Alanh

Antonio v Puncheon is a pretty pointless argument because there is room for both of them in the squad and arguably in the team. They both offer something different - Antonio is all about pace and aggression and his close control is still developing. Puncheon is all about close control and accuracy. They will both develop and may both be able to play at a higher level - Pucheon failing to make an impact at Plymouth doesn't necessrily mean he can't play at a higher level, he might have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I think you are making more of that comment than necessary. To me AP is saying that there is tactical work to be done to fine tune the team based on his comment in the paragraph below the advert and based on the fact that the pre season focus so far has been all about fitness. Also, obviously he knows how to set up the team as he did so successfully for three quarters of last season so the fundamentals are there already.

Our first 6 matches are (my thoughts on the result): Plymouth Home (Win or draw) MK Dons Away (Win or draw) Orient Home (Win) Bristol Rover Away (Win or draw) Rochdale home (Win) Sheff Wed Away (Draw or lose) I reckon 12 points from those games would constitute a good start as it's 2 points per game and over the course of the season would be promotion form. More than 12 would be excellent, less would be poor.

In the past haven't half season tickets always been sold for the second half of the season? I don't recall a situation where you could buy a half season ticket for the first half of the season anyway. Based on this I always thought it was a strange statement for the club to make.

I think you are probably right about the Plymouth game and in fairness they should provide one of our tougher challenges for the year so a draw won't be the end of the world. Over the first six league games I expect us to pick up 3 or 4 wins and lose a maximum of one and that will be a good start.

Not decided whether its a winger or a forward but we need to get a player in with the pace to unsettle defenders. One of Papa of Antonio or someone very similar would work.

Pardew's track record with us shows he builds a squad not just a team. Papa and Antonio last season are great examples of that. Dickson covering / starting at LB or LM is proof again. Seabourne's signing last year when we already had 4 centre backs is proof again. I can't see any evidence to suggest that we won't have a strong squad before the start of the season. Just because we don't know what negotiations are beingconducted doesn't mean that there are none. I reckon we have pretty much got our first 11 sorted for the opening game but as the OP said we do need cover in CM for when Morgan or Hammond aren't available and I think that more signings are on the way. No need to panic yet (unless Richardson breaks a leg in tomorrow's friendly).

He played for Sunderland against us in the play-offs season. Brilliant game and he was one of the best players on the park. Would be a very good signing if he is still performing at anywhere near that level now.

Of course I meant he had no profile over here. Had the average Saints fan, or football fan even, heard of him before he signed for us last year. Sure there will be football obsessives and FM fans who will have picked up on him but i believe that 99% of saints fans had never heard of him before he signed. Cortese's or Pardews signing - can't be proven one way or the other and not overly relevant IMO.

You are right about us needing pace in the squad and I am convinced that AP knows this and is going to address it. He did last year with the acquisitions of both papa and Antonio, neither of whom had any profile before they arrived. Your argument about the team falls down as neither Papa nor Antonio were regular starters. Our starting 11 on the 7th August should be stronger (injuries permitting) than the starting 11 on the last day of last season. With regard to playing hardball over transfers. I would rather we played as hard as possible.if this ride is going to take us to the Prem we are going to have to buy in loads more players of increasing quality and value. If we get a reputation as push overs we will get taken for a ride by agents and selling clubs time and again. I'd rather NC become a negotiator to be feared.

Agree completely on the need for pace in the squad. Dickson is supposed to be quick so he will add some, but I think we will mees the unpredictability that came from Antonio and Waigo and so will need to replace them. Alexd O-C might be able to step up and offer that at least in part. I don't think we need to add to the centre backs - the four we have can do a good enough job. Unlike you I think Seabourne is good enough and will play his fair share of games. I don't think there is room in the squad for two new centre mids. I think one new one is about right to take the pressure off Hammond and Schneiderlin having to plan in every game and also to give us the option to change our shape and have thre dedicated CMs on the pitch when required, without one being Wotton. Don't agree on the lines of communication being down. Saying that there are exciting arrivals on the way is clearly not NC's style as we have learned over the last year, but that doesn't mean that nothing is happening. As fans we just have to sit tight and enjoy the rest of the sporting summer without expecting Saints to be drip feeding us with amazing news every day. It's like this every year.

