TIME TO VOTE FOR THE BEST (AND MOST ENTERTAINING) MATCH ANALYSIS: August

At the end of each month I intend to hold a poll to vote on members' posts commenting on Saints' League and Cup matches. Please get in the habit of giving us a detailed post after each match saying what you thought of the performance, who played best, who didn't, who should have been playing, what you would have done if you were manager etc., etc.
It doesn't matter if you weren't there.....you can still say what you think.

If you are impressed by a particular member's post please let me know so that I will be sure to include the post in the poll.

I had better learn how to crack a joke or two then, eh!

Just to give everybody (away on holiday)my first line I have printed it early.



Just heard that Alan Pardew has decided that Paul Wotton had to start today as he takes to long to get from the dug out to the pitch when replacing another player. He added that if the FL allow it he will give Wotton some roller blades once he has mastered the technique.

How confident is that then,eh?

hAVE i WON THEN? cOMPETITION SEEMS PRETTY SCARCE.











CANNE U SPOTT MYE DELIBBERUT MISSTEAK

NOT FUNNY BIGHEAD. :lol:
MIKE HE SHOUD BE ON MONTHS LIST FOR MILWALL

CANDIDATE A
Bob's Your Uncle ... MILLWALL

I only saw it on Sky, but it was nice to watch Saints on Sky and not lose!! I was pleased to see a lot of effort being put in and the defence looked much safer than last season.
It is difficult to see how Pardew can get more out of the players he has got and it was pleasing to see from his comments after the game that he knows he must bring in new players to get better results. I hope Paterson is not seriously injured because we are struggling to find alternative strikers.

My ratings:

DAVIS (little to fault) 8
HARDING (seemed competent at marking his man) 8
PERRY (pleased with how he put himself around the park) 8
THOMAS (rather a quiet game) 6
MURTY (seemed very determined and got forward well) 9
JAMES (quiet) 5
WOTTON (slightly better than usual) 6
SCHNEIDERLIN (quiet for much of the game but some absolutely brilliant moments) 7
LALLANA (not one of his best) 5
SAGANOWSKI (fairly satisfied with his performance and effort) 7
PATERSON (a well-taken goal and caused there defence some problems) 8

PARDEW (don't teally think he could have done much more on the day and was impressed by his post-match comments) 8

CANDIDATE B
SFC Forever.....MILLWALL

took Twizzle and Graham and lo and behold we saw our first saints goal up close. The game was watched by 20,000 and was a good lively accounter. The atmosphere was good in the ground and I was extremely pleased with the amount of effort produced. Saints were relatively tight at the back and we looked fully capable of holding sway after we had settled. Most of the team had good games with the exceptions being James and Lallana. My man of the match has got to be Murty. From the offset he showed excellent awareness and along with Harding helped make us look quite good at the back. Kelvin produced his usual match saving performance but Murty just edged it.
The first half was just shaded by us and a bit more confidence in ront of goal could have seen us leading at half time. Schneiderlin produced one moment of sheer audacious class when he tried lobbing the keeper from way out but Forde the Millwall keeper just managed to get back and turn it over. This just a minute after we had a saga goal disallowed for offside. As the half ended we were feeling quite pleased with what had been seen so far.
The second half began in a relatively high tempo and Millwall came close with a low cross shot. Paterson finally ended the goal drought in the 50th minute with a 6 yard drive after good work and a neat flick on by Saganoski. We tried to up the ante with the crowd roaring the team forward but were unable to capitalise. Millwall were awarded a free gift of a penalty when two Millwall men went down. Alexander stepped up and shot hard low to Davis's right but Kelvin got down superbly to save and then saved the follow up attempt at goal. This was just a reprieve though as a couple of minutes later Millwall did score. A corner came in and was met by Abdou who headed high and wide of davis into the net.
The final phase saw a goal at each end disallowed. As time ran out both sets of players tried to engineer a result. The final whistle coming as we were attacking.
The crowd had in the main stayed and both sets of players were applauded off as we started thinking about the journey home. The crowd had done well and I include in that, the supporters of Millwall. The Northam and Millwall section had some good natured banter as they sang loudly in support of the teams. Leaving the ground it appeared that in the main all were fairly content with what had been watched. We even had some good natured chat with the Lion's fans as we left the ground.
Saints player ratings :-
Davis -Commanded his box and saved the penalty well - 8
Murty - Outstanding first league performance showing excellent positional sense and making a couple of excellent covering tackles plus a cople of really good bursts down the flank. - 9.5
Perry - Steady as usual just wish he was a couple of inches taller - 7
Thomas - Steady with some important headers. Got caught on the wrong side of his opponent a few times but in the main ok. - 7
James - Very quiet game. disappointing - 5
Wotton - Got caught a couple of times but better than expected. - 6
Schneiderlin - Still goes awol at times but quite a few good touches and nearly scored a fantastic goal. - 6
Lallana - Would have taken him off before half time if I was the boss. Poor is too polite. - 4
Saganoski - Had a better game than I had hoped for but no real strength in his efforts on goal. - 6
Paterson - Scored but try as he could he wasn't strong enough to brush aside the defenders, though always a danger. - 7.5

