Saint Fan CaM

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 Take last season for example - the Dutch duo wanted to play an outdated system with kids coached from an early age in a different style.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!

If I never see Pulis in a Saints shirt again it will be a day too soon - the bloke cannot play football...a complete waste of space. I cannot remember a single positive contribution to the game - utter, utter rubbish. Seriously, he would be hard pushed to find his way into Salisburys squad. Mind you, I think there were about 8 Salisbury players I would gladly swop with their Saints counterparts tonight as they were heads and shoulders better, both in terms of ability and tactical nouse. Saints did not look atall organised - it was embarrising - and I don't care what anyone says, the team should be better drilled than that. Worse performances were : Saga (asleep), Wotton (truly dreadful), Pulis (call that football?), Gobern (wot position am I in?), Poke (it away). The rest were poor. The slightly better performances came from Stern who tried hard, James (just), Perry (lone CB battle), Thompson (tried to get to byline), Paterson (worked hard and had pace), Molyneax (yes, he looked OK in comparison to the other rubbish). AP came along just after half-time and interestingly the team suddenly started to look more lively. Henderson was a waste of space in terms of giving instruction to the team - we need a proper 2nd in command if AP is not around. I am hoping that is nowhere near the quality of football we should expect to see this season - if it is, I would put a lot of money on another relegation. Honestly, I was shocked at how bad it was - disregarding the goals, easily the worst performance I have ever seen from a Saints side.

Have a good holiday neighbour...I'll keep look out for Skate incursions into our territory!

Thats all true. So, given that he is the main man at the Salisbury game this evening, do you think (a) he's being tested and/or (b) he's being set-up for a fall? Surely if he was just a stand-in, he would have retreated back to the shadows now AP is here? Looking at tonights squad I would say there are a few staff being watched carefully perhaps? :cool:

Yes - that is a real disappointment frankly - I am toying with whether to go or not now. Promised the Wife a dinner out prior to game, so it's probably a done deal now.

Absolutely spot on the money there Duncan. And how much extra feelgood factor would that have bought the team and the supporters?! Can't dismiss winning - it needs to become a habit.

Done - I will win - fact.

Thanks for that...

Great video - you can never be reminded too much of how much great history this club has seen [ mainly pre-Lowe (; ]. Just goes to show how much pain we've been through - welcome Markus, you cannot begin to imagine how many peoples lifes have been affected so much by your kind gesture to save SFC. Don't mind admitting a tear was shed watching that...fantastic to have a new era of hope and success to watch before I get too old to care.

Great signing for us - just what we need and AP really seems to have sussed the squad pretty quickly. Next!

Based on that I think we still need a decent big CB, a fast RW, a tough CAM and another proven experienced striker (i.e. with 15 goals in him). That's only 4 more players and many could be free per above list. Midfield positions are probably the most important though as without service the strikers will all struggle.