A comprehensive win to end the season.

A virtual full house greeted Saints for their final game of the 2010/11 season and they were not to be disapointed as Saints put Walsall to the sword from the very start, in truth the match mirrored many of the other Saints games this season where we have dominated games for 98% of the time, not put away the number of chances that we should have and had a little bit of a lack of concentration to give the opposition a goal that they perhaps did not deserve, however the fact of the matter is this Saints squad is so much better than most of the teams in League One, when they are on form its more than enough, thios is not meant to sound arrogant, but over the past two seasons, Saints have spent more money than the entire League put together and have an array of players of Championship standard and in some cases higher.

Guly has often been the butt of some fans wrath, but his opening goal was superb as was the move that lead to the second from David Connolly, who showed that when fit he is probably the best striker at the club, hopefully next year he will get a new deal and continue to prove that.

After the second Saints fans expected  landslide, but despite plenty of chances, 10 on target and 10 off to be exact, Saints only addition to the score was  the games best goal from Oxo, a combination of poor finishing and inspired goalkeeping meant that Walsall were eventually able to enjoy their own celebrations without being humiliated by the scoreline.

For their part the Saddlers never gave up and had a few chances of their own, as the game went into the final a5 minutes and news started to come through that Dagenham were two down and then that they had conceded a third aligned with the fact that Huddersfield were only drawing meant that finally the nagging doubts were over and both sets of supporters started to celebrate, indeed most would have been happy for the game to end there and then so the party could commence.

Despite repeated tannoy announcements to keep off the pitch including a score update from Peterborough to ensure that all knew the party need not be anything other than joyous, the fans streamed on at the final whistle engulfing a  pile of Walsall players celebrating on the half way line.

It had been a long season and the finishing line had finally been passed, the five point gap between us and Huddersfield making the triumph appear easier than it actually was, amazing to think that only one week and three hours earlier how close and tense it had been prior to the Brentford game.

Now comes three months of hard work to prepare for the new season back in the Championship, Nigel Adkins will surely feel that now he can finally start to mould his own side in his way rather than the manner in which he arrived and having to work with another mans squad.

Alan Pardew should not be forgotten amidst the celebrations, yes he only was at the helm for three games this season, but of the 18 on duty against Walsall 11 were signed by Pardew, 5 were at the club before him, leaving only Richard Chaplow and Jonathan Forte as Adkins signings, this is not to take away the achievement of Nigel Adkins but to remember the contribution Alan Pardew made to Southampton Football Club.         

Photo: Action Images

st_bangkok added 12:45 - May 8 Very good point about Pardew, he does indeed derserve some of the credit as he did build this team in the main.......adkins polished off the spirit and winning mentaility etc.
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DJI added 13:31 - May 8 I, like all Saints supporters am so happy we won promotion and can't wait for the new season to start. Adkins and his staff deserve a lot of praise for turning things around. And Cortese's decision to sack Pardew has been shown to be a brave and correct one. However, call me a kill-joy but I, like many others, stayed in the stands at the final whistle and was robbed of the Cup presentation and the customary team parade! It really does annoy me that the missing 10,000 come along for one game and took that away from those of us who follow the Club all season. I looked around Kingsland and Northam and could see so many ST holders and regular match goers just stood applauding and like them, left the stadium when it was clear we wouldn't get to see the Team. I am quite fed up as I feel like I was robbed of the party yesterday and as I live an hour away, travelling back in today for the celebration match was going to be too expensive for one weekend with fuel and parking. Why does it always happen at St. Mary's? I hope the Club does a better job next year so the other loyal fans get to enjoy the celebrations too!

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jonrog added 13:41 - May 8 A great season. My only wish is that our fans would stay off the pitch at the end of the match. How much better would it have been if the teams and their families could have walked around the pitch and acknowledge the fans, rather than being lost in the disabled area where some fans might get a glimpse but the vast majority can only imagine.
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ThereIn76 added 16:55 - May 8 Nick - just want to say thanks for all your reports on matches and for keeping this site running, I've disagreed with things you've said on occasions but football is all about opinions and it takes guts to set yourself up to be knocked down as you do. Take a bow! If you'd be interested in publishing the occasional piece from me then I'd be happy to oblige. I feel almost unreasonably optimistic about the future for Saints - we have an excellent squad and manager, an executive chairman who is running the show superbly and the financial backing to realise our hopes and dreams. I can't wait for next season!

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BlackRod added 18:50 - May 8 Yeh, thanks Nick, I have enjoyed reading it too - always check in here the day after a match. Especially enjoyed seeing Harding and Davis selected for the League 1 team of the year after seeing your comments on them ;-) I think Davis came good at the right time but fully expect a few more heart attacks from him next season. COYR
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Spot51 added 07:24 - May 9 Much sense talked above. We did of course have the best squad in the league and Nigel Adkins finally got us playing accordingly. Bit too much showboating on Saturday for a purist like me but our side got the job done with room to spare. Most of these guys will perform well in the league above but, as Nige keeps saying, it is a squad game and I trust him to strengthen where he sees fit. I don't want to see wholesale changes though as our current momentum is very positive and can carry us well into next season (like Norwich). Agree with everything said about the pitch invasion too. That sort of selfishness robs fans of the opportunity to see the team parade round the pitch and thank them for their wonderful efforts on our behalf. Shame so many of our so-called fans are too thick to understand that.

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bstokesaint added 12:35 - May 9 In summary a fantastic season and I can't wait wait until next season. It's a bit harsh to call fellow fans "thick" for invading the pitch. It was hardly a huge surprise and the lap of honour was done the next day for the 17,000 odd that turned up for all the stars game. I personally can't see any problem with the fans wanting to celebrate. I live a drive away too, but scenes like Saturday's will stay in my mind for a long time, despite the fact I didn't get on the pitch myself. As I've said before Nick well done for all the work you've put in during the season. You've done a top job despite some harsh critics. I'm hoping next season will be just as successful. As Spot says I don't want to see any wholesale changes, and where we do strengthen it'll be interesting to see Adkin's choices. Congratulations to him though for getting the job done, and thanks AP for getting that team in place.

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