david in sweden

we've stopped losing matches... and are relying on 96 minute games to get points....

...watching a re-run of the highlights, you'd have to admit that Will Smallbone was a tad unlucky not to have scored a hattrick and that the Hull goalie really earned his wages in that game....

.Just 12 games so far but ..perhaps in the time we conceded 9 goals in consecutive games with a makeshift defence...was one reason? but remember we have had one clean sheet, and 7 games where we concede just one goal ...which might look a little better? or maybe we should look to our misfiring strike force who have a pretty poor ...shots to goals ratio..in almost every game .

How right you are, there is still a small portion of the fan base who will condemn a new player - especially a striker - who doesn't score a hat trick in his first 3-4 games, and will claim he is rubbish and " someone " in the club should be sacked for wasting the money. The training ground is one thing, but playing against an opposition who are out to get you at every opportunity is another. We would all like to see him play, but a few games coming off the bench might be a more sensible start to his Saints career.

At last Stuart is showing some of the qualities we saw when he first arrived, but you won't see 90 minute performances from too many players after they've passed 30 and it's beginning to show, but was encouraging anyway.

Agree that Graham Baker deserves a mention , a So'ton born lad who was an industrious and skillful midfielder, although it would be tough to put him an a category as " best " - which was hard as there were many in competition for a starting place at the time, with Alan Ball, Steve Williams and Nick Holmes outstanding in an era when Lawrie McMenemy's squad could boast 5 former England captains. However, Graham made a great start on his debut at the Dell when he scored inside the first minute of a league game v. Blackpool (?). It was a rare occasion when live TV was at The Dell, and the commentator had barely named the teams, and those fans who hadn't taken their seats missed a great goal. Graham's record was good for a midfielder and he even won U21 honours for England before he moved to Man City in 1982, where he could boast a similar apps / strike rate compared to his time with Saints.. He returned to Saints some 5 years later, but when nearing 30 his star was on the wane, and he finally left Saints in 1990 aged 32. Although no-one ever used the word " Academy " in those days, Graham was one of the Youth / Reserve lads who came through the ranks and had a good career in that period, and numerically were as many as those that we have seen since.

I always loved the story that before signing for Saints, the young Steve Williams (who grew up in London) used to go to Highbury and watch his boyhood hero Alan Ball, who was playing in midfield for Arsenal at the time. Several years later ... Williams was picked to play alongside Bally in a regular Saints starting line-up. Great stuff.

Really need to define the meaning of " Best " ? if we mean Most appearances then its Nick Holmes 535 games, (1974-1987) John Sydenham (was apparently) born in Eastleigh.. and played 401 games (1957-1969) and later Francis Benali (1988-2001) played 389 times. Most goals ? then its Martin Chivers 106 goals (in 190 games) . before his move to Spurs 1967 and eventual England games. Highest fee? ..its Martin Chivers once again, 125,000 to Spurs in 1967 . that was an English club record fee at the time , (not sure what it would be in " today's money"). IF you want to throw in Winchester....? ...then Terry Paine played over 815 times ., and scored 187 goals, (both club records at the time) and would also qualify with most England caps ( 19 with Saints) .

Wow ..a tall striker who scores from crosses /centres into the box... a fantastic tactic . why didn't we think of that before?. Seems like everyone at the club forgot about Pelle, Lambert, Beattie and all those who came before.

After last Saturday's game, I'd take another look at the Rotherham keeper who saved them on several occasions.

my comment was based on the fact that I didn't know who Paul Wilcox was ?

......Maybe we should blame Jason Wilcox instead?

Whoa ...hang on a bit...not altogether correct. David Hirst wasn't injured when we bought him in October 1987 and he played every game for the rest of that season and scored 9 times. the injury he sustained was in the following summer break when (daft) he was running in the forest and jammed his foot in a rabbit hole. ! ..an injury he never recovered from as was forced to retire from top class football. Charlie Austin had a few recurring injuries but still managed a reasonable return (goals /games), but was a real menace to opposition defenders, although he had a reputation, but for the most part was just being " Charlie Austin ". Danny Ings soldiered on despite other injuries (which were nothing to do with his knee problems), and virtually kept us up single-handedly for two seasons. Jamie Redknapp may well have been a bad buy, but as his Dad (Harry) was manager at the time and had been given the keys to the bank vault it's not surprising that Jamie joined as he wasn't playing regularly with Spurs at the time , but he did DAJFU when he did play. Our real problem has been buying players who don't fit into ...whatever system we were playing at the time.... Onuacho and Carrillo are prime examples of this but there have been others who really should never have been signed in the first place. Personally .. I'm a bit "old school" ....and like having a big man up front, but if Ross Stewart doesn't get a hatful of goals (as some seem to expect) it may be that having a big man up front and no wingers to regularly supply him is a waste of time /money. Many people think we should have bought someone else to (go alongside / or instead of) Ché Adams who, for all his sweat and effort isn't a big time striker. Buying Adam Armstrong - when we did - was a wasted exercise when he was stuck out of the wing all the time and Adams had no help at all.

Rotherham goalie was M.o.M. we should have been 3-0 by HT. as we were so dominant. Rotherham's early subbing (30 mins) changed the game and mean they went 5 at the back and we lost the initiative. Having scored the opening goal in 2 minutes Stuart Armstrong proceeded to waste 3 or 4 other good chances. Despite 80% possession and 22 shots to their 4 ....we still can't shoot straight. Making our 3 subs. change meant we lost our way, and they scored and got the point they hoped for with one good goal chance. Back to the training ground.

