Saint Fan CaM

Err, yes actually I did. Just before Norwich scored he was screaming at the team to move forward as they were camping outside our pen area.

I thought it was known he is still recovering from a virus or something??

Good game from : Connolly (MOM), Lallana, Antonio, Harding, Jaidi, Davis. OK game from Hammond and Schneiderlin, however I am not sure they compliment each other - they BOTH sit too deep for my liking. Poor games from James, Trottman and Lambert. It was a good entertaining game, but we will continue to be a mid-table team in this league until the defence and central midfield is sorted out.

Just back from the match and I have to agree with Alpine. The problems primarily stem from Trottman and James IMO. There is something wrong with Trottmans head - I think he has been told he has to go back to Preston in January and it's affected his game...he was looking like a fantastic prospect and practically everyone on here thought so before Brighton. James is just not good enough at RB - he is the last of the Dutch experiment players that has not been sorted out and we need Murty back there big time. He has improved his game, but he does not have a good footballing brain IMO which is why he went to ground and gave away a pen. Lastly, we sat back too deep just before their 2nd goal. AP was telling them to move out and they didn't listen. Hammond really needs to impose himself more on his team and get himself and/or Schneiderlin sitting nearer midfield. I'm struggling to see how Hammond and Schneiderlin compliment each other TBH. All that said, it was a good game to watch today.

Team will be... Davis Murty Trottman Jaidi Harding James Antonio Schneiderlin Hammond Lalllana Lambert Subs: Bart, Thomas, Waigo, Wotton, Connolly, Mellis ------------------------------------------------------ This is a difficult one to call - could go either way, but I'm going with a 2-1 Saints win. COYS!!!

I completely endorse the idea of Ron coming over to collect a doctorate and how fantastic would it be for him to receive that at SMS or even at Wembley when we get to a cup final or gain promotion to the CCC. Ron - you're an absolute schoolboy hero and legend to me. Keep well.

Well said. Have to say OP is way too reactionary for my liking. One game in 10 lost and the whole world is about to end. :cool:

Well I'm pleased to see that Pardew called it exactly as I did for the Brighton game...i.e. nothing to do with the formation and everything to do with (a) the side players being too maverick in the first 20 minutes and (b) Lambert ill and not able to put in a good performance and © Trottman having an off-day (which happens to the best of us). Combine that with a decent Brighton side looking to impress Poyet and hey presto we lost. Let's just get over it and show Norwich what bounce back means eh?

Guys - understand the point being made here and using Wotton may have been the answer perhaps, however my contention is that Lallana and Antonio were being a little too maverick too early on. Brighton had some nippy wingers and were spraying the ball about in a manner that Wotton IMO would not have got to - we needed to bide our time a little more and see what they had in their locker. Sometimes quietly, quietly catch the monkey does work. They underestimated the opposition unfortunately and possibly didn't stick to the game plan AP set-out. I honestly do not think that 4-5-1 is a formation a team of this standing should be contemplating at home and playing 4-4-2 does not mean leaving the defence exposed. PS: I also think that Lamberts reported cold did not help in the slightest - he looked very off-form - we lost balls and he did not track back as he has done previously. (At least I hope it was his cold :confused:).

Great post and thread. Thank goodness we're all able to share in his recollections about the club we nearly lost just a few short months ago. Positive thinking is starting to become a little infectious being a Saint - let's hope the team is thinking like this!

Look, one can be civil and polite...however much you feel like gagging when in the company of a skate. I frequent Fareham centre more than So'ton actually (easier to get to) and the one issue I have is walking past the Poopey store...its very presence in my midst makes me gag. However, I also do happen to know a couple of extremely pleasant Poopey supporters and therefore I can only assume that they are merely pretending and have no real connection to the ****-hole...

Get him in on a pay as you play or one year deal. Good to have some decent bite as back up to Harding. We need a bit more grit, blood and thunder in the team and he will certainly serve that up.

Same sentiments from me.

Could not have been anyone else IMO.

Completely agree with the OP. However, I think that even if Connolly is replaced by say Wotton, Antonio will still get the nod over Papa.

We lost because they switched off thinking they were better than Brighton and the defence started to panic when they were exposed by Antonio and Lallana (causing Hammond and Schneiderlin to be pulled around too much). Nothing to do with whether we were playing 4-4-2... it was all down to the mentality starting the game. The wingers needed to be less cavalier basically in the 1st half.

Poor game - after 8 good games, it was to be expected against a team out to impress the new manager. Trottman, Schneiderlin, Hammond and Lambert had terrible games and essentially that's why we lost...the backbone of the team was nothing like they have been. Both James and Harding were getting seriously outstripped by BHA's wingers which pulled our CB's out of position. Good performances came from Lallana, Connolly and Antonio - others were poor or mediocre. BHA were first to most balls. The ref was poor - the player that fouled Lallana for the penalty didn't even get booked! Anyway, today hurt not so much because we lost, but because some of the players looked quite disinterested at times. That was not good enough. We've a way to go yet before that team is capable of promotion.

Mmm, I am not yet confident enough to predict an easy win. Everything tells us a win should be a formality, however a couple of injuries hanging over the squad might mess the party up. Also, their squad is better than the previous manager realised IMO. I reckon a 1-1 draw rather than a storming thrashing this weekend thanks to their new manager turning up on the scene.

What's the grub like there?

May I say Sir, that is one of the most intelligent posts I've read on here in what must be many moons. I completely agree with your points. I would also like to suggest that perhaps there was also an agreement that AO stay on to oversee transition and then left amicably after a defined period of time (with a decent contribution to his pension).

You beat me to it!

The rule should not be removed - it is there for a good reason in tersm of making the game a better spectacle. However, the technology is now available to ensure mistakes are not made, so this should be introduced as soon as possible. Fact is most of the time, linos are just not going to be able to keep up with modern athletic footballers and will miss out or mess up on essential decisions.

Fantastic performance - Lallana my MOTM as he ran his socks off all evening. Too many positives to list them all - but special mention to Antonio...he really is something special and we need to keep him at the club. Thought Charlton were pretty poor really. If we play like that against Brighton, we will hammer them.

I think we will beat Brighton, however I do not think we will be out of the relegation zone this week. Norwich will be a massive game for us.

Bit shocking that a name like Ashtons should have to retire at his age, especially with all the physio resource at most pro clubs.