3 things i loved last night.

[bengull]

1. The calmness under pressure. Even in the last 10 minutes we hardly panicked apart from clearances under pressure. Every corner we conceded, we simply took our positions, stuck to our tasks and defended positively. With a bit of time on the ball, we tried to play our way out of danger, excellent to see the confidence throughout the team and the belief we could see the game out without resorting to hoofing it out of the ground. A direct contrast to last season's encounter when we completely panicked, imploded and surrendered our lead.

2. The look on the face of every single player at Full-time, heartwarming to see it means just as much to the players as it does to the fans. There is a real feeling of togetherness between everyone at the club and a sense of pride for everyone wearing the yellow shirt. The team spirit is as good as I have ever known, and I have never known a time where the connection between the fans and players has been stronger. I would absolutely love a picture of Manse's face at the final whistle; tells a story better than a 1000 words and personifies the spirit at our club this season.

3. The special round of applause reserved for Martin Ling. Not a popular appointment back in the summer, our manager has done a monumental job in every aspect of his remit. He must take a massive amount of credit for where we are now, yet time and time again he prefers to stand in the shadows and let his troops take the plaudits. Last night was the first time he reacted properly to the crowd's applause and took a bit of the acclaim for himself, it was lovely to see the beaming smile on his face, clearly bursting with pride at what he has achieved so far this season. Looks like a popular appointment now.

I have every faith in our manager and playing staff to give their all for the rest of the season. A season that's already beyond my wildest dreams, and i couldn't be more proud to be a TUFC fan.

[Southampton Gull]

You echo my thoughts completely, Ben. Last night I was stood there watching that game and thinking we are so different from a Buckle team in that we seem able to withstand the pressure that is put on us in the dying moments of a game.

As for Martin Ling, well I've been a fan of his appointment from the moment I heard it and even during that dodgy spell I still had faith in him to turn it around, even I didn't expect what has transpired though. Full credit to the guy, he is a genuinely nice person and goes about his job in a way that really pleases me. Such a contrast to our previous manager.

Even if we were to lose form and drop out of the top 7 I will still see this as a very good season and look forward to seeing Martin Ling build something special. If we were to do the unthinkable and get promotion that would be just unvelievable and who knows, we might just get to hang on to some of the wonderful players we have. Happy days.

[royalgull]

I mentioned point 1 in my report.

As much as i loved Branstonbauer and this isn't slating him at all, the match was the same as last year when Branston and co messed up the 2 goal lead. The 2 key changes obviously Olejnik for Potter is a no comparison but ellis and Saah just have a calmness about them. Saah had his best game I've seen him play last night, Ellis summed it up, When bobby made that brilliant low save and was on the floor, Ellis stopped it from going out for a corner dribbled it for a few yards then played a short pass to Nicho who cleared the danger. Branston would have put it straight away onto the M5. There is a time and place for kicking it miles and last 5mins absolutely no problem but it just creates pressure as the ball keeps coming back. Last year we succumbed to a keeper not dealing with a high ball and also Branston not dealing with a high ball trying to 'win' a foul. Last night Bobby dealt with everything with an air of authroity other than one where he was clearly fouled and it wasn't given, and the two centre backs headed everything. if it had to be a corner, so be it but we were going to deal with it.

That is superb defending, it's not playing percentages or trying to manufacture a foul, it's decisive committed and taking responsibility defending.

I was having a think about it today, we might not have quite the amount of attacking threats as we did a year ago, but what we do have is a lot more steel about us. Cheltenham, Morecambe, Aldershot and Crewe. All games away from home that we either lost or lost points from winning positions last year that we've won this year. I never feel even though there have been times like at Morecambe, Macc and Argyle we've let 1 in and given them a sniff, that we'd surrender these leads anymore. I still felt confident we'd win these games once we get a couple of goals up. Now at 1-0, it's hard not to feel secure with these lads.

Great organisation but fundamentally better players playing well this year.

[Dave]

Fantactic thread Bengull, deserved a better response, did not go last night, however went last season, and felt frustrated and angered at the way the team rolled over and gave up there last seaon, prehaps a little harsh to say it happened constantly under buckle, however did happen more times than it should have, I allways felt our team under Buckle had a glass jaw.

The three points you make in the o/p dont just apply to last night, I think apply to almost our entire season, I went to Rovers and of course Plymouth away, saw us come under pressure in those two matchs , and a few times at home, and allways felt the team could and would hold out, however must admit there times listening to the match on the radio I nearly had kittens last night, but it is difficult to judge what is really happening over the radio.

Like every one else bursting with pride right now, long may it continue.

[royalgull]

I think it also helps in this aspect having someone like Shaun Taylor who was a centre half at a decent level of football and also captained sides in the past. He knows how a defense should line up and how they should play. In comparison to Shaun North who was well thought of but doesn't have that expertise or experience, neither does Buckle with regard to defensive play. So Ling and Taylor seem to work well in that aspect.

Back to the players I think that calmness from Saah, Ellis and Robertson previously also helps things. Branston I loved him to bits, cult hero but along with his dominance there was always that element of a mistake in him. The two lads playing now are just more gifted players who are now realising their potential. At the start of the season on the evidence I saw I thought Saah wasn't good enough and I wasn't sure Ellis could do what he's done consistently. Ellis definitely has banished any of those fears and he's playing superbly and more of the same from Saah and those early games will be forgotten.

[Trojan 67]

I think it also helps in this aspect having someone like Shaun Taylor who was a centre half at a decent level of football and also captained sides in the past. He knows how a defense should line up and how they should play. In comparison to Shaun North who was well thought of but doesn't have that expertise or experience, neither does Buckle with regard to defensive play. So Ling and Taylor seem to work well in that aspect.

Back to the players I think that calmness from Saah, Ellis and Robertson previously also helps things. Branston I loved him to bits, cult hero but along with his dominance there was always that element of a mistake in him. The two lads playing now are just more gifted players who are now realising their potential. At the start of the season on the evidence I saw I thought Saah wasn't good enough and I wasn't sure Ellis could do what he's done consistently. Ellis definitely has banished any of those fears and he's playing superbly and more of the same from Saah and those early games will be forgotten.

Hammer, nail, head, hit.

It took a while for things to settle, including a winless run to properly assess varied situations.

Peoples recent concerns seem to have been us losing our best players. We should now be concerned about us losing our management duo.