... 1. Signing a player that is as good or better than what you have is not diluting the squad...it's improving the overall competency of the squad. 2. The value of a player in terms of transfer fee does not necessarily equate to the improvement in overall competency to the squad that player offers...i.e. for a variety of reasons, a free transfer could turn out to be a far better player than one costing £1m for example. 3. Signing a player to the squad does not mean that player is mandated to start every game...that player will get a start or a bench place if they can prove that they deserve it in training. If they don't then they need to work harder. There is no such thing as "cover", "reserve" or "bench" players at Saints now...you get picked if you're (a) good enough (b) fit with the Managers game plan for that game. Puncheon is an example of a player 'not on the bus' with regards this strategy. 4. There is a minimum level of competency that all players need to reach to be considered capable of a 1st team place. The fewer options of players in the squad that meet or exceed that minimum level, the fewer opportunities are provided to the Manager to get the squad right for match-day. We do not have enough players in the squad that meet or exceed that minimum level PLUS we also have too many that do meet the level either injured or wantaway and de-motivated. I dare say someone will find something wrong with these simple truths though! (;

Well I know what you mean, however if you don't get to the root cause of pitiful performances you'll not identify how to improve. One last thing - it always amazes me how some seem to think that improving the squad by bringing in better players means spending huge amounts of money. I would wager that Tranmere didn't pay a fortune for Jennings, so where did he spring from as an example? Why should those players appear to be far more motivated than our players who I suspect are earning more money?

Really? My bad! Mind you, as Manager it's his responsibility to get the players minds right. If he cannot, surely that's tantamount to 'losing the changing room'?

So are you blaming Adkins completely for the loss today? After all he is supposedly a top sports physcologist who should be best placed to sort out player attitudes?

Wow - that's incredible - you've suddenly come around to my way of thinking! But hang on, your explanation means that there's no difference between the two examples. It doesn't matter what level you're playing at, to succeed you need a squad of players that have a benchmark or average level of performance that is better than the teams you play. That way, as you correctly state above, you can rely on many members of the squad and not just a few stars. Unfortunately, at the moment Saints don't have anywhere near the consistency in the squad as is needed to consistently win enough games to make promotion a nailed on cert. Alpine got it smack-on when he mention "Exhibit A" - our bench today - it just isn't good enough to change the fortunes of a game and therefore we need more quality.

This.

Agreed - I guess there has not been enough time for the Academy to mend itself fully and re-mature back to an organisation that produces Prem level talent. It also re-enforces the comments I and others have been making about the need to raise the overall skill benchmark in our midfield squad. It is just not good enough with Lallana, Hammond and Puncheon out and Chaplow clearly not fully fit after injury. I am still not sure that Schneiderlin has what it takes to get us out of this league, but he's as good as we're likely to get at CM. It's the wings that need really sorting out. I don't understand why we've not got the likes of Jennings in our team?!

Blimey - we agree. Does that mean we're friends now? (;

I reckon the guy is a disruptive influence, he wants out and was left out of the squad today because he's packing his bags ready for an exit off the bus. Good riddance - has significantly underperformed here.

The stats don't lie - for whatever reason Lallana makes a big difference to the outcome of games. Not just because of his own performance, but by raising the games of the players around him.

As Dune rightly said, it's not the results that are a concern it's the performances. What has caused such a change? Is it really Lallana? Has Puncheon coming back caused a big upset in squad unity and spirit - hence his omission from the squad today? Who knows, but Adkins needs to be careful todays result does not become a habit or we'll be waving auto goodbye before you can say "wheels off bus".

Well it's not a disaster, but you have to question a few things. Like why Kelvin Davis manages to speak volumes pre-match on the OS about keeping a clean sheet and a sound defence and then goes on to ignore his own advice and have a mare of a game! Also, surely Adkins should be getting better from his players than the performance they put in?! If it's not true that Lallana makes every difference, then why two poor performances in a row without him? We may be good, but we're not the finished article and I stand by my belief that we need additional depth to certain areas of the park.

Sorry guys - we're not going to be in the playoffs as we're going up auto. And as Champs.

What a completely toss idea! Wouldn't be seen p1ssing on one.

No it's not - the situations are relatively the same...the concept at all levels is the same. If you can't see that then that's OK - it's not your fault.

Individual perofrmance is one thing, but how a player affects team performance is even more important. Rickie has changed this season into a more rounded player and as such he is better equipped to be a championship player than ever.

Thats why Fabregas and Van Persie came on as subs against Leeds eh? Were they unhappy about being on the bench? It's all about changing the teams perception of what it is to be part of a successful squad where you will get to play some of the time if you train well and prove you're worth playing. The days of a bunch of lacklustre reserves that once in a while might get picked to sit on the bench is over. The days of setting a benchmark of high performance over the whole squad are here to stay at Saints thanks to NC/NA.

Oh what a shame - we're still on opposite sides of the fence. I had just come round to your way of thinking that we're completely OK with the players we have at our disposal....promotion from L1 is a dead-on certainty, we'll storm the NPC next season and go up champions and Gobern and Pulis will be voted joint Premiership players of the season 2014! (;

Fantastic news - keeps a successful squad together. NA must be very pleased so far that he's being backed by NC.

Why do some posters keep on saying we've got reserves? We don't. The strategy now is to have a squad of players that can rotate in and out of the 1st team such that there is no adverse effect on performance. Add to this the fact that our two most influential NEW signings - Guly and Chaplow - have improved the 1st team by their presence - i.e. the benchmark for team performance has increased. Now think back to the Notts Co. game and how Chaplow and Lallana were missed so much in terms of creativity and being able to unlock the defence. Now ask yourself the question - did the players rotating in maintain the same level of 1st team quality? The simple answer is no, therefore one has to rightly question the strength in depth to enable CERTAIN promotion and then an ability to compete in the NCP with the same team. IMO we have sorted out one priority by signing Guly permanently, but we still need another creative central/wide midfielder who can replace either Lallana or Chaplow without a corresponding dip in performance. And before Turkish jumps down my throat - YES, I would expect that player to be competing week in week out for a 1st team start.

Possibly not - it's a good point. However, the real question is, can we afford not to get promoted this season? I would suggest not, so given the likelyhood that we will suffer greatly if we lose Lallana, Chaplow, Guly, Barnard, Hammond or Chambo for any appreciable amount of time, there is a strong arguement to say 1-2 astute signings could be starting to look critical.