Saint Fan CaM

You're right of course, but be prepared to be hung out to dry for suggesting there's anything to be concerned about - i.e. we've been saved therefore L1 football is OK. I too am a little concerned that all our so called better players have left or are leaving. And we've signed one player. But it doesn't matter how you dress it up, the old addage of you pay peanuts you get monkeys will always be true. Tomorrow is going to be interesting - I hope.

I would like to know why my perfectly reasonable 1st post on this thread was deleted???? Anyway - try again - Smith was never the poor player he was made out to be IMO. He was played in the wrong position by the Dutch fools and even then made a reasonable contribution. He was certainly world-class when compared to the likes of Pulis who is a complete waste of a jersey.

Not all the game?

Guys, guys, guys...look no further than our own yard - its Jake Thompson.

Mmm, a little bit concerned now. Not so much in the individual player, as I think AP has other options, but in the time available to select and settle a cohesive team and re-assess areas of weakness. The more time drags on, the more need there is to spend more (i.e. fee, wages or both) to get the right man (men). But perhaps more importantly, if key players are dropping out this late on the harder it becomes to assess the balance of the team and hence finalise a 1st team squad. This happened to Burley to a degree IMO - he was panicked into spending big money on his mates with little thought to team balance. It's not easy for AP admitted, however the remainder of this week will now be crucial to obtaining the right players. I can only hope that Rasiak and Saga make their intentions clear very quickly - if they're going, the sooner they get off the books the better so AP nows what he can spend. Assuming they go, we need two strong, fast and experienced strikers. Without them we'll be cast adrift in League One very quickly IMO.

To a point. However I would counter that with good solid leadership and management, the TEAM would pull together and make every opportunity count. The incredibly poor management/coaching/tactics were all evident from last seasons pre-season frankly IMO, but at the very least prior to Christmas '08 which is way before administration was announced. Remember, what we witness on the field of play is skewed forwards from the tactics coached on the training ground. In other words, the players would always have experienced the confusion provided by Lowes 'Dutch experiment' sometime before we witnessed the disaster on match days. This confusion would have been amplified more and more as the season pushed on and results wre not coming our way.

Ah yes, that missing plan B! All the time some on here were talking about not having a plan B in terms of changing the formation, when really it was all about changing the manner in which the Dutch had coached the kids. How the hell can you do THAT on match day? Well you can't of course, hence once plan A had gone up in smoke (a plan which nobody understood anyway), there was nowhere to go but fail. It makes my blood boil recalling the rubbish we had to endure last season (and I don't mean the players as such - i.e. IMO on Saturday there was only one poor player - Wotton), but more so knowing that nobody was prepared to change things around. Actually the more I think about it, the more I realise that Wotton stood out as the worst player on Saturday, because the rest of the team had raised their respective games, leaving Wotton's lack of ability exposed for all to see. Harsh, but true.

If the worst had happened I think I would have stopped supporting a team as such and just watched for watchings sake. Have got a bit of an affinity to Brighton as was born there, but would not bother to go see games - its Saints or nothing.

My view is that Lallana is already LOOKING fitter than last season already. Even Rasiak appears more focussed and willing - and he's probably on his way out. However, I think there's another factor to this - namely, last season the lads heads had dropped so much that personally they either could not be bothered to demonstrate their fitness or there was a team mentality persisting such that each player thought "if he's not working hard, why should I?"....possibly both. Something has definately positively affected the mood in the camp and it's probably a combination of better management (AP) and renewed hope for the business that employs them as professionals (ML + NC).

To my mind, given the league we're in etc., if AP has someone better than Murty lined up, they'd have to be outstanding. I've not seen anything indicating Murty has been offered a contract, which is a bit strange given that he played Saturday - I thought insurance would be a problem without a contract?

Just a little surprised not to see the OS announce Murty's formal appointment really after a good performance Saturday. Yes, he needs to get fitter, but the guy tick's all the right boxes for a top RB in L1 f'sure.

Yes, we need a couple or three more decent players, however I guess you did not see the performance on Saturday? We humbled Hearts and what's more we turned it on in the 2nd half rather than get turned over in the 2nd half. Different looking team. The new full-backs and Thomas back made a difference. Lallana looked like a new player. We're not too far off I would suggest and capable of a mid-table position as is. The key will be in AP finding the right players now to make a difference particularly central midfield - i.e. a Wotton replacement is essential so more passes in midfield go to a Saints player. Gillett is OK, but lacks the flair to create any real opportunities. Complete rethink at CM is needed IMO - then we'll be OK.

But of course there are players who do well after leaving us - e.g. Kevin Davies for one. However, that does not alter the point you make which is indeed valid to a certain degree. It is true that balance and harmony in a squad is important - as you say, the right players at the right time. I do also believe however that if you do not get the quality of player right in line with your tactics, there is only one way and that's down. Take last season for example - the Dutch duo wanted to play an outdated system with kids coached from an early age in a different style. On average the team was small and weak against man-mountain opposition. It didn't work unsurprisingly. So there's no need to spend big on a Beckham, but equally not obtaining a level of player a cut above the opposition will probably see us stay in this league longer than we anticipate.

Wotton was the worst Saints player on the pitch today. A bit of a liability now and we need a much better distributor of the ball than he is.

I thought Murty was fantastic for us today - he really looked like he wanted to play for us and surely must have won a contract. The defence looked quite balanced and composed. Murty clearly has excellent experience on his side - his anticipation and positioning shone through (leading to the third goal). He actually has some pace and frankly if he was to get just a little fitter, he really would be top class. Sign him now.

Actually the horizon is about 25 miles away if you were stood on a beach looking out to sea. It's a lot closer for those in Poopey because they have a large rubbish tip to spoil their view!

The trust was ok to rally support of shares to oust Lowe. That was it's original purpose and so it's just not needed now. Have to say I don't get the whole supporter group thing. This is a football CLUB which maintains it's memberships. If we hold ST's or Memberships then we belong to THE club - why is some other group needed?

Just one observation to add to some good points already made. If ML was going to splash lots of cash surely he could have done so to keep Surman here (a player who wanted to stay and play for the club).

If its not allocated seating, why do my tickets have seat numbers on? I will be very p*ssed off if someone is sitting in MY seats!

Don't see any difference between the two approaches so far TBH. Appoint a top manager and sort out the squad. Has Sven actually spent a penny yet? Don't think so.

Great news once again. Starting to get a bit of a habit this positive news thing! Just need to get some top replacements in.

He has said as much if not more than he really can do at this stage. I have confidence that he will sort the team out somehow, but new faces are inevitable I think - there are just too many players not performing to an ability that will see the club move forward.

Its simple - compared to Pulis and Wotton he would be like signing Gerrard. So yes, would have him back at CM.

On last nights display, I would offload Saga pronto. Paterson FAR more up for it - able to run intelligently at a defence and score. Saga did not look atall interested and his workrate was poor. Even Stern was telling him where to man-mark FFS.

Agree with the OP. This may not have been about the result per se, however the performances on show tonight were nothing short of extremely poor.... e.g. Saga looked pretty disinterested, Pulis is a liability. And have we not been told that Wotte et al have courageously kept the club going? Well, on this showing I would hazard a guess that Henderson and Co have done NO tactical training atall in the past!