Suomi Saint

As always, posters on websites such as these don't reflect the opinion of the majority. WHU fans in general care as much about JayRod as we care about Carroll. I, for one, don't begrudge them their stadium or their place in the PL. I'm just grateful we don't have to watch the hoof ball served up by BFS - except this upcoming Saturday of course. The Olympic stadium will be magnificent and they are getting it on the cheap. Credit to them for that.

Every club has to have a pantomime villain and it is usually the Chairman. Cortese's problem is that he also looks like a Bond villain....and he's vertically challenged to boot. But, he hasn't got one single decision wrong thus far, and yes - although I hate to admit it - it's time to trust him. I blurted out the bile when he sacked our Nige, but I am man enough to admit I was wrong. Our function as fans is to keep him on his toes, just as he keeps the Manager on his. If we avoid relegation - and it seems likely now - then a few chants of appreciation in his direction wouldn't go amiss.

Yes, he loses the ball unnecessarily sometimes. Yes, his shooting is not up to much. But, his quality can change a game. And quality wins football matches.

You couldn't really tell from yesterday. If the game was limited to the first 30 minutes then you would conclude it was NA - we were definitely second best. Reading ran out of puff and their heads went down after the first goal. After that we totally bossed it. The one negative you could possibly be able to throw in NA's direction is that his players lost their confidence far too easily. However, our squad is definitely better in terms of quality and it showed, which of course helped MP no end. On another day we could have actually lost this game, such was our defending at times. MP has 'tweaked' the way we play, and the initial signs are very encouraging, but it will be interesting to see how things develop from here. He has inherited some good players. Let's see what he does with his 'own' players when he signs them in the summer. Hopefully, they will make a bigger impact than Forren. First and foremost, we need 3 more points. NA proved himself over 2 amazing seasons, and was beginning to prove himself in the PL. MP has a way to go yet. One swallow doesn't make a summer.

Obviously this was a great result, and at times we played some lovely stuff. But our defending can be comical on occasion. We seem to struggle to clear our lines, and we certainly lack composure at set pieces. Davis was MOM for me, closely followed by JayRod. 3 more points should do it.

Definitely the 0-0 v Spurs in '78. It was a bit of a relief, though, because the Spurs fans behaved like animals and destroyed the temporary fence at the Archers end. It was one of the most tepid matches I think I've ever seen.

Although I like both players, I don't think Jos and Jose are quite good enough to push us on further. However, both have done very well since the first 10 games of the season. I would bring in another centre back and another versatile player who can also play left/right back. Perhaps sell Jos or Jose. Of the two, if pushed, I would keep Jose. Forren? Who knows? Tbh, he is currently a waste of space, and has all the hallmarks of a Cortese 'youtube' signing. Shaw worries me a bit. He could suffer burn out if he's played every game.

Of course we are not safe - far from it. In this game all it takes is a dodgy refereeing decision, defensive mistake, or profligate finishing, and you lose 0-1. The confidence takes a hit, you look over your shoulder, and then you lose the next one. Cork or Morgan or Luke might even get injured. Wigan are capable of going on a winning streak, and Herr Fascist might even shake Sunderland from their slumber. 40 points is the minimum, which means 6 from 7. Not easy when everyone is fighting for 90 million quid. If we beat Reading then safety is probably a near certainty. Lose and we are right back in it.

Before worrying about this we'd better make sure that we are not aiming for a top 7 finish in the Championship. Still a long way to go to reach 40 points, which is going to be the minimum safety level I would imagine.

IF we stay up and don't invest further - which we undoubtedly will - then a bottom half finish it will be. These players will be running on empty after half a season with the tempo we play at. If we go down then the squad will have more holes than a colander. This season will have a lot more twists and turns yet. If we get beat on Saturday then the anti-Cortese brigade will be out in force. Funny game, football.

I like the way he attacks defences head-on and with speed. The one negative for me is his shooting from 15 to 20 yards - he does it with no real conviction. If he improves that, and his heading, then he will be some player.

Saints were superb first half, but we were chasing shadows for most of the second. Still, we defended very resolutely and Kelvin pulled off a very good save. Only 4 points off the drop, therefore no room for complacency. Reading is a must win next week. Overall, we are looking good, but pesky Wigan just refuse to lie down. They are like the Grim Reaper.....getting closer and closer. Sunderland must be the favourites to join Reading and QPR now. But, we need to keep our eye on the ball.

