Saints had a convincing win over Fulham and soared into the top three albeit only for a day but Saints fans basked in the glory of one of our best starts to a season in the last 30 years.

Mauricio Pochettino once again opted to only include one out of Lambert/Osvaldo, reports said that the Italian had picked up a knock in training and certainly he didn't appear on the bench, but Rickie Lambert responded to being dropped for the game at Old Trafford with a stunning display.

Fact of the matter is by reverting to using only one forward as such we looked a much better balanced side and dominated Fulham from start to finish, the first half display was certainly the best of the season and indeed you would have to go back to over a decade since you would have seen the team play this well in the top flight.

Lambert rose to the challenge magnificently, but then again who would have doubted that he would, over the past few seasons whatever challenge had faced him he has met full on and triumphed, whether it be those who doubted his ability to step up to the Championship, the Premiership or to play for England, now he faces a fight for his place and after this showing Osvaldo will have to step up a gear or two if he wants to oust Lambert again.

Reverting to more the formation of late last season clearly suited us, Jay Rodriguez has always combined well with Lambert and the balance was there for all to see as Saints ripped the Cottagers apart, both goals were a Lambert/Rodriguez combination with firstly Jay Rod flicking on a corner for SRL to head home at the far post in the style we have grown accustomed to and then J Rod getting in on the act and scoring another header from a similar position from Lamberts headed ball back across goal.

It could have been so much more though, Lambert himself hit a post, several good saves from the keeper and a spectacular scissors kick from Rodriguez going just wide of the post late on.

But as much as the first half was scintillating, the second was functional, in the past Saints teams were often caught with sucker punches attempting to hit third goals, now though with the game effectively won in the first half, the second half saw Saints put in a workmanlike display which was not based on the blitzkrieg of the first but concentrated on keeping the ball and not letting Fulham get back into the game, we still had our chances but you could see the tempo had changed.

It hard to pick an exact man of the match, there were probably three candidates, Lambert, Lallana and Rodriguez, but they were not alone, Wanyama worked hard to get the ball back when not in possession and Jamie Ward Prowse offers accuracy from dead balls not seen very often since the retirement of Le God, making any dead ball situation a tricky time for the opposition.

At the back we were tight meaning that Boruc didn't have a shot to save, however don't underestimate the Polish keeper's ability to command his area and that meant that Fulham never got the chance to turn the screws on us when they did get the ball into our box.

The worst thing I can say about the game was that it was a pity that we didn't score more, but as mentioned the pleasing thing was this was a controlled win and that meant all out attack in the second half was not on the agenda.

I questioned Saints ability to see off some of the lower half teams in the preview, I have to say that although I haven't felt the balance was quite right in previous games, on Saturday it was spot on, perhaps for the first time since the opening day we played to our proper system rather than shoe horning players into certain positions and we reaped the benefit, creating plenty of chances from open play as well as from dead balls, we looked comfortable in all areas.

Saints are now being called the surprise package of the season and after nine games we cant be said to be a fluke, we just have to keep gaining points and looking to put pressure on others to catch us now.

Photo: Action Images

Scummer added 20:53 - Oct 27 Stunning first half display where we were just unstoppable. Fulham looked shellshocked. Looking the the table, there seems to be a top eight (with Man U clinging to the coat tails of that group) and then a noticeable gap to Swansea downwards. We need to get maximum return from the next two games and then the real test comes with Arsenal, the games in December culminating in Chelsea on New Year's Day, I can't wait!

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Dazzler73 added 21:01 - Oct 27 Not much to be said here other than TOP PERFORMANCE! and proud to be a Saint! And I been one for 40 years!!! Hansen said it in a nutshell, we played BEAUTIFUL football. Stan says we should have 5 in the England team! Can't disagree with either of them.
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sheffieldsaint added 21:52 - Oct 27 Could say loads. But I was impressed with ward prowse . His best game for us ? Not just the set pieces - though impressive , he seemed to work much harder than usual ,winning far more balls than usual. Very pleasing.
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slynch added 21:52 - Oct 27 I have read that it was the first time in the history of the EPL that a side has not been able to register a single attempt on goal in the first 45 minutes of a game. Such was the power of Pochettino's tactics efficiently perpetrated by a superbly drilled team. Personally, I have never seen a game so one sided, ever! Other sides defend a lead in their own half or carry on recklessly attacking, maybe winning 5 nil or drawing 2-all. Pochettino had his team take the ball into their half and defend it there. There have been many compliments in the press by so-called experts, but I don't think they quite understand what they witnessed. They will.