The subs didn't really get much time.
Gillett - Usual effort - 6
Thomson - One good move in his short cameo - 5
Gobern - Helped keep pressure up - 6

AP did ok but where was Mills and why didn't he change James or Lallana at halftime. Won't be surprised to see a striker brought in soon and a strong tackling no nonsense midfielder. - 7

CANDIDATE C
Perenniel Underachiever..... MILLWALL

I didn't go to the game, but listened on Radio Solent. It sounded very much as if Saints played well, but ran out of steam after the penalty decision so maybe the players aren't as fit as they should be.
While it's disappointing that we didn't hang onto the lead and, indeed, almost lost the match altogether, a point isn't bad and it starts to chip away at the -10. It is sobering to see that, at the end of the first day of a new season that, although we got a point we are still rock bottom, below teams on the wrong end of 7-1 and 5-0 hammerings, courtesy of that damned -10! Now that really brings home the extent of our handicap this season!

From the radio commentary it sounded as if the defence were solid enough, not quite as many headless chicken moments as previous games.

CANDIDATE D
The Liebherr Bird...... MILLWALL

Lions Tamed?

Saints welcomed Millwall to the big top for their League One curtain raiser.

After last season's comedy of errors, pundits could be forgiven for thinking Ring Master Pardew would send out the clowns once more.

But billionaire owner Markus Liebherr intends to bring a smile to spectators, and not so much laughter.
Silly season is over. A new one begun.

A crowd of 20,000 fans, paid to see a more skillful act, and although they managed to walk a tightrope, the highlight had to be the taming of the Lions. Millwall promised drama, and roared on occasion.

But the fast improving Saints, with a few new additions, could soon be ready to take their show on the road.

The CIRCUS has left St. Mary's.

CANDIDATE E
soundofthesouth..... MILLWALL

Started off in the Chapel pub sinking back a couple of wets to get me in the mood for the game sitting in the Kingsland.

Decent atmosphere with 20,000+ supporters.

Davies. Good penaly save,but should have saved the goal. (7)

Murty. Are you Jason Dodd in disguise.Played well.8
Harding. Played well,good buy. 8.5
Thomas. Won everything in the air,solid performance. 8.7
Perry. Done ok,except a couple of loose passes. 7

Lalana. A few glimpses of skill.Lost the ball a few times 6.5
Wotton. Average. 6.5
Schneiderlin. Great chip shot in first half,deserves his place. 8
James. Average. 6.5

Paterson. looks a good player in ths league. & a goal. 8
Saganowski. Getting fitter...will score goals against less physical teams. 6.5

1-1 Fair result. As my teachers always said....could do better!!

CANDIDATE F
SFC Forever..... NORTHAMPTON

I was happy with the result even though I had said we would score three. We looked a lot more threatening once we had managed to score and could have had another one or two. We avoided the banana skin of a lower league team even though Thomas tried his hardest to get sent off. Hopefully match fitness will improve his timing and positioning.
We always had a little more than the cobblers and apart from a couple of bad scares seemed in control as the second half went on. Rasiak was a tremendous plus and James has again shown his quality in crossing the ball. Ricky scored bravely with a diving header from one and Rasiak laid another on a plate for Adam. Schneiderlin was an in aand out performance but he does have the capability of making telling passes. Again with a couple more games under his belt he should improve after last years injury problems. Kelvin was his usual self and made one good save to keep us in the game. A lot of plusses from the game and hopefully we can avoid defeat on Saturday to really give our season a lift.

