Alanh

Size can be measured in so many ways that it's almost impossible to match us up against another team. Of those suggested I'd say Norwich, and Stoke are the closest and they have both definitely been less successful than us in terms of time spent in the top division, although similar in terms of cups won and finals reached. So the answer to the question is yes, there are other teams of a similar size to us that could be considered less successful.

Just spoke to a couple of guys from the Pompey in the Community coaching staff. They confirmed that there are people at the club who are not getting paid at the moment. No details, but backs up what has been said elsewhere.

True, but it would have been 100% if not for the efforts of the Facebook page and it being posted on here. If this thread results in a little bit more respect for the Stoke fans desire to remember Mabel then that's a good thing right?

Just seen this on Facebook via a mate who's a Stoke fan. Seems they want to pay their respects during the match on Saturday and might be good is Saints fans could join in.

I think no, as it goes against our stated aim of developing talent from our academy for our own first team. Based on the last 5 years transfer activity I don't think we need to sell before we can buy so I don't think we need to raise the cash to pursue our objectives. If LS orchestrates the move like AOC did and £30 is the figure being discussed, then I'm sure NC will get the best possible deal in terms of money up front for Saints.

I'll be charitable and assume he means get 40 points on the board first to ensure safety before 'pushing on' and ultimately finishing the season in upper mid table. Retaining 9th place should be achievable provided we get back to winning ways during Jan Feb. Typically teams who finish around upper mid table get to 40 points in early March.

It has pretty much stopped all of the haranguing of the referee when the attacking team think the ball has crossed the line. They all know now that the ref has the definitive answer and so you don't see them all getting in his face to argue that the ball was in. MOTD have shown a couple of incidents where the technology has proved that the ball has not crossed the line, but I don't think there have been any examples of the ball just crossing the line before being cleared back into play.

I used to sit behind a guy who had a Saints shirt with the name Ireland on the back, presumably his surname. Then one day he turned up wearing an England tracksuit top with the word England on the back. I figured he couldn't work out his allegiances! He was also with a woman who wore a 'BNP - Nick Griffin is right' badge. Everyone is entitled to an opinion but it didn't help me warm to her.

Isn't that exactly what we did against Man U, West Brom and Liverpool to gain 5 additional points? Interesting that the goals scored by Hull and Chelsea are the only ones to be scored against us this season after we have scored ourselves. Once we have scored we seem to restrict our opponents chances successfully.

Maybe, but my point remains, not every good player from every midtable club goes to the big boys. The exceptional ones might do and with Cabaye we'll see if you were right come 1st Feb, but we are not necessarily looking at a doomsday scenario of our squad being decimated in January as painted by Millbrook saint and backed up by Barry Sanchez

Your scenario may come true, however look at the likes of Swansea and West Brom last season and Newcastle from a couple of years ago. None of them have had their squads ripped by the big clubs - Michu is still at Swansea, Cabaye is still at Newcastle. I'm sure that there will be rumours about transfers for some of our players and some may move on, however the philosophy that they club is working towards should mean that the odd departure doesn't completely disrupt the squad.

Thanks, that's exactly what I was after.

I know that you need a BT customer user account to get access to BT Sport online, but do you also have to have BT as your ISP to be able to access the channels? Anyone with experience of this?

Keegan for JRod Bridge for Shaw Wright for Fonte Possibly Shilton for Boruc and Williams for Schneiderlin Good OP.

Yeah, four big games, but I think by 1st January after we've added Spurs, Everton and Chelsea (twice) to the list of top clubs we have played to date, we'll know how the season might shape up. If we are still top six at that stage we should be mathematically clear of relegation and really have something to aim for. If not we'll have to reappraise and work out how to improve. Being out of the League Cup might be a blessing in that context. Swansea's season petered out last year because they had qualified for Europe in March by winning it.

On the Liverpool commentary on MOTD last night a couple of references were made to Uruguay giving Liverpool permission to play Suarez provided they paid for a private jet to get him to their play off game. Perhaps they gave Saints the same option with Gaston and we decided to let him join up with their squad rather than keep him to feature on the bench.

Got to remember that he had that bad thigh muscle injury this time last year which would have set back his fitness considerably. I reckon that, together with adjusting to the pace of a much faster league, was why he rarely lasted the full 90 last season.

I don't agree with the opening statement. I think GR still has a lot to offer. At the moment he's not getting a game because we are doing very well and the manager doesn't have to change much from game to game. We'll get injuries and he'll get his chance and when he does it will still take him a few games to get match sharp. Same could be said of Jack Cork, but I don't see many threads about use finding a replacement for him in January. Also, isn't the old adage that you need two good players for every position. For me Gaston fits into that bracket when you look at our squad and the candidates for attacking midfield. If you look at the current starting 11 (of which Gaston isn't one) which players / positions could we realistically upgrade in Jan? I'd say pretty much only the positions that Steven Davis and J-Rod play in.

Take the Sky element out of the equation. The answer to your question is that Saints need to be in or around the top 6 for the whole season before the more hardened cynics and the less committed put their hands in their pockets. The first stadium sell out of the season, whenever it comes, won't prove that we should extend the stadium any more than us getting circa 30k on Saturday will prove that we shouldn't.

A sample of one game on a Sunday in October is too small to base a huge decision like stadium expansion on. We have probably got close to the ceiling for ticket prices but you need to view the attendances across the whole season and then compare that to previous seasons before you can draw any conclusions.

As I'm sure has been pointed out the real comparison is how we performed against the same teams we have just played last season. We got 2 points from the same fixtures last season. This season we've got 5 points. In addition last season we scored one goal in those four fixtures and conceded five, so our goal difference of 0 this season is also better. No point in comparing the four games that we had at the start of last season as they were against different teams, one of which we won't play in the league this year.

I don't think the formation is an issue at all. the front 4 don't play in set places anyway and our system is built around their mobility and willingness to interchange positions. I don't believe that introducing a winger would make an difference, in fact having someone stationed on the touchline would restrict the ability of the rest of the front 4 to interchange positions so freely. Shaw and J-Rod showed that they can get behind a defence when the opportunity presents itself, which it rarely does in any prem game, not just for us.

I wonder if he'll take a penalty if we get one. Surely Hodgson would be stupid to ignore RL's record from the spot, but my guess is Lampard or Gerrard will bet the nod based on seniority.

Impossible question to answer and a 'best 11' is a somewhat archaic concept. To a degree our selection will need to reflect how we intend to cope with what the opposition will throw at us. Best answer I can manage is Boruc, Clyne, Fonte, Louvren and Shaw as the back five, subject to fitness and form, but from DM forward I can see situations where we need to play just about any combination of the players available to us. For the front 6 I think Schneiderlin, Lallana and J-Rod should be automatic starters with Cork, VW, Lambert, Osvaldo, JWP, Davis and Ramirez being deployed depending on how we want to set up, whether we are at home or away and what we want to offer as an option off the bench.

Fair point, I did misread the sentence.