SaintJackoInHurworth

Surely it is time for the fans to do something... we must force Lowe to find a buyer - put such pressure on him that he is desperate to get out. He arrogantly thought he could turn things round and get the value of his investment back to what it was. Now maybe he will realise that the best thing is just to get out!!! Any buyer has got to be better than Lowe! A fans protest maybe?

I'm gutted by this news. SJ played really well on Tuesday and if he had been more match sharp from having had more appearances he would have scored a goal. Sadly he missed our best chance, but everything else he did on the night was good. I don't see how we can hope DMc will get the goals. As many have said, this is completely false economy. What we gain in having Stern's wages paid we will lose in lost supporter revenue and the costs of relegation to League 1. RL rarely had the plot, but whatever plot he had is now completely lost!

OK - I got back from the game about an hour ago (12.15am), so just a quick report before bed.. Overall, pleased with the result. I think we just about deserved to hold on although they were on top for most of the second half - especially after the substitutions. That having been said, Sheffield United's retention of possession was pretty poor and their shooting abysmal! Their best player was Ehiogu, who was on the whole a colossus at the back. But for Saints... Man of the match: Kelvin Davis - commanded his area well on the whole and made some brilliant saves including one or two amazing full length fingertip stops. Other players worth a mention: Simon Gillett - Very hard working and dependable in possession and moved the team forward well. At the centre of a lot of things. Adam Lallana - Assured in possession, held the ball up well. Frequently a menace going forward. Good vision and passing. Possibly the classiest player on the pitch. Rudi Skacel - excellent defensive performance. Held his position well and never lost a tackle in the first half. In fact he must have so frustrated their right winger that he was subbed at half time! He also gave great support to Joseph Mills in midfield, shouting encouragement and advice, etc. and linking with him on a number of occasions to begin forward breaks. He tired towards the end of the game, which coincided with the period in which we were under the cosh, towards the end. Andrew Surman - Looked very assured in the first half and held the ball up well. A much more mature performance than I have previously seen from him (though I confess I do not get to many matches). Faded a little in the second half. Bradley Wright Phillips - He is so much better as a winger than as a striker. He ran the line really well and combined well with Gillett to pose a significant threat down the wing. Faded in the second half - especially after switching to the left flank, following the substitution of Mills. Other players: Perry: Solid on the whole, but caught out of position a couple of times in the first half. Lancashire: Occasionally caught out of position, especially in the first half. Nothing special but did ok. Hard to see from our end, but the foul that led to him going off was possibly a little clumsy and reckless, though may also have saved us the points (although I don't think it was as clear cut a danger as some are suggesting). Mills: Looked dodgy in possession early on and pleased he was in midfield not in defence. However, he settled as the game wore on and did provide the occasional threat. Cork: Caught out of position on a few occasions in the first half and appeared uncomfortable in possession. Did not have sufficient composure to hold the ball up and was quick to release it, though he was a useful support to Bradley down the wing. When he held his possession he defended ok. Plays more like a centre back than a full back. Improved as game went on and after early indiscipline maintained defensive position well while central defenders went up for corners. John: Held the ball up well and worked hard for the team. Took a significant part in defensive and midfield duties as well as being lone striker. Hassled and harried their midfield and defence well. Unfortunately his great supporting work in midfiled meant that he was not always in position to threaten the goal as much as I would have liked. That having been said, he rose brilliantly in the box to meet the ball in the area for what was possibly the clearest chance of the game (certainly in Saints favour!) but sadly did not hit the target. Subs: McGoldrick - tried hard and did some good stuff on the wings. He was certainly a threat and continued Bradley's earlier good work on the right. Finished the game as lone striker but saw little of the ball for lst few minutes, except in a defensive capacity! James - Was not on for long and did not have much time to show what he could do in midfield. Tried very hard with the one chance he had to do something and nearly created an opening, but sadly it came to nothing. Maybe tried a little too hard! Wotton - was only on for about a minute so not possible to assess his contribution. Portvliet - Good blend of youth and experience in starting line-up. Glad he chose to play Rudi. Disappointed with his substitutions. These did not work for us and left us on the back foot (except for the last one which was obviously a necessary chnage following the sending off - though a little staggered that it was made while we were defending the Beattie Free Kick just outside the area!) Also disappointed with lack of discipline on right hand side of defence early on. Pleased with better defensive discipline in second half.

I would say on Beattie's performance tonight he would not have been much to look up to. As has already been said, he looked pretty ordinary tonight and together with his team-mates was frequently caught offside. Their lack of goals was due as much to how shocking they were up front as anything (save perhaps Davis excellent performance in goal). Our defence was caught out of position on more than one occasion, but they did not seem to possess the ability to capitalise. In short, Beattie was a shadow of his former self!

If we could only get another goal soon... that would cause them to start to panic and could put us in with a chance!!! But the goal must come soon or we have little chance of doing anything.

Perhaps we should all sign up to the Man City supporters forum and pretend to be City fans? We could start suggesting that it would be great to have the two brothers reuinited in a City shirt. We could talk of how his talent is being wasted in the CCC and make up stories about how he is not being valued aor given the chance to show what he can do, etc. Basically, we would talk up the idea of re-signing him so as to get a bit of supporter enthusiasm going for the idea! All we would need then is someone with contacts in Dubai to convince the city owners that it is a good idea... hmm... wonder where we might find someone who fits that description...?!!! hehe (If they were to come in with an offer, we would of course need to stress his youthful potential to ensure that we get at least £3million for him!)

This is a pretty clever/amusing commentary on the quality of Championship refereeing and particularly the refereeing in this match: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dRIarQrYvvM lol

Saints 2 Barnsley 1

Was Dyer played on the left or the right? Sky had him down as playing on the left, which seems odd to me - he is far better as a right winger than a left winger - BWP is the better left winger. Secondly, some people are talking about playing Skacel, but would we rather him out wide in midfield or as left back?

Has Surman been any good at all in defence this season? I've seen a few comments suggesting not. Would we be better with Skacel at full back?

Don't like Claridge as a commentator, but I think he had a point just then - we never seem to have a plan B when things aren't working out.

Hopefully we will manage a win! I'll be an optimist and go for: Saints 2 Brum 1 (If I was a pessimist with a hint of realism I would go for Saints 1 Brum 3!!)

If you buy FouFourTwo magazine it has a full fixture list for every club if that's of any use. You could photocopy the Saints bit (although of course to do so would be illegal and I would not want to be party to any such action!!), then you could put that in your purse! (Or you could just cut out the Saints bit!)

Personally, Darlington away would be a great draw... I could walk to the game then!!! Or probably be lazy and drive up to a street just down the road from the ground and walk from there!