Candidate G
Perenniel Underachiever...... HUDDERSFIELD

I only listened to the second half, but what I heard was dire. The defence were a shambles, the midfield non existent and the strikers had near to no service whatsoever. The only person to come out of this with any credit is Kelvin Davis, whose saves ensured we weren't totally humiliated, merely embarrassed, although the strikers sounded dangerous when they actually got the odd bit of service.

A total and utter shambles. I hope AP sorts this mess out pretty damned quickly or we will be playing catch up with a relegation at the end of it. I am not panicking yet, but that -9 points is like Banquo's ghost lurking in the background.

On the radio, Dave Merrington is saying that the players 'bear scars' from last season. Oh dear, poor petals. FFS these are professional footballers! If they can't hack it, for whatever reason, get rid and get some new ones in! As it stands we need a new CM and new CB.

Candidate H
tissier43....... HUDDERSFIELD

i listened to solent this afternoon and you can tell when dave merrington goes quiet that saints are struggling, we were over run in the midfield and that breeds panic into the back 4.schneiderlin is lightweight in this division and lallana and mellis are more suited to a free flowing game, yes it is going to take combative players to boss this type of game hurlock, case and even cockerill lifted us during difficult periods as holding midfielders and let more energetic players link up for important away goals. Guthrie would have been a good bet to sign for this football last year, a tough season ahead

Candidate I
SFC Forever..... Huddersfield

Whilst doing the commentary my mind kept remembering the tales of woe from last season. Huddersfield tore into us straight from the off and could and should have been in front almost immediately. Kelvin made 2 fantastic saves and is the reason we went in at halftime level.The midfield was completely overrun and bypassed again and again. Harding made a coupl of good tackles but generally it was a backs against the wall task.
The second half began even worse and it wasn't long before our defence had been breached. Huddersfield scored and AP to organise some subs. 4 minutes after letting in the goal we had scored. Lambert again with a header and for a minute or so we began to play with some belief. The subs though didn't work as had been hoped and soon we were again on the back foot. The Terriers maintained the pressure and our slowness was highlighted far too often. The fatal second goal came and we all knew that it was now a case of trying to keep the score down. Kelvin made a couple more saves but the 3rd when it came was always on the cards. Perry had been taken off and i hope that he isn't left out through injury for long if that was why he was subbed. lancashire was poor when he came on and our defence was in tatters at the end.
My overall opinion is that nothing much has changed since last season. The bonus is that we seem to have gained a goalscorer. At this standard Lambert could well earn us a few points with his knack of scoring. Mellis when he came on made a couple of driving runs and looked as though he might be able to help us for the time we have him. Thomas was error prone and nowhere near as commanding as a man his size should be. A lot of questions regarding him were asked and not many received a satisfactory answer. Kelvin has always been a good shotstopper but I wish he would command his box more. Murty kept going and did make a couple of forward runs but spent most of the time having to defend. Perry was caught for speed and height fat too often and Lancashire was worse.James was struggling and rarely got forward with any purpose. Lallana is just not man enough and will keep getting caught out if we don't add some muscle to the team. Wotton is just not worth playing and the only possible reason for playing him must be to protect our youngsters from the murder that happens on the pitch. Maybe AP will replace him when we are better able to put a replacement in. If he is the best holding midfielder that we have then god help us. Schneiderlin oozes class but only when he is given the time to show it. He can pass and strikes a ball well but without some big hard working players to help him out he will flounder as he did last season.Gillett is surely entitled to a game and possibly Gobern. Rasiak kept going and Lambert scored so the forwards must be given a chance to play with a midfield that can get up with them and help by making chances.
As of now AP must be a very worried man. The good thing is that we face Swindon so quickly after this poor showing and they have started as badly as us. We have the chance to garner some points but i am not looking forward to watching the game in the same way as I had been before this defeat. Huddersfield were tipped for promotion and have just added a Man Utd youngster as well to their squad. with that thought in mind it is possible that the defeat is not as bad as it appears. Time will tell.

