Lallana's Left Peg

And so it comes down to this. A game at home to get promoted. We'd dream of this at the start of the season and now we have the opportunity. The season has been sensational. We've had some downs as well, but more often than not it is down to missed opportunities and what could have been with the title. In fact our downs when put into perspective aren't downs at all. We are now presented with this challenge and we have 4 days to get ready for it. It certainly sounds like Coventry have some problems on and off the field but I do not concern myself with them. The players will know about this opportunity and I expect us to go for it. It'll be nervous at times but the crowd will stay with the team and I think we'll all be celebrating come 3pm Saturday. Then when the dust has settled, I think we'll be reflecting back at one of the best seasons the club has had given the circumstances.

It's fair to say that one formation we struggle with is 4-5-1 and teams pressing us high up the pitch. Middlesbrough did that today and it worked for them. We were not our usual composed self on the ball and we paid the price for not keeping possession. Lambert was not at the races either. I am still confident, but this is getting far too close for comfort.

I see as follows: Richardson has a great partnership with Guly, but when Guly isn't playing right midfield I think Butterfield suits our other options there (specifically De Ridder and Chaplow). Richardson gets forward a lot more and offers more of a threat in the final third, but Butterfield has been very useful in certain games firing in diagonal crosses to Lambert at the far post (a tactic we've see a lot in away games since Christmas). I genuinely think it is just a matter of who the opposition are, how direct we're going to play, and whether Guly plays right-midfield or not.

Our ability to move on from disappointing games is astonishing. We do not dwell at all. Did what we needed to do tonight and and some help elsewhere to leave us in an incredible position. We're not out of the title race, and whilst we are not at full throttle we're getting the job done. We've won 6 of the last 7 away games - to think we were worried about our away form and wondering whether it may cost us. Well Adkins certainly sorted that out. We must make the most of this opportunity now. And I believe we will.

Plenty of goals in this game for us. Posh conceded four against a Leeds side struggling to score today. If we remain positive in our play we'll win. I expect West Ham to win as well. Then we have an interesting match at Boro which is played 48hrs before West Ham visit Leicester. A real chance to place massive pressure on West Ham. Then I expect us to need something against Coventry to secure promotion, which we are capable of. However, not sure my heart can take much more!

Was absolutely gutted last night, but feel much more rational and positive now. It was a blow to lose, but the performance in general was very good and three more efforts like that and we'll be just fine. As for Reading, they defended well and took their chances. Whilst you can see we played better than them in terms of having the ball and creating, they what they had to do very well. Another day we shove 4 goals past them with no reply. Football goes like that. I trust Adkins to get the team focussed for Posh, and there are goals in that game for us.

Fantastic win today. Have said it before but love the way our away tactics have evolved since the first half of the season. Less flashy, more pragmatic, and very controlled. Make it hard for the home team to win, and impose our quality when we have our opportunities. Also really encouraged by the way the team manages to get bad results or disappointing moments out of the system. Today reminded me a bit of the away win at Leyton Orient last season, in terms of support away from home and the importance of the result. Chance to put pressure on West Ham and Reading was taken. Over to them.

For those of you who are very worried and can't manage your anxiety, the bookies still very much think we're going up. 1/10 on in fact. Schneiderlin will be a big loss but we have some players to come in at Palace who have been rested.

I think today is the big day for him. Training on Tuesday, day off yesterday, all about how he reacts and how fit he feels heading into training today.

Pretty much how I feel about it. We live in the moment and we're not used to losing. So to lose 3-0 feels like the world is ending. We're all so anxious as it is so near now. 4 weeks, 6 games. Plenty winnable in there. Bad day at the office, we bounce back well. Got to stay positive and get 3pts on Sat.

Just back from the game. A bad day at the office today which culminated in a missed opportunity. Lambert not risked with 6 games in 4 weeks coming up so there was some anxiety in the stand. Bit of a frantic start with both teams setting up to exploit the weaknesses of the other team (rather than trying to stop the other team) which makes for a good game for the neutral. Both teams had chances to take the lead and Blackpool took theirs through the spot. Didn't see whether it was a penalty or not was there was a great big f**king pillar in my way We looked very anxious today, and made some mistakes and the apprehension propagated throughout the team at times. Credit to Blackpool, they suffocated the space very well and worked their socks off. We still created plenty, but I think all their goals came from mistakes. The first from not clearing our lines, the second I think Davis should have come out for, the third not marking at a corner. Blackpool made the most of it and saw the game out well. A shame Lambert wasn't about as he would have eaten those centre halves alive Really disappointed with Sharp today, nothing to do with the penalty, but his general concentration and touch was ****e. Fair play to Reading, I didn't see that result coming and had we won we could have turned this into a 3 game season for promotion. As it goes, it's a 4 game season where we just need to match what West Ham do. If we can pip Reading to the title then all the better, but that is a magnificant run they are on the game at St Marys on the 13th (Friday 13th ) promises to be fantastic. As does the derby next week. A disappointing performance, but bigger picture still looks positive.

