Lallana's Left Peg

A challenging day on and off the pitch today. Got down to Birmingham early to get ahead of the weather and glad I did. Then as the hours passed in the pub the snow slowly started to settle to the point when we made our way to the ground it was clear it would be an 'interesting' game. First 10 mins I think Birmingham adapted well to the conditions and their long ball game mixed with trying to get Burke involved on the right was threatening. Then we got a hold of the game by going to a diamond and played by far the better football, but it was not threatening as both teams battled the conditions. Much the same second half really - I think Birmingham had the better chances in the game but we had better control of the ball and Hughton knew it too, taking off a striker with 25mins to go and replacing him with a midfielder. Puncheon, Schneiderlin, and Martin were outstanding. I'd have taken a point beforehand, even moreso when the scores from Cardiff and Middlesbrough came through. We are definitely playing well. Left Birmingham at 8 and got back to Manchester at 11. 3hrs on the M6 .

BBC seem to think it is a Tuesday: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/fixtures/default.stm A Tuesday would be best for us as well as it gives us longer to prepare for the league game the following weekend.

Just watched the 6min interview on SaintsPlayer and it seems pretty clear to me that they thought they had a few deals sorted that fell through at the last second. Then Adkins was asked about Danny Collins and he didn't want to give an answer so that one seems sure to be happening as far as I am concerned. We've got 20+ games to play in 3 months which is an incredible amount. Looks like we're trying to give ourselves the best chance to overcome injury, suspension, and loss of form with strength in depth. Squads - including those of teams at the top with us - are going to be considerably tested over the rest of the season and I'm not too worried about the Millwall replay as hopefully it becomes a platform for players to get match fitness etc. and we'll have the squad that makes the game a very useful exercise.

Same here - that would leave the squad looking very strong and allow us to play those who are in form and not have a few worries impact us so much. The wage bill would take a hammering though!

Jaidi is definitely travelling with the squad. Steve de Ridder just tweeted this:

Isn't the meal tonight something to do with the Kenya trip for Saints Foundation rather than one of the 'invite season ticket holders' efforts? Am sure I read about it somewhere.

Adkins is far from invincible from criticism. I dare say he makes some mistakes every game. But the elements of his management / team selection that can be criticised are by far dwarfed by the positive impact he has had. I think it is fair to say he has to work with a very demanding Chairman and some large expectations. But he has got the club together and the team playing some fantastic football. That shouldn't stop people questioning what he does though - he is not perfect. Just because he does a great job doesn't mean some of his decisions can't be questioned and those that do shouldn't be told to shut-up just because Adkins is doing a great job. However, I do feel like he has done such a good job that he has more than earned our trust with his judgement. And very few Managers get that treatment from fans.

In the summer: 21 May 2010 7 MF Andrew Crofts Brighton & Hove Albion £300,000[4][5] 4 June 2010 15 MF David Fox Colchester United Undisclosed[6] 22 June 2010 11 MF Andrew Surman Wolverhampton Undisclosed[7] 1 July 2010 22 DF Elliott Ward Coventry City Free[8] 26 DF Steven Smith Rangers Free[9] 5 July 2010 1 GK John Ruddy Everton Undisclosed[10] 15 July 2010 10 FW Simeon Jackson Gillingham Undisclosed[11 In the January they made 3 signings: 1 January 2011 20 DF Leon Barnett West Bromwich Albion Undisclosed[12] 1 January 2011 21 FW Aaron Wilbraham Milton Keynes Dons Undisclosed[13] 13 January 2011 32 DF Marc Tierney Colchester United Undisclosed[14]

Dodd & williams out!

He should know better though. Lambert is not just vital for our link-up play, he is also our 'out' ball from defence to keep the other team honest and not suffocate play too much in the middle of the park. If they know Lambert can win balls in the air, they won't be so keen to push high up the pitch. When we aren't passing it well or the defence is pressured and can't pick a pass, it is route one to Lambert. Doesn't always work, but it means we can get runners off him (Lallana, Chaplow, Guly, etc.) and mix it up properly. We can't replace that with our current personnel. Can see a strong team playing against Millwall, with Lambert included. Need to get back into a rhythm ahead of the Cardiff game.

If we collapse like that I'll be disappointed and unhappy. But everything is relative. You don't have to be brilliant for 9 months a season to get out of this league. You just have to be better than 22 others teams for automatic promotion - and you can be that with indifferent form. Yes it is concerning, but it isn't something that impacts how well the season is going - I'll judge that come May. As Adkins just pointed out in his interview, tonight wasn't very good but it doesn't mean the end of the world. At the start of the season tell me that at the end of January we'd be second after a 6 week wobble I'd have snapped your hand off. But because we're in the moment if feels bigger than it really is. If you don't trust Adkins to address it then feel free to be negative - and you shouldn't be shouted down if you do. But I trust Adkins, the players, and the club to get it sorted and we see how we go for the next 3 months.