I don't think he's moody, just a young, immature kid who doesn't really appreciate what awaits him in terms of opportunities. In the next 5 years he will acquire riches that us mere mortals can only dream of, a beautiful leggy WAG, and a mansion complete with cleaning lady. He won't have to worry about his untidy room then. In all honesty, he seems like a good lad, and long may that continue.

16-18 year old kids from the Falklands study at Chichester College. They are as British as you and me. Probably more so than Channel Islanders, who are a really weird bunch.

If he could shoot and direct his headers then he'd be great!! To be fair, he's improving all the time, and if he keeps up this rate of progression then he is a very good buy. That goal, apart from the fluffed first shot, was brilliant in that he had the confidence to attack the Liverpool defence head on and with pace. If only Lallana could shoot aswell!

I've watched him a few times this season and honestly think his legs are starting to go. He is still a class act, but I don't believe he can cut it for England for much longer. But of course he is one of those who cannot be dropped in the media's eyes. The better way of looking at yesterday is that Saints won the battle of the midfield, i.e. we were good and it wasn't the opposition who had an off day. Saints have made Arsenal, Man C, and now Liverpool look very ordinary at St. Mary's. It can't be that all of them had an off day.

It was as good a performance as you will ever see for the first 30 minutes. After that, I thought Liverpool took control. In fact, I thought they were going to go on and win it until MP took off GR and replaced him with SD. A tactic NA used to great effect at times. GR played well first half, but SD certainly shored it up for us and the tide slowly turned after 60 minutes. I wish the Saints players could shoot, as we should have been 4-1 up at half time and the game would have been already over. A word of caution, though. We are getting done very, very easily with the long ball over the top. Too easily. The difference between this and QPR? Liverpool didn't park the bus, and we mixed up our short and long game to good effect. A great effort by all the lads, it wouldn't be fair to single out any one of them for special praise. Top drawer.

I hope NA gets every penny he deserves. As the above poster said - he did an absolute brilliant job for us. Going straight through the Championship was a wonder show - how many teams languish there year after year? Cortese dishes out some strange extended contracts to players (Kelvin, Butters, et al), yet he can't settle up NA's? This leads me to believe that he likes to be popular with the players and to be seen that he is in fact their benefactor, not the Manager. An odd man. Successful to date, but I hope, for our sakes, that MP is not a bridge too far.

It wasn't that bad a piece in all honesty. He praised RL on his attributes and highlighted his lack of pace - which is true. Also, 6M is a ridiculous sum for a guy over 30. He was also quite accurate with Carroll, in that he's not all that much. Sure, there were inaccuracies, but it was not as jingoistic as some of the stuff written on here. At least he took some time to try and make a balanced view.

He does a lot of good, some bad, and some really ugly. He made 2 very good interceptions today, but coupled that with 2 very bad passes which brought pressure onto us. He's learning, and I would stick with him to be honest.

Looking at it objectively, Saints dominated the game and made Norwich look poor. The only thing missing was the end product. Our players just haven't got the quality in front of goal. Clearly, the conditions were awful, and, equally, so was the referee. That was never a penalty in a million years, and MP told him that very politely it would seem. But of course, we are still deep in the mire. Even QPR are catching up. It's going to be squeaky bum time. But, the performance today was good in my opinion, and we should take some encouragement from that. Even Ramirez got his finger out, but Guly was pretty anonymous unfortunately.

Quite an odd decision, but surely it means a gradual drift into coaching for Kelv. Of course, should we get relegated, then we will have our old number one back - no need to look for another keeper when Boruc flies the nest.

That wasn't anti-Saints, it was very balanced. A good summary of the current situation. They didn't mention the 2-0 win in L1 when we totally dominated the match, though.

Beachy Head with a gale force northerly wind. Or if you want to be more hospitable....the airport. Yanks love ye olde Britain. National Trust type places in the country should float their boat. Followed by a cream tea in an old fashioned cafe - one that pays Corporation Tax of course. An American woman once asked my old man if he played golf. When he said yes, she asked him, "do you have room for golf courses over there?'

You can't blame the crowd. They turned up, parted with their hard earned cash, and were subjected to that abysmal display. It's no wonder they didn't feel in the mood to sing. I sat in my front room in Qatar utterly disgusted with MP and his selection/tactics. To be honest, booing and slow-hand clapping would have been in order. It used to happen at The Dell in the old days, even under Lawrie. There is nothing wrong with letting the players/manager know that the performance is not up to standard. They are not beyond reproach and need a real kick up the backside.