Candidate J
Perenniel Underachiever........ Swindon

That was absolutely fooking awful. AP has really got his work cut out. Let's hope he gets some new faces in before Saturday (as well as Hammond) and replaces the dross that we currently have. Wotton, Lallana and Lancashire sounded woeful and if they left the club tomorrow I'd be happy.

I know it's hard to have an objective view of things after just listening on the radio, but the team sounded lightweight and bereft of ideas. The team were bloody awful until AP finally made some changes; only once these changes were made did Saints actually show anything. The main criticism I have of Pardew this evening was that he left the subs far too late to be effective.
There can only be one Man Of The Match and that's Kelvin Davis, he pulled off some fantastic saves which kept us from a total humiliation and that is the only positive I can take from this evening's shambles. If ever a team were thrashed 1-0, it was Saints this evening

I refuse to panic yet, unlike some on SW who are shrieking 'AP out' (Jeeez ) and getting the razor blades and lengths of ropes out, but the turnaround has to start Saturday or we will soon be so far adrift we'll be out of sight.

Candidate K
Team Saint....... Swindon

It will sound arrogant but without going to the game I know exactly what happened because we have seen it so many times and until we get in a couple of decent midfielders and a commanding centre back then we will concede goals from corners away from home and we will not score away from home. It was Huddersfield all over again but against a less prolific team. It happened last season as well in every away game that we didn't win.

Pardew is new to the job and still getting to know his players but the decision to drop Perry and replace him with Lancashire was obviously wrong and that was for all fans to see. Perry is by far our most consistent and reliable player and has been ever since we got him in on loan in April 2008. What happened the last time the manager decided to drop him for Lancashire. We lost 4-1 and Lancashire got sent off. I don't want to be too harsh on Lancashire himself because he is committed to the team but he is just not good enough. Whenever he plays we look like conceding and the defence is shaky. Wotton has been picked in every game by Pardew but has nothing good about him at all. Gillett and even Gobern are much better options in the centre of midfield. Wotton keeps playing bad games but stays in the team. What message does that send out to the other players? Lallana has done absolutely nothing while playing on the left and Pardew must realise very quickly that he is a central player. Holmes is a left winger who can cross the ball and works hard for the team which is what we need. The substitutions came far too late but the change in tempo from Saints once Saga and Gobern were on almost got us a late equaliser. If they played from the start with Lallana in the centre or at the least on the right then I feel sure we would have scored at least once.

Lambert has shown that without the midfield making an effort to get the ball to him he gets lost and may as well be sitting on the bench. Saga is by far our most versatile striker and could be worth a go alongside Lambert. Paterson runs around a lot but is not great on the ball and doesn't make enough intelligent runs to play off a big man like Lambert. I think he would be far more useful to bring on late in the game to chase down the ball and hassle defenders when we need to hold onto some points. The signing of Hammond will do a lot to add some bite to the midfield and help Morgan play his game. As far as I can remember Morgan has never played well in an away game so unless we show a more positive attitude in future away matches there is no point in him being on the pitch. Mellis sounds like an exciting player but what his best position is not many of us seem to know.

I still fancy us to beat Brentford because we have played well in all of Pardew's home games and Brentford will be expecting us to come at them which will take a bit of pressure off the defense and allow us to use our more creative midfielders. The short green turf of St. Mary's suits some of our ball players and if we play well then we could easily dish out some thrashings this season with 3 proven goalscorers to choose from up front. With an attacking line up of something like this I'm certain we could score goals.

Lambert Saga
Holmes Hammond Morgan Mellis

Yes that means no Lallana but if he wants to be in the team then he should have played better.

