We did enough and only Jose, Vic, Davis and Long were the stand out performers.

There were too many that didn't look interested and too many that were looking uncomfortable on the ball, due to conditions and the lack of time on the ball.

I am not sure why both Targett and Bertrand were playing. The first half at Sheff Utd proved that they can't both play in the same team. This time Matt moved to the midfield role, but failed to get into the game and made very little impact.

I know the conditions were not great and the pitch had been ploughed and watered before the game, but we should have done a bit more all round.

Maybe it was part of Koeman's master plan - show the nation and Newcastle how poor we are and then take them to the cleaners !! :-)

Job done - We March On !!

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To say that some players looked disinterested is hugely incorrect.Gardos and Reed were also up for this game and of those who didn't shine there was an excuse for Targett as he is not a midfielder, anymore than Ward-Prowse was a right-back a couple of games ago and Forster had hardly anything to do. It's a wonder the bloke hasn't caught a chill standing arounde in the last few games. There is something wrong with Tadic. Although he scored at Old Trafford he is not the same man as he was two months ago. He seemed to have a back or hip injury yesterday. The referee was the best we have seen all season in my opinion.

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Mounting injuries again becoming a worry, particularly as they are being sustained by a lot of our big game players, Alderweireld, Schneiderlin and now Victor Wanyama. Not sure Jack Cork, JWP or Steven Davis can do the enforcer role in midfield like Morgan and Vic do? Step up Harry, your time has arrived!

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Well, job done but I can't say I enjoyed it. Can't criticise much defensively, but going forward, apart from Shane's constant work rate and well taken goal, I can't really say anything. So many players didn't look comfortable in their roles - Ryan as a CB, Matt & Nat as wing backs, Dusan in the front 2. Don't know why, did we miss Morgan that much?

Interesting to see how we cope without Morgan, Victor and Toby for a few weeks. Our top 4 position is going to be tough to maintain without them. (Please no more injuries!!!)

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A woeful match to be honest but it was really just a case of getting the job done and moving on. Well taking goal by Long. Very instinctive. I didn't think he had actually scored as the reaction seemed a bit muted. After that it was just about keeping it tight.

Didn't think the formation worked too well. Seemed a bit unbalanced in midfield to me. Strange to see 2 upfront !! Full credit to Long, chased and harried all night. You won't get many doing that on a cold, windy night !!

Good to see Gardos get some game time. Needs to work on his passing / distribution from the back though. Has a tendency to "hoof' the ball forward and give a way possession imo. Also, I believe he is a bit error prone but I think he will improve with more games.

Losing big Vic is a blow for a few weeks. It also looked like Tadic, Long & Bertrand had a few niggles at the end too. Let's hope they are nothing serious.

Onwards and upwards.

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Another solid display, controlling the game and doing just enough for the win. Elia was very impressive not just in the way he took the goals but his overall work rate.

For fear of sounding like a stuck record, Harrison Reed impressed again.

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Not pretty but job done yet again. A disciplined, controlled confident team performance. Elia looks an excellent signing, great substitutions and Koeman's stock rises yet again. What a manager.

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So no Morgan, Victor, Toby and yet we can still match a good Newcastle team away from home.
Great team performance, particularly Jose, Harry Eljero.
Ron plays it right again.
Bit drunk, very happy.

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When reflecting on what seemed to me to be a pretty evenly contested game with some mistakes by Saints players, I thought it might be worthwhile to consider what the other side thought about it. With this in mind I have just read the report (and a few of the fans comments) in the Newcastle Chronicle, and boy, are they unhappy! Not, as you might suppose, with the claim for handball against Fonte (it wasn't) nor about alleged fouls given or not given, but rather with their own management and team performance. The dismissal of Pardew has not been not universally welcomed in the north east and the performance of the team has less than impressed the locals. In short, they blame their management for secrecy and short sightedness and their players for poor performance, and I detected more than a grudging respect for the Saints from the blogs. Many (perhaps even most) of them regard us a very good side indeed and are rather pleased that Southampton are mixing it with the big boys. It is sometimes easy to under-estimate your own team's performance and to see faults when others see success. So, before anyone posts anything negative about today's game, (and I can't imagine that anyone seriously would do so) take a moment to think about how others see us. Then celebrate another famous win!

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OK so some desperate defending at times and we got a little bit of fortune for once, but another great win - without many key players !!!
We got a little lucky with our 2nd goal and we gifted Newcastle their goal, but considering our resources, this was a well planned and well executed win at a place where it is difficult to pick up points.
Lots of people in the media and on forums mention the penalty and yes, it should have been given. It does not mean that they necessarily score from it though and if you remember back to the SMS game, Shane got punched in the head by Krull in the box, for a definite penalty and perhaps and red card - so things perhaps do even themselves out.
Good to see Swans lose yesterday, so hopefully we can dish out a similar result to them in our next league game :-)
People are beginning to finally believe we are the real deal at the top, so let's push onwards. It was just a shame that none of the other results went our way yesterday :-(

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