A look at what which games were critical high points in the season.

Sometimes when we look back certain games jump off the fixture list as being turning points in the season, sometimes they have been great games yet turned out to be false dawns, with Saints it was very much a season of two halves or some would say three thirds, but here we look at the first high point of the season, Bristol Rovers Away.

Saints went into the game languishing only one place above the relegation zone after losing the opener to Plymouth and then only managing a draw at home to Orient, they were also playing catch up in games played as well due to the postponement of the MK Dons fixture due to the sad death of Markus Liebherr

Rumours were rife around St Mary's concerning the future of Alan Pardew, many were shocked at the end of the previous season to hear that he might be sacked then, but with statemements from the club to the contary all had appeared well, but with only two games gone and Liebherr gone theywere resurfacing again.

So Saints arrived at the Memorial Stadium needing a win not only for their league position but for their manager as well, it looked tough Rovers had made a solid start to the season at at that stage looked more likely to challenge for promotion than be relegated.

But if ever a team played for its manager it was that day, anyone present for this performance dismissed the rumours of unrest between players and manager as this was a total show of solidarity from a side that looked different class from the one that had performed so poorly in the opening fixtures.

Perhaps free of the pressures of a home crowd Saints ran wild from the start to finish, playing a passing game and controlling the game, Fonte headed the opener on ten minutes and when Lallana doubled the lead just after the half hour, it wasnt easy though Rovers had their chances and Kelvin Davis had to make a decent save with the lead still 1-0.

Just after the break Lallana had to retuire from the fray with a knee injury but this didnt break Saints dominance and when Lee Barnard was brought down just before the hour mark, Rickie Lambert once again didnt miss from the spot.

From then on Saints made sure there was no way back for Rovers and closed the game off, Lee Barnard's injury time goal being just reward for hios work rate that afternoon and giving the game a scoreline that by no means flattered the visitors.

The way Saints celebrated at the end it was clear that they were making a point and that point was they were all behind Alan Pardew as were the supporters given the way they chanted for the manager, but what went unoticed at the time was that perhaps Pardew had made a point of his own.

Certainly Saints supporters wondered why new signing Guly was not introduced earlier, 3-0 up and cruising is the time to introduce new players to the line up, but with ten minutes left the second substitution(the first Dickson on 47 was for the injured Lallana) was not Guly but David Connolly and it was only as the game reached its last few minutes that Guly came on for Schneiderlin, was this the straw that broke the camel's back in the relationship between the manager and the Chairman, certainly 24 hours later Pardew was sacked.

Saints supporters are now squarely behind Nigel Adkins, but it has to be said they were dismayed at the sacking of Pardew and the Echo letters page and message boards were full of supporters dismayed at the event, certainly in the following home game against Rochdale were Saints were poor and a shadow of the side who had beaten Bristol so well there were many chants of "One Alan Pardew"

But the Bristol Rovers game was a magnificent victory and an indication of just how good the side and indeed the squad was, directly after the game it felt like a turning point had been reached and that after what was after all only a two game dodgy start that Saints had now found their form and could now start to go on a winning run, now up to midtable and only three points behind the play off spots with a game in hand it looked like things were about to take a turn for the better, little did we know that this was a turning point, but not in the direction we thought !     

Photo: Action Images

felly1 added 10:08 - Jun 2 Im certain we would have got promoted under Alan Pardew, the squad we have was essentially put together by him. I was at the Rovers game , It was your typical warm sunny early season game and it was a joy to watch as Saints tore them apart,I particulary remember Aarron Martin and Ryan Dickson impressing on the pitch and having their first great games for us,and it made me realise what a strong squad we had.I think that not only did Pardew's sacking cause unrest in the squad but we also really missed Antonio and Waigo's pace and unpredictability, which was only addressed with the emergence of Chamberlain.

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Kiwifiedpom added 23:28 - Jun 2 I have to say that at the time I was surprised. Obviously something was amiss within the club. The dismissal was an act of courage on Cortese's part, the appointment of Adkins even more so. Now in retrospect we can see what a monumental task faced Adkins. To overcome any resentment felt by the players and winning their confidence. Not only did he do it but won us automatic promotion with another mans squad to boot.

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