It will be exactly the same team as against Leeds - if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Why are people asking for holmes? We were excellent against leeds. And some people want a change of formation. BIG NO. we are a 4-4-2 team and always play best with that formation.
I would go with Guly and then give De Ridder half an hour - his turn and finish in the cup was proper classy, but I think we need to be solid and hopefully get a cushion before unleashing him for a few weeks... Would also be happy to see Holmes play however - tough one!!
De Ridder does have to learn how we play and what is expected from him, but did young Alex defend all that much? Or does Lallana? What I'm getting at is, if De Ridder has things to learn it shouldn't exclude him from selection if he has other things to offer.
I agree with 4-4-2 remember last year when we played 4-3-1-2 it didnt work at all and to be fair to torquay we were playing torquay. chaplow's goal was so sloppy and easy. not saying it was deserved but i think you all know what im getting at. i think we should play holmes or de ridder because previously guly has been a lot better at home rather than away. davis richardson fonte jaidi harding holmes cork hammond lallana connolly lambert bart, martin, spiderman, de ridder, guly i hate the fact we can only use 5 subs :/
Not your fault. not606 was behaving strangely...posted a reply and it appeared then disappeared. Easy to duplicate something under those circumstances.
No disrespect to Barnsley, but I think this is one we should be looking to win. Also noticed that Barnsley haven't scored yet this season, while we've scored 7 :O I think Guly will play, but if he puts in another average performance I think he will be replaced as we have such good competition for places. Never thought I'd say this about Guly, but I think he is the defensive option on the right of midfield, he tackles strongly and doesn't exactly bomb down the flank
I can't understand why people are saying we're going to go to Oakwell and get an easy win! For starters, it's a notoriously difficult place for anyone to get 3 points. The atmosphere will be intimidating, not what most of the players will be used to, having played in mainly small stadiums for the last two seasons. Also, this is only our second league match back in the Championship and Barnsley's first home match of the season! Taking everything into account, I would be happy with a draw from this fixture
I too would be happy with a draw, but I still think we'll win..not because of Barnsley but because of Saints.
I think you are being a bit disrespectful there Joe. Barnsley is a difficult place to get a result of any kind, and they are playing us on the back of an excellent draw at Forest (in the league that is). I've read that they are playing with three forwards which may give our defence something to think about and their new manager did the double over us last season with Rochdale. Although I obviously hope for a win it's quite possible that we'll lose both our next two games, both are going to be tough. I don't think there is anywhere in this league where you can say we "should" win except Pompey (that's a banker obviously).
I am just going to carry on believing we will win..there has never been a time that I could say that for certain in all the time I've supported Saints (even when 3.0 up).
I can see it being a tough game at Barnsley. They will be well backed by their fans as it is their first home league game of the season. I would be very happy with a draw from this game but would be over the moon if we could snatch a win. COYR!!! 1-1 I'm going for with Lambert scoring a typical Rickie header.
He likened our play to Dagenham, saying we constantly pumped balls into their area. Didn't their goal come from a long ball too?
Mmmmm...... dont want to set my expectations too high after Leeds - But im feeling 2-0 saints! COYRS!!!!
Intimidating?? yeah 7000 of them will scare the life out of our players, wish some posters would man up and getting a draw will be okay but I expect us to win
