A fantastic October for Saints, with a three wins and two draws from five league games. Nigel Adkins's side managed to retain their place at the top of the Championship despite a very tough run of fixtures. Saints beat West Ham when they were 2nd and Middlesbrough when they were 3rd. They also secured a draw against Derby when the Rams were in 3rd place. There were a number of worthy contenders for player of the month, with Richard Chaplow, Kelvin Davis, Guly Do Prado and Morgan Schneiderlin performing particularly well. New boys Jos Hooiveld and Danny Fox also improved considerably after slow starts in September. There can only be one winner however, and that's Rickie Lambert. The former Bristol Rovers front man netted three goals, but his contribution extended much further than that. Lambert's all round game has come on considerably in the last two years. He is now a much more complete player having added a number of different qualities to his repertoire. Lambert creates so many opportunities for others through hard work and intelligent movement. His assist for David Connolly against Middlesbrough showed that he capable of doing more than just score goals. He's just as comfortable playing in a slightly deeper wider role as he is up front. Rickie is also in the best shape of his career, a massive contrast to this time last season when he looked off the pace after a difficult pre-season. While Saints have other decent options up front, nobody else offers the complete package like Lambert does. In my opinion he is now our most important player, and one we simply can't afford to lose through injury.

Below are the average ratings for each player for the month of October, based on TheSaintsHub ratings for the months 6 matches.

Note: Adam Lallana does not qualify having played only two matches out of six.

Adam Lallana: Average Rating 8.00 (2 games)

Rickie Lambert: Average Rating 7.60 (6 games) 3 goals

Richard Chaplow: Average Rating 7.40 (5 games)

Kelvin Davis: Average Rating 7.40 (5 games)

Guly Do Prado: Average Rating 7.40 (6 games) 3 goals

Morgan Schneiderlin: Average Rating 7.40 (6 games)

Jack Cork: Average Rating 7.20 (6 games)

Danny Fox: Average Rating 7.20 (5 games)

Jos Hooiveld: Average Rating 7.20 (5 games) 1 goal

David Connolly: Average Rating 7.00 (4 games) 1 goal

James Ward-Prowse: Average Rating 7.00 (1 game)

Dean Hammond: Average Rating 6.80 (5 games)

Frazer Richardson: Average Rating 6.75 (4 games)

Jose Fonte: Average Rating 6.60 (5 games)

Danny Butterfield: Average Rating 6.50 (2 games)

Dan Harding: Average Rating 6.50 (3 games)

Steve De Ridder: Average Rating 6.25 (5 games) 1 goal

Bartosz Bialkowski: Average Rating: 6.00 (1 game)

Lee Holmes: Average Rating: 6.00 (2 games) 1 goal

Aaron Martin: Average Rating: 6.00 (2 games)

Ben Reeves: Average Rating: 6.00 (1 game)

Lee Barnard: Average Rating: 5.00 (1 game)

Jonathan Forte: Average Rating: 5.00 (1 game)

Previous Months Winners:

August: Jack Cork

September: Dean Hammond/Frazer Richardson