Is it rotation or players needing a rest / carrying injuries?

Bit late replying to this due to my three posts a day limit. In terms of this project as an idea and vision it is outstanding. I don't see any negatives to it whatsoever other than the cost of it, which is what I was worried about. If it really is £15m then I just don't think it is wise for a club with our revenues at this point in time to commit to it. Now if the owners want to plough lots of money in and turn it into shares then fine, but from a business perspective it's effectively committing 75% of yearly income to a project which is crazy. But if the owners underwrite everything then it doesn't matter. Given the news we had this morning I'm far more comfortable with it than I was yesterday.

If true, it's an incredible / ridiculous amount of money to invest for a club with our income etc. If Les Reed wants to talk about boom or bust then this is an example of it if £15m is the figure. Something like 100% of income on the facilities? Crazy. Although I would find it hard to believe it will cost £15m, more like £5m.

If that is true

Jeans with a suit jacket is unacceptable.

Interesting article on it here: http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/new_addition_at_southampton_highlights_premier_league_ambitions/?utm_source=Feeds&utm_campaign=Latest+News&utm_medium=rss Specifically:

I would expect a 10m+ loss, but the accounts to include notes about the expected increase in revenue for 2011/12 season and also the AOC sale.

Puncheon got through an incredible amount of work. I know we may consider it as standard and whilst he made a few mistakes on the ball he worked his socks off and was very much part of the defensive unit that Hull found hard to barge their way through. He put in a shift and ensured (like all our other players) that if it was not to be his day quality wise he was not going to let the team down when we did not have the ball.

Our improved away form has been a consequence of taking a different approach to our tactics. We still want to have more possession than our opponents, but if the pitch doesn't suit or the opposition press us, we're happy to be more direct and ensure we defend properly as a unit. It's been great to see and shows how we are learning all the time.

Tonight wasn't vintage by any means but there was much to admire about aspects of the game I'd questioned about us earlier in the season. The pitch did neither team any favours, which made this a game about percentages and not making mistakes. Hull were bright, they had an extra man in midfield and very deliberately looked to exploit how narrow we play at times. But they have no cutting edge. We changed shape at least FOUR times in the first half (4-4-2, to 4-1-2-1-2, to 4-4-1, to 4-4-2) and that tells you how well Hull were set-up. They had a few moments but so did we. Second half started a bit like the game so Adkins changed it quickly. I thought Puncheon was ok playing off Lambert, but was not his day unfortunately. The introduction of De Ridder and Hammond did help - Hammond in particular shored up the midfield and that leads me onto my next point. After we scored the second we were fantastically professional. Not great football or anything like that, but a bank of 9 men who were determined to suffocate any space in dangerous areas and asked questions of Hull's quality that they couldn't answer. It wasn't pretty but it was amazing to see. And I never felt like Hull would find a way back. We saw the game out well and the players were ecstatic. There was a large screen behind our fans and when the results from the other games came up while Adkins and Crosby were on the pitch you could see the delight in their faces. 3 more points to where we need to be, and where we need to be just got a little closer thanks to Posh and Boro. Fantastic performance for many aspects beyond passing the ball and what is what is really pleasing. There is a belief there and the players are learning to win in different ways. The evolution of our away form is very interesting and of great credit to the management team and the squad.

I can't see Hammond being dropped. Adkins was glowing about his recent performances (particularly the ground he covered on the pitch and his pass completion rate).

Lee was great at stretching the field and making space for others, but this is what we have a big squad for. Opportunity knocks for Sharp now, or even Guly up front and Chaplow, De Ridder, or Puncheon coming into the team / squad. Lee was doing brilliantly but now Sharp can offer us something else and I am sure we'll do well.

The Poyet award was voted for by fans online I believe. Not something to get all upset about. Doesn't take much by fans of a club to heavily influence it with a bit of organisation. Didn't we do the same with Lambert in our first season in League 1?

Getting an award out of pity :lol: :lol: