Born In The 80s

Lumb will be back when the Twenty20 cup is over. Hopefully this time next week he'll be back with us. I doubt KP will play for us at all this season, but we could certainly do with his runs. As for Dimi, i bumped into him last week and apparently he's still a way off being fit. Don't expect to see him back before June.

I think you're spot on mate. Batting wise, i am just hoping our experienced players like Pothas, McKenzie etc, out their fingers out soon and start grinding out some runs. To be honest, i'm confident we can turn the batting situation around. Although, the bowling really does concern me. Looking at our attack, it is so samey. We have **** all variation, just average, wicket to wicket medium pace. With a swinging ball at the start of the innings, that is fine, but as Window Cleaner says, when it comes to finishing sides off you need a bit of guile or extra pace, and we have neither. Either we pray Simon Jones gets fit for the second half of the season, or we hope that Mendis comes in and sets the world alight. Herath doesn't look like he's gunna do it to me - i find it an extremely underwelming signing.

Nantie Hayward? South African seamer, bowled right arm dog****. Apparently he's currently playing for an English club side this summer.

Decent start, but get ready for that Nottinghamshire recovery...

Don't be a div Window Cleaner. It the penultimate game of the season and we have nothing to play for. I'm glad Pardew has made a few changes. Frankly, we know what Lambo, Harding etc, can do, they've had a hell of a long season, so it's a great chance to try a few new things, give some youngsters a chance and give some fringe players a real chance to show that they deserve a place in the squad next season. Football is a squad game. If we lose today i couldn't give a ****, it's all about next season.

Yet more hopeless batting this morning has left us 157-9 with a lead of just 58. However, it has just started raining, and forecast seems to suggest it is going to continue throughout the day. Have we got away with it?!

Fancy Inter Milan too. Should be an interesting game, but i expect Jose to frustrate Barca in the same way he frustrated Chelsea at the Bridge earlier in the season.

Well, the 100+ lead has gone! We now lead by 84, with Woakes and Carter now going well. 199-8 Very poor considering were we had them. Let them off the hook big time.

How good does their team look?! Virtually an England middle order, with a very solid bowling attack. Surprised they've lost their first two games with a line up like that. Tahir will tear us up in the second innings. It's 53 for 2 now. Benham gone.

Taking Jones out the equation, it is still a much weakened attack for me. Corky would be in my Championship every game. Not just for his bowling, but he also chips in with very useful runs down the order. He's also clearly a leader in the dressing room. Dimi is also a huge loss to our bowling attack as well. He would have been ideal today in the Durham run chase. Looking at the seamers who have been playing so far, Griffiths, Kabir, Tomlinson and especially Ervine all stray it around. The line up really lacks a 'control' guy, and once Dimi is fit again he should slot right in. As well as those two then, you add in one of the overseas spinners, and then that's pretty much half the attack. As far as the batting goes, with Lumb back in for Benham, and then Dimi in for someone else, the line up looks very solid and much more balanced than it has done in the last 2 games. Carbs, Adams, Lumb, McKenzie, Pothas, Ervine, Dimi, Cork, Kabir, Tomlinson, Briggs. That looks a very very good championship side, and i haven't even included one of the overseas spinners. I'm hopeful that we can still have a successful season, although it may take a month or so to get our full line up available. Until then, continue to play the likes of Vince, Briggs and Griffiths. Frankly, i've been really impressed with all three of them so far.

Yeah, there's enough overs left for Durham to win this comfortably. Very disappointing result, but it is hardly surprising with what is basically a second string bowling attack.

All out for 345. Just missed the bonus point then. Good to see Danny Briggs get some runs - he made a quickfire 28. I used to do some coaching work with Hampshire a few years back and worked with Danny's age group when he was 13 and 14. Obviously he's a great bowler and has been recognised for that, but i reckon in a few years, providing he continues to work on his batting, he could turn into a genuinely all-rounder and bat at 6 or 7. Not too sure how clued up on the youth system you guys are, but there are a few young lads with real ability coming through the ranks at the minute, so the future certainly looks bright for us.

Totally agree Alpine. I didn't think the Lloyd James question was a stupid question at all. In fact, it's probably a question a lot of people on here would have been asking after the game anyway. I like Pardew. He's a nice guy and a good manager. But i think his reaction tonight (to go with other "off-colour" interviews over the past couple of months) suggests that he is feeling the pressure a bit from Cortese.

Highly unlikely we'll be there, in all honesty.

Correct. When it comes to Saints, i've learnt that being negative is the way forward. Anticipate the worst, and the chances are you'll be right and won't be too disappointed. Get your hopes up and you are setting yourself up for an almighty fall. P.S. Sorry to **** on the parade.

Hahaha! You're completely deluded mate. What do you think about your recent away following (if that's what you can call it) at Wigan?

100% agree with this post, which is why i haven't been getting too excited by the recent good results against Norwich, Leeds, Huddersfield etc. Unfortunately, those results have clouded over the major issue, mental strength and bottle. We have an extremely talented squad for division 3. We have an embarrassment of riches in all honesty and the side has proved that against some of the bigger boys in the division. However, when the lads need to dig in away at Exeter, Wycombe, Tranmere on a **** pitch and grind out a 1-0 win they are constantly found wanting. How many times have we won a scrappy 1-0 on the road? How many times have we shown character to come from behind and win? I can think of a one or two, but they are few and far between if we want to be winning this league next season as some expect. To win any league, you need to be able to win 1-0 away in a scrappy game, just ask Leicester fans about last season who did it away game after away game. It was the same case on Tuesday against Swindon. We had created a few chances in the first half and were unlucky not to be winning. But instead of kicking on to find that winner in the 2nd half, we inexcusably folded like a deck of cards when the going started to get just a little bit tough. Our reaction to their goal was embarrassing. No fight or passion whatsoever. I like Pardew, he has got us playing some great football, and when it comes off it is truely brilliant to watch. But unfortunately, i can't see us winning any league title under him, or even get automatically promoted. We are soft as ****e and massively lack bottle when it counts and that comes down to the manager in my opinion.

I have only just recovered from the 4-3 FA Cup tie under Hoddle so it would be lovely to give them a good thumping. Although i can't see it 3 times in row. I'd take a scrappy 1-0 win. If we can get our noses in front early then we should be difficult to come back at. I don't know why but my head is telling me we'll struggle in this one for some reason. Hate to say it, but if i was predicting anything it would be another 0-0 draw. Fingers crossed i'm wrong!

Sorry, but those of you who think we won't lose any of our top players in the summer need to wake up and realise that we are a division 3 club. Regardless of our very strong financial position, there are 44 other clubs who can offer a higher standard of football. We have one or two players who aren't getting any younger (namely Lambert) and if a lower premiership club, or even a high championship club come in for any of them then i would say they would definately want to go. For someone like Rickie who hasn't experienced the big time before, it would be difficult to turn down an offer from a Newcastle, Wolves or even a Nottingham Forest at this stage in his career. In my honest opinion, there will be a lot of clubs in for him in the summer. I hope he stays but i fear he is definately one that may leave us. I also think we'll lose Adam and we'll lose Morgan. Both probably to the same kind of clubs - lower premiership/top end of the championship. Some may argue that they'd be better off staying here and having the team built around them again next year but they're clearly both very ambitious lads. If you were them would you want to be visiting the likes of Stockport, Wycombe and Exeter on cold Tuesday nights for another year?

