In many respects a good point, in others maybe not !

If Saints had not had such an abysmal run, then this point against Cardiff would be quite satisfactory, but in the longer term it means that we have now amassed only 12 points from 11 games and that is still not good enough, however if this point signals a return to good form then i will take it.

Nigel Adkins team selection could not be faulted, ironically it was just the one i had selected myself in yesterdays preview, Billy Sharpe and a couple of injuries aside I dont think we could put out a better side, therefore there was no hiding places and no excuses, we got the selection right, now we just had to get the tactics spot on.

This is probably where we have gone wrong over the past two months and sadly what has emerged is that we only have a plan A and in that respect nothing changed, what also emerged in the first half is that we are shockingly short on confidence and team spirit.

Once again we conceded a sloppy goal, I havent seen a TV replay, on the night Kelvin Davis looked to have been fouled, but truth is he didnt make himself big and strong and on several other set plays Cardiff crowded the six yard box with players having spotted a weak link they looked to exploit it further.

Second half Saints came out with more confidence, they seemed to have the mindset that Cardiff had thrown everything at them and they were only a goal down so there was nothing to fear and to be blunt there wasnt and that has been the case over this 11 game run, all we need to do is get back to playing with confidence and in this respect our second half display gives renewed hope that with the addition of Sharp we can now start winning a few games and push ourselves back to the top of the league.

However with a tough set of fixtures ahead we do have to get back to winning ways and that means getting at least a couple of wins on the bounce and its hard to see that happening in the next three games.

The two players that perhaps contributed the most to our fightback were Jason Puncheon and Tadanari Lee, they did so for one reason, that was they had the urgency and spirit and wanted to play, in truth they didnt produce that much between them in terms of chances etc, but they played without fear and looked like they wanted to be out there and that has to be a positive.

But the same problems still remain, we seem to always want to pass it one time too many, it seems our confidence to shoot when we get a sight of goal has been coached out of us, we are afraid to miss and therefore we are always trying to pass the ball and almost walk it into the net, its fine to play a passing game, but there are times when that has to go out of the window.

But with other results going for us, this wasnt the disaster it could have been, we are still second and there are plenty of games to get our season back on track, however our league position and our last 11 games perhaps highlight one thing and that is what a great opportunity we have missed to run away with this league, now we find ourselves amongst the other hopefuls instead of way out in front, we cant keep missing these opportunitys, we have to take them now whilst we still have the chance.

Photo: Action Images

tiptop added 09:17 - Feb 2 Fox had a bad game. He'll have better. I expect Harding will come in Sat. There is always young luke shaw to bring through "If your good enough...". Yes he needs to be introduced gradually not straight away but...maybe he'll get more of a run out against millwall.
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saintwiz added 10:59 - Feb 2 Lambert pen appeal 1st half - No pen. Cardiff goal - Job to see on TV if there was a foul on KD. Lallana pen appeal - penalty. If thought he'd dived why did he not book him. Lambert goal (pen) - ball struck his hand, deliberate? But they are given. Depends on ref. Poor refeering all night.
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Zambucco added 11:06 - Feb 2 Another good article Nick, well from my point of view. A lot of fans keep mentioning that at the beginning of the season we'd have been more than happy with our position, true. But this isn't the beginning, it's over midway and we have led for most of that, personally I was very confident of a great season. So it is only natural to be dismayed in an alarming drop in form, how can a team that scored for fun, had a confident tight defence suddenly change? weight of expectation? the sudden realisation that we were the team everybody wanted to beat? All of those reasons puts massive pressure on the team and individuals, they also pick up on the vibe from the supporters (although we're still the best in the league) Let's admit it we do apply pressure, because we know we belong in the Premiership and will not be content until we are back. To highlight your point of a plan B, we only seem to have a very flimsy plan B. It seems teams have cottoned on to the fact that if they close us down crowd the midfield we seem to lose heart and ideas. Leicester was a massive indicater, they did not let us breathe let along play the ball. My option would be to fight fire with fire. When teams are closing us down and taking the ball off us, we need to fight like terriers to get that ball back, and we simply don't we seem to hope the opposition will make a mistake and give the ball back to us. With the acception of Richard Chaplow and that's why we miss him so much. Okay to a certain extent Dean Hammond, Jack Cork (but a little light weight in the tackle). Against Cardiff the 'newcomers' Puncheon and Chud showed this fire and I think that is what lifted the other players. If we are going to win this division we have to start adding that fire, the winning mentality, yes we need to mix it up now and again. Look at all the great passing teams beautiful to watch going forward, but uncompromising in retrieving the ball. As sweet as Barca's football is there are a few 'animals' in there! Overall a brilliant performance against Cardiff we started to show 'spirit' I think the players enjoyed this and they will continue to display this in abundance, Birmingham, Burnley and West Ham will not come soon enough for the team, they will want to send out a message to the Championship and the fans "we're back"

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Whatsforpud added 21:01 - Feb 2 I too thought Puncheon played well, but I was a little confused as to what his position was supposed to be. He seemed to start wide right as expected, but often drifted into the middle, which in that first half, became a little crowded at times. It was left open for Richardson to run up and down, but he had a lot to cover on his own.
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