Saints v Millwall

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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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
sain-t said:
Goes to show how different peoples perceptions of the game can be...

Davis - 7, Great command of his area with some challenging balls in, a bit dodgy early on with coming off of his line to claim balls... but solid.
Richardson - 5, Our worst player today, I'd been impressed with him up until now but he'll want to forget today... Got rinsed by Buoazza in the first half everytime... PLayed better in the second half but didn't really offer much and needlessly gave the ball away with a few hoofs.
Fonte - 8, As always very assured.
Seaborne - 8, Had a very good game, best I've seen from him in a while, great in the air and looked assured on the ball.
Harding - 7, Can't say I saw much of him, but I guess that speaks for itself, didn't get beaten once as far as I remember.
Guly - 8, Man of the match, great finish for the goal, athletic and confident performance, great hold up play and link up play... obviously he had a few moments of needless tricks and sloppy passing, but what more can we expect?!
Hammond - 6, He played ok, but obviously there was a reason he was subbed off at half time...
Cork - 8, Second only to Guly, great performance, needed the extra midfield support from Schneiderlin in the second half, great passing (the assist to Guly's goal and a few other passes... One to Connolly a particular highlight) composed on the ball and was involved in all of our best moves.
Lallana - 6, good dribbling but off the pace of the game
Lambert 7, Won every header today, good movement, just lacked some pace when it was required but I can't hold that against him as it's not his game... Nothing out of the ordinary from him but had a good game.
Connolly - 6, Played ok, but Lallana wasn't on form so I think this affected Connolly's game too, and struggled against the physical opposition.

Schneiderlin - 7, Good game from him, did exactly what was required and dictated the tempo, added more composure to the midfield to allow for the excellent keep ball at the end of the second half.
Fox - 6, Quiet, you could tell he was more of a left back but did enough... and helped sure up the midfield.
De Ridder - 7, Magic when he came on, made all of the right decisions with the ball at his feet and was a pleasure to watch, worked hard especially when Lambert and Guly were tiring.
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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
 
Relentless Saint Supertramp said:
Credit to Millwall, they had a game plan, stuck to it and it worked very well. They overran us in midfield, closed us down quickly and won most 50/50s. We struggled to get into our normal passing game as a result and as everyone has said looked jaded as the game went on. However despite all this we battled through and have won another 3 points, best win of the season for me in the way that we wouldnt give up our lead.
My MOTM was probably Cork for his energy (despite looking cream crackered) and pass to Guly for his goal. Guly took his goal well but drifted inside too much leaving Richardson exposed on the wing. Delighted with the win and now the players can enjoy a well deserved day off!
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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
 
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.
 
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