Well, here we are on top of the league, and it feels great. We have got our noses in front and it's all in our own hands, let's hope it stays that way. When I look back on the season as a whole, we are holding our own at the moment, after the much commented upon dip in form at the end of last year. Before that we had a cushion of 5 points which we had accumulated following the best start to a season for over 50 years. Bless him, Nigel does tend to repeat himself a bit in interviews and the thing I remember about those he gave after the first half a dozen games, was a constant claim that we had a very fit group of professional footballers, who are working very hard...... Well you know the rest! But he was absolutely right. We did look to be that half a yard quicker than the opposition and gaps seemed to open up towards the end of the game. We stopped being the team that I have seen for so many season who weren't bad for about 85 minutes and then conceded in the last 5 minutes. Now as the season has gone on, there has been comment about how teams have sussed us out, and give us no time on the ball, etc. true, but it a very tiring strategy to do that. Is it possibly just that after the first 10 games the opposition teams were now much fitter than at the beginning of the season. in other words, was it the pre-season which put us on top and has meant that we have stayed there?
For one thing after the last pre season they weren't totally knackered as they were the previous one. I have never seen such a ramshackled lot returning from pre season. Never want to see it again. Is our success down to our preseason no problably not although for sure it would have helped!
To clarify, I meant that whilst we would be there or there abouts, would we be top? I think it's self-evident that with out the fantastic start, probably not.
Man... we got off to a flyer there is no doubt about that and yes would agree without it we would not be where we are today, not even close. We just need a couple of other players to step up to the plate to hit scintillating form to see us through.
One of the things I notice every week when watching TFLS, where one gets to compare and contrast every team, is that although the pace of Championship games can often be frenetic, the pace of games where Saints are in control, are just that little bit slower. The opposition we play are moving around as fast, as in any of the other games, in order to get the ball off us, but we play with a slightly slower pace than a lot of teams. The difference isn't huge, but it's noticeable. It's like a videotape that's been recorded to run at 25fps, now running at 24, 23 or 22fps. When Saints are in control, that's where I believe they really take the opposition to the cleaners. That's not to say that we are slow, because we can up the pace, or slow it down. A lot of teams play at one speed. We don't. It helps to make us unpredictable and difficult to defend against. It also means we can last longer. Saying that though, I do believe Saints are amongst the fittest teams in the league.
The team came back from preseason fit as butchers dogs and on a high after last season. They got off to a rapid start and their confidence increased. By the time other teams took us seriously, we had gained experience of the Championship. We stayed top even during our blip because we had some points in hand. Remember even during the blip, we were not playing badly, goals just wouldn't go in. I bet our bad games would fit on one hand. Now, we have a strong team who are still fit and can probably see us over the line.
Our Pre-season games this season: Biel-Bienne 3 – 3 Southampton St. Gallen 1 – 0 Southampton Southampton 3 – 0 Werder Bremen Southampton 0 – 2 Athletic Bilbao Southampton 2 – 2 West Bromwich Albion Yeovil Town 2 – 2 Southampton Momentum from last season and tough fixtures plus Nigel's expertise set us up nicely IMO COYR!
Yes, and if I remember correctly, didn't we sign Frazier Richardson during the summer and he dislocated his shoulder during the preseason last time around?
Although I teach in a language school in Portsmouth I brought a group of Kosovan teenagers to Southampton last summer and a tour of the stadium. One of the group must have left a good casting spell over the club - hence our lofty position. It's just a theory, though!!