I reckon the tactics will be pretty similar to the final 30 games of last season. I think that AP will have got the idea of at least two ways to play through to the squad by the start of the season so we can use 4-4-2 and our variation of 4-5-1 effectively when needed. Looking at the first four league matches I can see two wins and two draws. the opener against Plymouth is difficult to predict but I reckon we have a better than average chance against MK away and orient at home and should grab wins at both. Bristol Rovers away will be a test although we should be mentally string having wiped the floor with them last time we played there. September looks like a trickier month with trips to Swindon and Sheff Wed. If we can come out of Sept in the top three and within striking distance of the leaders then we'll be well set for the first half of the season.

Because you said that you are SHOCKED that there are fans who think it is sensible that we wait until August before signing anyone. I suggest you couldn't find one fan who would advocate waiting until the start of the season. I would suggest that every fan wants signings to happen as early as possible, it's just that most realise that they take time and don't react with a hyperbolic post 10 hours into July.

First sentence - fair point, but there isn;t an awful lot we can do about that as we don't have a crystal ball and no club signs a player simply in case one of their other player is sold. Second sentence - I don't think anyone on this board or in the fan base in general is advocating waiting until early August before we sign anyone. This is just anopther example of you exaggerating for effect and making yourself look like the Hysterical tart that someone described you as earlier.

Last season in the first round of the League Cup against Northampton we only opened two stands so there was no chance for some season ticket holders to have their own seats. At least this year there is at least a chance for everyone.

The defence needs a major overhaul. King and ferdinand have long term fitness problems. I really think JT has lost it - he was massively at fault for the first goal yesterday and had a poor end to the season with Chelsea. Johnson is a weak link- he's so attacking that he cramps the space that the right winger has to play in and he's suspect defensively. I'd go for something like Hart Richards - Dawson - Ferdinand (if fit) - Cole Rodwell - Barry A Johnson - Gerrard - J Cole Rooney With the likes of Wishire, Lampard, Defoe, Croush and Walcott on the bench we have a mix of youth and experience throughout the squad while giving the younger members a chance to stake a claim to the first team spots. The one thing that is certain is that we have to have a clearout of the squad to get rid of the 'untouchable' mentality. i think that was the main factor in England simply thinking that they had to turn up to win without realising that they needed to put in a performance.

You're a piece of work aren't you! The thread is about buying a season ticket and 90% of the responses follow the OP, but you have to . You've made your contribution by telling everyone you've renewed your own seat (well done, sarcastic applause), now sod off and annoy someone else.

Just renewed for me and my son. Looking forward to Plymouth on the 7th August.

Same here, used the blue version as the default and would like to see it available again.

It's the classic football cliche - take it one game at a time. One of the things that Leeds did which we could avoid is they changed managers a fair bit and only settled on Grayson towards the end of last season. Obviously if AP screws up then we'll need to replace him but I think that is likely to lead to a Leeds type of scenario.

I think it's more likely to show that we won't be held to ransom by any player / agent. We are obviously going to sign a right back. There is no way that we would let four leave and not replace any of them. Even buying a right back, or any other player 'within our means' will result in us being able to afford a very good player for this league thanks to our big gates and low / non existant debt.

I'm pretty sure Dickson has been signed to provide competition for Harding and the LM spot, with Seabourne able to play there is necessary. Lallana and Puncheon can both play LM but Mills can compete for that position and provide something a bit different to either of them. It's also really useful to have someone on the bench (Mills or Dickson) who can cover both LB and LM. As others have said, Harding is a very left footed player so I'd be really surprised if he became first choice RB this season.

I always look forward to the new season. In the past it's generally been because I can't believe it will be worse than the one just finished, but this year the signs are pretty positive. Just put the question out there about the opportunity to break some records as it seemed to go with the positive vibe of the thread. Any thoughts on what records we might break - apart obviously from the record low number of fans in debt to the club thanks to the removal of the installment plan.

I'm definitely looking forward to the new season. I think we have a good chance of breaking a few records - most goals scored in a season, most wins, best goal difference, etc. Any others we might break?

You need to get your head around the fact that they have already had their punishment for going into admin - that was the -9 from the PL. Any further points deductions will be because of financial irregularities uncovered from things like the liquidators report, or if any of Storrie, Twitchy or Mandaric are found guilty in their personal trials. None of these things are going to be resolved before the start of next season. If they can't exit admin before the start of the season, most likely because the CVA hasn't been agreed, then they will just have a transfer embargo.