I have just watched the 2nd Half on my Sky plus recording, and it looked much better than I deemed it at the game itself, on 8 or 9 occasion the commentator says that the Referee got decisions wrong in Blackpools favour, including the penalty shouts, Lalana was definitely not a Pen, he fell awkardly, the shove on Spider would have been given on many occasions, but not this one. A couple of other observations, why did they water the pitch at half time, it made the surface very tricky and it was mostly to the detriment of Saints, particuarly Lala, Guly and Steve who lost their footing at vital times, also why have they narrowed the pitch again? If we want to use the wings we need more space to be effective.
Lallana won the ball that led to Lamberts 1st goal. Players like Adam and Ricky are match winners who will keep us in the chase for the title. We're proving at the moment how important are early points on the board..we drop points but still remain top because the opposition have to do better than us. Also must add that a few dodgy-looking decisions by the officials yesterday were vindicated on the FLS last night..their 1st goal was not offside, the penalty calls were not clear cut, and the ball came off de Ridder at the end and didn't justify a corner. We should have won yesterday but didn't, still remain top by an increased margin and improved goal difference v West Ham, so not a disaster. Also showed the spirit of the team..we still look the best team in the league.
There no doubt there was a lot of frustration yesterday at St Mary's. I thought the fans got right behind the team and really did lift them. Yes of course you get a few mindless morons that are going to express their disappointment by booing certain players. That has happened since time immemorial and will continue to happen. Yes Bart had a howler no doubt cost us but you have to admit Saints fought like cat & dog to rectify it. The fans helped.....Bart knows he had a bad game he doesn't need reminding of what happened, he is also a professional and knows that if he makes a mistake it is usually a costly one, as happened. It wasn't the crowd that made him nervous it was in his own mind. As early as the first 5 minutes he nearly gave them a goal through mishandling which did not help settle his early nerves. All goalkeepers are nervous before a game and are set up by their early handling. In my day we used to give the goalkeeper "a touch" early in the game just to get a feel for the ball. His first touch was to scramble a ball for a corner because of mishandling. Not a good way to start a game!!
Since the pass-back law came in you can't give your goalie a feel of the ball, they have to wait until a dead ball or whatever. It doesn't help keepers like Bart that's for sure!
Obviously Bart's nightmare performance, the end of the home run, and more points dropped have all taken centre stage, but behind all of that I actually thought it was very good match to watch. I'd put it second at St Marys this season, only behind Forest (which I thought was one of the best games that I've ever seen at St Marys). Two very decent sides who wanted to be, and were capable of, scoring goals.
I think that alot of the loss of form has been due to Connolly being injured and the fact that Cork hasn't been quite an impressive as he had been at the beginning of the season. For me, Connolly is one of the most intelligent players in our team and his absence has probably been under-estimated by most Saints fans. Also having Chaplow missing has not helped and the fact that Barnard is supposed to require another operation in the new year means that the squad's depth is being compromised. I am not sure about the comment regardng typical Saints fans and feel it is a bit of a generalisation. We have been brilliant at home more the most part of the season and expectations get raised. Up until a few weeks back I felt that even in the less successful wins, Adkins was able to suss out the opposition after the first 45 mins and then come up with a solution as to how they can be undone. Judging by the radio commenary during the last 2 away games, this appears not to have worked and I felt the Blackpool equaliser came at a crucial time yesterday as we were definately moving up the gears after Lambert's first goal. Bart's error seemed to set the tone for the match and I was always worried that Blackpool looked dangerous when they attacked. A draw was a far result in the end but I think Saints fans need to realise that the standardsin the league are extremely high. To remain top is a massive achievement and I don't think the season will get any easier. Next Sunday's game will be faascinating as I think this has the potential to our our stiffest challenge of the current campaign as Pompey seen rejuvenated and they will definatley fancy themselves . Hopefully Kelvin will be back in goal (Adkins interview on Solent seemed to suggest as much yesterday) but I would be far more confident if we had Connolly and Chaplow availabe for selection. Dos anyone have any idea when they will be fit?
Agree - the game changed (I thought) when Harding came on for Fox. Need Chappers back - he brings a bit of abrasiveness and energy in midfield we don`t get from anyone else.
