david in sweden

Clasie so far ?.........slowly...getting better and better....

(re: coaching ).......if you consider Rickie Lambert's progress after he arrived (at a similar age), then maybe the best is yet to come from Shane .

I'm not argueing that..I showed some stats. in January (that many people chose to ignore) that his goals to game-time ratio was the best of any Saints player. That comment was (ironically) true. If he'd put away a few more of those "near misses" we would be even higher in the League, but no blame should be attached to him for that - especially when you consider Pelle and Mane's recent / and not so recent performances.

well ....the bit about Osvaldo is surely true. Cortese thought that buying Ramirez was the right decision, and nearly doubled the transfer record trying to prove it. (more money to his Italian friends) Gaston never adapted to the English Prem. game, had an embarrassing amount of time out with various injuries, and - when he was fit - he could never get in the side. He had some skill and very occasionally we saw some of it, but despite his "supporterrs" on this site, it surely speaks volumes when you consider that he was consistantly being ignored for selection successively .....by three Saints managers.. Whatever it was that was wrong, he just didn't fit the bill ...and SFC ended up paying dearly for it. £50 million wasted?.....I'm sure most of us would agree - it might have been spent more wisely.

What a player... What a manager. New tactic: Every pre-match talk should include a viewing of that video.

Ironic - but very true. A few more " crazy Clattenburg decisions" might decide the title places, regardless of what the teams may achieve on the pitch.

As Saints older fans will recall....the last 10 games can be make or break when it comes to title fights. My late father (Saints fan in the post-WW2 day), never stopped lamenting the massive fallout that Saints suffered in 1948-49 (an 8 point lead at Easter and then SLUMP! ....and the following (1949-50 season), when Saints were undefeated in their last 9 games, and being one of three teams on the same points - lost out on goal average. Everyone has been waiting for Leicester to implode, but I wonder if they will survive the Easter period intact?. The psychological effect of Welbecks 94th-and-a bit minutes winner against Arsenal must have been a bitter pill, and rather unjust to them. The real question is about the continuation of Saints' good form, and that may be answered when matches start again after the weekend break. We have something to prove, and with Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City at Home......and Leicester, Everton and Tottenham - Away, it will be a good test of our durability. The big question may not be - will Man.City qualify, but (if it everything suddenly goes pear-shaped)....will Leicester? If Saints can continue their present form, we may be able to take up the spare place - in our own right.

.......if he could finish properly, we'd be a top 4 side

the refereeing "establishment " will protect him (again) with all manner of excuses.... ..we all make mistakes once in a while.. ...he wasn't in a clear position to see.... ...he's a top class ref. and it'd be wrong to punish him because of one mistake.....blah, blah, blah:rolleyes: never mind it was a key top of the table match......s**t happens.....it all equals out over a season....yeah, yeah ...but not when it's a six pointer - it doesn't. bring on the camera replays....it doesn't take that long to review a decision ..... If Man City fail to win the title by a couple of points , they'll know who to blame .....

Agree with this. I think the last month or so has really illustrated his ability from crosses / dead ball situations, but he's not a natural goalscorer (as those you mentioned above). Of course he does lack that bit of extra pace, and many of the chances I've seen him miss have been a "snap shot " where the ball has come to him, and he hasn't had time to tee-up the ball, or even less run with it, and has shot narrowly wide many times. He rarely hits Row Z....which can't always be said of some strikers.

I thought the same. I think the change of formation (3-5-2) has benefited him ...and a number of others - without the need to buy in more talent.

AGREED. His input was tremendous. Ten years managing our Youth set-up (pre-Academy) producing some of the best young players we've ever had) Shearer, MLT, the Wallaces) We learned to live with Lawrie Mac's dialect, so maybe Dave M's pronunciation is something to do with his Geordie upbringing?. I'm a bit disgusted at some of the "so-called experts" who turn up on Sky Sport ....who can't pronounce simple words / names....("fink abowt dat - won yew?") ....and there are even a small number of fans on this site.... who still can't distinguish the difference between DAVIS and DAVIES. HOWEVER, as this thread is about Fraser Forster and not people who can't pronounce / spell his name ...... His record since returning has been incredible, but with hindsight, he probably had more to do in the Arsenal game than in the other 5 games put together .... .....thanks also to some good defending in front of him.