Candidate L
SFC Forever...... Swindon

The evening started well enough with Twizzle and me only having to leave the car in the street next to the ground. We had some chips from the chippie opposite and they were by far the best thing that we had all night. The mood as the game began was good and the saints fans were quite vocal. It didn't last long as we soon realised that the Swindon boys were more up for it than we were. The team when read out over the tannoy had left us scratching our heads in disbelief. We know we are bad but someone better than paterson and Lallana must have been ready for a game surely.
Swindon scored their early goal and the ease with which they scored left us worried that there were going to be a lot more. Kelvin again showed his skill at stopping shots though I do wish he would command his box. Probably scared of our defence scoring own goals or just getting in the way. We held on and at half time were waiting for the arrival of the subs.
The subs didn't arrive until too late and the second half was even worse than the first. Paterson wasted a chance and the game drifted on until the end with us grateful that Swindon hadn't added to our woes by scoring more.
There were not many plusses for us as the overall team performance was so poor. Kelvin and Harding were the stars of a poor performance and Mellis showed some nice touches at times. Lambert looks like a player that needs to be given the chances as he doesn't run far. Wotton is just a slow old thug who can't even do that properly. The rest just failed miserably to produce.
Not a good night and thankfully AP has already found 2 more to help fight the cause. So, even after such a poor game I am still hopeful for the Brentford game. We have now added Murty,Harding,Mellis,Hammond,Trotman and Lambert to the squad and soon we will be looking at an AP squad. Now we will need to unload some of the chaff and loan out some of our kids as we did with Fish last season. We will improve of that I am sure.

Candidate M
SFC Forever..... Brentford

I am what to make of todays performance. AP seems to like playing without width, though that could just be his belief that we are not good enough in the wingers available situation. Mills isn't quick but he was building a good partnership with Harding. Our weakness at the moment is the right side of the pitch.Trotman played well and apart from a couple of blunders could well be an imprtant player for us. Hammond showed enough to make us believe he will do well for us especially at this level. He also looks good enough to make it at a higher level.
So with us in need for time we have just to wait for the new arrivals to gel and then todays promise could be fulfilled. The most disappointing aspect of the game was the way we folded after taking the initiative. We had started to play well and actually had a couple of moves using the wings. Harding was involved in the move which led to his goal and for a moment we believed we were going to get our first win. All of a sudden though the players seemingly began to panic as they realised that they were in front. Mistakes started appearing and our shape disappeared.
AP will hopefully be able to use the Birmingham game to get the team used to playing together and is a match with little at stake other than pride. He will hopefully have Murty and Mills back and with them we could hopefully look more ready for the battle ahead.
The team is slowly taking shape and Tuesday could see something akin to this:- Davis,Murty,Trotman,Perry,Harding,Mellis,Schneiderlin,Hammond,Mills,Lambert,Saga
Subs:- Bart,Gobern,Thomas,Rasiak,Holmes/Thomson,Lallana,James

It was interesting to see Perry picked in front of Thomas and he did make a few good tackles. Still not tall enough though and we must get another strong CB. I feel another 3 players could make us a damn good side. So though disappointed by the finish I left the ground feeling a darn site better than when leaving Swindon's on Tuesday. We have made the first step.

Candidate N
matty07uk....... Brentford

Well lets start with the positives. Most of APs signings did well, Trotman looked pretty solid at CB and Hammond got through a lot of work and Harding had a good game. Lambert didnt do a great deal but plenty of flick ons and his free kicks were on target but the service he got was pretty poor all game with no width. Mellis though had quiet first half and subbed.

On the less positive side the Right hand side especially in second half was poor. James is back to playing with little confidence at RB, rarely gets on the overlap to provide width and doesnt get his foot in. He wasnt helped when Thomson came on for 2nd half. No pace, didnt take on players and offerred no defensive cover to James, the goal being a disaster in that neither James or Thomson put in a tackle. Just got to hope Murty gets fit soon, dont play him against Birmingham save him for the league. I think I would prefer Wotton at RB even without any pace at least he would tackle. Thought Lallana and Sneiderlin for all their talent had poor games and failed to stamp any authority in midfield. Patterson didnt have great game but may have had loss of confidence after missing sitter in 1st minute. Saganoski did okay in second half.

There were some signs there that improving, plenty of set pieces dealt with comfortably and if we get Murty at RB then back line looks okay. Midfield like last season is getting over run and if Lallana and Sneiderlin dont step up to plate soon would pick Gillet, not that skilled but gives his all.

