PokingFun

I think that this is actually a big factor. I'm not certain but the better league and cup form seemed to come when Connolly was in the side or that sticks in my mind anyway. A player of that quality is a big loss in a division like this. I still think that Pardew deserves his 18 months as play-offs were seriously never realistic with the team we had available at the start of the season. He should be judged on next year. Last 6 games we have played 5 of them away from home in the league and a 50% points haul is not actually that bad given that we played Millwall and Norwich during that spell. At this level, no-one wins much more than 50% of their away games on average. In fact even the top two have only just about achieved that!! 1 Norwich 33 13 2 2 39 18 8 4 4 30 18 33 69 2 Leeds United 32 11 5 1 32 11 8 4 3 23 14 30 66 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 Colchester 32 13 1 2 27 14 5 7 4 22 17 18 62 4 Charlton 33 10 5 2 34 19 6 7 3 23 18 20 60 5 Swindon 31 11 5 1 33 16 5 6 3 20 22 15 59 6 Huddersfield 32 10 6 0 39 12 6 3 7 19 21 25 57

We were 2-1, then 3-1 down with about 15 minutes left versus a PL side .... what do you expect them to do just sit back and die? We got back in the game once by going a bit direct and pushing on and tried the same tactics. Not an unfair thing for the team to do. Would you have been so scathing had we lost the game 4-1 to Liverpool or Bolton or Wigan? I would imagine had it not been Pompey then this thread would not have even occurred. I simply cannot believe this thread has ended up with 250 odd posts.

Excellent Post! COYR!!

Man Utd got beat by Everton today .....

Southampton 17 July 2009 Present 41 20 13 8 48.78 Only 20% of games lost. For comparison purposes, Norwich have lost a similar % and Leeds are not far in front of that. Others in the play-offs have similar stats. The only difference is that saints started 10 points behind and with an inferior sqaud. Pardew is doing a good job and the cups have nothing to with how we are in the league. The league form was harmed mainly in the first ten games when we didnt have enough quality to turn draws into wins.

But think of the money ......

Ridiculous comment .... direction on the header downward was good just not much power and coupled with the huge frame of David James making a brilliant save meant we didnt go 1-0 up ..... he wasn't 3 yards out either but obviously it was a very good chance. The second ball he was trying to take from over the shoulder. Half chance at best as those are difficult whether you try to volley them or control them. Papa has scored goals for us this year and made them so he deserves a chance to play more and improve. He has done well enough for us to date in my opinion.

La La La Larry The Lamb!

When I went to the ticket office last night and asked if buying a ticket for the Area Final meant first crack at the final tickets after STH I was told by the guy behind the counter that it was no longer the case. Anyone else get this message from them? I told him it is still showing on the website so if the information is inaccurate then he should arrange for it to be moved as it is misleading customers.

Excellent assessment - good post, balanced and thoughtful.

We might have lost 2-0 as well .....

Oh dear ......

I can't believe you lot getting so irate over this guy and his supposed 'troublemaker' image. Since 2001-2002 season he has played 160 odd games, had 35 yellow cards and 2 red cards. Hardly the worst discplinary record ever given that cards are dished out like confetti these days. I mean, Franny had a shedload more sending offs in his career and the odd 'dubious' challenge yet he has never been called a thug on here to my knowledge. Is Thatcher really any different other than the fact we know Franny is a decent guy? Poking_Fun

Pretty much an 'off' first half hour. After that spell we still dominated the game and missed a couple of really decent chances. Their goal for the third was a result of us pushing for the equalizer. I don't think the panic button needs pressing just yet as at times we still played some neat stuff and created chances. Just have to learn to switch on early in both halves of the game and make the most of our chances and we'll be fine.

wotton steps up and scores ............ COYR

4-3

4-2 Mills

Saved by Davis 3-2

This describes most teams to be fair and it really is a case of having the right mentality to finish teams off when clearly on top and defend well when under pressure. We seem to switch off once we get into the lead. Poor concentration and complacency.

I think the familiarity of comments made by AP when compared to other Saints managers actually goes further than that. If you listen to every post match interview given by a manager whose team have been defeated or have drawn then unless the manager is brutally honest, it is very rare for one to come out and say that his team is poor, should do better etc. They usually give a pretty bland response for the public. I'm pretty sure that won't be the message once the changing room doors are shut. Most managers if they didn't have to do post match interviews would be delighted so we should expect a bland and similar message each time we lose or draw.

Absolutely correct! Hughes would not have complained had his team broke and scored a winner in the 96th minute. City sat deep, played for the draw and conceded from woefully inadequate defending and a fantastic finish under pressure. End of story and the whole thing is being blown way out of proportion by the media.

I think they were 'trying' to bring in some new faces. Sometimes the targets they have are not available or don't work out for a number of reasons. Would you rather we had signed people for the sake of it even if they would not improve the team just so your expectation is satisfied?

A very good question but when he was left out he had scored 17 goals before xmas which is fabulous regardless of poor attitude or not. I also seem to recall we were 4th at the time he was left out and we ended up 6th ......

Look at his record ..... 29 goals in 78 games in CCC .... he is a 20 goals a season striker without a doubt when the manager decides to play him FFS.

Hmmm, interesting that you think he puts no effort in ..... He scored 17 goals for us before Jan during the play off season and then lost his place to Saga ...... probably unfairly given his goals ratio that season. His record is 29 goals from 78 games - a goal in every 2.7 games and mostly in the CCC and with a significant number of appearances in that lot from the bench ..... not a bad record at all given the bare number = 17 goals per season in CCC. He was shafted by GB in the play-off season and at the start of the next season and was then shipped out on loan a couple of times due to our financial problems ..... not his fault at all ..... Now he wants to get the best deal with a year on his contract and is still not being played due to that fact ..... again not really his fault and I'm sure the club want rid as much as he wants to play a higher standard ...... Rasiak on balance has not been a disappointment in my opinion and is certainly not unprofessional ..... he trains, he plays when asked, and importantly the club has not come out and said there is an attitude problem or such like. No evidence at all of unprofessionalism.