It might seem odd but I like the fact we're winning ugly. Having been a Saints fan for an awfully long time, it's something that previously we've not been able to do. It's genuinely encouraging that we seem to be able to do that now, as well as taking teams apart that let us play. For a while we were very Arsenal............now we feel a bit more Man Utd.............if you know what I mean !
I have to say yes we did carve out a win.........although we could have just as easily lost it!! This idea of shutting up shop in the 60th minute, is not the way we are used to doing, things makes me bloody nervous. Also this tittle tattle around the edge of the box is ok but we just do not have the skill to sustain this type of play....still it was a good result......pity about the fighting..........
I thought that Millwall were extremely difficult to break down and can feel aggrieved to have come away from St. Mary's without any points. For the first 30 minutes we were superb but Millwall clawed their way back into the game by the end of the first half and I thought they looked most likely to score in the second. Fraser Richardson was Man of the Match for me and put in some greta tackles albeit I think Guly will steal the headlines for the sprint he made before clinically scoring his goal. Curious to see the League table this evening as the promotion and play off positions are full of teams that most pundits had singled out for relegation. Peterborough thumped Ipswith 7-1 and compete with Crystal Palace, Brighton and Southampton in being either newly promoted or perential relegation strugglers as is the case with Palace. I don't think that many of these clubs will finish in this position and if Ipswich's demise so early is a huge surprise, I think that the likes of Leicester, West Ham, Leeds and Birmingham will finish up there. I still think Pompey will come good too as the new Norwegian is supposed to be an excellent proposion and about 3 other additions are expected to be made to the threadbare squad. Worth remembering that they have only lost once in the league so far. So far Saints have got off to a flyer but I feel that today's game demonstrated how good even middling teams like Millwall can be and expect a few more surprises in this league. Next week will be a massive test and as the second half showed, we are not the same team without Lallana although De Ridder once again impressed from the bench.
Ian Thumwood arguably the most depressing poster on here. I am convinced he either supports Pompey or works for the echo.
Dyslexic Just re-read my post and didn't think it was in any way depressing. I'm trying to be realistic and keep my feet grounded. The season has thrown up some odd results in the league so far and I was merely trying to comment on the fact that the table will change pretty drastically later in the season. Don't think any pundit would have predicted the current top six before the season started. We have got a strong squad with plenty of depth and the performance against Leeds was brilliant. However, I felt that Millwall were a different proposition yesterday and seemed a much better organised team. My point is that we shouldn't get carried away at the point in time. Curious to read the match stats It is brilliant that we are top of the league but the quality (judging from the two games I've seen at St, Marys) is a massive leap from League One and I fully expect many of the other visiting teams to be equally difficult to break down. I don't work for the Echo although I do actually work in P*******th postcode. I'm not depressed at all and pleased to be in the position we are in although sensible to realise that it will be a massive acheivement if we are still top in May. More convinced from recent performances that we can get into the play-offs that I was in the summer as, like most fans, expected this to be season on consolidation. Definately benefiting from retaining last seasons squad and not adding to it just for the sake of it. Surprised to see a few negative comments about Kelvin. I thought he played well yesterday when called upon to do so. The brilliant save and FR clearance from the line was pretty incredible - amazed that the ball never crossed the line.
Thought Kelvin had a good game. You can't be involved as much as he was yesterday and not make some errors. He deserved his clean sheet.
There is absolutely no need to WUM the Skates. Our rise and their demise is painful enough for them. It is oh so reassuring that natural order in the universe has been resumed and poor old Pompey are left bobbing in our wake.
But not enough to notice what the subs do if they are not on a whole half and can only see a good showing if we win by three goals! Stick to netball son
That was pretty much the game I saw but Seabourne worrys me when he has to pass the ball when he's under a little pressure
I thought Cork had a cracking game but Gully did a bit more! He passed the ball to Cork who then put him through for thee goal
Guly deserved his goal, not just for this game, but for the effort he's put in in the previous games.
Really looking forward to the Leicester fixture now. They have a quality group of players, but seem to go to pieces rather quickly when something goes against them, and they have now surrendered six goals in their last three games. Could be a wide-open game, and if we're the first to score Leicester could lose the plot again.
I thought Guly was our best player, and unlike some on here I thought Richardson played well (you need to give credit to the opposition sometimes - Bouazza is a good player, so it's little surprise that he gave us some problems). On the other hand, I thought Seaborne was quite poor (despite me being one of those who would have him start ahead of Martin). Davis 6 Richardson 7 Fonte 7 Seaborne 5 Harding 6 Guly 7 Cork 6 Hammond 5 Lallana 6 Lambert 6 Connolly 6
Schad The next three games will, in my opinion, demonstrate whether or not we will be the defining team in this league this season. The matches against Leicester, Nottingham Forest and Birmingham are all amongst the strongest reams in this league. I agree with your comments about Sven's team and they are beatable at the moment. Once the sqaud has gelled, I think they may be a better proposition so perhpas it will be furtuitous that we are meeting them so early in the season. If we win these next games, the rest of the season could be fascinating from a Saints perspective. I still think the the current league table is distorted by some of the recent results and would expect the table to level out over the next few weeks as the biggger teams start to get a grip on things. I'm surprised by Leicester as I expected them to run away with this league as they did previously about 6-7 years ago.
Agreed, and if we're on 20 points or more through the end of September, we'll be in great shape...there are a fair number of very winnable games in October and November interspersed with some tough ones.