Think AP would be glad if Saga and Rasiack go as wants players who want to be there and may offer a chance to get in replacements. To be honest think we still need 1 defender, CB midfield player capable of playing at RB if required, a winger with pace and 1 other striker. Other changes can wait to transfer window. If we got those in I would loan out Thomson and Gobern as dont think they should be in the team at this stage

Candidate O
village idiot........... Brentford

I thought we looked a decent side in the making yesterday.Trotman looked good alongside Perry in the centre and i felt we looked much more solid all round. I do feel that Lallana must be played wide right which i think will happen when Mills & Holmes are fit, he does not look the same player on the left.I hope Rasiak & Saganowski depart soon to enable us to bring players in who want to play for Southampton F.C. All in all i am more optimistic than i have been for along while.Patience is key for this club and its fans at the moment.

Candidate P
The Liebherr Bird...... Brentford

Liebherr Birds and The Bees

Nothing sexy about this football match, and not a great deal of forward play.
Almost hit THE G with Trotman, but the Saints Virgin managed to miss the target from close in.

It was a frustrating match, until 73 minutes in. Harding pushed up and fired home.
Southampton looked like they were going to go all the way. Not so.

The Bees had a sting in Taylor. On 83 minutes, Cleveland ruined the affair.

THANK GOD, Bees only sting ONCE!

Candidate Q
Perenniel Underachiever....... Birmingham

In short: WE WERE ROBBED!!!!!!!! There is absolutely no way in this space time continuum that Birmingham deserved to win. :fair:

Saints played brilliantly for most of the game, bar about four or five minutes. Lallana man of the match, officials crap. Now, why can we not play like this in the league? Translate this performance into the league and we'll be laughing all the way to the CCC!

Worse than losing the match is losing Graeme Murty for a significant length of time. He was stretchered off and it does not sound good for a quick return. I hope AP can get a replacement in PDQ.

Candidate R
matty07uk........ Birmingham

Police in Southampton are searching for three thugs wearing blue shirts with the names Carsley, Carr and Bowyer following various assaults carried out in St Mary's area tonight. In addition police have advised a white male, approx 6ft tall wearing all black clothing should report to Southampton police station where he can collect his Golden Labrador, White stick and dark glasses which are in lost property. They may however also want to question him about his role as an accomplice with the three thugs.

Kicked out of the match, 2 stone wall penalties in first half, which ref could not miss, he just didnt want to give, and his willingness to let Birmingham kick us of the park must rate as one of the worst refereeing displays at St Marys for years.

Gutted about Murty and did say previously would have rested him tonight so fit for Saturday. Also disappointed that AP failed to see that the minute Murty went off the James/Mellis combination on the right hand side was a recipe foir disaster. Mellis who again did little should have been taken off and the midfieldf reshuffled to give James protection we had 10 minutes to do something but no action. We desperately need cover at Right back as I'm afraid James has no confidence and unable like many of the younger players to tackle. Doddsy can you go there for a week and show them. For the first hour we really did play well, passed the ball well and created chances, looked solid at the back while Murty was on though Thomas didnt inspire, Trotman looks much better. Harding had another good game. Lallana scored a great goal and worked hard but please can someone else take the corners, always over hits way past back post plus he takes them both sides, why?? Think we need at least 2 more players RB and midfield players who can tackle plus if either Rasiak or Saga go replacements for them.,

Candidate S
teamsaint.......... Birmingham

Yep Saints had one absolute stonewall penalty in the first half when Mellis was taken out and Saints did play well for most of the game. The result was not a suprise as Birmingham were happy to let us run the game until they felt like doing anything because they knew they had the quality to rip us open quite easily. Unfortunately Thomas and Perry were both poor and Thomas once again lost concentration after we scored and helped them equalise. Murty was very good until he got injured combining his usual boyish enthusiasm with great experience to good effect. Harding as usual was also exemplary. Wotton was better than normal but caught ball watching too often and James made a few mistakes but otherwise was decent. Mellis did some good things but spent long periods being quiet and really didn't help Lloyd James defend and also came inside far too much. Lallana did well msot of the time and obviously scored a very good goal. Lambert played as the target man superbly and Saga was very busy but didn't really get any good chances