DAVE WHITE
A mixed month ends on a high note following an excellent performance in front of the TV cameras at Southampton. The three points were fully deserved in a match we could easily have won by more goals.

Although praise is due to the entire team for their efforts, Edwards and Burgess can feel even more pleased with themselves.

Burgess' man of the match award from Sky was richly deserved and is the culmination of a tremendous month for him.

His two goals may have been penalties but his all-round play, both in the air and on the ground, has caught the eye and on current form he cannot be dropped.

Captain Edwards is looking a brilliant signing and this season's first clean sheet will hopefully be the first of many.

Steve Kabba must have been the most frustrated man on the pitch but for a change the linesman got the decisions for the three disallowed goals correct.

He looked much sharper than against Sheffield United and deserves to be in the team for Barnsley. One player I'm looking forward to seeing more of is David Vaughan and he will hopefully soon be fit enough to start.

My only (minor) criticism from Saturday is that sometimes we bypass the midfield too often with the long ball – Vaughan will want the ball on the floor and hopefully will prove an ideal midfield hub.

Once we've seen whether Mr Capello really is more than just an Italian version of Steve McClaren, we go into a vital week of Championship fixtures, two of which are eminently winnable. Our home form needs a kick-start – three points against Barnsley would be most welcome.

PHIL CORBETT
A 480-mile round trip, an early kick-off and the knowledge that it's on the TV, but Saturday was the quintessential example of why we travel to support Blackpool.

Right from the kick-off Blackpool showed their intentions, creating early half-chances as Hammill and Kabba broke clear of a square back four but were unable to convert.

Gary Taylor-Fletcher was also getting into good positions, squandering one great chance when standing on the ball and forcing the keeper into a fine save with a stooping header.

Southampton had chances cleared by Edwards, though there had clearly been fouls on Rachubka in the build-up – a similar challenge by Kabba in the second half was interpreted differently by Mr Marriner.

We got our reward through a stonewall penalty, which Burgess coolly put away.

Once again, for me, he was our man of the match, both for his goal and also for his dominance up front, bringing other players into the game and forcing their defenders into mistakes.

Given the heat, his effort was all the more remarkable. Despite this, a significant proportion of Pool fans remain unconvinced by him. Get behind him and maybe he'll be even better.

In the second half, with Southampton pushing on, we created chances on the break and how we didn't increase our lead I will never know.
A couple of anxious moments but a well deserved victory overall.

The next game is against Barnsley, another team looking at safety as their target. After Saturday, I can see us easing to a comfortable win.

JANE STUART
WE have finally arrived in the 2008/09 season. Now we have found our shooting boots we seemed to find it difficult to stop putting the ball in the net at Southampton, where the far-too-observant match officials disallowed three 'goals'.

I firmly believe Southampton will be relegated – and Saturday's performance only served to underline their lack of credentials.

However, Blackpool did well to take full advantage of their opponents' weakness and dominated the match. I was particularly pleased with the way they came out for the second half, determined to take the game by the scruff of the neck and ensure the three points headed north.

Steve Kabba has certainly arrived and looked a lively, positive influence up front. He was looking like the hungry goal-poacher we have been crying out for – and long may he continue in this vein.

Our defence was also impressive – Edwards and Evatt look a strong partnership and Mo Camara is improving with every game.

The midfield still needs a bit of work – hopefully a suitably reformed Keith Southern will be restored and Vaughan given a start.

Hammill has seemed a little jaded in the last two games but it is good to see him in tangerine boots – perhaps he can tell the yellow-and-red-booted Kabba where he got them! Even when Hammill is below par, he is still useful.

Southampton was almost like a practice match – a useful workout. But not many teams will be so accommodating. Next up is Barnsley – let's hope we can be as ruthless in our demolition of this struggling outfit.

We have much evidence of how wins can catapult us up the table, so we must get them where we can.

BRIAN MURRAY
ON paper this 1-0 penalty win appears a dull, uninteresting game but it was far from that, as Sky cameras showed.

Within 15 minutes we had Ian Evatt heading wide and an unmarked Gary Taylor-Fletcher going close from a Hammill cross.

At the other end we had goal-line clearances from Edwards and Evatt.
Paul Rachubka would argue he was impeded on both occasions, especially as one of Steve Kabba's goals was disallowed because he was judged to have fouled Davis.

Just before half-time Taylor-Fletcher did well to chase a lost cause and win the penalty.

The second-half was even better, with the Saints bringing on three substitutes in the hope of getting something out of the game. Fox was unlucky not to score with a rasping shot.

Quite rightly Ben Burgess got the man of the match award. He again caused the defenders all kinds of problems and was only denied another goal when Davis' flailing arm knocked his shot onto the upright.

The Saints made a conscious effort to neutralise the threat of Hammill by putting two defenders on him every time he got the ball, which seemed to work. Coid, Rehman and Vaughan were given a run- out. The latter looks very good and must be in the starting line-up soon.

It would have been an absolute travesty if McGoldrick's last-minute effort had gone in instead of hitting the crossbar. The defence, marshalled again by the impressive Edwards, looked solid throughout.


STEWART MEGGS
ON arriving at St Mary's my first reaction was to call for Mulder and Scully as it would appear that crop circles are back.

If the aliens' intention was to focus attention on the penalty area it certainly worked as there was so much goalmouth action it is amazing that the only goal came from the penalty spot.

During the second half, we kept finding the net at regular intervals only to have the goals ruled out by a linesman who was rehearsing for the next Nuremburg rally.

I got the impressesion that Southampton set out to give Rachubka a roughing up early doors, and it appeared to work as it looked as though his gloves were coated with Teflon.

I think Chubs is an excellent keeper but he looked down on confidence, and after he received a bad tackle outside the area I honestly thought he wanted to be substituted.

To his credit, he pulled off some really good saves in the second half and I think Matt Gilks will have to continue warming the bench for a while.

Given the kick-off time and the fact that the match was televised, I thought the turnout by Blackpool fans was tremendous and they certainly let the Southampton supporters know that the Saints were not marching in.
The answer is out there.
I think we have now got the bit between our teeth, and that in a must-win game a 3-0 win against Barnsley is the go.

FIONA MARTIN
ON Saturday I was convinced I needed my head examining for getting up at 4am for a football match. But it was a great day out and a thoroughly deserved three points.

A 1-0 victory with a 45th-minute penalty doesn't quite tell the whole story.

On the whole, the side looked balanced, we kept the ball well, we had an attacking threat and defensively we were very solid.

Up front, the Burgess-Kabba partnership is really starting to come together, with both men nothing short of outstanding.

What Kabba had to do to score though is anyone's guess. Unfortunately, TV replays suggest the linesman got all three decisions right – something we should savour perhaps.

Burgess took his penalty well, won every ball in the air and produced some brilliant play with the ball at his feet, especially when he forced a fine save from Kelvin Davies.

Poor Ben comes in for a lot of criticism that really is overly harsh. He caused Southampton endless problems.

Special mentions too for the performances of Rob Edwards, who is becoming a great value signing, and Mo Camara, who if he doesn't stay longer will be missed as top-quality competition for Crainey at left-back. David Vaughan too is starting to look good and surely has played himself into strong contention for a starting berth.

Getting the three points was the main thing on Saturday, and it's a great boost to go into the international break on the back of a win and a confident performance.

It gives them something to build on in training, and hopefully the weekend off will also enable us to get one or two of the injuries cleared.

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