david in sweden

" this part I agree with TOTALLY, and have written so before. as for your headline ....Is football now sterile,one-sided and boring.........well not after watching yesterdays game - it isn't .

yes ...maybe, but it looked pretty impressive when you saw a replay from camera behind the goal ....and considering who had taken the freekick in the first place .....

.....or even TWO other threads?

OK OK he's got a reprieve this time, so let's not sack him ...until next weekend

with Liverpool in the position they are..... I think a lot of teams will come back from Anfield empty-handed this season. Of course, we want the bookies take a shower but to torpedo the manager's future on the basis of the result of todays game..would be totally ridiculous....as is the suggestion that he'll go if we lose.

knowing Billy's luck, he'll probably score one with his backside in his debut game.......

everybody knows he's crazy, but the day after it happens ..you may be too....

Ah yes......except it was under the West Stand for me, but close my eyes ....and I can recall it all.

don't tell me - an extra aid for the linesman - right ?

sorry duplication.

YES , me too. It's not just about having two men in the centre, they seem to have separate roles in the way that Michael Svensson and Claus Lunderkvam did. ("Killer " was always out in front doing the tough tackling and Claus always seemed to be there " mop up" so well at the back). Lovren isn't afraid to get in and mix it a bit, whereas - given time on the ball - Fonte shows real skill and vision.

funny I was thinking of starting this thread with one thought....but only for the over 50's amongst us just once or twice on Sunday, I looked... and thought - in profile - he reminded me a little of ....(the late lamented)... John McGrath. Have to say now that his game is more cultured than " Jake's" ever was, but he knows how to head a ball and he didn't miss much - did he ?

fairly clearly, we don't play the same formation as Celtic and it will take a while for him to adapt to us, .......but if he can dominate and impose himself on the midfield - without picking up too many yellow cards - then he'll be worth the money.

well said that man. Anyone criticising Jay Rod so quickly should look back on the first two/three seasons of a player we signed around 15 years ago...by the name of James Beattie.

Jay Rod is very much a "confidence "player. I think he needs encouragement, but it's obvious that he wasn't going to walk into Lambert's boots when he came, and was played out of position....and then dropped (by NA). When the new broom arrived (MP) I think we saw a new side to Jay Rod's game and whatever anyone says a few of those goals were really well-taken and not just "tap-ins ". With the arrival of Osvaldo...he now must see himself even further down the list than before. I hope that MP is smart enough to keep encouraging him, and we may see a good player emerging...but at present he's no better or worse than anyone else in the side ...who hasn't scored a goal yet.

No of course not.......I'd like us to have had 12 points right now, but that wasn't likely either - was it ? this is typical tough, mid-table football with teams having one eye on the teams at the bottom and wanting to scrape at least one point out of every game. I think we can play good football against good teams, and hopefully will do. It's all about getting the ball in the net - isn't it, and just now it 'aint working but that doesn't mean it's a poor squad, or bad tactics. We're never going to be 100% better than the opposition, they are allowed to play well , too. But for that screamer of a goal from the Norwich lad, or Jaskaalinen's " one-man show" yesterday, we might have been in the top three by now. We may not be winning at present, but at least we're picking up points.

mind you MLT reckoned that a £15 million player shouldn't have shot straight at the keeper in that situation, but then again... what does he know ?

OK did you prefer the previous Adkins style ..or ? I said I was impressed with MPs attacking style ...although sadly not a lot of success in the final third. yes only 5 goals in 9 games, yet we've conceded only 6 in those 9 games (and 3 of those in one match), and 5 of the 9 quoted were away games. How does that compare with last years start? Of course they will improve, but it's early days. Bringing in new players is like starting a new job, it takes time to acclimatise, and looking good on the practice ground isn't the same as do-or-die games on match days, and the opposition don't always play the way you want them to - just so that we can score goals. I think that (you or I) would be hard put to it to name three (past) players who came into a side (of their era) and made an immediate impact.

We ought to remember that Adam is now is his SIXTH season as a first team regular, and will (I think) play his 200th game next weekend. Few people would deny that (on his day) he can be top class - but being amongst the shortest (5' 8") and probably lightest in the team, it's easy for opposing players to " take him out of the game " as we saw on Sunday on at least one occasion. He's had his share of (past) injuries and looking forward to a long season, there's little point in having him play 90mins.every game just for the sake of it. Statistically speaking, (aside from injuries) midfielders work harder, and are subbed more often than any other players. In our case, we also have £12 million sitting on the bench (Ramirez) who must also get some playing time, but MP is unlikely to play both of them from the start as they are too similar in style. It's a Catch 22 situation, because if " the plan " isn't working, then it's good to sub. him and put on some fresh legs ..and if we are winning (not so often) then we can safely put someone else on anyway. I think it's a sensible tactic, just as much as changing out a " non-scoring " striker, although we don't have many alternatives at present - and in this league one goal every three games is a GOOD ratio.

I think we also beat Man.City somewhere around then - didn't we Turkish ? A lot of teams blow hot and cold but I was generally quite impressed with the attacking style - even if we didn't always get the points we deserved. We all want the team to succeed, but putting a new team together does take time. Lovren looked the best of the bunch from Day 1, Wanyama looks good but is still seems to be trying to find " a role " and Osvaldo (and 30,000 Saints fans)..... will breathe a sigh of relief when he scores his first goal and whilst the rest of the squad " know each other "...even bringing in JWP and Chambers is new experience. Nice to even hear talk about " possible Euro football" (in a year or two) - and even Europa League would be a major achievement, but its very early to be showing a lot of concern . Liverpool are unbeaten because one player (Sturridge) scored one goal in three successive games, but what sort of a team are they if he doens't score every week ? Maybe we'll get some answers to both questions next weekend....As for only 5 wins in 20.?...well.......only one defeat in 4 ...also sounds like a good statistic - for any team outside the top four.

....which puts him in a VERY select group of players who've scored goals for Saints in three different divisions..... the others were ...???

wouldn't want to denegrate MLT's contribution in any way, but the stats.will show that Mick Channon made more apps. and scored more goals PLUS 40+ caps for England. I'm lucky enough to have seen both play........

Aha ..." young English players playing 50 games a season." ...does he mean.... like they do at Chelsea ?

I think he's playing it safe. When Woy eventually goes, GN will want to apply for the job and end up coming to MP ......team sheet in hand ......for his team selection(s).

'cos if they do .....the amounts get so large that some people can't reckon into 5 figures....