In most of the games I've watched over here, I got a pretty clear idea of the actual outcome just by watching the instant replays on Sky TV. VAR makes it all far TOO complicated.

This is a very sound piece of business on the club's part, because regardless of any potential fee, we don't need to sell him. Although Charly has lacked a bit of consistency so far this season, we all appreciate what he can do and a goal and few more good games - and perhaps even a 10 minute sub. appearance for Argentina - will sky rocket his value and the likes of Brentford won't get a look in. I'm sure we would all like to think that he loves us so much that he is happy to stay, but he has better quality than playing in the Championship and the lure of Prem. or even a top Euro salary may prove too difficult to resist in a year or so, if we are still wallowing around in this league. IF - he were to move on - then the level of fees we got for LIvramento and Lavia may point the way ahead and we could dictate the fee ourselves to those " big money " clubs who can seemingly spend money like water. This new deal is a win-win for Charly ..and the club.

everything evens itself out over a season but unless that one decision finally decides the Prem. title there really is nothing for Liverpool to complain about. Replaying games - regardless of how legitimate the claim may have been - would set a dangerous precedent and lengthen the season enormously.

.... and of course all those years that Man U. benefited from " Fergie-time ". ....and the fact that no club ever won a penalty at Old Trafford during a period of 8 years must tell a lot . If the " correct results " of all those games were to be replayed MU would be struggling in the drop zone.

Not a classic match. Scrappy and lacking in form BUT it was a clean sheet and three points away from home so surely we have little to complain about. We still managed majority possession.. 57% but the most telling stat. was probably the worst condemnation of Stoke's performance ... 4 yellow cards..might have been more and ..17 fouls to our 2 First time thus season we'd fielded an unchanged side and the back line looked stable and seldom troubled. ONLY 1-0 ....but we might have had a couple more but for poor finishing and a bit of luck for the Stoke defence. Two wins and now we must really exploit our game v. Rotherham. Needs a convincing result on Saturday and more goals.

This .....is only a temporary measure as Jack Stephens was appointed at the start of the season. Will certainly revert when he's back from injury. Adam has the armband based on his contributions to the team, in a league where he played and has excelled in the past. His previous much-criticised form was in part because Che Adams was always made first choice striker, and Adam A. had to be out on left wing when he played. He also moves around a lot and is best-suited to the deeper role, and has also made important defensive tackles on several occasions. Hard to see anyone else as a better short-term appointment.

Rather harsh criticism from one or two above. Fulham U18's put 5 goals past us in both fixtures last season, so it's not so surprising, and the 0-5 defeat at Palace in first game this season was a let-off.... as they beat us 7-1 at Staplewood in April. Both of these London sides have strong squads at this age group. The majority of our U18s are new / first year scholars and still finding their way at this level. One of two more were still under 16.y.o. last season and need time to adjust to any level of organised youth football. There will likely be a lot of yo-yo scorelines, but this is just the start of their careers.

Agreed, possession is not the ultimate key to success but I also think that Vardy was a lot younger and hungrier then...

A bit of analysis never hurt anyone , so that I thought the defence looked a lot tighter with Bazunu looking more confident, although even the Leeds goal could be said to be " a bit lucky," as the scorer had two goes at it before connecting in a crowded goalmouth. The first game of the season where we had minority possession 47/53%, but nevertheless we seemed to cope OK at the back. Those who said Adam Armstrong would score in this league are right, but one might argue that he often drew the short straw last season and was seldom first choice, whilst for all his effort and sweat Ché Adams ought to have scored more and when Adam A. did come on late as sub. he was often consigned out on the left wing. Now we see that he clearly thrives in a deeper, more central role with real success. Two very nice goals. We still haven't played the same starting side more than once, and maybe no coincidence that our losing streak began after Jack Stephens was injured. Despite one or two poor showings (not least at Sunderland) we have played 5 of our 9 fixtures against sides currently above us who have hit early season form but it may take time before our injured players are fully fit, and the start side can pick itself and we get some more firepower with Ross Stewart up front.

1- I agree most fans realise that this is a new squad who haven't got it together yet, however those calling for the manager's head are over-represented on this site. 2- We may seem to be a good side - based on those players who were good at U21 level - but this is men's football and we lack experience and firepower. 3- looking at it ... very few of our squad could really be considered Prem. League standard. KWP, Bednarek and Fraser certainly have experience, and although Ché Adams and Adam Armstrong had a couple of seasons they hardly rank as Prem. level strikers of any real note. Bazunu, Edozie both had disappointing seasons and Alcarez half of a poor season. Aribo and Manning are only Championship level on a good day, and the other new names ; Harwood-Bellis and Charles barely had any Prem. time to reckon and Downes is still to find his feet. They had no pre-season together , and need time we can't afford if we are to consider an instant return to the Prem. Hardly a well-balanced squad when we lose to the bottom team.

Agreed. Many past situations have shown that good chances are often missed . Despite the misunderstood criticism he took at times Rory Delap had devastating long throws that were seldom used properly by Saints but when he, Beattie and others moved to Stoke they wreaked havoc against opposition defences.