it'd take some sort of a miracle for us to make the top four, but our present form is up with the league leaders...but for a real surprise....look at Liverpool's form...

that one might not be an issue, Terry went off injured (how serious?)..in the Newcastle game.....but the very fact that Koeman does have a plan B .(3..5..2) and we have the personnel to fit both plans without buying in lots of new players. Too many managers have a one track mind when it comes to their fixed playing style. As for those you mentioned. Charlie Austin will (hopefully) be seen more in home games where we have more attacking options, and he has more chances. Mane has the undoubted skill, but for ...any striker ....to go so long without scoring has an effect on their confidence (for Pelle also). I think Tadic has taken the "super-sub " role that Shane Long had, but I'm asking myself if he isn't carrying an injury?...he's not a patch on his form last season.

It is a difficult call that one. If the ref. thought Romeu deserved a yellow yesterday?, he should have been consistant to have given it to Swansea players..also. If Romeu had picked up a second ......or been injured ....we d have a real problem with Victor being out for another month, and Gardos not fit yet. Reed isn't the ideal replacement. Reed definitely deserves more / a better class of football, as he s above the general U21 standard.maybe the situation will resolve itself before the loan deadline comes.

it will be nice to say the same thing about Charlie Austin when he gets into the full side..

Even though he deserves to have scored more goals, he must be an absolute menace for opposition defenders...like a wasp you can t get rid of .... considering some of the other so called strikers we ve had, the transfer fee was worth it ...just for his nuisance value.

I ll be very disappointed if they do finish higher than us ......a win next home game would help our cause.

Can\t be 100% Norm..... but Ted (God bless him) did well to keep us up as long as he did in the first seasons after 1966. BUT in those days it was only 2 points for a win and the top division played 42 games and that yielded just 71 points after 84 games. If you convert that over to 3 points for a win, he had 100 points after 86 games. As we recall Lawrie Mac was in the job only half a season before we were relegated.......so he s out of the running . Chris Nicholl had 2 complete seasons of 42 games a season .....so in 84 games he accumulated 98 points. Gordon Strachan came after 8 games in his first season ...so only 37 points were his. Second complete season we got 52 pts......so his total was 89 points after 66 games. Ronald Koeman had managed to pass the 100 point mark ....after just 63 games .........ANOTHER CLUB RECORD ! .....

statistically ...40 points would mean we re safe from relegation.... not the best match of the season by a long way, but another 3 points and our first double of the season. Shane Long out of sight compared to his early season games.... Back line as solid as ever....JWP improving, as is Matt Targett, who wouldnt expect to get a game ahead of a fit Bertrand if it wasn\t for the 3/5/2 formation.

....although that may be by necessity rather than just talent, also coupled with the best half dozen being out on loan. Both the U18 and U21 sides have had lots of injuries this season, and around a dozen U18s have been on the U21s bench, or had gametime so far.

Oooops!..Wish it was a deliberate error. Memory plays tricks, but of course it was Peter Shilton and Mark Wright from that era.. who later went to Derby...when Cox managed them after he left Newcastle.

I recall that very well. At that time, I worked in a company in Nursling, and my colleague Ray Walker (a keen Saints fan, too) came back from a late lunch and said "Hey Dave...Saints have signed Keven Keegan" It took a few moments for the meaning to sink in, meanwhile other people around were jeering him and shouting joke. It certainly wasn't and everyone couldn't wait for the next season to begin......

Quite some years ago, I saw an interview with KK where he was asked about his "sudden " departure from Saints. "from memory" .. KKs explanation was along the lines of : "We " (the squad) went on a summer tour to Ireland ?....and had some very poor results against semi-pro sides and were really quite poor. Lawrie had taken a short holiday away, (somewhere).. and met up with them all (at airport) ....when they got back.... Keegan was rather concerned and gave Lawrie the bad news, (saying) " ..you've got some problems here..." Lawrie reacted quickly (at the complaint) and responded ......" you're becoming a bit of a problem ..." equally quick-temperd KK replied...." that alright .... I'll be gone by Thursday " and of course he did. Arthur Cox who managed a good Derby County side at the time signed him and he continued his success there. One of those quick-tempered moments that happens in life and certainly must happen in many dressing rooms situations (ala Ferguson), but there it was. As someone else pointed out, we had our best successes - after KK left, but it would have been nice if he'd stayed...a bit longer..