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schatfield added 22:40 - Oct 27 have to say, I would have to go back a very long time since I have seen a saints team play like this. Such a good side, and they can go a long way if the core of the team is kept together. Wonder how long before the big clubs come a sniffing for some of our outstanding chaps....
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SaintNick50 added 22:43 - Oct 27 The best first half performance I can remember, I have never seen such a dominating performance by any team! I have no idea why we bought Osvaldo, a waste of money, much better with Lambert up front. Great to see Jack Cork on if only for two minutes, I have no idea why we bought Wanyama.
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SaintDownUnder added 01:18 - Oct 28 I'm starting to believe.......
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BoondockSaint added 03:25 - Oct 28 Great game all round. As I predicted in my last post, J-Rod had his best game as Saint just to prove me wrong about him! I expect Gaston will be proving me wrong next week. So let's see if I can harness this power: Lionel Messi will never sign for Southampton. Roll on next transfer window!
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Sango123 added 05:36 - Oct 28 The team is really great defensively. I only hope they can create more clear cut chances to score more goals. I thought we would have added a few more goals if we maintain the same tempo
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IanRC added 09:52 - Oct 28 Inspired performance. Lallana works so well with Lambert, fantastic cross after looking up to see him for second goal. Must receive an England call up soon, as should several others. Ironic on a day that the FA celebrates 150 years. In recent times they have helped to depress the fortunes of the England team through selection of managers who do not select players on merit. Great performance, looking forward to seeing them at Stoke next week if I can get a ticket.

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brady100 added 10:06 - Oct 28 Fantastic performance. The only criticism was that we should have been more clinical at times, our performance merited 4 or 5. Special Mention for Wanyama who had his best game yet, accomplished passing display to compliment his aggressive dominating style.
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sidsaint added 10:36 - Oct 28 Agree with the above, a great performance. Sorry Nick I thought Wanyama had his best performance and I like the way he plays with his head up. Will we be getting rid of Osvaldo and Ramires in January? and I wish we had MP on a 20 year contract. I think our Chairman will hold on to our young stars as he doesn't want a repeat of seeing Walcott, Bale etc going out the door. We are no longer a selling club in that respect but our forays into Italy have not been that successful for the team despite the quality of the individuals and it would not surprise me if they returned to Seria A.

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thegeneral added 11:39 - Oct 28 Wanyama played well (and thats coming from a Cork fan) his passing was better. Clyne was also superb, a great team performance and leaves no doubt that SRL is our number one front man and we play our best football in the 4-2-3-1 system. Fulham were woeful and looked completely unprepared. Jayrod was excellent as well and has a big future, i think if he gets a chance down the middle he'll turn a lot of heads, not sure where all this leaves Osvaldo though, it may well be better to sell him and Ramirez and buy a world class playmaker, a top 7 or 8 finish may just get us someone. Looking at the Stoke game if Clyne and Shaw get some chalk on their boots and bang in the crosses we can easily come away with three points, they looked very vulnerable in the box from aerial threats, SRL will thrive, i'd be very dissapointed if he's dropped for DO.

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bstokesaint added 11:45 - Oct 28 Most comprehensive victory I can remember in my time as a Saints fan. I felt embarrassed for the away fans. Fantastic team performance and despite all the great individual displays, it was Lallana's that impressed me the most. I've wanted to see him push on for so long now and matches like this will get him into that World Cup squad. With a few others maybe.. For example is there a better pair of English full backs in the country than ours?

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ItchenNorth added 13:25 - Oct 28 Playing Lambert where he plays best (leading the line and not withdrawn deep) and letting Lallana roam was the key factor for me. Perhaps Pochettino will now realise that be it Osvaldo or Lambert; we should only play one of them in a formation and that a number 10 (fulfilled by Lallana in the main or as near to it as we’d had this season so far) is the key to more attacking flair and creation for both / either of them ! Now all we need to do is get Ramirez ready to slot in (when Lallana is off the pace) and goals shouldn’t be a problem. I thought Wanyama had to great game as did JWP too (as did everyone tbh). Fulham were poor though; so let’s make sure we get the attack formation right again from now on and we should be able to continue in this vein.

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Waylander added 22:21 - Oct 28 I'm not sure we can truly judge our performance by this game as Fulham were so poor. They looked like they had no plan at all, and whoever thought it was a good idea for Berbatov to be marking Lambert at corners should not be making decisions at this level.
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zonehead added 18:52 - Oct 29 I think J Rod and Ricky are the combo to go with
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