Just got in from the game. Absolutely exhausted after a long day at work then the drive up and back, but just thought i'd see what the general feeling was around today's performance. First off, today was very worrying. The result was bad enough, but to play it out the way we did was very disappointing. We offered hardly anything going forward against a side who have conceded an awful lot of goals this season. Hoofball was played throughout with our full backs pinging the ball up aimlessly to Rickie, who in truth, had no chance with very little Saints players making runs beyond him. I've heard the pitch mentioned as an excuse. Utter bull****. Good players should be able to adapt to poor pitches. If Pardew thinks it's such a problem, he should either make them train down at the Sporty before an away game, or dedicate one of the pitches down at Staplewood for "away game training" where they just skim all the grass off it and make it as poor as possible. Maybe then we will learn to get the ball down and play. The sad thing is, as Harding and Otsemebor are aimlessly hoofing away, they are bypass the two most creative players in this league in Lallana and Puncheon. Everything that was good tonight came when we got it to Puncheon's feet - he looks a very good player by the way, as does Fonte at the back. But overall after tonight, i have absolutely no confidence that this side can go away on the road and grind out 1-0 wins on ****ty, cut up pitches (something Leicester did all of last year in this league). And for that reason, i am very concerned about next season... Automatic promotion in the season 2010/11 looks a long way off to me.

Snored my way through another game played between the "top 4". I really don't enjoy watching these big clubs anymore. The football is boring and the players on show are overpaid nancy boys who i have zero time for. Football is a physical game and shouldn't be stopped every 30 seconds because someone has brushed Didier Drogba's ankle. Another thing i noticed today was Theo Walcott's performance. Looked woefully out of place yet again. I almost felt embarrassed for him. Bar 1 decent performance against Croatia and a good run against Liverpool what has he actually done since he's been there? Sure he's getting paid mega bucks for being there, but you've got to question whether he made the right career choice leaving us so early. He looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

I respect your opinion (and it appears to be the opinion shared by the vast majority of saints fans), but for me that statement there totally lacks ambition, as do most of our fans i'm afraid. Take of the minus 10 and we still wouldn't be in the play offs. No pre-season? Although that wll have had some sort of effect (for the first 3weeks of the season) it certainly doesn't account for us being so hopeless off the pace at the minute. How long are we going to play the "team is still gelling" card? Genuine question. It's very nice being linked with all these new players, but the fact is, our current squad is easily in the top 2 of this league. We should not be struggling like we have in the last month. We have spent a lot of money and play offs should have been a realistic target. It makes me laugh hearing people being absolutely fine with a JPT win and mid table solidarity in the 3rd tier of english football. Shows a TOTAL lack of ambition for a club who appear now to be the heavyweight (at least financially) of the division.

We were discussing this earlier on in the pub. It's so refreshing to see a player, who was harshly taken off 15 minutes after being subbed on a few games ago, come back into the side and play in such a positive manner. I thought that may have been the last time we saw Fish. After playing so well in pre-season and turning down an offer from a team in a higher division, it would have beeen very easy for the guy to spit the dummy and ask for a move this month (there would be PLENTY of clubs interested). But he didn't, and has truely grabbed his chance with both hands. How many players in last years squad would have done the same? Skacel? BWP? Saganowski? Would they ****! I hope he manages to keep his place in the first XI. If you're reading this Fish, you have won yourself a lot of admirers over the past month. I truely hope you are a member of our squad for many years to come.

Are you taking the ****? That was the most cringworthy pitch invasion i've ever seen from Southampton supporters in all the time i've been following the club and going regularly (20 odd years). In no way was it special. It was just a completely over the top reaction to a jammy win at the end of what was a hopeless season. Regarding last nights pitch invasion, i thought it was laughable (and very embarrassing). It seems clear that it is the same bunch of kids that try and run on all the time. After the first time they did it at Northampton i thought it was cute and just a couple of little kids "living their dreams". But the same ****gy-haired kid has run on several times now and something needs to be said to him. Just a quiet word in the ear by a steward at the next home game letting him know that if he runs on again he will be banned for year or so should do the trick. Scare him into not doing it. Or better still, try and get hold of his parents. Either way, as cute and funny as it appears, we already know what a tosser that Lord Mawhinney is and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest to see him dishing out warnings and fines for this kind of 'crowd trouble'. Therefore, it's our responsibility to not give him the chance to fine us and something does need to be done about it. As for the adults down the front fighting with the stewards, oh dear...

Typical french "half way there" reaction. Either shrug it off, do nothing and walk away or ****ing lamp him one and take the red. Morgan took the risk (as most footballers do) and went somewhere in between the two and paid the price...