A few things: 1. Half a team missing, including our most influential players. Any team in the league would struggle in that scenario. We need to make sure we nurse players back to full fitness and not push them too soon. 2. That said, the players out there should have performed better. Although Leicester never gave us a chance to get going the energy levels were not good enough, players were dwelling and panicking on the ball, and looked a bit scared to me. The crowd compounded matters - the booing was pathetic and the players needed backing. The crowd passed their apprehension onto the players and it did not help. 3. With some players given a chance tonight and not making an impression, there may be a reaction in the transfer market. I always knew we'd have a sticky spell and it would be hard to bounce out of it. We've got to be positive during this period. 4. We're still second (unbelievably) and the Cardiff game is massive. I hope lots of players are back for that - and maybe a couple of new faces.

People appreciate your information and I understand you can't say any names because you don't want to compromise anything, but at the same time mentioning whether the player is based in this country or not or even what part of the field he plays wouldn't do any damage whatsoever and would at least allow us to speculate and talk about it. Just mentioning that a player might come in and then not giving us anything else is always going to create a situation like this, surely you can see? I'd much rather you continue to share information but if you can only go so far as to say that a player might be coming in and not qualify it much more then people are obviously going to start asking questions. Anyway, thanks for the information thus far.

Interesting that Burnley have just signed a striker on a 3 month loan...

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~2582993,00.html? Highly recommend you go if you can make it - good fun and the team are very good too. Some real prospects in this group.

Sky Sports claim Crystal Palace are interested in Jason Puncheon. Wasn't aware they had much money, and we've made it clear what our asking price is - perhaps there is a swap deal in the making?

And as I speculated a few days ago, here it is: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/296086/Gary-Hooper-wants-new-deal-to-match-big-earners? Silly for Lennon to talk about that £35m asking price, even if it was a joke, as the player now wants to be paid more (also a consequence of recently changing agents, as I also said).

The only thing that troubles me about this signing is whether it is Iago or Yago. I see plenty of evidence for both.

Does the player currently play in this nation or does he come from elsewhere?

Leicester are in turmoil at the moment. Lots of dressing room issues, many of the players haven't taken to Pearson. They have some good players but at the moment have no identity as a team and if we start confidently we could comfortably win. In contrast, a nervous start and Leicester growing as the game goes on would be a big problem. Good time to play them though.

It's getting to the point now where if the player does want to leave then he needs to help the process. If not, lets go elsewhere. Celtic are perfectly entitled to ask for whatever they want for him. If it is £35m then so be it. He has 2 years left on his contract according to my Celtic supporting mate and has recently changed agent - and his agent has asked for a new contract for Hooper. So if they rate him so highly, then the agent can argue it is time for a new contract to reflect that worth. If Celtic say no, then they have another situation on their hands. I'm not saying we're bigger than Celtic in any shape or form but his career will only go so far with them as they are handicapped by the league they play in, which they can do nothing about.

That was a solid performance - Hooiveld was outstanding in the air - unbeatable. Martin continues to deputise well too. Great to see Connolly and his link-up play back, and something to mention about the midfield too. For a while it's been debated whether Schneiderlin, Hammond, and Cork can play in the same team. It has never really clicked, and all the time it has been Schneiderlin out on the right. Well in the second half at Coventry we had Cork on the right in the 'Chaplow' role (energy, a bit further up the pitch, and tucking into pockets of space) and it worked well. And that is what we went with today and it again worked fantastically - that is the right balance. Fox defended very well, and Forest sticking a winger on him didn't work at all. Nor did their long ball game. Lots of confidence back with this Saints team now, and done without Lambert which is a relief (and surprising to me). Managed to do this without needing to risk De Ridder (unused from the bench) and only concern is Guly aggravating the gluteal injury. Could have been 6 or 7 too. All in all, a fantastic game and great atmosphere in the away end. Hooiveld MOM - cannot emphasis how class he was today.

The team have an excellent chance of going all the way. They are well drilled and have a great understanding - and are all good footballers. The only thing to be weary of is if they come up against a big physical team. We are not the biggest and could be bullied out of a game as physical advantages make much more of an impact at youth level.

I would say about 700-1000 there. Not many Saints fans - a small handful scattered about. Locals didn't take too kindly to any encouragement for our lads

Based on nothing other than my opinion, I suspect he is a backup target - someone who we may pursue if other avenues prove fruitless. Same with Sharp.